الأربعاء، 27 نوفمبر 2013

ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

Leukemia cells exploit 'enhancer' DNA elements to cause lethal disease

Posted: 26 Nov 2013 04:16 PM PST

A team of researchers has identified a leukemia-specific stretch of DNA called an enhancer element that enables cancerous blood cells to proliferate in acute myeloid leukemia, a devastating cancer that is incurable in 70 percent of patients. Just as important, the findings offer a mechanistic insight into how a new class of promising drugs -- one version of which is already in human clinical trials -- appears to halt the growth of cancer cells so effectively.

New therapeutic target identified for Huntington's disease

Posted: 26 Nov 2013 04:15 PM PST

A new study published identifies a new target in the search for therapeutic interventions for Huntington's disease -- a devastating late-onset neurodegenerative disorder.

Alcohol use disorders linked to death and disability

Posted: 26 Nov 2013 12:58 PM PST

Disorders related to the abuse of alcohol contribute significantly to the burden of disease in the U.S., finds a new study.

Genetics contribute to increased risk for renal disease for African Americans

Posted: 26 Nov 2013 10:46 AM PST

A large study identifies factors that mediate differences in the progression of chronic kidney disease in order to reduce the excess burden of end-stage renal disease and its complications in black patients.

High-fat diet during puberty speeds up breast cancer development

Posted: 26 Nov 2013 09:39 AM PST

New findings show that eating a high-fat diet beginning at puberty speeds up the development of breast cancer and may actually increase the risk of cancer similar to a type often found in younger adult women.

Gene mutation for excessive alcohol drinking found

Posted: 26 Nov 2013 09:39 AM PST

Researchers have discovered a gene that regulates alcohol consumption and when faulty can cause excessive drinking. They have also identified the mechanism underlying this phenomenon.

Supporting others brings healing to cancer survivors

Posted: 26 Nov 2013 09:37 AM PST

A new study finds that survivors of hematopoietic stem cell transplant, an aggressive treatment for blood cancers, benefited from a two-part peer support process the authors call expressive helping.

Brain reward gene influences food choices in the first years of life

Posted: 26 Nov 2013 09:36 AM PST

Research has suggested that a particular gene in the brain's reward system contributes to overeating and obesity in adults. This same variant has now been linked to childhood obesity and tasty food choices, particularly for girls, according to a new study.

Unhappy meals? Majority of very young children in California eat fast food at least once per week

Posted: 26 Nov 2013 06:27 AM PST

A surprisingly large percentage of very young children in California, including 70 percent of Latino children, eat fast food regularly, according to a new policy brief.

Electronic cigarettes: New route to smoking addiction for adolescents

Posted: 26 Nov 2013 06:27 AM PST

E-cigarettes have been widely promoted as a way for people to quit smoking conventional cigarettes. Now, in the first study of its kind, researchers are reporting that, at the point in time they studied, youth using e-cigarettes were more likely to be trying to quit, but also were less likely to have stopped smoking and were smoking more, not less.

ADHD linked to social, economic disadvantage

Posted: 26 Nov 2013 06:27 AM PST

A team of researchers has analyzed data from the Millennium Cohort Study, a database of more than 19,500 UK children born between 2000 and 2002, and has resolved that ADHD is linked to social and economic disadvantage.

New agent against cancer cells

Posted: 26 Nov 2013 06:24 AM PST

Scientists have discovered a new active substance that inhibits cell division in leukemia cells and could play an important role in the fight against cancer.

Vitamins: Potential damage to body's defences

Posted: 26 Nov 2013 06:24 AM PST

Vitamin supplements are a billion-dollar industry. We want to stay healthy and fit and help our bodies with this. But perhaps we are achieving precisely the opposite?

Reconceptualizing JFK’s chronic low back pain

Posted: 26 Nov 2013 06:22 AM PST

JFK exuded strength and vitality, but less apparent was the daily battle he waged with chronic back pain. He often used crutches while walking to minimize pain and back pain may have been a contributing factor in his November 1963 assassination.

Risk of HIV treatment failure present even in those with low viral load

Posted: 25 Nov 2013 09:05 PM PST

People with human immunodeficiency virus run a higher risk of virologic failure than previously thought, even when their number of RNA copies of the retrovirus per milliliter of blood is slightly above the detection threshold, according to a study.

