ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

---

• Facebook use leads to depression? No, says study
• Cutting daily sitting time to under three hours might extend life by two years
• Small molecule may play big role in Alzheimer's disease
• Newer technology to control blood sugar works better than conventional methods
• Cranberry products associated with prevention of urinary tract infections
• Drug from Mediterranean weed kills tumor cells in mice
• New screening method for sudden death in athletes
• Regulation by proteins outside cancer cells points to potential new drug target: Reprogram cancer cells to state of permanent dormancy?
• Hormone curbs depressive-like symptoms in stressed mice
• Rating films with smoking 'R' will cut smoking onset by teens, experts say
• Long-term hormone treatment increases synapses in female rats' prefrontal cortex
• Cell differentiation as a novel strategy for the treatment of an aggressive type of skin cancer
• Technique spots disease using immune cell DNA
• Better treatment for brain cancer revealed by new molecular insights
• New target discovered deep within cancer cells
• Pediatric brain tumors traced to brain stem cells
• Handlebar level can affect sexual health of female cyclists
• Lipid helps cells find their way by keeping their 'antennae' up
• Turning off key piece of genetic coding eliminates toxic effect of statins, study suggests
• Good news about the glycemic index of rice
• Lower iron levels seen in newborns of obese mothers
• Discovery of epigenetic links in cell-fate decisions of adult stem cells paves way for new osteoporosis treatments
• New gene transfer strategy shows promise for limb girdle and other muscular dystrophies
• HPV vaccine reduces infection, even in unvaccinated: Evidence of 'herd' protection
• Overweight? There's a vaccine for that, at least for mice
• New avenue to better medicines: Metal-peptide complexes
• Wound care meta-review draws firm conclusions

Facebook use leads to depression? No, says study Posted: 09 Jul 2012 08:11 PM PDT A study of university students is the first evidence to refute the supposed link between depression and the amount of time spent on Facebook and other social-media sites.

Cutting daily sitting time to under three hours might extend life by two years Posted: 09 Jul 2012 08:11 PM PDT Restricting the amount of time spent seated every day to less than three hours might boost the life expectancy of US adults by an extra two years, indicates a new analysis.

Small molecule may play big role in Alzheimer's disease Posted: 09 Jul 2012 02:24 PM PDT Alzheimer's disease is one of the most dreaded illnesses facing older Americans. Researchers have used supercomputing to reach a consensus on the underlying mechanism of the disease.

Newer technology to control blood sugar works better than conventional methods Posted: 09 Jul 2012 02:24 PM PDT Newer technologies designed to help people with type 1 diabetes monitor their blood sugar levels daily work better than traditional methods and require fewer painful needle sticks, new research suggests.

Cranberry products associated with prevention of urinary tract infections Posted: 09 Jul 2012 01:27 PM PDT Use of cranberry-containing products appears to be associated with prevention of urinary tract infections in some individuals, according to a new study.

Drug from Mediterranean weed kills tumor cells in mice Posted: 09 Jul 2012 12:54 PM PDT Scientists have developed a novel anticancer drug designed to travel -- undetected by normal cells -- through the bloodstream until activated by specific cancer proteins. The drug, made from a weed-like plant, has been shown to destroy cancers and their direct blood supplies, acting like a "molecular grenade," and sparing healthy blood vessels and tissues.

New screening method for sudden death in athletes Posted: 09 Jul 2012 12:54 PM PDT A new study suggests that echocardiography be included as part of screenings to help identify student athletes with heart problems that could lead to sudden death.

Regulation by proteins outside cancer cells points to potential new drug target: Reprogram cancer cells to state of permanent dormancy? Posted: 09 Jul 2012 12:54 PM PDT Proteins outside cancer cells that send signals to the cancerous cells to stop proliferating represent a potential novel target for therapeutic strategy, says a biochemist whose team made the finding.

Hormone curbs depressive-like symptoms in stressed mice Posted: 09 Jul 2012 12:54 PM PDT A hormone with anti-diabetic properties also reduces depression-like symptoms in mice. The finding offers a novel target for treating depression.

Rating films with smoking 'R' will cut smoking onset by teens, experts say Posted: 09 Jul 2012 12:06 PM PDT New research estimates, for the first time, the impact of an R rating for movie smoking. Researchers emphasize that an R rating for any film showing smoking could substantially reduce smoking onset in US adolescents -- an effect size similar to making all parents maximally authoritative in their parenting, they say.

Long-term hormone treatment increases synapses in female rats' prefrontal cortex Posted: 09 Jul 2012 11:28 AM PDT A new study of aged female rats found that long-term treatment with estrogen and a synthetic progesterone known as MPA increased levels of a protein marker of synapses in the prefrontal cortex, a brain region known to suffer significant losses in aging. The new findings appear to contradict the results of the Women's Health Initiative, a long-term study begun in 1991 to analyze the effects of hormone therapy on a large sample of healthy postmenopausal women aged 50 to 79.

