ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

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• New 'biopsy in a blood test' to detect cancer
• How to tell apart the forgetful from those at risk of Alzheimer’s disease
• U. S. Counties with thriving small businesses have healthier residents
• New RNA-based therapeutic strategies for controlling gene expression
• Football findings suggest concussions caused by series of hits
• New technique successfully dissolves blood clots in brain and lowers risk of brain damage after stroke, study suggests
• Untangling the mysteries of Alzheimer's
• DNA test that identifies Down syndrome in pregnancy can also detect trisomy 18 and trisomy 13
• Elevated glucose associated with undetected heart damage
• Some roads and playgrounds in North Dakota contain cancer causing erionite
• Why red wine can be healthy: Probable mechanism underlying resveratrol activity uncovered
• Coffee consumption reduces fibrosis risk in those with fatty liver disease, study suggests
• Sickle cell anemia stroke prevention efforts may have decreased racial disparities
• Erratic heart rhythm may account for some unexplained strokes
• Anemia may more than triple your risk of dying after a stroke
• Human immune cells react sensitively to 'stress'
• Eating together? Simply a matter of adapting
• Young children exposed to anesthesia multiple times show elevated rates of ADHD
• Rearranging the cell's skeleton: Small molecules at the cell’s membrane enable cell movement
• Same genes linked to early- and late-onset Alzheimer's
• Stem cells could drive hepatitis research forward
• Potatoes lower blood pressure in people with obesity and hypertension without increasing weight
• Does Borna disease virus cause mental illness?

New 'biopsy in a blood test' to detect cancer Posted: 02 Feb 2012 05:17 PM PST Scientists and cancer physicians have successfully demonstrated the effectiveness of an advanced blood test for detecting and analyzing circulating tumor cells -- breakaway cells from patients' solid tumors -- from cancer patients. The findings show that the highly sensitive blood analysis provides information that may soon be comparable to that from some types of surgical biopsies.

How to tell apart the forgetful from those at risk of Alzheimer’s disease Posted: 02 Feb 2012 05:16 PM PST It can be difficult to distinguish between people with normal age-associated memory loss and those with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI). However people with aMCI are at a greater risk of developing Alzheimer's disease (AD), and identification of these people would mean that they could begin treatment as early as possible. New research shows that specific questions, included as part of a questionnaire designed to help diagnose AD, are also able to discriminate between normal memory loss and aMCI.

U. S. Counties with thriving small businesses have healthier residents Posted: 02 Feb 2012 05:15 PM PST U.S. counties and parishes with a greater concentration of small, locally-owned businesses have healthier populations — with lower rates of mortality, obesity and diabetes — than do those that rely on large companies with "absentee" owners, according to a national study.

New RNA-based therapeutic strategies for controlling gene expression Posted: 02 Feb 2012 01:48 PM PST Small RNA-based nucleic acid drugs represent a promising new class of therapeutic agents for silencing abnormal or overactive disease-causing genes, and researchers have discovered new mechanisms by which RNA drugs can control gene activity.

Football findings suggest concussions caused by series of hits Posted: 02 Feb 2012 01:48 PM PST A two-year study of high school football players suggests that concussions are likely caused by many hits over time and not from a single blow to the head, as commonly believed.

New technique successfully dissolves blood clots in brain and lowers risk of brain damage after stroke, study suggests Posted: 02 Feb 2012 01:45 PM PST Neurologists report success with a new means of getting rid of potentially lethal blood clots in the brain safely without cutting through easily damaged brain tissue or removing large pieces of skull.

Untangling the mysteries of Alzheimer's Posted: 02 Feb 2012 12:17 PM PST Researchers have found new evidence that confirms the significance of a protein that neuroscientists call tau to the development of Alzheimer's disease. While earlier studies have focused on tau's aggregation into twisted structures known as "neurofibrillary tangles," the new work emphasizes intermediary steps between single protein units and the much larger tangles – small assemblages of two, three, four or more proteins, which the investigators believe are the most toxic entities in Alzheimer's.

DNA test that identifies Down syndrome in pregnancy can also detect trisomy 18 and trisomy 13 Posted: 02 Feb 2012 12:17 PM PST A recent study shows that a new DNA test that identifies Down syndrome in pregnancy can also detect trisomies 18 and 13.

Elevated glucose associated with undetected heart damage Posted: 02 Feb 2012 12:17 PM PST A new study suggests that hyperglycemia injures the heart, even in patients without a history of heart disease or diabetes. The high-sensitivity test they used detected levels of cTnT tenfold lower than those found in patients diagnosed with a heart attack.

