ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

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• Lean patients with fatty liver disease have higher mortality rate
• New source of fat tissue stem cells discovered
• Functioning of aged brains and muscles in mice made younger: More progress with GDF 11, anti-aging protein
• Potential revision of treatment guidelines for bleeding ulcers: Analysis shows less costly therapy just as effective as standard of care
• Weight-loss surgery can reduce liver damage: Study shows reversal of early-stage liver fibrosis after bariatric surgery
• Steroids after surgery do not help infants with rare liver disease
• Environmental factors as important as genes in understanding autism
• Medication does not lower risk of fungal infection, death among extremely below weight infants
• Receiving Tdap vaccine during pregnancy appears safe, study shows
• Low rate of cholesterol testing for children, adolescents
• DHA during pregnancy does not appear to improve cognitive outcomes for children, study indicates
• Large increase in type 1, 2 diabetes among US youth, study shows
• Scores of bullying victims bringing weapons to school
• Thyroid medication has no effect on death rates in patients with subclinical hypothyroidism
• IV hormone infusion could treat common cause of infertility in women
• Drinking, Even Casual Amounts, Poses Much Greater Risk for Advanced Liver Disease in HIV/Hepatitis C Patients

Lean patients with fatty liver disease have higher mortality rate Posted: 04 May 2014 03:22 PM PDT Despite being of a healthier weight, lean patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) have a higher overall mortality rate than patients with NAFLD who are overweight or obese, according to new research.

New source of fat tissue stem cells discovered Posted: 04 May 2014 03:22 PM PDT A new source of stem cells that produce fat tissue has been found, researchers say.  This unique in vitro human stem cell model of brown fat tissue could aid studies into how fat tissue develops and the development of new anti-obesity drugs. There are two types of fat tissue found in humans: white adipose tissue (WAT) that accumulates lipids, and brown adipose tissue (BAT) that can burn lipids to produce heat. Using gene expression analysis, immunophenotyping and differentiation tools, they found the two cell types had different properties, in particular in their potential to differentiate into BAT cells, thus indicating a different developmental pathway for the two types of fat cell.

Functioning of aged brains and muscles in mice made younger: More progress with GDF 11, anti-aging protein Posted: 04 May 2014 10:32 AM PDT Scientists have shown that a protein they previously demonstrated can make the failing hearts in aging mice appear more like those of young health mice, similarly improves brain and skeletal muscle function in aging mice. In two separate articles scientists report that injections of a protein known as GDF11, which is found in humans as well as mice, improved the exercise capability of mice equivalent in age to that of about a 70-year-old human.

Potential revision of treatment guidelines for bleeding ulcers: Analysis shows less costly therapy just as effective as standard of care Posted: 04 May 2014 10:31 AM PDT The current standard of care for managing patients who receive endoscopic treatment for bleeding ulcers should be replaced by an equally safe and less costly alternative that is more comfortable for patients, according to new research.

Weight-loss surgery can reduce liver damage: Study shows reversal of early-stage liver fibrosis after bariatric surgery Posted: 04 May 2014 10:31 AM PDT Bariatric surgery, which is best known for its ability to help patients lose substantial weight, can also result in significant improvement in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, according to new research.

Steroids after surgery do not help infants with rare liver disease Posted: 04 May 2014 06:56 AM PDT Infants with biliary atresia -- a rare liver disease -- did not benefit from corticosteroid treatment after bile duct surgery and could face more harm, according to a new study. In biliary atresia, inflammation leads to blockage of the large bile ducts. Bile becomes trapped, causing damage to the liver and leading to scarring, loss of liver tissue and liver failure. Most infants with this serious disease require bile duct surgery and may later need a liver transplant. Worldwide, biliary atresia is the most common reason for liver transplantation in children.

Environmental factors as important as genes in understanding autism Posted: 04 May 2014 06:56 AM PDT Environmental factors are more important than previously thought in understanding the causes of autism, and equally as important as genes, according to the largest study to date to look at how autism runs in families. The study also provides measures of individual risk for children who have a relative with autism.

