ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

---

• How stress may increase risk of heart disease and stroke
• Bacterial protein structure could aid development of new antibiotics
• Researchers develop novel treatment to prevent graft-versus-host-disease
• New target for taming Ebola
• How a Western diet leads to overeating and obesity
• Diet helps shed pounds, release toxins and reduce oxidative stress
• Cost, technology issues are barriers to real-time cancer patient symptom reporting
• Stem cells used to regenerate the external layer of a human heart
• Strep spreads by harnessing immune defenses of those infected
• New genes identified that regulate the spread of cancers
• new light shed on functioning of human gut bacteria
• New therapeutic target against persistent viral infections
• DNA duplicator small enough to hold in your hand
• High-sugar diet programs a short lifespan in flies
• National salt reduction strategy is cost-effective 'best buy' for 183 countries worldwide
• High dietary red meat intake linked to common bowel condition diverticulitis
• Walking the tightrope: The balance between helping patients now without risking the future
• Contrary to decades of hype, curcumin alone is unlikely to boost health
• New type of monitoring provides information about the life of bacteria in microdroplets
• Customers who receive genetic health data not alarmed by results, find information useful
• For men with prostate cancer, emotional distress may lead to more aggressive treatment
• Bronchial carcinoma: Added benefit of crizotinib not proven
• Changes to hospital electronic health records could improve care of patients on warfarin
• Tumor-seeking salmonella treats brain tumors
• A novel cancer immunotherapy shows early promise in preclinical studies
• Surprise advance in the treatment of adult cancers
• Updated classification system captures many more people at risk for heart attack
• Testing breast milk for cannabinoids
• Researchers find a potential target for anti-Alzheimer treatments
• Remembering where to get high
• Our senses can't learn under stress
• Blood test may help predict confusion after surgery
• Sudden drop in outdoor temperature increases the risk of respiratory infections
• New material in the fight against hospital-acquired infections
• Intensive weight loss does not cause major health problems for female fitness competitors
• Antidepressant use increases hip fracture risk among elderly
• Tucatinib (ONT-380) progressing in pivotal trial against HER2+ breast cancer
• Using E. coli to detect hormone disruptors in the environment
• Nutritional quality of kids' menus at chain restaurants not improving
• Rural dementia: We need to talk
• Scientists pave the way for enhanced detection and treatment of vascular graft infections
• More older Americans using cannabis, underscoring need for research
• First study to show chair yoga as effective alternative treatment for osteoarthritis
• Pumping iron is good for the heart, researchers show
• Legal or not, marijuana can increase the risk of developing alcohol use disorders
• Air pollution and lack of physical activity pose competing threats to children in China
• Stool samples from the Inuit of Nunavut: Study documents their 'gut microbiome'
• Normal ranges for testosterone levels defined

How stress may increase risk of heart disease and stroke Posted: 11 Jan 2017 06:36 PM PST Heightened activity in the amygdala -- a region of the brain involved in stress -- is associated with a greater risk of heart disease and stroke, according to a study that provides new insights into the possible mechanism by which stress can lead to cardiovascular disease in humans.

Bacterial protein structure could aid development of new antibiotics Posted: 11 Jan 2017 03:45 PM PST Bacterial cells have an added layer of protection, called the cell wall, that animal cells don't. Assembling this tough armor entails multiple steps, some of which are targeted by antibiotics like penicillin and vancomycin. Now researchers have provided the first close-up glimpse of a protein, called MurJ, which is crucial for building the bacterial cell wall and protecting it from outside attack. The findings could be used to develop new broad-spectrum antibiotics.

Researchers develop novel treatment to prevent graft-versus-host-disease Posted: 11 Jan 2017 03:45 PM PST Graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD) is the leading cause of non-relapse associated death in patients who receive stem cell transplants. In a new study, researchers show that a novel treatment can effectively inhibit the development of GVHD in mice and maintain the infection- and tumor-fighting capabilities of the immune system.

New target for taming Ebola Posted: 11 Jan 2017 03:44 PM PST A team of scientists has identified a mechanism that appears to represent one way that host cells have evolved to outsmart infection by Ebola and other viruses.

How a Western diet leads to overeating and obesity Posted: 11 Jan 2017 03:43 PM PST More than two in three adults in the United States are considered overweight or obese, with substantial biomedical and clinical evidence suggesting that chronic overconsumption of a 'western diet' -- foods consisting high levels of sugars and fats -- is a major cause of this epidemic. New research now shows that chronic consumption of a western diet leads to overeating and obesity due to elevations in 'peripheral endocannabinoid signaling.'

Diet helps shed pounds, release toxins and reduce oxidative stress Posted: 11 Jan 2017 03:41 PM PST Research by exercise scientists has found that a balanced, protein-pacing, low-calorie diet that includes intermittent fasting not only achieves long-term weight loss, but also helps release toxins in the form of PCBs from the body fat stores, in addition to enhancing heart health and reducing oxidative stress.

