ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

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• Doctors' burnout should be treated as organization-wide problem, new research suggests
• Yo-yo dieting might cause extra weight gain
• Uncovering a 'smoking gun' in age-related disease
• Long-term, low-intensity smoking associated with increased risks of death
• Traditional Japanese art inspires a futuristic innovation: Brain 'organoids'
• Genetic factors control regenerative properties of blood-forming stem cells
• Avoiding spiritual struggles and existential questions is linked with poorer mental health
• Study shows promising clinical activity, safety results of KTE-C19 in aggressive B-cell non-hodgkin lymphoma
• New mechanism to control human viral infections discovered
• Re-emergence of syphilis traced to pandemic strain cluster
• Drug/catheter combination for labor induction could save women 2.4 million hours of labor annually, study shows
• 'Shock and kill' strategy for curing HIV may endanger patients' brains
• Leukemia drug combo is encouraging in early phase I clinical trial
• Confronting the psychological demands on endurance athletes
• Protein synthesis: Ribosome recycling as a drug target
• Filling need for fast, accurate assessment of blood's ability to clot
• Baby boomers on dope: Recreational marijuana use is on the rise among adults over 50
• A handful of nuts a day cuts the risk of a wide range of diseases
• Stereochemistry: Self-amplifying selectivity
• Researchers uncover protein-based 'cancer signature'
• Role of molecular modification in determining physical activity levels revealed
• Biomarker may predict which formerly treated cancer patients will develop highly fatal form of leukemia
• After one dose of gene therapy, hemophilia B patients maintain near-normal levels of clotting factor
• CD19-targeting CAR T-cell immunotherapy yields high responses in treatment-resistant CLL
• Hearing deficits in schizophrenia tied to specific brain receptor
• Preventing Zika from blood transfusions
• Tablet-based tool helps epilepsy patients learn self-management skills
• New method improves stability, extends shelf life of protein drugs
• New tool uses UV light to control inflammation
• Treatment significantly reduces chemotherapy-induced hearing loss in children

Doctors' burnout should be treated as organization-wide problem, new research suggests Posted: 05 Dec 2016 09:05 AM PST Current approaches to dealing with burnouts in doctors on an individual case-by-case basis is not effective and the issue should instead be tackled with organization-wide initiatives, according to researchers.

Yo-yo dieting might cause extra weight gain Posted: 05 Dec 2016 08:39 AM PST Repeated dieting may lead to weight gain because the brain interprets the diets as short famines and urges the person to store more fat for future shortages, new research suggests.

Uncovering a 'smoking gun' in age-related disease Posted: 05 Dec 2016 08:36 AM PST Aging is a key risk factor for a variety of devastating, chronic diseases, yet the biological factors that influence when and how rapidly cells deteriorate over time remain largely unknown. Now, for the first time, a research team has linked the function of a core component of cells' machinery -- which cuts and rejoins RNA molecules in a process known as "RNA splicing" -- with longevity in the roundworm. The finding sheds light on the biological role of splicing in lifespan and suggests that manipulating specific splicing factors in humans might help promote healthy aging.

Long-term, low-intensity smoking associated with increased risks of death Posted: 05 Dec 2016 08:35 AM PST Low-intensity smokers who puff on 10 or less cigarettes per day over their lifetime still have higher risks of death than individuals who never smoke, providing further evidence that there is no safe level of cigarette smoking, according to a study.

Traditional Japanese art inspires a futuristic innovation: Brain 'organoids' Posted: 05 Dec 2016 08:31 AM PST The ancient Japanese art of flower arranging was the inspiration for a groundbreaking technique to create tiny "artificial brains" that could be used to develop personalized cancer treatments.

Genetic factors control regenerative properties of blood-forming stem cells Posted: 05 Dec 2016 08:30 AM PST Two studies define how key genetic factors affect blood-forming stem cells by either accelerating or hindering the cells' regenerative properties. The findings could one day lead to improved treatments for people undergoing common therapies for cancer such as chemotherapy and radiation, say researchers.

