ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

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• Stress-hormone differences identified among gay men
• Turning off asthma attacks
• Researchers uncover more genetic links to brain cancer cell growth
• Alpha blockers more effective for large kidney stones
• Saturated fat could be good for you, study suggests
• Rare childhood disease linked to major cancer gene
• Modifying a live virus in a vaccine to be just strong enough
• Possible new target for treating and preventing Alzheimer's
• Disabling critical 'node' revs up attack when cancer immunotherapies fall short
• Shoulder replacements skyrocketing in the United States
• Scientists identify unique genomic features in testicular cancer
• Women dissatisfied with long process to diagnose polycystic ovary syndrome
• Researchers examine effects of toxic stress on children's brain development
• New computational method to create drugs more efficiently
• Fertilized egg cells trigger, monitor loss of sperm's epigenetic memory
• Neural stem cells serve as RNA highways too
• Autism-linked protein crucial for feeling pain
• Chemists develop new technique that could speed drug development
• Link between brain, bone in Alzheimer's disease identified
• It's time to stop using bite marks in forensics, experts argue
• Risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes affected by PCSK9 and HMGCR genetic variations
• First analysis of Ewing's sarcoma methyloma opens doors to new treatments
• Study seeks answer to whether mechanical pump can regenerate heart muscle

Stress-hormone differences identified among gay men Posted: 03 Dec 2016 12:45 PM PST Increased stigma and discrimination can affect circadian HPA-axis functioning, say researchers. The majority of previous studies have been conducted among white heterosexuals, with very little research examining HPA-axis functioning between different minorities. Individuals who identify as both sexual and racial minorities may experience increased stigma and discrimination that can affect this HPA-axis functioning. Now, researchers have examined differences in diurnal cortisol rhythm between young, self-identified, white gay men and black gay men.

Turning off asthma attacks Posted: 02 Dec 2016 06:51 AM PST Working with human immune cells in the laboratory, researchers report they have identified a critical cellular "off" switch for the inflammatory immune response that contributes to lung-constricting asthma attacks. The switch, they say, is composed of regulatory proteins that control an immune signaling pathway in cells.

Researchers uncover more genetic links to brain cancer cell growth Posted: 02 Dec 2016 06:51 AM PST Two recently discovered genetic differences between brain cancer cells and normal tissue cells — an altered gene and a snippet of noncoding genetic material — could offer clues to tumor behavior and potential new targets for therapy, scientists report.

Alpha blockers more effective for large kidney stones Posted: 02 Dec 2016 06:51 AM PST For the two-thirds of kidney stone patients who need more than just extra hydration to pass their stones, physicians are eager to find non-surgical ways to help. Now, a new review of the medical literature suggests alpha blockers may be useful in some cases.

Saturated fat could be good for you, study suggests Posted: 02 Dec 2016 06:43 AM PST A new diet intervention study raises questions regarding the validity of a diet hypothesis that has dominated for more than half a century: that dietary fat and particularly saturated fat is unhealthy for most people.

Rare childhood disease linked to major cancer gene Posted: 01 Dec 2016 02:23 PM PST An important molecular link between a rare childhood genetic disease and a major cancer gene has been uncovered by scientists. The discovery could lead to improved treatment outcomes for some cancer patients, they say.

Modifying a live virus in a vaccine to be just strong enough Posted: 01 Dec 2016 01:59 PM PST By genetically tweaking the constituent live virus, scientists have created a vaccine against influenza in which the virus is capable of activating the immune system but cannot replicate in healthy cells -- an approach that may become more widely used for generating live virus vaccines adapted to other viruses.

Possible new target for treating and preventing Alzheimer's Posted: 01 Dec 2016 01:54 PM PST Researchers have compared prevalence of aquaporin-4 in the brains of those who had Alzheimer's to those who didn't have the disease, and report that they may have found a new target for treating and preventing the disease.

Disabling critical 'node' revs up attack when cancer immunotherapies fall short Posted: 01 Dec 2016 01:44 PM PST An existing drug known as a JAK inhibitor may help patients who don't respond to the so-called checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy drugs overcome that resistance, suggests a new preclinical study. Importantly, the results demonstrate that shutting down the interferon pathway, shown here to be critical to a tumor's resistance to immunotherapy, with a JAK inhibitor may improve checkpoint inhibitor drugs and even bypass the need for combinations of these drugs, which often come with serious side effects.

