ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

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• Researchers attach Lyme disease antibodies to nanotubes, paving way for diagnostic device
• Potential Chagas vaccine candidate shows unprecedented efficacy
• Hate allergy shots? Oral allergy drops are a pretty good option for some allergy and allergic asthma sufferers, review suggests
• Antibiotic may provide benefit for treatment of respiratory disorder
• Certified stroke centers more likely to give clot-busting drugs
• Saliva testing predicts aggression in boys
• Functional ovarian tissue engineered in lab
• Protein-rich breakfasts prevent unhealthy snacking in the evening, study finds
• Commonly used cholesterol calculation underestimates the heart disease danger for many
• Vitamin D may lower diabetes risk in obese children and adolescents
• Novel mechanism regulates replication of insulin-producing beta cells
• Major advance in understanding risky but effective multiple sclerosis treatment
• Fruit flies fed organic diets are healthier than flies fed nonorganic diets, study finds
• Unique mechanisms of antibiotic resistance identified
• Gene therapy may aid failing hearts
• You don't 'own' your own genes: Researchers raise alarm about loss of individual 'genomic liberty' due to gene patents
• Counting white blood cells at home
• Significant insights into common form of autism: Study identifies genetic connections in 15q duplication syndrome
• Scientists form new nerve cells -- directly in the brain
• Obesity may be linked to microorganisms living in the gut
• Microorganisms detected via breath test linked to body mass, fat accumulation
• Reducing work hours for medical interns increases patient 'handoff' risks
• Paradox for young docs: Work restrictions may increase errors, study suggests
• New technology measures oxygen in individual red blood cells in real time
• New approach for stopping herpes infections

Researchers attach Lyme disease antibodies to nanotubes, paving way for diagnostic device Posted: 26 Mar 2013 04:41 PM PDT Existing Lyme disease tests assess the presence of antibodies, which take weeks to form after the initial infection and persist after the infection is gone. Now, a nanotechnology-inspired technique may lead to diagnostics that can detect the organism itself.

Potential Chagas vaccine candidate shows unprecedented efficacy Posted: 26 Mar 2013 04:41 PM PDT Scientists are getting closer to a Chagas disease vaccine, something many believed impossible only 10 years ago. New research has resulted in a safe vaccine candidate that is simple to produce and shows a greater than 90 percent protection rate against chronic infection in mice.

Hate allergy shots? Oral allergy drops are a pretty good option for some allergy and allergic asthma sufferers, review suggests Posted: 26 Mar 2013 04:38 PM PDT A scientific review of 63 published studies affirms that putting small amounts of purified grasses, ragweed, dust mites, pollen and mold, in liquid drops under the tongue is a safe and effective alternative to weekly injections of those allergens or the use of other medications, in treating symptoms of allergies and allergic asthma in some people.

Antibiotic may provide benefit for treatment of respiratory disorder Posted: 26 Mar 2013 01:23 PM PDT Among patients with the lung disorder non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis, treatment with the antibiotic erythromycin resulted in improvement in symptoms but also increased the risk of antibiotic resistance, according to a new study.

Certified stroke centers more likely to give clot-busting drugs Posted: 26 Mar 2013 01:23 PM PDT Stroke patients are three times more likely to receive clot-busting medication if they're treated at a hospital certified as a primary stroke center. There is a limited window of opportunity for using the drugs, so getting to a hospital quickly for treatment is important. Call 9-1-1 at the first sign of stroke symptoms.

Saliva testing predicts aggression in boys Posted: 26 Mar 2013 01:21 PM PDT A new study indicates that a simple saliva test could be an effective tool in predicting violent behavior.

Functional ovarian tissue engineered in lab Posted: 26 Mar 2013 12:11 PM PDT A proof-of-concept study suggests the possibility of engineering artificial ovaries in the lab to provide a more natural option for hormone replacement therapy for women.

Protein-rich breakfasts prevent unhealthy snacking in the evening, study finds Posted: 26 Mar 2013 12:11 PM PDT Eating a breakfast rich in protein significantly improves appetite control and reduces unhealthy snacking on high-fat or high-sugar foods in the evening, which could help improve the diets of more than 25 million overweight or obese young adults in the U.S., new research finds.

Commonly used cholesterol calculation underestimates the heart disease danger for many Posted: 26 Mar 2013 11:19 AM PDT In what promises to be an eye-opener for many doctors and patients who routinely depend on cholesterol testing, a new study has found that the standard formula used for decades to calculate low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels is often inaccurate. Of most concern, the researchers say, is their finding that the widely used formula underestimates LDL where accuracy matters most — in the range considered desirable for high-risk patients.

Vitamin D may lower diabetes risk in obese children and adolescents Posted: 26 Mar 2013 09:17 AM PDT Being obese puts individuals at greater risk for developing type 2 diabetes, a disease in which individuals have too much sugar in their blood. Now researchers found vitamin D supplements can help obese children and teens control their blood-sugar levels, which may help them stave off the disease.

