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Las Vegas, Nevada - Seventy-seven more people who were treated at a Las Vegas outpatient clinic have been diagnosed with hepatitis C, health officials said.
Depressed people may have far fewer of the receptors for some of the brain's "feel good" stress-response chemicals than non-depressed people, new University of Michigan Depression Center research shows. Scans show untreated depressed people have fewer serotonin and opioid receptors, and that variation is linked to symptoms and treatment response.
And even among depressed people, the numbers of these receptors can vary greatly. What's more, the number of receptors a depressed person has appears to be linked with the severity of their symptoms - and the chances that they'll feel better after taking a medication.
These preliminary findings, presented Tuesday at the American Psychiatric Association's annual meeting in Washington, D.C., amplify a growing understanding of depression as a condition that affects different people in different ways, and is solidly rooted in genetic and molecular factors that are unique to each individual.
The lead U-M researcher, Jon-Kar Zubieta, M.D., Ph.D., says these new results bolster what other researchers have been finding in recent years.
And even among depressed people, the numbers of these receptors can vary greatly. What's more, the number of receptors a depressed person has appears to be linked with the severity of their symptoms - and the chances that they'll feel better after taking a medication.
These preliminary findings, presented Tuesday at the American Psychiatric Association's annual meeting in Washington, D.C., amplify a growing understanding of depression as a condition that affects different people in different ways, and is solidly rooted in genetic and molecular factors that are unique to each individual.
The lead U-M researcher, Jon-Kar Zubieta, M.D., Ph.D., says these new results bolster what other researchers have been finding in recent years.
A team of McGill University scientists has discovered important differences between the brains of suicide victims and so-called normal brains. Although the genetic sequence was identical in the suicide and non-suicide brains, there were differences in their epigenetic marking - a chemical coating influenced by environmental factors.
All of the 13 suicide victims in the study had experienced abuse as children.
"It's possible the changes in epigenetic markers were caused by the exposure to childhood abuse, although in humans it's difficult to establish causality between early childhood and epigenetic markers, in the way we have established this in animal subjects," said Moshe Szyf, a professor in McGill's Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics. "The big remaining questions are whether scientists could detect similar changes in blood DNA - which could lead to diagnostic tests - and whether we could design interventions to erase these differences in epigenetic markings".
All of the 13 suicide victims in the study had experienced abuse as children.
"It's possible the changes in epigenetic markers were caused by the exposure to childhood abuse, although in humans it's difficult to establish causality between early childhood and epigenetic markers, in the way we have established this in animal subjects," said Moshe Szyf, a professor in McGill's Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics. "The big remaining questions are whether scientists could detect similar changes in blood DNA - which could lead to diagnostic tests - and whether we could design interventions to erase these differences in epigenetic markings".
British research into Steno, one the most recent "superbugs" to claim lives, reveals that the bacterium has an incredible ability to resist antibiotics and other drugs, according to soon-to-be-published findings.
Steno, short for Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, thrives in moist environments, such as around taps and shower heads, and can be transmitted to people. It is responsible for roughly 1,000 cases of Steno blood poisoning in the U.K. annually. About 30 percent of these infections prove fatal.
"This is the latest in an ever-increasing list of antibiotic-resistant hospital superbugs. The degree of resistance it shows is very worrying," study senior author Dr. Matthew Avison, of the University of Bristol, said in a prepared statement. "Strains are now emerging that are resistant to all available antibiotics, and no new drugs capable of combating these pan-resistant strains are currently in development."
Steno, short for Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, thrives in moist environments, such as around taps and shower heads, and can be transmitted to people. It is responsible for roughly 1,000 cases of Steno blood poisoning in the U.K. annually. About 30 percent of these infections prove fatal.
"This is the latest in an ever-increasing list of antibiotic-resistant hospital superbugs. The degree of resistance it shows is very worrying," study senior author Dr. Matthew Avison, of the University of Bristol, said in a prepared statement. "Strains are now emerging that are resistant to all available antibiotics, and no new drugs capable of combating these pan-resistant strains are currently in development."
TORONTO/OTTAWA - One person died and about 280 were placed in quarantine aboard a cross-Canada train on Friday after a mystery illness caused violent flu-like symptoms.
