الجمعة، 13 نوفمبر 2015

ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

Lead exposure impacts children's sleep

Posted: 12 Nov 2015 01:14 PM PST

Lead exposure in early childhood are associated with increased risk for sleep problems and excessive daytime sleepiness in later childhood, new research shows. This is the first longitudinal, population-based study that investigated early lead exposure to sleep problems.

Protein's work in eye lens suggests a way to tame cancer

Posted: 12 Nov 2015 12:59 PM PST

How does a protein called connexin put the clamps on cancer? Researchers have now reported an explanation. In the future, cancer therapies could potentially be based on connexin molecules, the study suggests.

Thyroid cancer biomarker assays may show inaccurate readings

Posted: 12 Nov 2015 12:59 PM PST

Two thyroid cancer biomarkers go through a clumping cycle that may interfere with cancer detection tests. New research explores a driving force behind the problem: a protein with a sweet tooth.

HIV spreads faster as violent conflict looms

Posted: 12 Nov 2015 12:59 PM PST

A new analysis of HIV incidence in 36 sub-Saharan African countries finds that new HIV infections rise significantly in the five years before armed conflict breaks out. The new study tracked HIV incidence statistics in 36 sub-Saharan countries from 1990 through 2012 and correlated them with periods of conflict and peace in each country. The research team was therefore able to calculate how the incidence rose and fell in each country in relation to violence, while controlling for other factors such as economic development, refugee influx, and the year of the region's broader epidemic, which generally peaked in 1996.

Researchers identify liver pathway linked to negative impacts of high-fat, high-cholesterol diet

Posted: 12 Nov 2015 09:49 AM PST

It's no secret that a high-fat, high-cholesterol "junk food" diet has been linked to major health problems, including high blood cholesterol and the buildup of plaques in the arteries, known as atherosclerosis. Now new research has identified a pathway in the liver, controlled by a protein known as BAF60a, that contributes to these negative effects by stimulating the production of bile—which helps the body to absorb more cholesterol and other fats from the foods we eat.

Grabbing a parasite by the tail: Team solves 'jumping gene' mystery

Posted: 12 Nov 2015 09:39 AM PST

Deep within your DNA, a tiny parasite lurks, waiting to pounce from its perch and land in the middle of an unsuspecting healthy gene. If it succeeds, it can make you sick. Like a jungle cat, this parasite sports a long tail. But until now, little was known about what role that tail plays in this dangerous jumping.

Molecular mechanism at root of familial amyloidosis and other diseases

Posted: 12 Nov 2015 09:39 AM PST

A team of local researchers has proposed a molecular mechanism that may be responsible for the development of life-threatening diseases called amyloidoses. The best known of such diseases is Alzheimer's disease, but there are many others that are receiving increased scrutiny, in part because of mounting evidence linking them to atherosclerosis and aging.

Blood sample new way of detecting cancer

Posted: 12 Nov 2015 09:37 AM PST

A new RNA test of blood platelets can be used to detect, classify and pinpoint the location of cancer by analyzing a sample equivalent to one drop of blood. Using this new method for blood-based RNA tests of blood platelets, researchers have been able to identify cancer with 96 per cent accuracy, scientists report.

Lenalidomide plus rituximab produces durable responses in mantle cell lymphoma patients

Posted: 12 Nov 2015 09:37 AM PST

The drug combination rituximab plus lenalidomide has been found to be effective and produced long-term responses in patients with mantle cell lymphoma, scientists report.

Study sheds light on side effects of COX-2 drugs

Posted: 12 Nov 2015 09:36 AM PST

It's been about a decade since the promise of COX-2 inhibitors -- drugs that relieve arthritis pain and inflammation without the gastrointestinal side effects of other painkillers -- was tempered by the realization that they could cause heart problems in some patients.

Less effective antimalarial therapies can help fight malaria better

Posted: 12 Nov 2015 09:35 AM PST

Scientists have found that the more effective way to beat malaria is to use less effective drugs some of the time: simultaneously using a non-artemisinin therapy amongst more effective artemisinin-based combinations slows the spread of artemisinin-resistant parasites.

Program addresses unique challenges affecting female same-sex couples

Posted: 12 Nov 2015 09:35 AM PST

Relationship education programs for heterosexual couples have shown effectiveness in improving relationships and their stability. However, researchers explain that these programs contain considerable heterosexual bias and fail to address challenges for same-sex couples, such as discrimination and lack of social support, most notably lack of support from their own families.

New study explores how anxiety can aggravate asthma

Posted: 12 Nov 2015 09:35 AM PST

A new study involved mimicking asthma symptoms to see how anxiety sensitivity affected asthma sufferers. The researchers recruited 101 college undergraduates who reported having asthma. The experiment aimed to mimic asthma symptoms by having study participants breathe in-and-out through a narrow straw, about the width of a coffee-stirrer straw.

Researchers discover other enzyme critical to maintaining telomere length

Posted: 12 Nov 2015 09:31 AM PST

Since the Nobel Prize-winning discovery of the enzyme telomerase in 1984, identifying other biological molecules that lengthen or shorten the protective caps on the ends of chromosomes has been slow going. Now, researchers report uncovering the role of an enzyme crucial to telomere length and say the new method they used to find it should speed discovery of other proteins and processes that determine telomere length.

Smart but shy: What women want in a sperm donor

Posted: 12 Nov 2015 06:38 AM PST

A study of men who donate sperm via informal online websites and forums has found those who are intelligent but not extroverted are more desirable to women when choosing a donor.

