ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

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• Iron-containing inflammatory cells seen in Alzheimer's brains
• New Pap smear schedule led to fewer chlamydia tests, new study suggests
• One-third of colorectal cancers diagnosed before 35 are hereditary, study finds
• Hereditary swellings caused by defective blood protein
• New insights into biofilm formation could lead to better therapies, but mysteries remain
• Novel monoclonal antibodies show promise for Alzheimer's disease treatment
• Football helmet tests may not account for concussion-prone actions, study suggests
• Inflammatory link discovered between arthritis, heart valve disease
• New tool for investigating RNA gone awry
• Prawn solution to spread of deadly disease identified
• Lack of knowledge on animal disease leaves humans at risk
• New method to deliver glucose to cancer cells could prove key to defeating deadly cancers
• Study uncovers key differences among ALS patients
• Celebrity influence on breast cancer screening
• Is Facebook use always associated with poorer body image and risky dieting?
• Teens' overall substance use declining, but marijuana use rising
• HIV control through treatment durably prevents heterosexual transmission of virus
• For kids with injured ankles, less treatment may be more
• Sustained benefit of early antiretroviral therapy
• Mouse model tests health risks of circadian disturbances
• Inhaled cannabis shown effective for diabetic neuropathy pain
• Poverty's most insidious damage is to a child's brain
• State regulations linked to late cancer diagnoses
• Life-saving breast cancer drugs going untaken in Appalachia
• Solar events unlikely to trigger birth defects on Earth
• A cause of mental retardation, autism discovered
• Novel glycoengineering technology gives qualitative leap for biologics drug research
• 'Pill on a string' could help spot early signs of cancer of the gullet
• Gene expression, immune system linked with cancer survival rates
• T-cell receptor therapy achieves encouraging clinical responses in multiple myeloma
• Inflammatory bowel disease genetically similar in Europeans, non-Europeans
• Study shows promise of precision medicine for most common type of lymphoma
• Child's home address predicts hospitalization risk for common respiratory diseases
• Evidence for serotonergic dissociation between anxiety, fear
• How neurons remember
• Researchers beat untreatable eczema with arthritis drug
• 3D-printed 'smart cap' uses electronics to sense spoiled food
• Most chronic pain patients use alternative therapies, but many don't tell their doctors
• New imaging contrast agents light up thyroid and parathyroid glands during surgery
• Stopping malaria in its tracks
• Keep fears at bay by learning something new
• Could camouflage be the secret to success in football?
• Highly qualified healthcare workers with migrant background: loss to the country of origin, too little opportunity in destination country
• Novel treatments emerging for human mitochondrial diseases
• Autism, ADHD run high in children of chemically intolerant mothers
• Testosterone therapy not linked with blood clot disorders in veins, study finds
• Antibiotic exposure could increase the risk of juvenile arthritis
• Engineering potential treatment for all four dengue serotypes

Iron-containing inflammatory cells seen in Alzheimer's brains Posted: 20 Jul 2015 02:58 PM PDT Examining post-mortem tissue from the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease, investigators identified what appear to be iron-containing microglia in a particular part of the hippocampus, a key brain structure whose integrity is critical to memory formation.

New Pap smear schedule led to fewer chlamydia tests, new study suggests Posted: 20 Jul 2015 02:56 PM PDT It's a tale of two tests: one for early signs of cervical cancer, the other for the sexually transmitted disease chlamydia. But a change in the recommended schedule for one may have dramatically lowered the chances that young women would get the other, a new study finds.

One-third of colorectal cancers diagnosed before 35 are hereditary, study finds Posted: 20 Jul 2015 02:56 PM PDT Hereditary colorectal cancers, caused by inherited gene mutations, are relatively rare for most patients. However, researchers have discovered a particularly high prevalence of hereditary cancers among those diagnosed with the disease before the age of 35.

Hereditary swellings caused by defective blood protein Posted: 20 Jul 2015 01:18 PM PDT Hereditary angioedema type III is a rare, hereditary, and serious disorder, characterized by painful swellings in the skin and other organs. An international team of scientists has published a study in which they show that the disease is caused by a defective blood protein, the so-called coagulation factor XII. The results from this study may contribute to future treatment strategies for patients with the disease.

New insights into biofilm formation could lead to better therapies, but mysteries remain Posted: 20 Jul 2015 12:42 PM PDT Biofilms are tough, opportunistic, highly antibiotic resistant bacterial coatings that form on catheters and on medical devices implanted within the body. Investigators have now shown that a 'messenger molecule' produced by the opportunistic human pathogen, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, encourages bacteria to colonize catheters in the bladders of laboratory mice, where they form biofilms.

Novel monoclonal antibodies show promise for Alzheimer's disease treatment Posted: 20 Jul 2015 12:42 PM PDT Scientists have evidence that monoclonal antibodies they developed may provide the blueprint for effective treatments for Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson's disease.

