ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

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• Coastal populations are healthier than those inland, UK study finds
• New model of Alzheimer's disease developed
• Poor people value marriage as much as the middle class and rich, study shows
• Weight loss today keeps the doctor away
• Neurons derived from cord blood cells may represent new therapeutic option
• Frail, older adults with high blood pressure may have lower risk of mortality
• Amnestic mild cognitive impairment doubles risk of death
• Gold nanoparticles could treat prostate cancer with fewer side effects than chemotherapy
• Cannabis 'pharma factory' discovered
• Genetically engineered bacteria prevent mosquitoes from transmitting malaria
• Gene therapy treatment extends lives of mice with fatal disease
• Low-cal diet's effects seen in fly brain, mouthpart
• Protein found in spider venom could treat muscular dystrophy
• Increased recommended dietary Vitamin C could help reduce heart disease, stroke, cancer
• Deadly liver cancer may be triggered by cells changing identity
• Laser treatment improves appearance in burn scars, study shows
• Helper T cells, not killer T cells, might be responsible for clearing hepatitis A infection
• Lab-engineered muscle implants restore function in animals
• Hospitals in recession-hit areas see uptick in serious cases of child physical abuse
• Farm to market: New device makes cleaning leafy greens easy, economical
• A lifeline of flowers and stones
• New tools facilitate matching cancer drugs with gene targets
• TV habits predict kids' waist size and sporting ability
• Tool created to track real-time chemical changes in brain
• Hip reconstruction technique provides good outcomes for athletes, study suggests
• Brain activity changes may reduce risk of Alzheimer's
• Vitamin D deficiency and lung function in asthmatic children
• Noninvasive imaging technique may help kids with heart transplants

Coastal populations are healthier than those inland, UK study finds Posted: 16 Jul 2012 04:14 PM PDT People living near the coast tend to have better health than those living inland, a new English study shows.

New model of Alzheimer's disease developed Posted: 16 Jul 2012 01:32 PM PDT Scientists have developed the first cell-based model of Alzheimer's disease (AD) by reprogramming skin cells of Alzheimer's patients to become brain cells that are affected in Alzheimer's. This will allow researchers to work directly on living brain cells suffering from Alzheimer's, which until now had not been possible.

Poor people value marriage as much as the middle class and rich, study shows Posted: 16 Jul 2012 01:32 PM PDT Poor people hold more traditional values toward marriage and divorce than people with moderate and higher incomes, psychologists report. The findings are based on an analysis of a large survey about marriage, relationships and values, analyzed across income groups. They raise questions about how effectively some $1 billion in government spending to promote the value of marriage among the poor is being spent.

Weight loss today keeps the doctor away Posted: 16 Jul 2012 01:32 PM PDT Obese individuals visit the doctor more frequently than regular smokers who are at a healthy weight.

Neurons derived from cord blood cells may represent new therapeutic option Posted: 16 Jul 2012 01:29 PM PDT For more than 20 years, doctors have been using cells from blood that remains in the placenta and umbilical cord after childbirth to treat a variety of illnesses, from cancer and immune disorders to blood and metabolic diseases. Now, scientists have found a new way-using a single protein, known as a transcription factor-to convert cord blood (CB) cells into neuron-like cells that may prove valuable for the treatment of a wide range of neurological conditions, including stroke, traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury.

Frail, older adults with high blood pressure may have lower risk of mortality Posted: 16 Jul 2012 01:29 PM PDT A new study suggests that higher blood pressure is associated with lower mortality in extremely frail, elderly adults. The study looked at a nationally representative group of 2,340 adults ages 65 and older. The researchers found that lower blood pressure protected healthier, robust older adults but the same may not be true for their more frail counterparts.

Amnestic mild cognitive impairment doubles risk of death Posted: 16 Jul 2012 01:29 PM PDT Researchers have found that people with a form of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a risk factor for developing Alzheimer's disease, have twice the risk of dying compared with cognitively normal people. Those with dementia have three times the risk. x

Gold nanoparticles could treat prostate cancer with fewer side effects than chemotherapy Posted: 16 Jul 2012 12:23 PM PDT Scientists have found a more efficient way of targeting prostate tumors by using gold nanoparticles and a compound found in tea leaves. This new treatment would require doses that are thousands of times smaller than chemotherapy and do not travel through the body inflicting damage to healthy areas.

Cannabis 'pharma factory' discovered Posted: 16 Jul 2012 12:16 PM PDT Researchers have discovered the chemical pathway that cannabis sativa uses to create bioactive compounds, paving the way for the development of marijuana varieties to produce pharmaceuticals or cannabinoid-free industrial hemp.

Genetically engineered bacteria prevent mosquitoes from transmitting malaria Posted: 16 Jul 2012 12:16 PM PDT Researchers have genetically modified a bacterium commonly found in the mosquito's midgut and found that the parasite that causes malaria in people does not survive in mosquitoes carrying the modified bacterium.

Gene therapy treatment extends lives of mice with fatal disease Posted: 16 Jul 2012 11:27 AM PDT Scientists have found that introducing a missing gene into the central nervous system could help extend the lives of patients with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) -- the leading genetic cause of infantile death in the world.

