ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

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• New patenting guidelines needed for biotechnology
• Neuroimaging Technique: Live from inside the cell in real-time
• For an immune cell, microgravity mimics aging
• Applying math to biology: Software identifies disease-causing mutations in undiagnosed illnesses
• Fat metabolism in animals altered to prevent most common type of heart disease
• Management of elderly patients with lung cancer
• Male health linked to testosterone exposure in womb, study finds
• Life stressors trigger neurological disorders, researchers find
• Turoctocog alfa in patients with hemophilia A: Added benefit not proven
• Researchers identify a new variant of Ebola virus in Guinea
• How often are unauthorized immigrant workers trafficked, abused?
• Two genes linked to inflammatory bowel disease
• Child's autism risk accelerates with mother's age over 30
• Cloaked DNA nanodevices survive pilot mission
• Drug-related morbidity in more than 10 percent of adults, Swedish study finds
• Bariatric surgery health benefits: Is it bile acids at work?
• New way to enhance nerve growth following injury discovered
• First brain images of African infants enable research into cognitive effects of nutrition
• How are we different and what gave us the advantage over extinct types of humans like the Neanderthals?
• 'Blood lab' inside a mobile phone could detect cancer
• New tool helps doctors better predict, prevent deadly respiratory failure after surgery, multicenter study says
• Increased prevalence of celiac disease in children with irritable bowel syndrome
• False-positive mammograms associated with anxiety, willingness for future screening
• Patient care patterns studied in Medicare accountable care organizations
• 'Dustman' protein helps kill cancer cells
• Gene within a gene contributes to aggressiveness of acute myeloid leukemia
• Death of public figures provides important opportunities for health education
• Anti-inflammatory factory: The role lipids play
• Physicists push new Parkinson's treatment toward clinical trials
• Information sharing between health systems reduces tests, study shows
• Rice gets trendy, adds nutrients, so much more
• Top 10 functional food trends for 2014
• Want to quit smoking? New study says try 'self-expanding' activities

New patenting guidelines needed for biotechnology Posted: 22 Apr 2014 10:09 AM PDT Biotechnology scientists must be aware of the broad patent landscape and push for new patent and licensing guidelines, according to a new paper. Biotechnological inventions have been patented for several decades, though the criteria for patent eligibility have been refined through numerous court decisions. One of the most influential determined that "anything under the sun made by man" could be patented, leading to the diverse biotechnology patent landscape seen today, the authors said.

Neuroimaging Technique: Live from inside the cell in real-time Posted: 22 Apr 2014 10:09 AM PDT A novel imaging technique provides insights into the role of redox signaling and reactive oxygen species in living neurons, in real time. Scientists have developed a new optical microscopy technique to unravel the role of 'oxidative stress' in healthy as well as injured nervous systems.

For an immune cell, microgravity mimics aging Posted: 22 Apr 2014 09:54 AM PDT Telling someone to "act your age" is another way of asking him or her to behave better. Age, however, does not always bring improvements. Certain cells of the immune system tend to misbehave with age, leaving the elderly more vulnerable to illness. Because these cells are known to misbehave similarly during spaceflight, researchers are studying the effects of microgravity on immune cells to better understand how our immune systems change as we age.

Applying math to biology: Software identifies disease-causing mutations in undiagnosed illnesses Posted: 22 Apr 2014 09:12 AM PDT A computational tool has successfully identified diseases with unknown gene mutations in three separate cases. Sequencing the genomes of individuals or small families often produces false predictions of mutations that cause diseases. But this study shows that a new unique approach allows it to identify disease-causing genes more precisely than other computational tools.

Fat metabolism in animals altered to prevent most common type of heart disease Posted: 22 Apr 2014 09:10 AM PDT Working with mice and rabbits, scientists have found a way to block abnormal cholesterol production, transport and breakdown, successfully preventing the development of atherosclerosis, the main cause of heart attacks and strokes and the number-one cause of death among humans. The condition develops when fat builds inside blood vessels over time and renders them stiff, narrowed and hardened, greatly reducing their ability to feed oxygen-rich blood to the heart muscle and the brain.

