ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

---

• Gene therapy bolsters enzyme activity to combat Alzheimer's disease in mice
• Many patients have trouble identifying their medications
• Tongue-drive wheelchair works better than sip-and-puff system
• Alzheimer's risk gene may begin to affect brains in childhood, research shows
• 1950s pandemic influenza virus remains a health threat, particularly to those under 50
• Obesity, smoking increase risk after immediate breast reconstruction with implants
• New compound for slowing aging process can lead to treatments for brain diseases
• Manufacturing new gut to treat GI diseases
• Prenatal exposure to alcohol disrupts brain circuitry: No safe level of drinking during pregnancy, neuroscientist says
• Current sound-localization theories turned 'on their ear'
• Dual protein knockout could lead to new male contraceptive
• New research shows promise for possible HIV cure
• Talk therapy may reverse biological changes in PTSD patients
• Biological interactions make some malaria parasites specific to host species
• Don't ignore hip pain: Impingement a growing problem among young, active
• Osteoporosis drugs compared for side effects, efficacy
• Do sports concussions really cause chronic traumatic encephalopathy?
• Age-related cognitive decline linked to energy available to synapses in prefrontal cortex
• Short-term energy deficits increase factors related to muscle degradation
• Information technologies could remove 'shroud of secrecy' draped across private health care cost
• Scientists crack riddle of important drug target
• Unfolded protein response contributes to sudden death in heart failure
• US mothers from 1965 to 2010: more TV, less housework
• Newly discovered human peptide may become new treatment for diabetes
• Cuts in medicare to breast imaging may delay diagnosis, treatment, increase patient anxiety
• New report illustrates persistent global burden of anemia among high-risk populations
• Oxygen levels affect effectiveness of anti-inflammatory therapies

Gene therapy bolsters enzyme activity to combat Alzheimer's disease in mice Posted: 03 Dec 2013 01:15 PM PST Scientists have identified an enzyme that can halt or possibly even reverse the build-up of toxic protein fragments known as plaques in the brains of mice with Alzheimer's disease.

Many patients have trouble identifying their medications Posted: 03 Dec 2013 11:42 AM PST People who identified their medication by shape, size or color instead of name had poorer adherence and an increased risk of hospitalization, finds a recent study.

Tongue-drive wheelchair works better than sip-and-puff system Posted: 03 Dec 2013 11:18 AM PST After a diving accident left Jason DiSanto paralyzed from the neck down in 2009, he had to learn how to navigate life from a powered wheelchair, which he controls with a sip-and-puff system. Users sip or puff air into a straw mounted on their wheelchair to execute four basic commands that drive the chair. But results from a new clinical study offer hope that sip-and-puff users like DiSanto could gain a higher level of independence than offered by this common assistive technology. Researchers found that people with tetraplegia can maneuver a wheelchair better with the Tongue Drive System than with the sip-and-puff system.

Alzheimer's risk gene may begin to affect brains in childhood, research shows Posted: 03 Dec 2013 10:38 AM PST People who carry a high-risk gene for Alzheimer's disease show changes in their brains beginning in childhood, decades before the illness appears, new research suggests.

1950s pandemic influenza virus remains a health threat, particularly to those under 50 Posted: 03 Dec 2013 09:49 AM PST Scientists have evidence that descendants of the H2N2 avian influenza A virus that killed millions worldwide in the 1950s still pose a threat to human health, particularly to those under 50.

Obesity, smoking increase risk after immediate breast reconstruction with implants Posted: 03 Dec 2013 09:47 AM PST New research findings confirm that factors such as smoking and obesity increase the odds of early implant loss in women who undergo mastectomy and immediate breast reconstruction with implants.

New compound for slowing aging process can lead to treatments for brain diseases Posted: 03 Dec 2013 09:46 AM PST Recent work from researchers may lead to a potential treatment of brain diseases. The researchers found that a novel and unique compound, named NT219, selectively inhibits the process of aging in order to protect the brain from neurodegenerative diseases, without affecting lifespan. This is a first and important step towards the development of future drugs for the treatment of various neurodegenerative maladies.

Manufacturing new gut to treat GI diseases Posted: 03 Dec 2013 08:22 AM PST Researchers grow extensive numbers of intestinal stem cells, then coax them to develop into different types of mature intestinal cells.

Prenatal exposure to alcohol disrupts brain circuitry: No safe level of drinking during pregnancy, neuroscientist says Posted: 03 Dec 2013 07:59 AM PST Prenatal exposure to alcohol severely disrupts major features of brain development that potentially lead to increased anxiety and poor motor function, conditions typical in humans with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders, say neuroscientists.

Current sound-localization theories turned 'on their ear' Posted: 03 Dec 2013 07:59 AM PST New research challenges the two dominant theories of how people localize sounds, explains why neuronal responses to sounds are so diverse and shows how sound can be localized, even with the absence of one half of the brain.

