http://www.physorg.com/ en-us Physorg.com internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. (PhysOrg.com) -- Squeeze it hard enough and hydrogen, the most abundant and lightest element in our Universe, strangely takes on a metallic nature. During this state, as it loses hold of its electrons, hydrogen is believed to display unique characteristics including high-temperature superconductivity and properties that could be useful in developing new methods of energy production using nuclear fusion and alternative fuels. Creating this drastic phase change, however, is difficult, requiring extremely high temperatures and pressures. http://www.physorg.com/news150732210.html Physics Fri, 09 Jan 2009 14:03:30 EST news150732210 (PhysOrg.com) -- NASA and the National Science Foundation have successfully launched and demonstrated a newly designed super pressure balloon prototype that may enable a new era of high-altitude scientific research. The super-pressure balloon ultimately will carry large scientific experiments to the brink of space for 100 days or more. http://www.physorg.com/news150728447.html Space & Earth Fri, 09 Jan 2009 13:00:47 EST news150728447 Veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are more likely to have metabolic syndrome than veterans without PTSD, according to a study led by Pia Heppner, Ph.D., psychologist with the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Veterans Affairs of San Diego, VA Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health (CESAMH). The study will be published online January 8 by the journal BMC Medicine. http://www.physorg.com/news150614020.html Medicine & Health Thu, 08 Jan 2009 05:13:40 EST news150614020 Obstructive sleep apnea decreases blood flow to the brain, elevates blood pressure within the brain and eventually harms the brain's ability to modulate these changes and prevent damage to itself, according to a new study published by The American Physiological Society. The findings may help explain why people with sleep apnea are more likely to suffer strokes and to die in their sleep. http://www.physorg.com/news150461826.html Medicine & Health Tue, 06 Jan 2009 10:57:06 EST news150461826 Johns Hopkins and other researchers report what is believed to be the first direct evidence in lab animals that the erectile dysfunction drug sildenafil amplifies the effects of a heart-protective protein. http://www.physorg.com/news150398115.html Medicine & Health Mon, 05 Jan 2009 17:15:15 EST news150398115 (PhysOrg.com) -- High blood pressure can be a trial of patience for doctors and for sufferers, whose blood pressure often has to be monitored over a long time until it can be regulated. This will now be made easier by a pressure sensor that is inserted in the femoral artery. http://www.physorg.com/news150393796.html Technology Mon, 05 Jan 2009 16:03:16 EST news150393796 A new study shows that people who are smokers and have a family history of brain aneurysm appear to be significantly more likely to suffer a stroke from a brain aneurysm themselves. The research is published in the December 31, 2008, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology and will appear in the January 6, 2009, print issue of Neurology. http://www.physorg.com/news150023581.html Medicine & Health Thu, 01 Jan 2009 09:13:01 EST news150023581 Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine have identified a common gene variant that appears to influence people's risk of developing high blood pressure, according to the results of a study being published online Dec. 29, 2008 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). http://www.physorg.com/news149793600.html Medicine & Health Mon, 29 Dec 2008 17:20:00 EST news149793600 One extra hour of sleep per night appears to decrease the risk of coronary artery calcification, an early step down the path to cardiovascular disease, a research team based at the University of Chicago Medical Center reports in the Dec. 24/31 issue of JAMA. The benefit of one hour of additional sleep was comparable to the gains from lowering systolic blood pressure by 17 mm Hg. http://www.physorg.com/news149271975.html Medicine & Health Tue, 23 Dec 2008 16:26:15 EST news149271975 Testing patient's blood for two proteins or biomarkers that occur when inflammation is present could help doctors identify which patients are more likely to have a stroke, said researchers at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston in a report that appears online in the journal Stroke. http://www.physorg.com/news148844312.html Medicine & Health Thu, 18 Dec 2008 17:38:32 EST news148844312 Adding another reason for people to watch their blood pressure, a new study from North Carolina State University shows that increased blood pressure in older adults is directly related to decreased cognitive functioning, particularly among seniors with already high blood pressure. This means that stressful situations may make it more difficult for some seniors to think clearly. http://www.physorg.com/news148562291.html Medicine & Health Mon, 15 Dec 2008 11:18:11 EST news148562291 Scientists from Monash University, Melbourne have shown that infants born prematurely have lower blood pressure during sleep in the first six months of life, compared to healthy, full-term infants. http://www.physorg.com/news147955133.html Medicine & Health Mon, 08 Dec 2008 10:38:53 EST news147955133 For over two centuries, meteorologists were puzzled by the observation that atmospheric pressure in the tropics peaks at 10 a.m. and 10 p.m. nearly every day. In the late 1960s, a theory was proposed that these surface pressure variations result from waves that are generated by the sun's heating of the upper atmosphere. http://www.physorg.com/news147529844.html Space & Earth Wed, 03 Dec 2008 12:30:44 EST news147529844 Researchers have new evidence to show that the heart beats to its own drummer, according to a report in the December issue of the journal Cell Metabolism. They've uncovered some of the molecular circuitry within the cardiovascular system itself that controls the daily rise and fall of blood pressure and heart rate. The findings might also explain why commonly used diabetes drugs come with cardiovascular benefits, according to the researchers. http://www.physorg.com/news147444560.html Biology Tue, 02 Dec 2008 12:49:20 EST news147444560 (PhysOrg.com) -- An independent study comparing a low cost diuretic to ACE inhibitors, calcium blockers and alpha blockers for the treatment of high blood pressure and hypertension was sponsored by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. The study entitled Lipid-Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart Attack Trial (ALLHAT) was conducted for the period of 1994 to 1998 with the last follow-up visit in March, 2002. http://www.physorg.com/news147441707.html Medicine & Health Tue, 02 Dec 2008 12:01:47 EST news147441707 Continuously