السبت، 28 سبتمبر 2013

ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

Yoga in menopause may help insomnia -- but not hot flashes

Posted: 27 Sep 2013 03:32 PM PDT

Taking a 12-week yoga class and practicing at home was linked to less insomnia -- but not to fewer or less bothersome hot flashes or night sweats. The link between yoga and better sleep was the only statistically significant finding in this randomized controlled trial.

Anti-cancer drug benefits women with breast cancer who have failed previous treatments

Posted: 27 Sep 2013 03:31 PM PDT

First results from a phase III clinical trial of the combination drug, T-DM1, show that it significantly improves the length of time before breast cancer worsens in women with advanced HER2 positive breast cancer whose cancer has recurred or progressed despite previous treatments, including trastuzumab and lapatinib.

Hyperfractionated radiotherapy improves survival in head and neck cancer patients

Posted: 27 Sep 2013 03:31 PM PDT

The use of an intensified form of radiotherapy in patients with locally advanced head and neck cancers can improve overall survival rates compared with standard radiation therapy, according to results from a large study.

Longest follow-up of melanoma patients treated with ipilimumab shows some survive up to ten years

Posted: 27 Sep 2013 03:31 PM PDT

Patients with advanced melanoma, who have been treated with the monoclonal antibody, ipilimumab, can survive for up to ten years, according to the largest analysis of overall survival for these patients.

Treating chest lymph nodes in early breast cancer improves survival without increasing side effects

Posted: 27 Sep 2013 03:31 PM PDT

Giving radiation therapy to the lymph nodes located behind the breast bone and above the collar bone to patients with early breast cancer improves overall survival without increasing side effects. This new finding ends the uncertainty about whether the beneficial effect of radiation therapy in such patients was simply the result of irradiation of the breast area, or whether it treated cancer cells in the local lymph nodes as well.

Diabetes increases risk of developing and dying from breast and colon cancer

Posted: 27 Sep 2013 03:31 PM PDT

Diabetes is linked to an increased risk of developing cancer, and now researchers have performed a unique meta-analysis that excludes all other causes of death and found that diabetic patients not only have an increased risk of developing breast and colon cancer, but an even higher risk of dying from them.

Everolimus slows disease progression in advanced kidney cancer patients

Posted: 27 Sep 2013 03:31 PM PDT

The first Phase II study to investigate the use of the anti-cancer drug, everolimus, for the initial treatment of advanced papillary kidney cancer has shown that it is successful in slowing or preventing the spread of the disease.

Young patients with metastatic colorectal cancer at high risk of disease progression, death

Posted: 27 Sep 2013 03:31 PM PDT

Younger patients with colorectal cancer that has spread (metastasised) to other parts of the body represent a high-risk group that is less likely to respond to anti-cancer treatments. Their disease is more likely to progress and they are at greater risk of death than other age groups.

Irrefutable evidence that fall in death rates from colorectal cancer due to screening programmes

Posted: 27 Sep 2013 03:31 PM PDT

Screening for colorectal cancer (CRC) in European countries is highly effective in reducing mortality from the disease. Some of the resources currently being devoted to breast and prostate screening programmes, where the evidence of effectiveness is much less clear-cut, should be reallocated to the early detection of CRC.

Survival after cancer diagnosis strongly associated with governments spending on health care

Posted: 27 Sep 2013 03:31 PM PDT

The more an EU (European Union) national government spends on health, the fewer the deaths after a cancer diagnosis in that country, according to new research.

Telecommuting Can Be Beneficial for a Work/Life Balance

Posted: 27 Sep 2013 03:29 PM PDT

If telecommuting – or working from home – is an available option, one expert says its perks go beyond working in pajamas.

New medical device extremely effective at preventing HIV in women

Posted: 27 Sep 2013 09:35 AM PDT

An intravaginal ring effectively delivers HIV-preventing drugs for one month.

Ballet dancers' brains adapt to stop them getting in a spin

Posted: 26 Sep 2013 05:47 PM PDT

Scientists have discovered differences in the brain structure of ballet dancers that may help them avoid feeling dizzy when they perform pirouettes.

Treating sore throat should be part of strategy to prevent rheumatic heart disease

Posted: 26 Sep 2013 05:47 PM PDT

Diagnosing and treating sore (strep) throat (primary prevention) in children and adolescents to prevent such cases developing into acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease (RHD) should be a cornerstone in any overall rheumatic heart disease strategy.

Echocardiography stats suggest global prevalence of rheumatic heart disease higher than thought

Posted: 26 Sep 2013 05:47 PM PDT

Echocardiography is increasing detection rates of rheumatic heart disease many-fold and suggests that RHD is more common than current estimates predicted.

Estimate of a quarter of a million deaths annually vastly underestimates true burden of rheumatic heart disease

Posted: 26 Sep 2013 05:47 PM PDT

A paper analyses the burden of disease and suggests that numbers published to date of global deaths from rheumatic heart disease (ranging from at least 233,000 deaths per year upwards) could be substantially underestimating reality, for a variety of reasons, most commonly lack of high quality (or in some cases any) data from high-prevalence countries and regions.

Cell powerhouses shape one's risk of heart disease

Posted: 26 Sep 2013 05:44 PM PDT

Genes in mitochondria, the "powerhouses" that turn sugar into energy in human cells, shape each person's risk for heart disease and diabetes.

In prostate cancer prognosis, telomere length may matter

Posted: 26 Sep 2013 05:11 PM PDT

Like the plastic caps at the end of shoelaces, telomeres protect — in their case — the interior-gene containing parts of chromosomes that carry a cell's instructional material. Cancer cells are known to have short telomeres, but just how short they are from cancer cell to cancer cell may be a determining factor in a prostate cancer patient's prognosis.