Blanket approach to asthma treatment not ideal, researchers find

Posted: 12 Nov 2015 06:38 AM PST

Research into the effects of dust mite and cockroach allergens has found that different types of asthma respond differently to a new experimental treatment. The study also suggests that an antibody treatment which blocks that receptor, already in use for rheumatoid arthritis, could be an effective treatment for asthma.

Genetics: 'Origins code' for DNA

Posted: 12 Nov 2015 06:16 AM PST

The source of any life involves the duplication (or replication) of DNA, a mechanism that is essential to cell division. A team of biologists has recently performed the most exhaustive analysis to date of thousands of sites (called origins) where this replication of the genome is initiated in multicellular organisms.

Urban gardens and human health

Posted: 12 Nov 2015 06:16 AM PST

Researchers assess the human health risk of exposure to metals in urban gardens by assessing their oral bioaccessibility.

Psychiatric assessments for predicting violence are ineffective

Posted: 12 Nov 2015 06:16 AM PST

Standard approaches for investigating risk of violence in psychiatric patients and prisoners are inaccurate and should be abandoned in all future studies, according to researchers.

Study offers new recommendations for TB vaccine testing in humans

Posted: 12 Nov 2015 02:59 AM PST

A study provides new clues to what went wrong with a landmark TB vaccine trial in South Africa. The vaccine -- tested in nearly 2,800 infants -- did not offer extra protection against developing tuberculosis, which last year killed 1.5 million people. South Africa has the second highest rate of TB cases and the highest rate of drug-resistant TB in Africa, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

New risk tools spot patients at high risk of diabetes complications

Posted: 12 Nov 2015 02:57 AM PST

People with diabetes who are at high risk of blindness and amputation because of their condition could get better preventative treatment thanks to two new risk prediction tools recently created.

Receptors on bone cells connected to inflammatory bone loss, bone formation

Posted: 12 Nov 2015 02:57 AM PST

Receptors on bone cells activate bone loss in contact with bacteria that cause inflammation in patients resulting in loosening of the teeth, loosening dental and orthopaedic implants or arthritis. The discovery indicates that the so-called Toll-like receptors also play an important role in the formation of new bone.

Doctors, patients making decisions together could reduce number of antibiotics prescribed for acute respiratory infections

Posted: 12 Nov 2015 02:55 AM PST

When doctors and patients are encouraged to discuss the need for prescribing antibiotics for acute respiratory infections jointly, fewer are prescribed, new research shows. This may be useful in the fight against antibiotic resistance.

Melanoma's genetic trajectories are charted in new study

Posted: 12 Nov 2015 02:54 AM PST

An international team of scientists has mapped out the genetic trajectories taken by melanoma as it evolves from early skin lesions, known as precursors, to malignant skin cancer.

Reducing misdiagnosis: Time for the next chapter in improving patient safety

Posted: 12 Nov 2015 02:54 AM PST

Diagnostic errors involve several types of missed opportunities to make a correct and timely diagnosis; a diagnosis may be missed completely, the wrong one may be provided, or diagnosis may be delayed, all of which can lead to harm from delayed or inappropriate treatments and tests. An estimated 12 million people in the United States experience diagnostic errors annually, but it's time for a change, say researchers.

Mechanical heart valve prosthesis superior to biological

Posted: 12 Nov 2015 02:54 AM PST

A mechanical valve prosthesis has a better survival record than a biological valve prosthesis, according to a large registry study from Sweden. The finding can be highly significant, since the use of biological valve prostheses has increased in all age groups in recent years.

Workers in UK are not being protected from occupational diseases and deaths, argues expert

Posted: 12 Nov 2015 02:54 AM PST

British workers are not being protected from occupational diseases and deaths, argues an expert in a new article.

Researchers call for investment in cancer control in low- and middle-income countries

Posted: 12 Nov 2015 02:52 AM PST

Investments in cancer control -- prevention, detection, diagnosis, treatment, and palliative care -- are increasingly needed in low- and, particularly, middle-income countries, where most of the world's cancer deaths occur, a new paper recommends.

Preschoolers need more outdoor time at child care centers

Posted: 12 Nov 2015 02:52 AM PST

Child care centers play a pivotal role when it comes to the physical activity levels of preschoolers, new research confirms. Yet few children get to experience outdoor recess time as it is scheduled. Only 3 in 10 children had at least 60 minutes of a full child-care day outdoors for recess, as is recommended by guidelines.

Youth involvement in justice system linked to increased risk of early death

Posted: 12 Nov 2015 02:52 AM PST

In the US, the chances of being arrested are one in three by age 23. Youth offenders face a greater risk for early death than the rest of the population, according to a new study, that risk increases as a young person becomes more involved in the judicial system. The more serious and prolonged a youth's interaction with the justice system becomes, the more likely he or she is to die prematurely.

New study finds financial incentives to help pregnant women stop smoking are highly cost-effective

Posted: 12 Nov 2015 02:52 AM PST

Smoking during pregnancy is among the leading preventable causes of morbidity and death amongst pregnant women and their babies. The first cost-effectiveness analysis of financial incentives to help pregnant women stop smoking has been released by investigators.

Adolescent bariatric surgery reverses type 2 diabetes in 95 percent of teens, achieves major weight loss and improves quality of life

Posted: 11 Nov 2015 02:26 PM PST

New research shows that three years after undergoing bariatric surgery, adolescents experienced major improvements in their weight, metabolic health, and quality of life.

Death of a parent in childhood associated with increased suicide risk

Posted: 11 Nov 2015 08:48 AM PST

The death of a parent in childhood was associated with a long-term risk of suicide in a study of children from three Scandinavian countries who were followed for up to 40 years, according to an article.
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