ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

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• Microwave imaging can see how well treatment is progressing
• Anti-smoking ads with strong arguments, not flashy editing, trigger part of brain that changes behavior
• Binge eating curbed by deep brain stimulation in animal model
• ALS trial suggests novel therapy is safe
• Researchers observe an increased risk of cancer in people with history of non-melanoma skin cancer
• Researchers discover new explanation for diabetes and poor growth
• Study reveals alcohol industry tactics to influence alcohol policy reform in Scotland
• Air pollution and hardening of arteries
• Battling with bugs to prevent antibiotic resistance
• Effectiveness of early sport specialization limited in most sports, sport diversification may be better approach at young ages
• Children routinely injured or killed by guns, U.S. study shows
• Binge drinking in college can lead to heart disease later in life
• Use of anti-epileptic drug during pregnancy associated with increased risk of autism
• Repairing articular cartilage defects with an injectable gel engineered with gene modified BMSCs
• Hundreds of tiny untethered surgical tools deployed in first animal biopsies
• Doctors-in-training spend very little time at patient bedside, study finds
• New pathway, enhancing tamoxifen to tame aggressive breast cancer identified
• Virus kills melanoma in animal model, spares normal cells
• Whether human or hyena, there' s safety in numbers
• 3-D system could prevent shoulder injuries in baseball pitchers
• Vitamin E identified as potential weapon against obesity
• Obese men with benign biopsy at high risk for prostate cancer
• Contact killing of Salmonella by human fecal bacteria
• 'Toggle switch' to burn fat identified
• Bacteria may contribute to premature births, STDs
• Anatomy of a blast: Researchers develop sensor system to assess the effects of explosions on soldiers
• Tart cherries linked to reduced risk of stroke
• The biology of fats in the body
• Alzheimer's researchers creating 'designer tracker' to quantify elusive brain protein, provide earlier diagnosis
• Drug reduces fat by blocking blood vessels
• Deficiency in p53 anti-tumor protein delays DNA repair after radiation
• Epigenetic changes shed light on biological mechanism of autism
• Atrophy in key region of brain associated with multiple sclerosis
• Vets and medical doctors should team up to tackle diseases transmitted from animals to humans
• Roe deer more likely to be run over at nightfall on a Sunday in April
• Uncleaned cells mean weak muscles
• Workplace stress poses risk to health
• When dogs are most likely to pick up ticks
• Scientists urge UN to take action on chemicals in consumer products and pesticides
• Quit smoking? Vitamin E may give extra boost to heart health

Microwave imaging can see how well treatment is progressing Posted: 23 Apr 2013 06:18 PM PDT Microwave imaging can be used to monitor how well treatment for breast cancer is working, finds new research. Microwave tomography was able to distinguish between breast cancer, benign growths, and normal tissue.

Anti-smoking ads with strong arguments, not flashy editing, trigger part of brain that changes behavior Posted: 23 Apr 2013 06:17 PM PDT Researchers have shown that an area of the brain that initiates behavioral changes had greater activation in smokers who watched anti-smoking ads with strong arguments versus those with weaker ones, and irrespective of flashy elements, like bright and rapidly changing scenes, loud sounds and unexpected scenario twists. Those smokers also had significantly less nicotine metabolites in their urine when tested a month after viewing those ads, the team reports.

Binge eating curbed by deep brain stimulation in animal model Posted: 23 Apr 2013 06:17 PM PDT Deep brain stimulation (DBS) in a precise region of the brain appears to reduce caloric intake and prompt weight loss in obese animal models, according to a new study.

ALS trial suggests novel therapy is safe Posted: 23 Apr 2013 02:27 PM PDT An investigational treatment for an inherited form of Lou Gehrig's disease has passed an early phase clinical trial for safety, researchers report.

