Home gym: the benefits of a cross-country ski machine

(HealthDay)—When it comes to both fun and efficiency, cross-country skiing is an exhilarating, high-calorie burner. It’s a lot less expensive than downhill skiing—all you need are the skis and a flat, snowy trail. But you can get the same benefits any time of year with a home Nordic or cross-country ski machine when you work

The DES saga: Death risk high for young women exposed in utero

A letter from three University of Chicago researchers in this week’s New England Journal of Medicine updates a 47-year-old series of reports on the risks of exposure during pregnancy to a supplement, diethylstilbestrol (DES), that was once widely used but since 1971 has been linked to a rare cancer: clear-cell adenocarcinoma of the vagina and

Reproductive markers associated with risk of diabetes

(HealthDay)—Markers of reproductive history, including age of menarche and parity, may be tied to future diabetes risk in women with a body mass index (BMI) ≥25 kg/m², according to a study published in Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism. Nirmala Pandeya, Ph.D., from the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, and colleagues used data from 126,721 middle-aged

Simple drug packaging change could save toddlers’ lives

(HealthDay)—As America’s opioid crisis continues, too many toddlers are accidentally overdosing on narcotic medicines. But a new study suggests that better packaging might curb the problem. Among kids under the age of 6, single-dose packaging prompted a 79 percent decrease in the number of unintentional exposures to a narcotic called buprenorphine. The medication is given

Nation’s first cardiac ablation with mapping system recently cleared by the FDA performed at Penn Medicine

After eight years of failed treatment for persistent atrial fibrillation (AF), Janet Szilagyi, 78 of Clayton, New Jersey, became the first patient in the United States to undergo cardiac ablation—a procedure in which an electrophysiologist will scar or destroy tissue in the heart that’s allowing incorrect electrical signals to cause an abnormal heart rhythm—using an

Researchers create heart cells to study AFib

University of Illinois at Chicago researchers have discovered a way turn pluripotent stem cells into atrial cells, which make up the upper chambers, or atria, of the heart. The discovery will enable them to better study atrial fibrillation, the most common heart rhythm disorder also known as AFib, which originates in the heart’s atria. As

Study offers new approach to starve p53 deficient tumors

One major hallmark of cancer cells is their ability to adapt to stressful conditions such as nutrient deprivation. Rapidly growing tumor cells must compete for the ever-diminishing supply of nutrients in the surrounding environment to survive and proliferate. Targeting these adaptive mechanisms represents a promising approach for cancer therapeutics. Sanford Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP)

Researchers partner with moms to overcome breastfeeding obstacles

The message, “breast is best” may be familiar and powerful, but it’s not enough to get some women to breastfeed. A new University of Rochester Medical Center project creates a partnership with mothers who are not likely to breastfeed exclusively, and tries to improve the rates by first understanding their perspective and obstacles. Although Rochester