Management of elderly patients with lung cancer Posted: 22 Apr 2014 08:34 AM PDT An expert opinion on managing treatment for elderly patients with non-small cell lung cancer has been recently published. This update includes recommendations for screening, surgery, adjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy, treatment of locally advanced and metastatic disease as well as new data on patient preferences and geriatric assessment.

Male health linked to testosterone exposure in womb, study finds Posted: 22 Apr 2014 08:34 AM PDT Men's susceptibility to serious health conditions may be influenced by low exposure to testosterone in the womb, new research suggests. Understanding why some men have less of the hormone than others is important because testosterone is crucial for life-long health. Low levels of the hormone have been linked to obesity, diabetes and heart disease.

Life stressors trigger neurological disorders, researchers find Posted: 22 Apr 2014 08:34 AM PDT When mothers are exposed to trauma, illness, alcohol or other drug abuse, these stressors may activate a single molecular trigger in brain cells that can go awry and activate conditions such as schizophrenia, post-traumatic stress disorder and some forms of autism. Until now, it has been unclear how much these stressors have impacted the cells of a developing brain. Past studies have shown that when an expectant mother exposes herself to alcohol or drug abuse or she experiences some trauma or illness, her baby may later develop a psychiatric disorder later in life. But the new findings identify a molecular mechanism in the prenatal brain that may help explain how cells go awry when exposed to certain environmental conditions.

Turoctocog alfa in patients with hemophilia A: Added benefit not proven Posted: 22 Apr 2014 08:33 AM PDT As no relevant studies and no valid data are available, the added benefit of turoctocog alfa over other blood-clotting agents is not proven, a publication concludes. Turoctocog alfa (trade name: NovoEight) has been approved since November 2013 for the prevention and treatment of bleeding in patients with hemophilia A.

Researchers identify a new variant of Ebola virus in Guinea Posted: 22 Apr 2014 08:33 AM PDT In a new article, researchers have published their initial findings on the characteristics of the Ebola virus discovered in Guinea. Initial virological investigations enabled them to identify Zaire ebolavirus as the pathogen responsible for this epidemic.

How often are unauthorized immigrant workers trafficked, abused? Posted: 22 Apr 2014 07:01 AM PDT Labor trafficking -- or recruiting a person for labor through force, fraud, or coercion for involuntary servitude, debt bondage, or even slavery –- has been a difficult problem to track among undocumented migrant workers. With unique access to a 'hidden population' from one of America's largest Spanish-speaking immigrant destinations, a recent study finds that more than 30 percent of undocumented migrant laborers in this area are victims of labor trafficking and 55 percent are victims of other labor abuses.

Two genes linked to inflammatory bowel disease Posted: 22 Apr 2014 07:01 AM PDT Scientists have done what is believed to be the first direct genetic study to document the important function for the Ron receptor, a cell surface protein often found in certain cancers, and its genetic growth factor, responsible for stimulating cell growth, in the development and progression of inflammatory bowel disease.

Child's autism risk accelerates with mother's age over 30 Posted: 22 Apr 2014 07:00 AM PDT Older parents are more likely to have a child who develops an autism spectrum disorder than are younger parents. A recent study provides more insight into how the risk associated with parental age varies between mothers' and fathers' ages, and found that the risk of having a child with both autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability is larger for older parents.

Cloaked DNA nanodevices survive pilot mission Posted: 22 Apr 2014 07:00 AM PDT By mimicking a viral strategy, scientists have created the first cloaked DNA nanodevice that survives the body's immune defenses. Their success opens the door to smart DNA nanorobots that use logic to spot cancerous tissue and manufacture drugs on the spot to cripple it, as well as artificial microscopic containers called protocells that detect pathogens in food or toxic chemicals in drinking water.