Researchers observe an increased risk of cancer in people with history of non-melanoma skin cancer Posted: 23 Apr 2013 02:27 PM PDT Researchers found that people with a history of non-melanoma skin cancer had a modestly increased risk of getting cancer in the future, specifically breast and lung cancer in women and melanoma in both men and women.

Researchers discover new explanation for diabetes and poor growth Posted: 23 Apr 2013 02:27 PM PDT A group of researchers has taken a significant step towards understanding the reasons for both diabetes and growth hormone deficiency. Their new discoveries center on the body's ability to regulate certain hormones.

Study reveals alcohol industry tactics to influence alcohol policy reform in Scotland Posted: 23 Apr 2013 02:27 PM PDT The alcohol industry misrepresented international evidence on effective alcohol control measures in an attempt to influence the Scottish Government's public health policy to its advantage, according to new research.

Air pollution and hardening of arteries Posted: 23 Apr 2013 02:27 PM PDT Long term exposure to air pollution may be linked to heart attacks and strokes by speeding up atherosclerosis, or "hardening of the arteries", according to a new study.

Battling with bugs to prevent antibiotic resistance Posted: 23 Apr 2013 02:27 PM PDT Bacteria can evolve resistance more quickly when stronger antibiotics are used, new research confirms.

Effectiveness of early sport specialization limited in most sports, sport diversification may be better approach at young ages Posted: 23 Apr 2013 02:26 PM PDT Ever-increasing requirements for success in competitive sports has created added pressure for young athletes to train with greater intensity at earlier ages. The goal to become the next Olympian or more commonly, to obtain a college scholarship, motivates many parents to encourage their children to specialize in one sport at a young age. This has resulted in an increased demand for year-round sport training programs, facilities and products. But is this approach really an effective way to generate long-term success in competitive athletics?

Children routinely injured or killed by guns, U.S. study shows Posted: 23 Apr 2013 01:19 PM PDT While gun control issues usually surface after major incidents like the fatal shooting of 20 elementary school students in Newtown, Connecticut, a new U.S. study shows that children are routinely killed or injured by firearms.

Binge drinking in college can lead to heart disease later in life Posted: 23 Apr 2013 01:19 PM PDT Frequent binge drinking in college can cause more than a hangover. Regularly consuming multiple drinks in a short window of time can cause immediate changes in circulation that increase an otherwise healthy young adult's risk of developing cardiovascular disease later in life, according to new research.

Use of anti-epileptic drug during pregnancy associated with increased risk of autism Posted: 23 Apr 2013 01:18 PM PDT Maternal use of valproate (a drug used for the treatment of epilepsy and other neuropsychological disorders) during pregnancy was associated with a significantly increased risk of autism in offspring, according to a new study. The authors caution that these findings must be balanced against the treatment benefits for women who require valproate for epilepsy control.

Repairing articular cartilage defects with an injectable gel engineered with gene modified BMSCs Posted: 23 Apr 2013 11:43 AM PDT Tissue engineering combined with gene therapy technology has the potential to manage the repair of defective articular cartilage. In this study, through minimally invasive injection methods the authors were able to repair rabbit articular cartilage defects with CS/PVA gel and gene modified BMSCs.

Hundreds of tiny untethered surgical tools deployed in first animal biopsies Posted: 23 Apr 2013 10:58 AM PDT Using swarms of untethered grippers, each as small as a speck of dust, engineers and physicians have devised a new way to perform biopsies that could provide a more effective way to access narrow conduits in the body as well as find early signs of cancer or other diseases.

Doctors-in-training spend very little time at patient bedside, study finds Posted: 23 Apr 2013 10:57 AM PDT Medical interns spend just 12 percent of their time examining and talking with patients, and more than 40 percent of their time behind a computer, according to a new study that closely followed first-year residents at Baltimore's two large academic medical centers. Indeed, the study found, interns spent nearly as much time walking (7 percent) as they did caring for patients at the bedside.

