Conditions

In a news conference Tuesday at the White House, First Lady Michelle Obama introduced a national effort to combat childhood obesity called The Let’s Move Campaign. The program will focus on what families, communities, and the public and private sectors can do to help fight childhood obesity.

Consuming a Mediterranean diet is now found to reduce the risk of brain damage and memory loss. Small areas of infarcts in the brain that occur with age less frequently found in individuals who more closely followed a Mediterranean diet in new findings from the American Academy of Neurology.

According to a ten-year exhaustive study of all births in the state of California during the 1990’s, UC Davis Health System researchers have found that advanced maternal age, defined as pregnancy after the age of 35, is linked to a significantly greater risk of having a child with autism.

The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research announced February 4, 2010 that it will award more than $2.8 million for 13 new projects to speed the discovery of biomarkers of Parkinson’s Disease (PD).

Trichloroethylene (TCE), a once-popular industrial solvent used in dry cleaning and as a grease-cleaner for metal, has been linked to an increased risk of Parkinson’s disease, according to a new study that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s annual meeting in April.

New researchers show that individual who consume two or more soft drinks per week may have double the risk of developing cancer of the pancreas compared to those who did not consume the drinks. Several factors are thought to contribute to the risk of pancreatic cancer from consuming soft drinks.

Researchers have found that elderly women with gout, a common inflammation of the joints, are at a greater risk of heart attack than men with the disease. The study will be published online February 8, 2010 in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.

Cardiac Science is initiating a worldwide voluntary recall of approximately 12,200 automated external defibrillators (AEDs) that may not be able to deliver therapy during a resuscitation attempt. The FDA has been notified.

In today's Super Bowl pre-game specials, ESPN presented a moving story about New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees and his top fan Micah Roshell, who is battling Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Scientists using sophisticated technology find that understanding the role of cholesterol and heart attack is complicated. Contrary to past beliefs that lowering cholesterol alone can prevent heart disease and heart attack, scientists now find that an entire network of immune cells gone awry contributes to heart disease.