ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

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• Titanium and gold equals new gold standard for artificial joints
• Screening for suicide risk among urban children vitally important
• Potential drug candidates could intervene in deadly diseases
• Scientists apply new imaging tool to common brain disorders
• Scientists call for replacement of animals in antibody production
• New superconducting coil improves MRI performance
• Synthetic biology used to limit bacterial growth and coordinate drug release
• Uncovering a new principle in chemotherapy resistance in breast cancer
• RNA: How cells master the art of reading life's recipes
• Anti-tumor antibodies could counter atherosclerosis, study finds
• Liquid biopsies offer hope for earlier treatment, better tracking of ovarian cancer
• Cancer stem cells in 'robbers cave' may explain poor prognosis for obese patients
• Improving health facility efficiency could markedly expand HIV treatment
• Plant-based Polio booster vaccine
• Majority of physicians have favorite patients, study finds
• Rationing healthcare: More than half of US doctors say no to clinical services
• Neurons form synapse clusters
• Minimally traumatic and inexpensive ceramic laser scalpel
• How do cells recover their shape after being subjected to external forces?
• Effectiveness of treatment for individuals with brain injury or stroke
• Surgeons' disclosures of clinical adverse events
• Study examines opioid agonist therapy use in Medicare patients
• Preventing HIV in transgender people
• Three Alzheimer's genetic risk factors linked to immune cell dysfunction
• People estimate their own abilities based on others' performance
• Changes in brain activity after mindfulness-based cognitive therapy in adolescents
• Indoor tanning rates among New Jersey teens remain stable following state enactment of under age 17 ban
• Infections, antibiotic use linked to manic episodes in people with serious mental illness
• New treatment developed to prevent nausea, vomiting caused by chemo
• World first discovery gets to the heart of birth defects
• Functionalized surfaces with tailored wettability determine Influenza A infectivity
• Diseases that run in families not all down to genes, study shows
• New sun cream compound offers unprecedented protection against UVA radiation
• Scientists review methods to prevent bites, suppress ticks that transmit Lyme disease
• FDA approves scalpel-free brain surgery for tremor
• A chair for getting fit and trim
• Dogs de-stress families with autistic children, new research shows
• XX protection against age-related mutations
• Breastfeeding alters maternal metabolism, protects against diabetes for up to 15 years after delivery
• Diabetes: Factor 'gender' into treatment, say experts
• Disturbances in blood cell gene transcription may lead to leukemia
• Dangerous bacteria found after sewer spills
• Study with aye-ayes, slow loris finds that prosimians prefer alcohol
• Antibody-based drug for multiple sclerosis
• Home-cooked meals for infants not always better than shop-bought ones
• Lower risk of bowel cancer death linked to high omega 3 intake after diagnosis
• Rare mutations in bowel cancer may identify patients with a better prognosis
• Quitting smoking during pregnancy: Beneficial for both mother and child
• Eating healthy fats in place of carbs or saturated fats improves risk factors for diabetes
• Chasing fire: Fever and human mobility in an epidemic
• After psychiatric hospital discharge, many patients are still taking multiple antipsychotic drugs

Titanium and gold equals new gold standard for artificial joints Posted: 20 Jul 2016 06:51 PM PDT Titanium is the leading material for artificial knee and hip joints because it's strong, wear-resistant and nontoxic, but an unexpected discovery by physicists shows that the gold standard for artificial joints can be improved with the addition of some actual gold.

Screening for suicide risk among urban children vitally important Posted: 20 Jul 2016 02:04 PM PDT Screening for suicide risk among publicly insured urban children who are experiencing psychological distress is vitally important, finds a new study.

Potential drug candidates could intervene in deadly diseases Posted: 20 Jul 2016 01:48 PM PDT Scientists have identified drug candidates that can boost a cell's ability to catch the 'typos' in protein production that can cause a deadly disease called amyloidosis, revealing a new approach to intervene in human disease.

