ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

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• U.S. global share of research spending declines
• Alcohol, tobacco, drug use far higher in severely mentally ill
• What patients need to know about revision surgery after hip or knee replacement
• Sleep to protect your brain
• Study finds medical students concerned about becoming desensitized to dying patients
• Subsituting bone with synthetic materials
• Medicaid beneficiaries use emergency services due to lack of alternatives
• High good, low bad cholesterol levels are healthy for brain, too
• Conversations on sex lacking between doctors, teens
• Fetal alcohol syndrome heart defects may be caused by altered function, not structure
• Nicotine exploits COPI to foster addiction
• Fructose does not impact emerging indicator for cardiovascular disease, research suggests
• Slower-paced meal reduces hunger but affects calorie consumption differently
• I’ll have what they’re having: Study finds social norms influence food choices
• Alcohol leaves its mark on youngsters' DNA
• Stress in the orchestra: mood plays a part
• Infection with common cold virus: scientists reveal new insights
• Concussion history associated with risk of alzheimer's disease
• Gene therapy for human skin disease produces long-term benefits
• Proportion of opioid treatment programs offering on-site testing for HIV, STIs declines
• Adding cognitive behavioral therapy to treatment of pediatric migraine helps relieve symptoms
• Multi-component therapy shown beneficial in treating PTSD in adolescent girls
• In men, high testosterone can mean weakened immune response, study finds
• Medical review throws doubt on wound care treatments
• Gene therapy method targets tumor blood vessels
• Hospital-diagnosed maternal infections linked to increased autism risk, study suggests
• Infectious diarrhea germs stick to healthcare worker hands
• Antibiotics before heart surgery protect against infection
• Higher mortality in postmenopausal women with RA and anti-CCP antibodies

U.S. global share of research spending declines Posted: 01 Jan 2014 02:57 PM PST The United States' global share of biomedical research spending fell from 51 percent in 2007 to 45 percent in 2012, while Japan and China saw dramatic increases in research spending.

Alcohol, tobacco, drug use far higher in severely mentally ill Posted: 01 Jan 2014 01:19 PM PST Researchers have found that rates of smoking, drinking and drug use are significantly higher among those who have psychotic disorders than among those in the general population. The finding is of particular concern because individuals with severe mental illness are more likely to die younger than people without severe psychiatric disorders.

What patients need to know about revision surgery after hip or knee replacement Posted: 31 Dec 2013 10:27 AM PST Over the past two years, an expert in revision hip and knee replacement surgery has seen an increase in the number of people needing a second surgery. When a knee or hip implant wears out or another problem develops, people often need a second surgery in which the existing implant or components are taken out and replaced.

Sleep to protect your brain Posted: 31 Dec 2013 09:21 AM PST A new study shows that one night of sleep deprivation increases morning blood concentrations of NSE and S-100B in healthy young men. These molecules are typically found in the brain. Thus, their rise in blood after sleep loss may indicate that a lack of snoozing might be conducive to a loss of brain tissue.

Study finds medical students concerned about becoming desensitized to dying patients Posted: 31 Dec 2013 09:21 AM PST The imminent death of a patient is riddled with emotions for a patient and family as well as the medical team. A study based on the reflections of third-year medicine students is shedding light on the struggle physicians in training often face when trying to control their own emotions while not becoming desensitized to the needs of the dying patient and his or her family.

Subsituting bone with synthetic materials Posted: 31 Dec 2013 06:43 AM PST The Hydroxylapatite, medullar component of bone, when obtained synthetically and "giving" it some characteristics, could be used as a bone substitute.

Medicaid beneficiaries use emergency services due to lack of alternatives Posted: 30 Dec 2013 02:03 PM PST A study shows that patients with Medicaid insurance seeking care in an emergency department may be driven by lack of alternatives instead of the severity of their illness.

High good, low bad cholesterol levels are healthy for brain, too Posted: 30 Dec 2013 02:03 PM PST High levels of "good" cholesterol and low levels of "bad" cholesterol are correlated with lower levels of the amyloid plaque deposition in the brain that is a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease, in a pattern that mirrors the relationship between good and bad cholesterol in cardiovascular disease, researchers have found.

Conversations on sex lacking between doctors, teens Posted: 30 Dec 2013 02:01 PM PST Doctors are missing a prime opportunity to share information about sex with their teenage patients by failing to broach the subject during checkups, according to researchers.

Fetal alcohol syndrome heart defects may be caused by altered function, not structure Posted: 30 Dec 2013 10:51 AM PST Recent data shows that more than 500,000 women in the US report drinking during pregnancy, with about 20 percent of this population admitting to binge drinking. Even one episode of heavy drinking can lead to the collection of birth defects known as fetal alcohol syndrome.

Nicotine exploits COPI to foster addiction Posted: 30 Dec 2013 10:49 AM PST Study helps explain how nicotine exploits the body's cellular machinery to promote addiction. The findings could lead to new therapies to help people quit smoking.

Fructose does not impact emerging indicator for cardiovascular disease, research suggests Posted: 30 Dec 2013 07:15 AM PST Fructose, the sugar often blamed for the obesity epidemic, does not itself have any impact on an emerging marker for the risk of cardiovascular disease known as postprandial triglycerides, new research has found.

