ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

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• Certain mouth bacteria signal pancreatic cancer, study finds
• UK doctors still undertreating major risk factor for stroke, study finds
• New buzzwords 'reduce medicine to economics': Physicians lament the devaluation of clinical judgment in today's health care world
• Proper protein intake crucial for moderating energy intake, keeping obesity at bay
• Survival disparities in African-American and white colorectal cancer patients
• Nearly one in four people with psoriasis may have undiagnosed psoriatic arthritis
• Education research shows LGBTQ-identified students at higher risk than straight-identified students
• Vitamin D crucial in human immune response to tuberculosis, scientists find
• Researchers make older beta cells act young again
• 'Dark matter' of the genome revealed through analysis of 29 mammals
• Researchers reconstruct genome of the Black Death; Bacteria found to be ancestor of all modern plagues
• New molecular target for diabetes treatment discovered
• Understanding the constraints of evolution provides roadmap to mammalian biology
• Clean correction of a patient's genetic mutation: New gene therapy methods accurately correct mutation in patient's stem cells
• Significant breakthrough in study of chlamydia
• Millions of new regulatory elements found in human genome
• By reprogramming skin cells into brain cells, scientists gain new insights into mental disorders
• Transfusion not always best treatment for anemia, age of stored blood may play a role
• Improving gene therapy for heart disease, cancer
• Folic acid supplements in early pregnancy may reduce the risk of severe language delay in children
• Pain characteristics suggest higher benefit from gallbladder surgery
• Researcher identifies autism employment resources, tips for people with autism spectrum disorders
• Increase in U.S. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits associated with healthier children, pediatricians find
• Tagging tumors with gold: Scientists use gold nanorods to flag brain tumors
• Potential new drugs plug brain's biological 'vacuum cleaner' and target HIV
• Scientists move closer to predicting who will and will not fight off severe infections
• Smoking cigarettes simulates cystic fibrosis
• Scientists demonstrate the power of optical forces in blood cell identification
• Preventing falls in people with Parkinson's disease
• Kids with blocked tear ducts at higher risk for 'lazy eye'
• Increasing cardiovascular disease in China: Urgent need for prevention
• How the brain’s own marijuana-like chemicals suppress pain

Certain mouth bacteria signal pancreatic cancer, study finds Posted: 12 Oct 2011 03:56 PM PDT Particular types of mouth bacteria, some of which are found in gum disease, are associated with the development of pancreatic cancer, indicates a small study.

UK doctors still undertreating major risk factor for stroke, study finds Posted: 12 Oct 2011 03:56 PM PDT Despite significant improvements in stroke prevention over the past decade, and a fall in incidence and deaths, UK doctors are still undertreating one of the major risk factors -- atrial fibrillation -- reveals new research.

New buzzwords 'reduce medicine to economics': Physicians lament the devaluation of clinical judgment in today's health care world Posted: 12 Oct 2011 03:56 PM PDT Physicians who once only grappled with learning the language of medicine must now also cope with a health care world that has turned hospitals into factories and reduced clinical encounters to economic transactions, two physicians lament in a new article.

Proper protein intake crucial for moderating energy intake, keeping obesity at bay Posted: 12 Oct 2011 03:56 PM PDT Obesity is a growing problem worldwide, but proper protein consumption can help keep it at bay, according to a new study.

Survival disparities in African-American and white colorectal cancer patients Posted: 12 Oct 2011 01:13 PM PDT African-American patients with resected stage II and stage III colon cancer experienced worse overall and recurrence-free survival compared to whites, but similar recurrence-free intervals, according to a new study.

Nearly one in four people with psoriasis may have undiagnosed psoriatic arthritis Posted: 12 Oct 2011 12:37 PM PDT New research shows one in four people with psoriasis may have undiagnosed psoriatic arthritis, in addition to the up to 2 million people already diagnosed with the disease. Also, there's a significant delay of diagnosis for psoriatic arthritis.

Education research shows LGBTQ-identified students at higher risk than straight-identified students Posted: 12 Oct 2011 12:15 PM PDT New research findings highlight differences between LGBTQ- and straight-identified youth in health outcomes and educational equity.

