ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

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• Study finds significant decrease in hospitalization of older nursing home residents with high dose influenza vaccine
• Exercise and stop smoking to improve depression after heart attack
• Genetic variant shown to influence women's body shape and diabetes risk
• Hard-to-detect chromosomal anomalies explain neurodevelopmental birth defects
• New study provides key insights into aspirin's disease-fighting abilities
• Blood clotting protein triggers immune attack on brain
• Researchers study costs of integrating genetic sequencing into clinical care
• Researchers use gut bacteria composition to genetically classify colorectal tumors
• A new way to fight against antibiotic resistance
• A better way to read the genome
• Pain is in the brain
• Antiviral compound provides full protection from Ebola virus in nonhuman primates
• Novel theoretical approach to reduce antibiotic resistance
• 3D image of cancer protein aids quest for new treatments
• Tripped up by a bug: Infection may cause falls, especially in older people, study suggests
• Antibiotic stewardship reduces C. diff in hospitalized children
• Vaccines: Don't leave home without them
• Teens value results of genetic tests to inform future life decisions
• HIV discovery: Biomarkers predict virus return when treatment is stopped
• Protecting newborn brains using hypothermia
• Researchers create 'leukemia in a dish' to better study it
• Scientists discover essential amino acid sensor in key growth-regulating metabolic pathway
• Poor infant sleep may predict problematic toddler behavior
• High dose chemo and stem cell transplantation results in long-term survival for amyloid patients
• Mysterious disease may be tied to climate change, says researcher
• Emergency department CT scans can change physicians' diagnoses, management decisions
• A convergence of deadly signals
• New protein cleanup factors found to control bacterial growth
• Genetic variation is key to fighting viruses
• Mapping the genes that increase lifespan
• Proteins with ALS, cancer role do not assume a regular shape

Study finds significant decrease in hospitalization of older nursing home residents with high dose influenza vaccine Posted: 10 Oct 2015 07:54 PM PDT Researchers found that flu immunizations with four times the strength of standard flu shots significantly reduced the risk of being hospitalized during the influenza season. The group that received the high dose vaccine had a 19.7 percent hospital admission rate versus 20.9 percent in admission for those who received the standard dose vaccine.

Exercise and stop smoking to improve depression after heart attack Posted: 10 Oct 2015 07:52 PM PDT Exercise and stop smoking to improve depression after a heart attack, experts urge.

Genetic variant shown to influence women's body shape and diabetes risk Posted: 10 Oct 2015 07:52 PM PDT A genetic variant near the KLF14 gene regulates hundreds of genes that govern how and where women's bodies store fat, which affects their risk of developing type 2 diabetes, according to new research. Specifically, different alleles, or versions, of the variant cause fat-storing cells to function differently.

Hard-to-detect chromosomal anomalies explain neurodevelopmental birth defects Posted: 10 Oct 2015 07:52 PM PDT Balanced chromosomal abnormalities (BCAs), a category of structural changes to the human genome, may account for a large portion of birth defects related to brain development and function, according to new research. BCAs are changes to the structure of an individual's chromosomes, in which one or more fragments of DNA breaks apart from the regions around it and is reattached elsewhere in the genome.

New study provides key insights into aspirin's disease-fighting abilities Posted: 09 Oct 2015 03:54 PM PDT A new explanation has been found for how aspirin works in the body to reduce the risk of heart disease and certain cancers. Aspirin's active form, salicylic acid, blocks a protein called HMGB1, which triggers inflammation in damaged tissues. The new findings may explain the disease-preventing effects of a low-dose aspirin regimen and offer hope that more effective aspirin-like drugs may be developed for a wide variety of diseases.

Blood clotting protein triggers immune attack on brain Posted: 09 Oct 2015 03:54 PM PDT A single drop of blood in the brain is sufficient to activate an autoimmune response akin to multiple sclerosis, new research shows. This is the first demonstration that introduction of blood in the healthy brain is sufficient to cause peripheral immune cells to enter the brain, which then go on to cause brain damage.

