ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

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• Investigational diabetes drug may have fewer side effects
• Little cognitive benefit from soy supplements for older women
• Families of kids with staph infections have high rate of drug-resistant germ
• Early childhood neglect may raise risk of adult skin cancer
• Cancer drugs: Better, cheaper
• Neuroscientists show how brain responds to sensual caress
• Zeroing in on the best shape for cancer-fighting nanoparticles
• ‘Good fat’ activated by cold, not ephedrine
• How infectious disease may have shaped human origins
• Vaccinations of US children declined after publication of now-refuted autism risk
• High blood caffeine levels in older adults linked to avoidance of Alzheimer’s disease
• Will a NYC supersize soda ban help obesity battle?
• Cannabinoid shown effective as adjuvant analgesic for cancer pain
• Researchers achieve RNA interference, in a lighter package
• Healthy habits can prevent disease
• New hope for migraine sufferers: Female gene link identified
• New breast cancer drug halts tumor growth better than standard therapy
• Bug-bomb foggers are no match for bed bugs
• Excessive endurance training can be too much of a good thing, research suggests
• Immune system glitch tied to fourfold higher likelihood of death identified
• New multitarget molecule designed with high potential in future treatments for Alzheimer's disease
• Export extravaganza in human cells
• Shape-shifting shell of retroviruses detailed
• Rhythmic firing of nerves involved in body’s movements
• Powerful new tool for research and drug development
• New statistical model lets patient's past forecast future ailments
• First genome-wide assessment of secretion in human cells

Investigational diabetes drug may have fewer side effects Posted: 04 Jun 2012 03:19 PM PDT Drugs for Type 2 diabetes can contribute to unwanted side effects, but researchers have found that in mice, an investigational drug appears to improve insulin sensitivity without side effects. The medicine works through a different pathway, which could provide additional targets for treating insulin resistance and diabetes.

Little cognitive benefit from soy supplements for older women Posted: 04 Jun 2012 03:18 PM PDT In a new study of the effects of soy supplements for postmenopausal women, researchers found no significant differences -- positive or negative -- in overall mental abilities between those who took supplements and those who didn't.

Families of kids with staph infections have high rate of drug-resistant germ Posted: 04 Jun 2012 03:17 PM PDT Family members of children with a staph infection often harbor a drug-resistant form of the germ, although they don't show symptoms, a team of researchers has found.

Early childhood neglect may raise risk of adult skin cancer Posted: 04 Jun 2012 03:16 PM PDT Skin cancer patients whose childhood included periods of neglect or maltreatment are at a much greater risk for their cancers to return when they face a major stressful event, new research suggests.

Cancer drugs: Better, cheaper Posted: 04 Jun 2012 12:57 PM PDT Cancer drug development is known to be too slow, costly and fraught with failure. Now the US Food and Drug Administration is issuing recommendations for breast cancer trials that would substantially accelerate patient access to new medications while lowering the time and cost of drug development.

Neuroscientists show how brain responds to sensual caress Posted: 04 Jun 2012 12:57 PM PDT A nuzzle of the neck, a brush of the knee -- these caresses often signal a loving touch, but can also feel highly aversive, depending on who is delivering the touch, and to whom. Interested in how the brain makes connections between touch and emotion, neuroscientists have discovered that the association begins in the brain's primary somatosensory cortex, a region that was thought only to respond to basic touch.

Zeroing in on the best shape for cancer-fighting nanoparticles Posted: 04 Jun 2012 12:56 PM PDT A pair of new articles suggests that cancer-fighting nanoparticles ought to be disc-shaped, not spherical or rod-shaped, when targeting cancers at or near blood vessels.

‘Good fat’ activated by cold, not ephedrine Posted: 04 Jun 2012 12:55 PM PDT Researchers have shown that while a type of "good" fat found in the body can be activated by cold temperatures, it is not able to be activated by the drug ephedrine.

How infectious disease may have shaped human origins Posted: 04 Jun 2012 12:55 PM PDT Scientists suggest that inactivation of two specific genes related to the immune system may have conferred selected ancestors of modern humans with improved protection from some pathogenic bacterial strains, such as Escherichia coli K1 and Group B Streptococci, the leading causes of sepsis and meningitis in human fetuses, newborns and infants.

Vaccinations of US children declined after publication of now-refuted autism risk Posted: 04 Jun 2012 11:27 AM PDT Health economics researchers have found that publication of the perceived risk linking the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine to autism in the late 1990s seemingly led to declines in the vaccination rate of children. This is despite the fact that later studies refuted the existence of an MMR-autism link.

High blood caffeine levels in older adults linked to avoidance of Alzheimer’s disease Posted: 04 Jun 2012 11:26 AM PDT Those cups of coffee that you drink every day to keep alert appear to have an extra perk -- especially if you're an older adult. A recent study monitoring the memory and thinking processes of people older than 65 found that all those with higher blood caffeine levels avoided the onset of Alzheimer's disease in the two-to-four years of study follow-up. Moreover, coffee appeared to be the major or only source of caffeine for these individuals.