Vitamin D crucial in human immune response to tuberculosis, scientists find Posted: 12 Oct 2011 11:20 AM PDT A team of scientists has found that vitamin D plays an essential role in the body's fight against infections such as tuberculosis. Researchers found that the immune system could not be activated effectively to kill the bacteria causing tuberculosis without sufficient levels of vitamin D present. The finding may lead to a new treatment pathway for tuberculosis which is estimated to cause 1.8 million deaths annually.

Researchers make older beta cells act young again Posted: 12 Oct 2011 11:06 AM PDT Researchers have identified a pathway responsible for the age-related decline of insulin-producing beta cells, and have shown that they can tweak it to get older beta cells to act young again -- and start dividing.

'Dark matter' of the genome revealed through analysis of 29 mammals Posted: 12 Oct 2011 10:26 AM PDT An international team of researchers has discovered the vast majority of the so-called "dark matter" in the human genome, by means of a sweeping comparison of 29 mammalian genomes. The team has pinpointed the parts of the human genome that control when and where genes are turned on. This map is a critical step in interpreting the thousands of genetic changes that have been linked to human disease.

Researchers reconstruct genome of the Black Death; Bacteria found to be ancestor of all modern plagues Posted: 12 Oct 2011 10:26 AM PDT An international team has sequenced the entire genome of the Black Death, one of the most devastating epidemics in human history.

New molecular target for diabetes treatment discovered Posted: 12 Oct 2011 10:26 AM PDT Researchers have identified a key molecular pathway responsible for the natural decrease in the proliferation of insulin-producing cells that occurs as a person ages. Artificially activating this pathway, which is normally not functional in adults, may be a new way to combat diabetes.

Understanding the constraints of evolution provides roadmap to mammalian biology Posted: 12 Oct 2011 10:26 AM PDT Researchers produced a high-resolution genomic map of more than 3.5 million constrained elements that account for approximately four percent of the human genome. The researchers identified 3,788 candidate new exons with more than half of those existing outside of known protein-coding genes. They found possible functions for about 60 percent of the chemicals that make up DNA but the functional class of the remaining 40 percent remains unknown.

Clean correction of a patient's genetic mutation: New gene therapy methods accurately correct mutation in patient's stem cells Posted: 12 Oct 2011 10:26 AM PDT For the first time, scientists have cleanly corrected a gene mutation in a patient's stem cells, bringing the possibility of patient-specific therapies closer to reality. The team targeted a mutation responsible for cirrhotic liver disease and lung emphysema. Using cutting-edge methods, they corrected the sequence of a patient's genome, removed all exogenous DNA and showed that the gene worked normally.

Significant breakthrough in study of chlamydia Posted: 12 Oct 2011 10:14 AM PDT A breakthrough in the study of chlamydia genetics could open the way to new treatments and the development of a vaccine for this sexually transmitted disease. For decades research progress has been hampered because scientists have been prevented from fully understanding these bacteria as they have been unable to manipulate the genome of Chlamydia trachomatis.

Millions of new regulatory elements found in human genome Posted: 12 Oct 2011 10:14 AM PDT An international research team has mapped and compared the genomes of 29 mammals. The findings reveal millions of new regulatory elements in the human genome that in various ways govern how proteins are formed. The new knowledge is important for our understanding of how mutations in human genes give rise to diseases.

By reprogramming skin cells into brain cells, scientists gain new insights into mental disorders Posted: 12 Oct 2011 09:42 AM PDT By reprogramming skin cells from patients with mental disorders, scientists are creating brain cells that are now providing extraordinary insights into afflictions like schizophrenia and Parkinson's disease.

Transfusion not always best treatment for anemia, age of stored blood may play a role Posted: 12 Oct 2011 09:42 AM PDT Researchers are suggesting that transfusion may not always be the best treatment for hospitalized patients with anemia.

Improving gene therapy for heart disease, cancer Posted: 12 Oct 2011 09:41 AM PDT A new study could lead to improved gene therapies for conditions such as heart disease and cancer as well as more effective vaccines for tuberculosis, malaria and other diseases.

