ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

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• Prostate-cancer surgery prices are elusive
• Where can we find savings in health care?
• Video game technology aids horse rider assessment
• Accuracy of fitness bands tested; reserachers find way to correct self-report errors
• Rising tobacco epidemic in Asia linked to elevated risk of death
• Quest for long-lasting blood: Scientists developing one-size-fits-all artifical blood
• Beer brewing waste could help bone regeneration
• Iron supplements improve anemia, quality of life for women with heavy periods
• Most breast cancer patients may not be getting enough exercise
• Both teens, teachers not getting sex-ed training: New standards needed?
• Facing a violent past: Evolution of human ancestors' faces a result of need to weather punches during arguments, study suggests
• Researchers pinpoint new role for enzyme in DNA repair, kidney cancer
• African-American women more likely to be diagnosed with higher risk breast cancer
• As Americans age, caregiving challenges increase
• Targeting tumors using silver nanoparticles
• New molecule enables quick drug monitoring
• Tiny molecule may help battle depression
• Longer telomeres linked to risk of brain cancer: Double-edged sword, gene variants may promote overall health while increasing risk of gliomas
• Tougher penalties credited for fewer casualties among young male drivers
• Endoscope with oxygen sensor detects pancreatic cancer
• Text messaging program helps smokers fight the urge to light up
• Is glaucoma a brain disease? Scientists find that jigsaw effect in glaucoma patients proves it is
• Hepatitis B screening now recommended for high risk individuals
• Improved blood glucose control slows progression to end-stage renal disease in type 1 diabetes
• Silent mutations speak up: Multiple silent mutations greatly impact protein translation
• Exploring legal, ethical gray area for people with dementia

Prostate-cancer surgery prices are elusive Posted: 09 Jun 2014 08:33 AM PDT Patients who want to compare prices for prostate-cancer surgery may find it rough going: a study has found a 13-fold difference in prices quoted by 100 hospitals across the United States. Moreover, most provided little more than broad estimates, and only three gave a hard copy of the charges.

Where can we find savings in health care? Posted: 09 Jun 2014 07:28 AM PDT The June issue of Health Affairs features various approaches to cost savings in the US health care system, and several other articles that may be of interest to the global community.

Video game technology aids horse rider assessment Posted: 09 Jun 2014 07:28 AM PDT Horse riders' balance, symmetry and poor posture could be improved thanks to an innovative body suit that works with motion sensors, commonly used by movie makers and the video games industry. New research uses inertial motion sensors worn in the XsensTM MVN body suit, and is now showing promising results as a method of assessing rider asymmetry and lower back pain and injury risk.

Accuracy of fitness bands tested; reserachers find way to correct self-report errors Posted: 09 Jun 2014 07:26 AM PDT Researchers tested eight different fitness bands to determine the accuracy of each model. The activity monitors make it easy for anyone to track their physical activity and calories burned, but researchers found not all devices are created equal. "People buy these activity monitors assuming they work, but some of them are not that accurate or have never been tested before. These companies just produce a nice-looking device with a fancy display and people buy it," said a researcher.

Rising tobacco epidemic in Asia linked to elevated risk of death Posted: 09 Jun 2014 07:26 AM PDT Tobacco smoking has been linked to approximately 2 million deaths among adult men and women in Asia in recent years and new research predicts a rising death toll. Roughly 60 percent of the world's population lives in Asia where approximately half of men are tobacco smokers.

Quest for long-lasting blood: Scientists developing one-size-fits-all artifical blood Posted: 09 Jun 2014 06:38 AM PDT Scientists are hoping to develop a one-size-fits-all, third generation artificial blood substitute. Every day thousands of people around the world have their lives saved or improved thanks to someone giving blood. But imagine how many more lives could be saved if a long-lasting blood substitute could be found, which could easily be stored at room temperature and available to all patients, regardless of their blood type.

