ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

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• Double enzyme hit may explain common cancer drug side effect
• Babies need free tongue movement to decipher speech sounds
• RNA editing technique treats severe form of muscular dystrophy
• 3D printed fetal head helps manage care for baby with life-threatening airway mass
• Cardiac patients receive comparable care from physicians, advanced practice providers
• Turncoat protein regulates sensitivity of breast cancer cells to drug
• First comprehensive profile of non-protein-coding RNAs in human cancers
• New optoelectronic probe enables communication with neural microcircuits
• Prostate cells undergo 'reprogramming' to form tumors, study finds
• Study examines concussion-like symptom reporting in uninjured athletes
• Key differences in brain activity in people with anorexia nervosa revealed by study
• Allergic asthma: Key molecule identified
• Beauty patch is applicable from skincare to medical patches
• Precision injections of Botox into migraine
• 'Beeting' high altitude symptoms with beet juice
• Genes linked with malaria's virulence shared by apes, humans
• Lithium safe, effective for children with bipolar disorder, study suggests
• Children born in the summer more likely to be healthy adults
• UV light robots cut C. diff transmissions by 25 percent on cancer patient floors
• Carbohydrate-binding proteins mitigate parasitic infection in heart tissue
• Novel compound turns off mutant cancer gene in animals with leukemia
• A cure for vitamin B6 deficiency?

Double enzyme hit may explain common cancer drug side effect Posted: 12 Oct 2015 03:10 PM PDT Many leukemias are caused by loss of the enzyme Pten. Some anti-leukemia treatments work by inhibiting another enzyme called Shp2. Researchers have now found that mice lacking both of these enzymes can't produce and sustain enough red blood cells. The study helps explain why anemia is a common side effect of anti-cancer drugs that target enzymes involved in tumor growth.

Babies need free tongue movement to decipher speech sounds Posted: 12 Oct 2015 03:08 PM PDT Inhibiting infants' tongue movements impedes their ability to distinguish between speech sounds, researchers have found. The study is the first to discover a direct link between infants' oral-motor movements and auditory speech perception.

RNA editing technique treats severe form of muscular dystrophy Posted: 12 Oct 2015 02:45 PM PDT An RNA editing technique called 'exon skipping' has shown preliminary success in treating a rare and severe form of muscular dystrophy that currently has no treatment. The discovery stems from the persistence of a father, whose two sons were diagnosed with a rare and severe form of muscular dystrophy, and his search for and partnership with the genetic scientist who studies the disease. The therapy is being developed with the goal of clinical trials.

3D printed fetal head helps manage care for baby with life-threatening airway mass Posted: 12 Oct 2015 12:41 PM PDT Conan Thompson becomes first baby to have a 3D printed model made of his face while still in the womb to help doctors determine whether he would need a lifesaving procedure at birth.

Cardiac patients receive comparable care from physicians, advanced practice providers Posted: 12 Oct 2015 12:35 PM PDT Patients with coronary artery disease, heart failure, and atrial fibrillation receive comparable outpatient care from physicians and advanced practice providers -- physician assistants and nurse practitioners -- although all clinicians fell short in meeting performance measures, according to a study.

Turncoat protein regulates sensitivity of breast cancer cells to drug Posted: 12 Oct 2015 10:22 AM PDT A surprising, paradoxical relationship between a tumor suppressor molecule and an oncogene may be the key to explaining and working around how breast cancer tumor cells become desensitized to a common cancer drug.

First comprehensive profile of non-protein-coding RNAs in human cancers Posted: 12 Oct 2015 10:22 AM PDT 70 percent of the genome is made into non-coding RNA, but most studies of genomic alterations in cancer have focused on the miniscule portion of the human genome that encodes protein. An international team has mined these RNA sequences more fully to identify non-protein-coding segments whose expression is linked to 13 different types of cancer.

New optoelectronic probe enables communication with neural microcircuits Posted: 12 Oct 2015 08:57 AM PDT The burgeoning field of optogenetics makes it possible for scientists to control brain activity using pulses of light. Now, researchers have developed an optoelectronic device which opens the possibility of bidirectional communication with the brain. The new technology enables stimulation of neural microcircuits with millisecond precision according to predescribed space-time maps while monitoring changes in neural activity across the targeted microcircuits.

Prostate cells undergo 'reprogramming' to form tumors, study finds Posted: 12 Oct 2015 08:57 AM PDT Researchers link early prostate cancer to alterations in a program controlled by a 'master regulator' of cell growth. These epigenetic changes point to new avenues for preventing and treating prostate cancer.

