السبت، 6 أبريل 2013

ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

Vaccine adjuvant uses host DNA to boost pathogen recognition

Posted: 05 Apr 2013 03:46 PM PDT

Aluminum salts, or alum, have been injected into billions of people as an adjuvant to make vaccines more effective. No one knows, however, how they boost the immune response. Researchers continue unraveling the mystery of adjuvants with a report that host DNA coats the alum adjuvant and induces two crucial cells to interact twice as long during the initial stimulation of the adaptive immune system.

Highly lethal Ebola virus has diagnostic Achilles' heel for biothreat detection, scientists say

Posted: 05 Apr 2013 03:46 PM PDT

By screening a library of a billion llama antibodies on live Ebola viruses in the Texas Biomedical Research Institute's highest biocontainment laboratory, scientists in San Antonio have identified a potential weakness in the make-up of these deadly agents that can immediately yield a sensitive test.

Experts call for research on prevalence of delayed neurological dysfunction after head injury

Posted: 05 Apr 2013 02:14 PM PDT

One of the most controversial topics in neurology today is the prevalence of serious permanent brain damage after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Long-term studies and a search for genetic risk factors are required in order to predict an individual's risk for serious permanent brain damage, according to a new review article.

Liver transplantation for patients with genetic liver conditions has high survival rate, study finds

Posted: 05 Apr 2013 12:58 PM PDT

Patients faced with the diagnosis of a life-threatening liver disease have to consider the seriousness of having a liver transplant, which can be a definitive cure for many acquired and genetic liver diseases. Among the main considerations are the anxiety of waiting for a donor organ, the risks associated with the transplant operation, and the chance that the transplant procedure will not achieve the desired result. There is also the six-figure cost of the procedure and accompanying patient care, all of which may not be completely covered by health insurance. But in a new study, researchers have found that liver transplants are worth the risk for people who have genetic liver conditions.

Fecal microbial transplantation found to be possible treatment for ulcerative colitis

Posted: 05 Apr 2013 08:28 AM PDT

A new clinical trial has found that fecal microbial transplantation (FMT) has resulted in the improvement or absence of symptoms in most pediatric patients with active ulcerative colitis.

Researchers identify edema inhibitor: Substance that can prevent the accumulation of fluid in body tissue

Posted: 05 Apr 2013 07:48 AM PDT

Researchers in Germany have detected a substance that can prevent the accumulation of fluid in body tissue and thus edema formation. Their results could be important in the future for the treatment of excessive fluid retention in patients with chronic heart failure. The researchers have also discovered a new molecular mechanism controlling water homeostasis in the kidneys.

New minimally invasive, MRI-guided laser treatment for brain tumor found to be promising in study

Posted: 05 Apr 2013 07:48 AM PDT

The first-in-human study of the NeuroBlate Thermal Therapy System finds that it appears to provide a new, safe and minimally invasive procedure for treating recurrent glioblastoma, a malignant type of brain tumor.

Penn Medicine's new center for personalized diagnostics unlocks cancer's secrets

Posted: 05 Apr 2013 07:47 AM PDT

Penn Medicine's new Center for Personalized Diagnostics, a joint initiative of the department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine in the Perelman School of Medicine and the Abramson Cancer Center, is diving deeper into each patient's tumor with next generation DNA sequencing. These specialized tests can refine patient diagnoses with greater precision than standard imaging tests and blood work, all with an aim to broaden treatment options and improve their efficacy.

New vision of how we explore our world

Posted: 05 Apr 2013 06:45 AM PDT

Brain researchers have discovered that we explore the world with our eyes in a different way than previously thought. Their results advance our understanding of how healthy observers and neurological patients interact and glean critical information from the world around them.

Cancer checkpoint: Mitochondrial metabolic regulator SIRT4 guards against DNA damage

Posted: 05 Apr 2013 06:45 AM PDT

Healthy cells don't just happen. As they grow and divide, they need checks and balances to ensure they function properly while adapting to changing conditions around them. Researchers studying a set of proteins that regulate physiology, caloric restriction and aging have discovered another important role that one of them plays. SIRT4, one of seven sirtuin proteins, is known for controlling fuel usage from its post in the mitochondria, the cell's energy source. It responds to stressful changes in the availability of nutrients for the cell.

Skin deep: Fruit flies reveal clues to wound healing in humans

Posted: 05 Apr 2013 06:45 AM PDT

A new way to study wound healing in flies suggests new targets for wound-healing drugs.

Stem cells enable personalized treatment for bleeding disorder

Posted: 05 Apr 2013 06:43 AM PDT

Scientists have shed light on a common bleeding disorder by growing and analysing stem cells from patients' blood to discover the cause of the disease in individual patients.

Reducing salt and increasing potassium will have major global health benefits

Posted: 05 Apr 2013 03:44 AM PDT

Cutting down on salt and, at the same time, increasing levels of potassium in our diet will have major health and cost benefits across the world, according to new studies.

New frontiers in breast cancer screening

Posted: 05 Apr 2013 03:44 AM PDT

Researchers predict that advancements in breast cancer screening will need a personalized touch because mammography is not a "one strategy fits all" technology.

