ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

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• Nano-dissection identifies genes involved in kidney disease
• Researchers uncover keys to antibiotic resistance in MRSA
• New therapeutic agents that may benefit leukemia patients
• Cultural differences explain non-completion of HPV vaccination in girls in low-income families
• Norovirus vaccine reduces symptoms of illness by more than half
• 'Self-medication': Why doctors abuse prescription drugs
• Hospitalized HIV patients benefit from seeing infectious diseases specialists
• Antibiotics drastically overprescribed for sore throats, bronchitis
• Fecal transplant pill knocks out recurrent C. diff infection
• Stem cells engineered to become targeted drug factories
• New role for the benefits of oxygen
• Research reveals the mechanism of the sodium-potassium pump
• Metabolic enzymes discovered with 'widespread roles' in opium poppy
• Fighting fat with Botox
• Sparing the body, breast cancer treatment via nipple injection
• Scientists discover molecules that show promise for new anti-flu medicines
• High Medicare spending on prostate cancer screenings, little benefit for older men
• Study links moderate activity to lower breast cancer risk
• Creative app for dementia careworkers
• Lung structure shaped by fluid dynamics and transport
• Cancer survivors in rural areas forgo health care because of cost
• Dampened mTOR signaling linked to Roberts Syndrome
• Molecular imaging predicts risk for abdominal aortic aneurysms
• Experts devise a way to cut radiation exposure in children needing repeat brain scans
• Silencing sudden death
• Neglect of 'science communication environment' puts vaccine acceptance at risk
• Facebook and Twitter may yield clues to preventing the spread of disease
• Power of precision medicine in successful treatment of patient with disabling OCD
• Component of citrus fruits blocks formation of kidney cysts
• Wealth inequality can promote cooperation
• Five regular meals a day reduce obesity risk among adolescents
• Believers consume fewer drugs than atheists
• Advanced technology for gene expression analysis can facilitate drug development

Nano-dissection identifies genes involved in kidney disease Posted: 04 Oct 2013 12:48 PM PDT A new method developed by researchers called "in silico nano-dissection" uses computers rather than scalpels to separate and identify genes from specific cell types, enabling the systematic study of genes involved in diseases.

Researchers uncover keys to antibiotic resistance in MRSA Posted: 04 Oct 2013 12:48 PM PDT Researchers have published research results this week that show how methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) regulates the critical crosslinking of its cell wall in the face of beta-lactam antibiotics.

New therapeutic agents that may benefit leukemia patients Posted: 04 Oct 2013 12:43 PM PDT An cancer researcher and his colleagues have discovered new therapeutic targets and drugs for certain types of leukemia or blood cancer.

Cultural differences explain non-completion of HPV vaccination in girls in low-income families Posted: 04 Oct 2013 09:50 AM PDT Although they are at higher risk for cervical cancer, girls from low-income families are less likely to receive the human papillomavirus vaccine that prevents it, and the reasons they are not fully vaccinated differ depending on whether their parents are English-speaking or Spanish-speaking, suggests new research.

Norovirus vaccine reduces symptoms of illness by more than half Posted: 04 Oct 2013 09:50 AM PDT An investigational vaccine appears generally well tolerated and effective against the most common strain of norovirus, reducing the main symptoms of the gastrointestinal infection, vomiting and/or diarrhea, by 52 percent.

'Self-medication': Why doctors abuse prescription drugs Posted: 04 Oct 2013 09:49 AM PDT Doctors who abuse prescription drugs often do so for "self-medication" — whether for physical or emotional pain or stress relief, reports a new study.

Hospitalized HIV patients benefit from seeing infectious diseases specialists Posted: 04 Oct 2013 07:52 AM PDT When patients with HIV are hospitalized for other conditions, such as a heart problem, surgery or complications of diabetes, mistakes are often made involving their complicated anti-retroviral therapy regimens. But those errors are more than twice as likely to be corrected when patients are seen by an infectious diseases physician.

Antibiotics drastically overprescribed for sore throats, bronchitis Posted: 04 Oct 2013 07:52 AM PDT A vast majority of people who see their doctors for sore throats or acute bronchitis receive antibiotics, yet only a small percentage should, according to analyses of two major national surveys. Those illnesses usually are caused by viruses, and antibiotics -- which only treat bacterial infections -- do not help.

