الخميس، 26 سبتمبر 2013

ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

Innovations could save lives of mothers, children

Posted: 25 Sep 2013 11:15 AM PDT

Ten health care innovations, if brought to scale immediately in low-resource countries, could have the potential to save the lives of some 1.2 million mothers and children in 2015. Right now the annual global death toll of mothers and children under 5 is 6.9 million. Between 2016-2020, these innovations have the potential to save the lives of nearly 7.5 million women and children.

Nanoparticle vaccine: Particles that deliver vaccines directly to mucosal surfaces could defend against many infectious diseases

Posted: 25 Sep 2013 11:15 AM PDT

Many viruses and bacteria infect humans through mucosal surfaces, such as those in the lungs, gastrointestinal tract and reproductive tract. To help fight these pathogens, scientists are working on vaccines that can establish a front line of defense at mucosal surfaces, potentially defending against many infectious diseases.

'X-shape' not true picture of chromosome structure, new imaging technique reveals

Posted: 25 Sep 2013 10:23 AM PDT

A new method for visualising chromosomes is painting a truer picture of their shape, which is rarely like the X-shaped blob of DNA most of us are familiar with.

Common cosmetic and sunblock ingredient, titanium dioxide, may have potential health risks

Posted: 25 Sep 2013 10:06 AM PDT

Using a particular type of titanium dioxide -- a common ingredient in cosmetics, food products, toothpaste and sunscreen -- could reduce the potential health risks associated with the widely used compound.

Improved smartphone microscope brings single-virus detection to remote locations

Posted: 25 Sep 2013 10:06 AM PDT

Scientists are reporting an advance in smartphone-based imaging that could help physicians in far-flung and resource-limited locations monitor how well treatments for infections are working by detecting, for the first time, individual viruses. Their study on the light-weight device converts the phone into a powerful mini-microscope.

Genetic makeup and diet interact with the microbiome to impact health

Posted: 25 Sep 2013 10:06 AM PDT

New research shows that an individual's genomic makeup and diet interact to determine which microbes exist and how they act in the host intestine. The study was modeled in germ-free knockout mice to mimic a genetic condition that affects 1 in 5 humans and increases the risk for digestive diseases.

New early detection test for prostate cancer

Posted: 25 Sep 2013 10:03 AM PDT

A new urine test that improves on PSA screening for prostate cancer is now available. The test incorporates three specific markers that could indicate cancer and studies have shown that the combination is far more accurate than PSA alone.

Model to study human response to bacteria that cause peptic ulcers developed

Posted: 25 Sep 2013 10:03 AM PDT

Researchers have developed a model that helps scientists and clinicians understand that complex interactions of a type of bacteria that is the leading cause of peptic ulcers. The discovery may inform changes in the ways doctors treat patients.

New approach to treating human brain cancer could lead to improved outcomes

Posted: 25 Sep 2013 10:02 AM PDT

A new experimental approach to treating a type of brain cancer called medulloblastoma has been developed, and could lead to improved outcomes.

Fetching faces and friendly foxes

Posted: 25 Sep 2013 08:25 AM PDT

'What is beautiful is good' -- but why? A recent article provides a compelling physiological explanation for the 'beauty stereotype' - why human beings are wired to favor the beautiful ones.

Commonly prescribed statin linked to memory impairment, study in rats suggests

Posted: 25 Sep 2013 08:24 AM PDT

New research that looked at whether two commonly prescribed statin medicines, used to lower low-density lipoprotein or 'bad cholesterol' levels in the blood, can adversely affect cognitive function has found that one of the drugs tested caused memory impairment in rats.

Do elite 'power sport' athletes have a genetic advantage?

Posted: 25 Sep 2013 08:23 AM PDT

A specific gene variant is more frequent among elite athletes in power sports, reports a new study.

Feast to famine: Oxygen starvation regulates fat cells in obesity

Posted: 25 Sep 2013 08:22 AM PDT

Researchers have identified the role of the protein TIS7 in processes that regulate adipogenesis, whereby non-specialised cells become adipose or fat cells.

