ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

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• Maternal obesity and poor nutrition in the womb impairs fertility in female offspring
• 'Marijuana receptor' might hold the key to new fertility treatments for men
• Is a popular painkiller hampering our ability to notice errors?
• Blood-brain barrier breakthrough reported by researchers
• Body Dysmorphic Disorder symptoms improve, relapse preventable with sustained medication
• Six-step hand-washing technique found most effective for reducing bacteria
• Many ICU patients trade critical illness for new illness, ICU-acquired weakness
• Cyclodextrin dissolves away cholesterol crystals
• World Trade Center firefighters needing sinus surgery had more intense, longer exposure to caustic dust and have higher eosinophil levels
• More complete genetic map of scleroderma disease makes more effective medications possible
• Key gene in development of celiac disease has been found in 'junk' DNA
• Viruses work together to attack their hosts
• Switching specific G-protein-coupled signalling pathways on and off
• Simultaneous cocaine, alcohol use linked to suicide risk
• Curiosity leads us to seek out unpleasant, painful outcomes
• Bronchial carcinoma: Added benefit of crizotinib for first-line treatment not proven
• Protective effect of genetically modified cord blood on spinal cord injury in rats
• Skateboarding sent about 176 youth to US emergency departments every day
• Common prostate cancer treatments suppress immune response, may promote relapse
• HPV vaccine may be effective in adolescents with kidney disease, but less so in those with a kidney transplant
• Kidneys have an innate clock that affects many metabolic processes in the body
• Traditional skin tests used to predict allergies to antibiotics are useless, say researchers
• Wisdom is a matter of both heart and mind, research finds
• Cancer thwarts treatment by 'stealing' blood vessels
• Maternal obesity, diabetes in pregnancy result in early overgrowth of baby in the womb
• Ditch 'colonial' thinking to boost access to surgery for world's poor, rich nations told
• Most patients likely to see reductions in pain and disability after bariatric surgery
• Inflammatory factors cause damage to back of eye following keratoprosthesis implantation
• New role identified for scars at the site of injured spinal cord
• Post-menopausal women taking metformin for diabetes may be at lower risk of cancer
• Researchers publish largest Chinese American eye study
• New low-cost workforce extends primary care to homes of older adults
• Detailed analysis of autism-associated genes finds involvement in key pathways, processes

Maternal obesity and poor nutrition in the womb impairs fertility in female offspring Posted: 08 Apr 2016 01:38 PM PDT New research involving mice suggests that maternal obesity and poor nutrition during pregnancy affects the egg reserves of female offspring.

'Marijuana receptor' might hold the key to new fertility treatments for men Posted: 08 Apr 2016 01:38 PM PDT Scientists have shown that a cannabinoid receptor, called 'CB2,' helps regulate the creation of sperm. Not only does this provide more evidence that marijuana can disrupt fertility in males, but it also suggests a therapeutic strategy for treating male infertility.

Is a popular painkiller hampering our ability to notice errors? Posted: 08 Apr 2016 01:37 PM PDT According to a new study acetaminophen could be impeding error-detection in the brain.

Blood-brain barrier breakthrough reported by researchers Posted: 08 Apr 2016 10:26 AM PDT The blood-brain barrier has stymied direct treatment of brain disorders. In a recently published study, a researcher reports finding a way to pass therapeutics through the barrier, using readily-available agents.

Body Dysmorphic Disorder symptoms improve, relapse preventable with sustained medication Posted: 08 Apr 2016 10:25 AM PDT People with Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) fare better and are less likely to relapse when treated with medication on a long-term basis, according to researchers.

Six-step hand-washing technique found most effective for reducing bacteria Posted: 08 Apr 2016 10:24 AM PDT The six-step hand-hygiene technique recommended by the World Health Organization is superior to a three-step method suggested by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in reducing bacteria on healthcare workers' hands, new evidence shows.

Many ICU patients trade critical illness for new illness, ICU-acquired weakness Posted: 08 Apr 2016 10:24 AM PDT Some patients who suffer from muscle weakness six months after ICU discharge demonstrate persistent muscle wasting, even when the biologic functions that commonly cause muscles to atrophy have returned to normal, a new study has found.

Cyclodextrin dissolves away cholesterol crystals Posted: 08 Apr 2016 08:22 AM PDT Cyclodextrin has been shown in mice to dissolve cholesterol crystals and prevent plaque formation. The drug is already approved for use in humans and could be tested in patients to treat atherosclerosis.