Some roads and playgrounds in North Dakota contain cancer causing erionite Posted: 02 Feb 2012 12:14 PM PST What would you do if you found out that the roads you drive on could cause cancer? This is the reality that residents face in Dunn County, North Dakota. For roughly 30 years, gravel containing the potentially carcinogenic mineral erionite was spread on nearly 500 kilometers of roads, playgrounds, parking lots, and even flower beds throughout Dunn County.

Why red wine can be healthy: Probable mechanism underlying resveratrol activity uncovered Posted: 02 Feb 2012 12:11 PM PST Researchers have identified how resveratrol, a naturally occurring chemical found in red wine and other plant products, may confer its health benefits. The authors present evidence that resveratrol does not directly activate sirtuin 1, a protein associated with aging. Rather, the authors found that resveratrol inhibits certain types of proteins known as phosphodiesterases (PDEs), enzymes that help regulate cell energy.

Coffee consumption reduces fibrosis risk in those with fatty liver disease, study suggests Posted: 02 Feb 2012 12:10 PM PST Caffeine consumption has long been associated with decreased risk of liver disease and reduced fibrosis in patients with chronic liver disease. Now, new research confirms that coffee caffeine consumption reduces the risk of advanced fibrosis in those with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. New findings show that increased coffee intake, specifically among patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, decreases risk of hepatic fibrosis.

Sickle cell anemia stroke prevention efforts may have decreased racial disparities Posted: 02 Feb 2012 06:46 AM PST The disparity in stroke-related deaths among black and white children dramatically narrowed after prevention strategies changed to include ultrasound screening and chronic blood transfusions for children with sickle cell anemia, according to new research.

Erratic heart rhythm may account for some unexplained strokes Posted: 02 Feb 2012 06:46 AM PST Occasional erratic heart rhythms appear to cause about one-fifth of strokes for which a cause is not readily established.

Anemia may more than triple your risk of dying after a stroke Posted: 02 Feb 2012 06:45 AM PST Being anemic could more than triple your risk of dying within a year after having a stroke, according to new research.

Human immune cells react sensitively to 'stress' Posted: 02 Feb 2012 06:38 AM PST Scientists have demonstrated for the first time that certain cells circulating in human blood -- so-called monocytes -- are extremely sensitive to reactive oxygen species (ROS). They were also able to clarify the reason for this: ROS are aggressive forms of oxygen that are generated during states of "oxidative stress" and play a significant role in various diseases.

Eating together? Simply a matter of adapting Posted: 02 Feb 2012 06:38 AM PST Women dining together finely tune their eating behavior to that of their dining partner. Rather than eating at their own pace, they tend to take bites at the same time as the person sitting across the table.

Young children exposed to anesthesia multiple times show elevated rates of ADHD Posted: 02 Feb 2012 06:22 AM PST Researchers have found that multiple exposures to anesthesia at a young age are associated with higher rates of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Rearranging the cell's skeleton: Small molecules at the cell’s membrane enable cell movement Posted: 02 Feb 2012 06:22 AM PST Cell biologists have identified key steps in how certain molecules alter a cell's skeletal shape and drive the cell's movement.

Same genes linked to early- and late-onset Alzheimer's Posted: 01 Feb 2012 02:32 PM PST The same gene mutations linked to inherited, early-onset Alzheimer's disease have been found in people with the more common late-onset form of the illness. The discovery may lead doctors and researchers to change the way Alzheimer's disease is classified.

Stem cells could drive hepatitis research forward Posted: 01 Feb 2012 09:07 AM PST Researchers have produced liver-like cells from induced pluripotent stem cells. By creating liver-like cells, scientists can study why people respond differently to Hepatitis C.

Potatoes lower blood pressure in people with obesity and hypertension without increasing weight Posted: 01 Feb 2012 09:07 AM PST The first study to check the effects of eating potatoes on blood pressure in humans has concluded that two small helpings of purple potatoes a day decreases blood pressure by about four percent without causing weight gain. The researchers say that decrease, although seemingly small, is sufficient to potentially reduce the risk of several forms of heart disease.

Does Borna disease virus cause mental illness? Posted: 31 Jan 2012 02:56 PM PST Over the past 30 years, numerous studies have linked Borna disease virus with mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety disorder and dementia, but study results have been inconsistent. Now, the first blinded, case-control study to examine this issue finds no association between the virus and psychiatric illness.

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