Study examines concussion-like symptom reporting in uninjured athletes Posted: 12 Oct 2015 08:57 AM PDT Uninjured athletes reported concussion-like symptoms in a new study that suggests symptom reporting in the absence of recent concussion is related to male or female sex and preexisting conditions, which can include prior treatment for a psychiatric condition or substance abuse, according to a new article.

Key differences in brain activity in people with anorexia nervosa revealed by study Posted: 12 Oct 2015 08:56 AM PDT When people with anorexia nervosa decide what to eat, they engage a part of the brain associated with habitual behavior. These findings open up entirely new avenues for treatment development and understanding of disease mechanisms, say the researchers.

Allergic asthma: Key molecule identified Posted: 12 Oct 2015 05:42 AM PDT Allergies are becoming more commonplace, particularly in industrialized countries. In addition to hay fever, allergic asthma is currently considered to be one of the most widespread allergies. Researchers have recently been successful in finding a protein that plays a critical role in the development of allergic airway inflammation. The discovery could pave the way for new therapies, as it also influences the progression of the allergy.

Beauty patch is applicable from skincare to medical patches Posted: 12 Oct 2015 05:40 AM PDT Scientists have analyzed the effectiveness of its beauty patch, using a technique for imaging live tissue to demonstrate the patch's beneficial effects on the skin. Preliminary results show that already after two weeks usage the patch together with cosmetic serum adds collagen, which helps skin tissue to stay supple.

Precision injections of Botox into migraine Posted: 12 Oct 2015 05:40 AM PDT Researchers are using a high-precision instrument to inject toxins that alleviate migraine attacks. This means even better needle guidance and user-friendliness.

'Beeting' high altitude symptoms with beet juice Posted: 12 Oct 2015 05:38 AM PDT One sign of successful acclimatization to altitude is that the blood vessels are able to deliver enough oxygen throughout the body. But normal blood vessel function depends on the body's ability to naturally produce a compound called nitric oxide. Drinking nitrate-rich beet juice helps improve blood vessel function at altitude by giving the body alternative building blocks to make nitric oxide.

Genes linked with malaria's virulence shared by apes, humans Posted: 12 Oct 2015 05:38 AM PDT The malaria parasite molecules associated with severe disease and death have been shown to share key gene segments with chimp and gorilla malaria parasites, which are separated by several millions of years, according to a new study. This new information could aid in basic understanding of the causes of malaria and provide targets for drugs and vaccines.

Lithium safe, effective for children with bipolar disorder, study suggests Posted: 12 Oct 2015 05:37 AM PDT A multicenter study of young patients with bipolar disorder provides what may be the most scientifically rigorous demonstration to date that lithium -- a drug used successfully for decades to treat adults with the condition -- can also be safe and effective for children suffering from it.

Children born in the summer more likely to be healthy adults Posted: 12 Oct 2015 05:37 AM PDT Women who were born in the summer are more likely to be healthy adults, suggests new research. The authors of the study, which involved almost half a million people in the UK, say more sunlight -- and therefore higher vitamin D exposure -- in the second trimester of pregnancy could explain the effect, but more research is needed.

UV light robots cut C. diff transmissions by 25 percent on cancer patient floors Posted: 09 Oct 2015 12:54 PM PDT New research from infection control specialists found that ultraviolet robots helped reduce the rates transmission of the common bacterial infection known as Clostridium difficile among cancer inpatients -- mostly blood cancer patients, a group more vulnerable to hospital-acquired infections -- by 25 percent. The interventions also saved about $150,000 in annual direct medical costs.

Carbohydrate-binding proteins mitigate parasitic infection in heart tissue Posted: 09 Oct 2015 12:52 PM PDT Chagas disease is the main cause of infectious heart disease in Latin America. Researchers have explored the effect of glycan binding protein interactions between the human host and Typanosoma cruzi parasite. They found that a glycan binding protein expressed in humans modified the infection in cells of the heart muscle, showing the importance of galectins in the response to parasite infection.

Novel compound turns off mutant cancer gene in animals with leukemia Posted: 09 Oct 2015 07:20 AM PDT A compound that halts cancer in animals with Ewing sarcoma and prostate cancer appears to work against some forms of leukemia, too, scientists report.

A cure for vitamin B6 deficiency? Posted: 09 Oct 2015 05:31 AM PDT Plant scientists engineered the cassava plant to produce higher levels of vitamin B6 in its storage roots and leaves. This could help to protect millions of people in Africa from serious deficiencies, they say.

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