Researchers study costs of integrating genetic sequencing into clinical care Posted: 09 Oct 2015 03:54 PM PDT Integrating whole genome sequencing into primary care and heart disease care is unlikely to substantially increase the costs of health care utilization and follow-up tests, according to new research. On average, patients whose genomes were sequenced incurred a cost of $719 in follow-up tests and care over the following year, including out-of-pocket expenses, while standard treatment and follow-up averaged $430 per patient.

Researchers use gut bacteria composition to genetically classify colorectal tumors Posted: 09 Oct 2015 03:54 PM PDT By analyzing the types of gut bacteria present around colorectal tumors, researchers have found a way to predict key genetic mutations in the tumors themselves, a method that could eventually inform the development of colorectal cancer diagnostics and therapeutics.

A new way to fight against antibiotic resistance Posted: 09 Oct 2015 12:56 PM PDT The aim of Uppsala Health Summit, this summer's international summit about antibiotic resistance, was to make real progress in combatting this threat to public health. The conclusions have now been presented in a report which provides policy makers and medical professionals with a number of concrete recommendations.

A better way to read the genome Posted: 09 Oct 2015 12:54 PM PDT Genomicists have sequenced the RNA of the most complicated gene known in nature, using a hand-held sequencer no bigger than a cell phone. The researchers show that a new nanopore sequencer can sequence genes faster, better, and at a much lower cost than the standard technology.

Pain is in the brain Posted: 09 Oct 2015 12:54 PM PDT A new study might finally provide a new direction for research seeking to help patients suffering from neuropathic pain.

Antiviral compound provides full protection from Ebola virus in nonhuman primates Posted: 09 Oct 2015 12:54 PM PDT Rhesus monkeys were completely protected from the deadly Ebola virus when treated three days after infection with a compound that blocks the virus's ability to replicate. These encouraging preclinical results suggest the compound, known as GS-5734, should be further developed as a potential treatment, according to new research findings.

Novel theoretical approach to reduce antibiotic resistance Posted: 09 Oct 2015 12:54 PM PDT Researchers have developed a novel mathematical method inspired by Darwinian evolution to use current antibiotics to eliminate or reduce the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

3D image of cancer protein aids quest for new treatments Posted: 09 Oct 2015 12:53 PM PDT The first three-dimensional image of a key protein known to be involved in the development of blood and other cancers has been created by scientists. This discovery showed the protein, called Trib1, plays a vital role in controlling how and when other proteins are degraded, which is essential for managing protein levels in the cell. The finding could be used to develop new drugs to treat cancers such as leukaemia, caused by malfunctioning of the Trib1 protein.

Tripped up by a bug: Infection may cause falls, especially in older people, study suggests Posted: 09 Oct 2015 12:52 PM PDT People who end up in the emergency room because of a fall often are tripped up by an infection, rather than a loose throw rug or poor eyesight, suggests a new study.

Antibiotic stewardship reduces C. diff in hospitalized children Posted: 09 Oct 2015 12:52 PM PDT Hospitalized children were three times less likely to become sick with Clostridium difficile (C. diff), a serious bacterial infection that can occur after prolonged antibiotic use, following implementation of an antibiotic stewardship program, a new study found. These programs reduce the misuse of antibiotics and therefore C. diff, and also result in antibiotic cost savings, according to new research.

Vaccines: Don't leave home without them Posted: 09 Oct 2015 12:52 PM PDT While Americans should be fully vaccinated before travelling internationally to avoid infection with highly contagious diseases such as measles and hepatitis A, many are not, suggest two new studies. The findings suggest the lack of pretravel vaccination was a factor in illness outbreaks.

Teens value results of genetic tests to inform future life decisions Posted: 09 Oct 2015 12:52 PM PDT Most teens in grades 7-12 would prefer to know the results of unanticipated findings found in whole exome sequencing genetic testing, even if the findings are not medically actionable until adulthood, according to survey data. The survey addressed secondary findings gleaned from sequencing the protein-coding regions of a person's genome.

