"During the period that the NASDAQ was declining, the MI (myocardial infarction, or heart attack) rates were increasing," Mona Fiuzat, the study's lead investigator, said in a university news release.

Researchers analyzed marathon race results, weather data and air pollution concentrations in seven major U.S. marathons over a period of eight to 28 years. They found that higher levels of air pollution particles were associated with slower finish times for women. Air pollution levels didn't appear to have a significant impact on men, the study authors noted.

"Healthy vision is critical to successfully completing job-related tasks," James Sheedy, director of the Vision Ergonomics Laboratory at the College of Optometry at Pacific University and the American Optometric Association's (AOA) occupational vision specialist, said in a news release.]]> http://www.vitabeat.com/7155/eye-health-safety-should-job-one Sat, 13 Mar 2010 06:00:00 -0600 http://www.vitabeat.com/7154/theres-mona-lisa-her-smile Mona Lisa's smile remains one of art's great mysteries, and many credit it with the portrait's enduring appeal.

But her expression can't explain everything, said Austrian neurologists who used computer-altered images to simulate the "Mona Lisa condition" in a new study.

However, the scans are less likely to detect tumors in premenopausal women, they added.

Patients with a certain genetic variation can't convert the blood thinner into its active form, which puts them at risk for heart attack and stroke, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned.

They found that when study participants played a game in which they had an opportunity to cooperate with one another, people who received a donation of money were more likely to donate money to other people in future games.

The finding came from an analysis of data on 15,353 adults who had non-dialysis, chronic kidney disease, stages three to five, and were receiving regular care through the Community Health Network of San Francisco. They were followed for one to nine years.

"This study suggests that to gain full benefit from metformin, patients should start taking it as soon as they find out they have diabetes," lead author Jonathan B. Brown, an investigator with the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research in Portland, Ore., said in a news release from Kaiser Permanente.

Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) researchers compared the expectations of 42 patients and their doctors and found clinically meaningful disagreement in 68 percent of patients, with 53 percent of the patients' expectations exceeding those of the surgeons.

The study of nearly 20,000 people born in 1958 found that those with "severe behavior disturbances" between the ages of 11 and 16 were about twice as likely to have chronic widespread pain (CWP) by the time they were 45 as those who didn't have behavioral problems as children.

Sadly, new research shows the happiness boost many experience while vacationing dissipates soon after they get home to the pile of laundry and overflowing in-box at work.

However, that shift may not be such a welcome change for people with seasonal affective disorder (SAD), a seasonal depression that occurs in the fall and winter and is caused, at least in part, by the lack of daylight during these seasons. Some experts suspect that light in the morning may be especially important for helping people with SAD, as well as for jumpstarting circadian rhythms in all people.

This process, called nitrosation, converts some substances found in foods or contaminated water into cancer-causing compounds. Nitrosation is most commonly caused by nitrates from certain processed meats or high-heat food preparation methods, or by water contaminated by industrial or agricultural runoff.

Researchers analyzed data from the 2002-2008 National Football League seasons and found that teams playing on FieldTurf had an 88 percent higher rate of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries and a 48 percent higher rate of eversion ankle sprains (foot twists outward).

''Initially, we though high-impact sports were terrible for the prosthesis," said Dr. Sebastien Parratte, a research collaborator at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and an assistant professor at the Aix-Marseille University Center for Arthritis Surgery at Hospital Sainte-Marguerite in Marseille, France.

"Many women, especially those who used the first generation of oral contraceptives many years ago, are likely to be reassured by our results. However, our findings might not reflect the experience of women using oral contraceptives today, if currently available preparations have a different risk than earlier products," Dr.]]> http://www.vitabeat.com/7138/pill-wont-shorten-life-study Fri, 12 Mar 2010 06:00:00 -0600 http://www.vitabeat.com/7135/symptoms-ketoacidosis Ketoacidosis occurs when diabetic people develop dangerously high levels of ketones, which are produced when stored fat is burned for energy.

Ketoacidosis, a sign that diabetes is uncontrolled, requires immediate medical attention.

The Nemours Foundation mentions these possible risks of an epidural:

It's not clear if it will have the same effect on cancer in people, however.

In one study, scientists at the University of Oxford examined the medical records of 1.2 million middle-aged British women. They followed them for an average of about six years and found that overweight or obese women faced a higher risk of cirrhosis of the liver, and the risk increased if they also reported drinking an average of a third to half a drink a day.

"Some people have very stable hypertension, in which case simple hypertension is all that matters, but variability and episodic hypertension is very common and matters much more than mean blood pressure in some patients," said Dr.]]> http://www.vitabeat.com/7134/variable-blood-pressure-new-stroke-risk-factor Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:00:00 -0600 http://www.vitabeat.com/7132/heat-therapy-helps-treat-soldiers-infections Heat therapy is effective for treating lesions caused by a parasitic skin infection that afflicts U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, a new study shows.

Since U.S. operations began in those countries, more than 1,300 American military and civilian personnel have developed Leishmania major skin lesions, according to information in a news release about the study.

Researchers analyzed national data from 1970 to 2006, and found that overall cancer death rates (per 100,000) increased from 249.3 in 1970 to 279.8 in 1990 and then decreased to 221.1 in 2006. That's a decline of 21 percent from 1990 and a drop of 11 percent since 1970.

