ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

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• When nerve meets muscle, biglycan seals the deal
• Stem cell treatments improve heart function after heart attack
• Cognitive stimulation beneficial in dementia
• High population density is greatest risk factor for water-linked diseases
• Building bone from cartilage
• Short-term exposure to most major air pollutants associated with increased risk of heart attack
• Trouble sleeping? It may affect your memory later on
• Zebrafish may hold key to repairing serious eye conditions
• Traumatic brain injuries are likely more common than previously thought
• Antibiotics Ineffective for Most Sinus Infections
• SIV infection may lead to increase in immune-suppressive Treg cells
• Tangled up in DNA: New molecule has potential to help treat genetic diseases and HIV
• Chemists mimic nature to design better medical tests
• Weight loss can be contagious, study suggests
• Fragmented sleep, fragmented mind: A new theory of sleep disruption and dissociation
• New class of potential drugs inhibits inflammation in brain
• Best time for a coffee break? There's an app for that
• Critical stage of embryonic development now observable
• Turmeric-based drug effective on Alzheimer flies
• The developing genome?

When nerve meets muscle, biglycan seals the deal Posted: 14 Feb 2012 06:55 PM PST In the absence of the protein biglycan, synapses at neuromuscular junctions in mice began to break up about five weeks after birth, according to a new study. Reintroducing byglycan helped fix the loss of synaptic stability in cell culture. The research may be relevant to efforts to treat motor neuron diseases, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, Lou Gherig's Disease) and spinal muscular atrophy.

Stem cell treatments improve heart function after heart attack Posted: 14 Feb 2012 06:53 PM PST Stem cell therapy moderately improves heart function after a heart attack, according to a systematic review. But the researchers behind the review say larger clinical trials are needed to establish whether this benefit translates to a longer life.

Cognitive stimulation beneficial in dementia Posted: 14 Feb 2012 06:53 PM PST Cognitive stimulation therapies have beneficial effects on memory and thinking in people with dementia, according to a systematic review. Despite concerns that cognitive improvements may not be matched by improvements in quality of life, the review also found positive effects for well-being.

High population density is greatest risk factor for water-linked diseases Posted: 14 Feb 2012 06:53 PM PST Water-associated infectious disease outbreaks are more likely to occur in areas where a region's population density is growing, according to a new global analysis of economic and environmental conditions that influence the risk for these outbreaks.

Building bone from cartilage Posted: 14 Feb 2012 02:11 PM PST A person has a tumor removed from her femur. A soldier is struck by an improvised explosive device and loses a portion of his tibia. A child undergoes chemotherapy for osteosarcoma but part of the bone dies as a result. Every year, millions of Americans sustain fractures that don't heal or lose bone that isn't successfully grafted.Orthopaedic researchers have just found a very promising, novel way to regenerate bone.

Short-term exposure to most major air pollutants associated with increased risk of heart attack Posted: 14 Feb 2012 02:10 PM PST Short-term exposure (for up to 7 days) to all major air pollutants, with the exception of ozone, is significantly associated with an increased risk of heart attack, according to a new review article.

Trouble sleeping? It may affect your memory later on Posted: 14 Feb 2012 02:10 PM PST The amount and quality of sleep you get at night may affect your memory later in life, according to new research.

Zebrafish may hold key to repairing serious eye conditions Posted: 14 Feb 2012 02:09 PM PST Researchers have taken an important step in understanding retina regeneration, suggesting new possibilities for developing treatments in humans.

Traumatic brain injuries are likely more common than previously thought Posted: 14 Feb 2012 02:09 PM PST Though researchers are becoming increasingly aware of the long-term effects of head injury, few studies have looked at the prevalence of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in all age groups, including males and females, taking into account both mild and serious events.

Antibiotics Ineffective for Most Sinus Infections Posted: 14 Feb 2012 02:09 PM PST Antibiotics that doctors typically prescribe for sinus infections do not reduce symptoms any better than an inactive placebo, according to investigators.

SIV infection may lead to increase in immune-suppressive Treg cells Posted: 14 Feb 2012 10:49 AM PST Tissue in monkeys infected with a close relative of HIV can ramp up production of a type of T cell that actually weakens the body's attack against the invading virus.

Tangled up in DNA: New molecule has potential to help treat genetic diseases and HIV Posted: 14 Feb 2012 10:49 AM PST Chemists have created a molecule that's so good at tangling itself inside the double helix of a DNA sequence that it can stay there for up to 16 days before the DNA liberates itself, much longer than any other molecule reported.

Chemists mimic nature to design better medical tests Posted: 14 Feb 2012 10:49 AM PST Over their 3.8 billion years of evolution, living organisms have developed countless strategies for monitoring their surroundings. Chemists have adapted some of these strategies to improve the performance of DNA detectors. Their findings may aid efforts to build better medical diagnostics, such as improved HIV or cancer tests.

Weight loss can be contagious, study suggests Posted: 14 Feb 2012 09:21 AM PST Researchers have found that teammates in a team-based weight loss competition significantly influenced each other's weight loss, suggesting that weight loss can be contagious.

Fragmented sleep, fragmented mind: A new theory of sleep disruption and dissociation Posted: 14 Feb 2012 09:20 AM PST Scientific research has shed new light on dissociative symptoms and dissociative identity disorder, formerly known as multiple personality disorder. This condition seems to arise most often when a vulnerable person meets a therapist with a suggestive line of questioning or encounters sensationalized media portrayals of dissociation. Research shows that people with rich fantasy lives may be especially susceptible to such influences.

New class of potential drugs inhibits inflammation in brain Posted: 14 Feb 2012 09:20 AM PST Scientists have identified a new group of compounds that may protect brain cells from inflammation linked to seizures and neurodegenerative diseases. The compounds block signals from EP2, one of the four receptors for prostaglandin E2, which is a hormone involved in processes such as fever, childbirth, digestion and blood pressure regulation.

Best time for a coffee break? There's an app for that Posted: 14 Feb 2012 09:18 AM PST Caffeinated drinks such as coffee and soda are the pick-me-ups of choice for many people, but too much caffeine can cause nervousness and sleep problems. Caffeine Zone, a new software app developed by researchers, can help people determine when caffeine may give them a mental boost and when it could hurt their sleep patterns. The software takes information on caffeine use and integrates it with information on the effects of caffeine to produce a graph of how the caffeine will affect the users over time.

Critical stage of embryonic development now observable Posted: 14 Feb 2012 09:18 AM PST A novel approach in the study of the development of mammalian embryos has just been developed. The research enables scientists to view critical aspects of embryonic development which was previously unobservable.

Turmeric-based drug effective on Alzheimer flies Posted: 14 Feb 2012 07:05 AM PST Curcumin, a substance extracted from turmeric, prolongs life and enhances activity of fruit flies with a nervous disorder similar to Alzheimer's disease, according to new research. The study indicates that it is the initial stages of fibril formation and fragments of the amyloid fibrils that are most toxic to neurons.

The developing genome? Posted: 13 Feb 2012 10:34 AM PST An expert says that a genome, rather than a static collection of information, is a dynamic structure itself, responding to stress and contributing to our genetic development. His re-conception of the genome has the potential to provide deeper insight into how all living organisms evolve.

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