ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

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• Temporary disconnects shed light on long-term brain dysfunction
• 10-minute urine test can measure specific compounds from food consumed
• Within six families, a path to personalized treatment for an immune disorder
• Autoimmune attack underlying kidney failure
• Aging is portrayed as mainly negative in popular music lyrics
• Biomarkers can help guide immune-suppressing treatment after organ transplantation
• Healthy heart equals healthy brain
• Women may keep verbal memory skills longer than men in the early stages of Alzheimer's
• Experimental evolution of a hermaphroditic nematode demonstrates deterministic maternal effects can give offspring a head start in life
• Scientists discover a link between psoriasis and general bone loss
• New soft material could reduce complications for women suffering from urinary incontinence
• Mitochondrial metabolism linked to acute kidney injury
• Starvation signals control intestinal inflammation in mice
• Counterattack of the hepatitis B virus
• Electrical brain stimulation could support stroke recovery
• Experimental dengue vaccine protects all recipients in virus challenge study
• Scientists generate a new type of human stem cell that has half a genome
• Flipping a light switch recovers memories lost to Alzheimer's disease mice
• Spasticity: two potential therapeutic avenues
• Trained technicians using CV software improved the accuracy and quality of LDCT scans
• This necklace hears what you eat
• Bacterial resistance to copper in the making for thousands of years
• Lasers help speed up detection of bacterial growth in packaged food
• Risk score may help identify patients at risk for sudden cardiac death after acute coronary syndrome
• Many AFib patients at highest risk of stroke not receiving recommended oral anticoagulant therapy
• Potential Zika virus risk estimated for 50 US cities
• Allowing women to extend labor reduces rate of Cesarean delivery
• Statins cut tuberculosis treatment time in mice
• Scaling mental resilience more effectively
• Arsenic water purification with waste materials
• Hormone cortisol linked to increased aggression in 10-year-old boys
• Low dose radiation and health
• Treatment lessens cerebral damage following out-of-hospital cardiac arrest
• Protein from bacteria alleviates food allergy symptoms
• Why some tumors withstand treatment
• Organs 'have minds of their own' when it comes to growth
• Mouse model yields possible treatment for autism-like symptoms in rare disease
• Child abuse contributes the most to mental health problems in the Canadian Armed Forces
• 3-D printing could one day help fix damaged cartilage in knees, noses and ears
• Cellular 'backpacks' could treat disease while minimizing side effects
• Austerity linked to rising mortality rates among older pensioners
• Nearly half of women who stop smoking during pregnancy go back to smoking soon after baby is born
• Examination of effect of CMS policy to suppress substance abuse claims data
• Global study reveals genes as major cause of inflammatory diseases
• Understanding obesity from the inside out
• Scientists have synthesized new molecules with anticancer and antioxidant activity
• Good news! You're likely burning more calories than you thought when you're walking
• Racial differences in smoking patterns, screening

Temporary disconnects shed light on long-term brain dysfunction Posted: 16 Mar 2016 04:45 PM PDT Using optogenetics to study long-range communication across the brain, a team of researchers temporarily silenced long-range axons so as to determine their role in the brain's conversation. As mental and neurological diseases are thought to be related to disrupted long-range connectivity, the team's findings could lead to better understanding and treatment of such disorders.

10-minute urine test can measure specific compounds from food consumed Posted: 16 Mar 2016 04:45 PM PDT Can we say goodbye to unreliable food diaries and diet recall in exchange for a urine test that will better aid researchers in figuring out what foods might help prevent cancer? Researchers have developed a method that can quickly evaluate specific food compounds in human urine.

Within six families, a path to personalized treatment for an immune disorder Posted: 16 Mar 2016 04:45 PM PDT The most common immune disorder, common variable immunodeficiency disorder (CVID), is notoriously difficult to diagnose early, before serious complications develop. Genetic analysis of six families from across the U.S. and Europe has revealed that mutations in IKAROS, known for its central role in immune cell development, define a new class of CVID. This study's results open the door to personalized health care tailored to patients with this disorder.

Autoimmune attack underlying kidney failure Posted: 16 Mar 2016 04:44 PM PDT Interstitial nephritis, a common cause of kidney failure, has a complex and largely unknown pathogenesis. In a new published paper, a team of researchers shows how interstitial nephritis can develop from an autoimmune attack on the kidney's collecting duct.

Aging is portrayed as mainly negative in popular music lyrics Posted: 16 Mar 2016 04:42 PM PDT A recent analysis of popular music reveals that while older age and aging are represented both negatively and positively in music lyrics, negative representations predominate.

