الجمعة، 8 أغسطس 2014

ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

Growing human GI cells may lead to personalized treatments

Posted: 07 Aug 2014 09:18 AM PDT

A method of growing human cells from tissue removed from a patient's gastrointestinal tract may eventually help scientists develop tailor-made therapies for inflammatory bowel disease and other GI conditions. Researchers have made cell lines from individual patients in as little as two weeks. They said the cell lines can help them understand the underlying problems in the GI tracts of individual patients and be used to test new treatments.

Cell mechanics may hold key to how cancer spreads, recurs

Posted: 07 Aug 2014 09:18 AM PDT

Cancer cells that break away from tumors to go looking for a new home may prefer to settle into a soft bed, according to new findings. Some particularly enterprising cancer cells can cause a cancer to spread to other organs or evade treatment to resurface after a patient is thought to be in remission. The researchers found that these tumor-repopulating cells may lurk quietly in stiffer cellular environments, but thrive in a softer space.

Dimethyl fumarate for multiple sclerosis: Added benefit not proven

Posted: 07 Aug 2014 09:18 AM PDT

No added benefit of dimethyl fumarate for multiple sclerosis can be determined, as no suitable data are available, neither for a direct nor for an indirect comparison, report researchers.

Stem cell behavior of human bowel discovered for first time

Posted: 07 Aug 2014 09:17 AM PDT

For the first time, scientists have uncovered new information on how stem cells in the human bowel behave, revealing vital clues about the earliest stages in bowel cancer development and how we may begin to prevent it.

Key piece to cancer cell survival puzzle found

Posted: 07 Aug 2014 09:17 AM PDT

A key mystery in cancer research has been solved by an international team of researchers who asked: What allows some malignant cells to circumvent the normal process of cell death that occurs when chromosomes get too old to maintain themselves properly? Researchers have identified a specific gene that human cells require in order to survive these types of defects.

Powerful new system for classifying tumors revealed

Posted: 07 Aug 2014 09:17 AM PDT

Cancers are classified primarily on the basis of where in the body the disease originates, as in lung cancer or breast cancer. According to a new study, however, one in 10 cancer patients would be classified differently using a new classification system based on molecular subtypes instead of the current tissue-of-origin system. This reclassification could lead to different therapeutic options for those patients.

Dramatic growth of grafted stem cells in rat spinal cord

Posted: 07 Aug 2014 09:17 AM PDT

Scientists have reported that neurons derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells and grafted into rats after a spinal cord injury produced cells with 10s of thousands of axons extending virtually the entire length of the animals' central nervous system.

Gene increases risk of breast cancer to one in three by age 70

Posted: 07 Aug 2014 07:55 AM PDT

Medical researchers have studied breast cancer risks for one of potentially the most important genes associated with breast cancer after the BRCA1/2 genes. Women with mutations in the PALB2 gene have on average a one in three chance of developing breast cancer by the age of 70.

Nasal test developed for to diagnose Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease

Posted: 07 Aug 2014 07:55 AM PDT

A nasal brush test can rapidly and accurately diagnose Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), an incurable and ultimately fatal neurodegenerative disorder, according to a study. CJD is a prion disease. These diseases originate when, for reasons not fully understood, normally harmless prion protein molecules become abnormal and gather in clusters. Prion diseases affect animals and people. Human prion diseases include variant, familial and sporadic CJD. The most common form, sporadic CJD, affects an estimated 1 in one million people annually worldwide.

Increased adoption of complex care management can help meet cost savings, quality goals

Posted: 07 Aug 2014 07:55 AM PDT

Best practices in complex care management have been outlined in a new article that also discusses barriers to wider adoption of the approach and describe potential strategies to surmount those barriers. "Not only can fully addressing the needs of complex care patients keep them healthier, but it also can reduce costs by avoiding emergency departments visits and unnecessary hospitalizations," says one author.

Stress during pregnancy can be passed down through generations, rat study shows

Posted: 07 Aug 2014 07:54 AM PDT

To better understand problems during pregnancies today, we should look to the experiences of our ancestors, research suggests. Scientists investigating pregnancies in four generations of rats show that inherited epigenetic effects of stress could affect pregnancies for generations.

