Drinking one or more servings a day of sugary beverages could be linked to kidney stones.
Drinks linked to kidney stones
Location of study:U.S.
Study subjects: Data
Results:A study published in the Clinical Journal of American Nephtology reported on a possible link between people who drank one or more sugary drinks per day and the development of kidney stones.
Significance:According to the National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases, every year in the U.S. 300,000 people visit an emergency room for problems resulting from kidney stones.
3-D mammography praised
Location of study: U.S.
Study subjects: 13,856 women who received conventional 2D mammography screening exams; 9,499 women who received Hologic 3D mammography screening exam
Results: A new comparison study of 3-D mammography screening versus 2-D found a 38 percent drop in recall rates, a 35 percent increase in cancer detection rates, a 53 percent increase in the invasive cancer detection and an 11 percent drop in biopsy rates. The study was published in the American Journal of Roentgenology.
Significance: 3-D mammography shows promise as a new way to detect breast cancer. Thorough initial screening reduces false positives, improves early detection and reduces repeat hospital visits for rescreening.
Possible roots of childhood asthma found
Location of study: U.S.
Study subjects: Mice
Results: Researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College, Columbia University Medical Center and SUNY Downstate Medical Center claim to have found a cause for a common type of childhood asthma. Twenty to 30 percent of children with asthma have an overactive gene that halts the creation of sphingolipids, fat molecules that are part of the body’s cell membranes.
Significance: The research is inconclusive on why the reduced production of sphingolipids prompted the asthma, but a link between lack of sphingolipids and bronchial hyperactivity, two significant characteristics of asthma, was detected.
Prostate cancer diagnoses differ
Location of study: U.S.
Study subjects: Statistics
Results: A study in the journal Cancer Studies says that African-Americans experience on average a seven-day delay between diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer than caucasians. The study noted an increased mortality from prostate cancer in African-Americans versus caucasians.
Significance: A late diagnosis “can contribute to an increased rate of dying” in African-American patients, says study author Robert Chen of UNC Chapel Hill.
