ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

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• iPhone separation linked to physiological anxiety, poor cognitive performance
• Black women working night shifts have an increased risk of developing diabetes
• May contain nuts. But how much is too much?
• Patch or pills? How quickly smokers metabolize nicotine may point to most effective way to quit
• Researchers uncover cellular mechanism that protects lungs during severe infections
• Secondary analysis of RTOG 0247 demonstrates favorable OS rates for rectal cancer patients
• Playing catch can improve balance, prevent falls in seniors
• Coupling head and neck cancer screening, lung cancer scans could improve survival
• Agent Orange-contaminated airplanes could have affected health of air force reservists
• After eight years, similar outcomes with surgical or nonsurgical treatment for spinal stenosis
• Study identifies two genes that boost risk for post-traumatic stress disorder
• Karyomapping offers new way of detecting genetic conditions in IVF embryos
• Recommendations on handling changes in the life sciences
• Dolutegravir/abacavir/lamivudine: Considerable added benefit for some adults with HIV
• Convergence of regulatory, reimbursement forces threaten patient care, experts say
• Insights into role of genetic variants in kidney disease
• Mercury from gold mines accumulates far downstream
• Teachers on the front line following attack in Boston: Study identifies varying support following 2013 Boston Marathon attack
• In head and neck cancer, surgeons need solid answers about tumor recurrence
• New care model to prevent unnecessary hospitalizations of frail older adults
• Neurons that detect disease
• Hacking fat cells' metabolism does not affect insulin resistance
• Sound mind, strong heart: Same protein sustains both

iPhone separation linked to physiological anxiety, poor cognitive performance Posted: 11 Jan 2015 04:57 PM PST Cell phone use has become a common part of life as mobile devices have become one of the most popular ways to communicate. Even so, very little research exists on the impact of cell phone usage and specifically what happens when people are separated from their phones. Now, research has found that cell phone separation can have serious psychological and physiological effects on iPhone users, including poor performance on cognitive tests.

Black women working night shifts have an increased risk of developing diabetes Posted: 11 Jan 2015 04:54 PM PST Those who work night shifts are significantly more likely to develop diabetes than those who have never worked night shifts, with more years working the night shift resulting in a higher risk. These are the results from a large ongoing study into the health of African-American women. Furthermore, the increased risk of diabetes seen in shift workers was more pronounced in younger women than older women, researchers say.

May contain nuts. But how much is too much? Posted: 11 Jan 2015 04:53 PM PST A study has defined allergen levels in food that can trigger allergic reactions which will help to make allergen warning labels more effective. "What we wanted was to find a level of allergen which would only produce a reaction in the most sensitive ten percent of people. This sort of data can then be used to apply a consistent level of warning to food products," the lead author said.

Patch or pills? How quickly smokers metabolize nicotine may point to most effective way to quit Posted: 11 Jan 2015 04:53 PM PST The most-suited treatment for each smoker may depend on how quickly they metabolize the nicotine in their body after quitting, a first-of-its-kind randomized clinical trial shows.

Researchers uncover cellular mechanism that protects lungs during severe infections Posted: 10 Jan 2015 07:17 AM PST A novel molecular mechanism that tightens the bonds between the cells that line blood vessels to form a leak-proof barrier has been discovered by researchers. The mechanism presents a potential new target to treat acute respiratory distress syndrome, an often fatal condition in which fluid leaks out of blood vessels into the lungs.

Secondary analysis of RTOG 0247 demonstrates favorable OS rates for rectal cancer patients Posted: 09 Jan 2015 11:25 AM PST Locally advanced rectal cancer patients who receive preoperative radiation therapy with either irinotecan plus capecitabine or oxaliplatin plus capecitabine have a four-year overall survival rate of 85 percent and 75 percent, respectively, according to a study.

Playing catch can improve balance, prevent falls in seniors Posted: 09 Jan 2015 11:24 AM PST The simple training exercise of catching a weighted medicine ball can improve balance and may help prevent falls in the elderly, according to research.

Coupling head and neck cancer screening, lung cancer scans could improve survival Posted: 09 Jan 2015 10:28 AM PST Adding head and neck cancer screenings to newly recommended lung cancer screenings would likely improve early detection and survival, according to a multidisciplinary team led by scientists. Head and neck cancer is the world's sixth-most common type of cancer. Worldwide every year, 600,000 people are diagnosed with it and about 350,000 die. Tobacco use and alcohol consumption are the major risk factors for developing the cancer.

Agent Orange-contaminated airplanes could have affected health of air force reservists Posted: 09 Jan 2015 09:35 AM PST Air Force reservists based in the US who worked after the Vietnam War in C-123 aircraft that sprayed Agent Orange during the war could have experienced adverse health effects from exposure to the herbicide, says a new report.