Losing weight won't necessarily make you happy, researchers say

Posted: 07 Aug 2014 07:54 AM PDT

Weight loss significantly improves physical health but effects on mental health are less straightforward, finds new research. In a study of 1,979 overweight and obese adults in the UK, people who lost 5 percent or more of their initial body weight over four years showed significant changes in markers of physical health, but were more likely to report depressed mood than those who stayed within 5 percent of their original weight.

Study shines new light on genetic alterations of aggressive breast cancer subtype

Posted: 07 Aug 2014 07:52 AM PDT

New information about the genetic alterations that may contribute to the development of a subtype breast cancer typically associated with more aggressive forms of the disease and higher recurrence rates has been uncovered by researchers. The study focused on the more aggressive molecular subtype of the estrogen-receptor positive breast cancer known as luminal B breast cancer.

Eating at fast food, full service restaurants linked to more calories, poorer nutrition

Posted: 07 Aug 2014 07:52 AM PDT

Eating at both fast-food and full-service restaurants is associated with significant increases in the intake of calories, sugar, saturated fat, and sodium, according to a new study. The researchers say the larger adverse effect they measured on energy intake for some lower socio-economic and minority populations has policy implications. They say efforts to improve diet and reduce energy intake from restaurant sources could actually help to reduce racial and socio-economic disparities in Americans' diets.

Financial incentives for hospitals only reduce patient death rates in short-term

Posted: 07 Aug 2014 07:51 AM PDT

Pay-for-performance schemes – which reward hospitals financially for improving the quality of care provided to patients – only reduce patient death rates in the short term, according to new research. A variety of programs have been introduced in the UK over the past decade, with mixed results.

Prostate cancer screening reduces deaths by a fifth: Large, long-term European trial

Posted: 07 Aug 2014 07:50 AM PDT

Screening for prostate cancer could reduce deaths from the disease by about a fifth, according to the long-term results of a major European study involving over 162 000 men. Despite this new evidence for the effectiveness of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing to reduce mortality, doubts as to whether the benefits of screening outweigh the harms remain, and routine PSA screening programmes should not be introduced at this time, conclude the authors.

Uranium Exposure, Skin Cancer: Study May Help Explain Link

Posted: 07 Aug 2014 07:47 AM PDT

The varying health risks from exposure to natural uranium are well established, but now researchers have identified a new target organ for uranium exposure: skin. "Our hypothesis is that if uranium is photoactivated by UV radiation it could be more harmful to skin than either exposure alone," the lead researcher said.

Wellness coaching: Expert explains how it improves overall quality of life

Posted: 07 Aug 2014 07:47 AM PDT

Wellness coaching has become an increasingly prevalent strategy to help individuals improve their health and well-being. Recently, wellness coaching was found to improve quality of life, mood and perceived stress, according to a new study. Now one expert answers some common questions about wellness coaching.

Single-cell analysis holds promise for stem cell and cancer research

Posted: 07 Aug 2014 07:46 AM PDT

Researchers have identified cells' unique features within the developing human brain, using the latest technologies for analyzing gene activity in individual cells, and have demonstrated that large-scale cell surveys can be done much more efficiently and cheaply than was previously thought possible.

U.S. medical schools urged to increase enrollment of undocumented immigrants

Posted: 07 Aug 2014 07:43 AM PDT

Medical schools should increase their enrollment of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. under the federal DACA program who are seeking access to the medical professions. These students are often highly motivated and qualified and can help alleviate the nationwide shortage of primary care physicians, experts say.

Acute psychological stress promotes skin healing in mice

Posted: 07 Aug 2014 07:43 AM PDT

Brief, acute psychological stress promoted healing in mouse models of three different types of skin irritations, in a new study. Scientists found that healing was brought about by the anti-inflammatory effects of glucocorticoids -- steroid hormones -- produced by the adrenal glands in response to stress.

How critically ill infants can benefit most from human milk

Posted: 07 Aug 2014 07:43 AM PDT

Human milk is infant food, but for sick, hospitalized babies, it's also medicine. That's the central premise of a series of articles in a neonatal nursing journal's special issue focused on human milk for sick newborns.

