Women who undergo breast enlargement often see a sizable boost in self-esteem and positive feelings about their sexuality, a University of Florida nurse researcher reports. [click link for full article]

A new form of stent made by Abbott Laboratories, promises to upset the dominance of heart stents currently held by J&J and Boston Scientific. Abbot’s new heart stent dissolves in the artery three years after being implanted. A human trial has just delivered very positive results. In another trial, Xience, another Abbott drug-coated stent (non-dissolving), was found to be superior to Taxus (Boston Scientific) at keeping blood vessels open. [click link for full article]

A team of pediatric cardiothoracic surgeons succeeded in performing a rare and challenging procedure when they removed a 6.5 centimeter mass from the heart of two-month-old Taylor Stenhouse. The surgeons then had to reconstruct the inside and outside of the heart. After a routine check-up uncovered a heart murmur, Taylor’s parents, Katherine and Sean, immediately brought him from their hometown of Myrtle Beach to MUSC’s cardiology program for a closer look. [click link for full article]

The American College of Physicians (ACP), the leading professional organization for internal medicine, has a new name for its annual meeting: “Internal Medicine 2007.” The annual ACP scientific meeting, formerly known as Annual Session, takes place April 19-21 in San Diego and offers more than 260 educational courses covering the latest advances in the field of internal medicine and its subspecialties such as cardiology and gastroenterology. [click link for full article]

Postmenopausal women whose diet contains high amounts of lignans, estrogen-like chemical compounds found in plants, may have a reduced risk of breast cancer.Lignans, which are found in flaxseed and a variety of fruits, vegetables and whole grains, belong to a family of compounds called phytoestrogens. Because of their hormone-like properties, phytoestrogens can bind to estrogen receptors, and some have suggested they may play a role in preventing breast cancer. [click link for full article]

In advance of World TB Day, state Health Secretary Dr. Calvin B. Johnson today stressed the need to raise public awareness of tuberculosis (TB) and the importance of efforts to control, and eventually eliminate, the infectious airborne disease. Observed each March 24, World TB Day recognizes the global fight against the spread of tuberculosis and encourages communities to mobilize and boost awareness of the importance of TB control. [click link for full article]

You are more likely to contract chronic obstructive lung disease (COLD) if you have a low income and below average education. In a few years, chronic obstructive lung disease will become the third most important casue of death in the world. Today, 200,000 people in Norway have COLD and another 9000 contract the disease every year. [click link for full article]

The American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA) today released new cervical cancer prevention guidelines, which advocate for HPV (human papillomavirus) testing as part of screening in women age 30 and older, and for HPV vaccination for all girls age 11 and 12, along with catch-up vaccinations for other girls who qualify for vaccination. [click link for full article]

The International Myeloma Foundation (IMF) - supporting research and providing education, advocacy and support for myeloma patients, families, researchers and physicians - today applauded the positive opinion from the European Union’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) recommending approval of REVLIMID(R) (lenalidomide) for patients with myeloma. [click link for full article]

BodyMedia, Inc., the pioneer of metabolic assessment and behavioral therapy technologies, announced today it has launched the SenseWear(R) display, the newest advancement to the SenseWear(R) Body Monitoring System, at the American College of Cardiology 56th Annual Scientific Session in New Orleans. [click link for full article]