Slower-paced meal reduces hunger but affects calorie consumption differently Posted: 30 Dec 2013 07:14 AM PST According to a newly published study, eating at a slower rate reduces hunger, but affects calorie consumption differently in normal and overweight/obese people.

I’ll have what they’re having: Study finds social norms influence food choices Posted: 30 Dec 2013 07:14 AM PST Is obesity a socially transmitted disease? In order to find out, researchers in the United Kingdom conducted a systematic review of several experimental studies, each of which examined whether or not providing information about other peoples' eating habits influences food intake or choices.

Alcohol leaves its mark on youngsters' DNA Posted: 30 Dec 2013 07:14 AM PST A preliminary study indicates that weekend alcohol consumption may affect DNA.

Stress in the orchestra: mood plays a part Posted: 30 Dec 2013 07:14 AM PST Even professional orchestra musicians suffer from particular stress on the day of the concert and release more cortisol. For the first time, it has now been possible to demonstrate that, amongst others, the enzyme myeloperoxidase, which is regarded as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, plays a part in the stress reaction in musicians. This effect is however dampened by an emotional factor: this is because a good mood reduces the stress-induced release of myeloperoxidase.

Infection with common cold virus: scientists reveal new insights Posted: 30 Dec 2013 07:14 AM PST On average, each of us catches a cold two to three times a year. However, how the common cold virus actually infects us is only partly understood. Researchers have now provided new insights into this process.

Concussion history associated with risk of alzheimer's disease Posted: 26 Dec 2013 03:16 PM PST A new study suggests that a history of concussion involving at least a momentary loss of consciousness may be related to the buildup of Alzheimer's-associated plaques in the brain.

Gene therapy for human skin disease produces long-term benefits Posted: 26 Dec 2013 11:31 AM PST Researchers evaluated a patient with a genetic skin disorder known as epidermolysis bullosa nearly seven years after he had undergone a gene therapy procedure as part of a clinical trial. The study revealed that a small number of skin stem cells transplanted into the patient's legs were sufficient to restore normal skin function, without causing any adverse side effects.

Proportion of opioid treatment programs offering on-site testing for HIV, STIs declines Posted: 24 Dec 2013 03:36 PM PST A survey of opioid treatment programs finds that the proportion offering on-site testing for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) declined substantially between 2000 and 2011, despite guidelines recommending routine opt-out HIV testing in all health care settings, according to a study.

Adding cognitive behavioral therapy to treatment of pediatric migraine helps relieve symptoms Posted: 24 Dec 2013 03:36 PM PST Among children and adolescents with chronic migraine, the use of cognitive behavioral therapy resulted in greater reductions in headache frequency and migraine-related disability compared with headache education, according to a study.

Multi-component therapy shown beneficial in treating PTSD in adolescent girls Posted: 24 Dec 2013 03:36 PM PST Adolescents girls with sexual abuse-related post-traumatic stress disorder experienced greater benefit from prolonged exposure therapy (a type of therapy that has been shown effectiveness for adults) than from supportive counseling, according to a study.

In men, high testosterone can mean weakened immune response, study finds Posted: 23 Dec 2013 03:14 PM PST Scientists have linked high testosterone levels in men to a poor immune response to an influenza vaccine.

Medical review throws doubt on wound care treatments Posted: 23 Dec 2013 03:11 PM PST A systematic review of 66 research papers focused on the treatment of skin ulcers suggests that most are so technically flawed that their results are unreliable. And even of those that pass muster, there is only weak evidence that some treatments work better than standard compression therapy or special stockings.

Gene therapy method targets tumor blood vessels Posted: 23 Dec 2013 03:11 PM PST Working in mice, researchers report developing a gene delivery method long sought in the field of gene therapy: a deactivated virus carrying a gene of interest that can be injected into the bloodstream and make its way to the right cells. In this early proof-of-concept study, the scientists have shown that they can target tumor blood vessels in mice without affecting healthy tissues.

Hospital-diagnosed maternal infections linked to increased autism risk, study suggests Posted: 23 Dec 2013 10:11 AM PST Hospital-diagnosed maternal bacterial infections during pregnancy were associated with an increased risk of autism spectrum disorders in children, according to a study published.

Infectious diarrhea germs stick to healthcare worker hands Posted: 23 Dec 2013 07:07 AM PST A new study finds nearly one in four healthcare workers' hands were contaminated with Clostridium difficile spores after routine care of patients infected with the bacteria.

Antibiotics before heart surgery protect against infection Posted: 23 Dec 2013 07:07 AM PST A new study found preoperative antibiotic therapy administered within two hours of cardiac surgery decreased the risk of developing surgical site infections significantly.

Higher mortality in postmenopausal women with RA and anti-CCP antibodies Posted: 23 Dec 2013 05:38 AM PST New research shows mortality rates are two times higher in postmenopausal women with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) antibodies. Findings indicate the higher mortality rates persisted after adjusting for age, positive rheumatoid factor, positive antinuclear antibodies (ANA) and disease modifying anti-rheumatic drug (DMARD) use.

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