measuring blood pressure may help predict heart disease and related deaths among individuals with treatment-resistant hypertension, while blood pressure readings taken in a medical office do not appear to predict future heart risks, according to a report in November 24 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine. http://www.physorg.com/news146765959.html Medicine & Health Mon, 24 Nov 2008 16:19:19 EST news146765959 Johns Hopkins researchers have discovered that a drop in blood potassium levels caused by diuretics commonly prescribed for high blood pressure could be the reason why people on those drugs are at risk for developing type 2 diabetes. The drugs helpfully accelerate loss of fluids, but also deplete important chemicals, including potassium, so that those who take them are generally advised to eat bananas and other potassium-rich foods to counteract the effect. http://www.physorg.com/news146765651.html Medicine & Health Mon, 24 Nov 2008 16:14:11 EST news146765651 (PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers from the University of Glasgow are launching a study to find the link between genes and salt. http://www.physorg.com/news146159117.html Medicine & Health Mon, 17 Nov 2008 15:45:17 EST news146159117 Financial incentives for doctors can improve the management of coronary heart disease (CHD) and reduce ethnic differences in quality of and access to care, according to Dr. Christopher Millett, Consultant in Public Health at Imperial College Faculty of Medicine in London in the UK, and his colleagues. Their evaluation of the benefits of pay for performance schemes in the UK for the management of coronary heart disease, with a particular focus on ethnic differences, has just been published online in Springer's Journal of General Internal Medicine. http://www.physorg.com/news146140247.html Medicine & Health Mon, 17 Nov 2008 10:30:47 EST news146140247 Young and healthy African-American men have higher central blood pressure and their blood vessels are stiffer compared to their white counterparts, signs that the African American men are developing hypertension early and with little outward sign, according to a new study. While the study found that central blood pressure -- the pressure in the aorta, near the heart -- was higher in the African-American men, the study found no difference in brachial blood pressure -- measured on the arm -- between the two groups. http://www.physorg.com/news146115498.html Medicine & Health Mon, 17 Nov 2008 03:38:18 EST news146115498 Indoor and outdoor pollutants can rapidly harm the heart in ways different than outdoor air pollution alone, according to a new study presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2008. http://www.physorg.com/news145707612.html Medicine & Health Wed, 12 Nov 2008 10:20:12 EST news145707612 Results from the European study IMMIDIET, published today in the Journal of Hypertension, official journal of the European Society of Hypertension and International Society of Hypertension, confirm that elevated blood pressure, an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease, is still a looming problem in Europe. Many hypertensive Europeans do not know about their condition, so they are not taking action against it. Even among those who have been diagnosed, more than half have their blood pressure not under optimal control. http://www.physorg.com/news145701178.html Medicine & Health Wed, 12 Nov 2008 08:32:58 EST news145701178 Sleeping less than seven and a half hours per day may be associated with future risk of heart disease, according to a report in the November 10 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine. In addition, a combination of little sleep and overnight elevated blood pressure appears to be associated with an increased risk of the disease. http://www.physorg.com/news145558000.html Medicine & Health Mon, 10 Nov 2008 16:46:40 EST news145558000 People from black and south Asian communities in the UK are not benefiting as much as white people from doctors' interventions to reduce their blood pressure, according to a new study published today in the journal Annals of Family Medicine. http://www.physorg.com/news145557214.html Medicine & Health Mon, 10 Nov 2008 16:33:34 EST news145557214 As a risk factor for high blood pressure, low levels of potassium in the diet may be as important as high levels of sodium -especially among African Americans, according to research being presented at the American Society of Nephrology's 41st Annual Meeting and Scientific Exposition in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. http://www.physorg.com/news145433902.html Medicine & Health Sun, 09 Nov 2008 06:18:22 EST news145433902 For hemodialysis patients, undergoing dialysis for eight hours overnight, three times weekly, reduces the risk of death by nearly 80 percent, compared to conventional, four-hour dialysis, according to research being presented at the American Society of Nephrology's 41st Annual Meeting and Scientific Exposition in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. http://www.physorg.com/news145336758.html Medicine & Health Sat, 08 Nov 2008 03:19:18 EST news145336758 For most patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), the risk of experiencing a cardiovascular related death is greater than the risk of progressing to end-stage renal disease (ESRD). According to research being presented at the American Society of Nephrology's 41st Annual Meeting and Scientific Exposition in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, African Americans with CKD caused by high blood pressure (hypertensive nephrosclerosis) demonstrated a higher risk of progressing to ESRD than dying from heart disease related events. http://www.physorg.com/news145272745.html Medicine & Health Fri, 07 Nov 2008 09:32:25 EST news145272745 High blood pressure experienced during pregnancy could be a woman's earliest warning that she is at risk of developing heart disease - the number one killer of Canadian women - says Queen's University professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Graeme Smith. http://www.physorg.com/news145020833.html Medicine & Health Tue, 04 Nov 2008 11:33:53 EST news145020833 People with Alzheimer's disease who also have diabetes or high blood pressure may die sooner than people without such disorders, according to a study published in the November 4, 2008, issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. http://www.physorg.com/news144950739.html Medicine & Health Mon, 03 Nov 2008 16:05:39 EST news144950739 America's tweens and teens more than doubled their use of type 2 diabetes medications between 2002 and 2005, with girls between 10 and 14 years of age showing a 166 percent increase. One likely cause: Obesity, which is closely associated with type 2 diabetes. http://www.physorg.com/news144928097.html Medicine & Health Mon, 03 Nov 2008 09:48:17 EST news144928097