ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

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• In older adults, frailty and depression symptoms are linked and can affect spouses
• HPV infection can be identified in self-collected vaginal swabs
• Benefits of stem cells for treating spinal cord injuries assessed
• Salt-inducible kinases may have therapeutic potential for autoimmune diseases
• Clay nanotube-biopolymer composite scaffolds for tissue engineering
• Detecting minute nano amounts in environmental samples
• A spoonful of sugar? Swapping sugary drinks for water and dairy seems the best medicine
• Glucose as a new energy source for pacemakers
• More than just eyes and skin: Vitamin A affects the heart
• Genetic risk factors of disparate diseases share similar biological underpinnings
• Gene therapy halts pulmonary hypertension progression in large animal pre-clinical study
• HPV vaccination expected to reduce cancer in all races, may not eliminate all disparities
• Mental health evaluations improved
• Researchers discover potential treatment for sepsis and other responses to infection
• Rare disease gene has a key role in chronic hepatitis C infection
• Genes that influence dizygotic twinning and fertility

In older adults, frailty and depression symptoms are linked and can affect spouses Posted: 29 Apr 2016 10:35 AM PDT Researchers examined the effects of frailty and depression on married couples. People married to a frail spouse were likely to become frail themselves, and people married to a depressed spouse were more likely to become depressed, too.

HPV infection can be identified in self-collected vaginal swabs Posted: 29 Apr 2016 10:35 AM PDT High risk, potentially cancer causing human papillomavirus infections are common among women in Papua New Guinea. But self sampling with vaginal swabs may provide materials that screen as accurately as the more labor-intensive approach using cervical samples obtained by clinicians. This finding is critical to developing same day screening and treatment, which is key to ensuring that women with precancerous lesions are treated in this largely unconnected (electronically) country, and in others like it.

Benefits of stem cells for treating spinal cord injuries assessed Posted: 29 Apr 2016 07:55 AM PDT Stem cell therapy is a rapidly evolving and promising treatment for spinal-cord injuries. According to a new literature review, different types of stem cells vary in their ability to help restore function, and an ideal treatment protocol remains unclear pending further clinical research.

Salt-inducible kinases may have therapeutic potential for autoimmune diseases Posted: 29 Apr 2016 07:55 AM PDT A new research report suggests that specific enzymes, called 'salt-inducible kinases,' may be able to help curb runaway inflammation associated with autoimmune diseases like Crohn's disease, arthritis, and psoriasis.

Clay nanotube-biopolymer composite scaffolds for tissue engineering Posted: 29 Apr 2016 07:55 AM PDT Scientists combined three biopolymers, chitosan and agarose (polysaccharides), and a protein gelatine, as the materials to produce tissue engineering scaffolds and demonstrated the enhancement of mechanical strength (doubled pick load), higher water uptake and thermal properties in chitosan-gelatine-agarose hydrogels doped with halloysite.

Detecting minute nano amounts in environmental samples Posted: 29 Apr 2016 07:00 AM PDT It is still unclear what the impact is on humans, animals and plants of synthetic nanomaterials released into the environment or used in products. It's very difficult to detect these nanomaterials in the environment since the concentrations are so low and the particles so small. Now scientists have developed a method that is capable of identifying even minute amounts of nanomaterials in environmental samples.

A spoonful of sugar? Swapping sugary drinks for water and dairy seems the best medicine Posted: 29 Apr 2016 07:00 AM PDT New research may have an impact on the sugar tax debate. The research team observed overall changes in dietary patterns in overweight children, including a decrease in consumption of sugary drinks, when additional water or milk is added to their diet.

Glucose as a new energy source for pacemakers Posted: 29 Apr 2016 06:58 AM PDT Researchers are working on the creation of a bio-battery that uses blood glucose to produce energy. Such a battery would cut down on the number of surgical interventions a pacemaker user must undergo.

More than just eyes and skin: Vitamin A affects the heart Posted: 28 Apr 2016 02:40 PM PDT Vitamin A is important for heart development in embryos, but whether it has a role in maintaining heart health is unclear. A new study finds that the heart is able to respond to vitamin A and the amount of vitamin A present has an effect. However, whether the effects are beneficial or harmful is still a mystery.

Genetic risk factors of disparate diseases share similar biological underpinnings Posted: 28 Apr 2016 02:32 PM PDT The discovery of shared biological properties among independent variants of DNA sequences offers the opportunity to broaden understanding of the biological basis of disease and identify new therapeutic targets, report scientists.

Gene therapy halts pulmonary hypertension progression in large animal pre-clinical study Posted: 28 Apr 2016 02:32 PM PDT Scientists have used a novel gene therapy to halt the progression of pulmonary hypertension, a form of high blood pressure in the lung blood vessels that is linked to heart failure.

HPV vaccination expected to reduce cancer in all races, may not eliminate all disparities Posted: 28 Apr 2016 02:32 PM PDT Human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated cancers occur more frequently among Hispanics, blacks, American-Indians, and Alaska Natives than among whites. A new study finds that HPV vaccination is expected to reduce the cancer burden across all racial/ethnic groups. However, some disparities in cancer burden may persist and widen in the years to come if their causes, such as lack of access to diagnoses and treatment, aren't addressed.

Mental health evaluations improved Posted: 28 Apr 2016 12:23 PM PDT A new assessment tool has been developed to gauge the risk that someone with a mental illness will commit a crime. It could also speed up long-delayed competency evaluations for people awaiting trial.

Researchers discover potential treatment for sepsis and other responses to infection Posted: 28 Apr 2016 12:23 PM PDT Ebola and other dangerous microbes often produce these inflammatory responses. Researchers say that tiny doses of a cancer drug may stop the raging, uncontrollable immune response to infection that leads to sepsis and kills up to 500,000 people a year in the US. The new drug treatment may also benefit millions of people worldwide who are affected by infections and pandemics.

Rare disease gene has a key role in chronic hepatitis C infection Posted: 28 Apr 2016 12:18 PM PDT Hepatitis C virus hijacks the host's fat metabolism for its own survival, growth, and transport in the human body. A study identifies a host gene involved in the formation of HCV virus particles and helps explain why humans with a rare mutation in the gene have problems with their fat metabolism.

Genes that influence dizygotic twinning and fertility Posted: 28 Apr 2016 10:21 AM PDT Medical researchers have obtained a breakthrough in identifying genes that increase the chance for mothers to have dizygotic twins. Researchers believe the findings represent a significant advance in the identification of key mechanisms controlling ovarian function and provide a greater understanding of female fertility and infertility.

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