New pathway, enhancing tamoxifen to tame aggressive breast cancer identified Posted: 23 Apr 2013 10:57 AM PDT Tamoxifen is a time-honored breast cancer drug used to treat millions of women with early-stage and less-aggressive disease, and now medical researchers have shown how to exploit tamoxifen's secondary activities so that it might work on more aggressive breast cancer.

Virus kills melanoma in animal model, spares normal cells Posted: 23 Apr 2013 10:57 AM PDT Researchers have demonstrated that vesicular stomatitis virus is highly competent at finding, infecting, and killing human melanoma cells, both in vitro and in animal models, while having little propensity to infect non-cancerous cells.

Whether human or hyena, there' s safety in numbers Posted: 23 Apr 2013 10:51 AM PDT Humans, when alone, see threats as closer than they actually are. But mix in people from a close group, and that misperception disappears.

3-D system could prevent shoulder injuries in baseball pitchers Posted: 23 Apr 2013 10:40 AM PDT A new 3-D motion detection system could help identify baseball pitchers who are at risk for shoulder injuries, according to a new study.

Vitamin E identified as potential weapon against obesity Posted: 23 Apr 2013 10:40 AM PDT A potential new way to fight obesity-related illness has been uncovered, thanks to a serendipitous finding.

Obese men with benign biopsy at high risk for prostate cancer Posted: 23 Apr 2013 10:40 AM PDT Obese men were more likely to have precancerous lesions detected in their benign prostate biopsies compared with nonobese men and were at a greater risk for subsequently developing prostate cancer, according to new data.

Contact killing of Salmonella by human fecal bacteria Posted: 23 Apr 2013 08:08 AM PDT Researchers have recently found a novel mode of interaction between Salmonella, a foodborne pathogen, and the bacteria that live in our guts. Fecal bacteria collected from healthy donors effectively inactivated Salmonella, when they were allowed close contact. Mathematical modelling of this interaction is now being used to find new ways of controlling Salmonella.

'Toggle switch' to burn fat identified Posted: 23 Apr 2013 08:07 AM PDT For a long time, scientists have dreamt of converting undesirable white fat cells into brown fat cells and thus simply have excess pounds melt away. Researchers have now gotten a step closer to this goal: They decoded a "toggle switch" in mice which can significantly stimulate fat burning.

Bacteria may contribute to premature births, STDs Posted: 23 Apr 2013 07:24 AM PDT New research points to a common species of bacteria as an important contributor to bacterial vaginosis, a condition linked to preterm birth and increased risk of sexually transmitted diseases.

Anatomy of a blast: Researchers develop sensor system to assess the effects of explosions on soldiers Posted: 23 Apr 2013 07:21 AM PDT To study the effects of improvised explosive devices on soldiers and help provide continuing treatment, researchers have developed a sensor system that measures the physical environment of an explosion and collects data that can correlate what the soldier experienced with long-term outcomes.

Tart cherries linked to reduced risk of stroke Posted: 23 Apr 2013 07:21 AM PDT For the millions of Americans at risk for heart disease or diabetes, a diet that includes tart cherries might actually be better than what the doctor ordered, according to new animal research.

The biology of fats in the body Posted: 23 Apr 2013 07:21 AM PDT Researchers are studying triglycerides, cholesterol and other fats to learn more about normal and abnormal biology. Chew on these findings the next time you ponder the fate of the fat in a French fry.

Alzheimer's researchers creating 'designer tracker' to quantify elusive brain protein, provide earlier diagnosis Posted: 23 Apr 2013 07:21 AM PDT Alzheimer's researchers know the disease is caused by toxic beta amyloid and tau lesions, yet, the recent failure of emerging therapies targeting these lesions suggest that successful treatments will require diagnosis of disease at its earliest stages. Now, by using computer-aided drug discovery, researchers are in the process of developing an imaging chemical that attaches predominantly to tau-bearing lesions in living brain, opening the door for earlier diagnosis – and better treatments for tau-involved conditions like Alzheimer's, frontal temporal dementia and traumatic brain injuries.

