Studies and Analyses

A new analysis shows the drug finasteride will save lives if given to men to prevent prostate cancer. Published in the April 1, 2005 issue of CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the new analysis of data from the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial (PCPT), says that any possible increase in the incidence of higher-grade tumors would be more than offset by an overall reduction in the number of prostate cancer cases in the general population.

The recent resul

The degree to which city people walk or ride bicycles for their daily transportation needs depends largely on how much green space there is, says a new study that examines the role of urban design in physical fitness.

“Because engaging in moderate physical activity such as walking or bicycling can improve health outcomes, understanding strategies that increase these behaviors has become a public health priority,” says Amy Zlot, an epidemiologist with the Oregon Department of Hu

A genetic analysis of viral RNA from 10 heterosexual couples, in which one partner has sexually transmitted HIV to the other, provides the first documentation of some differences in how the virus infects males and females. According to the Hopkins researchers who led the study, this initial research is essential to understanding why these differences occur and for future development of a vaccine or other preventive methods that could stop sexual transmission of HIV-1.

The couples in the

Researchers at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) have been awarded a $1.5 million dollar grant from the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality and the National Institutes of Health to study disease management technologies in patients with heart failure, and patients with both heart failure and diabetes. The principal investigator for the two-site trial is Lee Goldberg, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Medicine and Medical Director of the Heart-Lung Transplant Program.

Women who need treatment for osteoporosis–thinning of the bones–may not be receiving it because their history of fractures is not being considered by physicians, according to a study done in part at the University of Alberta.

Previous fractures indicate that bones are weaker than normal, but the information isn’t being taken into account when treating for osteoporosis, said Dr. Kerry Siminoski, professor of radiology and diagnostic imaging at the University of Alberta.

Findings help explain how cancer cells develop resistance to gefitinib

A new study led by investigators at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) identifies a second mutation in a gene associated with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), a discovery that helps to explain why NSCLC tumors become resistant to treatment with the cancer therapy gefitinib (Iressa).

The findings, which are reported in the February 24, 2005 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine (NE