Shoulder replacements skyrocketing in the United States Posted: 01 Dec 2016 01:36 PM PST The number of shoulder replacement surgeries has skyrocketed across the United States as technology improves and aging Baby Boomers seek to relieve pain and restore function to arthritic shoulders.

Scientists identify unique genomic features in testicular cancer Posted: 01 Dec 2016 01:34 PM PST Researchers have identified unique genomic changes that may be integral to testicular cancer development and explain why the great majority are highly curable with chemotherapy – unlike most solid tumors.

Women dissatisfied with long process to diagnose polycystic ovary syndrome Posted: 01 Dec 2016 01:17 PM PST A large international survey of women with a common condition called polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), which is characterized by reproductive and metabolic problems, found nearly two in three were dissatisfied with the length of time they waited and the number of healthcare professionals they had to see before they received a diagnosis, according to a new study.

Researchers examine effects of toxic stress on children's brain development Posted: 01 Dec 2016 01:17 PM PST A new study uses fMRI data to compare brain development between children who experience pervasive, continuing trauma and those with "normal" development.

New computational method to create drugs more efficiently Posted: 01 Dec 2016 01:08 PM PST Researchers have developed a more efficient computational method to identify new drugs. The study proposes a new way of facing the discovery of molecules with biological activity.

Fertilized egg cells trigger, monitor loss of sperm's epigenetic memory Posted: 01 Dec 2016 01:07 PM PST Scientists have discovered how an embryo's genomic integrity is safeguarded during the first 24 hours after fertilization. Insights into this mechanism have implications for improving in vitro fertilization.

Neural stem cells serve as RNA highways too Posted: 01 Dec 2016 09:20 AM PST Scientists have caught the first glimpse of molecules shuttling along a sort of highway running the length of neural stem cells, which are crucial to the development of new neurons. This new view has given them an intriguing clue that a protein deficient in Fragile X syndrome, an autism-related disorder that causes intellectual disability, is responsible for moving at least some of this molecular cargo up and down the stem cells.

Autism-linked protein crucial for feeling pain Posted: 01 Dec 2016 09:20 AM PST Sensory problems are common to autism spectrum disorders. Some individuals with autism may injure themselves repetitively -- for example, pulling their hair or banging their heads -- because they're less sensitive to pain than other people. New research points to a potential mechanism underlying pain insensitivity in autism.

Chemists develop new technique that could speed drug development Posted: 01 Dec 2016 09:04 AM PST Synthesizing useful new compounds is what pharmaceutical discovery and development is all about. Researchers have devised a method to substantially speed up the process. The chemists have developed and tested a new molecular binding technique that could shorten or abridge the human and animal drug discovery and development process. The new method is also potentially more economical and ecologically friendly than what is currently used.

Link between brain, bone in Alzheimer's disease identified Posted: 01 Dec 2016 09:02 AM PST Researchers have identified a major connection between areas of the brainstem - the ancient area that controls mood, sleep and metabolism - and detrimental changes to bone in a preclinical model of Alzheimer's disease.

It's time to stop using bite marks in forensics, experts argue Posted: 01 Dec 2016 09:01 AM PST Researchers are increasingly skeptical about the validity of bite-mark identification as trial evidence. A new paper describes the legal basis for the rise of bite-mark identification and reviews relevant empirical research on bite-mark identification -- highlighting both the lack of research and the lack of support provided by what research does exist.

Risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes affected by PCSK9 and HMGCR genetic variations Posted: 01 Dec 2016 08:59 AM PST Researchers have studied variants in the genes encoding HMGCR (the target of statins) and PCSK9 (the target of PCSK9 inhibitors) that affect cholesterol levels, and found that variants that lowered LDL (or "bad") cholesterol in each gene were associated with nearly identical protective effects on the risk of cardiovascular events per unit reduction in LDL cholesterol.

First analysis of Ewing's sarcoma methyloma opens doors to new treatments Posted: 01 Dec 2016 08:50 AM PST Researchers have first described the methylation profile of Ewing's sarcoma (ES), a cancer of bone and soft tissues that mainly affects children and teenagers. Their analysis has unveiled the potential of the PTRF gene as a prognostic marker of the disease and as a possible future therapeutic target in conjunction with the new genomic editing tools available.

Study seeks answer to whether mechanical pump can regenerate heart muscle Posted: 01 Dec 2016 06:44 AM PST Researchers are launching clinical trials to find out whether heart muscle that's been damaged by a heart attack be prompted to repair itself.

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