Dual protein knockout could lead to new male contraceptive Posted: 03 Dec 2013 06:16 AM PST A new male contraceptive could be on the horizon after scientists identified a novel way to block the transport of sperm during ejaculation.

New research shows promise for possible HIV cure Posted: 03 Dec 2013 06:16 AM PST Researchers have used radioimmunotherapy to destroy remaining human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected cells in the blood samples of patients treated with antiretroviral therapy, offering the promise of a strategy for curing HIV infection.

Talk therapy may reverse biological changes in PTSD patients Posted: 03 Dec 2013 06:14 AM PST New research suggests that cognitive behavioral therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) not only reduces symptoms but also affects the underlying biology of this disorder.

Biological interactions make some malaria parasites specific to host species Posted: 02 Dec 2013 01:19 PM PST Researchers have discovered why the parasite that causes the deadliest form of malaria only infects humans.

Don't ignore hip pain: Impingement a growing problem among young, active Posted: 02 Dec 2013 12:20 PM PST Hip pain is no longer reserved for older adults. More and more young, active people are developing this problem, which often requires surgery to repair.

Osteoporosis drugs compared for side effects, efficacy Posted: 02 Dec 2013 12:20 PM PST A study comparing the efficacy and tolerability of two popular osteoporosis drugs, denosumab and zoledronic acid, found that denosumab had a significantly greater effect on increasing spine bone mineral density and zoledronic acid caused more flulike symptoms.

Do sports concussions really cause chronic traumatic encephalopathy? Posted: 02 Dec 2013 12:20 PM PST It's been widely reported that football and other contact sports increase the risk of a debilitating neurological condition called chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). But a new study finds little evidence to support such a link.

Age-related cognitive decline linked to energy available to synapses in prefrontal cortex Posted: 02 Dec 2013 12:20 PM PST Researchers show that synaptic health in the brain is closely linked to cognitive decline. Further, they discover that estrogen restores synaptic health and also improves working memory.

Short-term energy deficits increase factors related to muscle degradation Posted: 02 Dec 2013 11:27 AM PST Building upon the discovery that a high-protein diet reduces muscle loss when dieting, a new research report now helps explain why. Protein consumption slows the ubiquitin proteasome system, which is primarily responsible for degrading skeletal muscle.

Information technologies could remove 'shroud of secrecy' draped across private health care cost Posted: 02 Dec 2013 10:48 AM PST Until recently, private health care costs have been hidden within a "health care fortress," and increasing amounts of money have vanished behind its walls. Now, new technologies are making those prices more transparent.

Scientists crack riddle of important drug target Posted: 02 Dec 2013 10:48 AM PST A new approach to mapping how proteins interact with each other could aid in the design of new drugs for diseases such as diabetes and osteoporosis.

Unfolded protein response contributes to sudden death in heart failure Posted: 02 Dec 2013 10:48 AM PST A researcher has found a link to human heart failure that if blocked, may reduce the risk of sudden cardiac death.

US mothers from 1965 to 2010: more TV, less housework Posted: 02 Dec 2013 10:48 AM PST New research shows that mothers in the US are far less physically active than they were in previous decades and now spend more time engaged in sedentary activities like watching television than in cooking, cleaning and exercising combined. The research provides important insights into the nation's pervasive health problems such as childhood obesity and diabetes.

Newly discovered human peptide may become new treatment for diabetes Posted: 02 Dec 2013 10:46 AM PST There is new hope that diabetes might be thwarted. New research shows how a recently discovered human peptide, called humanin, could lead to new treatments for people living with diabetes. That's because research in mice and rats shows that a humanin analogue (a peptide molecularly similar to humanin) increases insulin secretion, leading to an increase in glucose metabolism within beta cells.

Cuts in medicare to breast imaging may delay diagnosis, treatment, increase patient anxiety Posted: 02 Dec 2013 10:44 AM PST Drastic reimbursement cuts for image-guided breast biopsies, and other medical imaging techniques in the 2014 Medicare Fee Schedule Final Rule, may further reduce women's access to mammography and other breast cancer services.

New report illustrates persistent global burden of anemia among high-risk populations Posted: 02 Dec 2013 09:15 AM PST Despite increasing efforts to diagnose and treat anemia worldwide, there remains a surprisingly large global burden of the disease, particularly among young children and women, according to a new report on trends in anemia between 1990 and 2010.

Oxygen levels affect effectiveness of anti-inflammatory therapies Posted: 02 Dec 2013 09:15 AM PST A new research discovery yields an important clue toward helping curb runaway inflammation. Oxygen levels play a critical role in determining the severity of the inflammatory response and ultimately the effectiveness of anti-inflammatory drugs. This research could have significant future benefits for patients with severe asthma, COPD, rheumatoid arthritis, pulmonary fibrosis and coronary artery disease.

You are subscribed to email updates from ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610