Biomarkers can help guide immune-suppressing treatment after organ transplantation Posted: 16 Mar 2016 04:42 PM PDT Recently discovered biomarkers may provide valuable new approaches to monitoring immunosuppressive drug therapy in organ transplant recipients -- with the potential for individualized therapy to reduce organ rejection and minimize side effects

Healthy heart equals healthy brain Posted: 16 Mar 2016 04:42 PM PDT Achieving the metrics that define a healthy heart may translate to healthier brain function as people age. More ideal cardiovascular health measures meant less decline in brain processing speed and, to some extent, thinking ability and memory.

Women may keep verbal memory skills longer than men in the early stages of Alzheimer's Posted: 16 Mar 2016 04:42 PM PDT Women may have a better memory for words than men despite evidence of similar levels of shrinkage in areas of the brain that show the earliest signs of Alzheimer's disease, according to a new study.

Experimental evolution of a hermaphroditic nematode demonstrates deterministic maternal effects can give offspring a head start in life Posted: 16 Mar 2016 12:14 PM PDT Experimental evolution of c. elegans proves deterministic maternal effects can give offspring a head start in life.

Scientists discover a link between psoriasis and general bone loss Posted: 16 Mar 2016 12:13 PM PDT For the first time, researchers have linked psoriasis to the risk of widespread bone loss and describe how the protein IL-17 acts as a 'messenger' between the skin and the bones. IL-17 inhibitors, some of which already on the market, could simultaneously address skin inflammation and associated bone loss. These results recommend monitoring the bone mass of patients with psoriasis to select the most appropriate treatment. The study has potential implications in other autoimmune diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease.

New soft material could reduce complications for women suffering from urinary incontinence Posted: 16 Mar 2016 12:13 PM PDT Researchers have developed a novel implantable material which could reduce the number of debilitating side-effects that occur as a result of using a material that is too rigid for surgical treatment of incontinence.

Mitochondrial metabolism linked to acute kidney injury Posted: 16 Mar 2016 12:13 PM PDT Researchers help explain the origins of acute kidney injury and suggest that manipulation of the NAD aging molecule might help prevent loss of kidney function and subsequent complications.

Starvation signals control intestinal inflammation in mice Posted: 16 Mar 2016 12:13 PM PDT Intestinal inflammation in mice can be dampened by subjecting them briefly to a diet restricted in amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, researchers have found.

Counterattack of the hepatitis B virus Posted: 16 Mar 2016 12:11 PM PDT The hepatitis B virus (HBV) infects liver cells. Drugs are available to treat HBV, but they rarely cure the infection, and so the virus typically returns after the treatment ends. Scientists have now discovered how our cells defend themselves against HBV infection, but also how the virus fights back. This work represents an important advance in our understanding of HBV and suggests new avenues for the development of innovative therapeutic agents.

Electrical brain stimulation could support stroke recovery Posted: 16 Mar 2016 12:11 PM PDT Medical researchers have studied the use of transcranial direct current stimulation to support rehabilitation training for stroke patients and found that those who had tCDS had better outcomes.

Experimental dengue vaccine protects all recipients in virus challenge study Posted: 16 Mar 2016 12:11 PM PDT A clinical trial in which volunteers were infected with dengue virus six months after receiving either an experimental dengue vaccine or a placebo injection yielded starkly contrasting results. All 21 volunteers who received the vaccine, TV003, were protected from infection, while all 20 placebo recipients developed infection. The study underscores the importance of human challenge studies, in which volunteers are exposed to disease-causing pathogens under carefully controlled conditions.

Scientists generate a new type of human stem cell that has half a genome Posted: 16 Mar 2016 11:04 AM PDT Scientists have succeeded in generating a new type of embryonic stem cell that carries a single copy of the human genome, instead of the two copies typically found in normal stem cells. These are the first human cells that are known to be capable of cell division with just one copy of the parent cell's genome. Since the stem cells were a genetic match to the egg cell donor, they could also be used to develop cell-based therapies for diseases such as blindness, diabetes, or other conditions in which genetically identical cells offer a therapeutic advantage. Because their genetic content is equivalent to germ cells, they might also be useful for reproductive purposes.

Flipping a light switch recovers memories lost to Alzheimer's disease mice Posted: 16 Mar 2016 11:04 AM PDT Light stimulation of brain cells can recover memories in mice with Alzheimer's disease-like memory loss, according to new research. The rescue of memories, which changed both the structure of neurons as well as the behavior of mice, was achieved using optogenetics, a method for manipulating genetically tagged cells with precise bursts of light. This finding suggests that impaired retrieval of memories, rather than poor storage or encoding, may underlie this prominent symptom of early Alzheimer's disease and points to the synaptic connectivity between memory cells as being crucial for retrieval.

Spasticity: two potential therapeutic avenues Posted: 16 Mar 2016 10:10 AM PDT Following spinal cord injury, most patients experience an exaggeration of muscle tone called spasticity, which frequently leads to physical disability. A team has just identified one of the molecular mechanisms responsible for this phenomenon. It has also proposed two therapeutic solutions that have proved conclusive in animals, one of which will be tested during phase II clinical trials as early as this year.

