ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

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• Comprehensive look at brain cancer treatments
• Long-term galactic cosmic ray exposure leads to dementia-like cognitive impairments
• Frailty among older heart patients helps predict severe outcomes
• Patients with gastrointestinal tumors at higher risk of other cancers
• US clinics avoiding government oversight of 'stem cell' treatments
• Identifying speech, hearing problems early may prevent future losses
• Majority of older adults willing to be screened by telephone for dementia
• How to reset a diseased cell
• Beyond chicken fingers and fries: New evidence in favor of healthier kids' menus
• New potential melanoma drug target discovered
• Highly efficient CRISPR knock-in in mouse
• Practical gel simply 'clicks' for biomedical applications
• Researchers create DNA repair map of the entire human genome
• Many young ACL surgery patients need second surgery later on
• How your sex life may influence endometriosis
• Health benefits of coffee: Coffee can act as an antioxidant
• Mechanisms for continually producing sperm
• Guidance improves food safety practices at school, community gardens
• Genome library, blood test aim to minimize statin side effects, maximize benefits
• Teens who mix energy drinks with alcohol more likely to have alcohol use disorder
• Link between inherited genetic variations, outcomes of non-small cell lung cancer patients discovered
• Lifetime intense physical activity may lower risk for non-Hodgkin lymphoma
• Prolonged statin use may lower risk of lung cancer death
• Dissolvable surgical clip, 5 mm in size, made of a magnesium alloy
• Surgery for terminal cancer patients still common
• Substantial benefits for health, environment through realistic changes to UK diets
• HIV-1: Optimizing treatment protocols when diagnostics are costly
• Telomere changes predict cancer

Comprehensive look at brain cancer treatments Posted: 01 May 2015 03:21 PM PDT A comprehensive genetic review of treatment strategies for glioblastoma brain tumors covers how these highly invasive and almost-always-deadly brain cancers may be treated, reviews the continuing challenges faced by researchers and clinicians, and presents the hope for better treatments by harnessing the power of the human genome.

Long-term galactic cosmic ray exposure leads to dementia-like cognitive impairments Posted: 01 May 2015 12:16 PM PDT What happens to an astronaut's brain during a mission to Mars? Nothing good. It's besieged by destructive particles that can forever impair cognition, according to a radiation oncology study. Exposure to highly energetic charged particles -- much like those found in the galactic cosmic rays that bombard astronauts during extended spaceflights -- cause significant damage to the central nervous system, resulting in cognitive impairments.

Frailty among older heart patients helps predict severe outcomes Posted: 01 May 2015 12:15 PM PDT Frailty among older people with cardiovascular disease appears to be more predictive than age for gauging their risk of heart attack, stroke and death, according to an international study. The researchers noted that frailty is easily diagnosed and should be used in addition to the current scoring system that stratifies patients with acute coronary syndrome.

Patients with gastrointestinal tumors at higher risk of other cancers Posted: 01 May 2015 12:15 PM PDT The first population-based study that characterizes the association and temporal relationship between gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) and other cancers has been conducted by researchers. The results indicate that one in 5.8 patients with GIST will develop additional malignancies before and after their diagnosis.

US clinics avoiding government oversight of 'stem cell' treatments Posted: 01 May 2015 11:13 AM PDT Clinics across the United States are advertising stem cell treatments that attempt to take advantage of what they perceive as exceptions in FDA regulations, according to bioethicist.

Identifying speech, hearing problems early may prevent future losses Posted: 01 May 2015 11:13 AM PDT Experts share tips and tools that identify and prevent speech, voice, and hearing impairments. Such impairments affect 43 million Americans, they say, noting how important it is to diagnose these early.

Majority of older adults willing to be screened by telephone for dementia Posted: 01 May 2015 09:55 AM PDT Nearly two-thirds of older adults were willing to undergo telephone screening for dementia, according to a new study. Willingness to be screened by phone did not differ by sex, age or race.

How to reset a diseased cell Posted: 01 May 2015 09:54 AM PDT In proof-of-concept experiments, researchers demonstrate the ability to tune medically relevant cell behaviors by manipulating a key hub in cell communication networks. The manipulation of this communication node makes it possible to reprogram large parts of a cell's signaling network instead of targeting only a single receptor or cell signaling pathway.

Beyond chicken fingers and fries: New evidence in favor of healthier kids' menus Posted: 01 May 2015 08:16 AM PDT New research is a first of its kind to look at ordering patterns and sales data following healthy menu changes. Researchers examined outcomes before and after the Silver Diner, a full-service family restaurant chain, made changes to its children's menu in order to make healthier items easier to choose.

New potential melanoma drug target discovered Posted: 01 May 2015 08:15 AM PDT A new treatment for melanoma could be on the horizon, thanks to a recent finding. In the study, authors report that they found high levels of an enzyme in melanoma samples that they believe is a potential drug target.

Highly efficient CRISPR knock-in in mouse Posted: 01 May 2015 07:35 AM PDT The CRISPR/Cas system, which is based on chemically synthesized small RNAs and commercially available Cas9 enzyme, has enabled long gene-cassette knock-in in mice with highest efficiency ever reported, scientists report.

Practical gel simply 'clicks' for biomedical applications Posted: 01 May 2015 07:35 AM PDT A novel, truly biocompatible alginate hydrogel has been developed that can be synthesized using 'click chemistry' towards better delivery of drugs, growth factors and living cells for biomedical applications. The gel is formed using chemical crosslinking strategies that allow engineers to entrap cells or molecules inside the gel without damaging them or rendering them inactive, scientists report.