Study examines health of kidney donors

Posted: 26 Sep 2013 05:11 PM PDT

The short-term risks associated with kidney donation are relatively modest, but because many donors have additional medical conditions, it is important to evaluate their ongoing health. Complications and hospital length-of-stay following kidney donation have both declined since 1998. Rates of complications and length-of-stay for donors are comparable with other relatively low risk abdominal surgeries such as appendectomies. Depression, hypothyroidism, hypertension, and obesity have increased over time among donors.

Changing laws, attitudes of police response to drug overdose may lead to better outcomes

Posted: 26 Sep 2013 11:32 AM PDT

A recent study has found that a change in the way police respond to drug-related overdose emergencies could contribute to improved outcomes of the victims and to the communities where overdoses occur. The study found that while law enforcement officers often serve as medical first responders, there is a lack of clarity as to what police can do, or should do, at the scene of an overdose.

Mucus useful in treating IBD, ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease

Posted: 26 Sep 2013 11:31 AM PDT

Researchers foresee a day when mucus could be manufactured and given to sick people to help them fight inflammation and increase immunity. For the first time ever, they report that mucus in the large intestine provides a valuable anti-inflammatory and self-regulating immune function.

Setting blurred images in motion improves perception

Posted: 26 Sep 2013 11:29 AM PDT

Blurred images that are unidentifiable as still pictures become understandable once the images are set in motion. That's because of a phenomenon called "optic flow," which may be especially relevant as a source of visual information in people with low vision.

Colorectal surgeons develop a novel tool for measuring quality and outcomes

Posted: 26 Sep 2013 10:16 AM PDT

In a new paper, physician-researchers describe a new tool called the HARM score that reliably measures quality and clinical outcomes for colon and rectal surgery patients. The score is derived from Hospital stay, Readmission rate, and Mortality, and shows a strong correlation with quality of clinical outcomes for colon and rectal surgery patients.

Scientists discover important wound-healing process

Posted: 26 Sep 2013 10:16 AM PDT

Scientists have discovered an important process by which special immune cells in the skin help heal wounds. They found that these skin-resident immune cells function as "first responders" to skin injuries in part by producing the molecule known as interleukin-17A, which wards off infection and promotes wound healing.

Pan-cancer studies find common patterns shared by different tumor types

Posted: 26 Sep 2013 10:16 AM PDT

Molecular analysis now shows that cancers of different organs have many shared features, while cancers from the same organ or tissue are often quite distinct. The Pan-Cancer Initiative, a major effort to analyze the molecular aberrations in cancer cells across a range of tumor types, has yielded an abundance of new findings.

Majority of children remain at home after maltreatment investigation

Posted: 26 Sep 2013 10:15 AM PDT

Eighteen months after the close of a child maltreatment investigation, nearly 80 percent of children are still living in the home with their parents or primary caregivers, according to a new report.

Folic acid deficiency can affect the health of great, great grandchildren

Posted: 26 Sep 2013 09:34 AM PDT

A study reveals that a mutation in a gene necessary for the metabolism of folic acid not only impacts the immediate offspring but can also have detrimental health effects on the next several generations.

'Jekyll-and-Hyde' protein offers a new route to cancer drugs

Posted: 26 Sep 2013 09:34 AM PDT

The mood changes of a 'Jekyll-and-Hyde' protein, which sometimes boosts tumour cell growth and at other times suppresses it, have been explained in a new study.

Made to order at the synapse: Dynamics of protein synthesis at neuron tip

Posted: 26 Sep 2013 09:34 AM PDT

Protein synthesis in nerve cell dendrites underlies long-term memory formation in the brain, among other functions. Knowing how proteins are made to order at the synapse can help researchers better understand how memories are made. RNA translation is dictated by translational hotspots, where translation is occurring in a ribosome at any one time in a discrete spot.

Key cellular mechanism in body's 'battery' can either spur or stop obesity

Posted: 26 Sep 2013 09:33 AM PDT

Becoming obese or remaining lean can depend on the dynamics of the mitochondria, the body's energy-producing "battery," according to two new studies.

Study of 'sister' stem cells uncovers new cancer clue

Posted: 26 Sep 2013 09:33 AM PDT

Scientists have used a brand new technique for examining individual stem cells to uncover dramatic differences in the gene expression levels -- which genes are turned 'up' or 'down'-- between apparently identical 'sister' pairs. The research provides the latest evidence that despite having identical DNA, sister stem cells can display considerable differences in their molecular characteristics.

Newly identified antibodies effectively treat Alzheimer's-like disease in mice

Posted: 26 Sep 2013 09:33 AM PDT

Alzheimer's disease is characterized by the accumulation of particular toxic proteins in the brain that are believed to underlie the cognitive decline in patients. A new study conducted in mice suggests that newly identified antibody treatments can prevent the accumulation of one of these of these toxic components, called tau proteins. The findings suggest that these antibodies may provide a basis for a promising therapy for patients with Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders.

Patient's own cells might be used as treatment for Parkinson's disease

Posted: 26 Sep 2013 09:33 AM PDT

Studies in rodents have suggested that the body may mount an immune response and destroy cells derived from iPSCs. New research in monkeys refutes these findings, suggesting that in primates like us, such cells will not be rejected by the immune system. In the paper iPSCs from nonhuman primates successfully developed into the neurons depleted by Parkinson's disease while eliciting only a minimal immune response. The cells therefore could hold promise for successful transplantation in humans.
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