Allergic asthma is a chronic respiratory disease that affects 300 million people throughout the world. The number of people suffering from asthma has doubled over the last ten years and almost 250, 000 people die prematurely from this problem each year. In most cases, asthma is caused by an abnormal reaction to substances in the environment known as allergens.

Alcoholism can disrupt memory functioning well before incurring the profound amnesia of Korsakoff’s syndrome. For example, associative memory – used in remembering face-name associations – can be impaired in alcoholics.

According to new research conducted at Oregon Health & Science University, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is more than one disorder. It’s an entire family of disorders, much like the multiple subtypes of cancer.

Heart failure patients who take testosterone supplements may find they breathe better and are able to do more exercise, researchers from the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, reported in Circulation Heart Failure. The authors had gathered data on four randomized human studies of patients with moderate-to-severe chronic heart failure. They had been administered testosterone supplements by gel, patch or injection.

Some people quit smoking on the first try while others have to quit repeatedly. Using such mobile technology as hand-held computers and smartphones, a team of researchers from Penn State and the University of Pittsburgh is trying to find out why.

In the first experiment of its kind to test the suggestion that hookworm infection can reduce some allergic responses, a UK doctor who specializes in medical entomology, infected himself with the parasite and then swallowed a pill camera to film the effect on his intestines.

Researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have found that over 33.3% of individuals suffering from invasive cancer do not receive sufficient pain medication, with minorities twice as likely not to receive analgesics. Published in Journal of Clinical Oncology, the study is the largest prospective assessment ever conducted in an outpatient setting regarding cancer pain and related symptoms. This first comprehensive study to examine the adequacy of pain management in cancer care was published nearly two decades ago by Charles Cleeland, Ph.D.

Stress wreaks havoc on the mind and body. For example, psychological stress is associated with greater risk for depression, heart disease and infectious diseases. But, until now, it has not been clear exactly how stress influences disease and health.

A new evaluation by London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine of the physical rehabilitation response after the 2010 Haiti earthquake, finds that many hands didn’t always make light work. Thousands of people became disabled during and after the 2010 earthquake, and physical rehabilitation interventions were crucial to the emergency response.

According to new research from Concordia University, the University de Montreal and HEC Montreal, staying in an organization out of a sense of obligation or for lack of alternatives can lead to emotional exhaustion, a chronic state of physical and mental depletion resulting from continuous stress and excessive job demands.

The image of the drunk artist or author is a common one, and many creative people struggle with alcohol and drug problems during their lives; in some cases in spite of tremendous financial and popular success.

Study is first to compare clinical outcomes after placing stents in those with and without a history of skin allergy to stent metal components.  Cardiologists have long grappled with how to best manage patients with coronary artery disease who report skin hypersensitivity to nickel or other metal components found in stents — small tubes placed in narrowed or weakened arteries to help improve blood flow to the heart. But new Mayo Clinic research, published in the April 16, 2012, issue of Circulation: Cardiovascular Interventions, may help allay these concerns.

In the April 16 issue of Circulation: Cardiovascular Interventions, a study conducted by researchers at Mayo Clinic, reveals that coronary stents are not harmful to patients with coronary artery disease, who are allergic to nickle or other metal components. Coronary stents are small tubes inserted into narrowed or weakened arteries in order to help improve blood flow to the heart.

Researchers have turned up a new clue to the workings of a possible environmental factor in autism spectrum disorders (ASDs): fathers were four times more likely than mothers to transmit tiny, spontaneous mutations to their children with the disorders. Moreover, the number of such transmitted genetic glitches increased with paternal age.

University of Washington researchers announced their findings from a major study looking into the genetic basis of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) with an approach piloted at the UW. Their results are reported in the advanced online edition of the journal Nature.