ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

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• Once-a-day epilepsy drug may prevent seizures as well as twice-a-day drug
• Worm infection counters inflammatory bowel disease by drastically changing gut microbiome
• A new system for color vision
• For women, waiting to have children until after 30 minimizes career income losses
• Using ultrasound screening for fetal microcephaly
• SPECT-MRI fusion minimizes surgery for diagnosis of early-stage cervical cancer patients
• Enzyme in myelination process could lead to better understanding of neurological disorders
• New hope for malaria treatment as drug resistance found unable to spread for the first time
• Visualizing, predicting evolution by mapping the elusive 'fitness landscape'
• Mice with genetic defect for human stuttering offer new insight into speech disorder
• Memory suppressor gene could hold key to new Alzheimer's disease treatments
• Antihistamines affect exercise recovery, may or may not be a problem
• Shorter times to blood transfusion associated with decreased death risk in trauma patients
• Brain scan method may help detect autism
• Scientist identifies mechanism underlying peripheral neuropathy
• Lower-carb diet slows growth of aggressive brain tumor in mouse models
• Scientists develop recipe for testosterone-producing cells
• Modified flu virus can 'resensitize' resistant pancreatic cancer cells to chemotherapy
• Thyroid tumor reclassified to curb overdiagnosis of cancer
• Neratinib plus paclitaxel vs. trastuzumab plus paclitaxel in breast cancer
• Incidence of diagnosed thyroid cancer may be leveling off
• Study estimates number of births, terminations with Down syndrome in Massachusetts
• Scorpion toxin insights may lead to a new class of insecticides
• Sugary drinks tax would offer big benefits
• World-first new treatment for alcohol addictions
• Scientists discover how to control heart cells using a laser
• Global spending on health is expected to increase to $18.28 trillion worldwide by 2040
• Growth in maternal, child health funding outpaces spending on HIV, TB, and malaria
• People in Miyagi coastal areas continue to show higher levels of depressive tendencies
• Study unveils novel crosstalk mechanism between mitochondrial translation and cytoplasmic translation
• Obese people can maintain stable weight loss
• Specific gene in the tumor determines the effectiveness of cancer treatment
• Increased BMI during adolescence predicts fatal cardiovascular events in adulthood
• On the road to allergy prophylaxis
• New research explains why HIV is not cleared by the immune system
• Newly identified cell explosions involved in bacterial secretion, adherence
• People with hepatitis C are two to five times more likely to develop certain head and neck cancers
• Animal model for pediatric brain tumor created
• Antioxidants in antidiabetic drugs may fuel cancer spread, mouse study shows
• Sexist video games decrease empathy for female violence victims
• Body clock drug protects against metabolic syndrome in mice

Once-a-day epilepsy drug may prevent seizures as well as twice-a-day drug Posted: 14 Apr 2016 02:48 PM PDT A new study suggests that an epilepsy drug that can be taken once a day may control seizures as well as a drug that must be taken twice a day, according to a preliminary study.

Worm infection counters inflammatory bowel disease by drastically changing gut microbiome Posted: 14 Apr 2016 11:55 AM PDT Infection with worms counters inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) by triggering immune responses that change the mix of bacteria, or microbiome, in the gut.

A new system for color vision Posted: 14 Apr 2016 11:52 AM PDT The swirling skies of Vincent Van Gogh's Starry Night illustrate a mystery that has eluded biologists for more than a century -- why do we perceive the color blue in the dimly lit night sky? A newly discovered mechanism of color vision in mice might help answer this question, researchers say.

For women, waiting to have children until after 30 minimizes career income losses Posted: 14 Apr 2016 11:52 AM PDT Working women who want to minimize career income losses related to motherhood should wait until they are about 30 years old to have their first children, suggests new research. The work seems to hold true regardless of whether a woman has earned a college degree.

Using ultrasound screening for fetal microcephaly Posted: 14 Apr 2016 11:52 AM PDT The Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine released a statement on the use of ultrasound screening for fetal microcephaly following Zika virus exposure.

