ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

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• Celiac disease: A wriggly solution to a first-world problem
• Discovery may lead to better treatments for autoimmune diseases, bone loss
• Perfectionism is a bigger than perceived risk factor in suicide: Psychology expert
• Chemists recruit anthrax to deliver cancer drugs
• Autoimmune diseases, chronic inflammations: Advancing research
• Simple blood test could be used as tool for early cancer diagnosis
• ADHD: Brains not recognizing angry expressions
• Biomarkers, stem cells offer new ways to treat deadly gut disease in premature babies
• Massive weight loss increases risk of complications in body-shaping surgery
• Dengue fever, malaria in the Himalayas
• Human papilloma virus vaccination provides long-term protection
• Osteoarthritis of the hip: appropriate exercise therapy can alleviate symptoms
• Cryptogenic strokes may find explanation in heart
• Calming down immune cells could hold key to melanoma treatment
• Treatment studied to help patients 'burned to the bone'
• First mouse model for ALS dementia
• Treatment for complicated grief in older individuals examined in study

Celiac disease: A wriggly solution to a first-world problem Posted: 25 Sep 2014 07:09 AM PDT Groundbreaking results were achieved in a clinical trial using hookworms to reduce the symptoms of celiac disease. The results are good news for sufferers of other inflammatory conditions such as asthma and Crohn's disease. In the small trial run over a year, 12 participants were each experimentally infected with 20 Necator americanus (hookworm) larvae. They were then given gradually increasing doses of gluten, with their daily dose in the final stage being equivalent to a medium-sized bowl of spaghetti.

Discovery may lead to better treatments for autoimmune diseases, bone loss Posted: 25 Sep 2014 07:09 AM PDT Scientists have developed an approach to creating treatments for osteoporosis and autoimmune diseases that may avoid the risk of infection and cancer posed by some current medications.

Perfectionism is a bigger than perceived risk factor in suicide: Psychology expert Posted: 25 Sep 2014 07:09 AM PDT Experts are calling for closer attention to perfectionism's potential destructiveness, adding that clinical guidelines should include perfectionism as a separate factor for suicide risk assessment and intervention. 'There is an urgent need for looking at perfectionism with a person-centered approach as an individual and societal risk factor, when formulating clinical guidelines for suicide risk assessment and intervention, as well as public health approaches to suicide prevention,' says one researcher.

Chemists recruit anthrax to deliver cancer drugs Posted: 25 Sep 2014 07:09 AM PDT With some tinkering, a deadly protein becomes an efficient carrier for antibody drugs, researchers have discovered. "Anthrax toxin is a professional at delivering large enzymes into cells," says one researcher. "We wondered if we could render anthrax toxin nontoxic, and use it as a platform to deliver antibody drugs into cells."

Autoimmune diseases, chronic inflammations: Advancing research Posted: 25 Sep 2014 07:08 AM PDT Multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes and lupus are autoimmune diseases in which the immune cells can no longer differentiate between friend and foe and thus attack the body's own tissue. Here, the immunoproteasome, which supplies the immune system with information on processes within the cell, plays a central role. Chemists have now discovered a way to inhibit its functionality, thereby laying the foundation for possible optimizations of existing medications.

Simple blood test could be used as tool for early cancer diagnosis Posted: 25 Sep 2014 07:08 AM PDT High levels of calcium in blood, a condition known as hypercalcemia, can be used by GPs as an early indication of certain types of cancer, according to a study by researchers. Hypercalcaemia is the most common metabolic disorder associated with cancer, occurring in 10 to 20 per cent of people with cancer. While its connection to cancer is well known, this study has, for the first time, shown that often it can predate the diagnosis of cancer in primary care.

