New Mayo Clinic research studied the association between prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels and prostate size and found that routine annual evaluation of prostate growth is not necessarily a predictor for the development of prostate cancer. However the study suggests that if a man`s PSA level is rising quickly, a prostate biopsy is reasonable to determine if he has prostate cancer. These findi...

The effectiveness of a screening colonoscopy may depend on the time of day it is performed. According to a new UCLA study, early-morning colonoscopies yielded more polyps per patient than later screenings, and fewer polyps were found hour by hour as the day progressed. The findings, published in the November issue of the journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, point to the need for more ...

Most weight-control strategies emphasize energy-restricted diets and increased physical activity – and most are not effective over the long term. In a study of a "weight-acceptance" intervention, published in the November 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, researchers found that there could be long-term beneficial effects on certain eating behaviors usi...

People suffering from fibromyalgia have reduced activity in the parts of the brain that inhibit the experience of pain. Drugs that affect the CNS can be effective against the disease, and are thought to be even more so if administered early in its course, according to a new thesis from the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet. "It`s a common misconception that fibromyalgia is a ma...

Immunologists at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Children`s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC and the have found a unique quirk in the way the immune system fends off bacteria called Francisella tularensis, which could lead to vaccines that are better able to prevent tularemia infection of the lungs. Their findings were published today in the early, online version of Immunity. F. ...

Researchers have developed an optimized mouthpiece design to aid efficient drug delivery to the lungs by reducing the amount of medication wasted as it passes through the mouthpiece of an aerosol inhaler. With current inhaler designs, only approximately 10 to 20 percent of asthma medications are delivered to the lungs. And, because the lungs provide a direct and effective route of entry for medica...

Early action, especially rapid rollout of vaccines, is extremely effective in reducing the attack rate of the H1N1 influenza virus, according to a simulation model of a pandemic outbreak reported in a new study in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). The article presents a simulation model that projects how many people will be infected under different disease control strategies. The model ...

Abatacept, a member of a new class of drug that targets immune cells to treat rheumatoid arthritis (RA), is effective against RA, according to a new Cochrane Systematic Review. The review examines recent trials to assess safety and efficacy of the drug. RA is an autoimmune disease affecting up to 1 in 100 people in Western countries. RA patients experience chronic pain and inflammation as a result...

A once-daily medication option for treating the most common mouth infection in HIV/AIDS patients has shown to be just as effective and safe as taking an anti-fungal pill five times a day, according to a Henry Ford Hospital study. Researchers found that a small tablet applied daily that sticks to the gum and dissolves inside the mouth with few or no side effects is a novel, convenient option for tr...

A new study published in the September 11, 2009 issue of Science by researchers at the NYU School of Medicine reveals a conceptually novel mechanism that plays an important role in making human pathogens like Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus anthracis resistant to numerous antibiotics. The study led by Evgeny A. Nudler, PhD, The Julie Wilson Anderson Professor of Biochemistry at NYU Langone Medi...