Scientists apply new imaging tool to common brain disorders Posted: 20 Jul 2016 11:35 AM PDT A new approach has been developed to scanning the brain for changes in synapses that are associated with common brain disorders. The technique may provide insights into the diagnosis and treatment of a broad range of disorders, including epilepsy and Alzheimer's disease, say authors of a new report.

Scientists call for replacement of animals in antibody production Posted: 20 Jul 2016 10:58 AM PDT Routine scientific procedures using millions of animals are still being authorized when there is a tried and tested alternative, according to a group of scientists investigating the production of antibodies.

New superconducting coil improves MRI performance Posted: 20 Jul 2016 10:57 AM PDT A multidisciplinary research team has developed a high-temperature superconducting coil that allows magnetic resonance imaging scanners to produce higher resolution images or acquire images in a shorter time than when using conventional coils.

Synthetic biology used to limit bacterial growth and coordinate drug release Posted: 20 Jul 2016 10:56 AM PDT Researchers have engineered a clinically relevant bacterium to produce cancer drugs and then self-destruct and release the drugs at the site of tumors. The approach enables continual production and release of drugs at disease sites in mice while simultaneously limiting the size, over time, of the populations of bacteria engineered to produce the drugs. The strategy represents the use of synthetic biology in therapeutics.

Uncovering a new principle in chemotherapy resistance in breast cancer Posted: 20 Jul 2016 10:56 AM PDT A laboratory study has revealed an entirely unexpected process for acquiring drug resistance that bypasses the need to re-establish DNA damage repair in breast cancers that have mutant BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes.

RNA: How cells master the art of reading life's recipes Posted: 20 Jul 2016 10:56 AM PDT A research project has closed an important gap in the understanding of a fundamental process of life -- the creation of proteins based on recipes called RNA.

Anti-tumor antibodies could counter atherosclerosis, study finds Posted: 20 Jul 2016 10:56 AM PDT Investigators have learned the signal that tumor cells display on their surfaces to protect themselves from being devoured by the immune system also plays a role in enabling atherosclerosis, the process underlying heart attacks and strokes.

Liquid biopsies offer hope for earlier treatment, better tracking of ovarian cancer Posted: 20 Jul 2016 10:23 AM PDT A promising new way to monitor and treat recurrence of ovarian cancer has been identified by researchers -- a hard-to-detect disease that claims many lives. New research finds liquid biopsies from blood tests and DNA sequencing can detect a return of ovarian cancer long before a tumor reappears.

Cancer stem cells in 'robbers cave' may explain poor prognosis for obese patients Posted: 20 Jul 2016 10:23 AM PDT A new study offers a compelling hypothesis explaining poor prognosis for obese cancer patients: researchers found that leukemia stem cells "hide" in fatty tissue, even transforming this tissue in ways that support their survival when challenged with chemotherapy.

Improving health facility efficiency could markedly expand HIV treatment Posted: 20 Jul 2016 09:56 AM PDT Health facilities in Kenya, Uganda, and Zambia could extend life-sustaining antiretroviral therapy to hundreds of thousands of people living with HIV if facilities improved the efficiency of service delivery.

Plant-based Polio booster vaccine Posted: 20 Jul 2016 09:56 AM PDT Scientists have developed an oral vaccine booster for polio by manipulating plants to express a protein found in the polio virus. Tests with sera from immunized mice show that the booster confers immunity against all three serotypes of polio.

Majority of physicians have favorite patients, study finds Posted: 20 Jul 2016 09:56 AM PDT Physicians like the majority of their patients, but a majority like some more than others, a study indicates. This study is thought to be among the first to explore the positive aspects of physicians' attitudes towards their patients.

Rationing healthcare: More than half of US doctors say no to clinical services Posted: 20 Jul 2016 09:55 AM PDT More than half of US physicians included in a national survey have withheld certain medical interventions with small benefits from their patients because of the cost-implications these hold. Such rationing behavior is more prevalent among physicians in solo practice, and less so among doctors with liberal leanings.