Infectious prion protein discovered in urine of patients with variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease

Posted: 07 Aug 2014 07:36 AM PDT

The misfolded and infectious prion protein that is a marker for variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease – linked to the consumption of infected cattle meat – has been detected in the urine of patients with the disease. Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans and bovine spongiform encephalopathy in animals – also known as Mad Cow disease – are fatal neurodegenerative disorders. There are currently no noninvasive tools available to diagnose the disease and there are no treatments.

Dermatologist Cautions Parents About Misinformation on Safety of Children's Skin Care Products

Posted: 07 Aug 2014 07:36 AM PDT

Before the advent of Internet search engines, parents obtained much of their medical advice from their child's doctor. Today, with a plethora of information available at their fingertips, parents have more sources to consult than ever before. Yet dermatologists warn parents that not everything they read on blogs and websites about the safety of skin care products is true.

Reducing stress may help lead to clearer skin

Posted: 07 Aug 2014 07:36 AM PDT

Anyone who's had a pimple form right before an important event may wonder if stress caused the break out. While commonly linked anecdotally, proving the relationship between stress and inflammatory skin conditions, such as acne, psoriasis and rosacea, is another matter. An expert discusses the latest research on the impact stress has on inflammatory skin conditions and his thoughts on how this research could change treatment options.

New pharmaceutical product to prevent heroin deaths

Posted: 07 Aug 2014 07:36 AM PDT

A method for needle-free, intranasal administration of the anti-opioid drug naloxone has been developed. The product is in its final round of clinical trials and has retrieved Fast Track status from the FDA.

Link between vitamin D, dementia risk confirmed

Posted: 06 Aug 2014 01:16 PM PDT

Vitamin D deficiency is associated with a substantially increased risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease in older people, according to the most robust study of its kind ever conducted. An international team found that study participants who were severely vitamin D deficient were more than twice as likely to develop dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

Studying muscle function to treat heart failure

Posted: 06 Aug 2014 01:16 PM PDT

Researchers are hoping to uncover the molecular mechanisms of skeletal muscle fatigue through new studies. In doing so, they will advance understanding of muscle function and lead to new drug therapies for people with fatigue, including 5.7 million Americans living with chronic heart failure.

Behavior-focused therapies help children with autism, study shows

Posted: 06 Aug 2014 01:15 PM PDT

Updated findings regarding the benefits of behavior-focused therapies for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have been reported by researchers. The review updates a prior systematic review of interventions for children (up to age 12) with a focus on recent studies of behavioral interventions.

Designing embryo transfer policies: What's at issue?

Posted: 06 Aug 2014 12:40 PM PDT

A commentary has been published that focuses on neonatal outcomes when designing embryo transfer policies. "While preterm birth is an important factor to consider in subsequent preterm birth risk, one wonders whether a more accurate prediction could be generated using a more complex model," the author writes.

Brain tumors fly under body's radar like stealth jets, new research suggests

Posted: 06 Aug 2014 12:39 PM PDT

Brain tumors fly under the radar of the body's defense forces by coating their cells with extra amounts of a specific protein, new research shows. Like a stealth fighter jet, the coating means the cells evade detection by the early-warning immune system that should detect and kill them.

Another potential ALS treatment avenue identfied by researchers

Posted: 06 Aug 2014 11:22 AM PDT

A series of studies that begun eight years ago has lead to a report that may be a major step forward in the quest to develop real treatments for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease.

Bone tumor destroyed using incisionless surgery: First in North American child

Posted: 06 Aug 2014 11:21 AM PDT

A Canadian child is the first in North America to have undergone a specialized procedure that uses ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to destroy a tumor in his leg without piercing the skin. Doctors used an MRI to guide high-intensity ultrasound waves to destroy a benign bone tumor called osteoid osteoma. The lesion had caused 16-year-old Jack Campanile excruciating pain for a year prior to the procedure. By the time he went to bed that night, the athletic teen experienced complete pain relief.

Job insecurity in academia harms the mental wellbeing of non-tenure track faculty

Posted: 06 Aug 2014 07:28 AM PDT

Non-tenure-track academics experience stress, anxiety, and depression due to their insecure job situation, according to the first survey of its kind.
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