الخميس، 6 فبراير 2014

ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

New stem cell research removes reliance on human and animal cells

Posted: 05 Feb 2014 06:04 PM PST

A new study has found a new method for growing human embryonic stem cells, that doesn't rely on supporting human or animal cells.

Durable end to AIDS will require HIV vaccine development

Posted: 05 Feb 2014 03:47 PM PST

Broader global access to lifesaving antiretroviral therapies and wider implementation of proven HIV prevention strategies could potentially control and perhaps end the HIV/AIDS pandemic. However, a safe and at least moderately effective HIV vaccine is needed to reach this goal more expeditiously and in a more sustainable way, according to a new commentary.

Food insecurity leads to increased incidence of tuberculosis in Zimbabwe

Posted: 05 Feb 2014 03:45 PM PST

The rise of tuberculosis (TB) in Zimbabwe during the socio-economic crisis of 2008-9 has been linked to widespread food shortage, according to a new study.

Monkeys that eat omega-3 rich diet show more developed brain networks

Posted: 05 Feb 2014 01:57 PM PST

Monkeys that ate a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids had brains with highly connected and well organized neural networks -- in some ways akin to the neural networks in healthy humans -- while monkeys that ate a diet deficient in the fatty acids had much more limited brain networking, according to a new study.

Fruit fly microRNA research offers clues to aging process

Posted: 05 Feb 2014 01:57 PM PST

Diseases like Alzheimer's and Huntington's are often associated with aging, but the biological link between the two is less certain. Researchers are seeking insight into this connection by studying very small RNA molecules in the common fruit fly.

Amputee feels in real-time with bionic hand

Posted: 05 Feb 2014 11:37 AM PST

Dennis Aabo Sørensen is the first amputee in the world to feel sensory rich information -- in realtime -- with a prosthetic hand wired to nerves in his upper arm. Sørensen could grasp objects intuitively and identify what he was touching while blindfolded.

New approach prevents thrombosis without increasing the risk of bleeding

Posted: 05 Feb 2014 11:37 AM PST

In collaboration with an international team, researchers have developed an antibody, 3F7, which blocks a protein that is active in the coagulation system factor XII. Inhibition of factor XII makes it possible to prevent thrombosis in blood vessels without increasing the risk of bleeding in clinical settings. 

Decriminalizing pot may land more kids in the ER

Posted: 05 Feb 2014 09:55 AM PST

States that decriminalized marijuana saw dramatic increases in children requiring medical intervention, although the overall number of unintentional marijuana exposures among children remained low. Researchers studied call volume to US poison centers from January 2005 through December 2011.

A short stay in darkness may heal hearing woes

Posted: 05 Feb 2014 09:55 AM PST

Call it the Ray Charles Effect: a young child who is blind learns to hear things others cannot. Researchers know that young brains are malleable enough to re-wire some circuits that process sensory information. Now researchers have shown the brains of adult mice can also be re-wired, compensating for vision loss by improving their hearing. This may lead to treatments for human hearing loss. Minimizing a person's sight for as little as a week may help improve the brain's ability to process hearing.

Mechanism discovered for how amyotrophic lateral sclerosis mutations damage nerve function

Posted: 05 Feb 2014 09:53 AM PST

Scientists led a study showing that mutations in a gene responsible for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) disrupt the RNA transport system in nerve cells. The findings offer a new focus for efforts to develop effective treatments.

Electronically controlled drugs could minimize side effects

Posted: 05 Feb 2014 08:34 AM PST

Potential side effects of many of today's therapeutic drugs can be downright frightening -- just listen carefully to a drug commercial on TV. These effects often occur when a drug is active throughout the body, not just where and when it is needed. But scientists are reporting progress on a new tailored approach to deliver medicine in a much more targeted way.

Brain development: Pivotal role of stem cell environment

Posted: 05 Feb 2014 08:34 AM PST

Higher mammals, such as humans, have markedly larger brains than other mammals. Scientists recently discovered a new mechanism governing brain stem cell proliferation. It serves to boost the production of neurons during development, thus causing the enlargement of the cerebral cortex -- the part of the brain that enables us humans to speak, think and dream.

Fewer than half of women attend recommended doctors visits after childbirth

Posted: 05 Feb 2014 07:36 AM PST

Medical associations widely recommend that women visit their obstetricians and primary care doctors shortly after giving birth, but slightly fewer than half make or keep those postpartum appointments, according to a study.