Fecal transplant pill knocks out recurrent C. diff infection Posted: 04 Oct 2013 07:52 AM PDT Swallowing pills containing a concentrate of fecal bacteria successfully stops recurrent bouts of debilitating Clostridium difficile infection by rebalancing the bacteria in the gut.

Stem cells engineered to become targeted drug factories Posted: 04 Oct 2013 07:52 AM PDT A group researchers have found a way to use stem cells as drug delivery vehicles. The researchers inserted modified strands of messenger RNA into connective tissue stem cells -- called mesenchymal stem cells -- which stimulated the cells to produce adhesive surface proteins and secrete interleukin-10, an anti-inflammatory molecule.

New role for the benefits of oxygen Posted: 04 Oct 2013 07:52 AM PDT During a heart attack when the flow of oxygen-rich blood to a section of the heart is interrupted, and not quickly restored, heart muscle begins dying. Deprived of oxygen and other essential nutrients, cell death continues possibly leading to progressive loss of heart function and congestive heart failure. Rsearchers found that dying heart cells still contain enough oxygen for metabolism, and additional short-term spikes of oxygen keep the cells alive and active.

Research reveals the mechanism of the sodium-potassium pump Posted: 04 Oct 2013 07:52 AM PDT Researchers have established the structure of a crucial enzyme -- the so-called sodium-potassium pump -- which forms part of every cell in the human body. The result may pave the way for a better understanding of neurological diseases.

Metabolic enzymes discovered with 'widespread roles' in opium poppy Posted: 04 Oct 2013 07:52 AM PDT Scientists have discovered metabolic enzymes in the opium poppy that play "widespread roles" in enabling the plant to make painkilling morphine and codeine, and other important compounds.

Fighting fat with Botox Posted: 04 Oct 2013 07:49 AM PDT Researchers have had promising experimental results from using Botox as a weight loss tool in rats. The research group hopes to win approval for human testing in the near future.

Sparing the body, breast cancer treatment via nipple injection Posted: 04 Oct 2013 07:47 AM PDT A new technique for breast cancer treatment and prevention has been proposed by researchers - injection of therapeutics via the nipple. The procedure, demonstrated on mice, offers direct access to the most common origin of breast cancer, the milk ducts, and could be used to offer cancer therapy that spares healthy regions of the body.

Scientists discover molecules that show promise for new anti-flu medicines Posted: 04 Oct 2013 06:08 AM PDT A new way to attack flu viruses is taking shape in laboratories, where scientists have identified chemical agents that block the virus's ability to replicate itself in cell culture. These novel compounds show promise for a new class of antiviral medicines to fight much-feared pandemic influenza such as the looming "bird flu" threats caused by the H5N1 influenza A virus and the new H7N9 virus.

High Medicare spending on prostate cancer screenings, little benefit for older men Posted: 04 Oct 2013 06:08 AM PDT Prostate cancer screening has little benefit for men aged 75 and older, yet over three years, the Medicare fee-for-service program spent $447 million annually on PSA-based screenings -- one-third of which was for men in the over 75 age group, according to study.

Study links moderate activity to lower breast cancer risk Posted: 04 Oct 2013 06:08 AM PDT A large new American Cancer Society study adds to increasing evidence that physical activity reduces the risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women.

Creative app for dementia careworkers Posted: 04 Oct 2013 06:06 AM PDT Dementia is an ageing-related condition affecting mental acuity and memory. Incidence doubles in a population for every five years over the age of 65 years, so that almost one fifth of those living to 85 can expect to have the condition and a third of those over the age of 95 will likely be affected. As the population ages through better nutrition and healthcare, we can expect absolute numbers of people with dementia to continue to rise.

Lung structure shaped by fluid dynamics and transport Posted: 04 Oct 2013 06:03 AM PDT Physicists suggest how evolution has shaped our lungs through successive optimizations of physical parameters such as conservation of energy and speed of delivery. Our respiratory system consists of a bronchial tree designed to transport air through the lungs combined with an alveolar system designed to capture the oxygen. Both are subjected to different type of optimizations. Only tree-like structures, the paper shows, are able to efficiently feed organs above a small size, below which organs are solely fed by diffusion.