Neurons form synapse clusters Posted: 20 Jul 2016 09:48 AM PDT The contact points of cells in the cerebral cortex form functional groups.

Minimally traumatic and inexpensive ceramic laser scalpel Posted: 20 Jul 2016 09:48 AM PDT The newly created technology shows an effectiveness more than twice as high as any of the previously developed solid state lasers.Another important feature of this laser is that the generated light has a wavelength of 2 microns, which is the exact wavelength used in surgery. Devices based on this technology are expected to be approximately fours times smaller than the ones, currently used by surgeons. They will also be much cheaper and more reliable.

How do cells recover their shape after being subjected to external forces? Posted: 20 Jul 2016 09:48 AM PDT Human cells show deformation under the influence of external forces. But how do they recover their original shape afterwards? This mechanism, which is important in medicine and biology, has been described for the first time.

Effectiveness of treatment for individuals with brain injury or stroke Posted: 20 Jul 2016 09:28 AM PDT New articles explore the effectiveness of several neurorehabilitation treatments for individuals with brain injury or stroke. A number of published articles have covered the issue of efficacy of neurorehabilitation, but only a few have discussed the issue of effectiveness to date.

Surgeons' disclosures of clinical adverse events Posted: 20 Jul 2016 09:28 AM PDT Surgeons who reported they were less likely to discuss preventability of an adverse event, or who reported difficult communication experiences, were more negatively affected by disclosure than others, according to a study.

Study examines opioid agonist therapy use in Medicare patients Posted: 20 Jul 2016 09:28 AM PDT Few Medicare enrollees appear to be receiving buprenorphine-naloxone, the only opioid agonist therapy for opioid addiction available through Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage, according to a study.

Preventing HIV in transgender people Posted: 20 Jul 2016 09:28 AM PDT Programs to reduce the high risk of HIV infection among transgender people are urgently needed -- but efforts are hindered by a lack of accurate information on HIV prevalence, HIV incidence, and specific risk factors facing this key population, say experts. A special journal supplement presents essential information to meet the challenges of HIV prevention in the transgender population.

Three Alzheimer's genetic risk factors linked to immune cell dysfunction Posted: 20 Jul 2016 09:28 AM PDT A new study has uncovered details of how a type of immune cell helps the brain get rid of the tiny amyloid-beta aggregates that can clump together to form the plaques characteristic of Alzheimer's. The researchers found that TREM2 mutations can derail the immune cell's plaque-clearing activity, as can two other genes already known to increase a person's risk for Alzheimer's: APOE and APOJ (known as clusterin).

People estimate their own abilities based on others' performance Posted: 20 Jul 2016 09:28 AM PDT Ratings of our own abilities are strongly influenced by the performance of others, according to a new study. Interacting with high performers makes us feel more capable in cooperative team settings, but less competent in competitive situations. Moreover, the degree of 'self-other-mergence' is associated with activity in a brain region previously implicated in theory of mind -- the ability to understand the mental states of oneself and others.

Changes in brain activity after mindfulness-based cognitive therapy in adolescents Posted: 20 Jul 2016 07:54 AM PDT Researchers are studying how cognitive therapy that uses mindfulness techniques, such as meditation, quiet reflection and facilitator-led discussion, may serve as an adjunct to pharmacological treatments for youth with anxiety disorders.

Indoor tanning rates among New Jersey teens remain stable following state enactment of under age 17 ban Posted: 20 Jul 2016 07:54 AM PDT Research shows no significant decline in indoor tanning rates among children under age 17 following a ban on such use in New Jersey enacted in 2013. The authors say it's a finding that underscores a need for continued surveillance of this population and ongoing monitoring of indoor tanning facilities.

Infections, antibiotic use linked to manic episodes in people with serious mental illness Posted: 20 Jul 2016 07:53 AM PDT In research using patient medical records, investigators report that people with serious mental disorders who were hospitalized for mania were more likely to be on antibiotics to treat active infections than a group of people without a mental disorder.