Police spokesman Marc Depatie told CTV television that seven passengers who boarded the VIA Rail train in the Rocky Mountain resort of Jasper, Alberta, had fallen ill, and one, a 60-year-old woman, had died. Another passenger had been airlifted to hospital.
Police spokesman Marc Depatie told CTV television that seven passengers who boarded the VIA Rail train in the Rocky Mountain resort of Jasper, Alberta, had fallen ill, and one, a 60-year-old woman, had died. Another passenger had been airlifted to hospital.
In the online version of the International Journal of Cancer, Dr. Sara Strom and associates evaluate the association between saturated fat intake and biochemical failure among men who underwent radical prostatectomy (RP).
A cohort of 390 patients who underwent radical prostatectomy at MD Anderson Cancer Center had a semi-quantitative validated Block food frequency questionnaire modified to their regional diets and completed for the year prior to the diagnosis of prostate cancer. Body mass index (BMI) was also calculated. Clinical and pathological data were abstracted from medical records. Categorical and continual variables were analyzed.
Men who consumed high saturated fat diets (HSF) were younger and had higher BMIs at diagnosis than men with who consumed low saturated fat diets (LSF). There were no statistically significant differences in clinico-pathologic characteristics, family history of prostate cancer, education, history of diabetes or physical activity between the 2 groups. Men on HSF diets also consumed more total calories that men on LSF diets. Saturated fats were most commonly consumed as beef steaks, cheese and cheese spreads, hamburgers and cheeseburgers, eggs, ice cream and salad dressings.
A cohort of 390 patients who underwent radical prostatectomy at MD Anderson Cancer Center had a semi-quantitative validated Block food frequency questionnaire modified to their regional diets and completed for the year prior to the diagnosis of prostate cancer. Body mass index (BMI) was also calculated. Clinical and pathological data were abstracted from medical records. Categorical and continual variables were analyzed.
Men who consumed high saturated fat diets (HSF) were younger and had higher BMIs at diagnosis than men with who consumed low saturated fat diets (LSF). There were no statistically significant differences in clinico-pathologic characteristics, family history of prostate cancer, education, history of diabetes or physical activity between the 2 groups. Men on HSF diets also consumed more total calories that men on LSF diets. Saturated fats were most commonly consumed as beef steaks, cheese and cheese spreads, hamburgers and cheeseburgers, eggs, ice cream and salad dressings.
The number of people who fainted after getting vaccines doubled after U.S. health officials recommended three new shots for adolescents in 2005 and 2006.
The number of people ages 5 and older who fainted after getting a vaccination increased to 463 in January 2005 through July 2007, from 203 during a similar period ending in 2004, according to a report today by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The number of people ages 5 and older who fainted after getting a vaccination increased to 463 in January 2005 through July 2007, from 203 during a similar period ending in 2004, according to a report today by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Just two days after the Philadelphia-based pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. Inc. reported that first quarter 2008 earnings had soared on a special $2.2 billion pretax gain from a limited partnership with AstraZeneca, federal inspectors reported finding 49 "areas of concern" involving contamination of Merck's products, including children's vaccines.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which spent 30 days at the company's plants between November 2007 and January 2008, issued a 21-page report suggesting the problems "could be a symptom of Merck's cost cutting in the face of rapid growth of its vaccine business."
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which spent 30 days at the company's plants between November 2007 and January 2008, issued a 21-page report suggesting the problems "could be a symptom of Merck's cost cutting in the face of rapid growth of its vaccine business."
Climate change is the latest threat to the world's growing HIV epidemic, say Australian experts who warn of the "grim" outlook in the fight against the infectious disease.
Comment: Professor Cooper faulty offers circumcision as a preventative measure against Aids, as the evidence reveal.
Cases of scarlet fever in Scotland have soared to the highest level in a decade.
So far this year, 383 people have been diagnosed with the illness - three times more than the same period in 2007.
So far this year, 383 people have been diagnosed with the illness - three times more than the same period in 2007.
Comment: Another deadly mystery illness has already killed at least 26 children in China; while a month ago there was another mystery outbreak in the University of Denver.