Government grants reduce HIV risks for teenage girls in South Africa

Posted: 25 Nov 2013 05:12 PM PST

A study finds that English government grants in Southern Africa reduce HIV risks for teenage girls. The study involved 3,515 young people between 2009-12 in urban and rural parts of two South African provinces. They found teenage girls from households receiving grants were two-thirds less likely to take much older boyfriends, and half as likely to have sex in exchange for money, food, school fees or shelter.

C-section rate for private patients double that of publicly funded patients

Posted: 25 Nov 2013 03:56 PM PST

The rate of scheduled caesarean sections among private patients is around double that of publicly funded patients, indicates a study of more than 30,000 women in Ireland.

Regular physical activity in later life boosts likelihood of 'healthy aging' up to sevenfold

Posted: 25 Nov 2013 03:56 PM PST

It's never too late to get physically active, with even those starting relatively late in life reaping significant health benefits, finds research.

Increasing number of insured patients not tied to higher ICU usage in Massachusetts

Posted: 25 Nov 2013 03:13 PM PST

A multi-institution study has found that increasing the number of insured patients is not associated with higher intensive care unit usage in Massachusetts.

Childhood exercise may stave off bad effects of maternal obesity, animal study suggests

Posted: 25 Nov 2013 02:20 PM PST

Rats whose mothers were fed a high-fat diet during pregnancy and nursing were able to stave off some of the detrimental health effects of obesity by exercising during their adolescence.

Cancer patients at increased risk for severe flu complications

Posted: 25 Nov 2013 02:20 PM PST

Weakened immune systems due to diseases like cancer cause increased risk of severe complications from the flu virus — experts advise vaccine shot, not mist.

Biomedical scientist discovers method to increase survival in sepsis

Posted: 25 Nov 2013 01:48 PM PST

Sepsis, the body's response to severe infections, kills more people than breast cancer, prostate cancer and HIV/AIDS combined. On average, 30 percent of those diagnosed with sepsis die.

Study examines potential evolutionary role of 'sexual regret' in human survival, reproduction

Posted: 25 Nov 2013 01:47 PM PST

A study finds men regret missing opportunities to have sex, while women feel remorse for having casual, meaningless sex.

Inner workings of bacterial black box caught on time-lapse video

Posted: 25 Nov 2013 01:47 PM PST

Using a pioneering visualization method, researchers made movies of a complex and vital cellular machine called the carboxysome being assembled inside living cells. They observed that bacteria build these internal compartments in a way never seen in plant, animal and other eukaryotic cells. The findings will illuminate bacterial physiology and may also influence nanotechnology development.

Ear infections down, thanks to vaccine

Posted: 25 Nov 2013 01:46 PM PST

Researchers have discovered that, during recent years, several interventions have been introduced aiming to decrease the otitis media burden -- and they've been successful. The researchers found there was a downward trend in visits from 2004 to 2011, with a significant drop in children younger than 2 years that coincided with the advent of the 13-valent vaccine, or PCV-13, in 2010.

Brain imaging differences in infants at genetic risk for Alzheimer's

Posted: 25 Nov 2013 01:44 PM PST

Researchers have found that infants who carry a gene associated with an increased risk for Alzheimer's disease tend to have differences in brain development compared to infants who do not carry the gene. The findings do not mean that these infants will get Alzheimer's, but they may be a step toward understanding how this gene confers risk much later in life.

Nurse navigators help cancer patients cope early in care

Posted: 25 Nov 2013 01:44 PM PST

When patients received support from a nurse navigator, or advocate, soon after a cancer diagnosis, they had better experiences and fewer problems with their care -- particularly in health information, care coordination, and psychological and social care -- according to a randomized controlled trial.

Postmenopausal estrogen decline unrelated to changes in cognition, mood

Posted: 25 Nov 2013 01:44 PM PST

A new study shows that decreased estrogen levels after menopause are largely unrelated to changes in cognitive ability and mood. It did find, however, a possible link between levels of another hormone -- progesterone -- and cognition among younger postmenopausal women.

Oxytocin leads to monogamy

Posted: 25 Nov 2013 01:43 PM PST

How is the bond between people in love maintained? Scientists have discovered a biological mechanism that could explain the attraction between loving couples: If oxytocin is administered to men and if they are shown pictures of their partner, the bonding hormone stimulates the reward center in the brain, increasing the attractiveness of the partner, and strengthening monogamy.

