ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

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• Brain displays an intrinsic mechanism for fighting infection
• Potent antibodies neutralize HIV and could offer new therapy, study finds
• Intensified chemotherapy shows promise for children with very high risk form of leukemia
• Experimental graft-versus-host disease treatment equivalent to standard care in phase 3 trial
• More than 3,000 epigenetic switches control daily liver cycles
• Conservatives can be persuaded to care more about environmental issues when couched in terms of fending off threats to 'purity'
• Pre-diabetic patients respond to self-directed lifestyle interventions, researcher says
• Binge eating, overeating may be associated with initiating use of marijuana, other drugs
• Mobile app boosts weight loss by 15 pounds
• Can going hungry as a child slow down cognitive decline in later years?
• Drug combination acts against aggressive chronic lymphocytic leukemia
• Inspiration from a porcupine's quills
• Biologists engineer algae to make complex anti-cancer 'designer' drug
• How our nerves regulate insulin secretion
• Toxic interaction in neurons that leads to dementia and ALS discovered
• Blood levels of immune protein predict risk in Hodgkin disease
• Most popular weight-loss drug strongly alters other drug therapies, study suggests
• Glaucoma study could inspire e-reader apps: New findings show silent reading difficulties in glaucoma patients
• Teen dating violence linked to long-term harmful effects
• Drug helps women who stop smoking keep off weight
• Novel drug therapy targets aggressive form of non-hodgkin's lymphoma
• Cancer scientists identify liposarcoma tumors that respond to chemotherapy
• Overweight pregnant women not getting proper weight-gain advice, study suggests
• Caffeinated coffee may reduce the risk of oral cancers
• Infants with severe RSV disease may be immunosuppressed
• New pathway for drug development? Targeting alpha arrestins could increase therapeutic benefits of drugs and negate adverse results
• Prostate cancer now detectable by imaging-guided biopsy
• Internet use can reduce fatalistic view of cancer
• Alcohol pricing policies save lives and increase profits, experts say
• Digested formula, but not breast milk, is toxic to cells, in vitro study finds
• Stem cell research provides hope for infertile cancer survivors: Transplanted stem cells could preserve male fertility
• To fight incurable metastatic breast cancer, resistance must be broken
• From fish to man: Research reveals how fins became legs
• Targeted molecular therapy for untreatable neurofibroma tumors
• New biomaterial gets 'sticky' with stem cells
• New multiple myeloma drug shows promise in treating people with advanced disease
• Brown adipose tissue has beneficial effects on metabolism and glucose tolerance
• Antibody orientation matters
• Carbon nanotubes lower nerve-damaging chloride in cells
• Experiment finds Achilles' heel of ulcer bug, H. pylori
• Mother’s vitamin D level linked to birth weight
• Into adulthood, sickle cell patients rely on ER
• Functional magnetic resonance imaging offers insights into mental fatigue
• Breakthrough medical research relies heavily on NIH funding
• To make old skin cells act young again, boost their surroundings
• Earphones, music players on kids' holiday gift lists? Add a hearing screening
• Face transplantation calls for 'reverse craniofacial planning'
• Morning vs nighttime replacement affects adverse events with extended-wear contact lenses
• Leukemia patients remain in remission more than two years after engineered T cell therapy
• ADHD linked to oxygen deprivation before birth
• Commercial ultrasonic frequency devices do not repel bed bugs, study suggests
• Second-hand smoke increases risk of invasive meningococcal disease in children
• Iron supplements reduce ADHD in low birth weight infants
• Oxytocin produces more engaged fathers and more responsive infants
• Engineered immune cells produce complete response in child with an aggressive leukemia
• Maintaining weight loss as important as losing it for older women

Brain displays an intrinsic mechanism for fighting infection Posted: 10 Dec 2012 07:12 PM PST White blood cells have long reigned as the heroes of the immune system. When an infection strikes, the cells, produced in bone marrow, race through the blood to fight off the pathogen. But new research is emerging that individual organs can also play a role in immune system defense, essentially being their own hero. In a study examining a rare and deadly brain infection, scientists have found that the brain cells of healthy people likely produce their own immune system molecules, demonstrating an "intrinsic immunity" that is crucial for stopping an infection.

