Researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center find patients with shortness of breath may have a higher risk of dying from cardiac disease than patients without symptoms, and even with patients that suffer from typical cardiac pain.Daniel Berman, M.D., senior author of the study and the Director of Cardiac Imaging at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center says, "Patients often do not interpret shortness of breath as a serious symptom, but particularly in patients who have cardiac risk factors and in patients without lung disease, it may be the only sign of the presence of serious coronary artery disease that may need treatment."

In the retrospective study, patients without diagnosed coronary artery disease who had shortness of breath were four times more likely to suffer death from a cardiac cause than a symptomatic patients and twice as likely as patients who had chest pain that is considered to be typical cardiac pain

A tamoxifen-like drug developed by UC Davis and Finnish researchers may help to prevent breast cancer according to a preliminary study.

"These reports indicate that prevention of breast cancer may be another benefit of the use of ospemifine," says Michael W. DeGregorio, a professor of medicine at UC Davis. "The findings are very encouraging

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly a quarter of Americans are smokers. That calculates to more than 60-million people who are at increased risk for lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer-related deaths nationwide.

As a result, health professionals are trying to find less harmful alternatives to cigarette smoking

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) will come to Phoenix, Arizona on November 9 as part of its education initiative, to inform physicians and the public about buprenorphine, a new office-based medical treatment for addiction to prescription pain relievers and other opiate drugs, such as heroin.

The forum will offer information about the science of buprenorphine and the federal requirements for establishing this new office-based treatment

The British Journal of Psychiatry

In the study, 117 volunteers with mild to moderate depression participated in either a web-based self-help CBT program plus an internet discussion group, or an internet discussion group alone