ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

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• Edible flowers may inhibit chronic diseases
• Regulating legal marijuana could be guided by lessons from alcohol, tobacco, study says
• Ginseng can treat, prevent influenza, RSV, researcher finds
• Novel function of protein linked to Alzheimer's disease discovered
• Financial incentives help economically-disadvantaged pregnant smokers quit, improve fetal growth
• A protein required for integrity of induced pluripotent stem cells
• Cardiothoracic surgeon launches research into space
• Proposal: Managing most troubling symptoms of dementia, lessen use of drugs
• Why alcoholism saps muscle strength
• Codeine often prescribed to children, despite available alternatives
• Low tolerance for pain? The reason may be in your genes
• Source of most cases of invasive bladder cancer identified
• Link between Down syndrome, leukemia uncovered
• Bulletproof nuclei? Stem cells exhibit unusual absorption property
• Study of gut microbes, antibiotics offers clues to improving immunity in premature babies
• Cancer stem cells linked to drug resistance
• 'Chaperone' compounds offer new approach to Alzheimer's treatment
• People think about their health early in the week, according to Google searches

Edible flowers may inhibit chronic diseases Posted: 21 Apr 2014 08:26 AM PDT Common edible flowers in China are rich in phenolics and have excellent antioxidant capacity, research has shown. Edible flowers, which have been used in the culinary arts in China for centuries, are receiving renewed interest. Flowers can be used as an essential ingredient in a recipe, provide seasoning to a dish, or simply be used as a garnish. Some of these flowers contain phenolics that have been correlated with anti-inflammatory activity and a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and certain cancers.

Regulating legal marijuana could be guided by lessons from alcohol, tobacco, study says Posted: 21 Apr 2014 08:26 AM PDT Recent ballot initiatives that legalized marijuana in Colorado and Washington for recreational uses are unprecedented. A new study outlines how regulations on alcohol and tobacco may provide guidance to policymakers concerned about the public health consequences of legalizing marijuana. Among the issues outlined in the study are how to reduce youth access to marijuana, how to minimize drugged driving, how to curb dependence and addiction, how to restrict contaminants in marijuana products, and how to discourage the dual use of marijuana and alcohol.

Ginseng can treat, prevent influenza, RSV, researcher finds Posted: 21 Apr 2014 07:23 AM PDT Ginseng can help treat and prevent influenza and respiratory syncytial virus, a respiratory virus that infects the lungs and breathing passages, according to research findings. Seasonal influenza is a serious respiratory disease that causes annual epidemics in humans worldwide, resulting in about three to five million cases of severe illness and about 250,000 to 500,000 deaths, according to the World Health Organization.

Novel function of protein linked to Alzheimer's disease discovered Posted: 21 Apr 2014 06:44 AM PDT A novel function of the Amyloid Precursor Protein, one of the main pathogenic culprits of Alzheimer's disease, has been discovered by researchers. This discovery may help researchers understand how the protein goes awry in the brains of Alzheimer's disease patients, and potentially paves the way for the development of innovative therapeutics to improve the brain function of dementia patients.

Financial incentives help economically-disadvantaged pregnant smokers quit, improve fetal growth Posted: 21 Apr 2014 06:44 AM PDT Smoking prevalence varies by socioeconomic status -- particularly in terms of educational attainment -- putting economically-disadvantaged women at greater risk for smoking during pregnancy and related negative outcomes, including miscarriage, preterm birth, SIDS, and other later adverse effects. An approach using financial incentives has proven effective in increasing quitting and improving fetal growth among this population.

A protein required for integrity of induced pluripotent stem cells Posted: 21 Apr 2014 06:39 AM PDT The SIRT1 protein is needed to lengthen and maintain telomeres during cell reprogramming, new research demonstrates. SIRT1 also guarantees the integrity of the genome of stem cells that come out of the cell reprogramming process; these cells are known as induced pluripotent stem cells. The study sheds light on how cell reprogramming guarantees the healthy functioning of stem cells. This knowledge will help to overcome barriers that come out of the use of iPS cells so they may be used in regenerative medicine.

Cardiothoracic surgeon launches research into space Posted: 21 Apr 2014 06:37 AM PDT When an unmanned supply mission launched into space today, bound for the International Space Station, it meant something extraordinary to Dr. Peter Lee, a cardiothoracic surgeon. That's because his research experiment is on board.

Proposal: Managing most troubling symptoms of dementia, lessen use of drugs Posted: 21 Apr 2014 06:37 AM PDT A new approach to handling agitation, aggression and other unwanted behaviors by people with dementia may help reduce the use of antipsychotics and other psychiatric drugs in this population, and make life easier for them and their caregivers. A panel of specialists in senior mental health hope to spark better teamwork among those who care for dementia patients at home, in residential facilities and in hospitals and clinics.