ADHD: Brains not recognizing angry expressions Posted: 25 Sep 2014 07:07 AM PDT The characteristics of facial expression recognition of children with ADHD has been initially identified by researchers by measuring hemodynamic response in the brain. They showed that children with ADHD showed significant hemodynamic response to the happy expression but not to the angry expression. This difference in the neural basis for the recognition of facial expression might be responsible for impairment in social recognition and the establishment of peer-relationships.

Biomarkers, stem cells offer new ways to treat deadly gut disease in premature babies Posted: 25 Sep 2014 07:02 AM PDT Two major breakthroughs in the treatment of necrotizing enterocolitis suggest that there may finally be a way to stop this lethal disease of prematurity. The condition creates an inexplicable combination of inflammation and infection that causes parts of the intestine to die. NEC progresses at a ruthless speed, leaving physicians with few options -- typically supportive care, emergency surgery or antibiotics.

Massive weight loss increases risk of complications in body-shaping surgery Posted: 25 Sep 2014 07:02 AM PDT Patients who lost more than 100 pounds and those who shed weight through bariatric surgery had the highest risk of complications from later surgical procedures to reshape their leaner bodies, a new study shows.

Dengue fever, malaria in the Himalayas Posted: 25 Sep 2014 05:22 AM PDT Research by Nepalese and German scientists analyzes the current situation of malaria and Dengue fever in the Himalayan country of Nepal, and highlights how they profit from climate change and globalization.

Human papilloma virus vaccination provides long-term protection Posted: 25 Sep 2014 05:22 AM PDT Persistent infection with a high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) type is a necessary prerequisite for the development of dysplasia and neoplasia of the cervix, precursors to cervical cancer. The HPV vaccination has been a subject of heated debate since it was launched. Now researchers have produced a systematic review that shows no decrease in protection over a period of five years following vaccination against HPV types 16 and 18.

Osteoarthritis of the hip: appropriate exercise therapy can alleviate symptoms Posted: 25 Sep 2014 05:22 AM PDT Osteoarthritis of the hip is a progressive degenerative disorder affecting the hip joints, which affects one in 10 adults. The symptoms range from pain after intense joint loading to morning pain/stiffness and impaired mobility in everyday life. To date, no cure exists. Appropriate exercise therapy can, however, delay progression of the disease and alleviate symptoms, as shown in a randomized controlled study.

Cryptogenic strokes may find explanation in heart Posted: 25 Sep 2014 05:22 AM PDT More than half of the patients who have suffered a stroke with no well-defined aetiology have an enlarged left atrial appendage of the heart, according to a study. The results indicate that the enlargement of the left atrial appendage may be an independent risk factor of strokes with cardiac origin.

Calming down immune cells could hold key to melanoma treatment Posted: 25 Sep 2014 05:22 AM PDT Immune cells may be responsible for drug resistance in melanoma patients, according to research. Scientists found that chemical signals produced by a type of immune cell, called macrophages, also act as a survival signal for melanoma cells.

Treatment studied to help patients 'burned to the bone' Posted: 25 Sep 2014 05:14 AM PDT Burn researchers examine a new approach for treating painful aftermath of war-defining combat injuries. Those burned by high-velocity explosive devices are at-risk for heterotopic ossification (HO), in which bone develops in places it shouldn't be, outside the skeleton, in joints, muscles and tendons. The painful condition can make it difficult to move and function and commonly affects patients who suffer burns, automobile accidents, orthopedic surgery and blast injuries and other combat wounds.

First mouse model for ALS dementia Posted: 24 Sep 2014 06:20 PM PDT The first animal model for ALS dementia, a form of ALS that also damages the brain, has been developed by scientists. The advance will allow researchers to directly see the brains of living mice, under anesthesia, at the microscopic level. This will accelerate drug testing by allowing direct monitoring of test drugs in real time to determine if they work.

Treatment for complicated grief in older individuals examined in study Posted: 24 Sep 2014 06:20 PM PDT A treatment designed to help older individuals deal with complicated grief after the loss of a loved one appeared to be more effective than using a treatment designed for depression, a study concludes.

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