Beer brewing waste could help bone regeneration Posted: 09 Jun 2014 06:38 AM PDT Biomaterials for bone regeneration have been developed by researchers from beer brewing waste. The waste obtained from the beer brewing process contains the main chemical components found in bones (phosphorus, calcium, magnesium and silica), that after undergoing modification processes, this waste can be used as support or scaffold to promote bone regeneration for medical applications such as coating prosthesis or bone grafts, researchers report.

Iron supplements improve anemia, quality of life for women with heavy periods Posted: 09 Jun 2014 06:38 AM PDT Diagnosis and treatment of anemia is important to improve quality of life among women with heavy periods, researchers report. Findings suggest clinicians screen for anemia and recommend iron supplementation to women with heavy menstrual bleeding (menorrhagia).

Most breast cancer patients may not be getting enough exercise Posted: 09 Jun 2014 06:38 AM PDT Physical activity after breast cancer diagnosis has been linked with prolonged survival and improved quality of life, but most participants in a large breast cancer study did not meet national physical activity guidelines after they were diagnosed. Moreover, African-American women were less likely to meet the guidelines than white women. The findings indicate that efforts to promote physical activity in breast cancer patients may need to be significantly enhanced.

Both teens, teachers not getting sex-ed training: New standards needed? Posted: 09 Jun 2014 06:36 AM PDT A handful of sex educators from across the United States have came together to develop and release the National Teacher Preparation Standards on Sexuality Education. In the United States, sexuality education is most commonly taught within the health curriculum at the middle and high school levels. In addition to parents, America's teachers play a vital role in providing young people with the information they need to protect their health and futures.

Facing a violent past: Evolution of human ancestors' faces a result of need to weather punches during arguments, study suggests Posted: 09 Jun 2014 06:36 AM PDT An alternative to the previous long-held hypothesis that the evolution of the robust faces of our early ancestors resulted largely from the need to chew hard-to-crush foods such as nuts has been presented by researchers. The prehistoric version of a bar fight -- over women, resources and other slug-worthy disagreements -- are what shaped our facial evolution, new research suggests.

Researchers pinpoint new role for enzyme in DNA repair, kidney cancer Posted: 09 Jun 2014 06:36 AM PDT The enzyme Set2 is a major player in DNA repair, a complicated and crucial process that can lead to the development of cancer cells if the repair goes wrong. "We found that if Set2 is mutated, DNA repair does not properly occur" said one researcher. "One consequence could be that if you have broken DNA, then loss of this enzyme could lead to downstream mutations from inefficient repair. We believe this finding helps explain why the human version of Set2 -- which is called SETD2 -- is frequently mutated in cancer."

African-American women more likely to be diagnosed with higher risk breast cancer Posted: 09 Jun 2014 06:36 AM PDT African-American women frequently present with biologically less favorable subtypes of breast cancer, a study has shown. Researchers used genomic tests in their research; unlike genetic tests, such as those for BRCA genes, genomic tests look at the genes inside a breast cancer cell and how strongly they are expressed. The findings support prior research that has looked at the biologic characteristics of breast cancer in African-American women.

As Americans age, caregiving challenges increase Posted: 09 Jun 2014 06:36 AM PDT As people continue to live longer, more Americans are caring for someone with a chronic condition, disability or old age. There are approximately 90 million family caregivers in the U.S. today and two out of every five adults care for a family member. As the baby boomer generation ages, caregiving will continue to be a crucial issue among Americans.

Targeting tumors using silver nanoparticles Posted: 08 Jun 2014 12:27 PM PDT A nanoparticle that has a couple of unique -- and important -- properties has been designed by scientists. Spherical in shape and silver in composition, it is encased in a shell coated with a peptide that enables it to target tumor cells. What's more, the shell is etchable so those nanoparticles that don't hit their target can be broken down and eliminated.

New molecule enables quick drug monitoring Posted: 08 Jun 2014 12:27 PM PDT A molecule that can easily and quickly show how much drug is in a patient's system has been invented by scientists. The molecule, now the basis of a start-up company, is expected to enable point-of-care therapeutic drug monitoring. "This system is a cheap, effective solution for customizing drug dosage in patients across a whole array of diseases," says one of the authors.

