الأربعاء، 20 مايو 2015

ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

New light on impact of video gaming on the brain

Posted: 19 May 2015 06:03 PM PDT

Video gamers now spend a collective three billion hours per week in front of their screens. In fact, it is estimated that the average young person will have spent some 10,000 hours gaming by the time they are 21. The effects of intense video gaming on the brain are only beginning to be understood. New research shows that while video game players exhibit more efficient visual attention abilities, they are also much more likely to use navigation strategies that rely on the brain's reward system.

The dark side of the 'love hormone:' Similarities with the effects of alcohol

Posted: 19 May 2015 06:02 PM PDT

Significant similarities have been highlighted by researchers between the behavioral effects of oxytocin and alcohol. The research team warns that the oft-used nickname hides the darker side of oxytocin, and claim that it bears more semblances with the effects of alcohol than previously thought.

Chemo before surgery benefits patients with advanced ovarian cancer

Posted: 19 May 2015 06:02 PM PDT

Women with advanced ovarian cancer have fewer side effects and tend to have a better quality of life if given chemotherapy before surgery, according to a study. Delaying surgery also reduced the amount of time the patient spent in the hospital after surgery.

High risk of sleep apnea in young veterans with PTSD

Posted: 19 May 2015 03:22 PM PDT

The probability of having a high risk of obstructive sleep apnea increased with increasing severity of post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms (PTSD), a new study of young US veterans shows. The study involved 195 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who visited a Veterans' Affairs outpatient PTSD clinic for evaluation. Results show that 69.2 percent of participants had a high risk for sleep apnea, and this risk increased with PTSD symptom severity.

Mechanical ventilation associated with long-term disability

Posted: 19 May 2015 03:22 PM PDT

Critically ill patients who have been mechanically ventilated for more than seven days are at greatly increased risk for functional impairment and mortality at one year following discharge from the intensive care unit (ICU), according to a new study.

Music helps patients undergoing daily weaning from prolonged mechanical ventilation

Posted: 19 May 2015 03:21 PM PDT

Patient-selected music during weaning from prolonged mechanical ventilation could benefit patients by decreasing their heart rate and anxiety, according to a new study.

Tracking trends in youth self-harm visitation rates to Alberta's emergency rooms

Posted: 19 May 2015 01:49 PM PDT

New insight is being gained into the youth visiting Alberta's emergency rooms for self-harming behavior. The study examined approximately 6,000 visits of young patients from 2002 until 2011. It found youth from families who received various government subsidies, and First Nations youth, had far higher visitation rates to emergency rooms for self-harm compared to youth from families who didn't receive a subsidy.

Widespread diabetes screening in India is predicted to be ineffective

Posted: 19 May 2015 12:13 PM PDT

Large-scale screening for diabetes in India using currently available survey- and glucometer-based screening tools is unlikely to meet effectiveness criteria, according to a modeling study. The predictions of this simulation suggest that large numbers of false positive results would waste financial resources, and that focusing on symptom-based screening and on improvements to diabetes treatment might better serve India's population.

UK population is becoming overweight and obese at younger ages

Posted: 19 May 2015 12:13 PM PDT

Children born since the 1980s are two to three times more likely than older generations to be overweight or obese by the age of 10, according to new research. The study characterized population shifts in body mass index using data from more than 56,000 people born in Britain from 1946 to 2001.

Skipping meals linked to abdominal weight gain

Posted: 19 May 2015 11:15 AM PDT

Skipping meals sets off a series of metabolic miscues that can result in abdominal weight gain, a new study in animals suggests. In the study, mice that ate all of their food as a single meal and fasted the rest of the day developed insulin resistance in their livers -- which scientists consider a telltale sign of prediabetes. When the liver doesn't respond to insulin signals telling it to stop producing glucose, that extra sugar in the blood is stored as fat.

Potentially effective treatment for methamphetamine addiction identified

Posted: 19 May 2015 10:27 AM PDT

The first study in the United States of Naltrexone's effect on methamphetamine users has found that this medication, approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of alcoholism, is potentially a very promising treatment for methamphetamine addiction, researchers report.

