الاثنين، 25 نوفمبر 2013

ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

Scientists find brain region that helps you make up your mind

Posted: 24 Nov 2013 05:05 PM PST

One of the smallest parts of the brain is getting a second look after new research suggests it plays a crucial role in decision making.

Study identifies protein essential for immune recognition, response to viral infection

Posted: 24 Nov 2013 05:05 PM PST

A research team has identified an immune cell protein that is critical to setting off the body's initial response against viral infection. They found that a protein called GEF-H1 is essential to the ability of macrophages -- major contributors to the innate immune system -- to respond to viral infections like influenza.

How living cells solved a needle in a haystack problem to produce electrical signals

Posted: 24 Nov 2013 05:05 PM PST

Scientists have figured out how cells do the improbable: pick the charged calcium ions out of vast sodium sea to generate electrical signals. The speed and accuracy of this selection is crucial to the beating of the heart and the flow of nerve impulses in the brain. The finding is likely to assist the development of new drugs, such as safer medications for chronic pain.

Diamond 'flaws' pave way for nanoscale MRI

Posted: 24 Nov 2013 05:05 PM PST

Breakthrough offers high-sensitivity nanoscale sensors, and could lead to magnetic imaging of neuron activity and thermometry on a single living cell.

Gene-silencing study finds new targets for Parkinson's disease

Posted: 24 Nov 2013 05:05 PM PST

Scientists have used RNA interference technology to reveal dozens of genes that may represent new therapeutic targets for treating Parkinson's disease. The findings also may be relevant to several diseases caused by damage to mitochondria, the biological power plants found in cells throughout the body.

Update: 50 percent of patients in new brain cancer study alive after five years

Posted: 24 Nov 2013 06:35 AM PST

Eight of 16 patients participating in a study of an experimental immune system therapy directed against the most aggressive malignant brain tumors – glioblastoma multiforme – survived longer than five years after diagnosis, according to new research.

Continued increases in adhd diagnoses, treatment with meds among US children

Posted: 22 Nov 2013 08:27 AM PST

New study reports that half of U.S. children diagnosed with ADHD received that diagnosis by age 6. The study found that an estimated two million more children in the United States (U.S.) have been diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) between 2003-04 and 2011-12. One million more U.S. children were taking medication for ADHD between 2003-04 and 2011-12.

Study of human blood fluke parasites identifies drug resistance mutations

Posted: 21 Nov 2013 11:21 AM PST

An international group of scientists has identified the mutations that result in drug resistance in a parasite infecting 187 million people in South America, Africa and Asia. The new finding allows detailed understanding of the drugs' mechanism of action and raises prospects of improved therapies.

New technique improves accuracy, ease of cancer diagnosis

Posted: 21 Nov 2013 10:56 AM PST

A team of researchers has demonstrated a technique, deformability cytometry, that measures the physical properties of individual cells and can diagnose cancer from body fluids with very high accuracy.

Breaking the code on environmental illnesses

Posted: 21 Nov 2013 10:56 AM PST

You may be sensitive to gluten, but you're not sure. Perhaps you can't put your finger on a recurring malaise, and your doctor is at a loss to figure it out. A diagnostic method recently developed can reveal -- on a molecular level -- the factors behind conditions thought to have environmental triggers.

Pre-eclampsia rates on the rise in US

Posted: 21 Nov 2013 10:56 AM PST

A latest study by researchers reports that rates for pre-eclampsia, characterized by an elevation in the blood pressure and excess protein in the urine of pregnant women, rose from 3.4 percent in 1980 to 3.8 percent in 2010. This increase was due to the rise in rates of severe pre-eclampsia -- from 0.3 percent in 1980 to 1.4 percent in 2010, a relative increase of 322 percent.

Study finds gene network associated with alcohol dependence

Posted: 21 Nov 2013 10:56 AM PST

Using a new approach that combines genome-wide association studies with information about which human proteins interact with one another, researchers have identified a group of 39 genes that together are strongly associated with alcoholism.

Philadelphia lagging behind world health goals

Posted: 21 Nov 2013 10:55 AM PST

While widely known for spending the most dollars per capita on health care in the world, the United States is lagging behind World Health Organization's (WHO) Millennium Development Goals (MDG) for women's health and child mortality, with Philadelphia, the nation's fifth largest city losing ground.