Why alcoholism saps muscle strength Posted: 21 Apr 2014 06:37 AM PDT Researchers have found a common link between muscle weakness in alcoholics and mitochondrial disease: mitochondria that are unable to self-repair. The research could lead to both a new diagnostics for mitochondrial disease and a new drug target. Muscle weakness is a common symptom of both long-time alcoholics and patients with mitochondrial disease.

Codeine often prescribed to children, despite available alternatives Posted: 21 Apr 2014 04:41 AM PDT Despite its potentially harmful effects in children, codeine continues to be prescribed in U.S. emergency rooms, according to new research. "Despite strong evidence against the use of codeine in children, the drug continues to be prescribed to large numbers of them each year," said the lead author. "It can be prescribed in any clinical setting, so it is important to decrease codeine prescription to children in other settings such as clinics and hospitals, in addition to emergency rooms."

Low tolerance for pain? The reason may be in your genes Posted: 20 Apr 2014 04:34 PM PDT Researchers may have identified key genes linked to why some people have a higher tolerance for pain than others, according to a new study. Researchers found that nine percent of the participants had low pain perception, 46 percent had moderate pain perception and 45 percent had high pain perception.

Source of most cases of invasive bladder cancer identified Posted: 20 Apr 2014 10:18 AM PDT A single type of cell in the lining of the bladder is responsible for most cases of invasive bladder cancer, according to researchers. The study, conducted in mice, is the first to pinpoint the normal cell type that can give rise to invasive bladder cancers. It's also the first to show that most bladder cancers and their associated precancerous lesions arise from just one cell, and explains why many human bladder cancers recur after therapy.

Link between Down syndrome, leukemia uncovered Posted: 20 Apr 2014 10:18 AM PDT A connection between people with Down syndrome and having a heightened risk of developing acute lymphoblastic leukemia during childhood has been uncovered by researchers. "For 80 years, it hasn't been clear why children with Down syndrome face a sharply elevated risk of ALL," said the study's lead author. "Advances in technology -- which make it possible to study blood cells and leukemias that model Down syndrome in the laboratory -- have enabled us to make that link."

Bulletproof nuclei? Stem cells exhibit unusual absorption property Posted: 20 Apr 2014 10:18 AM PDT Stem cells -- the body's master cells -- demonstrate a bizarre property never before seen at a cellular level, according to a study. The property -- known as auxeticity -- is one which may have application as wide-ranging as soundproofing, super-absorbent sponges and bulletproof vests. Most materials when stretched will contract. The opposite is also true: squeeze a material and it will expand. However, material scientists have begun to explore auxeticity, an unusual property which has the opposite effect -- squeeze it and it will contract, stretch it and it will expand. This means that auxetic materials act as excellent shock absorbers or sponges, a fact that is being explored for various uses.

Study of gut microbes, antibiotics offers clues to improving immunity in premature babies Posted: 20 Apr 2014 10:15 AM PDT Mothers give a newborn baby a gift of germs -— germs that help to kick-start the infant's immune system. But antibiotics, used to fight bacterial infection, may paradoxically interrupt a newborn's own immune responses. A new animal study by neonatology researchers at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) sheds light on immunology in newborns by revealing how gut microbes play a crucial role in fostering the rapid production of infection-fighting white blood cells, called granulocytes.

Cancer stem cells linked to drug resistance Posted: 20 Apr 2014 10:15 AM PDT Most drugs used to treat lung, breast and pancreatic cancers also promote drug-resistance and ultimately spur tumor growth. Researchers have discovered a biomarker called CD61 on the surface of drug-resistant tumors that appears responsible for inducing tumor metastasis by enhancing the stem cell-like properties of cancer cells.

'Chaperone' compounds offer new approach to Alzheimer's treatment Posted: 20 Apr 2014 10:15 AM PDT A wholly new approach to the treatment of Alzheimer's disease involving the so-called retromer protein complex has been devised by researchers. Retromer plays a vital role in neurons, steering amyloid precursor protein (APP) away from a region of the cell where APP is cleaved, creating the potentially toxic byproduct amyloid-beta, which is thought to contribute to the development of Alzheimer's.

People think about their health early in the week, according to Google searches Posted: 18 Apr 2014 11:11 AM PDT A new study analyzing weekly patterns in health-related Google searches reveals a recurring pattern that could be leveraged to improve public health strategies. Investigators analyzed 'healthy' Google searches originating in the US from 2005 to 2012 and found that on average, searches for health topics were 30 percent more frequent at the beginning of the week than on days later in the week.

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