Many Immigrants Seeking U.S. Asylum Suffer From Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Depression, Advocates Say

Many immigrants seeking asylum in the U.S. have post-traumatic stress disorder and those with severe cases "can be in denial about what happened to them" in their home countries, "avoid overwhelming memories, or refuse treatment because of lingering fears of past dealings Read more…

Expanding Patient Population Creates A Huge Market For Invasive Pressure Monitoring And Hemodynamic Monitoring, Finds Frost & Sullivan

The higher incidence of chronic illnesses in Europe and the consequent increase of patient population in intensive care units has amplified the need for equipment that measure vital signs such as blood pressure during surgeries. This rise in the number of people requiring critical care has escalated the demand for catheters and transducers.
New analysis from Frost & Sullivan (
), Read more…

Corgenix AspirinWorks(R) Test Recognized In POLYCAP Study At ACC.09

Corgenix Medical Corporation (OTC Bulletin Board: CONX) announced that its AspirinWorks Test was used by investigators in The Indian POLYCAP Study (TIPS) to help determine patients’ response to aspirin and/or statin therapy.
The TIPS trial examined the effect of combinations of aspirin, statin and three blood-pressure-lowering drugs on blood pressure, lipids, heart rate and urinary 11-dehydrohtromboxane B2 (11dTxB2) as measured by the AspirinWorks Test Read more…

Waiting Period After Breast Biopsy Triggers High Stress Hormone Levels, Study Finds

Women who are waiting for the results of a breast biopsy have stress hormone levels equivalent to those of women who are diagnosed with breast cancer, according to a study published recently in the journal Radiology, the New York Times reports.
For the study, researchers from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School followed 126 women through the waiting period after a breast biopsy, monitoring Read more…

Search For Blood Pressure Secrets Reveals A Surprising New Syndrome Linked To Seizures, A Lack Of Coordination, Developmental Delay And Hearing Loss

Yale researchers investigating the genetic causes of blood pressure variation have identified a previously undescribed syndrome associated with seizures, a lack of coordination, developmental delay and hearing loss. The findings, published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, illustrate the power of genetic studies not only to find causes of chronic ailments, but also to identify a common cause in a seemingly Read more…

Reducing Bullying In Welsh Schools

Education experts are meeting in Cardiff this Friday to look at ways of reducing bullying in Welsh Schools. Bullying and declining social behaviour regularly feature in the news headlines and there are few people who work with children and young people who won’t have experience of the problem. Experts meeting at the one-day conference will look at initiatives that can change values across a whole school.
These include the "Rights, Read more…

Traumatic Memories Weakened Using New Strategy

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 Read more…

Fear Memories Weakened To Put An End To Fear

Until recently, it was assumed that the fear memory could not be deleted. However, Klindt’s team has demonstrated that changes can indeed be effected in the emotional memory of human beings.
Before fear memories are stored in the long-term memory, there is a temporary labile phase. During this phase, protein synthesis takes place that ‘records’ the memories. The traditional idea was that the memory is established after this phase and can, Read more…

Depression Screening Tool Works In Resource Poor Countries

A study published in the February 2009 issue of the Journal of General Internal Medicine reports that a highly reliable depression screening tool known as the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) used across the United States and Europe can be effectively administered in resource poor Africa to HIV/AID Read more…

Beta-Blocker Erases Bad Memories

A generic beta-blocker normally used to control blood pressure could one day be used to treat anxiety and phobia by erasing bad memories,
according to a new Dutch study.
The research was the work of Dr Merel Kindt, a professor in the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences - Clinical Psychology at the University of
Amsterdam and other Read more…

Avamys A New Nasal Spray For Allergic Rhinitis To Ease Both Nose And Eye Symptoms In An Award Winning Device

Avamys (fluticasone furoate), a new intranasal steroid (INS) manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), launches in the UK today. In clinical trials, Avamys has shown significant improvements in both nasal and ocular symptoms in adult and adolescent patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis (SAR).1 Avamys has also demonstrated improvement in health-related quality of life domains, including eye and sleep related improvements.2
Over Read more…

New Study Evaluates Role Of Clinic Environment In Health-care Disparities

A study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine may shed new light on why minority Americans have poorer health outcomes from chronic conditions such as hypertension, heart disease and diabetes.
Researchers found that clinics serving higher proportions of these minority patients tend to have more challenging work environments and organizational characteristics.
"Unfavorable patient and physician Read more…

Rexahn Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Initiates Clinical Trial Of SerdaxinTM To Treat Depression

Rexahn Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE Alternext US: RNN), a leader in development of innovative therapeutics for life-threatening and life-debilitating diseases, announced today that it has initiated a Phase IIa clinical trial for SerdaxinTM, for the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD). The Serdaxin Phase IIa study calls for the recruitment of up to 100 patients to evaluate its preliminary efficacy in treating Read more…

