ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

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• Researchers find immunity protein that ramps up inflammation, and agents that can block it
• New clues about how amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) develops
• Mindfulness from meditation associated with lower stress hormone
• Heart failure medications highly cost-effective, study finds
• Protective prion keeps yeast cells from going it alone
• Mixed signals: Combinations of estrogen-mimicking chemicals strongly distort hormone action
• Children of deployed parents at higher risk for alcohol, drug use
• Surgical menopause may prime brain for stroke, Alzheimer's
• Parkinson's disease protein gums up garbage disposal system in cells
• You are what you eat -- even the littlest bites: Dietary influences tied to changes in gene expression
• HIV antibodies that are worth the wait
• Wilderness therapy programs less risky than daily life, research finds
• Cervical cancer: DNA-based test more accurate than repeat smear ('Pap')
• Dietary fat can affect insulin requirements in type 1 diabetes
• Anti-smoking drug improves smokers' chances of stopping, study finds
• Childhood asthma tied to combination of genes and wheezing illness
• New test for skin sensitization without using animals
• Caffeine-'addicted' bacteria: Finding may lead to new decontamination methods, new medicines
• Protecting ears from hearing loss: Primary role of olivocochlear efferent system discovered
• Hot flashes? Active days bring better nights

Researchers find immunity protein that ramps up inflammation, and agents that can block it Posted: 31 Mar 2013 01:56 PM PDT Scientists have discovered a new biological pathway of innate immunity that ramps up inflammation and then identified agents that can block it, leading to increased survival and improved lung function in animal models of pneumonia.

New clues about how amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) develops Posted: 31 Mar 2013 01:50 PM PDT Scientists say they have evidence from animal studies that a type of central nervous system cell other than motor neurons plays a fundamental role in the development of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a fatal degenerative disease. The discovery holds promise, they say, for identifying new targets for interrupting the disease's progress.

Mindfulness from meditation associated with lower stress hormone Posted: 28 Mar 2013 11:23 AM PDT Focusing on the present rather than letting the mind drift may help to lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol, suggests new research from the Shamatha Project at the University of California, Davis.

Heart failure medications highly cost-effective, study finds Posted: 28 Mar 2013 11:21 AM PDT A new study shows that heart failure medications recommended by national guidelines are highly cost effective in saving lives and may also provide savings to the health care system.

Protective prion keeps yeast cells from going it alone Posted: 28 Mar 2013 11:21 AM PDT A team of scientists has added markedly to the job description of prions as agents of change, identifying a prion capable of triggering a transition in yeast from its conventional single-celled form to a cooperative, multicellular structure. This change, which appears to improve yeast's chances for survival in the face of hostile environmental conditions, is an epigenetic phenomenon -- a heritable alteration brought about without any change to the organism's underlying genome.

Mixed signals: Combinations of estrogen-mimicking chemicals strongly distort hormone action Posted: 28 Mar 2013 09:53 AM PDT What happens when -- as in the real world -- an individual is exposed to multiple estrogen-mimicking chemicals at the same time? Researchers have used new techniques to study exposure to low doses of multiple xenoestrogens, and they've come to some disturbing conclusions.

Children of deployed parents at higher risk for alcohol, drug use Posted: 28 Mar 2013 09:53 AM PDT A statewide survey of sixth-, eighth-, and 11th-grade Iowa students found that children of deployed or recently returned military parents had an increased risk for alcohol use, binge drinking, and using marijuana, compared to children in non-military families. The study also found that when parental deployment resulted in a child not living with a parent or relative, the risk of binge drinking and marijuana use was even higher.

Surgical menopause may prime brain for stroke, Alzheimer's Posted: 28 Mar 2013 09:53 AM PDT Removing the ovaries before menopause, appears to leave more of the brain vulnerable to stroke and increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease, researchers report.

Parkinson's disease protein gums up garbage disposal system in cells Posted: 28 Mar 2013 09:52 AM PDT With a new neuron model system of Parkinson's disease pathologies, researchers have demonstrated that these aberrant clumps in cells resist degradation as well as impair the function of the macroautophagy system, one of the major garbage disposal systems within the cell.

You are what you eat -- even the littlest bites: Dietary influences tied to changes in gene expression Posted: 28 Mar 2013 09:51 AM PDT Sometimes you just can't resist a tiny piece of chocolate cake. Even the most health-conscious eaters find themselves indulging in junk foods from time to time. New research raises the striking possibility that even small amounts of these occasional indulgences may produce significant changes in gene expression that could negatively impact physiology and health.

HIV antibodies that are worth the wait Posted: 28 Mar 2013 09:50 AM PDT A new study reveals surprising mutations in these antibodies that are crucial for strong protection against HIV-1. The findings could guide efforts to design better HIV-1 vaccines.

Wilderness therapy programs less risky than daily life, research finds Posted: 28 Mar 2013 09:48 AM PDT Adolescents participating in wilderness and adventure therapy programs are at significantly less risk of injury than those playing football and are three times less likely to visit the emergency room for an injury than if they were at home, a new study finds.

Cervical cancer: DNA-based test more accurate than repeat smear ('Pap') Posted: 28 Mar 2013 04:58 AM PDT In women who have a potentially or mildly abnormal cervical smear, using a DNA-based test can identify those at higher risk of having precursors of cervical cancer, according to a new Cochrane systematic review. The authors found that the DNA-based test identified patients in possible need of treatment more accurately than a repeat smear test

Dietary fat can affect insulin requirements in type 1 diabetes Posted: 27 Mar 2013 04:03 PM PDT In a study of patients with type 1 diabetes, researchers found that dietary fat can affect glucose levels and insulin requirements. The findings have major implications for the management of type 1 diabetes.

Anti-smoking drug improves smokers' chances of stopping, study finds Posted: 27 Mar 2013 03:58 PM PDT Varenicline reduces depressive mood, craving and reward value of cigarettes when smokers attempt to quit

Childhood asthma tied to combination of genes and wheezing illness Posted: 27 Mar 2013 03:58 PM PDT About 90 percent of children with two copies of a common genetic variation and who wheezed when they caught a cold early in life developed asthma by age 6, according to a new study. They were nearly four times as likely to develop asthma as those who lacked the genetic variation and did not wheeze. The two risk factors are interactive.

New test for skin sensitization without using animals Posted: 27 Mar 2013 10:37 AM PDT In an advance in efforts to reduce the use of animals in testing new cosmetic and other product ingredients for skin allergies, scientists are describing a new, highly accurate non-animal test for these skin-sensitizers.

Caffeine-'addicted' bacteria: Finding may lead to new decontamination methods, new medicines Posted: 27 Mar 2013 10:35 AM PDT Some people may joke about living on caffeine, but scientists now have genetically engineered E. coli bacteria to do that -- literally. Their report describes bacteria being "addicted" to caffeine in a way that promises practical uses ranging from decontamination of wastewater to bioproduction of medications for asthma.

Protecting ears from hearing loss: Primary role of olivocochlear efferent system discovered Posted: 27 Mar 2013 10:35 AM PDT New research may have discovered a key piece in the puzzle of how hearing works by identifying the role of the olivocochlear efferent system in protecting ears from hearing loss.

Hot flashes? Active days bring better nights Posted: 27 Mar 2013 10:35 AM PDT Getting a good night's sleep isn't always easy for women at menopause. Exercise may help, but women can have a tough time carving out leisure time for it. The good news from a new study is that higher levels of routine daily physical activity may be the more important key to a better night's sleep for many women who have hot flashes or night sweats.

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