Uncovering factors at the heart of muscle weakness

Posted: 25 Sep 2013 08:22 AM PDT

Researchers show how orange, apple and grapefruit juices affect the absorption of certain prescription drugs into the body.

Sheep mucosa shows the way to more effective medicine for neurological diseases

Posted: 25 Sep 2013 07:30 AM PDT

New research shows how medicine for the brain can be absorbed through the nose. This paves the way to more effective treatment of neurological diseases like Alzheimer's and tumors in the brain.

New knowledge on molecular mechanisms behind breast cancer

Posted: 25 Sep 2013 07:28 AM PDT

Researchers have gained more insight into the molecular mechanisms of importance for, for example, cancer cell growth and metastasis. The research objective is improved and more targeted drugs.

Epigenetic changes observed in blood may point to early stages in Parkinson disease

Posted: 25 Sep 2013 06:22 AM PDT

Researchers have now shown that a distinctive pattern of epigenetic modifications is observed in specific genes associated with Parkinson Disease. Even more interesting, these changes could be easily analyzed in blood samples from patients, which appear to replicate the "epigenetic status" of brain tissue cells, potentially simplifying early diagnosis of the disease.

Recent highlights in molecular biology and evolution

Posted: 25 Sep 2013 06:22 AM PDT

Research has found a greater number of "escaping genes" on the X chromosome than have been previously detected, with implications for the understanding of mental impairment in humans.

Unstable chromosomes linked to less favorable response to RT and surgery in prostate cancer patients

Posted: 25 Sep 2013 06:22 AM PDT

Detailed evaluation of a prostate cancer tumor biopsy may predict treatment outcomes for image-guided radiation therapy or surgery for prostate cancer.

Melatonin helps control weight gain as it stimulates the appearance of ‘beige fat’ that can burn calories instead of storing them, study suggests

Posted: 25 Sep 2013 06:17 AM PDT

Spanish scientists have discovered that melatonin consumption helps control weight gain because it stimulates the appearance of 'beige fat', a type of fat cell that burns calories   instead of storing them. White adipose tissue stores calories leading to weight gain whereas 'beige fat' (also known as 'good or thinning fat') helps regulate body weight control, hence its metabolic benefits.

Cocaine exposure in the womb: The brain structure is intact, development is off track

Posted: 25 Sep 2013 06:17 AM PDT

Prenatal cocaine exposure affects both behavior and brain. Animal studies have shown that exposure to cocaine during in utero development causes numerous disruptions in normal brain development and negatively affects behavior from birth and into adulthood. For ethical reasons, similar studies in humans have been more limited but some research has shown that children exposed prenatally to cocaine have impairments in attention, control, stress, emotion regulation, and memory. Research also suggests that such children may be more predisposed to initiate substance use.

Unstable chromosomes linked to less favorable response to radiation therapy and surgery in prostate cancer patients

Posted: 25 Sep 2013 06:16 AM PDT

Detailed evaluation of a prostate cancer tumor biopsy may predict treatment outcomes for image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT) or surgery for prostate cancer, according to new research.

Flame retardants in blood drop after State ban

Posted: 25 Sep 2013 06:16 AM PDT

A class of flame retardants that has been linked to learning difficulties in children has rapidly declined in pregnant women's blood since the chemicals were banned in California a decade ago.

The 'in-law effect': Male fruit flies sleep around but females keep it in the family

Posted: 24 Sep 2013 04:36 PM PDT

A study of mating preferences in fruit flies (Drosophila) has found that males and females respond to the sexual familiarity of potential mates in fundamentally different ways. While male fruit flies preferred to court an unknown female over their previous mate or her sisters, female fruit flies displayed a predilection for their 'brothers-in-law'.

Social deprivation a key factor in mortality in type 1 diabetes

Posted: 24 Sep 2013 04:36 PM PDT

Levels of social deprivation, as well as how well a patient controls their blood sugar, is an independent risk factor for mortality in people with type 1 diabetes.