Trained technicians using CV software improved the accuracy and quality of LDCT scans Posted: 16 Mar 2016 10:10 AM PDT Trained technician screeners with assisted computer-aided nodule detection or computer vision screening workstations can efficiently and accurately review and triage abnormal low-dose computed topography scans for radiologist review, a study suggests.

This necklace hears what you eat Posted: 16 Mar 2016 10:09 AM PDT Researchers are developing a necklace that tracks what we eat via microphone and a mobile app.

Bacterial resistance to copper in the making for thousands of years Posted: 16 Mar 2016 10:09 AM PDT Human use of copper dating back to the Bronze Age has shaped the evolution of bacteria, leading to bugs that are highly resistant to the metal's antibacterial properties.

Lasers help speed up detection of bacterial growth in packaged food Posted: 16 Mar 2016 10:09 AM PDT It's important to know how microorganisms -- particularly pathogenic microbes -- grow under various conditions. Certain bacteria can cause food poisoning when eaten and bacterial growth in medical blood supplies, while rare, might necessitate discarding the blood. Now a group of researchers report a fast, accurate, and noninvasive technique for monitoring bacterial growth.

Risk score may help identify patients at risk for sudden cardiac death after acute coronary syndrome Posted: 16 Mar 2016 08:32 AM PDT Researchers assessed the cumulative incidence of sudden cardiac death (SCD) during long-term follow-up after non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome, and developed a risk model and risk score for SCD after NSTE ACS.

Many AFib patients at highest risk of stroke not receiving recommended oral anticoagulant therapy Posted: 16 Mar 2016 08:32 AM PDT The extent to which prescription of an oral anticoagulant in US cardiology practices increases as the number of stroke risk factors increases for patients with atrial fibrillation has been the focus of recent study.

Potential Zika virus risk estimated for 50 US cities Posted: 16 Mar 2016 07:51 AM PDT Key factors that can combine to produce a Zika virus outbreak are expected to be present in a number of US cities during peak summer months, new research shows.

Allowing women to extend labor reduces rate of Cesarean delivery Posted: 16 Mar 2016 06:43 AM PDT The study suggests that C-section rates could be reduced by over 50 percent by increasing the time allowed in the final phase of labor before a C-section is initiated. Researchers say labor guidelines that date to the 1800s need to be updated.

Statins cut tuberculosis treatment time in mice Posted: 16 Mar 2016 05:54 AM PDT In a study using mice, infectious disease experts have added to evidence that statin drugs — known primarily for their cholesterol-lowering effects — can significantly reduce the time it takes to clear tuberculosis infection.

Scaling mental resilience more effectively Posted: 16 Mar 2016 05:51 AM PDT Many people get on with their lives after traumatic experiences without any psychological suffering. This is because, in spite of all the trauma, they manage to pigeonhole what they have experienced. Although this sense of coherence was first described in the 1970s, measuring it has remained problematic to this day. Psychologists have now developed a questionnaire that renders the sense of coherence in overcoming trauma tangible in a more appropriate way.

Arsenic water purification with waste materials Posted: 16 Mar 2016 05:51 AM PDT Sand, coral and even waste building materials can become extremely efficient sorbents for water purification from arsenic, if they are treated for this purpose. Scientists have revealed a new technology during experiments. In practice, they succeeded to purify at least 3.6 m3 of water with the help of 200 grams of sorbent from the available raw materials, the cost of which will be a little more than $1 to end consumers.

Hormone cortisol linked to increased aggression in 10-year-old boys Posted: 16 Mar 2016 05:50 AM PDT Spanish researchers have studied the relationship between hormones and aggressive behaviour in girls and boys between the ages of eight and ten. The results confirm that the subjects who experienced the greatest increase in levels of aggression by ten years of age were those whose cortisol levels had also increased during those two years.

Low dose radiation and health Posted: 16 Mar 2016 05:50 AM PDT Researchers in Europe have reviewed cancer rates among people in parts of the world where natural background radiation is higher than average and found that incidence is not as high as one might guess. The findings suggests that science ought to take a second look at studies that correlate low levels of radiation exposure with detrimental health effects.

Treatment lessens cerebral damage following out-of-hospital cardiac arrest Posted: 16 Mar 2016 05:50 AM PDT Among comatose survivors of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, treatment with inhaled xenon gas combined with hypothermia, compared with hypothermia alone, results in less white matter damage. This was the primary outcome in a randomized clinical trial. In the secondary outcome, there was no significant difference in neurological outcomes or death at six months.