New tales told by old infections

Posted: 25 Nov 2013 01:43 PM PST

Retroviruses are important pathogens capable of crossing species barriers to infect new hosts, but knowledge of their evolutionary history is limited. By mapping endogenous retroviruses (ERVs), retroviruses whose genes have become part of the host organism's genome, researchers can now provide unique insights into the evolutionary relationships of retroviruses and their host species.

Important clue to how circulatory system is wired

Posted: 25 Nov 2013 01:43 PM PST

A new mechanism that regulates the way blood vessels grow and connect to each other has been discovered by an international team of researchers. The knowledge might open up new opportunities for future cancer therapy.

Key guidance document released on transcatheter therapies for mitral regurgitation

Posted: 25 Nov 2013 01:43 PM PST

Four cardiovascular societies provide overview designed to "set the stage" for targeted discussions about technologies' dissemination.

Using microRNA fit to a T (Cell)

Posted: 25 Nov 2013 01:42 PM PST

Researchers have successfully targeted T lymphocytes – which play a central role in the body's immune response – with another type of white blood cell engineered to synthesize and deliver bits of non-coding RNA or microRNA (miRNA).

Findings not supportive of women-specific chest pain symptoms in heart attack diagnosis

Posted: 25 Nov 2013 01:42 PM PST

Using chest pain characteristics (CPCs) specific to women in the early diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction (AMI, heart attack) in the emergency department does not seem to be supported by the findings of a study recently published.

Barriers to HPF vaccination among teens

Posted: 25 Nov 2013 01:42 PM PST

Barriers to human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination among adolescents in the U.S. range from financial concerns and parental attitudes to social influences and concerns about the vaccination's effect on sexual behavior, according to a review of the available medical literature.

Cervical cancer screenings overused in some groups of women

Posted: 25 Nov 2013 01:42 PM PST

For the past 10 years, U.S. clinicians have been performing unnecessary Pap tests for cervical cancer screening in certain groups of women, according to a researcher.

Scientists re-imagine how genomes are assembled

Posted: 25 Nov 2013 09:54 AM PST

Scientists have developed a new method for piecing together the short DNA reads produced by next-generation sequencing technologies that are the basis for building complete genome sequences.

More pediatric kidney patients being treated with minimally invasive surgical techniques

Posted: 25 Nov 2013 09:19 AM PST

More children, like adults, are undergoing minimally invasive surgery for diseased kidneys, with most of the procedures being performed at teaching hospitals to treat non-cancerous conditions. Those conclusions were reached in a unique study by researchers who set out to fill a knowledge gap about the use of nephrectomy -- the surgical removal of a diseased kidney -- in the US pediatric population.

Maternal mood disorder, newborn neurobehavior

Posted: 25 Nov 2013 09:19 AM PST

Researchers have now tested the influence of maternal depression and/or anxiety during pregnancy on newborn neurobehavior.

'Rare' gene common in African descendants, may contribute to heart disease

Posted: 25 Nov 2013 09:19 AM PST

Researchers have found that a genetic variation that is linked to increased levels of triglycerides -- fats in the blood associated with disorders such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity and stroke -- is far more common than previously believed and disproportionally affects people of African ancestry. Investigators say their discovery reinforces the need to screen this population for high levels of triglycerides to stave off disease.

Study finds one in 10 high school students hurt by dating partners

Posted: 25 Nov 2013 09:18 AM PST

One in 10 high school youth in the US reports having been hit or physically hurt by a dating partner in the past year, according to a new study.

Human neural stem cells could address critical limb ischemia

Posted: 25 Nov 2013 09:17 AM PST

New research has shown human neural stem cells could improve blood flow in critical limb ischemia through the growth of new vessels.

Marijuana's potential for treating autoimmune disorders

Posted: 25 Nov 2013 09:17 AM PST

A new study provides evidence that THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), a principal ingredient in marijuana, may be beneficial in treating those with autoimmune disorders. The study is the first to explore how tiny, yet powerful molecules called microRNAs are influenced by THC. The ability to alter microRNA expression could hold the key to successful treatments for a whole host of autoimmune diseases, including arthritis and multiple sclerosis.

Dysfunctional mitochondria may underlie resistance to radiation therapy

Posted: 25 Nov 2013 09:17 AM PST

The resistance of some cancers to the cell-killing effects of radiation therapy may be due to abnormalities in the mitochondria -- the cellular structures responsible for generating energy, according to an international team of researchers.
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