How will astronauts keep in shape for extended periods?

Posted: 19 May 2015 10:27 AM PDT

Run far or run fast? That is one of the questions NASA is trying to answer with one of its latest studies -- and the answers may help keep us in shape on Earth, as well as in space. Even with regular exercise, astronauts who spend an extended period of time in space experience muscle weakening, bone loss, and decreased cardiovascular conditioning.

What makes cancer cells spread? New device offers clues

Posted: 19 May 2015 10:27 AM PDT

Cancer becomes deadly when it spreads, or metastasizes. Why do some cancer cells break away from a tumor and travel to distant parts of the body? A team of oncologists and engineers teamed up to help understand this crucial question.

Health, social inequities drives HIV in young men who have sex with other men

Posted: 19 May 2015 10:27 AM PDT

Researchers sought to identify the factors associated with incident HIV infection among a cohort of racially/ethnically and socioeconomically diverse young, gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men. Socioeconomic status is key driver of HIV seroconversion, they concluded.

Printing 3-D graphene structures for tissue engineering

Posted: 19 May 2015 10:26 AM PDT

Ever since single-layer graphene burst onto the science scene in 2004, the possibilities for the promising material have seemed nearly endless. With its high electrical conductivity, ability to store energy, and ultra-strong and lightweight structure, graphene has potential for many applications in electronics, energy, the environment, and even medicine. Now a new ink formulation has been created that allows for the 3-D printing of large, robust graphene structures with unique mechanical and biological properties.

Key component in protein that causes cystic fibrosis identified

Posted: 19 May 2015 10:26 AM PDT

Nearly 70,000 people worldwide are living with cystic fibrosis, a life-threatening genetic disease. There currently is no cure for the condition, but researchers have now identified a key component in the protein that causes the disease. It is a finding that may lay the foundation for the development of new medications and improved therapies.

New form of interleukin-2 could be fine-tuned to fight disease

Posted: 19 May 2015 10:26 AM PDT

Scientists are reporting development of a new way to modify interleukin-2 (IL-2), a substance known as a cytokine that plays key roles in regulating immune system responses, in order to fine-tune its actions. Harnessing the action of IL-2 in a controllable fashion is of clinical interest with potential benefit in a range of situations, including transplantation and autoimmune disease.

Body's 'serial killers' captured on film destroying cancer cells

Posted: 19 May 2015 10:26 AM PDT

A dramatic video has captured the behavior of cytotoxic T cells -- the body's 'serial killers' -- as they hunt down and eliminate cancer cells before moving on to their next target.

Research boosts evidence for a new class of treatments to help preserve vision

Posted: 19 May 2015 09:23 AM PDT

A substantial percentage of patients with diabetic macular edema do not have high levels of the VEGF protein in the fluid inside their eyes but do have high levels of a protein called PKal (plasma kallikrein) and associated molecules that are key players in an inflammatory molecular pathway involved in the disease, research concludes. This finding, the researchers say, could lead to a new class of treatments to help preserve vision in these patients.

Multiple sclerosis: Scientists identify cause of movement, balance problems

Posted: 19 May 2015 09:22 AM PDT

New research into the causes of the excessive inflammation that drives multiple sclerosis has identified a faulty 'brake' within immune cells, a brake that should be controlling the inflammation. This points to a potential target for developing new therapies to treat multiple sclerosis and could have important implications for other autoimmune diseases, such as the colon disease colitis and the chronic skin condition atopic dermatitis.

Hemodialysis recommended for acute salicylate poisoning

Posted: 19 May 2015 09:22 AM PDT

The best remedy for severe salicylate poisoning is hemodialysis, according to a comprehensive systematic review of the medical literature. Salicylate is an active ingredient in aspirin as well as hundreds of over-the-counter medications, and contributes to approximately 20,000 accidental or intentional poisonings and nearly 30 deaths reported to US Poison Control Centers every year.