Drug-related morbidity in more than 10 percent of adults, Swedish study finds Posted: 22 Apr 2014 06:59 AM PDT Twelve percent of adults in Sweden have diseases related to their use of medicines. But in four cases of ten it would have been possible to avoid the undesired effects, research shows. Two effects were most commonly reported: side effects, and insufficient effect of the drug. "The studies show that both those treating outpatients and those treating inpatients must become better at recognizing drug-related morbidity. Further, new studies should be carried out by scientists, experts in safety and healthcare personnel together to develop preventative strategies," says the researcher.

Bariatric surgery health benefits: Is it bile acids at work? Posted: 22 Apr 2014 06:59 AM PDT Bariatric surgery has positive effects not only on weight loss but also on diabetes and heart disease. Researchers have shown that the health benefits are not caused by a reduction in the stomach size but by increased levels of bile acids in the blood. These findings indicate that bile acids could be a new target for treating obesity and diabetes.

New way to enhance nerve growth following injury discovered Posted: 22 Apr 2014 05:49 AM PDT A mechanism to promote growth in damaged nerve cells as a means to restore connections after injury has been uncovered by scientists who have discovered a key molecule that directly regulates nerve cell growth in the damaged nervous system. "We made the surprising discovery that a protein called Retinoblastoma (Rb) is present in adult neurons," explains the lead researcher. "This protein appears to normally act as a brake -- preventing nerve growth."

First brain images of African infants enable research into cognitive effects of nutrition Posted: 22 Apr 2014 05:49 AM PDT Brain activity of babies in developing countries could be monitored from birth to reveal the first signs of cognitive dysfunction, researchers say. The cognitive function of infants can be visualized and tracked more quickly, more accurately and more cheaply using the method, called functional near infra-red spectroscopy (fNIRS), compared to the behavioral assessments Western regions have relied upon for decades.

How are we different and what gave us the advantage over extinct types of humans like the Neanderthals? Posted: 22 Apr 2014 05:47 AM PDT In parallel with modern man (Homo sapiens), there were other, extinct types of humans with whom we lived side by side, such as Neanderthals and the recently discovered  Denisovans of Siberia. Yet only Homo sapiens survived. What was it in our genetic makeup that gave us the advantage?

'Blood lab' inside a mobile phone could detect cancer Posted: 22 Apr 2014 05:47 AM PDT Scientists are in the early stages of an 'e-health technology' project aimed at developing a mobile phone app that can examine blood sample images and diagnose cancer. It would work by taking a magnified image of a blood slide via a microscopic lens attached to the smart phone, which the app would then be able to screen for evidence of leukemia -- a blood cancer.

New tool helps doctors better predict, prevent deadly respiratory failure after surgery, multicenter study says Posted: 22 Apr 2014 05:45 AM PDT A new prediction tool can help doctors better identify patients who are at highest risk for respiratory failure after surgery and therefore prevent the often deadly condition, suggest data from a large multi-center study. The prediction tool could help doctors assign risk levels to patients by determining if they have one or more of nine predictors identified as most associated with the development of ARDS: blood infection (sepsis), liver disease, high-risk surgery on the heart or aorta, emergency surgery, admission from a location other than home, an increased respiratory rate, and two measures that show the patient has lower-than-normal oxygen levels in the blood.

Increased prevalence of celiac disease in children with irritable bowel syndrome Posted: 21 Apr 2014 01:43 PM PDT There appears to be an increased prevalence of celiac disease among children with irritable bowel syndrome. Recurrent abdominal pain affects 10 percent to 15 percent of school-aged children. The prevalence of celiac disease is as high as 1 percent in European countries and patients can present with a wide spectrum of symptoms, including abdominal pain, although the disease is often asymptomatic.

False-positive mammograms associated with anxiety, willingness for future screening Posted: 21 Apr 2014 01:43 PM PDT Mammograms with false-positive results were associated with increased short-term anxiety for women, and more women with false-positive results reported that they were more likely to undergo future breast cancer screening. A portion of women who undergo routine mammogram screening will experience false-positive results and require further evaluation to rule out breast cancer.

Patient care patterns studied in Medicare accountable care organizations Posted: 21 Apr 2014 01:43 PM PDT A third of Medicare beneficiaries assigned to accountable care organizations (ACOs) in 2010 or 2011 were not assigned to the same ACO in both years and much of the specialty care received was provided outside the patients' assigned ACO, suggesting challenges to achieving organizational accountability in Medicare.