Low-cal diet's effects seen in fly brain, mouthpart Posted: 16 Jul 2012 11:27 AM PDT Neurotransmission is increased in fruit fly disease models that eat less, a new study shows. The study utilized a novel system to analyze the impact of diet on life span, motor behavior and neurotransmission, which is believed to underlie most neurological disorders in humans.

Protein found in spider venom could treat muscular dystrophy Posted: 16 Jul 2012 11:26 AM PDT When a stockbroker from the Buffalo suburbs discovered that his grandson had Duchenne muscular dystrophy, he turned to medical researchers for help in developing a treatment. He found a promising new therapy involving spider venom. The therapy is not a cure. But if it works in humans, it could extend lives for years -- maybe even decades.

Increased recommended dietary Vitamin C could help reduce heart disease, stroke, cancer Posted: 16 Jul 2012 10:13 AM PDT The recommended dietary allowance, or RDA, of vitamin C is less than half what it should be, scientists argue in a recent report, because medical experts insist on evaluating this natural, but critical nutrient in the same way they do pharmaceutical drugs and reach faulty conclusions as a result. At higher levels, it could help prevent serious diseases, they say.

Deadly liver cancer may be triggered by cells changing identity Posted: 16 Jul 2012 09:50 AM PDT A rare type of cancer thought to derive from cells in the bile ducts of the liver may actually develop when one type of liver cell morphs into a totally different type, a process scientists used to consider all but impossible. UCSF researchers triggered this kind of cellular transformation -- and caused tumors to form in mice -- by activating just two genes. Their discovery suggests that drugs that are able to target those genes may provide a way to treat the deadly cancer, known as cholangiocarcinoma.

Laser treatment improves appearance in burn scars, study shows Posted: 16 Jul 2012 09:50 AM PDT Burn and skin specialists have conclusively shown that use of a pulsed-dye laser tool improves the appearance, texture and elasticity of burn scars. The study compared the use of the laser and compression therapy on scars against compression therapy alone for pediatric burn patients.

Helper T cells, not killer T cells, might be responsible for clearing hepatitis A infection Posted: 16 Jul 2012 09:43 AM PDT Helper cells traditionally thought to only assist killer white blood cells may be the frontline warriors when battling hepatitis A infection.

Lab-engineered muscle implants restore function in animals Posted: 16 Jul 2012 07:10 AM PDT New research shows that exercise is a key step in building a muscle-like implant in the lab with the potential to repair muscle damage from injury or disease. In mice, these implants successfully prompt the regeneration and repair of damaged or lost muscle tissue, resulting in significant functional improvement.

Hospitals in recession-hit areas see uptick in serious cases of child physical abuse Posted: 16 Jul 2012 07:08 AM PDT In the largest study to examine the impact of the recession on child abuse, researchers have detected a significant increase in children admitted to the nation's largest children's hospitals due to serious physical abuse over the last decade. The new findings, based on data from 38 children's hospitals, contradict national child welfare data, which show a decline in child physical abuse over the same period.

Farm to market: New device makes cleaning leafy greens easy, economical Posted: 16 Jul 2012 07:08 AM PDT A simple and inexpensive device to wash leafy produce may provide a convenient way for small farmers to clean produce before market.

A lifeline of flowers and stones Posted: 16 Jul 2012 06:19 AM PDT Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is more treatable than previously thought. A novel method has shown to be remarkably effective. The method, called Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET), is an intervention aimed at reducing symptoms of post-traumatic stress.

New tools facilitate matching cancer drugs with gene targets Posted: 16 Jul 2012 06:04 AM PDT A new study details how a suite of web-based tools provides the research community with greatly improved capacity to compare data derived from large collections of genomic information against thousands of drugs. By comparing drugs and genetic targets, researchers can more easily identify pharmaceuticals that could be effective against different forms of cancer.

TV habits predict kids' waist size and sporting ability Posted: 16 Jul 2012 06:03 AM PDT Each hour of TV watched by a two- to four-year- old contributes to his or her waist circumference by the end of grade 4 and his or her ability to perform in sports, according to a new study.

Tool created to track real-time chemical changes in brain Posted: 16 Jul 2012 06:03 AM PDT Researchers have found a novel way to monitor real-time chemical changes in the brains of patients undergoing deep brain stimulation (DBS).

Hip reconstruction technique provides good outcomes for athletes, study suggests Posted: 15 Jul 2012 09:19 AM PDT A common, painful hip condition in elite athletes may be able to be repaired with an improved surgical technique, according to new research.

Brain activity changes may reduce risk of Alzheimer's Posted: 15 Jul 2012 09:19 AM PDT Activity lingers longer in certain areas of the brain in those with Alzheimer's than it does in healthy people, researchers who created a map of the brain found. The results suggest varying brain activity may reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease.

Vitamin D deficiency and lung function in asthmatic children Posted: 13 Jul 2012 05:00 AM PDT Vitamin D deficiency is associated with poorer lung function in asthmatic children treated with inhaled corticosteroids, according to a new study.

Noninvasive imaging technique may help kids with heart transplants Posted: 12 Jul 2012 07:45 PM PDT Cardiologists have developed a noninvasive imaging technique that may help determine whether children who have had heart transplants are showing early signs of rejection. The technique could reduce the need for these patients to undergo invasive imaging tests every one to two years.

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