World Trade Center firefighters needing sinus surgery had more intense, longer exposure to caustic dust and have higher eosinophil levels Posted: 08 Apr 2016 07:27 AM PDT Firefighters who responded in the first two days of the World Trade Center disaster and those who worked at the site for six months or longer are more likely to need sinus surgery than firefighters whose exposure to the site's caustic dust was less intense or shorter term, according to new research.

More complete genetic map of scleroderma disease makes more effective medications possible Posted: 08 Apr 2016 07:24 AM PDT Scleroderma is an autoimmune disease that affects one out of every 10,000 people in Europe and North America, mostly middle-aged women, and causes death in a high percentage of cases. Scientists have now carried out the largest study to date of the disease with a sample of more than 5000 affected patients.

Key gene in development of celiac disease has been found in 'junk' DNA Posted: 08 Apr 2016 07:24 AM PDT 40% of the population carry the main risk factor for celiac disease but only 1% develop the disease. A newly found gene that influences its development has been found in what until recently has been known as 'junk' DNA. Celiac disease is a chronic, immunological disease that is manifested as intolerance to gluten proteins present in wheats to an inflammatory reaction in the small intestine that hampers the absorption of nutrients. The only treatment is a strict, life-long, gluten-free diet.

Viruses work together to attack their hosts Posted: 08 Apr 2016 07:24 AM PDT Viruses work in groups to attack host cells more effectively, report scientists. The results of this study also show that natural selection "facilitates the teamwork of viruses in relation to their position in the same cell."

Switching specific G-protein-coupled signalling pathways on and off Posted: 08 Apr 2016 07:22 AM PDT Blue on, yellow off: using different-colored light, researchers are able to switch signalling pathways in the brain on and off. Depending on what kind of melanopsin the researchers used, signalling pathways were switched on either transiently or sustained. In mammals, the protein typically regulates the circadian rhythm.

Simultaneous cocaine, alcohol use linked to suicide risk Posted: 08 Apr 2016 07:19 AM PDT A new study of hundreds of emergency department visits finds that the links between substance misuse and suicide risk are complex, but that use of cocaine and alcohol together was particularly significant.

Curiosity leads us to seek out unpleasant, painful outcomes Posted: 08 Apr 2016 07:19 AM PDT Curiosity is a powerful motivator, leading us to make important discoveries and explore the unknown. But new research shows that our curiosity is sometimes so powerful that it leads us to choose potentially painful and unpleasant outcomes that have no apparent benefits, even when we have the ability to avoid these outcomes altogether.

Bronchial carcinoma: Added benefit of crizotinib for first-line treatment not proven Posted: 08 Apr 2016 07:19 AM PDT In the only study of direct comparison, carboplatin in the control arm was not used in compliance with the Pharmaceutical Directive, reviewers report.

Protective effect of genetically modified cord blood on spinal cord injury in rats Posted: 08 Apr 2016 07:19 AM PDT Researchers genetically modified cord blood which managed to increase tissue sparing and numbers of regenerated axons, reduce glial scar formation and promote behavioral recovery when transplanted immediately after a rat contusion spinal cord injury.

Skateboarding sent about 176 youth to US emergency departments every day Posted: 08 Apr 2016 07:19 AM PDT A study examined data for youth and adolescents 5-19 years of age who were treated in US emergency departments (EDs) for skateboarding-related injuries from 1990-2008. Nationally, over the 19-year period, there was an average of 64,572 children and adolescents treated each year for skateboarding-related injuries -- about 176 a day.

Common prostate cancer treatments suppress immune response, may promote relapse Posted: 07 Apr 2016 07:17 PM PDT Prostate cancer patients and their doctors may want to think twice about the best timing for chemotherapy or radiation therapy in conjunction with a common nonsurgical treatment, based on international research findings.

HPV vaccine may be effective in adolescents with kidney disease, but less so in those with a kidney transplant Posted: 07 Apr 2016 07:17 PM PDT Following vaccination against human papillomavirus, girls and young women with chronic kidney disease and those on dialysis had antibody levels above the threshold that indicates protection from infection. A significant proportion of patients with kidney transplants showed evidence of an inadequate antibody response to the vaccine.