Will a NYC supersize soda ban help obesity battle? Posted: 04 Jun 2012 11:24 AM PDT Researchers say it does not appear that limiting sizes of soft drinks will have a significant effect on reducing weight at a population level.

Cannabinoid shown effective as adjuvant analgesic for cancer pain Posted: 04 Jun 2012 11:24 AM PDT An investigational cannabinoid therapy helped provide effective analgesia when used as an adjuvant medication for cancer patients with pain that responded poorly to opioids, according to results of a multicenter trial.

Researchers achieve RNA interference, in a lighter package Posted: 04 Jun 2012 09:56 AM PDT Using a technique known as "nucleic acid origami," chemical engineers have built tiny particles made out of DNA and RNA that can deliver snippets of RNA directly to tumors, turning off genes expressed in cancer cells.

Healthy habits can prevent disease Posted: 04 Jun 2012 09:55 AM PDT Five new studies provide evidence to support simple steps we can take to prevent illness and improve our overall health. Researchers report on fish consumption to reduce the risk of colon cancer; the effectiveness of hypnotherapy and acupuncture for smoking cessation; regular teeth cleaning to improve cardiovascular health; the effectiveness of primary care physicians in weight loss programs; and the use of low-dose aspirin to reduce cancer risk.

New hope for migraine sufferers: Female gene link identified Posted: 04 Jun 2012 06:41 AM PDT New hope has arrived for migraine sufferers following a new study with the people of Norfolk Island.Scientists have identified a new region on the X chromosome as playing a role in migraine. The research provides compelling evidence for a new migraine susceptibility gene involved in migraine.

New breast cancer drug halts tumor growth better than standard therapy Posted: 04 Jun 2012 06:41 AM PDT A new cancer treatment that links chemotherapy with an agent that homes in on specific breast cancer cells was significantly better than the current drug regimen at keeping patients' advanced tumors from progressing, according to results from a phase III clinical trial.

Bug-bomb foggers are no match for bed bugs Posted: 04 Jun 2012 06:40 AM PDT Recent research shows "bug bombs" and foggers to be ineffective against bed bugs.

Excessive endurance training can be too much of a good thing, research suggests Posted: 04 Jun 2012 06:31 AM PDT Micah True, legendary ultra-marathoner, died suddenly while on a routine 12-mile training run March 27, 2012. The mythic Caballo Blanco in the best-selling book, Born to Run, True would run as far as 100 miles in a day. On autopsy his heart was enlarged and scarred; he died of a lethal arrhythmia (irregularity of the heart rhythm). Although speculative, the pathologic changes in the heart of this 58 year-old veteran extreme endurance athlete may have been manifestations of "Phidippides cardiomyopathy," a condition caused by chronic excessive endurance exercise.

Immune system glitch tied to fourfold higher likelihood of death identified Posted: 04 Jun 2012 06:31 AM PDT High levels of an antibody molecule has been found to be linked to increased rates of death from all diseases.

New multitarget molecule designed with high potential in future treatments for Alzheimer's disease Posted: 04 Jun 2012 06:30 AM PDT Researchers have developed a multitarget molecule, ASS234, which according to the results of in vitro studies conducted, inhibits the aggregation of the ß-amyloid protein, involved in Alzheimer's disease. At the same time, ASS234 stimulates the cholinergic and monoaminergic transmission, key factors involved in the cognitive function. In addition, ASS234 is able to cross the blood–brain barrier with an elevated multipotent profile designed on basis of donepezil (Aricept®), one of the few effective drugs in palliative and symptomatic treatments of the disease.

Export extravaganza in human cells Posted: 04 Jun 2012 06:29 AM PDT In the first comprehensive census of human cells' export workers, scientists found an unexpected variety of genes involved in transporting molecules to the cell membrane and beyond.

Shape-shifting shell of retroviruses detailed Posted: 04 Jun 2012 06:28 AM PDT Scientists have for the first time uncovered the detailed structure of the shell that surrounds the genetic material of retroviruses, such as HIV, at a crucial and potentially vulnerable stage in their life cycle: when they are still being formed. The study provides information on a part of the virus that may be a potential future drug target.

Rhythmic firing of nerves involved in body’s movements Posted: 04 Jun 2012 06:27 AM PDT A new model for understanding how nerve cells in the brain control movement may help unlock the secrets of the motor cortex, a critical region that has long resisted scientists' efforts to understand it, researchers report.

Powerful new tool for research and drug development Posted: 04 Jun 2012 06:26 AM PDT Scientists have harnessed bioinformatics and molecular biology to create powerful software that promises to become a "must have" tool in drug development research labs the world over. The software is used to analyze kinases – a type of enzyme involved in virtually every cellular function, from energy use and reproduction to modifying gene expression.

New statistical model lets patient's past forecast future ailments Posted: 04 Jun 2012 06:26 AM PDT Analyzing medical records from thousands of patients, statisticians have devised a statistical model for predicting what other medical problems a patient might encounter.

First genome-wide assessment of secretion in human cells Posted: 03 Jun 2012 04:16 PM PDT Scientists have revealed that 15% of the proteins encoded by the human genome contribute to the process of secretion in cells. This finding has been made possible through the assessment of more than 8 million individual cells.

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