Potent antibodies neutralize HIV and could offer new therapy, study finds Posted: 10 Dec 2012 07:09 PM PST Having HIV/AIDS is no longer a death sentence, but it's still a lifelong illness that requires an expensive daily cocktail of drugs -- and it means tolerating those drugs' side effects and running the risk of resistance. Researchers may have found something better: they've shown that a therapeutic approach harnessing proteins from the human immune system can suppress the virus in mice without the need for daily application and could one day be used in humans to treat the disease.

Intensified chemotherapy shows promise for children with very high risk form of leukemia Posted: 10 Dec 2012 05:04 PM PST Pediatric patients with B-precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia who are likely to relapse after chemotherapy treatment can reduce those odds by receiving additional courses of chemotherapy, according to new research.

Experimental graft-versus-host disease treatment equivalent to standard care in phase 3 trial Posted: 10 Dec 2012 02:41 PM PST Researchers found an experimental drug combination for preventing graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) was not significantly better than the standard regimen of care, but that the new combination could provide an alternative that could be preferable in certain scenarios.

More than 3,000 epigenetic switches control daily liver cycles Posted: 10 Dec 2012 02:41 PM PST When it's dark, and we start to fall asleep, most of us think we're tired because our bodies need rest. Yet circadian rhythms affect our bodies not just on a global scale, but at the level of individual organs, and even genes.

Conservatives can be persuaded to care more about environmental issues when couched in terms of fending off threats to 'purity' Posted: 10 Dec 2012 01:37 PM PST When it comes to climate change, deforestation and toxic waste, the assumption has been that conservative views on these topics are intractable. But new research suggests that such viewpoints can be changed after all, when the messages about the need to be better stewards of the land are couched in terms of fending off threats to the "purity" and "sanctity" of Earth and our bodies.

Pre-diabetic patients respond to self-directed lifestyle interventions, researcher says Posted: 10 Dec 2012 01:37 PM PST Efforts to help overweight patients avoid diabetes through lifestyle changes need not rely on intensive, one-on-one focused programs, a new clinical study has found.

Binge eating, overeating may be associated with initiating use of marijuana, other drugs Posted: 10 Dec 2012 01:36 PM PST Overeating and binge eating may be associated with initiating use of marijuana and other drugs in a study of adolescents and young adults.

Mobile app boosts weight loss by 15 pounds Posted: 10 Dec 2012 01:36 PM PST Using a mobile app that tracks eating and activity helped people lose an average of 15 pounds and keep it off for at least a year, reports a new study. But the technology only aided weight loss when its users also attended regular classes on nutrition and exercise. The app was a critical tool when part of a larger program.

Can going hungry as a child slow down cognitive decline in later years? Posted: 10 Dec 2012 01:36 PM PST People who sometimes went hungry as children had slower cognitive decline once they were elderly than people who always had enough food to eat, according to a new study.

Drug combination acts against aggressive chronic lymphocytic leukemia Posted: 10 Dec 2012 01:34 PM PST A two-prong approach combining ibrutinib and rituximab (Rituxin®) to treat aggressive chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) produced profound responses with minor side effects in a Phase 2 clinical trial.

Inspiration from a porcupine's quills Posted: 10 Dec 2012 01:08 PM PST Researchers hope to exploit the porcupine quill's unique properties to develop new types of adhesives, needles and other medical devices.

Biologists engineer algae to make complex anti-cancer 'designer' drug Posted: 10 Dec 2012 01:08 PM PST Biologists have succeeded in genetically engineering algae to produce a complex and expensive human therapeutic drug used to treat cancer. Their achievement opens the door for making these and other "designer" proteins in larger quantities and much more cheaply than can now be made from mammalian cells.

How our nerves regulate insulin secretion Posted: 10 Dec 2012 01:08 PM PST Researchers have managed to graft beta cells into the eyes of mice in order to study them in a living organism over a prolonged period of time. As a result, the group have gained detailed knowledge of how the autonomic nervous system regulates beta-cell insulin secretion.