People who know their 'heart age' make greater improvements to their heart health

Posted: 05 Feb 2014 07:35 AM PST

New research suggests that talking to patients about their heart health using the "Heart Age" concept, a simple way of estimating and expressing cardiovascular risk, promotes behavioral changes that result in a reduction in their CVD risk, leading to improved health outcomes.

Meal times could have a significant effect on the levels of triglycerides in the liver

Posted: 05 Feb 2014 07:35 AM PST

New findings in mice suggest that merely changing meal times could have a significant effect on the levels of triglycerides in the liver. The results of this study not only have important implications for the potential treatment of metabolic diseases, they may also have broader implications for most research areas in the life sciences.

When cats bite: One in three patients bitten in hand hospitalized, infections common

Posted: 05 Feb 2014 07:31 AM PST

Dogs aren't the only pets who sometimes bite the hands that feed them. Cats do too, and when they strike a hand, can inject bacteria deep into joints and tissue, perfect breeding grounds for infection. Cat bites to the hand are so dangerous, one in three patients with such wounds had to be hospitalized, a study covering three years showed. Of those hospitalized, two-thirds needed surgery. Middle-aged women were the most common bite victims, according to the research.

Gene that influences receptive joint attention in chimpanzees gives insight into autism

Posted: 05 Feb 2014 06:16 AM PST

Following another's gaze or looking in the direction someone is pointing, two examples of receptive joint attention, is significantly heritable according to new study results, which give researchers insight into the biology of disorders such as autism.

Nerve block eases troublesome hot flashes for menopausal women

Posted: 05 Feb 2014 05:00 AM PST

Injecting a little anesthetic near a nerve bundle in the neck cut troublesome hot flashes significantly, shows a new randomized, controlled trial. The technique could give women who cannot or prefer not to take hormones or other medications an effective treatment alternative.

Is institutional racism happening in UK hospitals?

Posted: 04 Feb 2014 03:56 PM PST

In a personal view published today, a medical director reflects on a case in which a hospital accepted the choice of the parents of a patient, who wanted only white doctors to treat their child.

Dramatic rise in skin cancer among middle-aged adults, study shows

Posted: 04 Feb 2014 12:44 PM PST

A new study found that among middle-aged men and women, 40 to 60 years old, the overall incidence of skin cancer increased nearly eightfold between 1970 and 2009, according to a study published.

With training, friends and family can help loved ones quit tobacco

Posted: 04 Feb 2014 12:43 PM PST

A new study finds that teaching people about smoking cessation -- even those without a medical background -- can motivate them to encourage their friends, family and acquaintances to stop smoking.

Long-term survival no different among those severely injured by violence vs. accident

Posted: 04 Feb 2014 10:17 AM PST

People seriously injured by violence are no more likely to die in the years after they are shot, stabbed or beaten than those who are seriously injured in accidents, researchers have found.

New hormone receptors discovered to target when treating breast cancer

Posted: 04 Feb 2014 09:37 AM PST

The of new research findings offer the possibility of expanding the ways patients with breast cancer are treated with hormone therapy.

High pharmacy burden for bipolar patients, study finds

Posted: 04 Feb 2014 09:36 AM PST

Concerned about patients with bipolar disorder needing hospitalization despite treatment with four or more psychotropic medications, a team of researchers sought to quantify the rate of "complex polypharmacy." They found that 36 percent of patients admitted to the hospital with bipolar disorder in 2010 were receiving complex polypharmacy from their community providers. The polypharmacy rate was significantly higher for women. Including for other conditions, the average patient was on six medications.

Thousands of unvaccinated adults die each year from preventable diseases in the U.S.

Posted: 04 Feb 2014 09:36 AM PST

While adults make up 95 percent of those who die annually from vaccine preventable diseases, a new study shows their vaccination rates remain stubbornly low, representing a growing public health concern.

How cancer cells thrive in oxygen-starved tumors

Posted: 04 Feb 2014 09:36 AM PST

A new study identifies the molecular pathway that enables cancer cells to grow in areas of a tumor where oxygen levels are low, a condition called hypoxia. The findings might offer a new strategy for inhibiting tumor growth by developing agents that reverse this hypoxia-related pathway.

