ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

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• Common bacteria on verge of becoming antibiotic-resistant superbugs
• New score predicts heart disease and stroke risk for anyone in world aged over 40
• Emergency medicine physicians urge colleagues to help prevent gun violence
• Sleep loss tied to emotional reactions
• Link between lifestyles of indigenous communities, gut microbial ecologies discovered
• Position statement on non-invasive prenatal screening issued
• Carbon nanotube fibers make superior links to brain
• Experience saves lives: Advanced life-support study reveals differences in survival rates
• Suicide risk: Variety of dialectical behavior therapy interventions with therapists effective
• Autistic children more likely to have GI issues in early life
• Mental health disorders complicate standards used by ACA to penalize hospitals for readmission
• Studies of health information exchanges yet to show strong evidence of benefits, paper says
• Drinking raw milk dramatically increases risk for foodborne illness
• Why drug for type II diabetes makes people fat
• Control switch that modulates cell stress response may be key to multiple diseases
• Promising new biomarkers for concussion identified
• Hospitals, physicians should improve communication for better patient care
• HBV exposure matures infants' immune systems
• Phase 1 trial of first Ebola vaccine based on 2014 virus strain shows vaccine is safe and provokes an immune response
• Use of minimally invasive surgery could lower health care costs by hundreds of millions a year
• Prenatal exposure to common air pollution linked to cognitive, behavioral impairment
• Researchers greatly increase precision of new genome editing tool
• Nanorobotic agents open the blood-brain barrier, offering hope for new brain treatments
• Protecting nerve tissue during bowel surgery
• Mutations that may enable earlier diagnosis of colorectal cancer recurrence identified
• Pregnant women not getting enough omega-3, critical for infant development, research shows
• Promising drug a 'new paradigm' for treating leukemia
• High prevalence of sleep disordered breathing in adults with sickle cell
• Leukemia like Achilles, has its own weakness
• Baseball injuries: Majority of parents unaware of safe pitching practices
• Low back pain risk factors identified
• Ebola: Study announces a durable vaccine
• Goodbye to sunburn thanks to sunburn indicator
• Researchers solve science behind scalp cooling and the reasons for hair loss in cancer treatment
• Head injury patients show signs of faster aging in the brain
• Risk factors associated with overweight cluster in children
• Many things can be read in a newborn's gaze, such as future visual cognitive abilities
• Blood test can help some bowel cancer patients avoid unnecessary drug side-effects
• Interim report on UK alcohol industry's 'billion units pledge' is flawed, say researchers
• Call for more research on brain damage in American football
• Concerns over the online market of human breast milk
• Air pollution linked to increased risk of anxiety, stroke
• Study first to use Markovian models for tracing postoperative pain trajectories
• Patient satisfaction with pain management relies most on coordination of care
• Significant blocking of opioid tolerance with mesenchymal stem cell transplant
• High-frequency surpasses traditional spinal cord stimulation in first controlled trial comparing technologies
• Imaging tests detect coronary artery disease long before it strikes
• Early improvements dissipate past 90 days in study of platelet-rich plasma injection for facet joint arthropathy
• Stellate Ganglion Block Showed No Significant Benefit for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Controlled Trial
• Hormone level predicts how the brain processes social information
• Minimally invasive cosyntropin matches epidural blood patch for post-dural puncture headache in controlled trial

Common bacteria on verge of becoming antibiotic-resistant superbugs Posted: 25 Mar 2015 06:05 PM PDT Antibiotic resistance is poised to spread globally among bacteria frequently implicated in respiratory and urinary infections in hospital settings, according to new research. The study shows that two genes that confer resistance against a particularly strong class of antibiotics can be shared easily among a family of bacteria responsible for a significant portion of hospital-associated infections.

New score predicts heart disease and stroke risk for anyone in world aged over 40 Posted: 25 Mar 2015 06:03 PM PDT For the first time, scientists have developed a new risk score that can predict the 10-year risk of developing heart disease or having a stroke in persons aged 40 years or older in any world country.

Emergency medicine physicians urge colleagues to help prevent gun violence Posted: 25 Mar 2015 11:02 AM PDT Two practicing emergency medicine physicians -- both thought leaders at the forefront of finding solutions to the public health crisis of gun violence -- urge their colleagues to take direct action to protect the health and safety of patients and communities.