Toxic interaction in neurons that leads to dementia and ALS discovered Posted: 10 Dec 2012 01:08 PM PST Researchers have uncovered a toxic cellular process by which a protein that maintains the health of neurons becomes deficient and can lead to dementia. The findings shed new light on the link between culprits implicated in two devastating neurological diseases: frontotemporal dementia and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

Blood levels of immune protein predict risk in Hodgkin disease Posted: 10 Dec 2012 01:07 PM PST Researchers found levels galectin-1, an immunity-related protein, could be the basis of a test and potentially a targeted treatment for Hodgkin lymphoma.

Most popular weight-loss drug strongly alters other drug therapies, study suggests Posted: 10 Dec 2012 11:52 AM PST A researcher has discovered that the weight-loss drug orlistat, known by the brand names Xenical and Alli, inhibits a key enzyme that may lead to "severe toxicity of internal organs such as the liver and kidney." The inhibition is irreversible and can be caused by a low level of the drug.

Glaucoma study could inspire e-reader apps: New findings show silent reading difficulties in glaucoma patients Posted: 10 Dec 2012 11:51 AM PST Better strategies are needed to help glaucoma patients cope with difficulty reading. According to a new scientific study, adults with glaucoma read slower when reading silently for long periods of time and are more likely to have their reading speed decrease over time, possibly a result of reading fatigue.

Teen dating violence linked to long-term harmful effects Posted: 10 Dec 2012 11:51 AM PST Teenagers in physically or psychologically aggressive dating relationships are more than twice as likely to repeat such damaging relationships as adults and report increased substance use and suicidal feelings years later, compared with teens with healthy dating experiences, reports a new study.

Drug helps women who stop smoking keep off weight Posted: 10 Dec 2012 11:51 AM PST A medication being tested to help smokers kick the habit also may help avoid the weight gain that is common after quitting -- but only in women. This is the first medication shown to reduce weight gain for up to one year in women smokers who quit.

Novel drug therapy targets aggressive form of non-hodgkin's lymphoma Posted: 10 Dec 2012 11:51 AM PST Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common subtype of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and the seventh most frequently diagnosed cancer. The most chemotherapy resistant form of DLBCL, called activated B-cell – DLBCL (ABC-DLBCL), remains a major therapeutic challenge. Researchers have now developed a new experimental drug therapy to target this aggressive form of lymphoma.

Cancer scientists identify liposarcoma tumors that respond to chemotherapy Posted: 10 Dec 2012 10:35 AM PST Using a strategy that tracks cancer cells' consumption of nucleosides, a team of researchers has identified a group of liposarcoma tumors that can be imaged by PET scanning using a tracer substance known as FAC. Furthermore, they have found that these tumors are sensitive to chemotherapy.

Overweight pregnant women not getting proper weight-gain advice, study suggests Posted: 10 Dec 2012 10:34 AM PST Overweight women are not receiving proper advice on healthy weight gains or appropriate exercise levels during their pregnancies, according to researchers.

Caffeinated coffee may reduce the risk of oral cancers Posted: 10 Dec 2012 10:34 AM PST A new study finds a strong inverse association between caffeinated coffee intake and oral/pharyngeal cancer mortality. The authors say people who drank more than four cups of caffeinated coffee per day were at about half the risk of death of these often fatal cancers compared to those who only occasionally or who never drank coffee.

Infants with severe RSV disease may be immunosuppressed Posted: 10 Dec 2012 10:34 AM PST Infants with severe lower respiratory tract infection caused by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) may have a dysfunctional innate immune response that relates to the severity of their disease.

New pathway for drug development? Targeting alpha arrestins could increase therapeutic benefits of drugs and negate adverse results Posted: 10 Dec 2012 10:34 AM PST A newly found understanding of receptor signaling may have revealed a better way to design drugs. A study from Nationwide Children's Hospital suggests that a newly identified group of proteins, alpha arrestins, may play a role in cell signaling that is crucial to new drug development. The study appears in PLOS ONE.

Prostate cancer now detectable by imaging-guided biopsy Posted: 10 Dec 2012 10:27 AM PST Ground-breaking research by physicians and engineers demonstrates that prostate cancer can be diagnosed using image-guided targeted biopsy.

Internet use can reduce fatalistic view of cancer Posted: 10 Dec 2012 09:46 AM PST Many Americans have fatalistic views on cancer prevention -- they believe that getting cancer is a matter of luck or fate. Recent research found that people who use the internet to inquire about their health are more likely to have a positive outlook on cancer prevention and diagnosis.