Why diabetes patients are at risk for microvascular complications

Posted: 04 Feb 2014 09:34 AM PST

Patients with diabetes are at increased risk of microvascular complications, which develop when the body's small blood vessels become diseased. One of the most common problems results when wounds fail to heal properly, which can lead to ulcers, chronic infections, and in the most serious cases, limb amputations. Now researchers have discovered that a molecule called PGC-1alpha -- which has previously been shown to spur the growth of blood vessels in muscle -- has the opposite effect in the endothelial cells of patients with diabetes, impairing blood vessel growth and leading to dangerous vascular complications.

Understanding fear means correctly defining fear itself

Posted: 04 Feb 2014 08:18 AM PST

Understanding and properly studying fear is partly a matter of correctly defining fear itself. New analysis points to ways research can be better geared to address a range of fear-related afflictions, such as post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD) and commonly experienced phobias.

Teens who consume energy drinks more likely to use alcohol, drugs

Posted: 04 Feb 2014 08:18 AM PST

Nearly one-third of US adolescents consume high-caffeine energy drinks or "shots," and these teens report higher rates of alcohol, cigarette, or drug use, reports a study.

'Not my child:' Most parents fail to recognize if their child is overweight

Posted: 04 Feb 2014 07:21 AM PST

A new meta-analysis study shows that more than 50 percent of parents underestimate the weight of their overweight or obese child.

Happy people, safer sex: Good moods lead to safer sexual behavior in gay men

Posted: 04 Feb 2014 07:20 AM PST

In a new study, researchers report that HIV-positive men whose moods improved in a given week were more likely to have safe sex than they would in a normal week. In weeks where moods were worse than usual, they were more likely to have unprotected sex.

Time to stub out misguided e-cigarette regulation, experts say

Posted: 04 Feb 2014 07:20 AM PST

Smokers are increasingly turning to electronic cigarettes as a means to reduce the health impacts of their addiction. But legislators around the world are far from unified in their approaches to regulating e-cigarettes. A new article offers details and critique of current legislation.

What does 'whole grain' really mean? European definition published

Posted: 04 Feb 2014 07:17 AM PST

The most comprehensive definition of whole grain termed to date has been published this week. The effort to create the definition, which is intended to assist in the production and labeling of foods rich in whole grains, was born of the HEALTHGRAIN EU project, the largest project ever focusing on cereals and health; and was led by a multi-disciplinary team from some of Europe's leading universities and food research institutes.

Despite burden, Sjögren's syndrome may not impede function

Posted: 04 Feb 2014 07:14 AM PST

People living with Sjögren's syndrome, an autoimmune disorder, appear to function at a level comparable to their healthier peers, according to a cross-sectional study. The study reveals that people living with Sjögren's perceive significant decline in cognitive, psychological and physical function. Nonetheless, despite the burdens of the disease, levels of function approach that of healthy controls.

Stopping liver failure from common painkiller overdose

Posted: 04 Feb 2014 07:14 AM PST

Researchers have identified a key step for the future prevention of liver failure resulting from taking too much of the everyday painkiller acetaminophen (also known as paracetamol).

Hispanic women opt for labor pain relief less often than others

Posted: 04 Feb 2014 07:14 AM PST

Since the 1970s, the frequency and use of pain relief during childbirth – and most especially the use of epidural analgesia during labor – has increased dramatically. Reports on epidural rates range from 47 percent to as high as 76 percent of vaginal births, while between 39 percent and 56 percent of women use narcotic analgesics – including drugs like Fentanyl – via IV for managing labor and delivery pain. Only about 14 percent of women, the literature reveals, use no pharmacologic method to relieve childbirth pain.

Using susceptibility-weighted imaging to study concussion in college ice hockey players

Posted: 04 Feb 2014 04:42 AM PST

Using susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI), researchers have identified microstructural changes in the brains of male and female college-level ice hockey players that could be due to concussive or subconcussive trauma. This is the first time SWI has been used to detect signs of concussion (or mild traumatic brain injury), and the first time it has been used to detect changes in the brain prospectively over an entire sports season in athletes of both sexes.

Novel technique increases detection rate in screening mammography

Posted: 04 Feb 2014 04:42 AM PST

Digital mammography screening with new photon-counting technique offers high diagnostic performance, according to a new study.
مرسلة بواسطة في

ليست هناك تعليقات:

إرسال تعليق

الاشتراك في: تعليقات الرسالة (Atom)