"This is another milestone in the inevitable march towards personalized genetic health," said Dr. Robert Marion, chief of genetics and development medicine and director of the Center for Congenital Disorders at Children's Hospital at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City.]]> http://www.vitabeat.com/7131/medicines-future-lie-each-patients-genome Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:00:00 -0600 http://www.vitabeat.com/7129/driving-early-alzheimers-may-illadvised Elderly people with failing memories often keep driving, but a study of Alzheimer's patients suggests the risk of getting lost -- even on familiar streets -- may be greater than once thought.

Even with early dementia, there may be no safe period behind the wheel because the disease is unpredictable, said Linda Hunt, an associate professor in the School of Occupational Therapy at Pacific University, Oregon, and author of a new study.

"Our study showed there is a novel genetic mutation through which some type 2 diabetic people could be vulnerable to the gradual onset of this disease," study senior author Vann Bennett, a professor in the departments of cell biology, biochemistry and neurobiology at Duke University Medical Center, said in a news release from the school.

"They are saying they have found the earliest stem cell, in the hair follicles, which actually leads to making epidermis, sebaceous tissue and hair follicles," explained Paul Sanberg, distinguished professor of neurosurgery and director of the University of South Florida Center for Aging and Brain Repair in Tampa. "These cells in adult hair follicles are, in fact, helping to make new skin."

The research is not the first to link the drugs, known as bisphosphonates, with unusual fractures. Other research has found pros and cons, with the drugs reducing breast cancer risk but increasing the risk of painful jaw problems.

These potentially deadly inhalants include aerosol computer cleaners, glue, hair sprays, paint solvents and gasoline. They're "huffed" or sniffed and can cause addiction or sudden death from cardiac arrest.

On Feb. 24, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved PCV13 and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommends the vaccine for all children aged 2 to 59 months and children with chronic illnesses who are younger than 71 months.

"We found certain parts of the rotator cuff where, if they are weaker, players are more likely to incur injury that requires surgery," said lead author Dr. Ian Byram, an orthopedic resident physician at Nashville's Vanderbilt Medical Center.

To be sure, science is a long way off from hooking people up to a device and knowing their thoughts. But the study showed that past events leave unique "memory traces" in a portion of the brain called the hippocampus, traces that can be distinguished from one another in brain scans.

A new survey of more than 5,000 U.S. online daters finds that the answer to that question is -- by and large -- 'yes,' or at least as honest as they would be in face-to-face dating.

In the study, researchers experimented with compounds derived from seaweed and used them to treat the types of lymphoma that are classified as being in the B-cell group.

The American Academy of Dermatology offers this list of common risk factors for melanoma:

But IBD can affect much more than just the digestive system. The National Women's Health Information Center says IBD can contribute to these health problems:

Balance problems and increased risk for falls are common among seniors with severe knee osteoarthritis, the result of worn cartilage. Falls are the leading cause of injury for seniors in the United States, and hip fractures caused by falls can prove deadly.

Surging C-section rates in the United States have worried experts, but the panel said that just because a woman has had a C-section in the past, there's no reason she must have one in subsequent deliveries.

The study, published in the March 11 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, found that 95 percent of those treated with ivermectin were lice-free after two weeks compared to 85 percent of those using malathion.

The analysis of the four family members -- the parents, daughter and son -- revealed that each parent passes about 30 mutations to their children. It had long been believed that each parent passes 75 gene mutations to their children.

But if you do have the invasive procedure, the odds are even higher -- nearly two to one -- that it will show no significant blockage, a new study finds.

In the trial, various doses of the drug, eprotirome, a laboratory-engineered version of thyroid hormone, were added to statin treatment for 168 people whose high levels of LDL cholesterol had not been lowered by previous use of statins.]]> http://www.vitabeat.com/7111/alternative-statins-shows-promise Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:00:00 -0600 http://www.vitabeat.com/7110/gene-mutations-identified-charcotmarietooth-syndrome By analyzing the genome of a colleague who has Charcot-Marie-Tooth syndrome, U.S. scientists have identified gene mutations associated with the neurological disorder, which affects the function of nerves in the limbs, hands and feet.

The study, published online March 10 in the New England Journal of Medicine, involved sequencing the complete genome of Dr. James Lupski, vice chairman of molecular and human genetics at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

Light therapy and skin medications are common treatments for the condition, which is most famously associated with singer Michael Jackson. But the treatments don't always work.

Previous research had suggested that smokers have a lower risk of developing Parkinson's disease.

Now, however, researchers working with mice believe they have uncovered a mechanism by which the secondary tumors gain their resistance -- a finding that eventually might help prolong the lives of men with prostate cancer.

"We found that about 9 percent of people who lived with a household member with [H1N1] flu also got flu," said lead researcher Oliver Morgan, an Epidemic Intelligence Service officer with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"A spine injury is such a devastating injury for a young person," said Dr. Jeffrey R. Sawyer, an assistant professor of orthopaedics with the Campbell Clinic at the University of Tennessee, and a co-author on both papers.

The CDC researchers tracked individuals' levels of antibodies to various hepatitis strains. Antibodies are a kind of immune system record of exposure to a particular pathogen, either through infection or vaccination.