Researchers create DNA repair map of the entire human genome Posted: 01 May 2015 07:34 AM PDT When common chemotherapy drugs damage DNA in cancer cells, the cells can't replicate. But the cells do have ways to repair the DNA and the cancer drugs aren't effective to do so. Researchers have developed a way to find where this DNA repair happens. Their goal is to increase the potency of cancer drugs.

Many young ACL surgery patients need second surgery later on Posted: 01 May 2015 07:34 AM PDT Orthopedic surgeons are seeing an epidemic of anterior cruciate ligament injuries among young athletes, and a large number of patients who have surgery to reconstruct a torn ACL undergo a second knee operation later on, according to a study.

How your sex life may influence endometriosis Posted: 01 May 2015 07:00 AM PDT Researchers are a step closer to understanding the risk factors associated with endometriosis thanks to a new study. A lot remains unknown about what causes, and how to effectively prevent and treat, endometriosis. However, more is now known about what aggravates the condition: seminal fluid (a major component of semen) enhances the survival and growth of endometriosis lesions, researchers have discovered.

Health benefits of coffee: Coffee can act as an antioxidant Posted: 01 May 2015 07:00 AM PDT New research has brought us closer to being able to understand the health benefits of coffee.

Mechanisms for continually producing sperm Posted: 01 May 2015 06:59 AM PDT Continually producing sperm over a long time is important to procreate the next generation. Researchers have revealed that there are differences in reactivity to retinoic acid in spermatogonial stem cells, and these differences are a key factor to the persistence of sperm production with inexhaustible stem cells.

Guidance improves food safety practices at school, community gardens Posted: 01 May 2015 06:59 AM PDT School and community gardens have become increasingly popular in recent years, but the people managing and working in these gardens are often unfamiliar with food safety practices that reduce the risk of foodborne illness. Now researchers have developed guidelines that address how to limit risk in these gardens -- and a pilot study shows that the guidelines make a difference.

Genome library, blood test aim to minimize statin side effects, maximize benefits Posted: 01 May 2015 06:57 AM PDT In the midst of the growing and often conflicting data around the benefits of statins, researchers are developing gene-based resources to help improve statin efficacy and cost-effectiveness and to reduce the incidence of adverse effects -- some of which can be fatal.

Teens who mix energy drinks with alcohol more likely to have alcohol use disorder Posted: 01 May 2015 06:57 AM PDT Teens aged 15-17 years old who had ever mixed alcohol with energy drinks were four times more likely to meet the criteria for alcohol use disorder, a new study concludes. The team looked at a sample of 3,342 adolescents and young adults aged 15-23 years old recruited across the U.S. They found that 9.7% of adolescents aged 15-17 years old had consumed an energy drink mixed with alcohol. Analyses showed that group to have greatly increased odds of not just binge drinking, but also clinically defined criteria for alcohol use disorder.

Link between inherited genetic variations, outcomes of non-small cell lung cancer patients discovered Posted: 01 May 2015 06:57 AM PDT Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the most common type of lung cancer. Patients diagnosed with NSCLC have a poor prognosis, with a 5-year survival rate of only 16 percent. Researchers hope to improve NSCLC patient survival with the results of a study that found that inherited genetic variations in interleukin genes are associated with improved patient survival and response to therapy.

Lifetime intense physical activity may lower risk for non-Hodgkin lymphoma Posted: 01 May 2015 05:18 AM PDT Performing vigorous physical activity over one's lifetime may lower risk for non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Because not much is known about what causes non-Hodgkin lymphoma, identifying risk factors is particularly important for the prevention and control of this cancer, the main researcher noted.

Prolonged statin use may lower risk of lung cancer death Posted: 01 May 2015 05:18 AM PDT Lung cancer patients who used statins in the year prior to a lung cancer diagnosis or after a lung cancer diagnosis had a reduction in the risk of death from the disease, researchers report at the conclusion of a recent study.

Dissolvable surgical clip, 5 mm in size, made of a magnesium alloy Posted: 01 May 2015 05:17 AM PDT A safe surgical clip that dissolves, which is absorbed by the body after a certain period of time, has been created by researchers. Clinical use of this clip is expected because it can reduce the rate of postoperative complications and minimize problems associated with diagnostic imaging.

Surgery for terminal cancer patients still common Posted: 01 May 2015 05:17 AM PDT The number of surgeries performed on terminally ill cancer patients has not dropped in recent years, despite more attention to the importance of less invasive care for these patients to relieve symptoms and improve quality of life.

Substantial benefits for health, environment through realistic changes to UK diets Posted: 30 Apr 2015 06:20 PM PDT Making a series of relatively minor and realistic changes to UK diets would not only reduce UK diet-related greenhouse gas emissions by nearly a fifth, but could also extend average life expectancy by eight months, according to new research.

HIV-1: Optimizing treatment protocols when diagnostics are costly Posted: 30 Apr 2015 11:49 AM PDT HIV-1 continues to spread globally. While neither a cure, nor an effective vaccine are available, recent focus has been put on 'treatment-for-prevention', which is a method by which treatment is used to reduce the contagiousness of an infected person. A new study challenges current treatment paradigms in the context of 'treatment for prevention' against HIV-1.

Telomere changes predict cancer Posted: 30 Apr 2015 09:41 AM PDT A distinct pattern in the changing length of blood telomeres, the protective end caps on our DNA strands, can predict cancer many years before actual diagnosis, a new study shows. The pattern, which spanned 13 years before cancer diagnosis, could yield a new biomarker to predict cancer development with a blood test. This is the first reported trajectory of telomere changes over the years in people developing cancer.

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