Football helmet tests may not account for concussion-prone actions, study suggests Posted: 20 Jul 2015 12:42 PM PDT Concussions in football are caused by the sudden rotation of the skull, mounting evidence suggests. Researchers now have evidence that suggests current football helmet tests don't account for these movements.

Inflammatory link discovered between arthritis, heart valve disease Posted: 20 Jul 2015 12:42 PM PDT Researchers have used models to identify a potential link between excess production of inflammatory proteins that cause rheumatoid arthritis and the development of heart valve disease. The research team discovered that a critical inflammatory protein involved in rheumatoid arthritis could also lead to inflammation and disease of the heart valves, including aneurysms. The research could lead to improved treatments for rheumatoid arthritis, and suggests investigating existing medicines that dampen inflammation to treat heart valve diseases, such as rheumatic heart disease.

New tool for investigating RNA gone awry Posted: 20 Jul 2015 12:42 PM PDT RNA is a fundamental ingredient in all known forms of life -- so when RNA goes awry, a lot can go wrong. A new technology offers the first real-time method to track and observe the dynamics of RNA distribution as it is transported inside living cells. 'Sticky-flares' have the potential to help scientists understand the complexities of RNA better than any analytical technique to date and observe and study the biological and medical significance of RNA misregulation.

Prawn solution to spread of deadly disease identified Posted: 20 Jul 2015 12:42 PM PDT A deadly disease may have met its match: a bug-eyed, pint-sized crustacean. The river prawn, a natural predator of parasite-carrying snails, proves effective at curbing the spread of schistosomiasis in West Africa, new research has found.

Lack of knowledge on animal disease leaves humans at risk Posted: 20 Jul 2015 12:42 PM PDT Researchers have painted the most detailed picture to date of major infectious diseases shared between wildlife and livestock, and found a huge gap in knowledge about diseases which could spread to humans.

New method to deliver glucose to cancer cells could prove key to defeating deadly cancers Posted: 20 Jul 2015 11:53 AM PDT Scientists have, for the first time, demonstrated the importance of sodium-dependent glucose transporters (SGLTs) in delivering glucose to pancreatic and prostate cancer cells. Their study results show promising evidence that current SGLT inhibitor drugs (such as those commonly used to treat diabetes) could potentially be used to block glucose uptake and reduce tumor growth in these cancers. The researchers also utilized PET imaging to measure SGLT activity, suggesting the technology could be used to better diagnose pancreatic and prostate cancers. Pancreatic and prostate cancers are among the most deadly forms of cancer in men, and new therapies are urgently needed to combat these diseases.

Study uncovers key differences among ALS patients Posted: 20 Jul 2015 11:13 AM PDT Key differences between patients with sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease) and those with the most common genetic form of ALS, a mutation in the C9orf72 gene have been identified by a group of researchers.

Celebrity influence on breast cancer screening Posted: 20 Jul 2015 11:13 AM PDT Angelina Jolie received widespread media attention in 2013 when she told the public that she'd tested positive for BRCA1, a gene associated with an increased risk of breast and ovarian cancers, and subsequently had a double mastectomy. Now research shows that this publicity did influence some women's intentions to seek out similar genetic testing.

Is Facebook use always associated with poorer body image and risky dieting? Posted: 20 Jul 2015 10:33 AM PDT College women who are more emotionally invested in Facebook and have lots of Facebook friends are less concerned with body size and shape and less likely to engage in risky dieting behaviors. But that's only if they aren't using Facebook to compare their bodies to their friends' bodies, according to the authors of a surprising new study.

Teens' overall substance use declining, but marijuana use rising Posted: 20 Jul 2015 10:33 AM PDT Marijuana use in teenagers is on the rise, while cigarette and alcohol use are stable or declining, according to health statistics researchers. In particular, black teens are using more marijuana than in recent decades.

HIV control through treatment durably prevents heterosexual transmission of virus Posted: 20 Jul 2015 10:33 AM PDT Antiretroviral treatment that consistently suppresses HIV is highly effective at preventing sexual transmission of the virus in heterosexual couples where one person is HIV-infected and the other is not, investigators report.

For kids with injured ankles, less treatment may be more Posted: 20 Jul 2015 10:32 AM PDT Emergency physicians can safely reduce X-rays in children with hurt ankles by as much as 23 percent and save emergency patients both money and time. These results of a cost analysis of the Low Risk Ankle Rule were published recently by experts.

Sustained benefit of early antiretroviral therapy Posted: 20 Jul 2015 10:32 AM PDT Antiretroviral therapy for HIV infection provides lasting protection against the sexual transmission of the virus from infected men and women to their HIV-uninfected sexual partners, investigators have reported.

