New research indicates that even small amounts of physical activity, approximately 75 minutes a week, can help improve the fitness levels for postmenopausal women who are sedentary and overweight or obese, according to a study in the May 16 issue of JAMA.Low levels of cardiorespiratory fitness are associated with high risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and death, and improvements in fitness are associated with a reduction in these risks. [click link for full article]

Overweight individuals who secrete insulin at a higher level may experience greater weight loss by selecting a low-glycemic load diet, compared to a low-fat diet, according to a study in the May 16 issue of JAMA. The researchers also found a low-glycemic load diet to have beneficial effects on HDL cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations. [click link for full article]

Researchers have identified genetic markers on several chromosomes in the tissue surrounding tumor cells that are associated with breast cancer tumor grade and the presence of lymph node metastases, according to a study in the May 16 issue of JAMA. [click link for full article]

“My baby is doing what other babies her age are doing — she’s feeding herself, putting on her own clothes and she loves to dance.”Lolita Harding is describing her daughter Dave’yana, who will turn three in September, thanks in large part to a thymus transplant she received at Duke University Medical Center in April 2005 to reconstitute her absent immune system. [click link for full article]

Generally, we hear about asthmatics not being treated with medication, and many studies do suggest that many people with asthma are not well controlled. A recent study, however, suggests that…

A protein known as FLIP may stop metastatic cancer cells from dying and could be a good target for drug development.Unlike normal cells, metastatic cancer cells do not respond to signals that tell the cells to die. These signals occur when cells lose physical contact with their normal surroundings.Aaron Schimmer, M.D., Ph.D. [click link for full article]

A senior official of the United Nations World Food Programme called for more resources and improved humanitarian access and security for aid workers providing assistance to thousands of people displaced by the recent upsurge in fighting in Sri Lanka. [click link for full article]

The United Nations World Food Programme said a second round of food distributions started today to 122,500 people either driven from Mogadishu or who had recently returned but warned that a new spate of piracy threatened to strangle WFP’s main supply routes to Somalia. [click link for full article]

State regulations requiring equal insurance coverage for mental illness does not increase usage and reduces out-of-pocket expenditures for families who have children with mental illness, a Yale School of Medicine study reports in the journal Health Services Research. [click link for full article]

The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) has developed updated guideline recommendations on the use of bisphosphonates, medications that help strengthen the bone, in people with multiple myeloma. The new guideline will be published in the June 10 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology. [click link for full article]