Folic acid supplements in early pregnancy may reduce the risk of severe language delay in children Posted: 12 Oct 2011 09:41 AM PDT A new study finds that mothers who took folic acid supplements from four weeks before to eight weeks after conception reported a significantly lower prevalence of severe language delay in their children at age three.

Pain characteristics suggest higher benefit from gallbladder surgery Posted: 12 Oct 2011 09:41 AM PDT Better understanding of a patient's abdominal pain could help physicians know which patients will benefit most from surgical removal of the gallbladder.

Researcher identifies autism employment resources, tips for people with autism spectrum disorders Posted: 12 Oct 2011 08:37 AM PDT Preliminary employment studies indicate that the autism population may earn less and be employed at a lower rate compared to other people with disabilities. Now, an autism expert is identifying employment resources that are available for people with autism and steps employers can take to improve the workplace and hiring process for this population.

Increase in U.S. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits associated with healthier children, pediatricians find Posted: 12 Oct 2011 08:36 AM PDT Pediatric researchers have found that higher benefit amounts in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps) protected the health and well-being of very young, low-income children during a period of great financial hardship for many families in America.

Tagging tumors with gold: Scientists use gold nanorods to flag brain tumors Posted: 12 Oct 2011 08:35 AM PDT When removing a brain tumor, even the slightest mistake could have serious health consequences. To help surgeons, researchers have proposed a way to harness the unique optical properties of gold nanoparticles to clearly distinguish a brain tumor from the healthy tissue that surrounds it.

Potential new drugs plug brain's biological 'vacuum cleaner' and target HIV Posted: 12 Oct 2011 08:35 AM PDT In an advance toward eliminating pockets of infection in the brain that help make HIV disease incurable, scientists report the development of new substances that first plug the biological vacuum cleaner that prevents anti-HIV drugs from reaching the brain and then revert to an active drug to treat HIV. The advance promises to allow medications to cross the so-called "blood-brain barrier" and treat brain diseases.

Scientists move closer to predicting who will and will not fight off severe infections Posted: 12 Oct 2011 08:35 AM PDT Why are some people prone to severe infections, while others handle them with less difficulty? A new research report attempts to answer this question by shedding light on the genetic differences that influence our ability to fight off bacterial infections.

Smoking cigarettes simulates cystic fibrosis Posted: 12 Oct 2011 08:33 AM PDT If you smoke cigarettes, you have more in common with someone who has cystic fibrosis than you think. A new research report shows that smoking cigarettes affects the lungs in a way that is very similar to cystic fibrosis, a life threatening disease affecting the lungs and other organs.

Scientists demonstrate the power of optical forces in blood cell identification Posted: 12 Oct 2011 08:33 AM PDT Biological analysis systems that rely on labels can be costly, labor intensive, and depend upon prior knowledge of the target in question. Researchers have developed a system that can detect optical pressure differences between populations or classes of cells.

Preventing falls in people with Parkinson's disease Posted: 12 Oct 2011 08:33 AM PDT A new study has analyzed the results of an exercise program to prevent falls in those with Parkinson's disease.

Kids with blocked tear ducts at higher risk for 'lazy eye' Posted: 12 Oct 2011 08:29 AM PDT A recent study has found that children under the age of 3 with a nasolacrimal duct obstruction (NLDO), or blocked tear duct, were at an increased risk for developing amblyopia. About 6% of children are born with blocked tear ducts.

Increasing cardiovascular disease in China: Urgent need for prevention Posted: 12 Oct 2011 08:29 AM PDT At over 40%, the mortality rate due to cardiovascular disease (CVD) in China is amongst the highest in the world and has been rightly described as an epidemic.

How the brain’s own marijuana-like chemicals suppress pain Posted: 12 Oct 2011 05:36 AM PDT There are new findings about how the brain functions to suppress pain. For the first time, it has been shown that the hippocampus of the brain, which is usually associated with memory, has an active role to play in suppressing pain during times of stress.

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