Novel mechanism regulates replication of insulin-producing beta cells Posted: 26 Mar 2013 09:17 AM PDT Bringing scientists a step closer to new treatments for diabetes, researchers have discovered a novel mechanism that regulates the replication of insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas.

Major advance in understanding risky but effective multiple sclerosis treatment Posted: 26 Mar 2013 09:17 AM PDT A new study by multiple sclerosis researchers addresses why bone marrow transplantation has positive results in patients with particularly aggressive forms of MS.

Fruit flies fed organic diets are healthier than flies fed nonorganic diets, study finds Posted: 26 Mar 2013 09:17 AM PDT Fruit flies fed an organic diet recorded better health outcomes than flies fed a nonorganic diet, according to a new study. Researchers found that fruit flies raised on organic foods performed better on various health tests. Flies on organic diets showed improvements on the most significant measures of health, namely fertility and longevity, according to new research.

Unique mechanisms of antibiotic resistance identified Posted: 26 Mar 2013 08:20 AM PDT Microbiologists have identified mechanisms of antibiotic resistance in a clinical isolate of E. coli resistant to carbapenems, a class of "last resort" antibiotics. The new study found the E. coli genetically mutated four times to resist the antibiotic, showing the lengths to which bacteria will go to survive.

Gene therapy may aid failing hearts Posted: 26 Mar 2013 07:16 AM PDT In an animal study, researchers show that it was possible to use gene therapy to boost heart muscle function. The finding suggests that it might be possible to use this approach to treat patients whose hearts have been weakened by heart attacks and other heart conditions.

You don't 'own' your own genes: Researchers raise alarm about loss of individual 'genomic liberty' due to gene patents Posted: 26 Mar 2013 07:16 AM PDT Humans don't "own" their own genes, the cellular chemicals that define who they are and what diseases they might be at risk for. Through more than 40,000 patents on DNA molecules, companies have essentially claimed the entire human genome for profit, report two researchers who analyzed the patents on human DNA. Their study raises an alarm about the loss of individual "genomic liberty."

Counting white blood cells at home Posted: 26 Mar 2013 07:16 AM PDT Engineers have developed a portable device to count white blood cells that needs less than a pinprick's worth of blood and takes just minutes to run. The device can provide accurate differential counts of the major white blood cell subtypes.

Significant insights into common form of autism: Study identifies genetic connections in 15q duplication syndrome Posted: 26 Mar 2013 07:15 AM PDT Results from a new study are providing significant insights into autism through the study of a specific form of the disorder caused by a duplication on chromosome 15.

Scientists form new nerve cells -- directly in the brain Posted: 26 Mar 2013 07:08 AM PDT The field of cell therapy, which aims to form new cells in the body in order to cure disease, has taken another important step in the development towards new treatments. A new report shows that it is possible to re-program other cells to become nerve cells, directly in the brain.

Obesity may be linked to microorganisms living in the gut Posted: 26 Mar 2013 06:50 AM PDT How much a person eats may be only one of many factors that determines weight gain. A recent study suggests that a breath test profile of microorganisms inhabiting the gut may be able to tell doctors how susceptible a person is to developing obesity.

Microorganisms detected via breath test linked to body mass, fat accumulation Posted: 26 Mar 2013 06:50 AM PDT The content of a person's breath may indicate how susceptible they are to weight gain, according to a recent study. People whose breath has high concentrations of both hydrogen and methane gases are more likely to have a higher body mass index and percentage of body fat, according to the findings. The combination of the two gases signals the presence of a microorganism that may contribute to obesity.

Reducing work hours for medical interns increases patient 'handoff' risks Posted: 25 Mar 2013 03:38 PM PDT Limiting the number of continuous hours worked by medical trainees failed to increase the amount of sleep each intern got per week, but dramatically increased the number of potentially dangerous handoffs of patients from one trainee to another, new research suggests. The reductions in work hours also decreased training time, the researchers found.

Paradox for young docs: Work restrictions may increase errors, study suggests Posted: 25 Mar 2013 03:38 PM PDT At hospitals around the U.S., young doctors work long hours as part of their residency training. But a new study in more than 2,300 residents raises questions about how well recent rule changes about their work hours are fulfilling their goal of protecting both patients and new doctors.

New technology measures oxygen in individual red blood cells in real time Posted: 25 Mar 2013 01:05 PM PDT In an engineering breakthrough, a biomedical researcher has discovered a way to use light and color to measure oxygen in individual red blood cells in real time.

New approach for stopping herpes infections Posted: 25 Mar 2013 01:02 PM PDT Researchers have discovered a novel strategy for preventing infections due to the highly common herpes simplex viruses, the microbes responsible for causing genital herpes (herpes simplex virus 2) and cold sores (herpes simplex virus 1). The finding could lead to new drugs for treating or suppressing herpes virus infections.

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