MONDAY, Feb. 16 (HealthDay News) — People with a family history of melanoma are twice as likely to develop Parkinson’s disease, a new study finds.
While the reasons for this association are not clear, other studies have shown that people with Parkinson’s diseases are at greater risk for developing melanoma.
“For people with a family member with melanoma, they may be at risk for Parkinson’s disease,” said lead researcher Dr. Xiang Gao, an instructor Read the rest of this entry »

“Tesofensine produces a weight loss of approximately 10 percent more than placebo and diet in obese patients,” said lead researcher Dr. Arne Astrup, from the Department of Human Nutrition, Faculty of Life Sciences, at the University of Copenhagen. Other drugs produce only about 5 percent weight loss, Astrup noted.
This drug could replace the need for gastric bypass surgery in some obese patients. “There is an enormous gap between the existing weight-loss Read the rest of this entry »

iTMP Technology announced the launch of SMHEART LINK, a new technology that aims to bring “unparalleled health and fitness capabilities to Apple (
) iPhone and iPod touch users” and which allows iPhone to double as a heart monitor and fitness tracking system.
SMHEART LINK is a wireless bridge that collects data from distributed health and fitness sensors such as heart rate monitors and cycling sensors and sends it to the iPhone via Read the rest of this entry »

ANN ARBOR, Mich., Dec. 23 (UPI) — A study finds U.S. women doubled their fruit and vegetable intake by switching to a Mediterranean diet.
The University of Michigan Health System study, published in Journal of the American Dietetic Association, found the women on the Mediterranean diet plan increased their consumption of monounsaturated “good” fats such as olive oil.
The six-month study divided 69 women into two groups. In one group, registered Read the rest of this entry »

The latest generation of antipsychotic medications used in the treatment of conditions such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder doubles the risk for patients to suffer sudden cardiac death when compared to those not taking the drugs. A new study has found that these newer antipsychotic drugs are no safer for use in patient therapy than the medications they have essentially replaced. The results of the analysis can be found in the
New England Journal Read the rest of this entry »

“Tesofensine produces a weight loss of approximately 10 percent more than placebo and diet in obese patients,” said lead researcher Dr. Arne Astrup, from the Department of Human Nutrition, Faculty of Life Sciences, at the University of Copenhagen. Other drugs produce only about 5 percent weight loss, Astrup noted.
This drug could replace the need for gastric bypass surgery in some obese patients. “There is an enormous gap between the existing weight-loss Read the rest of this entry »

CEO Dale Jenkins attributed the decline to an $8.9 million loss realized from the sale of investments, principally Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac preferred shares, whose value collapsed after the federal government seized the mortgage giants.
In 2007 Medical Mutual realized a $1.4 million gain on investments.
So how can Medical Mutual pay a larger distribution when its profit is down? Last year the company paid off its $10 million debt, so it won’t Read the rest of this entry »

For women, switching over to the traditional Mediterranean diet, can almost double their fruit and vegetable intakes and dramatically increase their consumption of “good” fats, according to a new study.
During the study, 69 women were divided into two groups. In one group, registered dieticians used an “exchange list” of foods that are common in a Mediterranean diet to make a plan for each participant.
The new plan maintained Read the rest of this entry »

will open an expanded emergency department Oct. 14, the last step in a $60 million project that included renovations to 95 percent of the building.
To shorten patient wait times and meet the needs of the expanding population, the Warrenton, Va., hospital doubled the size of the emergency department to 25,660 square feet.
The expansion created 13 more private patient rooms, for a total of 33 in the department, and added more physicians and clinical Read the rest of this entry »

An anti-obesity drug vastly outperforms currently available rivals, early trials suggest.
Danish tests of tesofensine, reported in The Lancet, found dieting patients on the highest doses lost up to 12.8kg (28.2lbs) in six months.
This is twice the level achieved by drugs such as sibutramine and rimonabant.
But UK experts warned that more trials were needed, and expressed concerned the results may have been hyped.
Tesofensine first came Read the rest of this entry »