ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

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• New approach to improving treatment for MS and other conditions
• New malaria test kit gives a boost to elimination efforts worldwide
• New study recommends using active videogaming ('exergaming') to improve children's health
• Clinical support for patient self-management is rhetoric rather than reality, experts say
• Newer diabetes medications may have additional cardiovascular benefits
• Expert questions US public health agency advice on influenza vaccines
• Global health policy fails to address burden of disease on men
• Body mass index of low income African-Americans linked to proximity of fast food restaurants
• Target to prevent hardening of arteries identified
• Depression linked to almost doubled stroke risk in middle-aged women
• Massachusetts' health care reform didn't raise hospital use, costs
• Endothelium, heal thyself
• Students' diet and physical activity improve with parent communications
• Study brings greater understanding of tumor growth mechanism
• Vicious cycle: Obesity sustained by changes in brain biochemistry
• Genetic risk for schizophrenia is connected to reduced IQ
• Herpes infections: Natural Killer cells activate hematopoiesis
• X-ray tomography of living frog embryo
• Work-related stress linked to increased blood fat levels, cardiovascular health risks
• Posttraumatic stress disorder associated with type 2 diabetes

New approach to improving treatment for MS and other conditions Posted: 17 May 2013 12:24 PM PDT Working with lab mice models of multiple sclerosis (MS), scientists have detected a novel molecular target for the design of drugs that could be safer and more effective than current FDA-approved medications against MS.

New malaria test kit gives a boost to elimination efforts worldwide Posted: 17 May 2013 07:27 AM PDT A new, highly sensitive blood test that quickly detects even the lowest levels of malaria parasites in the body could make a dramatic difference in efforts to tackle the disease.

New study recommends using active videogaming ('exergaming') to improve children's health Posted: 17 May 2013 05:58 AM PDT Levels of physical inactivity and obesity are very high in children, with fewer than 50 percent of primary school-aged boys and fewer than 28 percent of girls meeting the minimum levels of physical activity required to maintain health. Exergaming, using active console video games that track player movement to control the game, has become popular, and may provide an alternative form of exercise to counteract sedentary behaviors.

Clinical support for patient self-management is rhetoric rather than reality, experts say Posted: 17 May 2013 05:57 AM PDT The processes to allow people to self-manage their own illness are not being used appropriately by health professionals to the benefit of their patients, new research suggests. Self-management support aims to increase the patient's ability to take ownership over their condition and in some cases, to self-treat.

Newer diabetes medications may have additional cardiovascular benefits Posted: 17 May 2013 05:50 AM PDT A newer class of medications used to control blood sugar levels in type 2 diabetics may also improve cardiovascular health.

Expert questions US public health agency advice on influenza vaccines Posted: 16 May 2013 06:54 PM PDT The United States government public health agency, the CDC, pledges "To base all public health decisions on the highest quality scientific data, openly and objectively derived." But experts argue that in the case of influenza vaccinations and their marketing, this is not so.

Global health policy fails to address burden of disease on men Posted: 16 May 2013 06:54 PM PDT Men experience a higher burden of disease and lower life expectancy than women, but policies focusing on the health needs of men are notably absent from the strategies of global health organizations, according to experts.

Body mass index of low income African-Americans linked to proximity of fast food restaurants Posted: 16 May 2013 01:17 PM PDT African-American adults living closer to a fast food restaurant had a higher body mass index than those who lived further away from fast food, according to researchers, and this association was particularly strong among those with a lower income.

Target to prevent hardening of arteries identified Posted: 16 May 2013 01:17 PM PDT The gene Dkk1 encodes a protein that plays a key role in increasing the population of connective-tissue cells during wound repair, but prolonged Dkk1 signaling in cells lining blood vessels can lead to fibrosis and a stiffening of artery walls.

Depression linked to almost doubled stroke risk in middle-aged women Posted: 16 May 2013 01:16 PM PDT Depression among women 47-52 years old is associated with an almost doubled risk of stroke. Researchers call for greater awareness of depression as a preventable risk factor for stroke among younger middle-aged women.

Massachusetts' health care reform didn't raise hospital use, costs Posted: 16 May 2013 01:16 PM PDT Health care reform in Massachusetts didn't result in substantially more hospitalizations, longer stays or higher costs. There were no significant differences in post-reform hospital use in Massachusetts versus to three other states without reform. There was also no significant increase in use of safety-net hospitals in Massachusetts.

Endothelium, heal thyself Posted: 16 May 2013 09:39 AM PDT Investigators publish new findings showing that the endothelium's efficient barrier function relies on an enormous self-restorative capacity.

Students' diet and physical activity improve with parent communications Posted: 16 May 2013 07:56 AM PDT College students eat more fruits and vegetables and exercise more on days when they communicate more with their parents, according to researchers.

Study brings greater understanding of tumor growth mechanism Posted: 16 May 2013 07:55 AM PDT A new study has for the first time revealed how the loss of a particular tumor suppressing protein leads to the abnormal growth of tumors of the brain and nervous system.

Vicious cycle: Obesity sustained by changes in brain biochemistry Posted: 16 May 2013 07:55 AM PDT Scientists have shown that in the brain cells of rats, obesity impedes the production of a hormone that curbs appetite and inspires calorie burning. The root cause appears to be a breakdown in the protein-processing mechanism of the cells. In the lab, the researchers showed they could fix the breakdown with drugs.

Genetic risk for schizophrenia is connected to reduced IQ Posted: 16 May 2013 07:53 AM PDT The relationship between the heritable risk for schizophrenia and low intelligence (IQ) has not been clear. Schizophrenia is commonly associated with cognitive impairments that may cause functional disability. Researchers have now found that individuals with a higher genetic risk for schizophrenia had a lower IQ at age 70 but not at age 11.

Herpes infections: Natural Killer cells activate hematopoiesis Posted: 16 May 2013 07:52 AM PDT Infections can trigger hematopoiesis at sites outside the bone marrow – in the liver, the spleen or the skin. Researchers now show that a specific type of immune cell facilitates such "extra medullary" formation of blood cells.

X-ray tomography of living frog embryo Posted: 16 May 2013 07:52 AM PDT Classical X-ray radiographs provide information about internal, absorptive structures of organisms such as bones. Alternatively, X-rays can also image soft tissues throughout early embryonic development of vertebrates. Related to this, a new X-ray method allowed researchers to view three dimensional reconstructions showing developing embryos of the African clawed frog.

Work-related stress linked to increased blood fat levels, cardiovascular health risks Posted: 16 May 2013 03:38 AM PDT New results link job stress to dyslipidemia, a disorder that alters the levels of lipids and lipoproteins in the blood. An altered lipid profile is dangerous for the heart.

Posttraumatic stress disorder associated with type 2 diabetes Posted: 16 May 2013 03:38 AM PDT The presence of posttraumatic stress disorder is significantly associated with the development of type 2 diabetes.

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