ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

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• Complex wiring of the nervous system may rely on a just a handful of genes and proteins
• Pitchers: Elbow position not a predictor of injury
• C-sections linked to breathing problems in preterm infants, study suggests
• Drug halts organ damage in inflammatory genetic disorder, study suggests
• EEG pattern reflects brain's shift into low-energy, protective mode
• New method for creating tissue engineering scaffolds
• Over-expression of a protein responsible for neuronal damage in Down's syndrome sufferers
• Cannabis use doubles chances of vehicle crash
• Metastatic breast cancer hitches a free ride from the immune system
• A novel method for simultaneously measuring blood pressure and arterial stiffness
• Arthritic knees, but not hips, have robust repair response
• Risks and benefits of birthing facilities
• Neurologic improvement detected in rats receiving stem cell transplant
• For women with prior cesarean, optimal gestational age for elective delivery is week 39
• Phosphate additives pose a risk to health, study suggests
• Four natural extracts with anti-obesity effects tested on rats
• Sleep breathing machine shows clear benefits in children with sleep apnea, study suggests
• Curry spice component may help slow prostate tumor growth
• Better tooth fillings? Materials that shrink when heated
• New method makes culture of complex tissue possible in any lab
• New avenue for treating colon cancer
• Decoding the molecular machine behind E. coli and cholera
• Why fishermen keep fishing despite dwindling catches
• Ultrasound study provides first direct evidence of effect of malaria on fetal growth
• A gentler way of doing brain surgery

Complex wiring of the nervous system may rely on a just a handful of genes and proteins Posted: 11 Feb 2012 06:53 AM PST Researchers have discovered a startling feature of early brain development that helps to explain how complex neuron wiring patterns are programmed using just a handful of critical genes. The findings may help scientists develop new therapies for neurological disorders, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and provide insight into certain cancers.

Pitchers: Elbow position not a predictor of injury Posted: 11 Feb 2012 06:52 AM PST Elbow position alone appeared to not affect injury rates and performance in college-level, male pitchers say researchers.

C-sections linked to breathing problems in preterm infants, study suggests Posted: 10 Feb 2012 10:34 AM PST A cesarean delivery, which was thought to be harmless, is associated with breathing problems in preterm babies who are small for gestational age, a new study suggests.

Drug halts organ damage in inflammatory genetic disorder, study suggests Posted: 10 Feb 2012 10:34 AM PST A new study shows that Kineret (anakinra), a medication approved for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, is effective in stopping the progression of organ damage in people with neonatal-onset multisystem inflammatory disease. This rare and debilitating genetic disorder causes persistent inflammation and ongoing tissue damage.

EEG pattern reflects brain's shift into low-energy, protective mode Posted: 10 Feb 2012 10:34 AM PST A distinctive pattern of brain activity associated with conditions including deep anesthesia, coma and congenital brain disorders appears to represent the brain's shift into a protective, low-activity state in response to reduced metabolic energy.

New method for creating tissue engineering scaffolds Posted: 10 Feb 2012 10:33 AM PST Researchers have developed a new method for creating scaffolds for tissue engineering applications, providing an alternative that is more flexible and less time-intensive than current technology.

Over-expression of a protein responsible for neuronal damage in Down's syndrome sufferers Posted: 10 Feb 2012 10:32 AM PST A new study reproduced the same morphological and functional patterns of neuronal connections in a transgenic mouse as seen in people with Down's syndrome. Regulating the activity of this protein produced very similar neuronal growth to that in a healthy mouse.

Cannabis use doubles chances of vehicle crash Posted: 10 Feb 2012 08:12 AM PST Drivers who consume cannabis within three hours of driving are nearly twice as likely to cause a vehicle collision as those who are not under the influence of drugs or alcohol claims a paper published today on bmj.com.

Metastatic breast cancer hitches a free ride from the immune system Posted: 10 Feb 2012 08:12 AM PST Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is the most lethal form of breast cancer . It spreads easily through the lymphatic and blood vessels, forming metastasis which can lead to multi-organ failure. New research demonstrates how IBC cells use IL-8, secreted as part of the anti-inflammatory response by a specific set of white blood cells (monocytes), to increase fibronectin expression.

A novel method for simultaneously measuring blood pressure and arterial stiffness Posted: 10 Feb 2012 08:12 AM PST Arterial stiffness due to is a major contributor to cardiovascular disease but is very difficult to measure. A new method for measuring arterial stiffness has been developed. This simple, non-invasive, calculation is able to interpret standard oscillometric measurements to quantify both arterial stiffness and blood pressure simultaneously.