Medication does not lower risk of fungal infection, death among extremely below weight infants Posted: 04 May 2014 06:56 AM PDT Use of the antifungal medication fluconazole for six weeks for extremely low birth-weight infants did not significantly reduce the risk of death or invasive candidiasis, a serious infection that occurs when candida -- a type of fungus -- enters the bloodstream and spreads through the body, according to a study.

Receiving Tdap vaccine during pregnancy appears safe, study shows Posted: 04 May 2014 06:56 AM PDT A preliminary study finds that receipt of the tetanus toxoid, reduced diphtheria toxoid, and acellular pertussis vaccine in the third trimester of pregnancy did not increase the risk of adverse events for the mother or infant. In addition, the authors found high concentrations of pertussis antibodies in infants during the first two months of life, a period during which infants are at the highest risk of pertussis-associated illness or death.

Low rate of cholesterol testing for children, adolescents Posted: 04 May 2014 06:56 AM PDT Although some guidelines recommend lipid screening for children and adolescents of certain ages, data indicate that only about 3 percent are having their cholesterol tested during health visits, according to a study. Abnormal lipid values occur in 1 in 5 U.S. children and adolescents, and are associated with cardiovascular disease in adulthood.

DHA during pregnancy does not appear to improve cognitive outcomes for children, study indicates Posted: 04 May 2014 06:56 AM PDT Although there are recommendations for pregnant women to increase their intake of the omega-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) to improve fetal brain development, a randomized trial finds that prenatal DHA supplementation did not result in improved cognitive, problem-solving or language abilities for children at four years of age.

Large increase in type 1, 2 diabetes among US youth, study shows Posted: 04 May 2014 06:55 AM PDT The prevalence of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes increased significantly between 2001 and 2009, according to a study that included data from more than three million children and adolescents from diverse geographic regions of the United States. "The increases in prevalence reported herein are important because such youth with diabetes will enter adulthood with several years of disease duration, difficulty in treatment, an increased risk of early complications, and increased frequency of diabetes during reproductive years, which may further increase diabetes in the next generation," the researchers write.

Scores of bullying victims bringing weapons to school Posted: 04 May 2014 06:55 AM PDT An estimated 200,000 high school students who are bullied bring weapons to school, according to research. "Victims of bullying who have been threatened, engaged in a fight, injured, or had property stolen or damaged are much more likely to carry a gun or knife to school," said the study's senior investigator. Results showed that 20 percent of high school students reported being victims of bullying. Those who were bullied were more likely to be in lower grades, females and white.

Thyroid medication has no effect on death rates in patients with subclinical hypothyroidism Posted: 04 May 2014 06:53 AM PDT Treating subclinical hypothyroidism with levothyroxine has no effect on overall mortality rates, according to research. Subclinical hypothyroidism is a mild form of underactive thyroid disease where patients have raised levels of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) but a normal concentration of free thyroid hormone. This condition is associated with certain risk factors for increased mortality such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

IV hormone infusion could treat common cause of infertility in women Posted: 04 May 2014 06:53 AM PDT Researchers have succeeded in restoring hormones essential for fertility that are commonly lost in women who exercise intensively, according to research. Fertility depends on a range of reproductive hormones. In females, one of these, called luteinising hormone is released from the brain in short bursts every 1-2 hours. When women undergo strict exercise regimes and restrict their calorific intake, energy is diverted away from maintaining their reproductive system.

Drinking, Even Casual Amounts, Poses Much Greater Risk for Advanced Liver Disease in HIV/Hepatitis C Patients Posted: 02 May 2014 12:56 PM PDT There is a much stronger association between alcohol use and advanced liver fibrosis in co-infected patients compared to uninfected, research has demonstrated. Even light ("nonhazardous") drinking -- which typically poses a relatively low risk for uninfected persons -- was linked to an increased risk of liver fibrosis in the co-infected group of study participants.

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