The life and death of beta cells

Posted: 19 May 2015 09:21 AM PDT

Researchers studying microRNA -- tiny strands of ribonucleic acid -- in beta cells have found a type that plays a key role in cell death under stress. MicroRNAs have been regulating cell processes for aeons, as evidenced by phylogeny. Humans have around 21,000 genes, of which 700 to 1,000 code for microRNAs -- and 300 of these genes are present in all higher life forms, from worms to humans.

Fresh milk, off the grid

Posted: 19 May 2015 09:21 AM PDT

Milk preservation depends upon refrigeration and boiling, but in developing countries these methods are costly and often impractical due to the sporadic availability of continuous electricity. New research now finds that short pulsed electric fields can be used to kill milk-contaminating bacteria. This process can prevent bacteria proliferation in stored milk, potentially increasing its shelf life.

Most European men descend from a handful of Bronze Age forefathers

Posted: 19 May 2015 09:19 AM PDT

Researchers determined DNA sequences from the Y chromosomes of 334 men belonging to 17 populations from Europe and the Middle East. The study shows that almost two out of three (64%) modern European men belong to just three young paternal lineage. Geneticists have discovered that most European men descend from just a handful of Bronze Age forefathers, due to a 'population explosion' several thousand years ago.

Cancer drugs may hold key to treating Down syndrome and other brain disorders

Posted: 19 May 2015 09:18 AM PDT

A class of FDA-approved cancer drugs may be able to prevent problems with brain cell development associated with disorders including Down syndrome and Fragile X syndrome, researchers have found.

'Redesigned' antibodies may control HIV

Posted: 19 May 2015 09:18 AM PDT

With the help of a computer program called "Rosetta," researchers have "redesigned" an antibody that has increased potency and can neutralize more strains of the AIDS-causing human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) than can any known natural antibody.

Researchers determine best anesthesia option for infants

Posted: 19 May 2015 09:15 AM PDT

Experts have long examined the effects of anesthesia on infants and toddlers, and many believe infants who undergo general anesthesia in their first year of life may be at higher risk of developmental and learning issues. New work suggests that infants undergoing some types of surgery could have better recovery if they receive regional anesthesia rather than general anesthesia.

Smoking a significant predictor of lung cancer recurrence in survivors

Posted: 19 May 2015 09:15 AM PDT

A new study has shown that many lung cancer survivors are at high risk for developing another lung cancer or having their cancer return after completing treatment. The study specifically looked at lung cancer survivors from three different institutions who had shown no further evidence of having the disease after completing the required treatment for lung cancer.

COPD is more prevalent in poor and rural areas of the U. S.

Posted: 19 May 2015 09:15 AM PDT

Living in a rural area and being poor are risk factors for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to new research.

Anti-smoking commercials burn out over time

Posted: 19 May 2015 08:09 AM PDT

The massive, federally funded anti-smoking campaign in the United States 'Tips From Former Smokers' -- 'Tips' for short -- fizzled more than it popped. That's the conclusion behind new research on this public health issue.

Australian researcher helps with Ebola vaccine trials

Posted: 19 May 2015 08:09 AM PDT

An Australian researcher has helped identify the kind of human trial that is most effective for testing Ebola vaccines. Safe and effective vaccines could help end the ongoing Ebola virus disease epidemic in parts of West Africa and stop future outbreaks of the virus, researchers say.

Stuttering linked to rhythm perception deficiency

Posted: 19 May 2015 07:59 AM PDT

Stuttering may be more than a speech problem. For the first time, researchers have found that children who stutter have difficulty perceiving a beat in music-like rhythms, which could account for their halting speech patterns.

Horizontal gene transfer in E. coli

Posted: 19 May 2015 07:59 AM PDT

Escherichia coli O104 is an emergent disease-causing bacterium various strains of which are becoming increasingly well known and troublesome. The pathogen causes bloody diarrhea as well as and potentially fatal kidney damage, hemolytic uremic syndrome. Infection is usually through inadvertent ingestion of contaminated and incompletely cooked food or other materials, such as animals feces.