Avoiding spiritual struggles and existential questions is linked with poorer mental health Posted: 05 Dec 2016 08:10 AM PST Fear of confronting the tensions and conflicts brought on by existential concerns—the "big questions" of life—is linked with poorer mental health, including higher levels of depression, anxiety and difficulty regulating emotions, according to a new study.

Study shows promising clinical activity, safety results of KTE-C19 in aggressive B-cell non-hodgkin lymphoma Posted: 05 Dec 2016 08:10 AM PST Immune cellular therapy is a promising new area of cancer treatment. Anti-cancer therapeutics, such as chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) modified T cells, can be engineered to target tumor-associated antigens to attack and kill cancer cells. This allows for an improved precision medicine approach to treating cancer.

New mechanism to control human viral infections discovered Posted: 05 Dec 2016 08:10 AM PST A long-sought-after mechanism has been found in human cells that creates immunity to influenza A virus, which causes annual seasonal epidemics and occasional pandemics.

Re-emergence of syphilis traced to pandemic strain cluster Posted: 05 Dec 2016 08:09 AM PST Over the last few decades, an age-old infectious disease has been re-emerging globally: syphilis. Using techniques to analyze low levels of DNA, an international research team has now shown that all syphilis strains from modern patient samples share a common ancestor from the 1700s. Furthermore, their research demonstrates that strains dominating infections today originate from a pandemic cluster that emerged after 1950, and these strains share a worrying trait: resistance to the second-line antibiotic azithromycin.

Drug/catheter combination for labor induction could save women 2.4 million hours of labor annually, study shows Posted: 05 Dec 2016 07:16 AM PST Labor induction is one of the most common medical procedures in the world, with nearly one-quarter of women who deliver in the U.S. undergoing the procedure each year (totaling roughly 1 million). Despite its widespread use, labor induction is costly and still has no widely accepted "best practice." Now, new research is showing what may be the best available method for inducing labor, which may be necessary under circumstances including medical conditions such as preeclampsia, gestational diabetes or other health risks to the mom or baby.

'Shock and kill' strategy for curing HIV may endanger patients' brains Posted: 05 Dec 2016 06:57 AM PST Combination drug treatments have become successful at long-term control of HIV infection, but the goal of totally wiping out the virus and curing patients has so far been stymied by HIV's ability to hide out in cells and become dormant for long periods of time. One of the proposed curative strategies for HIV, known as "shock and kill," may be harmful to patients' brains, warn researchers.

Leukemia drug combo is encouraging in early phase I clinical trial Posted: 05 Dec 2016 06:57 AM PST In a Phase I study, 8 out of 12 patients with relapsed and/or chemotherapy refractory blood cancers responded to a combination of the chemotherapy drugs thioguanine and decitabine; some of the responders had relapsed after treatment with decitabine alone, report researchers.

Confronting the psychological demands on endurance athletes Posted: 05 Dec 2016 06:56 AM PST What are the psychological demands commonly faced by endurance athletes? New research has identified psychological stressors common to endurance athletes across different sports at different performance levels. A new article underscores where researchers can make effective recommendations to athletes of all abilities in helping them cope with pervasive psychological difficulties. The new research is therefore an important set of findings for anyone interested in improving performance in endurance sports.

Protein synthesis: Ribosome recycling as a drug target Posted: 05 Dec 2016 06:56 AM PST Researchers have elucidated a mechanism that recycles bacterial ribosomes stalled on messenger RNAs that lack termination codons. The protein involved provides a potential target for future antibiotics.

Filling need for fast, accurate assessment of blood's ability to clot Posted: 05 Dec 2016 06:12 AM PST A portable sensor has been developed that can assess the clotting ability of a person's blood 95 times faster than current methods—using only a single drop of blood.