HIV discovery: Biomarkers predict virus return when treatment is stopped Posted: 09 Oct 2015 05:30 AM PDT Scientists are now better able to predict how quickly the HIV virus will return after individuals stop treatment, thanks to new research.

Protecting newborn brains using hypothermia Posted: 08 Oct 2015 11:27 AM PDT A unique study of newborns treated with hypothermia for hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) – a condition that occurs when the brain is deprived of an adequate oxygen supply – confirms its neuroprotective effects on the brain.

Researchers create 'leukemia in a dish' to better study it Posted: 08 Oct 2015 11:27 AM PDT Scientists engineered stem cells to better understand the mechanisms behind a form of leukemia caused by changes in a key gene, according to a new study.

Scientists discover essential amino acid sensor in key growth-regulating metabolic pathway Posted: 08 Oct 2015 11:27 AM PDT Scientists have at last answered the long-standing question of how the growth-regulating pathway known as mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) detects the presence of the amino acid leucine -- itself a key player in modulating muscle growth, appetite, and insulin secretion.

Poor infant sleep may predict problematic toddler behavior Posted: 08 Oct 2015 11:25 AM PDT A recent study finds a definite link between poor infant sleep and compromised attention and behavior at the toddler stage.

High dose chemo and stem cell transplantation results in long-term survival for amyloid patients Posted: 08 Oct 2015 11:24 AM PDT Patients with Light-chain amyloidosis who are treated with high-dose chemotherapy and autologous (one's own) stem cell transplantation (HDM/SCT) have the greatest success for long-term survival.

Mysterious disease may be tied to climate change, says researcher Posted: 08 Oct 2015 11:24 AM PDT A mysterious kidney disease that has killed over 20,000 people in Central America, most of them sugar cane workers, may be caused by chronic, severe dehydration linked to global climate change, according to a new study.

Emergency department CT scans can change physicians' diagnoses, management decisions Posted: 08 Oct 2015 11:24 AM PDT After viewing CT scan results, physicians in the emergency departments of four major academic medical centers made key changes in clinical decision-making for patients with symptoms frequently seen in emergency rooms, a new report suggests.

A convergence of deadly signals Posted: 08 Oct 2015 11:22 AM PDT A team of Ludwig Cancer Research scientists has mapped out how a mutant version of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) known as EGFRvIII specifically drives critical processes that alter the reading of the genome to fuel the growth of the brain cancer glioblastoma multiforme and -- most important -- how each process is linked to the other.

New protein cleanup factors found to control bacterial growth Posted: 08 Oct 2015 11:22 AM PDT Biochemists have long known that crucial cell processes depend on a highly regulated cleanup system known as proteolysis, where specialized proteins called proteases degrade damaged or no-longer-needed proteins. They must destroy specific targets without damaging other proteins, but how this orderly destruction works is unknown in many cases. Now researchers report finding how an essential bacterial protease controls cell growth and division.

Genetic variation is key to fighting viruses Posted: 08 Oct 2015 11:22 AM PDT Using a genome-wide association study, scientists have identified subtle genetic changes that can cause substantial differences to how we fight viral infections. The new work connects genetics to antiviral immunity while offering a new path for studying this relationship in other medical contexts.

Mapping the genes that increase lifespan Posted: 08 Oct 2015 11:22 AM PDT Researchers aiming to slow the aging process have new targets to explore. Following an exhaustive, 10-year effort, scientists have identified 238 genes that, when removed, increase the replicative lifespan of S. cerevisiae yeast cells. This is the first time 189 of these genes have been linked to aging. These results provide new genomic targets that could eventually be used to improve human health.

Proteins with ALS, cancer role do not assume a regular shape Posted: 08 Oct 2015 11:22 AM PDT Our cells contain proteins, essential to functions like protein creation and DNA repair but also involved in forms of ALS and cancer, that never take a characteristic shape, a new study shows. Instead it's how they become huddled with each other into droplets that matters. Scientists may therefore have to understand the code that determines their huddling to prevent disease.

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