New treatment developed to prevent nausea, vomiting caused by chemo Posted: 20 Jul 2016 07:53 AM PDT A drug that blocks neurotransmitters could reduce nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy, new research has found.

World first discovery gets to the heart of birth defects Posted: 20 Jul 2016 07:52 AM PDT For the first time, scientists believe they've discovered a cause of multiple types of birth defects triggered by environmental stresses. The breakthrough shows that cellular stress could be the key to understanding why many babies are born with defects of the heart, vertebrae and kidney, among others.

Functionalized surfaces with tailored wettability determine Influenza A infectivity Posted: 20 Jul 2016 07:52 AM PDT Findings of a research team may pave the way for the design of new and more effective antimicrobial surfaces. These insights constitute the basis for guiding the design and development of new surfaces with higher antiviral activity that can be important for applications in public and/or sensitive environments such as in hospitals.

Diseases that run in families not all down to genes, study shows Posted: 20 Jul 2016 07:52 AM PDT Family history of disease may be as much the result of shared lifestyle and surroundings as inherited genes, research has shown. Factors that are common to the family environment -- such as shared living space and common eating habits -- can make a major contribution to a person's risk of disease, the study found.

New sun cream compound offers unprecedented protection against UVA radiation Posted: 20 Jul 2016 07:50 AM PDT A new wonder compound offers unprecedented protection against the harmful effects of UVA radiation in sunlight, which include photo-ageing, cell damage and cancer.

Scientists review methods to prevent bites, suppress ticks that transmit Lyme disease Posted: 20 Jul 2016 07:50 AM PDT Decades of scientific literature on the effectiveness of various methods of preventing bites and controlling ticks that transmit Lyme disease has been reviewed by a research team, and outlined in a new report.

FDA approves scalpel-free brain surgery for tremor Posted: 20 Jul 2016 06:50 AM PDT The Food and Drug Administration has approved the first focused ultrasound device to treat essential tremor, the most common movement disorder, in patients who do not respond to medication. The scalpel-free approach has been demonstrated to show the safety and effectiveness of the device.

A chair for getting fit and trim Posted: 20 Jul 2016 06:46 AM PDT Getting fit and athletic -- while sitting? Researchers are developing an active chair. At first glance, the chair looks just like another other reclining chair with a footrest you would find in a living room in front of the TV. But upon closer inspection, the chair is actually connected to a virtual avatar and has all manner of technical refinements.

Dogs de-stress families with autistic children, new research shows Posted: 20 Jul 2016 06:46 AM PDT Owning a pet dog reduces stress and significantly improves functioning in families who have a child with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), new research has shown.

XX protection against age-related mutations Posted: 20 Jul 2016 06:44 AM PDT Researchers have put the 'unguarded X hypothesis' to the test and confirmed that differences in lifespan between the sexes, a widespread phenomenon in nature, may indeed be due to the protective effect of having two copies of the X chromosome.

Breastfeeding alters maternal metabolism, protects against diabetes for up to 15 years after delivery Posted: 20 Jul 2016 06:44 AM PDT An interdisciplinary team of scientists has studied the metabolism of women with gestational diabetes after giving birth. They were able to show that breastfeeding for more than three months brings about long-term metabolic changes.

Diabetes: Factor 'gender' into treatment, say experts Posted: 20 Jul 2016 06:44 AM PDT The international guidelines for the management of diabetes mellitus (type 2) purport to observe factors such as age, social environment, the duration of the illness or associated health complaints. The factor gender is not included. However, this is becoming an ever growing issue, because men and women bear different risks and fall victim to or suffer from a different type of diabetes. Therefore, say researchers, the treatment of the illness should be increasingly more gender-specific and personalized.

Disturbances in blood cell gene transcription may lead to leukemia Posted: 20 Jul 2016 06:44 AM PDT Researchers have succeeded in shedding light on the pathogenesis of DNA breakpoints that are associated with leukemia. A mechanism discovered in a recent study can explain up to 90% of DNA damages present in the most common type of leukemia in children.

