FRIDAY, Aug. 29 (HealthDay News) -- Some Japanese survivors of the World War II atomic bomb blasts in Hiroshima and Nagasaki experienced key genetic changes that may have sparked the onset of a form of thyroid cancer, new research indicates.

Papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) is typically linked to a particular genetic mutation involving the so-called BRAF gene. But Japanese researchers say that among Japanese atom bomb survivors, a different and relatively rare disease trigger -- involving the chromosomal rearrangement of the RET/PTC gene -- seems to be to blame.

The adventure continues...

After the competition I joined up with Dan, Ethan, Bonnie (my mom), Pam (Dan's mom), Al (my assistant coach and teammate), Dr. Summers (my Chiropractor and massage therapist) and his wife LeAnne and son Sean for a wonderful dinner at the Bank of America "hometown hopefuls". Greg Bishop of the New York Times joined us as we reflected on the days events. His article made the front page of the sports page! Check it out...

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/11/sports...

TUESDAY, Aug. 26 (HealthDay News) -- Imagine you're in a foreign country where learning the language is incredibly hard, if not impossible.

No one understands what you're saying. You can't comprehend a word. The best you can do is point and gesture, and hope the other person understands what you're trying to get across.

You're now in a position to better understand what a person suffering from aphasia goes through on a daily basis. Caused by injury to the brain, often due to stroke, aphasia affects the production or comprehension of speech, be it verbal or written.

By Ed Edelson
HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, Aug. 25 (HealthDay News) -- A new study identifies some women -- but not men -- who might be able to stop taking blood-thinning medication for the clotting condition called venous thromboembolism.

Current guidelines call for indefinite use of a clot-preventing drug, most often warfarin (Coumadin), for many people with the condition. But researchers report that they've identified a group of traits in women that indicate a very low risk of recurrent clots, so that medication might not be necessary after a few months.

(HealthDay News) -- Here are the latest clinical trials, courtesy of CenterWatch:

Post Menopause

If you are a postmenopausal female or have been a surgically sterile female for at least 12 months, are aged 40 to 70, a non-smoker, and can make overnight stays, you may be eligible for this study.

The research site is in San Diego, Calif.

More information

Please see http://www.centerwatch.com/patient/studi....

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Pompe Disease

If you are aged 18 to 74 and have been diagnosed with Pompe disease, you may be eligible for this study.

MONDAY, Aug. 25 (HealthDay News) -- Add increased suffering for people with ragweed allergies to the list of problems caused by climate change, a new study suggests.

Recent research indicates that increasing global temperatures and carbon dioxide levels are causing longer ragweed seasons and more concentrated pollen counts, says the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, which has devoted the September issue of its Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology to examining the effects of climate change on allergic disease.

Having a positive outlook may help prevent breast cancer, while getting divorced or losing a loved one may increase the risk, suggests an Israeli study that compared the mental outlook and life events of 255 breast cancer patients and 367 healthy women.

The researchers found that a generally positive outlook was associated with a 25 percent reduced risk of breast cancer, while experiencing one or more traumatic life events -- such as the loss of a parent or spouse -- was associated with a more than 60 percent increased risk, BBC News reported.

FRIDAY, Aug. 22 (HealthDay News) -- Suffering respiratory or ear infections in early childhood, having a dog in the house as a newborn, and even being raised in a large family all appear to increase the risk of snoring later in life, new research suggests.

The findings may seem incidental but, the study authors point out, snoring has been linked with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, not to mention the obvious problems of sleep deprivation for those who snore and those who have to listen.

FRIDAY, Aug. 22 (HealthDay News) -- A new method of identifying protein structures related to Alzheimer's disease has been developed by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The research team says its computer-based technique could help in the development of drugs that could prevent the formation of such structures.

Alzheimer's disease is characterized by two kinds of proteins (amyloid and tau) that accumulate in the brain. In a study published in the Aug. 22 issue of PLoS Computational Biology, the MIT team focused on tau.

By Serena Gordon
HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, Aug. 21 (HealthDay News) -- Hormone replacement therapy, even when it's started many years after menopause, can reduce some of the quality-of-life problems caused by menopause, such as sleep problems and hot flashes.

Australian researchers report that women who started hormone replacement therapy (HRT) after menopause and took it for an average of one year had significant improvements in sexual functioning, and fewer sleep problems, hot flashes and sweating than did women taking a placebo.