Studies and Analyses

The results of a study presented today at the American College of Cardiology’s 53rd Scientific Sessions in New Orleans concludes that coronary aneurysms — regardless of size — are associated with a increased risk of death over a five year period and should be aggressively monitored.

The University of Chicago Hospitals and Emory Heart Center researchers studied the records of 32,372 patients undergoing coronary angiography at Emory University Hospitals in Atlanta between 1995 and 2003

Depression is a recognized risk factor for coronary heart disease (CHD) and, by studying pairs of twins, researchers from Emory and Yale believe they have found a mechanism that explains this link. In research announced today at the American College of Cardiology’s 53rd Scientific Sessions in New Orleans, the scientists say they found a decrease in heart rate variability (HRV) in those twins who were depressed as compared to their non-depressed siblings.

The scientists studied 50 pairs

Since the approval of a vaccine against pneumococcal bacteria for young children in 2000, there has not only been a drop in the incidence of severe disease caused these bacteria in children but also a significant decline in the disease in adults. Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report their results today in two studies at the International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases.

“We were pretty confident when we recommended this vaccine for children it wo

Infection with bacteria that can cause peptic ulcers and distal stomach cancer may be associated with a reduced risk of a type of esophageal cancer called adenocarcinoma, according to a study in the March 3 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. However, that same study found that people infected with the bacteria, called Helicobacter pylori, who also had gastric atrophy, or “wasting” of the mucous membrane that lines the stomach, were at an increased risk of another type of esophagea

Pups of female rats exposed to a combination of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and methylmercury (MeHg) slip and fall more often trying to maneuver on a rotating rod than do pups from non-exposed moms, scientists say.

The findings, published in the February issue of the journal Toxicological Sciences, come from a study focusing on the effects of combined exposure of the two commonly found environmental contaminants on motor function driven by the cerebellum.

“Because people are

Where is the evidence that animal research benefits humans? (BMJ Vol 328)

Much animal research into potential human treatments is wasted because it is poorly conducted and not thoroughly evaluated, argue leading doctors in this week’s BMJ.
They call for urgent, formal reviews of existing animal research.

They identified six comprehensive reviews of animal experiments from the scientific literature. All six highlighted deficiencies in the contribution that animal re