EU minimum tax legislation for cigarettes has had no effect on smoking prevalence, according to new Spanish study

Posted: 05 Apr 2013 03:44 AM PDT

Up to 2009 there is no statistically significant evidence of any reduction in smoking amongst men – and very little evidence of a reduction in smoking amongst women – resulting from the introduction of EU minimum tax legislation in Spain in 2006. This is despite the price of cigarettes rising up to three times faster than before the legislation came into effect, according to a new study.

Counting copy numbers characterizes prostate cancer

Posted: 05 Apr 2013 03:44 AM PDT

Non-invasive 'liquid biopsies' can find metastatic or recurrent prostate cancer, in a low cost assay suitable for most healthcare systems, finds new research. Genomic signatures of prostate cancer, isolated from plasma DNA, display abnormal copy numbers of specific areas of chromosomes. It is even possible to separate out patients who develop resistance against hormone deprivation therapy, which is the most common form of treatment in men with metastatic prostate cancer.

Discovery in neuroscience could help re-wire appetite control

Posted: 05 Apr 2013 03:42 AM PDT

Researchers have made a discovery in neuroscience that could offer a long-lasting solution to eating disorders such as obesity. It was previously thought that the nerve cells in the brain associated with appetite regulation were generated entirely during an embryo's development in the womb and therefore their numbers were fixed for life. But new research has identified a population of stem cells capable of generating new appetite-regulating neurons in the brains of young and adult rodents.

Suicide risk linked to rates of gun ownership, political conservatism

Posted: 05 Apr 2013 03:40 AM PDT

Residents of states with the highest rates of gun ownership and political conservatism are at greater risk of suicide than those in states with less gun ownership and less politically conservative leanings, according to a new study.

Antibody evolution could guide HIV vaccine development

Posted: 04 Apr 2013 03:45 PM PDT

Observing the evolution of a particular type of antibody in an infected HIV-1 patient, a new study has provided insights that will enable vaccination strategies that mimic the actual antibody development within the body.

Findings from most in-depth study into UK parents who kill their children

Posted: 04 Apr 2013 03:44 PM PDT

Experts have revealed their findings from the most in-depth study ever to take place in the UK into the tragic instances of child killing by parents, known as filicide. The research found 37 per cent of parents and step-parents who killed their children were suffering from some form of mental illness and 12% had been in contact with mental health services within a year of the offense.

Overweight starting in early adulthood linked with kidney disease in older age

Posted: 04 Apr 2013 03:44 PM PDT

Individuals who are overweight starting in early adulthood are twice as likely to have chronic kidney disease at age 60 to 64 years than those who are not overweight. Larger waist-to-hip ratios ("apple-shaped" bodies) during middle age are also linked with chronic kidney disease at age 60 to 64 years.

On Twitter, anti-vaccination sentiments spread more easily than pro-vaccination sentiments

Posted: 04 Apr 2013 09:20 AM PDT

On Twitter, a research team tracked the pro-vaccine and anti-vaccine messages about a new vaccine for combating a virus strain responsible for swine flu, and then observed how Twitter users expressed their own sentiments about the vaccine. The results may help health officials improve strategies for vaccination-awareness efforts.

Pathogen's scissor-like enzyme provides new clues to treatment of infectious disease

Posted: 04 Apr 2013 06:28 AM PDT

Researchers report that a pathogen annually blamed for an estimated 90 million cases of food-borne illness defeats a host's immune response by using a fat-snipping enzyme to cut off cellular communication.

Course of cardiovascular events more predictable: A protein enables risk assessment

Posted: 04 Apr 2013 04:30 AM PDT

Medical researchers have managed to predict the probability of a cardiovascular patient suffering a heart attack, stroke or arterial occlusion within three months. In the long-term, this knowledge may enable targeted preventive measures.

Despite free health care, household income affects chronic disease control in kids

Posted: 04 Apr 2013 04:22 AM PDT

Even in Canada, where free healthcare is available, the glycated hemoglobin levels of diabetic kids (type 1) are correlated with household income.

Researchers uncover a genetic vulnerability of lung cancer to lay the foundation for new drug options

Posted: 04 Apr 2013 04:22 AM PDT

Physician-researchers at UT Southwestern have identified a vulnerability of certain lung-cancer cells – a specific genetic weakness that can be exploited for new therapies.

U.S. medical patients aren't bargain hunters

Posted: 03 Apr 2013 05:03 PM PDT

Despite the incentive to shop around, patients with increasingly popular Consumer-Directed Health Plans pay roughly the same amount as their traditionally insured counterparts.

Gel safe and acceptable as approach to preventing HIV from anal sex

Posted: 03 Apr 2013 05:03 PM PDT

A reformulated version of an anti-HIV gel developed for vaginal use was found safe and acceptable by HIV-negative men and women who used it rectally, according to a Phase I clinical trial just published. The study tested a reduced glycerin formulation of tenofovir gel, and has spurred the development of an expanded safety study of the gel.

Vermont's health care reform has lessons for other states

Posted: 03 Apr 2013 05:00 PM PDT

Vermont's aggressive health care reform initiatives can serve as a roadmap for other states, according to new research.
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