Sleep loss tied to emotional reactions Posted: 25 Mar 2015 11:02 AM PDT A new book summarizes research on the interplay of sleep and various components of emotion and affect that are related to mood disorders, anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder and depression.

Link between lifestyles of indigenous communities, gut microbial ecologies discovered Posted: 25 Mar 2015 10:26 AM PDT A strong association between the lifestyles of indigenous communities and their gut microbial ecologies (gut microbiome) has been discovered by researchers. This study that may have implications for the health of all people, they say.

Position statement on non-invasive prenatal screening issued Posted: 25 Mar 2015 10:26 AM PDT Two professional societies of human geneticists have issued a position statement on the promise and challenges of non-invasive prenatal testing, a procedure to test blood drawn from pregnant mothers for Down syndrome and other chromosomal disorders in the fetus. The document addresses the current scope of and future improvements in NIPT technology, ways it may fit with existing prenatal screening protocols, options and priorities in implementation, and associated social and ethical issues.

Carbon nanotube fibers make superior links to brain Posted: 25 Mar 2015 10:25 AM PDT Carbon nanotube fibers may provide the best way to communicate directly with the brain. The research could enable new strategies for treating neurological disorders like Parkinson's, investigators say.

Experience saves lives: Advanced life-support study reveals differences in survival rates Posted: 25 Mar 2015 10:25 AM PDT An advanced form of life support that takes over for the failing hearts and lungs of critically ill patients saves lives. But for adults, the odds of surviving depend on which hospital provides the life-supporting treatment -- with the best odds at ones that use the technique dozens of times a year, a new study finds.

Suicide risk: Variety of dialectical behavior therapy interventions with therapists effective Posted: 25 Mar 2015 10:25 AM PDT A variety of dialectical behavior therapy interventions helped to reduce suicide attempts and nonsuicidal self-injury acts in a randomized clinical trial of women with borderline personality disorder who were highly suicidal.

Autistic children more likely to have GI issues in early life Posted: 25 Mar 2015 10:25 AM PDT Children with autism spectrum disorder were two-and-a-half times more likely to have persistent gastrointestinal symptoms as infants and toddlers than children with typical development, researchers report.

Mental health disorders complicate standards used by ACA to penalize hospitals for readmission Posted: 25 Mar 2015 10:17 AM PDT Co-existing psychiatric illness should be considered in assessing hospital readmissions for three common medical conditions used by Medicare and Medicaid to penalize hospitals with 'excessive' readmission rates. That was the conclusion of a newly published collaborative study by 11 major US healthcare providers affiliated with the nationwide Mental Health Research Network.

Studies of health information exchanges yet to show strong evidence of benefits, paper says Posted: 25 Mar 2015 10:17 AM PDT Health information exchanges are supposed to improve the speed, quality, safety and cost of patient care, but there is little evidence of that in existing health information exchange benefit studies, according to a research paper.

Drinking raw milk dramatically increases risk for foodborne illness Posted: 25 Mar 2015 10:15 AM PDT The risks of drinking raw (unpasteurized) cow's milk are significant, research shows. Investigators have determined that raw milk was associated with over half of all milk-related foodborne illness.

Why drug for type II diabetes makes people fat Posted: 25 Mar 2015 10:14 AM PDT Medication used to treat patients with type II diabetes activates sensors on brain cells that increase hunger, causing people taking this drug to gain more body fat, according to researchers. The study describes a new way to affect hunger in the brain and helps to explain why people taking a class of drugs for type II diabetes gain more body fat.

Control switch that modulates cell stress response may be key to multiple diseases Posted: 25 Mar 2015 10:14 AM PDT A control switch has been discovered for the unfolded protein response (UPR), a cellular stress relief mechanism drawing major scientific interest because of its role in cancer, diabetes, inflammatory disorders and several neural degenerative disorders, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Promising new biomarkers for concussion identified Posted: 25 Mar 2015 08:08 AM PDT A panel of four readily detectable blood proteins can accurately indicate concussion, even helping distinguishing it from other injuries, according to a new study. Researchers found the panel by employing the unusual strategy of looking at the body's inflammatory response to trauma, which might also be a therapeutic target.

