ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

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• Link between alcohol and harm is stronger in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Sweden than in Italy, study suggests
• Alcohol consumption greatly increases serious injury risk for heavy and moderate drinkers
• Genetically influenced responses to alcohol affect brain activation both with and without alcohol
• Heavy drinking undergraduates who are impulsive, aggressive may be at high risk for alcohol problems
• Polycystic ovary syndrome and cardiovascular disease
• Vast hidden network regulates gene expression in cancer: Study illuminates the 'dark matter' of the genome
• Psychopathic killers: Computerized text analysis uncovers the word patterns of a predator
• Imaging technology might help doctors determine best treatment for Crohn's disease patients
• MRIs could become powerful tools for monitoring cholesteral therapy
• Gender differences in blood pressure appears as early as adolescence, with girls faring worse
• Exercise before and during early pregnancy increases two beneficial proteins for mothers-to-be
• Infecting hospital staff with contagious awareness
• Nurses boost well-being for cancer survivors
• Breast tenderness in women getting combo hormone therapy associated with increase in breast density
• Differing structures underlie differing brain rhythms in healthy and ill, virtual modeling reveals
• Brain scans reveal drugs' effects on attention
• Heart health impacts wellbeing of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
• Obese children have up to double the risk of having asthma
• Breastfeeding reduces the risk of allergies, study suggests
• Another clue to how obesity works
• Women's heart disease tied to small blood vessels
• An effective treatment for anal incontinence
• Better ways to predict kidney disease risk for African Americans: Gene testing could help identify patients who need early treatment
• One in six mobile phones in the UK is contaminated with fecal bacteria, researchers found
• Pulse oximetry: A viable screening tool for infants with suspected congenital heart disease
• Parents who go online for pediatric health information are open to doctors' website recommendations
• Minority children less likely to receive CT scans following head trauma
• Pediatric emergency department visits for psychiatric care on the rise
• Little evidence found to support use of PET-CT in primary bowel cancer, study finds

Link between alcohol and harm is stronger in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Sweden than in Italy, study suggests Posted: 14 Oct 2011 01:28 PM PDT A new study examines the impact that the cultural context of drinking may have on the relationship between drinking and harm in several European countries. Results suggest a significant relationship between volume of consumption and risk of experiencing alcohol-related problems in all five countries examined. The relationship appears to be stronger in three Baltic countries and Sweden than in Italy.

Alcohol consumption greatly increases serious injury risk for heavy and moderate drinkers Posted: 14 Oct 2011 01:28 PM PDT A new study has investigated the linkages between alcohol consumption and hospitalized injury. Heavy drinkers face higher injury risks than most people when sober; conversely, their injury risk rises less when alcohol positive. Moderate drinkers who occasionally drink to excess suffer more injuries than heavy drinkers per alcohol-positive hour.

Genetically influenced responses to alcohol affect brain activation both with and without alcohol Posted: 14 Oct 2011 01:28 PM PDT A low level of response (LR) to alcohol reflects at least in part a low brain response to alcohol and carries significant risk for the later development of alcoholism. A new study used functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine brain activation in individuals with low and high LRs to alcohol while they performed a cognitive task. Significant differences detected in brain activation may contribute to the inability by individuals with a low LR to recognize modest levels of alcohol intoxication.

Heavy drinking undergraduates who are impulsive, aggressive may be at high risk for alcohol problems Posted: 14 Oct 2011 01:28 PM PDT Researchers used an anonymous online survey to examine drinking patterns and personality traits. Results identified three groups, two of which drank at fairly high levels. The group with higher levels of impulsivity and aggression appears most at-risk for future alcohol problems.

Polycystic ovary syndrome and cardiovascular disease Posted: 14 Oct 2011 12:13 PM PDT One in 15 women of childbearing age is diagnosed with a disorder commonly referred to as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). The condition is one of the most common causes of women not ovulating and thus causes difficulty in conceiving. Fertility is not the only health consequence these women face, however. PCOS has been associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD), the leading killer of women and men alike.

Vast hidden network regulates gene expression in cancer: Study illuminates the 'dark matter' of the genome Posted: 14 Oct 2011 11:51 AM PDT Researchers have uncovered a vast new gene regulatory network in mammalian cells that could explain genetic variability in cancer and other diseases.

Psychopathic killers: Computerized text analysis uncovers the word patterns of a predator Posted: 14 Oct 2011 11:51 AM PDT As words can be the soul's window, scientists are learning to peer through it: Computerized text analysis shows that psychopathic killers make identifiable word choices -- beyond conscious control -- when talking about their crimes. This research could lead to new tools for diagnosis and treatment, and have implications law enforcement and social media.

Imaging technology might help doctors determine best treatment for Crohn's disease patients Posted: 14 Oct 2011 11:26 AM PDT Ultrasound elasticity imaging, or UEI, could allow doctors to non-invasively make the distinction between intestinal inflammation and fibrosis in Crohn's disease patients, allowing patients to receive more appropriate and timely care.

MRIs could become powerful tools for monitoring cholesteral therapy Posted: 14 Oct 2011 10:24 AM PDT MRI scanning could become a powerful new tool for assessing how well cholesterol drugs are working, according to a cardiologist studying patients taking cholesterol medications.

Gender differences in blood pressure appears as early as adolescence, with girls faring worse Posted: 14 Oct 2011 09:30 AM PDT The female hormone estrogen is known to offer protection for the heart, but obesity may be taking away that edge in adolescent girls. New research finds that although obesity does not help teens of either gender, it has a greater impact on girls' blood pressure than it does on boys'.

Exercise before and during early pregnancy increases two beneficial proteins for mothers-to-be Posted: 14 Oct 2011 09:30 AM PDT Study suggests that exercise before conception and in the early stages of pregnancy may protect a mother-to-be by stimulating the expression of two proteins thought to play a role in blood vessel health.

