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BOSTON -- The risk of progression for advanced age-related macular degeneration may involve common variations in two genes, an effect amplified by risk factors such as smoking and obesity.

TORONTO -- A simplified scoring system using readily available preoperative information predicted acute renal failure and need for replacement therapy after cardiac surgery, researchers here reported.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Vitamin D deficiency in older patients has been associated with poor performance on simple physical tasks, according to investigators here.

MADISON, Wis. -- If lesions smaller than 6 mm in diameter are discounted, virtual colonoscopy by CT is more cost-effective than standard colonoscopy, according to researchers here.

CHICAGO, April 23 -- Drug-eluting stents may not offer the early advantage over coronary artery bypass grafts seen with bare-metal devices, researchers reported here.

BOSTON -- Neither abortion nor miscarriage contributes to the risk of breast cancer, according to a prospective observational study of more than 100,000 women.

BALTIMORE -- Venous blood clots, although frequently asymptomatic, are nonetheless common in children and young adults with sarcoma, researchers here found.

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- The FDA and Genentech have issued a warning about the possible formation of tracheoesophageal fistulas as a complication of an off-label use of bevacizumab (Avastin).

BRADFORD, England -- Well-meaning physicians may unwittingly induce delirium in older patients when they prescribe medications such as antihistamines or sleep aids, according to a literature review.

ATLANTA -- Five years or more of daily adult-strength aspirin is associated with modest protection against colorectal, prostate, and breast cancers, investigators here reported.

CHICAGO -- When performing laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) surgery on patients 40 and older, less is more, according to a study here.

LOS ANGELES -- Breastfeeding appears to cancel out the significantly added risk of hormone-negative breast cancer for women who are nulliparous until after age 25, researchers reported here.

CHENGDU, China -- The jury is still out on whether traditional Chinese herbal medicine can counter the adverse effects of adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer.

HONG KONG -- The pre-endoscopy use of high-dose infusions of proton-pump inhibitors improves outcomes for peptic-ulcer hemorrhage and other upper GI bleeding, investigators here confirmed.

HOUSTON -- Evidence linking a decrease in the annual incidence of breast cancer to a decline in hormone replacement therapy is as robust as first reported, investigators here said.

MONTREAL -- In critically ill children, a lower hemoglobin level plus leukocyte-reduced red cells was found as safe for transfusion as a higher level, researchers here reported.

TORONTO -- Anemia after kidney transplantation nearly doubles mortality and graft failure risk over four years, according to international researchers here.

ATLANTA -- When melanomas are diagnosed by a dermatologist, patients are likelier to have early-stage disease and longer survival than those whose lesion was diagnosed by a non-dermatologist, researchers reported.