Author: Marie Benz MD FAAD

Newswise — SEATTLE – Declines in cigarette smoking among Americans since the mid-1950s – particularly since tobacco-control policies and interventions were implemented after the U.S. Surgeon General’s Report on Smoking and Health was released in 1964 – prevented nearly 800,000 lung cancer deaths between 1975 and 2000, according to a...

AURORA, Colo. -- As scientists continue making breakthroughs in personalized cancer treatment, delivering those therapies in the most cost effective manner has become increasingly important. Now researchers at the University of Colorado School of Medicine have identified new ways of doing just that, allowing more patients to benefit from this...

Newswise — 3/9/2012  — A common sexually transmitted bacterial infection more than doubles the risk of HIV infection in African women, according to a study by researchers at RTI International. The study, published in the March 13 issue of AIDS, found that women with the "emerging" sexually transmitted disease Mycoplasma genitalium are more likely to...

The National Institutes of Health has launched two multi-site clinical trials to evaluate treatments for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. One will compare continuous chest compressions (CCC) combined with pause- free rescue breathing to standard cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), which includes a combination of chest compressions and pauses for rescue breathing. The other...

SAN ANTONIO — Despite the benefits, only a small minority of women, regardless of age, are opting for immediate reconstructive breast surgery after undergoing mastectomy for treatment of breast cancer, according to data presented at the 2011 CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, held Dec. 6-10, 2011. Research has shown that...

An independent panel convened this week by the National Institutes of Health has concluded that many men with localized, low-risk prostate cancer should be closely monitored, permitting treatment to be delayed until warranted by disease progression. However, monitoring strategies—such as active surveillance—have not been uniformly studied and available data do...

BOSTON – Prostate cancer screening that combines an adjusted blood test with other factors including the size of the gland, the patient’s overall weight and family history, can help up to one-quarter of men avoid biopsies and the risks associated with them, a Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center-led research team...

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center have discovered two cancer-spurring gene rearrangements that may trigger 5 to 7 percent of all breast cancers. These types of genetic recombinations have previously been linked to blood cancers and rare soft-tissue tumors, but are beginning to be...

People who are alcohol-dependent and who also carry a particular variant of a gene run an increased risk of premature death. This is a recent finding from the interdisciplinary research at the Department of Psychology and the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. Researchers in the longitudinal project Göteborg...

October 25 2011 More patients with ovarian carcinoma carry cancer-predisposing mutations, and in more genes, than previously thought. A rapid experimental method for screening genomes has located mutations in 12 genes for inherited cancers of the ovary, fallopian tubes and peritoneum (the thin tissue lining the lower abdomen). More than one-fifth of ovarian...

Wednesday, October 26, 2011 Contact:NIAAA Press Office 301-443-3860 NIH grant will help translate addiction research into practice A new grant will help establish a core of post-graduate addiction medicine education programs in academic medical centers throughout the United States. The National Infrastructure for Translating Addiction Research into Clinical Practice grant, awarded last month...

Released: 10/18/2011 11:00 AM EDT Source: American College of Surgeons (ACS) New findings show an increase in postmastectomy breast reconstruction, and that TRAM flap reconstruction remains intact with a high degree of patient satisfaction Newswise — SAN FRANCISCO: Until now, studies looking at trends in cancer care have shown that immediate postmastectomy breast...

Released: 10/17/2011 8:00 AM EDT Source: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Newswise — The proportion of children who used a prescribed controller drug to treat their asthma doubled from 29 percent in 1997–1998 to 58 percent in 2007–2008, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare...

Released: 10/10/2011 9:00 AM Source: Thomas Jefferson University Newswise — (PHILADELPHIA) – Beth Moore can now keep up with her children. The suburban Philadelphia mother of two had suffered from allergies and chronic sinusitis since her teens. With age her symptoms became more severe, turning into bronchitis and eventually asthma, diminishing her...

Early detection and diagnosis of open angle glaucoma important so that treatment can be used in the early stages of the disease developing to prevent or avoid further vision loss. Writing in a forthcoming issue of the International Journal of Medical Engineering and Informatics, researchers in the US have analyzed...

A chemical component of the marijuana plant could prevent the onset of pain associated with drugs used in chemo therapy, particularly in breast cancer patients, according to researchers at Temple University's School of Pharmacy. The researchers published their findings, "Cannabidiol Prevents the Development of Cold and Mechanical Allodynia in Paclitaxel-Treated Female...

Treating women with early stage breast cancer with a combination of chemotherapy and the molecularly targeted drug Herceptin significantly increases survival in patients with a specific genetic mutation that results in very aggressive disease, a researcher with UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center reported Wednesday. The study also found that a regimen...