Cost, technology issues are barriers to real-time cancer patient symptom reporting Posted: 11 Jan 2017 03:40 PM PST In a perspective article, a researcher addresses the need for – and the barriers preventing – electronic reporting of patients' symptoms between visits.

Stem cells used to regenerate the external layer of a human heart Posted: 11 Jan 2017 12:18 PM PST A process using human stem cells can generate the cells that cover the external surface of a human heart -- epicardium cells -- according to a multidisciplinary team of researchers.

Strep spreads by harnessing immune defenses of those infected Posted: 11 Jan 2017 12:18 PM PST The bacteria that cause most cases of pneumonia worldwide secrete a toxin that helps them jump from one body to the next -- with help from the hosts' immune defenses.

New genes identified that regulate the spread of cancers Posted: 11 Jan 2017 10:28 AM PST Researchers have discovered a new biological target for drugs to reduce the spread of tumours in cancer patients. The study with genetically modified mice found 23 genes that are involved in regulating the spread of cancers. The researchers showed that targeting one of these genes -- Spns2 -- led to a three-quarters reduction in tumor spread.

new light shed on functioning of human gut bacteria Posted: 11 Jan 2017 10:27 AM PST Researchers shed new light on the functioning of human gut bacteria, revealing how nutrients are transported into the bacterial cell.

New therapeutic target against persistent viral infections Posted: 11 Jan 2017 10:11 AM PST Life is a question of balance, and the body is no exception. Expression levels of certain proteins can affect the immune system's ability to neutralize a virus. Type I interferons (IFN-I) are cytokines that were previously thought of as key contributors to the antiviral response, but emerging lines of evidence suggest that they may also participate in the establishment and maintenance of persistent viral infections.

DNA duplicator small enough to hold in your hand Posted: 11 Jan 2017 10:11 AM PST Engineers have developed a new method for duplicating DNA that makes devices small enough to hold in your hand that are capable of identifying infectious agents before symptoms appear.

High-sugar diet programs a short lifespan in flies Posted: 11 Jan 2017 10:08 AM PST Flies with a history of eating a high sugar diet live shorter lives, even after their diet improves. This is because the unhealthy diet drives long-term reprogramming of gene expression, according to a team of researchers.

National salt reduction strategy is cost-effective 'best buy' for 183 countries worldwide Posted: 11 Jan 2017 10:07 AM PST A new global study projects that a government-supported intervention to reduce national salt consumption by 10 percent over 10 years would be a highly cost-effective 'best buy' for preventing cardiovascular disease across 183 countries worldwide. Government-supported policy projected to be a highly cost-effective way to reduce salt consumption and gain healthy years lost to cardiovascular disease

High dietary red meat intake linked to common bowel condition diverticulitis Posted: 11 Jan 2017 09:28 AM PST Replacing one daily portion with poultry or fish may lower risk, findings suggest.

Walking the tightrope: The balance between helping patients now without risking the future Posted: 11 Jan 2017 08:53 AM PST Antibiotic use represents a special challenge, in which too much of a good thing can be dangerous to public health as a whole. The fight against a common, costly, hospital-acquired infection known as Clostridium difficile, or C. diff offers an illuminating case study in the area of so-called antibiotic stewardship.

Contrary to decades of hype, curcumin alone is unlikely to boost health Posted: 11 Jan 2017 08:08 AM PST Curcumin, a compound in turmeric, continues to be hailed as a natural treatment for a wide range of health conditions, including cancer and Alzheimer's disease. But a new review of the scientific literature on curcumin has found it's probably not all it's ground up to be. The report instead cites evidence that, contrary to numerous reports, the compound has limited -- if any -- therapeutic benefit.

New type of monitoring provides information about the life of bacteria in microdroplets Posted: 11 Jan 2017 08:08 AM PST In the future, it will be possible to carry out tests of new drugs on bacteria much more efficiently using microfluidic devices, since each of the hundreds and thousands of droplets moving through the microchannels can act as separate incubators. So far, however, there has been no quick or accurate method of assessing the oxygen conditions in individual microdroplets.

Customers who receive genetic health data not alarmed by results, find information useful Posted: 11 Jan 2017 07:39 AM PST As consumers have been able to learn more about their genetic makeup in recent years through personal genomic testing, one big criticism has been that without someone to interpret it, the health information could be harmful to the receivers.

For men with prostate cancer, emotional distress may lead to more aggressive treatment Posted: 11 Jan 2017 07:39 AM PST The anxiety many men experience after being diagnosed with prostate cancer may lead them to choose potentially unnecessary treatment options, researchers report.

Bronchial carcinoma: Added benefit of crizotinib not proven Posted: 11 Jan 2017 07:29 AM PST The dossier contains no data or no suitable data on ROS1-positive, advanced non-small cell lung cancer. Results on ALK-positive tumors are not applicable.