Men in 40’s with erectile dysfunction at double risk of heart disease

Men who experience erectile dysfunction between the ages of 40 and 49 are twice as likely to develop heart disease than men without dysfunction, according to a new Mayo Clinic study.
Researchers also found that men with erectile dysfunction have an 80 percent higher risk of heart disease.
"The highest risk for coronary heart disease was in younger men," says researcher Jennifer St. Read more…

ASPS Twins Study Finds Environmental Factors Trump Genetics In Facial Aging

Your mother’s wrinkles - or lack there of, may not be the best predictor of how you’ll age. In fact, a new study claims just the opposite. The study, involving identical twins, suggests that despite genetic make-up, certain environmental factors can add years to a person’s perceived age. Results just published on the web-based version of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery®, the official medical journal of the American Society Read more…

Possible Link Between Teen Smoking And Adult Depression

Teenagers who smoke could be setting themselves up for depression later in life, according to a groundbreaking new Florida State University study.
Psychology Professor Carlos Bolanos and a team of researchers found that nicotine given to adolescent rats induced a depression-like state characterized by a lack of pleasure and heightened sensitivity to stress in their adult lives. The findings, published online in Read more…

Ligand Announces Phase IIb Results With DARA

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) (the "Company" or "Ligand") announced positive preliminary results from the Phase IIb study for PS433540, the first-in-class Dual Acting Receptor Agonist (DARA) that targets the angiotensin and endothelin receptors.
The 261-patient, randomized, double-blind, placebo- and active-controlled study evaluated safety and efficacy at three different Read more…

Genetics Is The Most Important Factor In Explaining The Link Between Sleep Problems Early In Life And The Later Development Of Depression

A study in the Feb. 1 issue of the journal SLEEP was the first to use twin data to examine the longitudinal link between sleep problems and depression. Results of this study demonstrate that sleep problems predict later depression; the converse association was not found. These findings are consistent with the theory that early treatment of sleep problems may protect children from the development of depression.
Results of the study indicate that the Read more…

Researchers May Have Found Why Women Have An Edge On Salt-Sensitive Hypertension

Researchers may have found why women have an edge in keeping a healthier balance between the amount of salt they eat and excrete - at least before reaching menopause.
Premenopausal women are known to have fewer problems with salt-sensitive hypertension and hypertension in general, but afterward their risks are essentially the same as men, says Dr. David Pollock, renal physiologist in the Vascular Biology Center Read more…

Boys Benefit From Better Physical Self-Concept

A PhD thesis defended at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) has investigated the relationship between adolescents’ perception of their physical qualities and their psychological well-being and unwellness.
Self-concept may be defined as the totality of perceptions that each person has of themselves, and this self identity plays an important role in the psychological functioning of everyone. To Read more…

Mothers With Hypertension Or Diabetes Up To Six Times More Likely To Deliver Preterm

In 2006-2007, more than 54,000 babies across Canada were born preterm or small for their gestational age (SGA), according to new analysis from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI). This represents one in seven Canadian births.
During the year studied, the Canadian preterm birth rate (born before 37 weeks gestation) was 8.1%, or almost 29,000 births, up from around 6.6%i in the early 1990s. The rate of small for gestational age births (babies Read more…

Assessing The Real Risk Of Heart Disease In Young People With Low Short-Term Risks

Risk stratification has become central to strategies for the prevention of coronary heart disease, with the implication that priority is given to those at highest risk (ie, those with established heart disease). However, such stratification using the conventional risk estimation models may not be accurately achieved in individuals without symptoms, especially those in younger age groups whose 10-year "short-term" estimated risk seems low.
For Read more…

Children And Teens Should Be Helped To Deal With Stress In An Uncertain Time

As families across the country face losses of nest eggs, homes or jobs, their young children and teens need emotional support.
Child psychologist Michele C. generic lexapro online buy Thorne, Ph.D., assistant professor of clinical psychology at the Indiana University School of Medicine and clinical director of the Consult Liaison Service at Riley Hospital for Children, says that Read more…

Early Childhood Stress Has Lingering Effects On Health

Generic zithromax pills no prescription Stressful experiences in early childhood can have long-lasting impacts on kids’ health that persist well beyond the resolution of the situation.
The conclusion comes from a study revealing impaired immune function in adolescents who, as youngsters, experienced either physical abuse or time in an orphanage, when compared to peers who never experienced such Read more…

Greater Risk Of Blood Pressure Disorders During Pregnancy In Rural Areas

Several factors, such as older age and high weight gain, are known risk factors for pre-eclampsia and other pregnancy-related blood pressure disorders. Now a new report suggests that social factors - including living in a rural county - may also increase the risk of pre-eclampsia and pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH), according to research presented Read more…