After eight years, similar outcomes with surgical or nonsurgical treatment for spinal stenosis Posted: 09 Jan 2015 09:33 AM PST For patients with spinal stenosis, long-term outcomes are comparable with surgery or conservative treatment, reports a new study. While earlier reports suggested an advantage of surgery, the updated analysis finds no significant difference in pain, functioning, of disability at eight years' follow-up.

Study identifies two genes that boost risk for post-traumatic stress disorder Posted: 09 Jan 2015 09:33 AM PST Why do some people develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) while others who suffered the same ordeal do not? A new discovery may shed light on the answer.

Karyomapping offers new way of detecting genetic conditions in IVF embryos Posted: 09 Jan 2015 07:10 AM PST Karyomapping has been identified as a viable and cost-effective method of detecting a wide range of genetic diseases in IVF embryos, scientists report. The current method, which involves the use of preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) for monogenic disorders (resulting from a single defective gene) has long been recognized as expensive, time-consuming and requires the tailoring of a specific test for each couple and/or disorder.

Recommendations on handling changes in the life sciences Posted: 09 Jan 2015 07:10 AM PST Modern high-throughput screening methods for analyzing genetic information, proteins and metabolic products offer new ways of obtaining large quantities of data on life processes. New technologies are fueling hopes of major advances in, e.g., medicine, pharmacy, biochemistry, food sciences.

Dolutegravir/abacavir/lamivudine: Considerable added benefit for some adults with HIV Posted: 09 Jan 2015 06:37 AM PST Upon evaluating the new fixed-dose combination of dolutegravir/abacavir/lamivudine for adolescents and pretreated adults with HIV, added benefit is not proven because suitable data are lacking. However, there is an indication that adults who have not been treated for their HIV infection have considerable added benefit from treatment with the new fixed-dose combination.

Convergence of regulatory, reimbursement forces threaten patient care, experts say Posted: 08 Jan 2015 03:42 PM PST By eliminating the barriers outlined in a new paper, genome-based research will continue to play a critical role in the development of more powerful tools to treat complex diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, experts say.

Insights into role of genetic variants in kidney disease Posted: 08 Jan 2015 03:42 PM PST Among patients with a kidney disease called focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), those who had certain genetic variants tended to have more advanced disease when they were diagnosed, researchers report. Patients with the variants responded to immunosuppressant treatments just as well as other patients but tended to progress more rapidly to kidney failure.

Mercury from gold mines accumulates far downstream Posted: 08 Jan 2015 01:24 PM PST Rhe risks taken on by artisanal, small-scale gold miners in Peru extend beyond personal and local health risks by creating hazardous levels of mercury in the food chain at least 350 miles away, researchers have discovered.

Teachers on the front line following attack in Boston: Study identifies varying support following 2013 Boston Marathon attack Posted: 08 Jan 2015 01:24 PM PST While teachers are well-tuned to student psychological distress following a crisis, support varies considerably, a study shows. The study involved 72 schools and details the complex supportive role of teachers, and the importance of working with them to improve school response plans.

In head and neck cancer, surgeons need solid answers about tumor recurrence Posted: 08 Jan 2015 01:23 PM PST Partnering with head and neck surgeons, pathologists in the U.S. have developed a new use for an old test to determine if a patient's cancer is recurring, or if the biopsy shows benign inflammation of mucosal tissues.

New care model to prevent unnecessary hospitalizations of frail older adults Posted: 08 Jan 2015 11:48 AM PST A new study reports on the first year of the implementation of OPTIMISTIC, an innovative program they developed and implemented to prevent unnecessary hospitalizations of nursing facility residents.

Neurons that detect disease Posted: 08 Jan 2015 10:00 AM PST Life in a group entails a major risk: that of being exposed to contagious pathogens. To counter this danger, different strategies have evolved in social species. In the case of rodents, specific olfactory signals emitted by sick individuals induce avoidance behavior among their peers. Now researchers reveal the neural mechanisms underlying this behavior.

Hacking fat cells' metabolism does not affect insulin resistance Posted: 08 Jan 2015 09:59 AM PST In the race to find a safe and effective weight loss drug, much attention has focused on the chemical processes that store and use energy. But a new mouse study suggests that tweaking these processes, even in a targeted way that affects only fat cells, may not yield a silver-bullet obesity cure.

Sound mind, strong heart: Same protein sustains both Posted: 08 Jan 2015 09:59 AM PST A Roman philosopher was the first to note the relationship between a sound mind and a sound body. Now the findings of a new study reveal a possible biochemical explanation behind this ancient observation.

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