Alcohol pricing policies save lives and increase profits, experts say Posted: 10 Dec 2012 09:46 AM PST Setting minimum prices for alcohol increases health and economic benefits, say international experts, who met recently for a seminar on alcohol pricing and public health.

Digested formula, but not breast milk, is toxic to cells, in vitro study finds Posted: 10 Dec 2012 09:46 AM PST Free fatty acids created during the digestion of infant formula cause cellular death that may contribute to necrotizing enterocolitis, a severe intestinal condition that is often fatal and occurs most commonly in premature infants, according to a new study. Bioengineers based their report on in vitro tests comparing the digestion of fresh human breast milk and nine different infant formulas.

Stem cell research provides hope for infertile cancer survivors: Transplanted stem cells could preserve male fertility Posted: 10 Dec 2012 09:46 AM PST A professor has demonstrated in rhesus monkeys that it is possible to remove testicular stem cells prior to chemotherapy, freeze them and later, after cancer treatments, transplant the cells where they can restart sperm production and restore fertility.

To fight incurable metastatic breast cancer, resistance must be broken Posted: 10 Dec 2012 09:45 AM PST One of the most frustrating truths about cancer is that even when a treatment works, it often doesn't work for long because cancer cells find ways to resist. However, researchers may have a way to stay one step ahead in the case of aggressive metastatic breast cancer.

From fish to man: Research reveals how fins became legs Posted: 10 Dec 2012 09:45 AM PST Vertebrates' transition to living on land, instead of only in water, represented a major event in the history of life. Now, researchers provide new evidence that the development of hands and feet occurred through the gain of new DNA elements that activate particular genes.

Targeted molecular therapy for untreatable neurofibroma tumors Posted: 10 Dec 2012 09:45 AM PST Researchers conducting a preclinical study in mice successfully used targeted molecular therapy to block mostly untreatable nerve tumors that develop in people with the genetic disorder Neurofibromatosis 1 (NF1). Scientists say the data provide strong rationale for testing the therapy in clinical trials for NF1.

New biomaterial gets 'sticky' with stem cells Posted: 10 Dec 2012 09:42 AM PST Just like the bones that hold up your body, your cells have their own scaffolding that holds them up. This scaffolding, known as the extracellular matrix, or ECM, not only props up cells but also provides attachment sites, or "sticky spots," to which cells can bind, just as bones hold muscles in place.

New multiple myeloma drug shows promise in treating people with advanced disease Posted: 10 Dec 2012 09:42 AM PST A new oral agent is safe and effective in treating relapsed and treatment-resistant multiple myeloma, according to a multicenter, Phase II study.

Brown adipose tissue has beneficial effects on metabolism and glucose tolerance Posted: 10 Dec 2012 09:42 AM PST Joslin Diabetes Center scientists have demonstrated that brown adipose tissue (BAT) has beneficial effects on glucose tolerance, body weight and metabolism.

Antibody orientation matters Posted: 10 Dec 2012 09:42 AM PST The orientation of antibody binding to bacteria can mean life or death to the bug, according to a new study. These findings may help explain why these bacteria cause millions of localized infections, but more serious, systemic blood infections are rare.

Carbon nanotubes lower nerve-damaging chloride in cells Posted: 10 Dec 2012 08:24 AM PST A nanomaterial can help regulate chloride levels in nerve cells that contribute to chronic pain, epilepsy, and traumatic brain injury.

Experiment finds Achilles' heel of ulcer bug, H. pylori Posted: 10 Dec 2012 08:23 AM PST Experiments have revealed a potential new way to attack common stomach bacteria that cause ulcers and significantly increase the odds of developing stomach cancer.

Mother’s vitamin D level linked to birth weight Posted: 10 Dec 2012 08:21 AM PST Mothers' vitamin D levels at a gestation of 26 weeks or less were positively related to birth weight and head circumference, and, in the first trimester were negatively associated with risk of a baby being born small for gestational age, according to a recent study'

Into adulthood, sickle cell patients rely on ER Posted: 10 Dec 2012 08:21 AM PST Patients with sickle cell disease rely more on the emergency room as they move from pediatric to adult health care, according to researchers.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging offers insights into mental fatigue Posted: 10 Dec 2012 07:16 AM PST Brain scans could help scientists uncover the neurobiological mechanisms underlying mental fatigue.

