Feed Editor 1 Jul 2010 12:46:54 CDT ACOEM Science Briefs The American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine's Science Briefs provides industry-specific news and information to leading professionals in occupational and environmental medicine. Delivered weekly, the publication keeps industry professionals informed of topics that impact occupational and environmental medicine. http://www.multibriefs.com/briefs/acoem/rss.xml en NIH-supported ACCORD eye study finds two therapies slow diabetic eye disease progression In high-risk adults with type 2 diabetes, researchers have found that two therapies may slow the progression of diabetic retinopathy, an eye disease that is the leading cause of vision loss in working-age Americans. 1 Jul 2010 12:46:54 CDT http://multibriefs.com/ViewLink.php?i=4c2c8f250d5e1 1 Updated guidelines for using interferon gamma release assays to detect Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection This report provides guidance to U.S. public health officials, health care providers, and laboratory workers for use of Food and Drug Administration -- approved interferon gamma (IFN- γ) release assays (IGRAs) in the diagnosis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in adults and children. Multiple recommendations are provided that address quality control, test selection, and medical management after testing. 1 Jul 2010 12:46:54 CDT http://multibriefs.com/ViewLink.php?i=4c2c8f6069f67 2 BIDMC pathologists call for new residency training program to support personalized medicine Doctors in the Department of Pathology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) have issued "A Call to Action" for the medical profession to catch up with the technology and business communities in the application of genomics to personalized health care. 1 Jul 2010 12:46:54 CDT http://multibriefs.com/ViewLink.php?i=4c2c8f7b136bf 3 Health of Exxon Valdez cleanup workers was never studied You'd think that more than 20 years after the Exxon Valdez oil spill, scientists would know what, if any, long-term health dangers face the thousands of workers needed to clean up the Gulf of Mexico spill. You'd be wrong. 1 Jul 2010 12:46:54 CDT http://multibriefs.com/ViewLink.php?i=4c2c8f9198e3d 4 Is oil spill also fouling the air? Record levels of potentially harmful chemicals have been detected by UC Irvine researchers in the air around the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. While the findings are preliminary, they illustrate a critical need for further testing. 1 Jul 2010 12:46:54 CDT http://multibriefs.com/ViewLink.php?i=4c2c8fcedef47 5 Urban form and extreme heat events: Are sprawling cities more vulnerable to climate change than compact cities? Extreme heat events are known to be increasing in frequency in large U.S. cities and are responsible for a greater annual number of climate related fatalities, on average, than any other form of extreme weather. In addition, low density, sprawling patterns of urban development have been associated with enhanced surface temperatures in urbanized areas. 1 Jul 2010 12:46:54 CDT http://multibriefs.com/ViewLink.php?i=4c2c8fe6da1d9 6 Despite the guidelines, lower blood pressure might be unhealthy for kidney patients Recent guidelines by The National Kidney Foundation Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative (NKF KDOQI)1 call for lower target blood pressure levels in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). But in the absence of high-quality scientific evidence, there's a chance this recommendation could do more harm than good, according to a special article appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN). 1 Jul 2010 12:46:54 CDT http://multibriefs.com/ViewLink.php?i=4c0d03d965b02 7