Infecting hospital staff with contagious awareness Posted: 14 Oct 2011 09:25 AM PDT Infections picked up in hospital affect almost a third of patients in intensive care, and kill 44% of those people. Given that some infectious agents can linger for weeks or months it is increasingly important that staff awareness of the problem is improved and that training in infection prevention across the UK's National Health Service and in private healthcare is expanded, according to researchers.

Nurses boost well-being for cancer survivors Posted: 14 Oct 2011 09:23 AM PDT A one-off consultation with a nurse at the end of cancer treatment can make a difference to a patient's ongoing physical and emotional well-being.

Breast tenderness in women getting combo hormone therapy associated with increase in breast density Posted: 14 Oct 2011 07:49 AM PDT Post-menopausal women who experience new onset breast tenderness after starting combination hormone therapy may have an increased risk of breast cancer compared to women who don't experience breast tenderness, a new study shows.

Differing structures underlie differing brain rhythms in healthy and ill, virtual modeling reveals Posted: 14 Oct 2011 07:49 AM PDT Virtual brains modeling epilepsy and schizophrenia display less complexity among functional connections, and other differences compared to healthy brain models, researchers report. The researchers worked backward from brain rhythms -- the oscillating patterns of electrical activity in the brain recorded on electroencephalograms -- from both healthy and ill individuals.

Brain scans reveal drugs' effects on attention Posted: 14 Oct 2011 07:49 AM PDT Scientists have developed a way to evaluate new treatments for some forms of attention deficit disorder. Working in mice, researchers showed that they can use brain scans to quickly test whether drugs increase levels of a brain chemical known as dopamine.

Heart health impacts wellbeing of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Posted: 14 Oct 2011 07:49 AM PDT A new study has found that processes that control heart rate play an important role in the quality of life experienced by patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The study indicates that heart-related treatments may improve the wellbeing of some individuals with COPD.

Obese children have up to double the risk of having asthma Posted: 14 Oct 2011 07:44 AM PDT Asthma is considered one of the main causes of school absenteeism and its prevalence has risen in the last decades. Overweight children have been shown to have double the frequency of asthma than that of non-obese children.

Breastfeeding reduces the risk of allergies, study suggests Posted: 14 Oct 2011 07:44 AM PDT Today, about one in four European children suffer from allergy, which makes this disease the non-infectious epidemic of the 21st century. Evidence suggests that lifestyle factors and nutritional patterns, such as breastfeeding, help to reduce the early symptoms of allergy.

Another clue to how obesity works Posted: 14 Oct 2011 06:56 AM PDT The effects of obesity -- both on our bodies and on the health budget -- are well known, and now, scientists are getting closer to understanding how the disease progresses, providing clues for future treatments.

Women's heart disease tied to small blood vessels Posted: 14 Oct 2011 06:56 AM PDT After a heart attack, women's hearts are more likely to maintain their systolic function -- their ability to contract and pump blood from the chambers into the arteries. According to researchers, this suggests that heart disease manifests differently in women, affecting the microvasculature (small blood vessels) instead of the macrovasculature (major blood vessels) as it does in men.

An effective treatment for anal incontinence Posted: 14 Oct 2011 06:56 AM PDT Combination therapy for fecal incontinence is more effective than the current standard treatment. This is the conclusion of a randomized trial comparing the different treatments.

Better ways to predict kidney disease risk for African Americans: Gene testing could help identify patients who need early treatment Posted: 14 Oct 2011 05:05 AM PDT African Americans with certain gene variants develop non-diabetic kidney disease more often than expected. African Americans with these variants risk developing focal segmental glomerulosclerosis and HIV nephropathy in particular and may need dialysis at a young age. Screening for these variants could identify individuals who should receive kidney-protective treatments

One in six mobile phones in the UK is contaminated with fecal bacteria, researchers found Posted: 14 Oct 2011 05:05 AM PDT One in six mobile phones in Britain is contaminated with fecal matter, according to new research. Experts say the most likely reason for the potentially harmful bacteria festering on so many gadgets is people failing to wash their hands properly with soap after going to the toilet.

Pulse oximetry: A viable screening tool for infants with suspected congenital heart disease Posted: 14 Oct 2011 05:05 AM PDT Pulse oximetry, a non-invasive procedure that measures the amount of oxygen in the bloodstream, can be used as a screening tool to detect critical congenital heart disease (CCHD) in infants, and is more readily available than echocardiography, the current gold standard for CCHD diagnosis, according to new research.

Parents who go online for pediatric health information are open to doctors' website recommendations Posted: 14 Oct 2011 05:05 AM PDT While parents commonly use the Internet to learn about pediatric health problems, little is known about how often they seek out this information, and how they use it prior to seeking medical care. In a new study, researchers interviewed 262 parents or guardians who brought their child to an urban emergency department about whether they used the Internet as a resource for medical information about their child's illness or injury before making the decision to visit the emergency department.

Minority children less likely to receive CT scans following head trauma Posted: 14 Oct 2011 05:05 AM PDT African-American and Hispanic children are less likely to receive a cranial computed tomography scan in an emergency department following minor head trauma than white children, according to new research.

Pediatric emergency department visits for psychiatric care on the rise Posted: 14 Oct 2011 05:05 AM PDT Pediatric patients, primarily those who are underinsured (either without insurance or receiving Medicaid), are increasingly receiving psychiatric care in hospital emergency departments, according to new research.

Little evidence found to support use of PET-CT in primary bowel cancer, study finds Posted: 14 Oct 2011 05:00 AM PDT New research has found little evidence to support the use of PET-CT add-on imaging device in the pre-operative staging of bowel cancer.

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