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The prevalence of workplace repetitive strain injury in Europe is likely to have been exaggerated, a new study suggests. How common is repetitive strain injury? The authors conclude that simply counting people who think their RSI is related to their work can substantially inflate the number of cases that are actually caused or worsened by it.

Parkinson disease is caused by the progressive degeneration of dopamine brain cells. Replacing these cells is considered a promising therapeutic strategy. Although DA cell--replacement therapy by transplantation of human fetal mesencephalic tissue has shown promise, limited tissue availability means other sources of these cells are needed. A recent study has described one new source for DA cells that provided marked benefit when transplanted into mice with a PD-like disease.

Turns out there might be some truth to the popular wisdom that plump babies are happy babies. A landmark public health study has found that people who had a low birth weight are more likely to experience depression and anxiety later in life.

After an injury, the body grows new blood vessels to repair damaged tissue. But sometimes too much growth causes problems, as when new blood vessels in the eyes leak, causing diabetic retinopathy and blindness if not treated. A recently discovered protein called CIB1 appears to play a major role in controlling new blood vessel growth, offering a target for drug treatments to help the body repair itself after injury and control unwanted blood vessel growth.

This study is unique in that it shows transcendental meditation to be effective in reducing high blood pressure compared to other stress reduction programs. The transcendental meditation technique produces a statistically significant reduction in high blood pressure that is not found with other forms of relaxation, meditation, biofeedback or stress management.

Patients with high BMIs experience a significant survival benefit from liver transplantation and had similar rates of mortality after transplant compared to patients with normal BMI.

The High School Musical Rockerz Jammin' Guitar and the Cheetah Girls In Concert Collection Doll may be what kids want most this holiday season, but if parents aren't careful about how these and other popular toys are used, a season of joy might turn into a lifetime of hearing loss for their children.

Researchers inserted bone marrow-derived cells (BMCs) into 15mm silicon tubes and subsequently implanted into animal models at sites intended for nerve regeneration. When the BMCs were nourished with bioengineered additives -- such as growth factors and cell adhesion molecules -- the BMCs differentiated into cells with characteristics of Schwann cells -- a variety of neural cell providing insulating myelin around the axons of peripheral nerve cells. The work represents a further step in developing artificial nerves.

Prominent claims from observational studies of the cardiovascular benefits of vitamin E often continue to be supported in medical literature despite strong contradictory evidence from randomized trials, according to a study. Similar findings were found for claims regarding the protective effects of beta-carotene on cancer and estrogen on Alzheimer disease.

Vaccinating children younger than age 2 with the pneumococcal vaccine appears to be associated with decreased hospitalizations from pneumonia and reduced health care expenses, according to a new article.