SPECT-MRI fusion minimizes surgery for diagnosis of early-stage cervical cancer patients Posted: 14 Apr 2016 11:47 AM PDT Cervical cancer patients without enlarged lymph nodes could benefit from SPECT-MRI imaging of their sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs) to assess whether metastases are present.

Enzyme in myelination process could lead to better understanding of neurological disorders Posted: 14 Apr 2016 11:47 AM PDT The removal of the enzyme Dnmt1 during oligodendrocyte progenitor cell (OPC) differentiation in the central nervous system resulted in inefficient myelin formation and neurological deterioration, including loss of control of bodily movements, in mice, report scientists.

New hope for malaria treatment as drug resistance found unable to spread for the first time Posted: 14 Apr 2016 11:42 AM PDT Resistance to a key anti-malarial drug cannot be passed on by mosquitoes in a breakthrough scientists believe could drastically improve the way we battle the disease.

Visualizing, predicting evolution by mapping the elusive 'fitness landscape' Posted: 14 Apr 2016 11:42 AM PDT Suppose you were trying to design a vaccine to combat next season's influenza virus. Having a detailed map that tells you exactly how various strains of the flu bug will evolve would be extremely helpful, explain researchers. Creating just that sort of map is the goal of evolutionary biologists who study a conceptual tool called the fitness landscape, which provides a way to visualize and predict evolution.

Mice with genetic defect for human stuttering offer new insight into speech disorder Posted: 14 Apr 2016 11:42 AM PDT Mice that vocalize in a repetitive, halting pattern similar to human stuttering may provide insight into a condition that has perplexed scientists for centuries, according to a new study. These mice, which carry a mutation in a gene associated with stuttering in humans, may help scientists understand the biological basis of the disorder, and potentially lead to treatments.

Memory suppressor gene could hold key to new Alzheimer's disease treatments Posted: 14 Apr 2016 09:20 AM PDT While research has identified hundreds of genes required for normal memory formation, genes that suppress memory are of special interest because they offer insights into how the brain prioritizes and manages all of the information, including memories, that it takes in every day. These genes also provide clues for how scientists might develop new treatments for cognitive disorders such as Alzheimer's disease.

Antihistamines affect exercise recovery, may or may not be a problem Posted: 14 Apr 2016 09:20 AM PDT After vigorous exercise, some 3,000 genes go to work to aid recovery by boosting muscles and blood vessels, but in the presence of high doses of antihistamines almost 27 percent of the gene response is blunted, according to researchers.

Shorter times to blood transfusion associated with decreased death risk in trauma patients Posted: 14 Apr 2016 08:42 AM PDT Patients who get blood quickly after severe injuries are less likely to die, according to researchers. In this study, researchers tracked trauma patients taken from the scene of their injury to hospital who received at least one unit of blood within 24 hours of arriving at the hospital.

Brain scan method may help detect autism Posted: 14 Apr 2016 08:42 AM PDT Scientists report a new degree of success in using brain scans to distinguish between adults diagnosed with autism and people without the disorder, an advance that could lead to the development of a diagnostic tool.

Scientist identifies mechanism underlying peripheral neuropathy Posted: 14 Apr 2016 08:42 AM PDT Recent research identifying the underlying mechanisms of peripheral neuropathy, or nerve damage, has raised the prospect that drug therapies can be developed for the treatment of this condition, which causes pain, numbness and/or tingling in the hands and feet.

Lower-carb diet slows growth of aggressive brain tumor in mouse models Posted: 14 Apr 2016 08:41 AM PDT Researchers have slowed a notoriously aggressive type of brain tumor in mouse models by using a low-carbohydrate diet. Glioblastoma, the most common brain tumor in adults, has no effective long-term treatment and on average, patients live for 12 to 15 months after diagnosis.

Scientists develop recipe for testosterone-producing cells Posted: 14 Apr 2016 08:41 AM PDT Researchers have discovered a way to keep adult stem cells that are destined to become testosterone-producing cells multiplying and on track to fulfill their fate, a new study reports.