Mouse model tests health risks of circadian disturbances Posted: 20 Jul 2015 10:32 AM PDT People who work outside of the normal 9-5 schedule or experience frequent jet lag have been found to be at an increased risk for everything from weight gain to cancer, but there are too many variables involved to conduct multi-decade, controlled studies in humans to confirm whether sleep pattern disruption is a correlation or the cause. Now, researchers present the next best thing: a model that subjects mice to human-relevant circadian rhythm disturbances.

Inhaled cannabis shown effective for diabetic neuropathy pain Posted: 20 Jul 2015 08:51 AM PDT Inhaled cannabis reduces diabetic neuropathy and the analgesic effect is dose-dependent, new research suggests. Researchers conducted a randomized, double-blind study evaluating 16 subjects to assess the efficacy and tolerability of inhaled cannabis for treating pain caused by diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN).

Poverty's most insidious damage is to a child's brain Posted: 20 Jul 2015 08:51 AM PDT An alarming 22 percent of U.S. children live in poverty, which can have long-lasting negative consequences on brain development, emotional health and academic achievement. Now, even more compelling evidence has been provided suggesting that growing up in poverty has detrimental effects on the brain.

State regulations linked to late cancer diagnoses Posted: 20 Jul 2015 08:50 AM PDT States' regulations of health insurance and practitioners significantly influence when patients receive colorectal or breast cancer diagnoses, especially among people younger than the Medicare-eligible age of 65, according to a new study.

Life-saving breast cancer drugs going untaken in Appalachia Posted: 20 Jul 2015 08:50 AM PDT Nearly one-third of breast cancer survivors in Appalachia are not taking the critical, potentially life-saving follow-up treatment -- despite having insurance that would pay for it, a troubling new study has found.

Solar events unlikely to trigger birth defects on Earth Posted: 20 Jul 2015 08:49 AM PDT A new investigation has found radiation from solar events is too weak to cause worry at ground level.

A cause of mental retardation, autism discovered Posted: 20 Jul 2015 08:49 AM PDT The term intellectual disability covers a large number of clinical entities, some with known cause and others of uncertain origin. For example Down syndrome is due to an extra copy of chromosome 21 and Rett syndrome is in part caused by a mutation in the control switch gene called MeCP2. In other cases the mechanisms by which they are produced are not clearly identified. Now a research team has discovered a mechanism that identifies a cause of intellectual disabilities in these puzzling cases.

Novel glycoengineering technology gives qualitative leap for biologics drug research Posted: 20 Jul 2015 08:49 AM PDT Researchers have discovered a ground-breaking new technique of improving biotech drugs to offer better, cheaper and more effective drugs to combat cancer, arthritis and many other disorders.

'Pill on a string' could help spot early signs of cancer of the gullet Posted: 20 Jul 2015 08:49 AM PDT A 'pill on a string' could help doctors detect esophageal cancer -- cancer of the gullet -- at an early stage, helping them overcome the problem of wide variation between biopsies.

Gene expression, immune system linked with cancer survival rates Posted: 20 Jul 2015 08:47 AM PDT Physicians have long sought a way to accurately predict cancer patients' survival outcomes by looking at biological details of the specific cancers they have. But despite concerted efforts, no such clinical crystal ball exists for the majority of cancers. Now researchers have compiled a database that integrates gene expression patterns of 39 types of cancer from nearly 18,000 patients with data about how long those patients lived.

T-cell receptor therapy achieves encouraging clinical responses in multiple myeloma Posted: 20 Jul 2015 08:47 AM PDT Results from a clinical trial investigating a new T cell receptor therapy that uses a person's own immune system to recognize and destroy cancer cells demonstrated a clinical response in 80 percent of multiple myeloma patients with advanced disease after undergoing autologous stem cell transplants.

Inflammatory bowel disease genetically similar in Europeans, non-Europeans Posted: 20 Jul 2015 08:47 AM PDT The first genetic study of inflammatory bowel disease across diverse populations has shown that the regions of the genome underlying the disease are consistent around the world. It suggests that the biology underlying disease is also consistent and that drugs developed from genetic studies in one population could be used worldwide. This study compared nearly 10,000 people of East Asian, Indian or Iranian descent with 86,640 people from Europe, North America and Oceania.

Study shows promise of precision medicine for most common type of lymphoma Posted: 20 Jul 2015 08:47 AM PDT Patients with a specific molecular subtype of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma are more likely to respond to the drug ibrutinib (Imbruvica) than patients with another molecular subtype of the disease, a new study shows.

Child's home address predicts hospitalization risk for common respiratory diseases Posted: 20 Jul 2015 08:47 AM PDT Children who require hospitalization for several common respiratory illnesses tend to live in inner-city neighborhoods with less than optimal socioeconomic conditions, according to researchers.