Arthritic knees, but not hips, have robust repair response Posted: 10 Feb 2012 08:05 AM PST Researchers used new tools they developed to analyze knees and hips and discovered that osteoarthritic knee joints are in a constant state of repair, while hip joints are not.

Risks and benefits of birthing facilities Posted: 10 Feb 2012 08:02 AM PST Researchers have found that the risk of obstetric intervention is lower for women who deliver or intend to deliver outside of hospitals, but there are some higher risks for newborns intended for home births compared to hospital births.

Neurologic improvement detected in rats receiving stem cell transplant Posted: 10 Feb 2012 08:02 AM PST Researchers report that early transplantation of human placenta-derived mesenchymal stem cells into the lateral ventricles of neonatal rats with birth-related brain damage is possible, and that the donor cells can survive and migrate in the recipient's brain. The study was designed to have the rat's brain damage mimic brain injury in infants with very low birth weight.

For women with prior cesarean, optimal gestational age for elective delivery is week 39 Posted: 10 Feb 2012 08:02 AM PST For women with prior delivery via cesarean section the optimal timing of elective delivery for mother and baby is 39 weeks even after consideration of the risk with continuing pregnancy.

Phosphate additives pose a risk to health, study suggests Posted: 10 Feb 2012 08:00 AM PST Excessive consumption of phosphate is damaging to health. Therefore, food that contains phosphate additives should be labeled, researchers recommend.

Four natural extracts with anti-obesity effects tested on rats Posted: 10 Feb 2012 08:00 AM PST Researchers have identified four plant extracts that might help in preventing and fighting obesity. The researchers identified the most effective plant extracts through in vitro assays; subsequently, extracts were tested on rats. While the results obtained are promising, further studies on animals are required to evaluate and confirm the anti-obesity effects of these extracts. Once their anti-obesity effects are confirmed on animals, the extracts will be tested on humans.

Sleep breathing machine shows clear benefits in children with sleep apnea, study suggests Posted: 10 Feb 2012 07:59 AM PST Children and adolescents with obstructive sleep apnea had substantial improvements in attention, anxiety and quality of life after treatment with positive airway pressure (PAP) —- a nighttime therapy in which a machine delivers a stream of air through a mask into the nose.

Curry spice component may help slow prostate tumor growth Posted: 10 Feb 2012 07:58 AM PST Curcumin, an active component of the Indian curry spice turmeric, may help slow down tumor growth in castration-resistant prostate cancer patients on androgen deprivation therapy, a new study suggests.

Better tooth fillings? Materials that shrink when heated Posted: 10 Feb 2012 07:47 AM PST New research holds promise for applications ranging from high-precision optical components to tooth fillings.

New method makes culture of complex tissue possible in any lab Posted: 09 Feb 2012 02:29 PM PST Scientists have developed a new method for making scaffolds for culturing tissue in three-dimensional arrangements that mimic those in the body. This advance allows the production of tissue culture scaffolds containing multiple structurally and chemically distinct layers using common laboratory reagents and materials.

New avenue for treating colon cancer Posted: 09 Feb 2012 02:29 PM PST Cell biologists have uncovered a new insight into colon cancer, the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States. The team analyzed human colon cancer specimens and found that in nearly 80 percent of them the variants of a gene (HNF4A) are out of balance. This imbalance appears to be the result of a complex, multi-step process by an enzyme (Src kinase).

Decoding the molecular machine behind E. coli and cholera Posted: 09 Feb 2012 02:28 PM PST Scientists have discovered the workings behind some of the bacteria that kill hundreds of thousands every year, possibly paving the way for new antibiotics that could treat infections more effectively.

Why fishermen keep fishing despite dwindling catches Posted: 09 Feb 2012 02:28 PM PST Half of fishermen would not give up their livelihood in the face of drastically declining catches, according to new research. A new report challenges previously held notions about poverty and adaptation by investigating why fishermen in developing countries stick with their trade.

Ultrasound study provides first direct evidence of effect of malaria on fetal growth Posted: 09 Feb 2012 02:28 PM PST A study of almost 3,800 pregnancies has provided the most accurate and direct evidence to date that malaria infection reduces early fetal growth. Low birth weight is the most important risk factor for neonatal mortality in developing countries. The research, carried out on the border of Thailand and Myanmar, highlights the importance of preventing malaria in pregnancy.

A gentler way of doing brain surgery Posted: 09 Feb 2012 02:26 PM PST Brain surgery is getting much easier for many patients. Neurosurgeons are using catheters rather than open surgery to repair aneurysms and other defects. Patients recover in a few days, with less chance of cognitive deficits.

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