Protein from bacteria alleviates food allergy symptoms Posted: 16 Mar 2016 05:50 AM PDT Lactobacillus might sound familiar when the topic of probiotics comes up, but they are only one of many types of bacteria that have proven health benefits.  In a new study researchers have shown that the introduction of the probiotic Bifidobacterium longum KACC 91563 has the ability to reduce the effects of food allergies. In the US, the number of children with food allergies increased by 18% between 1997 and 2007; during the same time allergy-related hospital visits tripled.

Why some tumors withstand treatment Posted: 16 Mar 2016 05:29 AM PDT Researchers have uncovered a mechanism that allows cancer cells to evade targeted therapies. The study reveals why a certain class of drugs, known as kinase inhibitors, doesn't always halt tumor growth. The researchers found that while kinase inhibitors successfully shut down their targets, they also provoke cells to turn on a backup system that can take over for the one knocked out by the drug.

Organs 'have minds of their own' when it comes to growth Posted: 16 Mar 2016 05:29 AM PDT Scientists have discovered how parts of organs grow differently when body size changes.

Mouse model yields possible treatment for autism-like symptoms in rare disease Posted: 16 Mar 2016 05:27 AM PDT About half of children born with Jacobsen syndrome, a rare inherited disease, experience social and behavioral issues consistent with autism spectrum disorders. Researchers have developed a mouse model of the disease that also exhibits autism-like social behaviors and used it to unravel the molecular mechanism that connects the genetic defects inherited in Jacobsen syndrome to effects on brain function.

Child abuse contributes the most to mental health problems in the Canadian Armed Forces Posted: 16 Mar 2016 05:27 AM PDT Among the mental health disorders reported in the Canadian Armed Forces in 2013, 8.7 percent of the burden of illness was attributed to Afghanistan-related military service while 28.7 percent was attributed to past child abuse experiences.

3-D printing could one day help fix damaged cartilage in knees, noses and ears Posted: 16 Mar 2016 05:27 AM PDT Athletes, the elderly and others who suffer from injuries and arthritis can lose cartilage and experience a lot of pain. Researchers are now reporting, however, that they have found a way to produce cartilage tissue by 3-D bioprinting an ink containing human cells, and they have successfully tested it in an in vivo mouse model.

Cellular 'backpacks' could treat disease while minimizing side effects Posted: 16 Mar 2016 05:27 AM PDT Drug therapies for many conditions end up treating the whole body even when only one part needs it. But this generalized approach can hurt healthy cells, causing nasty side effects. To send drugs to specific disease locations, researchers developed cellular 'backpacks' that are designed to carry a therapeutic cargo only to inflamed disease sites.

Austerity linked to rising mortality rates among older pensioners Posted: 15 Mar 2016 07:03 PM PDT Rising mortality rates among pensioners aged 85 and over are linked to reductions in spending on income support for poorer pensioners, suggests new research. The researchers suggest that austerity measures in England have affected vulnerable old-age adults.

Nearly half of women who stop smoking during pregnancy go back to smoking soon after baby is born Posted: 15 Mar 2016 07:02 PM PDT A major new review reveals that in studies testing the effectiveness of stop-smoking support for pregnant women, nearly half (43 percent) of the women who managed to stay off cigarettes during the pregnancy went back to smoking within six months of the birth.

Examination of effect of CMS policy to suppress substance abuse claims data Posted: 15 Mar 2016 09:05 AM PDT Researchers examined the association between implementation of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) suppression policy of substance abuse-related claims and rates of diagnoses for non­substance abuse conditions in Medicaid data.

Global study reveals genes as major cause of inflammatory diseases Posted: 15 Mar 2016 07:46 AM PDT A world-first study is likely to result in new treatments for five common and painful inflammatory diseases that affect millions of people around the world. The research found genes are the major cause of them rather than environment.

Understanding obesity from the inside out Posted: 15 Mar 2016 07:46 AM PDT Researchers developed a new laboratory method that allowed them to identify GABA as a key player in the complex brain processes that control appetite and metabolism.

Scientists have synthesized new molecules with anticancer and antioxidant activity Posted: 15 Mar 2016 07:46 AM PDT Scientists have synthesized a set of novel selenohydantoins with anticancer and antioxidant activity. Selenohydantoins are derivatives of hydantoins in which one of the oxygen atoms is replaced by selenium. It was found that drug molecules containing selenium possess anticancer activity and can be used as effective antioxidants.

Good news! You're likely burning more calories than you thought when you're walking Posted: 15 Mar 2016 07:46 AM PDT Leading standardized equations that predict the number of calories burned under level walking conditions are relatively inaccurate -- counting too few calories in 97 percent of cases, say researchers. The standards -- in place for close to half a century and based on data from limited people -- assume one size fits all. Researchers have now developed a new standardized equation that data indicates is up to four times more accurate.

Racial differences in smoking patterns, screening Posted: 15 Mar 2016 07:46 AM PDT New research reveals that differences in smoking habits between African Americans and whites may lead to a disparity in screening for lung cancer.

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