Differences in tumor cell metabolism affect growth, invasion and response, say researchers

Posted: 19 May 2015 07:58 AM PDT

Cells within a tumor are not the same; they may have different genetic mutations and different characteristics during growth and throughout treatment. These differences make treating tumors extremely difficult and often lead to tumor recurrence dominated by more aggressive tumor cells. Researchers are now using mathematical modeling to characterize these differences within a tumor and hope that the results of their latest study will lead to better therapeutic treatments.

Stress levels linked to risk of liver disease death, study shows

Posted: 19 May 2015 07:58 AM PDT

Suffering from anxiety or depression could carry an increased risk of death from liver disease, a study suggests. The study is the first to identify a possible link between high levels of psychological distress and deaths resulting from a variety of liver diseases.

Apremilast in plaque psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis: No added benefit can be derived

Posted: 19 May 2015 07:57 AM PDT

Reviewers report that the dossiers submitted regarding the use of Apremilast for psoriasis contained neither data from studies of direct comparisons nor indirect comparisons. The manufacturer itself also did not claim an added benefit for its new drug, they conclude.

HIV reservoirs remain obstacles to cure

Posted: 19 May 2015 07:57 AM PDT

Antiretroviral therapy has proven lifesaving for people infected with HIV; however, the medications are a lifelong necessity for most HIV-infected individuals and present practical, logistical, economic and health-related challenges. A primary research goal is to find an HIV cure that either clears the virus from an infected person's body or enables HIV-infected individuals to suppress virus levels and replication to extremely low levels without the need for daily ART.

Heart surgery? TAVI, safe and effective as surgical valves at 2 years in lower risk patients

Posted: 19 May 2015 07:57 AM PDT

Two year outcomes in a study comparing transcatheter to surgical bioprosthetic aortic valve implantation, shows that the less invasive procedure is safe and effective, and comparable to the gold standard, surgical valve replacement, in patients whose operational risk was lower than that of patients studied in the pivotal randomized trials for these newer devices.

Computer-assisted sedation reduces patient recovery time by almost 20 percent

Posted: 19 May 2015 07:57 AM PDT

Use of computer-assisted propofol sedation for routine upper endoscopy and colonoscopy reduced recovery room time by almost 20 percent, according to a new study. The study showed the process yielded a better recovery experience than the commonly used combination of midazolam and fentanyl.

Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde: Telomere and telomerase in stem cells

Posted: 19 May 2015 07:55 AM PDT

When a human cell divides, its' daughter cells should each receive an identical copy of the mother cell's genome. Occasionally mistakes occur during this process generating mutations that can give rise to cancer. To avoid detrimental outcome for the organism, cells with mutations that generate deviations from normal chromosomal number are eliminated by cellular protection mechanisms. Researchers have now identified a crucial role of telomeres, the end structures of chromosomes, for sensing cells with a wrong chromosome number, referred to as aneuploidy.

New risk factor for pregnancies: Higher risk of preterm delivery for women born preterm

Posted: 19 May 2015 07:46 AM PDT

Women who were born preterm have a higher risk of giving birth to preterm children, according to a study. Until now, it was known that low birth weight increased the risk of preterm delivery. But what about babies whose weights are low but still normal for preemies born at this age? The new study focused on exactly this.

How does the brain respond to hearing loss?

Posted: 19 May 2015 07:46 AM PDT

Researchers suggest that the portion of the brain devoted to hearing can become reorganized even with early-stage hearing loss, and may play a role in cognitive decline. They have applied fundamental principles of neuroplasticity, the ability of the brain to forge new connections, to determine the ways it adapts to hearing loss, as well as the consequences of those changes.

Cognitive process speed in teen years affects depression risk in adulthood

Posted: 19 May 2015 07:46 AM PDT

Teens with slower performance on a test of "cognitive processing speed" are more likely to have depression and anxiety symptoms as adults, reports a new paper. Previous studies have shown that people with more severe depression have slower reaction times and other cognitive deficits. It has generally been assumed that this "psychomotor slowing" is a consequence of depression, rather than a risk factor for it. The new study suggests that slower processing speed may contribute to the development of mental health disorders -- possibly by leading to "increased stress and difficulties responding to adversity earlier in life."

