A study of women’s moods during IVF has found a strong relationship between negative mood and multiple embryo transfer, a scientist told the 23rd annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. [click link for full article]

Teaching a body’s own immune system to seek out and destroy cancerous tumours represents a promising way to fight a disease that kills more than 70,000 Canadians a year.Ongoing research has shown that cells of the immune system, when properly trained, have the capacity to circulate throughout the body and attack cancerous tissue. [click link for full article]

An analysis of Medicaid data released recently from five states indicates that psychiatric and substance abuse services may be missing their mark if they are limited to community settings, such as community clinics and therapist’s offices.”Although most intervention policies for co-occurring substance abuse and mental disorders are community-based, a significant number of people with co-occurring disorders never appear in these settings,” said study co-author Robin E. [click link for full article]

The health care system in California could save nearly $1.3 million a year with few adverse public health effects if it discontinued universal tuberculosis skin testing of children entering kindergarten, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco.Over a 20-year period, the study projects that only two additional cases of tuberculosis would result from screening the pre-kindergarten group. [click link for full article]

An international team of investigators has identified the first human antibodies that can neutralize different strains of the virus responsible for outbreaks of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). The researchers used a mouse model and in vitro assays (lab tests) to test the neutralizing activity of the antibodies. [click link for full article]

Years in advance, high MPO levels signal increased riskWe’ve all wondered how a seemingly healthy person can actually be at high risk for heart disease or a heart attack. Now researchers have uncovered a new clue to this mystery. The culprit: myeloperoxidase (MPO), a protein secreted by white blood cells that both signals inflammation and releases a bleach-like substance that damages the cardiovascular system. [click link for full article]

Researchers believe the laboratory culture could be the causeEvidence gathered from time-lapse recordings of the formation of early embryos (blastocysts) in the laboratory has revealed why embryos created via IVF and undergoing extended culture are more likely to develop into twins than those created via natural conception. Furthermore, the research has shown that the culture in which the IVF embryos are formed is possibly responsible for the embryos dividing into twins. [click link for full article]

A new study has shown that increasing numbers of couples are travelling abroad for preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), and that the main reason for this cross-border movement is the legal position in patients’ countries of origin. [click link for full article]

A new study on the effect of the anti-obesity drug rimonabant on liver function in obese rats found that it reduced markers of liver damage, decreased levels of pro-inflammatory proteins, and improved lipid profiles.The results of this study appear in Hepatology, the official journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD). Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hepatology is available online via Wiley InterScience [click link for full article]

Indiana University study provides hard evidence previously lackingDo pediatricians face a malpractice crisis? In the first systematic multi-year analysis of malpractice claims solely against pediatricians, researchers from the Indiana University School of Medicine report in the July issue of the journal Pediatrics that the answer is neither yes nor no. [click link for full article]