Alcohol is one of the most commonly abused substances, and men are up to twice as likely to develop alcoholism as women. Until now, the underlying biology contributing to this difference in vulnerability has remained unclear. A new study published in Biological Psychiatry reveals that dopamine may be an important factor.

Genetic variants associated with increased susceptibility to psoriasis are reported in five papers published online this week in Nature Genetics. Psoriasis is a chronic and recurrent skin disease, and one of the most prevalent autoimmune diseases, with a global prevalence of 2-3 percent.

A first-ever, long-term study of patients who underwent robot-assisted surgery to remove their cancerous prostates found that nearly 87 percent of them had no recurrence of the disease after five years.The findings were reported in this month's issue of the European Urology journal by a team of Henry Ford Hospital researchers led by Mani Menon, M.D., an internationally recognized pioneer in the use of high-precision surgical robots.

Cells read only those genes which are needed at a given moment, while the others are chemically labeled and, thus, selectively turned off. Scientists at the German Cancer Research Center have now been the first to discover how these labels are placed at exactly the right spot in the genetic material. Important players are regulatory RNA molecules. They form a plait-like triple helix with the DNA serving as a signpost for the labels.

Superficial contacts on Facebook, apparently unnecessary comments, and banal status updates may be more worthwhile than we think. This is shown in a new report from the National IT User Center. The report also predicts the new social media will ultimately lead to more individual entrepreneurs.

Removing an extra two millimeters around an area of invasive breast cancer is sufficient to minimize any residual disease in 98 percent of patients, according a study of 303 women just published.

Several studies of the effectiveness of non‐X‐ray techniques to evaluate Crohn's disease revealed that diagnostic strategies such as capsule endoscopy and magnetic resonance enteroscopy are useful in managing patients with inflammatory bowel disease and avoiding ionizing radiation.

An endoscopic technique known as retroflexion, when used in the right side of the colon, may increase the diagnostic yield of polyps, including large adenomas (larger than 10 millimeters) and serrated lesions, particularly in men, older patients and those with polyps found on forward examination according to researchers at Indiana University Medical Center in Indianapolis. Importantly, 41 percent of the patients who had polyps identified on retroflexion had negative exams on forward examination.

A survey released today by National Stroke Association shows that 53 percent of stroke survivor respondents suffer from symptoms of another neurologic condition called pseudobulbar affect (PBA), a condition thought to be caused by structural damage in the brain due to injury or disease. PBA causes involuntary and unpredictable outbursts of laughing or crying, often in socially inappropriate situations.

Investment in screening programs that target the pre-Medicare population, individuals aged between 50 and 64, could reduce the costs of colorectal cancer in the Medicare program, according to a study. According to the findings, the up-front investment in screening individuals aged 50 to 64 was recouped only after they transition to Medicare at age 65.

Researchers found that patients with non-irrhotic liver cancer had a high prevalence of diabetes and elevated body mass indexes (BMI) despite a lack of steatosis. In other findings, BMI was also linked with adenoma recurrence in the short ad long-erm; the prevalence of angiographically-roven coronary disease in the non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) cohort was 61 percent compared to 26 percent in the non-AFLD controls.

A progressive form of non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease known as non‐alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) can lead to cirrhosis and all its complications. Two studies investigated the effectiveness of potential treatments for NASH, one assessing pentoxifyline, a commonly used TNF-alpha antagonist, as well as a separate analysis of pioglitazone, an insulin sensitizer, compared to vitamin E.

One study found comparable rates of colorectal cancer between young African American and Hispanic patients and called for a large prospective study to confirm these results before recommending earlier screening in the Hispanic population, as currently advocated for African Americans. Another study suggested that age at colorectal cancer diagnosis, location of tumor within the colon, and survival from colorectal cancer varies significantly among race.

Among the findings of three new studies, patients with functional dyspepsia were 3.25 times more likely to have disordered sleep than healthy controls; and the muscle‐relaxant and antispastic drug baclofen as well as esomeprazole showed promise in providing relief.

A new study found that IBD patients with an abnormal bone density exam had a significantly higher rate of vitamin D deficiency than those who had normal DEXA scans. Additionally, Crohn's disease patients with vitamin D deficiency were four times more likely to have a higher rate of abnormal bone density exams compared to patients with ulcerative colitis