A new Kaiser Permanente study, the first integrated survey of maternal depression, shows that more than one in seven women are depressed at some time during the nine months before becoming pregnant, during pregnancy, or in the nine months after childbirth. [click link for full article]

Giardia lamblia, one of the most common human parasites in the United States, causes more than 20,000 intestinal infections a year, often through contact with contaminated drinking or swimming water. In the September 28 issue of Science, an international team led by researchers at the MBL (Marine Biological Laboratory) describe the complete genome (genetic sequence) of Giardia, which could lead to the development of new drugs to combat this persistent infection, called giardiasis. [click link for full article]

A large observational study that tracked women from nine months prior to pregnancy through nine months after delivery has revealed that the number of women diagnosed with depression actually decreases slightly during pregnancy, then rises after delivery. The study also confirmed that many women who experience depression during pregnancy or the postpartum period have a history of earlier depression. [click link for full article]

The Football Association together with England Footballer, Michael Carrick, have teamed up with the British Heart Foundation (BHF) for World Heart Day 2007 with a common goal: to get the nation to up the tempo of their heart. [click link for full article]

New clinical data showed an experimental drug called pertuzumab prolonged the survival time for women with recurrent ovarian cancer, a University of Alabama at Birmingham doctor said recently.The data was presented during a scientific session of the 14th European Cancer Conference held in Barcelona, Spain. The session’s main speaker was Sharmila Makhija, M.D., an associate professor in UAB’s Division of Gynecologic Oncology. [click link for full article]

People with heart disease should take special precautions before undergoing any kind of surgery, even noncardiac surgery, to reduce their risk of a cardiac event, according to new joint guidelines from the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association. [click link for full article]

UroToday.com- While laparoscopic partial nephrectomy (LPN) and laparoscopic radical nephrectomy (LRN) have been shown to be effective management in patients with localized renal tumor; there is limited data on the long term effect on postoperative renal function in these two patient groups. [click link for full article]

UroToday.com- Retroperitoneal fibrosis (RPF) is a condition characterized by inflammation and fibrosis in the retroperitoneal space. The disease process begins with the clinical symptoms of flank pain and unexplained weight loss. Radiologically fibrosis starts by surrounding the infrarenal aorta. It then progresses inferiorly and ultimately leads to ureteral obstruction and acute renal failure. [click link for full article]

UroToday.com- This article published in the British Journal of Urology International by Georges-Pascal and Gill detail the oncologic findings and short-term recovery from laparoscopic radical cystectomy for clinically organ confined bladder cancer. The authors evaluated 37 patients who underwent laparoscopic radical cystectomy from 1999 to 2005. There was equal distribution of patients receiving a neobladder and an ileal conduit. [click link for full article]

American Diabetes Association calls for greater awareness to the 75 million Americans who have diabetes or are at risk for developing type 2 diabetes.WhatDiabetes has reached epidemic proportions in the United States and around the world. One in four Americans has diabetes or is at risk for developing type 2 diabetes. [click link for full article]