Cell differentiation as a novel strategy for the treatment of an aggressive type of skin cancer Posted: 09 Jul 2012 10:36 AM PDT Researchers have discovered a molecular mechanism that favors the disappearance and inhibition of SCC development. The authors propose that these mechanisms could be crucial for the development of targeted therapies that could potentially overcome drug resistance.

Technique spots disease using immune cell DNA Posted: 09 Jul 2012 10:36 AM PDT By looking at signature chemical differences in the DNA of various immune cells called leukocytes, scientists have developed a way to determine their relative abundance in blood samples. The relative abundance turns out to correlate with specific cancers and other diseases, making the technique, described in two recent papers, potentially valuable not only for research but also for diagnostics and treatment monitoring.

Better treatment for brain cancer revealed by new molecular insights Posted: 09 Jul 2012 10:35 AM PDT Nearly a third of adults with the most common type of brain cancer develop recurrent, invasive tumors after being treated with a drug called bevacizumab. The molecular underpinnings behind these detrimental effects have now been deciphered. The findings reveal a new treatment strategy that could reduce tumor invasiveness and improve survival in these drug-resistant patients.

New target discovered deep within cancer cells Posted: 09 Jul 2012 10:35 AM PDT Investigators have found that blocking a fundamental process deep within cancer cells can selectively kill them and spare normal cells.

Pediatric brain tumors traced to brain stem cells Posted: 09 Jul 2012 10:34 AM PDT Stem cells that come from a specific part of the developing brain help fuel the growth of brain tumors caused by an inherited condition, researchers report.

Handlebar level can affect sexual health of female cyclists Posted: 09 Jul 2012 09:16 AM PDT Handlebar position is associated with changes in genital sensation in female cyclists, according to a new study.

Lipid helps cells find their way by keeping their 'antennae' up Posted: 09 Jul 2012 09:16 AM PDT A lipid that helps lotion soften the skin also helps cells find and stay in the right location in the body by ensuring they keep their "antennae" up, scientists report.

Turning off key piece of genetic coding eliminates toxic effect of statins, study suggests Posted: 09 Jul 2012 09:13 AM PDT A new study sheds light on cholesterol and bile metabolism in the liver.

Good news about the glycemic index of rice Posted: 09 Jul 2012 07:27 AM PDT Research analyzing 235 types of rice from around the world has found its glycemic index varies from one type of rice to another with most varieties scoring a low to medium GI.

Lower iron levels seen in newborns of obese mothers Posted: 09 Jul 2012 07:25 AM PDT Being born to an obese mother with elevated levels of the hormone hepcidin was associated with lower iron status at birth, according to researchers.

Discovery of epigenetic links in cell-fate decisions of adult stem cells paves way for new osteoporosis treatments Posted: 09 Jul 2012 06:32 AM PDT The ability to control whether certain stem cells ultimately become bone cells holds great promise for regenerative medicine and potential therapies aimed at treating metabolic bone diseases, especially osteoporosis. Now, scientists have made a significant breakthrough in that direction. The scientists have discovered two key epigenetic regulating genes that govern the cell-fate determination of human bone marrow stem cells.

New gene transfer strategy shows promise for limb girdle and other muscular dystrophies Posted: 09 Jul 2012 06:32 AM PDT The challenge of treating patients with genetic disorders in which a single mutated gene is simply too large to be replaced using traditional gene therapy techniques may soon be a thing of the past. A new study describes a new gene therapy approach capable of delivering full-length versions of large genes and improving skeletal muscle function. The strategy may hold new hope for treating dysferlinopathies and other muscular dystrophies.

HPV vaccine reduces infection, even in unvaccinated: Evidence of 'herd' protection Posted: 09 Jul 2012 06:32 AM PDT The HPV vaccine not only has resulted in a decrease in human papillomavirus infection in immunized teens but also in teens who were not immunized. The study is believed to be the first to show a substantial decrease in HPV infection in a community setting as well as herd protection.

Overweight? There's a vaccine for that, at least for mice Posted: 09 Jul 2012 06:31 AM PDT New vaccines promote weight loss. A new study assesses the effectiveness of two somatostatin vaccinations, JH17 and JH18, in reducing weight gain and increasing weight loss in mice. Four days after the first injection of modified somatostatin, the vaccinated mice had a 10% drop in body weight (not seen in the control mice).

New avenue to better medicines: Metal-peptide complexes Posted: 09 Jul 2012 06:25 AM PDT Scientists have used metal complexes to modify peptide hormones. They report for the first time on the three-dimensional structure of the resulting metal-peptide compounds. "With this work, we have laid the molecular foundation for the development of better medicines" says one of the researchers. The team examined hormones that influence the sensation of pain and tumour growth.

Wound care meta-review draws firm conclusions Posted: 09 Jul 2012 06:25 AM PDT Robust evidence exists for some wound care interventions, but there are still gaps in current knowledge requiring international consensus and further high-level clinical evidence, according to a paper published online by BJS, the British Journal of Surgery.

You are subscribed to email updates from ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610