Modified flu virus can 'resensitize' resistant pancreatic cancer cells to chemotherapy Posted: 14 Apr 2016 08:41 AM PDT A common flu virus could be used to overcome patients' resistance to certain cancer drugs -- and improve how those drugs kill cancer cells, according to new research.

Thyroid tumor reclassified to curb overdiagnosis of cancer Posted: 14 Apr 2016 08:34 AM PDT An international panel of pathologists and clinicians has reclassified a type of thyroid cancer to reflect that it is non-invasive and has a low risk of recurrence. The name change is expected to reduce the psychological and medical consequences of a cancer diagnosis, potentially affecting thousands of people worldwide.

Neratinib plus paclitaxel vs. trastuzumab plus paclitaxel in breast cancer Posted: 14 Apr 2016 08:34 AM PDT While neratinib plus paclitaxel was not superior to trastuzumab plus paclitaxel as first-line treatment for ERBB2-positive metastatic breast cancer in terms of progression-free survival, the combination was associated with delayed onset and reduced frequency of central nervous system metastases, a finding that requires a larger study to confirm, according to an article.

Incidence of diagnosed thyroid cancer may be leveling off Posted: 14 Apr 2016 08:34 AM PDT The incidence of thyroid cancer in the US from 1983 to 2012 have been analyzed by researchers. The incidence of thyroid cancer has risen rapidly since the 1990s. This increase, chiefly comprising small papillary cancers, has been attributed to widespread diagnosis of subclinical disease.

Study estimates number of births, terminations with Down syndrome in Massachusetts Posted: 14 Apr 2016 08:34 AM PDT A multi-institutional research team has estimated for the first time the number of children born with Down syndrome each year in Massachusetts over the past century, along with the numbers of pregnancies of a child with Down syndrome lost to either termination or miscarriage.

Scorpion toxin insights may lead to a new class of insecticides Posted: 14 Apr 2016 06:56 AM PDT The molecular clues driving the effectiveness of scorpion toxins has now been identified by scientists. This finding could lead to the promising new candidates for insecticides, and fine-tuning these mutants to target a specific pest, they say.

Sugary drinks tax would offer big benefits Posted: 14 Apr 2016 06:56 AM PDT A 20 percent tax on sugar-sweetened drinks would result in widespread, long-lasting public health benefits and significant health cost savings, a new study shows.

World-first new treatment for alcohol addictions Posted: 14 Apr 2016 06:55 AM PDT An FDA-approved beta blocker could be the answer in treating alcohol addiction, researchers report. Alcohol addiction causes almost 3.8 percent of deaths worldwide, authors say.

Scientists discover how to control heart cells using a laser Posted: 14 Apr 2016 06:55 AM PDT Scientists have discovered how to control the behavior of heart muscle cells (cardiomyocytes) using laser radiation. The new study will help scientists to better understand the mechanisms of the heart and could ultimately provide a method of treating arrhythmia.

Global spending on health is expected to increase to $18.28 trillion worldwide by 2040 Posted: 14 Apr 2016 06:55 AM PDT Global inequities in health spending are expected to persist and intensify over the next 25 years, according to a new study that estimates total health financing in countries around the world.

Growth in maternal, child health funding outpaces spending on HIV, TB, and malaria Posted: 14 Apr 2016 06:55 AM PDT Funding earmarked for improving maternal and child health in low- and middle-income countries has grown faster since 2010 than funding for HIV, TB, and malaria, according to new research.

People in Miyagi coastal areas continue to show higher levels of depressive tendencies Posted: 14 Apr 2016 06:54 AM PDT Depressive symptoms continue to be higher in coastal areas than inland areas of Miyagi, following the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami, new research shows.

Study unveils novel crosstalk mechanism between mitochondrial translation and cytoplasmic translation Posted: 14 Apr 2016 06:54 AM PDT By using a systemic mtEF4 gene knockout mouse model, researchers have found that mtEF4 knockout damages the oxidative phosphorylation function in germ cells of male mice, thus causing male sterility.