Hospitals, physicians should improve communication for better patient care Posted: 25 Mar 2015 08:08 AM PDT Coordinating patient care between hospital clinicians and primary-care physicians is a significant challenge due to poor communication and gaps in information-sharing strategies, according to a study. The inability to share timely information can increase the risk of missed test results and hospital readmissions, said the study's corresponding author.

HBV exposure matures infants' immune systems Posted: 25 Mar 2015 08:08 AM PDT Hepatitis B Virus Infection exposure increases the immune system maturation of infants, which may give a better survival advantage to counteract bacterial infection during early life, a new study concludes. These findings radically modify the way that HBV vertical infection of neonates (mother-to-child) is portrayed, and present a paradigm shift in the approach to treatment of patients with chronic hepatitis B.

Phase 1 trial of first Ebola vaccine based on 2014 virus strain shows vaccine is safe and provokes an immune response Posted: 25 Mar 2015 08:07 AM PDT Medical researchers now have the results from the first phase 1 trial of an Ebola vaccine based on the current (2014) strain of the virus.  Until now, all tested Ebola virus vaccines have been based on the virus strain from the Zaire outbreak in 1976.  The results suggest that the new vaccine is safe, and provokes an immune response in recipients, although further long-term testing will be needed to establish whether it can protect against the Ebola virus.

Use of minimally invasive surgery could lower health care costs by hundreds of millions a year Posted: 25 Mar 2015 08:06 AM PDT A new analysis of surgical outcomes nationwide concludes that more use of minimally invasive surgery for certain common procedures can dramatically reduce post-operative complications and shave hundreds of millions of dollars off the nation's health care bill.

Prenatal exposure to common air pollution linked to cognitive, behavioral impairment Posted: 25 Mar 2015 08:06 AM PDT A powerful relationship between prenatal polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) exposure and disturbances in parts of the brain that support information processing and behavioral control have been identified by researchers. The study showed reductions in nearly the entire white matter surface of the brain's left hemisphere -- loss associated with slower processing of information during intelligence testing and more severe behavioral problems, including ADHD and aggression.

Researchers greatly increase precision of new genome editing tool Posted: 25 Mar 2015 07:24 AM PDT CRISPR-Cas9 is a powerful new tool for editing the genome. For researchers around the world, the CRISPR-Cas9 technique is an exciting innovation because it is faster and cheaper than previous methods. Now researchers have found a solution to considerably increase the efficiency of precise genetic modifications by up to eightfold.

Nanorobotic agents open the blood-brain barrier, offering hope for new brain treatments Posted: 25 Mar 2015 07:19 AM PDT Magnetic nanoparticles can open the blood-brain barrier and deliver molecules directly to the brain, say researchers. This barrier runs inside almost all vessels in the brain and protects it from elements circulating in the blood that may be toxic to the brain. The research is important as currently 98% of therapeutic molecules are also unable to cross the blood-brain barrier.

Protecting nerve tissue during bowel surgery Posted: 25 Mar 2015 07:19 AM PDT After bowel surgery, more than half of the patients suffer from irreparable nerve damage. Now scientists have developed an assistance system that warns surgeons about the risk of inflicting possible injury during operations in the pelvic area. The experts are currently working on a solution for minimally invasive surgery.

Mutations that may enable earlier diagnosis of colorectal cancer recurrence identified Posted: 25 Mar 2015 06:35 AM PDT A multi-disciplinary team of doctors and scientists has characterized the genetic changes associated with the spread of colorectal cancer to the liver. Most patients are initially diagnosed with an early stage disease. However, a proportion of these patients will develop a recurrence of the cancer (metastasis), typically in the liver, one to three years after their colon surgery. If identified early, the liver metastasis may be amenable to surgical removal, and cure may still be possible.

Pregnant women not getting enough omega-3, critical for infant development, research shows Posted: 25 Mar 2015 06:35 AM PDT A research team studied the first 600 women in a cohort during and after their pregnancy to see whether they were consuming enough omega-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (omega 3-LCPUFA) to meet current recommendations. They found that in fact, most of these women were not.

Promising drug a 'new paradigm' for treating leukemia Posted: 25 Mar 2015 06:35 AM PDT A compound that delays leukemia in mice and effectively kills leukemia cells in human tissue samples has been developed by researchers, raising hopes that the drug could lead to improved treatments in people. The researchers call it an exciting 'new paradigm' for treating leukemia, they say.

