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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- A sensitive sign of the early stages of Alzheimer's disease may be dampening of activity in the posteromedial cortices during a memory task, as seen by functional MRI, investigators here suggested.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Activation of transglutaminase-2 (TG2) may trigger the mysterious and debilitating fibrosis that affects some end-stage renal patients, researchers here believe.

IOANNINA, Greece -- Newer chemotherapy drugs add months to the lives of patients with advanced colorectal cancer, but at a high cost in toxicity and complications, a meta-analysis showed.

BOCHUM, Germany -- Acupuncture offers an effective alternative to conventional therapy for low-back pain, investigators here reported.

PHILADELPHIA -- Teenage exposure at home to second-hand tobacco smoke seems to go hand in hand with poor performance on standardized academic tests, investigators here reported.

ATLANTA -- The solution to a key mystery in smokers' lung cancer risk may lie in reduced transcription activity of certain antioxidant and DNA repair genes, investigators reported here.

Just over half of the respondents to a MedPage Today poll said they can interpret the data presented in published research, but there's no guarantee that study results will be translated into practice.

ATLANTA -- A protein expressed by virtually all lung cancers offers the potential for a serum biomarker that could lead to early diagnosis of more patients, investigators reported here.

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- A new set of rehabilitation standards for patients recovering from a serious cardiac event is designed to get more patients into rehab programs and to standardize their care.

CHICAGO -- Obesity in older age appears not to be the risk factor for cognitive decline that it is in middle age, researchers found.

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- The FDA has approved a genetic test to identify patients who have a higher risk of bleeding with warfarin (Coumadin).

NEW YORK -- A method to harvest stem cells from adult testes and reprogram them into functional tissue may provide an easily accessible and plentiful alternative to controversial embryonic stem cells, researchers said.

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Repeat courses of prenatal corticosteroids, used to speed fetal lung development if there's risk of premature delivery, appear not to hinder mental or physical development.

AMSTERDAM -- Inflammation in patients with type 2 diabetes is independent of obesity, an observation that may partly explain the increased risk of cardiovascular disease among patients with diabetes.

JERUSALEM -- A broad screening program to identify carriers of Gaucher Disease among Asheknazi Jews may not meet intended goals, Israeli researchers reported.

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- The FDA has issued a safety alert warning physicians that haloperidol (Haldol) given intravenously or at higher than recommended doses may increase the risk of cardiovascular events including sudden death, QT prolongation, and Torsades de Pointes.

CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Head and neck cancer may sap patients' driving skills in addition to its toll on the body, investigators here concluded.

CALGARY, Alberta -- Nocturnal dialysis at home six times a week markedly reduced left ventricular hypertrophy in patients with end-stage renal disease compared with conventional treatment, according to a preliminary study.