'Dustman' protein helps kill cancer cells Posted: 21 Apr 2014 12:19 PM PDT Cancer researchers have discovered a new 'dustman' role for a molecule that helps a drug kill cancer cells according to a study. The new findings point to a possible test that could identify patients who would be most responsive to a new class of cancer drugs and also those who might develop resistance, as well as suggesting new approaches to discovering more effective drugs.

Gene within a gene contributes to aggressiveness of acute myeloid leukemia Posted: 21 Apr 2014 11:54 AM PDT A small gene that is embedded in a larger gene plays a much greater role in promoting acute myeloid leukemia than the better-known host gene, according to a new study. The research also identified a drug that inhibits expression of the smaller gene. The larger host gene is called BAALC (pronounced "Ball C"). The smaller embedded gene is called microRNA-3151 (miR-3151). The study investigated the degree to which each of the genes contributes to the development of acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

Death of public figures provides important opportunities for health education Posted: 21 Apr 2014 10:59 AM PDT A study of reactions to the 2011 death of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs suggests health communicators have a critical window of opportunity after a public figure dies to disseminate information about disease prevention and detection. The study, involving a survey of 1,400 adult men and women, found that immediately after Jobs' death, more than a third of survey participants sought information about how he died or about cancer in general, and 7 percent sought information about pancreatic cancer, the disease that took Jobs' life.

Anti-inflammatory factory: The role lipids play Posted: 21 Apr 2014 10:59 AM PDT Lipid mediators are molecules playing an important role in inflammation process. Now, scientists have discovered how lipid mediators are produced. Lipid mediators are produced from polyunsaturated fatty acids, but until recently, scientists did not know how or where this process runs. New studies show that polyunsaturated fatty acids are being oxidized inside mitochondria with the help of cytochromes stored between the internal and external mitochondrial membranes. This is a fundamentally new way to synthesize lipid molecules used in metabolism regulation.

Physicists push new Parkinson's treatment toward clinical trials Posted: 21 Apr 2014 10:59 AM PDT The most effective way to tackle debilitating diseases is to punch them at the start and keep them from growing. Research shows that a small 'molecular tweezer' keeps proteins from clumping, or aggregating, the first step of neurological disorders such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and Huntington's disease.

Information sharing between health systems reduces tests, study shows Posted: 21 Apr 2014 10:59 AM PDT Researchers analyzed the care of patients who were seen emergently during a six month period in 2012. The results showed that 560 potentially duplicative diagnostic procedures, such as blood work and imaging, were avoided when the providers used the health information exchange tool. The study suggests that sharing clinical information with other health systems has the potential to generate greater efficiencies in emergency departments by eliminating duplicate diagnostic testing.

Rice gets trendy, adds nutrients, so much more Posted: 21 Apr 2014 10:55 AM PDT Rice is becoming a trendy culinary selection of many restaurant menus, but also the go-to solution for consumers looking for gluten-and allergen-free choices rich in nutrients. The National Restaurant Association's 2014 What's Hot Culinary Forecast predicts diners will see more rice selections on restaurant menus including black rice and red rice. Food scientists are looking for new ways to incorporate rice into many consumer products.

Top 10 functional food trends for 2014 Posted: 21 Apr 2014 10:55 AM PDT Insights on the top 10 functional food trends for 2014 have been recently published, based on data from a multitude of industry resources. The article details many of the social and physical benefits of trends and choices people have when grocery shopping.

Want to quit smoking? New study says try 'self-expanding' activities Posted: 21 Apr 2014 10:55 AM PDT If you are trying to quit smoking, one method to incorporate is to do new, exciting "self-expanding" activities that can help with nicotine craving. This is the take-home message from a new study. "Our study reveals for the first time using brain imaging that engaging in exciting or what we call 'self-expanding' activities, such as puzzle-solving, games, or hobbies with one's partner, appears to reduce craving for nicotine," said one researcher.

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