ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

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• Genetic testing improved student learning in personalized medicine class
• Barriers to interventions to prevent malaria in pregnancy similar across sub-Saharan Africa
• How to make preclinical animal research more effective
• Clearest new pictures of immune cells
• US physicians put patients' best interests above concerns about health care costs
• Organ transplantation as source of fatal rabies virus case
• Pain of artificial legs could be eased by real-time monitoring
• Sleep deprivation linked to aging skin, study suggests
• Oxygen – key to most life – decelerates many cancer tumors when combined with radiation therapy
• Pathways activated in most K9 bone tumors not driving the worst bone tumors
• Athletes need to be careful to monitor diet, weight to maintain muscle mass
• Optimists better at regulating stress
• Natural pest control protein effective against hookworm: A billion could benefit
• Vulnerabilities of the deadly Ebola virus identified
• Mechanism behind development of autoimmune hepatitis identified
• Faster, simpler diagnosis for fibromyalgia may be on the horizon
• Gene that may stop the spread of breast cancer identified
• No link between prenatal mercury exposure and autism-like behaviors found
• New approach for studying deadly brain cancer
• A new weapon against stroke
• Is a common food fungus worsening the AIDS epidemic?
• Major cities often safest places in the U.S.
• Non-toxic flame retardants

Genetic testing improved student learning in personalized medicine class Posted: 23 Jul 2013 03:12 PM PDT Students who had their genome tested as part of a groundbreaking medical school course on personalized medicine improved their knowledge of the class materials by an average of 31 percent compared with those who didn't undergo the testing, according to a new study.

Barriers to interventions to prevent malaria in pregnancy similar across sub-Saharan Africa Posted: 23 Jul 2013 03:12 PM PDT The main barriers to the access, delivery, and use of interventions that help to prevent malaria in pregnant women are relatively consistent across sub-Saharan African countries and may provide a helpful checklist to identify the factors influencing uptake of these important interventions, according to a new study.

How to make preclinical animal research more effective Posted: 23 Jul 2013 03:11 PM PDT Only 11% of drugs that enter clinical trials in humans are ultimately found safe and effective enough to receive regulatory approval. One possible reason for this dismal success rate is flawed preclinical animal research. A number of recent initiatives seek to improve the design and execution of such experiments. Now, a new studyidentifies key procedures believed to address threats to the validity of preclinical findings.

Clearest new pictures of immune cells Posted: 23 Jul 2013 03:11 PM PDT Scientists have revealed new images which provide the clearest picture yet of how white blood immune cells attack viral infections and tumors.

US physicians put patients' best interests above concerns about health care costs Posted: 23 Jul 2013 03:06 PM PDT A new study of attitudes about health care costs reveals that an overwhelming majority of U.S. physicians feel a responsibility to address costs, but prioritize their obligations to patients' best interests over cost concerns.

Organ transplantation as source of fatal rabies virus case Posted: 23 Jul 2013 03:06 PM PDT An investigation into the source of a fatal case of raccoon rabies virus exposure indicates the individual received the virus via a kidney transplant 18 months earlier, findings suggesting that rabies transmitted by this route may have a long incubation period, and that although solid organ transplant transmission of infectious encephalitis is rare, further education to increase awareness is needed.

Pain of artificial legs could be eased by real-time monitoring Posted: 23 Jul 2013 12:50 PM PDT Engineers have developed a device that tracks how much a person's limb swells and shrinks when inside a prosthetic socket. The data could help doctors and patients predict how and when their limbs will swell, which could be used to build smarter sockets.

Sleep deprivation linked to aging skin, study suggests Posted: 23 Jul 2013 12:50 PM PDT In a first-of-its-kind clinical trial, physician-scientists found that sleep quality impacts skin function and aging. The study, commissioned by Estée Lauder, demonstrated that poor sleepers had increased signs of skin aging and slower recovery from a variety of environmental stressors, such as disruption of the skin barrier or ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Poor sleepers also had worse assessment of their own skin and facial appearance.

Oxygen – key to most life – decelerates many cancer tumors when combined with radiation therapy Posted: 23 Jul 2013 12:49 PM PDT A multidisciplinary team has found that measuring the oxygenation of tumors can be a valuable tool in guiding radiation therapy, opening the door for personalized therapies that keep tumors in check with oxygen enhancement.