Breakthrough medical research relies heavily on NIH funding Posted: 10 Dec 2012 07:16 AM PST A new survey, representing responses from 1,040 abstract presenters at a recent conference from the US and abroad, demonstrates how critical NIH funding has been to the success of science and medicine.

To make old skin cells act young again, boost their surroundings Posted: 10 Dec 2012 07:13 AM PST As we get older, the trillions of cells in our body do too. And like us, they become less resilient and able to weather the stress of everyday life. Our skin especially tells the tale of what's happening throughout our bodies. Now, scientists are learning that aging cells bear only part of the blame for this downward spiral. Skin scientists have succeeded in making the skin cells of senior citizens act like younger cells again, simply by adding more filler to the fiber-filled area around the cells.

Earphones, music players on kids' holiday gift lists? Add a hearing screening Posted: 10 Dec 2012 07:13 AM PST Parents are loud and clear: they overwhelmingly support required hearing screenings for kids all the way to age 17, according to a new poll.

Face transplantation calls for 'reverse craniofacial planning' Posted: 10 Dec 2012 07:13 AM PST As surgical teams gain experience with facial transplantation, a careful approach to planning based on the principles of craniofacial surgery can help to maximize patient outcomes in terms of facial form and function.

Morning vs nighttime replacement affects adverse events with extended-wear contact lenses Posted: 10 Dec 2012 07:13 AM PST For people using 30-day extended-wear/continuous-wear (EW/CW) contact lenses, replacing lenses at night doesn't lower the risk of complications compared to changing lenses monthly, suggests a new study. In contrast, replacing lenses every morning reduces the overall rate of "ocular adverse events."

Leukemia patients remain in remission more than two years after engineered T cell therapy Posted: 10 Dec 2012 05:08 AM PST Nine of 12 leukemia patients who received infusions of their own T cells after the cells had been genetically engineered to attack the patients' tumors responded to the therapy.

ADHD linked to oxygen deprivation before birth Posted: 10 Dec 2012 05:08 AM PST Children who had in-utero exposure to ischemic-hypoxic conditions, situations during which the brain is deprived of oxygen, were significantly more likely to develop attention deficit hyperactivity disorder later in life as compared to unexposed children, according to a new study. The findings suggest that events in pregnancy may contribute to the occurrence of ADHD over and above well-known familial and genetic influences of the disorder.

Commercial ultrasonic frequency devices do not repel bed bugs, study suggests Posted: 10 Dec 2012 05:08 AM PST Commercial devices that produce ultrasound frequencies are not promising tools for repelling bed bugs, according to new research.

Second-hand smoke increases risk of invasive meningococcal disease in children Posted: 10 Dec 2012 05:07 AM PST The dangers of second-hand smoke (passive smoking) on children continue to become ever more apparent. A new study shows that second hand smoke and fetal exposure due to maternal smoking while pregnant significantly increase the risk of invasive meningococcal disease.

Iron supplements reduce ADHD in low birth weight infants Posted: 10 Dec 2012 05:06 AM PST Giving iron supplements to low birth weight infants reduces the risk of behavior problems like ADHD later in life, according to a new study.

Oxytocin produces more engaged fathers and more responsive infants Posted: 10 Dec 2012 05:06 AM PST A large body of research has focused on the ability of oxytocin to facilitate social bonding in both marital and parenting relationships in human females. A new laboratory study has found that oxytocin administration to fathers increases their parental engagement, with parallel effects observed in their infants.

Engineered immune cells produce complete response in child with an aggressive leukemia Posted: 10 Dec 2012 05:05 AM PST By reprogramming a 7-year-old girl's own immune cells to attack an aggressive form of childhood leukemia, a pediatric oncologist has achieved a complete response in his patient, who faced grim prospects when she relapsed after conventional treatment.

Maintaining weight loss as important as losing it for older women Posted: 10 Dec 2012 05:05 AM PST New research found that gaining weight back after intentional weight loss is associated with negative long-term effects on some cardiometabolic (CM) risk factors in postmenopausal women.

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