Cancer survivors in rural areas forgo health care because of cost Posted: 04 Oct 2013 06:01 AM PDT Older cancer survivors living in rural areas are more likely to forgo medical and dental care because of financial concerns compared with older cancer survivors living in urban areas.

Dampened mTOR signaling linked to Roberts Syndrome Posted: 03 Oct 2013 05:49 PM PDT Children born with developmental disorders called cohesinopathies can suffer severe consequences, including intellectual disabilities, limb shortening, craniofacial anomalies, and slowed growth. Researchers know which mutations underlie some cohesinopathies, but have developed little understanding of the downstream signals that are disrupted in these conditions.

Molecular imaging predicts risk for abdominal aortic aneurysms Posted: 03 Oct 2013 01:29 PM PDT Several newly identified markers could provide valuable insight to predict the risk of rupture abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA). Imaging with PET/CT has shown that dense white blood cells in the outermost connective tissue in the vascular wall, increased C-reactive protein and a loss of smooth muscle cells in the middle layer of the vascular wall are all factors that may indicate future AAA rupture.

Experts devise a way to cut radiation exposure in children needing repeat brain scans Posted: 03 Oct 2013 12:49 PM PDT A team of pediatric neurosurgeons and neuroradiologists has developed a way to minimize dangerous radiation exposure in children with a condition that requires repeat CT scans of the brain. The experts say they reduced exposure without sacrificing the diagnostic accuracy of the images or compromising treatment decisions.

Silencing sudden death Posted: 03 Oct 2013 11:26 AM PDT Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy -- a disease in which cardiac muscle thickens, weakening the heart -- can be prevented from developing for several months by reducing production of a mutant protein. This study has been performed on mice.

Neglect of 'science communication environment' puts vaccine acceptance at risk Posted: 03 Oct 2013 11:26 AM PDT Failure to use science of science communication contributed to public controversy over HPV vaccine and could provoke similar conflict over other childhood vaccines.

Facebook and Twitter may yield clues to preventing the spread of disease Posted: 03 Oct 2013 11:26 AM PDT Facebook and Twitter could provide vital clues to control infectious diseases by using mathematical models to understand how we respond socially to biological contagions. Authors reviewed social factors in epidemiology, and have suggested that the biological spread of diseases is intertwined with how society responds to those contagions.

Power of precision medicine in successful treatment of patient with disabling OCD Posted: 03 Oct 2013 06:57 AM PDT A multidisciplinary team led by a geneticist and psychiatrist have published a paper providing a glimpse of both the tremendous power and the current limitations of "precision medicine."

Component of citrus fruits blocks formation of kidney cysts Posted: 03 Oct 2013 06:57 AM PDT A new study published has identified that a component of grapefruit and other citrus fruits, naringenin, successfully blocks the formation of kidney cysts.

Wealth inequality can promote cooperation Posted: 03 Oct 2013 06:57 AM PDT Unequal access to resources can promote cooperation, shows a new study based on evolutionary game theory.

Five regular meals a day reduce obesity risk among adolescents Posted: 03 Oct 2013 06:54 AM PDT A regular eating pattern may protect adolescents from obesity, according to a population-based study with more than 4,000 participants. When eating five meals - breakfast, lunch, dinner and two snacks - a day, even those with a genetic predisposition to obesity had no higher body mass index (BMI) than their controls. The collection of the data on the study population began prenatally, and the participants were followed up until the age of 16.

Believers consume fewer drugs than atheists Posted: 03 Oct 2013 06:30 AM PDT Young Swiss men who say that they believe in God are less likely to smoke cigarettes or pot or take ecstasy pills than Swiss men of the same age group who describe themselves as atheists. Belief is a protective factor against addictive behaviour. This is the conclusion reached by a study funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation.

Advanced technology for gene expression analysis can facilitate drug development Posted: 03 Oct 2013 06:30 AM PDT When developing new drugs, monitoring cellular responses to candidate compounds is essential for assessing their efficacy and safety. Researchers report a new method to monitor and quantify the activity of gene promoters during the response to a drug, using the advanced gene expression analysis method CAGE followed by single-molecule sequencing. This research paves the way to a more precise analysis of cellular responses to drugs, at the level of individual promoters.

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