Obese people can maintain stable weight loss Posted: 14 Apr 2016 06:54 AM PDT Maintaining a stable weight loss is the biggest struggle for obese individuals, yet new research has allowed researchers new insights into the complex processes involved in obesity and especially weight loss in obesity. It is now possible to offer overweight people a clearer understanding of how to sustain weight loss.

Specific gene in the tumor determines the effectiveness of cancer treatment Posted: 14 Apr 2016 05:21 AM PDT A cancer treatment can be basically effective but, equally, it may have negative consequences. Therefore, it has not been possible to determine prior to treatment whether a patient will benefit from standard cancer treatment or not. However, a specific gene, which is frequently mutated in cancer, seems to determine the effectiveness of the treatment, researchers show after a large study conducted with colorectal cancer patients. The main finding: the effect of standard chemotherapy was dependent upon whether the TP53 gene in the tumor was mutated or not.

Increased BMI during adolescence predicts fatal cardiovascular events in adulthood Posted: 14 Apr 2016 05:18 AM PDT A nationwide study of 2.3 million Israeli adolescents, examined from 1967 through 2010, finds an association between elevated body-mass index in late adolescence, and subsequent cardiovascular mortality in midlife.

On the road to allergy prophylaxis Posted: 14 Apr 2016 05:18 AM PDT Researchers have succeeded in binding allergens to endogenous, endogenic white blood corpuscles to trigger a tolerance reaction in case of a future, possible contact with the respective allergen. The results in animal models are promising and give rise to hope that it may be possible in future to prevent allergens before they appear - be it by "vaccination" with endogenic cells or other vaccination strategies.

New research explains why HIV is not cleared by the immune system Posted: 14 Apr 2016 05:15 AM PDT Scientists have identified a human (host) protein that weakens the immune response to HIV and other viruses. The findings have important implications for improving HIV antiviral therapies, creating effective viral vaccines, and advance a new approach to treat cancer.

Newly identified cell explosions involved in bacterial secretion, adherence Posted: 14 Apr 2016 05:15 AM PDT A multinational research team has discovered an explosive cell lysis mechanism of bacteria controlled by a phage-related enzyme that releases cell-derived public goods and is activated by stress. The researchers found that explosive cell lysis also contributed to membrane vesicle formation, which helps determine bacterial virulence. These findings further help understanding of how bacteria control their environment and interact as communities. This could aid the development of growth inhibition techniques.

People with hepatitis C are two to five times more likely to develop certain head and neck cancers Posted: 13 Apr 2016 03:03 PM PDT Long associated with liver cancer and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a study reveals for the first time that the hepatitis C virus is associated with certain head and neck cancers.

Animal model for pediatric brain tumor created Posted: 13 Apr 2016 03:03 PM PDT Research scientists have developed a model to explore therapies for a pediatric brain tumor known as choroid plexus carcinoma.

Antioxidants in antidiabetic drugs may fuel cancer spread, mouse study shows Posted: 13 Apr 2016 12:11 PM PDT Yet another study exposes antioxidants' potential to fuel the spread of cancer -- this time for antioxidants found in a specific type of antidiabetic medication. Researchers working in mice with cancer now find that some of these drugs can spur the metastasis of existing tumors, including colon and liver cancer.

Sexist video games decrease empathy for female violence victims Posted: 13 Apr 2016 12:10 PM PDT Young male gamers who strongly identify with male characters in sexist, violent video games show less empathy than others toward female violence victims, a new study found.

Body clock drug protects against metabolic syndrome in mice Posted: 13 Apr 2016 11:08 AM PDT A compound enriched in citrus peels strengthens the body clock and protects against metabolic syndrome in mice, according to a study. Metabolic syndrome strikes about a third of the adults in the United States and involves multiple risk factors for heart disease and other health issues. A body of research shows that people with metabolic disease often have weaker body clocks. The body clock is also called the circadian clock.

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