Patients with liver disease often suffer from other related illnesses, including type-2 diabetes, obesity and high blood pressure, among others. Research presented at Digestive Disease Week 2007 (DDW) explores the many unknowns of liver disease by examining new liver biomarkers, understanding disease complications and assessing novel treatments for their disease-fighting potential. [click link for full article]

Are soy products healthy additions to a person’s diet, safe alternatives to hormone-replacement therapy or cancer-causing agents” The answer, according to University of Illinois food science and human nutrition professor William Helferich, is, “It depends. [click link for full article]

Research presented at Digestive Disease Week 2007 (DDW) introduces unique methods for evaluating patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). NAFLD is the most common liver disease in the world and the development of novel procedures for definitively diagnosing the disease and assessing its prognosis is extremely important for tailoring effective treatments. [click link for full article]

Several newspapers recently published editorials and opinion pieces about abortion-rights statements by former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R), both candidates for the Republican presidential nomination. [click link for full article]

Geisinger Health System, a hospital group in central Pennsylvania, is “trying to address what it views as a fundamental flaw in the typical medical reimbursement system” by offering heart bypass surgery patients a “guarantee of its workmanship”: 90 days of follow-up treatment at no additional cost, the New York Times reports. [click link for full article]

Cancer epidemiologists at the University at Buffalo have identified specific genes that are most likely to become cancer promoters when exposed to a process called DNA promoter hypermethylation.Hypermethylation is a process that causes genes that promote normal cell growth to produce proteins that cause malignant behavior, or unregulated cell growth. [click link for full article]

Medical residents working within the mandated maximum of 80 hours per week experience severe sleepiness, a finding that may have implications for both patient care and resident safety, according to a new study presented at the American Thoracic Society 2007 International Conference, on Sunday, May 20.Previous studies have shown that sleep-deprived residents perform poorly in several areas like judgment and concentration and are at risk for motor vehicle accidents. [click link for full article]

The efficacy and ethical implications of a test that can determine the sex of a fetus at six weeks’ gestation, launched last month by United Kingdom-based DNA Worldwide, are being questioned by some experts, the AP/San Diego Union-Tribune reports. DNA Worldwide is selling the test, called “Pink or Blue,” online, and a U. [click link for full article]

People with obstructive sleep apnea have a markedly increased risk of severe motor vehicle crashes involving personal injury, according to a study presented at the American Thoracic Society 2007 International Conference, on Sunday, May 20. [click link for full article]

Contact dermatitis is an itchy, bumpy skin rash caused by contact with a variety of chemicals. The most well-known examples of contact dermatitis are poison ivy, oak and sumac. With…