Air pollution linked to heart attacks and strokes due to hardening of arteries

Air pollution and hardening of arteries — Long term exposure to air pollution may be linked to heart attacks and strokes by speeding up atherosclerosis – Long term exposure to air pollution may be linked to heart attacks and strokes by speeding up atherosclerosis, or “hardening of the arteries”. The researchers found that higher concentrations of fine particulate air pollution (PM2.5) were linked to a faster thickening of the inner two layers of the common carotid artery, an important blood vessel that provides blood to the head, neck, and brain.

Vitamin D may reduce uterine fibroid risk in women

Vitamin D may reduce risk of uterine fibroids, according to NIH study – Women who had sufficient amounts of vitamin D were 32 percent less likely to develop fibroids than women with insufficient vitamin D, revealed researchers. Fibroids, also known as uterine leiomyomata, are noncancerous tumors of the uterus.

Low cost antenatal ultrasound imaging possible now

Low cost design makes ultrasound imaging affordable to the world – An ultra-low cost scanner that can be plugged into any computer or laptop to reveal vital information about the unborn child has been developed by engineers at Newcastle University, UK.

New technique for screening breast cancer using ultrasound

New screening technique could provide more reliable breast cancer detection — Initial tests show promising results of new ultrasonic screening technique – Scientists have successfully completed an initial trial of a new, potentially more reliable, technique for screening breast cancer using ultrasound. The team at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), the UK’s National Measurement Institute, working with the University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust, are now looking to develop the technique into a clinical device.

Breast cancer funding restored by Komen Foundation to Planned Parenthood

Komen Foundation Restores Funding for Breast Cancer Screenings at Planned Parenthood Health Centers – The Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation reversed its decision and continues to fund breast cancer screenings at Planned Parenthood health centers. The outpouring of support online for Planned Parenthood and women in need of breast cancer screenings has been nothing short of astonishing, and because of it, the Planned Parenthood Breast Health Fund has received more than $3 million from thousands of people across the country in only three days.

Financial reimbursement increases cardiac stress tests in patients

Cardiac stress imaging more frequent among patients whose physicians provide, bill for procedures – Financial reimbursement and ownership of cardiac imaging equipment appears to influence physicians’ use of cardiac stress testing. The study finds that doctors who are reimbursed for both performing the test using their equipment and then interpreting the results were 50 to 100 percent more likely to order cardiac imaging tests on their patients than those who don’t bill the fees.

CCSVI role in multiple sclerosis seems to be controversial

Some link between CCSVI and MS but quality of evidence prevents definitive conclusion – Chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI) appears to be more common in people with multiple sclerosis than in people without the condition, states a review of published studies in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).However, there are not enough high-quality studies to allow definitive conclusions.

Le Bonheur surgeons separated rare conjoined pygopagus twins

Le Bonheur Surgeons Successfully Separate Rare Conjoined Twins — Most complex surgery in hospital history – Doctors at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital successfully separated conjoined twins, Joshua and Jacob Spates, on Monday, Aug_29. The Spates family is from Memphis. Conjoined twins are identical twins whose bodies do not fully separate in utero. A rare phenomenon, conjoined twins occurs in approximately one in 100,000 births.

New blood test can detect fetus gender in early pregnancy

Tests that use DNA from mother?s blood to determine sex of fetus often effective – A boy or a girl baby. Parents-to-be wishing to know the gender of their unborn baby can usually find out during a routine ultrasound performed around 20 weeks of pregnancy. Now, new technology can tell pregnant women whether they are having a boy or a girl as early as seven weeks into a pregnancy. Scientists have been making rapid progress in identifying foetal DNA in the mother’s blood to predict fetus gender.

Facial wrinkles may predict bone density in early menopause

Severity of facial wrinkles may predict bone density in early menopause – In postmenopausal women the appearance of the skin may offer a glimpse of the skeletal well-being, a relationship not previously described, said Lubna Pal, MD, a reproductive endocrinologist and associate professor at Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Conn. The worse a woman’s skin wrinkles are during the first few years of menopause, the lower her bone density is.

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