Social Sciences

Patients with advanced cancer who used their religious faith to help cope were more likely to receive intensive life-prolonging medical care such as mechanical ventilation or cardiopulmonary resuscitation during their last week of life, according to a study in the March 18 issue of JAMA. For patients facing a life-threatening illness, religious coping, such as through prayer, meditation and religious study can offer patients a sense of meaning, comfort, control and personal growth, according to background information in the article. "Positive religious coping has been widely associated with…

Compared to placebo, the drug pactimibe did not effect certain measures of atherosclerosis for patients with familial hypercholesterolemia (high cholesterol levels), but these patients did have an increased incidence of cardiovascular events such as heart attack and stroke, according to a study in the March 18 issue of JAMA. One proposed method to help prevent cardiovascular disease is to block the action of acyl coenzyme A:cholesterol acyltransferase (ACAT), an enzyme involved in cholesterol accumulation. In theory, inhibition of ACAT-1 (an isoform [different form of the same protein] of…

San Diego, CA (March 18, 2009) – Epidemiologists and computer scientists at the University of Iowa have collaborated to create a new low-cost, green technology for automatically tracking the use of hand hygiene dispensers before healthcare workers enter and after they exit patient rooms. This novel method of monitoring hand hygiene compliance, which is essential for infection control in hospitals, was released today at the annual meeting of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA). "We know that a range of pathogens are spread from healthcare workers to patients by direct…

Philadelphia, PA, 17 March 2009 – Imagine that you have been in combat and that you have watched your closest friend die in front of you. The memory of that event may stay with you, troubling you for the rest of your life. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is among the most common and disabling psychiatric casualties of combat and other extremely stressful situations. People suffering from PTSD often suffer from vivid intrusive memories of their traumas. Current medications are often ineffective in controlling these symptoms and so novel treatments are needed urgently. In the February…

The health benefits of fish consumption have been over-dramatized and have put increased pressure on wild fish, according to a new research published today in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ). In an innovative collaboration, medical scientists from St. Michael's Hospital and the University of Toronto have teamed up with researchers from the University of British Columbia's Fisheries Centre and author Farley Mowat to closely examine the effects of health claims with regard to seafood. For years, international agencies concerned with health and nutrition have promoted seafood…

PHILADELPHIA, PA – A test capable of confirming or ruling out Alzheimer's disease has been validated and standardized by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. By measuring cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) concentrations of two of the disease's biochemical hallmarks – amyloid beta42 peptide and tau protein – the test also predicted whether a person's mild cognitive impairment would convert to Alzheimer's disease over time. Researchers were able to detect this devastating disease at the earliest stages, before dementia symptoms appeared and widespread irreversible damage…

New Rochelle, NY, March 17, 2009—The relationships between food, nutrition science, and health outcomes have been intensively analyzed over the past century. Genomic variation among individuals and populations is a new factor that enriches and challenges our understanding of these complex relationships. Hence, the rapidly emerging intersection of nutritional science and genomics – nutrigenomics – was the focus of a special issue of OMICS: A Journal of Integrative Biology in December 2008 (Part 1). The OMICS February 2009 Nutrigenomics Special Issue (Part 2) is now available free online at www…

LIVERMORE, Calif. - By reversing a process that converts electrical signals into sounds heard out of a cell phone, researchers may have a new tool to enhance the way computer chips, LEDs and transistors are built. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientists have for the first time converted the highest frequency sounds into light by reversing a process that converts electrical signals to sound. Commonly used piezo-electric speakers, such as those found in a cell phone, operate at low frequencies that human ears can hear. But by reversing that process, lead researchers Michael Armstrong…

In an Early Edition publication of The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) this week, the researchers demonstrate the "alpha-synuclein dance" – the switching back and forth of the protein between a bent helix and an extended helix as the surface that it is binding to changes. Such shape shifting has rarely been so directly observed in proteins like alpha-synuclein, which are known to be unfolded in isolation, says the study's senior investigator Ashok Deniz, an associate professor at The Scripps Research Institute. "We are intrigued to see such complex behavior," he says. "…

OAK BROOK, Ill – Researchers have found that over a 10-year period radiologic exams on pregnant women have more than doubled, according to a study published in the online edition of Radiology. "Imaging utilization has not been previously studied in the pregnant population," said Elizabeth Lazarus, M.D., assistant professor of diagnostic imaging at the Warren Alpert School of Medicine at Brown University and a radiologist at Rhode Island Hospital in Providence, R.I. "This population may be vulnerable to the adverse effects of radiation." Dr. Lazarus and colleagues conducted a retrospective…