News Brief
(Editor’s Note: The Associated Press story link below provides you with an excellent round-up of the research findings on night work and its association with an increase in a number of cancers, including the latest study.
“The higher cancer rates don’t prove working overnight can cause cancer. There may be other factors common among […]

News Brief 
In its continuing series on the six leading “killer diseases,” The New York Times Health Section reported today on smoking and lung disease among women.
The story says that patients often go untreated or undertreated because of the stigma associated with smoking, say experts quoted. While lung disease is not curable, it definitely is treatable—-recommended treatments are […]

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The New York Times Magazine 
Read how pharmaceutical companies target your doctors to influence what they prescribe for you in this article, “Dr. Drug Rep.”
In this candid, reflective first-person account, psychiatrist Daniel Carlat—who specializes in managing psychiatric medications—takes the reader from the moment of his recruitment by Big Pharma to the end of his “Dr. Drug Rep” […]

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An American best-seller, Emotional Intelligence, defined another kind of smart. 
While the world eyes China’s power, present and future, it appears that, at least for some of its youngest, best educated and most affluent adults, these twenty-somethings may not have the emotional intelligence of their ancestors, who placed their families at the center of their lives.
Reuter’s has a fascinating glimpse into the lives […]

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Slightly more than one-third of America’s children live in a home with a smoker, says a researcher—-and his team’s new findings may end any smoker’s claim, “But I’m not hurting anybody but myself.”
Medical News Today reported on this new study which shows how passive, or second-hand, smoke damages the lungs of people who are […]

News Brief
While wrong-sided surgery is considered rare, it is not rare if it happens to you or someone you care about.
You can play a major role in preventing this from happening to you.
Here are some simple but important tips from the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations.
Tips To Prevent Wrong-Side Surgery
Other useful […]

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Forbes.com reports that researchers have developed criteria to help doctors predict the likelihood that women will sustain a hip fracture. The model is designed to predict fractures within a five-year timeframe.
From Forbes:
The algorithm includes 11 different factors — such as age and family history — and applies to postmenopausal women of different ethnic backgrounds.
“Knowing […]

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A review of recent Canadian research suggests that pet scans could prove to be beneficial for lung-cancer patients, according to HealthDay.
“Tumor imaging is frequently used to diagnose lung cancer and to make treatment decisions. Imaging technologies such as MRI and CT detect anatomical changes, while PET is based on biochemical processes that may […]

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According to a new report in Nature Magazine, an international team of researchers has discovered the mechanism that causes tumors to enter long periods of dormancy and that scientists will now seek methods for inducing dormancy in tumors.
“A multinational team of researchers has found the immune system can stop the growth of a cancerous […]

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Few things are more painful — and emotionally taxing — as dealing with a loved one who is suffering from dementia. A new Health Alert from Johns Hopkins offers tips for dealing with two of the most common behaviors of people suffering from Alzheimer’s and similar diseases:
1. When the patient asks the same question […]