March 5, 2012 (Orlando, Fla.) — A traditional Chinese herbal remedy known as kampo helped to relieve daily asthma symptoms in nearly all of more than 200 people studied, Japanese researchers report. North American allergy experts tell WebMD that although they find the preliminary findings fascinating, further study is needed before they would recommend the [...]

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Hoping to clear up confusion about the growing welter of genetic tests, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) today unveiled a new database that lists thousands of tests voluntarily submitted by companies and non-profit labs. Genetic tests now exist for some 2500 diseases, from cystic fibrosis to APOE, which raises the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. [...]

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Mary Quant, the London fashion designer credited with the invention of the mini skirt, once said, “A woman is as young as her knees.” If Quant was right, and we can take a little license with her sentiment, an estimated 4.5 million Americans are enjoying their second childhoods with knees that have been surgically replaced. [...]

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Feb 13, 2012 — Chalk up another possible benefit to following a Mediterranean diet. A new study suggests that people who follow a Mediterranean-style diet have less small blood vessel damage in the brain. The Mediterranean diet is based on the diets of the populations bordering the Mediterranean Sea, such as Italy and Greece. The [...]

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Stephen J. O’Brien Stephen J. O’Brien, has left the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI’s) Laboratory of Genomic Diversity after 25 years as its head to help jump-start genome bioinformatics at St. Petersburg University in Russia. Last fall, O’Brien was awarded a 3-year, $5 million “megagrant” from the Russian Ministry of Education and Science, a program started [...]

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