Evidence for serotonergic dissociation between anxiety, fear Posted: 20 Jul 2015 08:05 AM PDT What had been clustered as anxiety disorders is not homogenous in terms of functioning of the serotonergic system, an international team of researchers suggests. According to the authors, this distinction is important to the ongoing efforts in order to re-categorize psychiatric disorders based on etiological variables and may also help to give direction to the development of new treatments.

How neurons remember Posted: 20 Jul 2015 08:05 AM PDT Scientists have discovered mechanism at the level of the individual neurons that may play a role in the formation of memory. They have determined that back-propagating electrical impulses serve to activate a receptor inside the cell, thereby resulting in long-term changes in the calcium response in specificneuronal compartments.

Researchers beat untreatable eczema with arthritis drug Posted: 20 Jul 2015 08:05 AM PDT Researchers have successfully treated patients with moderate to severe eczema using a rheumatoid arthritis drug recently shown to reverse two other disfiguring skin conditions, vitiligo and alopecia areata. The study is evidence of a potential new era in eczema treatment, they report.

3D-printed 'smart cap' uses electronics to sense spoiled food Posted: 20 Jul 2015 08:04 AM PDT Engineers are expanding the portfolio of 3-D printing technology to include microelectronics and integrated wireless sensors. To show that their system worked, they created a 'smart cap' to monitor the freshness of milk.

Most chronic pain patients use alternative therapies, but many don't tell their doctors Posted: 20 Jul 2015 08:04 AM PDT More than half of chronic pain patients in a managed care setting reported using chiropractic care or acupuncture or both, but many of these patients didn't discuss this care with their primary care providers. These study results suggest that better care coordination is needed among patients and physicians.

New imaging contrast agents light up thyroid and parathyroid glands during surgery Posted: 20 Jul 2015 06:45 AM PDT Two near-infrared contrast agents have been developed that are efficiently taken up by the thyroid and parathyroid glands following intravenous injection. The contrast agents could be used to help surgeons operate on the glands with greater precision.

Stopping malaria in its tracks Posted: 20 Jul 2015 06:45 AM PDT A new drug acts as a roadblock for malaria, curing mice of established infection, according to researchers. Treatment was not associated with obvious side effects, suggesting that the drug may also be safe and effective in humans, the researchers report.

Keep fears at bay by learning something new Posted: 20 Jul 2015 06:24 AM PDT Exposure therapy is a commonly used and effective treatment for anxiety disorders, including posttraumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and phobias. The goal of such therapy is to extinguish fear, which is accomplished by presenting cues that are known to predict a negative experience in the absence of that experience. Over time, learning that the 'danger cue' is no longer dangerous produces extinction of the fearful response. However, fears and the associated defensive behaviors resulting from that fear often return after they have been extinguished, undermining the long-term effectiveness of treatment.

Could camouflage be the secret to success in football? Posted: 20 Jul 2015 06:24 AM PDT While use of camouflage and intelligent color have proven to be vital in the army for more than a century, football kit colors are still not acknowledged as a possible success factor, new research concludes.

Highly qualified healthcare workers with migrant background: loss to the country of origin, too little opportunity in destination country Posted: 20 Jul 2015 06:24 AM PDT A recent intercontinental study using the example of women from sub-Saharan Africa has shown that, on the one hand, there is a shortage of qualified healthcare professionals but, on the other, huge obstacles are put in the way of qualified medical staff with a migrant background when they want to work abroad.

Novel treatments emerging for human mitochondrial diseases Posted: 20 Jul 2015 06:23 AM PDT Using existing drugs, such as lithium, to restore basic biological processes in human cells and animal models, researchers may have broken a long-standing logjam in devising effective treatments for human mitochondrial diseases. The researchers are planning early-stage clinical trials.

Autism, ADHD run high in children of chemically intolerant mothers Posted: 20 Jul 2015 06:23 AM PDT Mothers with chemical intolerances are two to three times more likely than other women to have a child with a autism spectrum disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to a new study.

Testosterone therapy not linked with blood clot disorders in veins, study finds Posted: 20 Jul 2015 06:23 AM PDT A new study of more than 30,000 commercially insured men is the first large comparative analysis to show that there is no link between testosterone therapy and blood clots in veins. The study found that middle-aged and older men who receive testosterone therapy are not at increased risk of this illness.

Antibiotic exposure could increase the risk of juvenile arthritis Posted: 20 Jul 2015 06:22 AM PDT Taking antibiotics may increase the risk that a child will develop juvenile arthritis, according to a study. Researchers found that children who were prescribed antibiotics had twice the risk of developing juvenile arthritis compared to children the same age who were not prescribed antibiotics. The more courses of antibiotics prescribed, the higher the associated risk, they found.

Engineering potential treatment for all four dengue serotypes Posted: 19 Jul 2015 09:42 AM PDT A multinational research team comprising scientists, engineers and drug developers have joined forces to develop a viable dengue therapeutic that targets all dengue serotypes.

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