Categories
Cardiovascular
Diagnostics
Endocrinology
Health Insurance
Medical Devices
Mental Health
Nutrition
Oncology
Public Health
Sexual Health
Popular Articles

Better Outcomes With Computer Aided Surgery - High Costs As An Obstacle To Broad Use
There are many indications that computer aided surgery has a major role to play in improving results in orthopaedic surgery, says Dr. Stefano Zaffagnini, who has played a pioneering role in the use of this technology and who moderates a symposium on this theme at the Congress of the European Federation of National Associations of Orthopaedics and Traumatology (EFORT), taking place from June 3 to 6 in Vienna, with more than 8,000 participants from around the world. This technology should allow total knee prosthesis using minimally invasive surgery to become a standard procedure within a decade. Osteotomy and hip operations are only two of the many other fields where computer aided surgery can also markedly improve results for patients, experts state at the EFFORT Congress in Vienna.

New Cases Of Alzheimer's And Dementia Continue To Rise, Even In The 'Oldest Old'
The number of people with Alzheimer"s and dementia - both new cases and
News of the day
Survivors Of Childhood Central Nervous System Cancer Face Persistent Risks As Adults
Long-term survivors of childhood central nervous system (CNS) malignancies remain at risk for death and are at increasing risk for developing subsequent cancers and chronic medical conditions over time, according to a new study published online June 17 in the JNCI.
Endocrinology

Obesity In Pregnancy Increases Risk Of Asthma In Offspring

Babies born to obese mothers may have an increased risk of asthma, according to data from a new study to be presented on May 19 at the 105th International Conference of the American Thoracic Society in San Diego. "Obesity is not a neutral state; adipose tissue is an active producer of pro-inflammatory cytokines, while it also suppresses the action of anti-inflammatory cytokines," said Jet Smit, Ph.D., of the National Institute of Public Health and the Environment in the Netherlands. "Therefore, when you have an obese person, you are not just looking at a problem of excess fat, but a problem of systemic inflammation. This may affect the immunological and pulmonary development in the fetus and possibly result in a higher risk of asthma symptoms after birth." To determine whether the presence of these pro-inflammatory factors in overweight mothers did, in fact, put their children at a greater risk of developing asthma, Dr. Smit and colleagues analyzed data from nearly 4,000 children of the Prevention and Incidence of Asthma and Mite Allergy (PIAMA) birth cohort for evidence of asthma. The children were included prenatally and followed up yearly until the age of eight years. Asthma was defined as at least one episode of wheeze and/or dyspnea and/or a prescription for inhaled corticosteroids in the last year. Maternal body mass index (BMI) of greater than 25 kg/m2 was considered overweight. More than one in five mothers (20.9 percent) were overweight. In children who had at least one asthmatic parent, maternal obesity increased their risk of having asthma at age eight by 65 percent over children of asthmatic parents whose mothers were not overweight. This was true irrespective of confounding factors, such as birth weight and the child"s BMI. "This suggests that children of overweight mothers are exposed to increased levels of pro-inflammatory factors during fetal life, and may have a much greater risk for developing asthma than similar children whose mothers were not overweight," said Dr. Smit. "These findings suggest that there are multiple benefits to maintaining - or in some cases attaining - a healthy body weight. In women of child-bearing age, it may not just be a benefit to their health, but to their offspring as well," said Dr. Smit. Keely Savoie American Thoracic Society


Add your comment:
Name:
Site address: http://
Your message:
Enter today\\\\'s date, 2 digits
(spam protection):

© Copyright 2009