New treatment for stroke works up to a day after symptoms start
People treated with the drug minocycline within six to 24 hours after a stroke had significantly fewer disabilities, according to a study published in the October 2, 2007, issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Researchers say minocycline may be an alternative treatment for stroke because current treatments only work during the first few hours after the onset of symptoms, and many people don’t get to the hospital in time to be treated.
For the study, 152 men and women received either an oral dose of minocycline or placebo for five days following stroke. People who received minocycline were treated an average of 13 hours after stroke compared to 12 hours for the placebo group. Researchers followed both groups for three months.
Increasing young adult smoking linked to smoking in movies
Do young adults learn behaviors from movies? In a paper published in the November issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, examined the relationship between young adults (age 18-25) observing smoking in movies and the likelihood of starting to smoke. They found that more exposure to smoking in movies was significantly associated with young adults beginning to smoke or becoming established smokers.
After falling for several decades, the incidence of smoking in movies started increasing around 1990 and, by 2000 was comparable to 1950 levels. Young adulthood is the time when most adolescent experimenters either transition to regular use or stop smoking.
Fetal cell ‘transplant’ could be a hidden link between childbirth and reduced risk of breast cancer
Some benefits of motherhood are intangible, but one has been validated through biostatistical research: women who bear children have a reduced risk of developing breast cancer. In Seattle, Washington, researchers at the University of Washington and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center believe they have identified a source of this protective effect: fetal cells “transplanted” to the mother before birth.
Their findings are presented in the October 1 issue of Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
“Huffing” Linked With Suicidal Behavior in Incarcerated Teens
Inhaling, or “huffing,” the vapors of common household solvents strongly correlates with suicidal thoughts and behavior among adolescents.
That’s what researchers found in a study of 723 incarcerated youth--the first work to categorize inhalant use into levels of severity and relate this to suicidal ideas and suicide attempts in incarcerated juveniles. It is also one of the few studies to examine gender differences involved.