Kidneys have an innate clock that affects many metabolic processes in the body Posted: 07 Apr 2016 07:17 PM PDT Daily fluctuations caused by the kidney's circadian clock have an important effect on the levels of various amino acids, lipids, and other components of blood in the body, say researchers. In individuals who take medications, the kidney's circadian clock controls drug elimination from the body and therefore can influence the duration of a drug's action and the effectiveness of the therapy.

Traditional skin tests used to predict allergies to antibiotics are useless, say researchers Posted: 07 Apr 2016 07:14 PM PDT Skin tests traditionally used to predict allergies to amoxicillin, one of the most commonly prescribed antibiotics in children, are ineffective according to a new study. The findings determined that oral provocation or challenge test, with appropriate follow up, was a more efficient and safer screening method for diagnosing non-life threatening reactions to amoxicillin in children.

Wisdom is a matter of both heart and mind, research finds Posted: 07 Apr 2016 07:14 PM PDT The fluctuations of your heartbeat may affect your wisdom, according to new research. The study suggests that heart rate variation and thinking process work together to enable wise reasoning about complex social issues.

Cancer thwarts treatment by 'stealing' blood vessels Posted: 07 Apr 2016 07:14 PM PDT Cancers can resist treatment by 'stealing' blood vessels from nearby tissues, a new study shows. The important new study is the first to show that tumors can become resistant to drugs over time by learning to steal normal blood vessels from surrounding tissue -- a process that researchers call vessel co-option.

Maternal obesity, diabetes in pregnancy result in early overgrowth of baby in the womb Posted: 07 Apr 2016 07:14 PM PDT The babies of obese women who develop gestational diabetes are five times as likely to be excessively large by six months of pregnancy, according to new research. The study, which shows that excessive fetal growth begins weeks before at-risk women are screened for gestational diabetes, suggests that current screening programs may take place too late during pregnancy to prevent lasting health impacts on the offspring.

Ditch 'colonial' thinking to boost access to surgery for world's poor, rich nations told Posted: 07 Apr 2016 07:14 PM PDT Rich nations 'must abandon colonial narratives' and work alongside low and middle income countries to boost access to safe and affordable surgery for the world's poor, concludes an international blueprint for action.

Most patients likely to see reductions in pain and disability after bariatric surgery Posted: 07 Apr 2016 12:57 PM PDT In the three years following bariatric surgery, the majority of patients experienced an improvement in pain and walking ability, as well as a lessening of the degree to which back or leg pain interfered with work, according an analysis of a multi-site clinical study.

Inflammatory factors cause damage to back of eye following keratoprosthesis implantation Posted: 07 Apr 2016 12:56 PM PDT Researchers have identified inflammatory factors that contribute to optic nerve damage following keratoprosthesis implantation in a mouse model, a new report outlines.

New role identified for scars at the site of injured spinal cord Posted: 07 Apr 2016 12:55 PM PDT For decades, it was thought that scar-forming cells called astrocytes were responsible for blocking neuronal regrowth across the level of spinal cord injury, but recent findings challenge this idea. According to a new mouse study, astrocyte scars may actually be required for repair and regrowth following spinal cord injury.

Post-menopausal women taking metformin for diabetes may be at lower risk of cancer Posted: 07 Apr 2016 12:09 PM PDT Post-menopausal women who use metformin long-term for the treatment of diabetes may be at lower risk for developing certain cancers and dying from these diseases, reports a large prospective study. Their analysis was based on data from the Women's Health Initiative (WHI), a series of large studies undertaken to address common health issues in women. The researchers also found that women with diabetes, compared to women without the disease, were more likely to develop cancer.

Researchers publish largest Chinese American eye study Posted: 07 Apr 2016 12:07 PM PDT Researchers have published the largest eye study among Chinese Americans, identifying more effective ways to prevent and treat blinding eye diseases for this racial group.

New low-cost workforce extends primary care to homes of older adults Posted: 07 Apr 2016 12:06 PM PDT Person-centered dementia care, which involves both patients and their caregivers, can be effectively provided by an engaged low-cost workforce -- care coordinator assistants.

Detailed analysis of autism-associated genes finds involvement in key pathways, processes Posted: 07 Apr 2016 12:03 PM PDT Key underlying biological processes have been identified that involve some of the hundreds of genes known to contribute to the risk of autism spectrum disorders. Several separate analyses converged on a key molecular process -- the overlap of two major signaling pathways -- as well as on several groups of genes that participate in that process and contribute to other conditions.

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