Treating infants of mothers with opioid dependence: Rising rates, rising costs

Posted: 19 May 2015 07:46 AM PDT

As more infants are born to mothers with dependence on prescription pain medications, the costs of treatment for babies with neonatal abstinence syndrome have increased dramatically, suggests a new report.

Most Americans don't use sunscreen, study shows

Posted: 19 May 2015 06:11 AM PDT

Exposure to ultraviolet radiation is the most preventable risk factor for all types of skin cancer. But according to new research, the majority of Americans are not regularly using sunscreen to protect themselves from the sun's harmful UV rays.

Significant differences in achieving risk factor targets between women and men

Posted: 19 May 2015 05:43 AM PDT

There is a striking and statistically significant difference in how women and men are treated following a heart attack. These gender differences are reflected in the rate of risk factor control, which was lower in women, and in the rate of hospital readmission for a further heart attack, which was higher in women than in men.

Omega-3 fatty acids enhance cognitive flexibility in at-risk older adults

Posted: 19 May 2015 05:43 AM PDT

A study of older adults at risk of late-onset Alzheimer's disease found that those who consumed more omega-3 fatty acids did better than their peers on tests of cognitive flexibility -- the ability to efficiently switch between tasks -- and had a bigger anterior cingulate cortex, a brain region known to contribute to cognitive flexibility.

Nerve cells use each other as maps

Posted: 19 May 2015 05:42 AM PDT

When nerve cells form in an embryo they don't start off in the right place but have to be guided to their final position by navigating a kind of molecular and cellular "map" in order to function properly. In a recent research, authors report that during embryonic development, different parts of the nerve cell are important for guiding other nerve cells into their physical positions.

Technology offers improved care for preemies

Posted: 19 May 2015 05:42 AM PDT

A new monitoring tool for preemies could help reduce complications from dangerous blood-oxygen levels by 30 to 50 percent, say its developers. The researchers have created a new, real-time monitoring system that continuously measures the dissolved oxygen in neonatal blood.

Osteoporosis screening is too common for low-risk women and too uncommon for higher-risk women

Posted: 19 May 2015 05:42 AM PDT

Many of those who should get it, don't. And many of those who shouldn't, do. That's the story of a common screening test for osteoporosis, according to new research. Researchers recommend electronic health record enhancements to improve preventive-care decisions

Crucial step in helping to prevent Hepatitis C virus replicating identified

Posted: 19 May 2015 05:42 AM PDT

New research has identified how changes in the cell membrane play a pivotal role in how the Hepatitis C virus replicates. By understanding this process, the researchers hope to investigate how to prevent the changes and potentially develop therapeutic drugs to combat the Hepatitis C virus (HCV), which infects an estimated 170 million people globally.

Investigating the benefits of 'sticky sperm' for IVF

Posted: 19 May 2015 05:41 AM PDT

Scientists are investigating whether a molecule usually found in moisturizers and skin creams could improve IVF success rates. Embryologists running a new clinical trial are investigating whether hyaluronic acid, normally found in beauty products which are designed to maintain elasticity in the skin and keep hair and joints hydrated, helps sperm stick to the human egg when it is released from the ovary.

Washington DC tops the list of fittest cities in the U. S.

Posted: 19 May 2015 05:33 AM PDT

Residents of the nation's capital, followed by Minneapolis-St. Paul, and San Diego, enjoy a variety of outdoor exercise options, and have relatively low rates of smoking, obesity and diabetes. That combination of measurable health and community indicators makes them the three fittest of the 50 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S.

Text messages can help boost teen birth control compliance

Posted: 19 May 2015 05:33 AM PDT

Sending teen girls periodic text messages reminding them to follow through on their clinic appointments for periodic birth control injections can go a long way toward improving timing and adherence to contraception in an age group that is notoriously noncompliant, according to a small study.
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