Drug reduces fat by blocking blood vessels Posted: 23 Apr 2013 07:21 AM PDT Researchers have long known that cancerous tumors grow collections of abnormal blood cells, the fuel that feeds this disease and keeps it growing. Now, new evidence in an animal model suggests that blood vessels in the fat tissue of obese individuals could provide the same purpose —- and could provide the key to a new way for people to lose weight.

Deficiency in p53 anti-tumor protein delays DNA repair after radiation Posted: 23 Apr 2013 06:11 AM PDT Researchers have found that a deficiency in an important anti-tumor protein, p53, can slow or delay DNA repair after radiation treatment. They suggest that this is because p53 regulates the expression of two enzymes (JMJD2b and SUV39H1) that control the folding of DNA.

Epigenetic changes shed light on biological mechanism of autism Posted: 23 Apr 2013 06:11 AM PDT Scientists have identified patterns of epigenetic changes involved in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) by studying genetically identical twins who differ in autism traits. The study is the largest of its kind and may shed light on the biological mechanism by which environmental influences regulate the activity of certain genes and in turn contribute to the development of ASD and related behavior traits.

Atrophy in key region of brain associated with multiple sclerosis Posted: 23 Apr 2013 06:11 AM PDT Magnetic resonance imaging measurements of atrophy in an important area of the brain are an accurate predictor of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a new study. According to the researchers, these atrophy measurements offer an improvement over current methods for evaluating patients at risk for MS.

Vets and medical doctors should team up to tackle diseases transmitted from animals to humans Posted: 23 Apr 2013 06:10 AM PDT A new study analyses the impact of animal brucellosis and bovine tuberculosis (BTB) on animals and people in urban, peri-urban and rural Niger. The World Health Organization (WHO) ranks them as major zoonoses, infectious diseases transmitted between species. The research maps risk factors for transmission of these diseases from animals to humans, indicating that closer collaboration between medical doctors and veterinarians is required.

Roe deer more likely to be run over at nightfall on a Sunday in April Posted: 23 Apr 2013 06:10 AM PDT Car accidents involving animals are a serious and growing problem in Europe. They pose a risk for human life and may result in mortal victims, damage to vehicles and the loss of wildlife. Specifically, in Galicia the time distribution of the accidents varies according to the month, the day of the week and even the time of day.

Uncleaned cells mean weak muscles Posted: 23 Apr 2013 06:10 AM PDT The protein complex mTORC1 promotes muscle growth. However, should this complex remain constantly active, it impairs the ability of the cells to self-clean, causing myopathy. Scientists have now described the exact mechanism involved.

Workplace stress poses risk to health Posted: 23 Apr 2013 06:09 AM PDT Stressful situations at work can have a negative impact on the cardiovascular system and the metabolism. Stress, which is transmitted by direct and indirect signaling pathways, leads to an inflammatory response in the body, which can trigger cardiovascular diseases, amongst others.

When dogs are most likely to pick up ticks Posted: 23 Apr 2013 06:09 AM PDT It may be slighter later than expected but spring finally seems to be upon us.  Unfortunately, this also means the start of the tick season, both for humans and for their pets.  But when exactly is the risk of dogs' picking up ticks greatest?

Scientists urge UN to take action on chemicals in consumer products and pesticides Posted: 23 Apr 2013 06:08 AM PDT Today, a group of influential scientists called for swift action by the UN system to prevent harm from a wide variety of synthetic chemicals in consumer products and pesticides that play a role in increased incidences of reproductive diseases, cancer, obesity, and type-2 diabetes worldwide.

Quit smoking? Vitamin E may give extra boost to heart health Posted: 23 Apr 2013 06:08 AM PDT Taking a specific form of a vitamin E supplement can accelerate the health benefits that occur when people quit smoking, new research suggests.

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