ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

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• Genetic mutation implicated in 'broken' heart
• Smoking cessation meds shows promise as alcoholism treatment, study suggests
• Drinking alcohol shrinks critical brain regions in genetically vulnerable mice
• How fast you walk and your grip in middle age may predict dementia, stroke risk
• Autoinjectors offer way to treat prolonged seizures
• Low molecular weight heparin use in cancer treatment
• Traumatic brain injury linked to post-traumatic stress disorder, study suggests
• Computer sleuthing helps unravel RNA's role in cellular function
• Psychiatric diagnoses: Why no one is satisfied
• Hospitalization of US underage drinkers common, costs $755 million a year
• Stem cell study in mice offers hope for treating heart attack patients
• Protein may play role in obesity, diabetes, aging
• Children may have highest exposure to titanium dioxide nanoparticles, found in candy and other products
• New defense mechanism against viruses and cancer identified
• In the mouth, smoking zaps healthy bacteria
• Diabetes may start in the intestines, research suggests
• New molecule discovered in fight against allergy
• New clues about how cancer cells communicate and grow
• Freeze-dried heart valve scaffolds hold promise for heart valve replacement
• Malaria parasite goes bananas before sex
• Huntington disease breakthrough: New potential therapy that restores motor function being planned for clinical trial

Genetic mutation implicated in 'broken' heart Posted: 15 Feb 2012 04:01 PM PST Researchers have found that mutations in a gene called TTN account for 18 percent of sporadic and 25 percent of familial cases of dilated cardiomyopathy, a condition in which the heart becomes weakened and enlarged and cannot properly pump blood.

Smoking cessation meds shows promise as alcoholism treatment, study suggests Posted: 15 Feb 2012 04:01 PM PST A medication commonly used to help people stop smoking may have an unanticipated positive side effect for an entirely different vice: drinking alcohol. A new study finds that varenicline, sold as Chantix, increases the negative effects of alcohol and therefore could hold promise as a treatment for alcoholism.

Drinking alcohol shrinks critical brain regions in genetically vulnerable mice Posted: 15 Feb 2012 04:00 PM PST Brain scans of two strains of mice imbibing significant quantities of alcohol reveal serious shrinkage in some brain regions -- but only in mice lacking a particular type of receptor for dopamine, the brain's "reward" chemical. The study provides new evidence that these dopamine receptors may play a protective role against alcohol-induced brain damage.

How fast you walk and your grip in middle age may predict dementia, stroke risk Posted: 15 Feb 2012 03:58 PM PST Simple tests such as walking speed and hand grip strength may help doctors determine how likely it is a middle-aged person will develop dementia or stroke.

Autoinjectors offer way to treat prolonged seizures Posted: 15 Feb 2012 03:58 PM PST A mutli-site study offers paramedics a better tool for treating seizures -- autoinjectors were found to be a safe, effective alternative to giving drugs by IV.

Low molecular weight heparin use in cancer treatment Posted: 15 Feb 2012 03:58 PM PST Researchers suggest conclusive answers to key questions on the benefits of low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) for cancer patients remain elusive - despite promising results from large studies.

Traumatic brain injury linked to post-traumatic stress disorder, study suggests Posted: 15 Feb 2012 11:31 AM PST Scientists have provided the first evidence of a link between a traumatic brain injury and increased susceptibility to post-traumatic stress disorder.

Computer sleuthing helps unravel RNA's role in cellular function Posted: 15 Feb 2012 11:31 AM PST Computer engineers may have just provided the medical community a new way of figuring out exactly how one of the three building blocks of life forms and functions. They have used a complex computer program to analyze RNA motifs – the subunits that make up RNA.

Psychiatric diagnoses: Why no one is satisfied Posted: 15 Feb 2012 11:29 AM PST As the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders is revised for the first time since 1994, controversy about psychiatric diagnosis is reaching a fever pitch.

Hospitalization of US underage drinkers common, costs $755 million a year Posted: 15 Feb 2012 11:28 AM PST Hospitalization for underage drinking is common in the United States, and it comes with a price tag -- the estimated total cost for these hospitalizations is about $755 million per year, a new study has found.

Stem cell study in mice offers hope for treating heart attack patients Posted: 15 Feb 2012 11:28 AM PST A new stem cell study conducted in mice suggests a novel strategy for treating damaged cardiac tissue in patients following a heart attack. The approach potentially could improve cardiac function, minimize scar size, lead to the development of new blood vessels – and avoid the risk of tissue rejection.

Protein may play role in obesity, diabetes, aging Posted: 15 Feb 2012 09:39 AM PST Researchers have identified a potent regulator of sensitivity to insulin, the hormone that controls blood sugar levels. The new findings may help scientists find better treatments for type II diabetes, obesity and other health problems caused by the body's inability to properly regulate blood sugar.

Children may have highest exposure to titanium dioxide nanoparticles, found in candy and other products Posted: 15 Feb 2012 09:38 AM PST Children may be receiving the highest exposure to nanoparticles of titanium dioxide in candy, which they eat in amounts much larger than adults, according to a new study. A new study provides the first broadly based information on amounts of the nanomaterial – a source of concern with regard to its potential health and environmental effects – in a wide range of consumer goods.

New defense mechanism against viruses and cancer identified Posted: 15 Feb 2012 09:37 AM PST Scientists have found a fundamentally new mechanism how our defense system is ramped up when facing a viral intruder. Exploitation of this mechanism in vaccines sparks new hope for better prevention and therapy of infectious diseases and cancer.

In the mouth, smoking zaps healthy bacteria Posted: 15 Feb 2012 09:33 AM PST According to a new study, smoking causes the body to turn against its own helpful bacteria, leaving smokers more vulnerable to disease.

Diabetes may start in the intestines, research suggests Posted: 15 Feb 2012 09:33 AM PST Scientists have made a surprising discovery about the origin of diabetes. Their research suggests that problems controlling blood sugar — the hallmark of diabetes — may begin in the intestines. The new study, in mice, may upend long-held theories about the causes of the disease.

New molecule discovered in fight against allergy Posted: 15 Feb 2012 05:29 AM PST Scientists have discovered a new molecule that could offer the hope of new treatments for people allergic to the house dust mite.

New clues about how cancer cells communicate and grow Posted: 15 Feb 2012 05:28 AM PST Researchers have shown that the communication signals sent around the body by cancer cells, which are essential for the cancer to grow, may contain pieces of RNA – these substances, like DNA, are pieces of genetic code that can instruct cells, and ultimately the body, how to form. The same study also found early indications that these genetic instructions can be intercepted and modified by chemotherapy to help prevent cancer cells growing.

Freeze-dried heart valve scaffolds hold promise for heart valve replacement Posted: 15 Feb 2012 05:28 AM PST The biological scaffold that gives structure to a heart valve after its cellular material has been removed can be freeze-dried and stored for later use as a tissue-engineered replacement valve to treat a failing heart, as described in a new article.

Malaria parasite goes bananas before sex Posted: 14 Feb 2012 07:09 AM PST New research shows how the malaria parasite changes into a banana shape before sexual reproduction, a finding that could provide targets for vaccine or drug development and may explain how the parasite evades the human immune system.

Huntington disease breakthrough: New potential therapy that restores motor function being planned for clinical trial Posted: 13 Feb 2012 12:41 PM PST Medical researchers have discovered a promising new therapy for Huntington disease that restores lost motor skills and may delay or stop the progression of the disease based on lab model tests, says the lead researcher. Because the new therapy uses a molecule already being used in clinical trials for other diseases, it could be used in a clinical trial for Huntington disease within the next one to two years.

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