High prevalence of sleep disordered breathing in adults with sickle cell Posted: 25 Mar 2015 06:35 AM PDT Adults with sickle cell disease who report trouble with sleep could actually have a clinical diagnosis of sleep disordered breathing which could lower their oxygen levels at night. "Our study suggests that patients with sickle cell disorder should be screened using a questionnaire to identify problems with sleep. For further testing, an oxygen desaturation index is another low-cost screening tool that can identify sleep disordered breathing in this population," said the first author.

Leukemia like Achilles, has its own weakness Posted: 25 Mar 2015 06:34 AM PDT Leukemia cells from patients suffering from chronic myeloid leukemia, especially in the advanced stage, lack one of the proteins: the famous BRCA1. Importantly, the protein is not present even if the patient carries the proper, not mutated gene responsible for BRCA1 production.

Baseball injuries: Majority of parents unaware of safe pitching practices Posted: 25 Mar 2015 05:27 AM PDT A new study found that 53 percent of the parents/caregivers of youth baseball pitchers are unaware of safe pitching practices designed to prevent overuse injuries -- common tears or damage, most often to the elbow or shoulder -- which can cause pain, lost play time and, if not treated appropriately, arthritis, deformity and disability.

Low back pain risk factors identified Posted: 25 Mar 2015 05:27 AM PDT New research identifies nicotine dependence, obesity, alcohol abuse and depressive disorders as risk factors for low back pain, a common condition causing disability, missed work, high medical costs and diminished life quality.

Ebola: Study announces a durable vaccine Posted: 25 Mar 2015 05:27 AM PDT The durability of a novel 'disseminating' cytomegalovirus-based Ebola virus vaccine strategy may eventually have the potential to reduce ebolavirus infection in wild African ape species, scientists report. African apes serve as a main source of ebolavirus transmission into the human population. As a consequence, the prevention of ebolavirus infection in African apes could reduce the incidence of future human ebolavirus outbreaks.

Goodbye to sunburn thanks to sunburn indicator Posted: 25 Mar 2015 05:24 AM PDT Sunbathers could soon tell when to take shelter in the shade thanks to an early warning sunburn indicator. Researchers have developed a strip of plastic, containing 'smart' ink, which turns colourless from an initial blue colour just before exposure to too much ultraviolet light from the sun, prompting you to move into the shade before you burn.

Researchers solve science behind scalp cooling and the reasons for hair loss in cancer treatment Posted: 25 Mar 2015 05:23 AM PDT Hair loss is one of the most distressing side-effects of cancer treatment and can even deter some patients from undergoing life-saving chemotherapy.  But researchers are establishing the scientific basis for a rapidly-advancing scalp cooling technology that can ensure hair retention in a vast number of cases.

Head injury patients show signs of faster aging in the brain Posted: 25 Mar 2015 05:23 AM PDT People who have suffered serious head injuries show changes in brain structure resembling those seen in older people, according to a new study. The brain injury patients in this study were estimated to be around five years older on average than their real age.

Risk factors associated with overweight cluster in children Posted: 25 Mar 2015 05:20 AM PDT Lifestyle-related cardiometabolic risk factors cluster in children in the same way as in adults, according to research. A cardiometabolic risk score was used to evaluate cardiometabolic risk in different age groups. The results show that risk factor levels even lower than those generally accepted as risk factor thresholds for type 2 diabetes and atherosclerotic vascular disease are harmful when several risk factors cluster.

Many things can be read in a newborn's gaze, such as future visual cognitive abilities Posted: 25 Mar 2015 05:20 AM PDT Experienced nannies and doctors have always known how much the visual contact with a newborn can convey. A recent study provides scientific evidence for this everyday understanding. The findings show that a newborn's ability to fixate relates to the microscopic maturation of brain structures, and it predicts visual cognitive abilities later in childhood.

Blood test can help some bowel cancer patients avoid unnecessary drug side-effects Posted: 25 Mar 2015 05:15 AM PDT Researchers have provided early evidence to suggest that a blood test could be used to identify bowel cancer patients that may benefit from more intensive chemotherapy.

Interim report on UK alcohol industry's 'billion units pledge' is flawed, say researchers Posted: 24 Mar 2015 06:00 PM PDT The UK's Department of Health's interim evaluation of an alcohol industry pledge to remove one billion alcohol units from the market is flawed, argue researchers. In 2012, the UK government announced an industry pledge to remove a billion units of alcohol from the market by December 2015. The pledge would be achieved, it said, "principally through improving consumer choice of lower alcohol products."