First molecular test to diagnose eosinophilic esophagitis

Posted: 21 Nov 2013 10:02 AM PST

Researchers have developed the first molecular test to diagnose eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), a chronic upper gastrointestinal disorder. The incidence of EoE has skyrocketed since it was first characterized two decades ago.

Scientists show how cells protect DNA from catastrophic damage

Posted: 21 Nov 2013 10:00 AM PST

Researchers have unveiled a profound biological process that explains how DNA can be damaged during genome replication. In addition, the scientists developed a new analytical tool to measure the cell's response to chemotherapy, which could have an important impact on future cancer therapy.

Study pinpoints cell type, brain region affected by gene mutations in autism

Posted: 21 Nov 2013 09:59 AM PST

A team has identified the disruption of a single type of cell -- in a particular brain region and at a particular time in brain development -- as a significant factor in the emergence of autism.

Mysterious virus could be signal of weak immune system

Posted: 21 Nov 2013 09:59 AM PST

Genomic analysis of transplant patients finds an opportunistic microorganism whose elevated presence could be used an indicator in treatment. This paper offers a comprehensive look at the virome as well as suggestions of how the discovered indicator could be used in therapies involving the immune system.

Scientists find invisibility cloak that shields HIV-1 from immune system

Posted: 21 Nov 2013 09:59 AM PST

Of the two major types of HIV, only one, HIV-1, typically causes AIDS in infected people who don't receive treatment. A study reveals how HIV-1 escapes detection by essentially becoming invisible to a patient's immune system, whereas HIV-2 triggers protective immune responses in patients. This understanding of how HIV-1's "invisibility cloak" works could lead to the development of effective vaccines against HIV-1.

Scientists identify gene that regulates body weight in humans, mice

Posted: 21 Nov 2013 09:59 AM PST

Research has pointed to the importance of genetic factors in human obesity and has shown that heritability plays a role in 40 percent to 90 percent of cases. Now investigators have found that loss of a particular gene's function in humans and mice causes morbid obesity. The study of a morbidly obese family provides insights into pathways that control body weight and nutritional status, and the results could be useful for designing therapies for obesity and malnutrition.

Fungus-fighting drug may make mild flu meaner

Posted: 21 Nov 2013 09:58 AM PST

Mice given a drug commonly used in patients to fight systemic fungal infections more often succumb to what would otherwise be a mild case of the flu. The evidence shows that the drug called Amphotericin B, which has an estimated $330 million in sales around the world each year, can render a protein important for antiviral defense ineffective in both cells and mice.

Preventing marijuana-induced memory problems with over-the-counter painkillers

Posted: 21 Nov 2013 09:58 AM PST

In addition to being used as a recreational drug, marijuana has been used for centuries to treat a variety of conditions, from chronic pain to epilepsy. However, its medical value is greatly limited by debilitating side effects. A study has revealed the molecular pathways responsible for marijuana-induced learning and memory problems. The findings suggest that preventing these side effects could be as easy as taking an over-the-counter painkiller.

Targets of anticancer drugs have broader functions than what their name suggests

Posted: 21 Nov 2013 09:56 AM PST

Drugs that inhibit the activity of enzymes called histone deacetylases (HDACs) are being widely developed for treating cancer and other diseases, with two already on the market. Researchers show that a major HDAC still functions in mice even when its enzyme activity is abolished, suggesting that the beneficial effects of HDAC inhibitors may not actually be through inhibiting HDAC activity, and thus warranting the reassessment of the molecular targets of this class of drugs.

High HIV knowledge, risky sexual behavior not associated with HIV testing in young adolescents

Posted: 21 Nov 2013 08:18 AM PST

New research has found that teens most likely to be tested for HIV had strong partner communication about HIV and were in committed relationships. Having high knowledge about HIV and engaging in risky sexual activity did not increase testing. The study included nearly 1,000 Bronx, NY teens.

Attractants prevent nerve cell migration

Posted: 21 Nov 2013 07:51 AM PST

A vision is to implant nerve precursor cells in patients with Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases. However, the implanted nerve cells frequently do not migrate as hoped. Scientists have now discovered an important cause of this: Attractants secreted by the precursor cells prevent the maturing nerve cells from migrating into the brain.
مرسلة بواسطة في

ليست هناك تعليقات:

إرسال تعليق

الاشتراك في: تعليقات الرسالة (Atom)