Nathan Seppa

Biomedical Writer (retired September 2015)

All Stories by Nathan Seppa

  1. Health & Medicine

    Fetal Risk: Inflammation in womb tied to cerebral palsy

    For a pregnant woman carrying a baby to term, inflammation in the womb nearly quadruples the chance her baby will be born with cerebral palsy.

  2. Health & Medicine

    Drug cuts recurrence of breast cancer

    Letrozole, which blocks estrogen production, reduces recurrence of breast cancer in women who have exhausted the usefulness of tamoxifen, the frontline cancer drug for this disease.

  3. Health & Medicine

    Rebuilding the Heart: Marrow cells boost cardiac recovery

    Inserting a person's own bone marrow stem cells into an ailing heart via a catheter can improve heart and lung function in such patients.

  4. Health & Medicine

    Protein may predict heart problems

    Low blood concentrations of a protein called adiponectin may signal risk of heart disease.

  5. Health & Medicine

    Defibrillator access pays dividends

    Ready access to a heart defibrillator can boost the survival chances of someone who suffers a cardiac arrest.

  6. Health & Medicine

    Weight-loss compound may cause arrhythmia

    The weight-loss supplement Metabolife 356 causes subtle changes in heartbeat in test subjects.

  7. Health & Medicine

    Greek diet reduces inflammatory proteins

    People on a Mediterranean diet rich in olive oil and fresh fruits have lower blood concentrations of several inflammatory proteins linked to atherosclerosis.

  8. Health & Medicine

    Acid blockers stop stomach ulcers, too

    People who get ulcers from frequent use of anti-inflammatory painkillers can lessen their risk by simultaneously taking acid-blocking drugs.

  9. Health & Medicine

    Cancer drug might fight Alzheimer’s

    Tests in animals show that the cancer drug imatinib mesylate, also called Gleevec, slows formation of the kinds of plaques found in the brains of Alzheimer's patients.

  10. Health & Medicine

    Treatment helps newborns avoid HIV

    Giving healthy newborns whose mothers are infected with HIV a combination of anti-HIV drugs shortly after birth makes the infants less likely to contract the virus through breastfeeding.

  11. Health & Medicine

    Centenarian Advantage: Some old folks make cholesterol in big way

    People who live to be nearly 100 and their offspring are more likely to have large cholesterol particles in their blood, a condition conducive to good health.

  12. Health & Medicine

    Magnets, my foot!

    Shoe inserts with magnets have no more effect against foot pain than insoles without them.