Tiny molecule may help battle depression Posted: 08 Jun 2014 12:25 PM PDT Levels of a small molecule found only in humans and in other primates are lower in the brains of depressed individuals, according to researchers. This discovery may hold a key to improving treatment options for those who suffer from depression. The discovery may provide "a potential target for the development of new and more effective antidepressant treatments," one researcher notes.

Longer telomeres linked to risk of brain cancer: Double-edged sword, gene variants may promote overall health while increasing risk of gliomas Posted: 08 Jun 2014 12:25 PM PDT New genomic research reveals that two common gene variants that lead to longer telomeres, the caps on chromosome ends thought by many scientists to confer health by protecting cells from aging, also significantly increase the risk of developing the deadly brain cancers known as gliomas.

Tougher penalties credited for fewer casualties among young male drivers Posted: 06 Jun 2014 10:14 AM PDT A significant decline in speeding-related fatalities and injuries among young men has been found in Ontario since the province's tough extreme speeding and aggressive driving laws were introduced in 2007. A study found a sustained reduction of about 58 speeding-related injuries and fatalities a month among males aged 16-24. That means about 700 fewer young men have been injured or killed in speeding-related crashes yearly since the law was passed.

Endoscope with oxygen sensor detects pancreatic cancer Posted: 06 Jun 2014 07:21 AM PDT An optical blood oxygen sensor attached to an endoscope is able to identify pancreatic cancer in patients via a simple lendoscopic procedure, according to researchers. The study shows that the device, which acts like the well-known clothespin-type finger clip used to measure blood oxygen in patients, has a sensitivity of 92 percent and a specificity of 86 percent.

Text messaging program helps smokers fight the urge to light up Posted: 06 Jun 2014 06:16 AM PDT More than 11 percent of smokers who used a text-messaging program to help them quit did so and remained smoke free at the end of a six-month study as compared to just 5 percent of controls, according to a new report. "Text messages seem to give smokers the constant reminders they need to stay focused on quitting," says the lead author.

Is glaucoma a brain disease? Scientists find that jigsaw effect in glaucoma patients proves it is Posted: 05 Jun 2014 06:31 PM PDT The brain, not the eye, controls the cellular process that leads to glaucoma, a new study finds. The results may help develop treatments for one of the world's leading causes of irreversible blindness, as well as contribute to the development of future therapies for preserving brain function in other age-related disorders such as Alzheimer's.

Hepatitis B screening now recommended for high risk individuals Posted: 05 Jun 2014 04:07 PM PDT A simple blood test can detect if a person is one of the two billion people worldwide infected with hepatitis B. And now experts recommend that all teens and adults who are high risk for hepatitis B get screened for the infection. "Many people with hepatitis B do not show any symptoms so they are not diagnosed which means they keep transmitting the disease to others," says a board certified hepatologist.

Improved blood glucose control slows progression to end-stage renal disease in type 1 diabetes Posted: 05 Jun 2014 04:07 PM PDT People with Type 1 diabetes who have developed kidney complications can slow the progress of their complications by improving control of their blood glucose over the long term, the results of a 20-year study confirm. This finding may lead to changes in clinical practice for this population.

Silent mutations speak up: Multiple silent mutations greatly impact protein translation Posted: 05 Jun 2014 04:07 PM PDT Returning to research of years ago, biologists developed an assay to test effects of all possible silent mutations on protein translation. One-third of silent mutations caused a slow down--in some cases decreasing the speed of translation five-fold.

Exploring legal, ethical gray area for people with dementia Posted: 05 Jun 2014 12:57 PM PDT Many of the legal and ethical options for refusing unwanted interventions are not available to people with dementia because they lack decision-making capacity. But one way for these people to ensure that they do not live for years with severe dementia is to use an advance directive to instruct caregivers to stop giving them food and water by mouth. This is an ethical and legal gray area explored in recent commentaries and a case study.

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