A recent study links thyroid disease with human exposure to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), a persistent organic chemical used in industrial and consumer goods, including nonstick cookware and stain- and water-resistant coatings for carpets and fabrics. Using samples taken via the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s nationally representative National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey [...]

UCSD.edu – Epidemiological studies indicate that being overweight or obese is associated with increased cancer risk. The most dramatic effect of obesity on cancer risk has been noted for a common form of liver cancer called hepatocellular carcinoma or HCC. Modeling the effect of obesity in mice, researchers at the University of California, San Diego [...]

JAMA – Patients with coronary heart disease who had higher omega-3 fatty acids blood levels had an associated lower rate of shortening of telomere length, a chromosome marker of biological aging, raising the possibility that these fatty acids may protect against cellular aging, according to a study in the January 20, 2010 issue of JAMA. [...]

CFAH.org – Addressing tobacco use without judging the user appears to help people quit smoking, especially if a primary care physician uses a form of supportive counseling called “motivational interviewing,” according to a new evidenced-based Cochrane review of studies. The review included data from 14 studies published between 1997 and 2008, with more than 10,000 [...]

Med.UMich.edu – The notion that every patient with an elevated LDL cholesterol should be taking a statin has now been challenged by a new NIH-funded study by the University of Michigan Medical School and VA Ann Arbor Health System. Tailoring treatment to a patient’s overall heart attack risk, by considering all their risk factors, such [...]

UTSouthwestern.edu – Could appendicitis be contagious? And if you “catch” appendicitis, is it necessarily an emergency that demands immediate surgery? Yes and no, according to a new study by UT Southwestern Medical Center surgeons and physicians. The researchers evaluated data over a 36-year period from the National Hospital Discharge Survey and concluded in a paper [...]