'Traffic light' test could prevent hundreds of people developing alcohol-related cirrhosis

Posted: 24 Sep 2013 04:35 PM PDT

A simple 'traffic light' test that detects hidden liver fibrosis and cirrhosis in high risk populations could reduce harmful drinking rates and potentially prevent hundreds of alcohol-related deaths a year. The Southampton Traffic Light (STL) test, which costs about £50, could be used by GPs in the community, appeared to help reduce drinking rates in people with the highest risk of liver disease.

Drug delays onset of pain and quality of life deterioration for prostate cancer

Posted: 24 Sep 2013 04:35 PM PDT

Abiraterone acetate, a recently FDA-approved drug used to treat men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, significantly delays progression of pain and quality of life deterioration when taken in conjunction with prednisone.

A shot of anxiety and the world stinks: How stress can rewire brain, making benign smells malodorous

Posted: 24 Sep 2013 02:41 PM PDT

In evolutionary terms, smell is among the oldest of the senses. New research shows how anxiety or stress can rewire the brain, linking centers of emotion and olfactory processing, to make typically benign smells malodorous.

'Microbial clock' may help determine time of death

Posted: 24 Sep 2013 12:39 PM PDT

An intriguing study may provide a powerful new tool in the quiver of forensic scientists attempting to determine the time of death in cases involving human corpses: A microbial clock.

Lighting up can bring you down in colorectal surgery

Posted: 24 Sep 2013 12:39 PM PDT

The first large study to focus specifically on the effects of smoking after colorectal surgery found that smoking boosts the risk of complications like infection and pneumonia after some of the most common colorectal procedures, such as surgery for colon cancer or inflammatory bowel disease. Lighting up also increases a patient's risk of death after surgery compared with patients who have never smoked.

Link between antidepressants and diabetes risk is real

Posted: 24 Sep 2013 12:37 PM PDT

Clinicians should be extra vigilant when prescribing antidepressants as they could pose a risk of type 2 diabetes, researchers have warned. A systematic review showed that people taking antidepressants are at a higher risk overall, however it is not certain whether the medication is responsible.

ICU ventilation may trigger mental decline

Posted: 24 Sep 2013 12:36 PM PDT

A new study has found a molecular mechanism that may explain the connection between mechanical ventilation and hippocampal damage in ICU patients.

Proton therapy cuts side effects for pediatric head, neck cancer patients

Posted: 24 Sep 2013 11:02 AM PDT

The precise targeting and limited dosing of radiation via proton therapy is proving to be an advantage in ongoing efforts to reduce treatment side effects among head and neck cancer patients, according to a new study of pediatric patients.

Researchers harness the immune system to fight pancreatic cancer

Posted: 24 Sep 2013 10:52 AM PDT

Pancreatic cancer ranks as the fourth-leading cause of cancer death in the United States, and is one of the most deadly forms of cancer, due to its resistance to standard treatments with chemotherapy and radiation therapy and frequently, its late stage at the time of diagnosis. A group of researchers has published results of a clinical trial in which the standard chemotherapy drug for this disease, was paired with an agonist CD40 antibody, resulting in substantial tumor regressions among some patients with advanced pancreatic cancer.

Biological risk factor in obesity-related cancers: Insulin disruption

Posted: 24 Sep 2013 10:51 AM PDT

It is estimated that over a third of the new cancer cases expected to occur in the U.S. in 2013 will be related to overweight or obesity, physical inactivity, and poor nutrition. Thanks to the work of one researcher, we may better understand why.

Study findings may explain delayed onset of heart disease in women

Posted: 24 Sep 2013 10:51 AM PDT

A biological ability to compensate for the body's reduced response to insulin may explain why women typically develop heart disease 10 years later than men.

Low testosterone may be linked to heart problems

Posted: 24 Sep 2013 10:51 AM PDT

Men who have low testosterone levels may have a slightly elevated risk of developing or dying from heart disease, according to a recent study.
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