ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

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• NCAA mandatory sickle cell screening program not enough to save athletes' lives, study finds
• New vaccine attacks breast cancer in mice
• Massive DNA search uncovers new mutations driving blood cancer
• Gene mutation signals a high risk of recurrence in some older acute-leukemia patients
• Study of two sisters sheds light on lymphoma evolution
• Test for Alzheimer's disease predicts cognitive decline in Parkinson's disease
• Improved medication use could reduce severe asthma attacks
• New finding clears malaria in mice
• Working moms feel better than stay-at-home moms, study finds
• Tapping the brain orchestra
• Breast cancer survivors struggle with cognitive problems several years after treatment
• Few allergies in unstressed babies
• Friends and loved ones yawn together
• Ten years after the attacks on the World Trade Center, human health cost is still being counted
• Novel way to improve outcomes from umbilical cord blood transplants
• Immune system in leukemia patients repaired following chemotherapy
• Decades-old treatment guidelines for anorexia challenged
• Origins of blood stem cells detemined

NCAA mandatory sickle cell screening program not enough to save athletes' lives, study finds Posted: 12 Dec 2011 07:10 PM PST In response to a lawsuit after a college football player died from complications due to sickle cell trait (SCT) during a workout, the NCAA implemented mandatory SCT screening of all Division I student-athletes. A new study evaluated the impact of that policy and found that testing alone will help identify more than 2,000 athletes with SCT, but warns that screening alone will not prevent death.

New vaccine attacks breast cancer in mice Posted: 12 Dec 2011 12:31 PM PST Researchers have developed a vaccine that dramatically reduces tumors in a mouse model that mimics 90 percent of human breast and pancreatic cancer cases -- including those that are resistant to common treatments. The vaccine reveals a promising new strategy for treating cancers that share the same distinct carbohydrate signature, including ovarian and colorectal cancers.

Massive DNA search uncovers new mutations driving blood cancer Posted: 12 Dec 2011 11:42 AM PST The most comprehensive search to date of DNA abnormalities in chronic lymphocytic leukemia has unearthed several new altered genes that drive this common blood cancer, a finding that could potentially help doctors predict whether an individual patient's disease will progress rapidly or remain indolent for years, say scientists.

Gene mutation signals a high risk of recurrence in some older acute-leukemia patients Posted: 12 Dec 2011 11:42 AM PST Older people with acute myeloid leukemia and normal looking chromosomes in their cancer cells have a higher risk of recurrence if they have mutations in the ASXL1gene, according to a new study. The study is the first to investigate the influence of these gene mutations on prognosis in these patients and in conjunction with other prognostic gene mutations. The findings could lead to more effective targeted therapies and improved cure rates for these patients.

Study of two sisters sheds light on lymphoma evolution Posted: 12 Dec 2011 10:26 AM PST A woman received a transplant from her sister to treat leukemia. Both sisters later developed lymphoma, suggesting transfer of a common ancestor. Finding gives scientists new insight into lymphoma development.

Test for Alzheimer's disease predicts cognitive decline in Parkinson's disease Posted: 12 Dec 2011 09:47 AM PST A method of classifying brain atrophy patterns in Alzheimer's disease patients using MRIs can also detect cognitive decline in Parkinson's disease, according to a new study. Researchers also found that higher baseline Alzheimer's patterns of atrophy predicted long-term cognitive decline in cognitively normal Parkinson's patients. The study is published online in Brain.

Improved medication use could reduce severe asthma attacks Posted: 12 Dec 2011 09:46 AM PST Researchers have found that one-quarter of severe asthma attacks could be prevented if only patients consistently took their medication as prescribed. Moreover, an asthma attack was only significantly reduced when patients used at least 75 percent of their prescribed dose, according to the study.

New finding clears malaria in mice Posted: 12 Dec 2011 09:46 AM PST Researchers have discovered how malaria manipulates the immune system to allow the parasite to persist in the bloodstream. By rescuing this immune system pathway, the research team was able to cure mice of bloodstream malaria infections.

Working moms feel better than stay-at-home moms, study finds Posted: 12 Dec 2011 09:45 AM PST Mothers with jobs tend to be healthier and happier than moms who stay at home during their children's infancy and preschool years, according to a new study.

Tapping the brain orchestra Posted: 12 Dec 2011 06:37 AM PST Researchers have developed a new method for detailed analyses of electrical activity in the brain. The method can help doctors and researchers to better interpret brain cell signals. In turn, this may lead to considerable steps forward in terms of interpreting for example EEG measurements, making diagnoses and treatment of various brain illnesses.

Breast cancer survivors struggle with cognitive problems several years after treatment Posted: 12 Dec 2011 06:37 AM PST A new analysis has found that breast cancer survivors may experience problems with certain mental abilities several years after treatment, regardless of whether they were treated with chemotherapy plus radiation or radiation only.

Few allergies in unstressed babies Posted: 12 Dec 2011 06:27 AM PST A new study shows that infants with low concentrations of the stress-related hormone cortisol in their saliva develop fewer allergies than other infants. Hopefully this new knowledge will be useful in future allergy prevention.

Friends and loved ones yawn together Posted: 12 Dec 2011 06:26 AM PST Yawning is contagious, as everybody knows. A new study shows that "yawn transmission" is more frequent, and faster, between people sharing an emotional bond: close friends, kin, and mates.

Ten years after the attacks on the World Trade Center, human health cost is still being counted Posted: 12 Dec 2011 06:26 AM PST The World Trade Center disaster exposed nearly half a million people to hazardous chemicals, environmental toxins, and traumatic events. According to recent research, this has resulted in increased risk of developing physical and mental health conditions after 9/11.

Novel way to improve outcomes from umbilical cord blood transplants Posted: 11 Dec 2011 07:20 PM PST A new method to boost the number of immune cells in umbilical cord blood prior to cord blood transplants for cancer patients appears to lead to a quicker rebuilding of a new immune system in the patient's body than with a conventional cord blood transplant procedure, according to new research.

Immune system in leukemia patients repaired following chemotherapy Posted: 11 Dec 2011 07:20 PM PST A new treatment using leukemia patients' own infection-fighting cells appears to protect them from infections and cancer recurrence following treatment with fludarabine-based chemotherapy, according to new research.

Decades-old treatment guidelines for anorexia challenged Posted: 09 Dec 2011 07:57 AM PST Adolescents hospitalized with anorexia nervosa who receive treatment based on current recommendations for refeeding fail to gain significant weight during their first week in the hospital, according to a new study.

Origins of blood stem cells detemined Posted: 09 Dec 2011 07:57 AM PST Scientists have discovered a molecular marker for the immediate precursors of hematopoietic stem cells in the developing embryo, which provides much-needed insights for making these cells from engineered precursors.

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