Baby boomers on dope: Recreational marijuana use is on the rise among adults over 50 Posted: 05 Dec 2016 06:12 AM PST There is a common misperception that widespread marijuana use is limited to younger generations. However, the Baby Boomer generation has reported higher rates of substance use than any preceding generation.

A handful of nuts a day cuts the risk of a wide range of diseases Posted: 05 Dec 2016 06:05 AM PST A large analysis of current research shows that people who eat at least 20g of nuts a day have a lower risk of heart disease, cancer and other diseases.

Stereochemistry: Self-amplifying selectivity Posted: 05 Dec 2016 05:59 AM PST A chemist has designed and synthesized a catalyst that flexibly molds the handedness of the reaction products with which it interacts.

Researchers uncover protein-based 'cancer signature' Posted: 05 Dec 2016 05:59 AM PST A research team has investigated the expression of ribosomal proteins in a wide range of human tissues including tumors and discovered a cancer type specific signature. This "cancer signature" could potentially be used to predict the progression of the disease.

Role of molecular modification in determining physical activity levels revealed Posted: 05 Dec 2016 05:59 AM PST Researchers show modification of a gene product results in greater physical activity and reduced body weight in mice, thus boosting understanding of how physical activity is regulated at the cellular level in the nervous system.

Biomarker may predict which formerly treated cancer patients will develop highly fatal form of leukemia Posted: 03 Dec 2016 12:45 PM PST Patients successfully treated for breast, colon and other cancers can go on to develop an often-fatal form of leukemia, sometimes years after completion of treatment, due to a genetic mutation leading to secondary malignancies known as therapy-related myeloid neoplasms (t-MNs).

After one dose of gene therapy, hemophilia B patients maintain near-normal levels of clotting factor Posted: 03 Dec 2016 12:45 PM PST Researchers are reporting the highest and most sustained levels to date of an essential blood-clotting factor IX in patients with the inherited bleeding disorder hemophilia B. After receiving a single dose of an experimental gene therapy in a clinical trial, patients with hemophilia produced near-normal levels of clotting factor IX, allowing them to stop clotting factor infusions and to pursue normal activities of daily life without disabling bleeding episodes.

CD19-targeting CAR T-cell immunotherapy yields high responses in treatment-resistant CLL Posted: 03 Dec 2016 12:45 PM PST In a small, early phase trial, a high percentage of patients who had exhausted most traditional treatments for chronic lymphocytic leukemia saw their tumors shrink or even disappear after an infusion of a highly targeted, experimental CAR T-cell immunotherapy.

Hearing deficits in schizophrenia tied to specific brain receptor Posted: 02 Dec 2016 12:08 PM PST People with schizophrenia who have difficulty hearing subtle changes in pitch may be helped with auditory training exercises and a drug that targets NMDA receptors in the brain, report researchers.

Preventing Zika from blood transfusions Posted: 02 Dec 2016 12:08 PM PST As the Zika epidemic spreads to the United States, the potential for contracting the disease via blood transfusion has emerged as a serious concern. The problem of transfusion-related Zika virus transmission—and recommended strategies to reduce that risk—are outlined in a new article.

Tablet-based tool helps epilepsy patients learn self-management skills Posted: 02 Dec 2016 12:08 PM PST Epilepsy patients who want to learn how to manage their own unique symptoms can now get individualized information via tablet computer through a new research project.

New method improves stability, extends shelf life of protein drugs Posted: 02 Dec 2016 12:08 PM PST A novel route for non-covalent protein modification has now been tested, and results reveal a new way to improve the stability of common protein drugs and extend shelf-life.

New tool uses UV light to control inflammation Posted: 02 Dec 2016 12:07 PM PST Researchers have developed a chemical tool to control inflammation that is activated by ultraviolet (UV) light.

Treatment significantly reduces chemotherapy-induced hearing loss in children Posted: 02 Dec 2016 08:51 AM PST Sodium thiosulfate prevents cisplatin-induced hearing loss in children and adolescents with cancer, investigators have determined.

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