Categories
Cardiovascular
Diagnostics
Endocrinology
Health Insurance
Medical Devices
Mental Health
Nutrition
Oncology
Public Health
Sexual Health
Popular Articles

Discovery May Revolutionize Therapy In Muscular Dystrophy And Other Skeletal Muscle Disorders
Researchers at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School are a step closer to treating, and perhaps preventing, muscle damage caused by disease and aging. In their study, published in the June issue of Journal of Biological Chemistry, the scientists have linked the newly discovered protein MG53 to a pathway that repairs human muscle tissue along with the proteins caveolin-3 (Cav3) and dysferlin. Prior to this study, the underlying interactions that inhibited membrane repair in muscle tissue were unknown. Linking these proteins creates a mechanism that allows damaged membranes to be repaired, which may transform treatment for patients who suffer from severe complications of diseases such as muscular dystrophy, as well as cardiovascular disorders and conditions related to advancing age.
generic viagra online
An Efficient Approach To Monitoring Gastrointestinal Microflora Changes
Pi-deficiency in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is one of the most common digestive diseases and usually the equilibrium of gastrointestinal microflora are broken, which plays many important roles in the growth, development and performance of the host. Therefore, more clinical interests are arising in monitoring changes of intestinal microflora in intestinal disease and the consequent treatment, especially in TCM therapies. It has been found that some Chinese materia medica have curative effects on regulating the equilibrium of intestinal microflora and therefore promote the recovery of "Pi". However, ways of monitoring the intestinal flora are quite limited, not only because of the complexity of its constitution, but also the difficulty of culturing for most gastrointestinal bacteria in vitro.
News of the day
New Study Proves Ginger Benefits Nausea Sufferers
For thousands of years ginger has been treasured for its reputed health benefits, in particular for treating digestive problems including nausea.
Diagnostics

Regardless Of Family History, HRT-Breast Cancer Risk Stays Same

The risk of developing breast cancer due to taking hormone replacement therapy appears to be the same for women with a family history of the disease and without a family history, a University of Rochester Medical Center study concluded. The study, published online this week in the journal Epidemiology, adds to the evolving picture of what factors, either alone or in combination, boost breast cancer risk among postmenopausal women. It also refutes the notion, held by many in the medical community, that a familial predisposition to breast cancer enhances the carcinogenic effects of estrogen. "Although we know that family history is a risk factor, we don"t know yet what it is about family history that conveys the risk," said Robert E. Gramling, M.D., D.Sc., assistant professor of Family Medicine and of Community and Preventive Medicine at URMC. "Some have proposed that it might be an increased sensitivity to estrogen, but our data did not support that notion. In fact, this study suggests the causal pathway based on family history is probably not estrogen sensitivity." Researchers analyzed data from the Women"s Health Initiative randomized trial, which followed 16,608 postmenopausal women, ages 50 to 79, who took hormone replacement therapy (HRT) or a placebo pill between 1993 and 2002. Among the participants, 349 cases of invasive breast cancer occurred during a mean follow-up period of 5.6 years. Gramling divided the data into subgroups and studied the direct interaction between the contributions that the two risk factors (HRT and family history) had on breast cancer risk among postmenopausal women. The results showed only a negligible degree of interaction, suggesting that HRT conveys no greater breast cancer risk to women with, versus without, a first-degree family history of breast cancer (i.e. breast cancer in a mother, sister or daughter). The study does have limitations, the authors noted. First, the women had a short period of exposure to hormone treatment and a short follow-up period. It is possible that longer exposure to HRT would have generated different results, the study said. Also, researchers asked women about family history of breast cancer only at the start of the WHI study. Finally, the majority of women who enrolled in the WHI trial represented a more educated and somewhat healthier population, and it is unknown how this might have influenced any interaction between hormone therapy and family history. The WHI study gained notoriety when it was stopped abruptly in 2002, after data safety monitoring experts found hormonal therapy did not provide many of the benefits doctors and patients expected, and also carried some unforeseen risks. Since then, many postmenopausal women have been wary of using HRT. Scientists have continued to study the data for nuances that will lead to a more complete picture. Gramling believes his research adds a new dimension to the large body of information now available on HRT and breast cancer. "The decision to use hormonal therapy, even for a short period of time, is very difficult for many women," Gramling said. "We hope our data will provide postmenopausal women and their physicians more evidence to consider when weighing the risks versus benefits." The study was conducted using publicly available data from the WHI trial, which was supported by the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. Leslie Orr University of Rochester Medical Center


Add your comment:
Name:
Site address: http://
Your message:
Enter today\\\\'s date, 2 digits
(spam protection):

© Copyright 2009