Dangerous bacteria found after sewer spills Posted: 20 Jul 2016 06:42 AM PDT After a sewer line break, a strain of bacteria found in wastewater tested resistant to vancomycin, an antibiotic considered to be a 'last resort' treatment for serious infections that do not respond to other antibiotics. Researchers found that the vancomycin-resistant bacteria contains a gene capable of transferring vancomycin resistance to other strains of bacteria. Aging sewer infrastructure and increases in stormwater flooding with extreme rain events increases the likelihood of such spills.

Study with aye-ayes, slow loris finds that prosimians prefer alcohol Posted: 19 Jul 2016 06:48 PM PDT In the first controlled study of its kind using nectar-simulating solutions, researchers found that two aye-ayes and another prosimian primate (slow loris) could discriminate different concentrations of alcohol and that each species preferred the highest concentrations of alcohol available to them. The study investigates the genetic mutation and potential adaptive advantage that some primates have in efficiently metabolizing alcohol and examines the importance of fermented foods in human evolution.

Antibody-based drug for multiple sclerosis Posted: 19 Jul 2016 06:48 PM PDT A research team has developed an antibody with potential therapeutic effects against multiple sclerosis. The study paves the way for a new strategy to control the disease, say the scientists.

Home-cooked meals for infants not always better than shop-bought ones Posted: 19 Jul 2016 06:48 PM PDT Home-cooked meals specifically designed for infants and young children, are not always better than commercially available baby foods.

Lower risk of bowel cancer death linked to high omega 3 intake after diagnosis Posted: 19 Jul 2016 06:48 PM PDT A high dietary intake of omega 3 fatty acids, derived from oily fish, may help to lower the risk of death from bowel cancer in patients diagnosed with the disease, suggests research.

Rare mutations in bowel cancer may identify patients with a better prognosis Posted: 19 Jul 2016 06:48 PM PDT A study focused on colorectal cancers and examined the presence of mutations in a gene that is essential for the accurate copying of DNA when cells divide, known as DNA polymerase epsilon (POLE). As a consequence of the defects in copying their DNA, these tumors accumulate a much higher number of additional mutations than other bowel cancers -- a characteristic that may explain an apparently enhanced immune response against them.

Quitting smoking during pregnancy: Beneficial for both mother and child Posted: 19 Jul 2016 11:47 AM PDT In 80 percent of cases, pregnant women who used nicotine patches or the drug Zyban successively quit smoking, a new study has shown. Even after stopping the use of these products, 60 percent of Zyban users and 68 percent of women using nicotine patches did not restart smoking during or after pregnancy.

Eating healthy fats in place of carbs or saturated fats improves risk factors for diabetes Posted: 19 Jul 2016 11:47 AM PDT Eating more unsaturated fats in place of either dietary carbohydrate or saturated fat reduces blood sugar, insulin levels, and other metrics related to type 2 diabetes, according to a new meta-analysis of data from 102 randomized feeding trials in adults. A large-scale meta-analysis finds consumption of unsaturated fats in place of either saturated fats or carbohydrates could aid in the prevention and management of type 2 diabetes

Chasing fire: Fever and human mobility in an epidemic Posted: 19 Jul 2016 10:13 AM PDT Disease ecologists working in the Amazonian city of Iquitos, Peru, have quantified for the first time how a fever affects human mobility during the outbreak of a mosquito-borne pathogen.

After psychiatric hospital discharge, many patients are still taking multiple antipsychotic drugs Posted: 19 Jul 2016 10:13 AM PDT In recent years, measures have been introduced to reduce the rate of 'antipsychotic polypharmacy' -- taking more than one antipsychotic drug -- among patients with schizophrenia and other serious mental illnesses. But at least 12 percent of patients are still prescribed multiple antipsychotics after an inpatient stay at a state psychiatric hospital, according to an analysis of US nationwide data.

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