Pathways activated in most K9 bone tumors not driving the worst bone tumors Posted: 23 Jul 2013 12:49 PM PDT A new study shows NOTCH signaling elevated in K9 osteosarcoma, but aspects of Notch signaling noticeably deactivated in the worst cancers.

Athletes need to be careful to monitor diet, weight to maintain muscle mass Posted: 23 Jul 2013 10:45 AM PDT Athletes seeking a healthy performance weight should eat high fiber, low-fat food balanced with their training regimen in order to maintain muscle while still burning fat, according to a new article.

Optimists better at regulating stress Posted: 23 Jul 2013 10:45 AM PDT It's no surprise that those who tend to see a rose's blooms before its thorns are also better at handling stress. But science has failed to reliably associate optimism with individuals' biological stress response -- until now.

Natural pest control protein effective against hookworm: A billion could benefit Posted: 23 Jul 2013 10:44 AM PDT A benign crystal protein, produced naturally by bacteria and used as an organic pesticide, could be a safe, inexpensive treatment for parasitic worms in humans and provide effective relief to over a billion people around the world.

Vulnerabilities of the deadly Ebola virus identified Posted: 23 Jul 2013 10:44 AM PDT Disabling a protein in Ebola virus cells can stop the virus from replicating and infecting the host, according to new research.

Mechanism behind development of autoimmune hepatitis identified Posted: 23 Jul 2013 10:44 AM PDT A gene mutation disrupts the activity of certain immune cells and causes the immune system to erroneously attack the liver, according to a new animal study.

Faster, simpler diagnosis for fibromyalgia may be on the horizon Posted: 23 Jul 2013 10:42 AM PDT Researchers have developed a reliable way to use a finger-stick blood sample to detect fibromyalgia syndrome, a complicated pain disorder that often is difficult to diagnose.

Gene that may stop the spread of breast cancer identified Posted: 23 Jul 2013 10:42 AM PDT In cancer, the spread of tumor cells from the primary site to other parts of the body is called metastasis and is a major cause of death, especially in patients with breast cancer. A new study shows that metastasis in breast cancer and the risk of death are reduced when the function of the gene HGMA2, is limited.

No link between prenatal mercury exposure and autism-like behaviors found Posted: 23 Jul 2013 08:37 AM PDT The potential impact of exposure to low levels of mercury on the developing brain -- specifically by women consuming fish during pregnancy -- has long been the source of concern and some have argued that the chemical may be responsible for behavioral disorders such as autism. However, a new study that draws upon more than 30 years of research in the Republic of Seychelles reports that there is no association between pre-natal mercury exposure and autism-like behaviors.

New approach for studying deadly brain cancer Posted: 23 Jul 2013 08:37 AM PDT Human glioblastoma multiforme, one of the most common, aggressive and deadly forms of brain cancer, is notoriously difficult to study. Now engineers have developed a three-dimensional hydrogel that more closely mimics conditions in the brain than other platforms used to study brain cancer.

A new weapon against stroke Posted: 23 Jul 2013 08:36 AM PDT Stem cell research for stroke has focused on developing therapeutic neurons -- the primary movers of electrical impulses in the brain -- to repair tissue damaged when oxygen to the brain is limited by a blood clot or break in a vessel. New research, however, shows that other cells may be better suited for the task.

Is a common food fungus worsening the AIDS epidemic? Posted: 23 Jul 2013 06:52 AM PDT A type of fungus coating much of the stored corn, wheat, rice and nuts in developing countries may be quietly worsening the AIDS epidemic, according to a new article.

Major cities often safest places in the U.S. Posted: 23 Jul 2013 05:13 AM PDT Overturning a commonly-held belief that cities are inherently more dangerous than suburban and rural communities, researchers have found that risk of death from injuries is lowest on average in urban counties compared to suburban and rural counties across the US.

Non-toxic flame retardants Posted: 23 Jul 2013 04:39 AM PDT Flame retardants are often extremely harmful to health. Despite this, they are found in many types of synthetic materials which would otherwise ignite quickly. Researchers have now succeeded in producing non-harmful flame retardants.

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