Call for more research on brain damage in American football Posted: 24 Mar 2015 06:00 PM PDT More research is needed to identify how athletes sustain brain injury from American football, and also to develop strategies to protect them, write experts. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a progressive neurodegenerative syndrome that can affect athletes. It is thought to result from concussion and brain injury following repeated blows to the head.

Concerns over the online market of human breast milk Posted: 24 Mar 2015 06:00 PM PDT The sale of human breast milk on the internet poses serious risks to infant health and needs urgent regulation, argue experts. Purchasing human breast milk on the internet can be cheaper than buying from regulated milk banks, where it can cost up to $3-4 per ounce, because sellers can cut corners to save on costs such as pasteurization, testing for disease and contamination, and the appropriate collection, storage and shipping of milk.

Air pollution linked to increased risk of anxiety, stroke Posted: 24 Mar 2015 06:00 PM PDT Air pollution is linked to a higher risk of stroke, particularly in developing countries, finds a study. In a second article, new research also shows that air pollution is associated with anxiety.

Study first to use Markovian models for tracing postoperative pain trajectories Posted: 24 Mar 2015 12:35 PM PDT Markovian models show promise for describing postoperative pain states and, eventually, may help guide clinical decisions, a new study found. "Pain trajectories help us to understand why different patients will hurt for different lengths of time after injury or surgery," said the leader of the investigating team. "Different analgesics each have different pharmacokinetic profiles, and so a better understanding of pain trajectories could help us better match analgesics to patients."

Patient satisfaction with pain management relies most on coordination of care Posted: 24 Mar 2015 12:35 PM PDT The main driver of patient experience depends less on the individual provider than on the overall coordination among the clinic, the primary care physician and all others who participate in delivery of care, researchers have reported.

Significant blocking of opioid tolerance with mesenchymal stem cell transplant Posted: 24 Mar 2015 12:33 PM PDT Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) transplantation reduced opioid tolerance and opioid-induced hyperalgesia caused by daily morphine injections in rats, according to new research. Not only was opioid tolerance prevented when the rats were transplanted with MSC before repeated morphine injections, but tolerance was reversed when the rats were treated after opioid tolerance had developed, results demonstrated.

High-frequency surpasses traditional spinal cord stimulation in first controlled trial comparing technologies Posted: 24 Mar 2015 12:33 PM PDT The first-ever randomized, controlled trial to compare spinal cord stimulation (SCS) technologies found that high-frequency SCS using 10 kHz (HF10) exceeded lower-frequency, traditional SCS in response rate and pain relief.

Imaging tests detect coronary artery disease long before it strikes Posted: 24 Mar 2015 12:33 PM PDT Adding two non-invasive imaging tests to traditional cardiovascular disease risk factor assessment more precisely predicts a healthy patient's future risk of heart attack, stroke, or premature death, according to a new study.

Early improvements dissipate past 90 days in study of platelet-rich plasma injection for facet joint arthropathy Posted: 24 Mar 2015 12:33 PM PDT Early gains in pain relief, behavioral markers and function were not sustained in patients treated with platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection for facet joint arthropathy, new research shows.

Stellate Ganglion Block Showed No Significant Benefit for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Controlled Trial Posted: 24 Mar 2015 12:33 PM PDT A sympathetic nerve block that has shown promise for treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) performed no better than sham treatment in a randomized controlled trial, new research shows.

Hormone level predicts how the brain processes social information Posted: 24 Mar 2015 12:33 PM PDT People with higher levels of oxytocin have greater activity in regions of the brain that support social cognition, a psychology study indicates. The study has implications for better understanding how oxytocin interacts with cognition in both healthy people and people with disordered social behavior. For example, low levels of oxytocin have previously been associated with social deficits often found in individuals with autism spectrum disorders.

Minimally invasive cosyntropin matches epidural blood patch for post-dural puncture headache in controlled trial Posted: 24 Mar 2015 12:33 PM PDT Intravenous (IV) cosyntropin therapy was equivalent to epidural blood patch (EBP) in relieving pain from post-dural puncture headache (PDPH) with potential for fewer complications and lower costs, data from a randomized, controlled trial showed.

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