Changes to hospital electronic health records could improve care of patients on warfarin Posted: 11 Jan 2017 07:29 AM PST Using electronic health records can improve the care patients on warfarin receive after they leave the hospital and eliminate potential confusion among care providers and pharmacists, research concludes.

Tumor-seeking salmonella treats brain tumors Posted: 11 Jan 2017 07:29 AM PST Genetic tweaks to salmonella turn the bacteria into cancer-seeking missiles that produce self-destruct orders deep within tumors. Tests in rat models with extreme cases of the disease showed a remarkable 20 percent survival rate over 100 days -- roughly equivalent to 10 human years -- with the tumors going into complete remission.

A novel cancer immunotherapy shows early promise in preclinical studies Posted: 11 Jan 2017 07:29 AM PST Scientists report that GARP, a TGF-beta cell surface receptor, could be a novel diagnostic marker for breast, colon, and lung cancer. An antibody-based therapy targeting GARP prevented metastasis to the lung in a mouse model of breast cancer. Targeting GARP with an antibody could represent a novel addition to established immunotherapies that 'wake up' the immune system so that it can fight cancer.

Surprise advance in the treatment of adult cancers Posted: 11 Jan 2017 07:29 AM PST An epigenetic modification that might be the cause of 15% of adult cancers of the throat linked to alcohol and tobacco use was identified. This discovery was unexpected since it seemed highly improbable that this kind of alterations of the epigenome found in children could also target an epithelial tumor like throat cancer that occurs only in adults.

Updated classification system captures many more people at risk for heart attack Posted: 11 Jan 2017 07:29 AM PST Experts have published a suggested new plan for a five-stage system of classifying the risk of heart attack in those with heart disease, one they say puts much-needed and long-absent focus on the risks faced by millions of Americans who pass so-called stress tests or have less obvious or earlier-stage danger signs.

Testing breast milk for cannabinoids Posted: 11 Jan 2017 07:28 AM PST With the legalization of medical and recreational marijuana spreading across the country, the drug's use is reportedly increasing among pregnant women. It stands to reason that many of these women will continue to use marijuana after they give birth. Now researchers have developed a new method to help determine what this means for infants' potential exposure to the active compounds in marijuana in breast milk.

Researchers find a potential target for anti-Alzheimer treatments Posted: 11 Jan 2017 06:35 AM PST Scientists have identified a gene that may provide a new starting point for developing treatments for Alzheimer's disease (AD). The USP9 gene has an indirect influence on the so-called tau protein, which is believed to play a significant role in the onset of Alzheimer's disease. This discovery may open a new door to developing active ingredients to treat Alzheimer's disease.

Remembering where to get high Posted: 11 Jan 2017 06:35 AM PST Addiction-related memories are exceptionally strong and stable, suggesting that addictive drugs remodel the brain's circuitry in a prominent and lasting way. In the past decade, researchers have used mouse models to unravel how cellular changes in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), a brain structure involved in action selection associated with arousal and reward, may contribute to addiction-related behavior. Whereas neuronal remodeling in the NAc explains a wide range of addictive behaviors, it is not required for all of them, according to a study.

Our senses can't learn under stress Posted: 11 Jan 2017 06:34 AM PST Stress is part of our everyday lives. While some thrive on it, it makes others sick. But what does stress do to our senses?

Blood test may help predict confusion after surgery Posted: 11 Jan 2017 06:34 AM PST Many people experience an extended period of confusion when they awake after surgery. This acute confusional state, called delirium, particularly affects older adults and poses an important clinical challenge as it can lead to greater postoperative complications and may extend hospitalization.

Sudden drop in outdoor temperature increases the risk of respiratory infections Posted: 11 Jan 2017 06:34 AM PST You can pretty much put a mark in your calendar for when the annual flu epidemic begins. Using 20,000 virus samples and weather statistics, researchers have now discovered more details about how outdoor temperature and flu outbreaks are linked.

New material in the fight against hospital-acquired infections Posted: 11 Jan 2017 06:19 AM PST Researchers have developed a new light-activated antimicrobial material for use in the fight against the most common hospital infections.

Intensive weight loss does not cause major health problems for female fitness competitors Posted: 11 Jan 2017 06:19 AM PST Worries about the potential negative consequences of fat loss regimens for aesthetic purposes in normal weight females have been surfacing in the media. This has taken place regardless of the lack of longitudinal studies on this kind of diets. Now researchers have published a study that shows for the first time what effects an intensive weight reduction had in rather a large group of normal weight females.

Antidepressant use increases hip fracture risk among elderly Posted: 11 Jan 2017 06:19 AM PST Antidepressant use nearly doubles the risk of hip fracture among community-dwelling persons with Alzheimer's disease, according to a new study. The increased risk was highest at the beginning of antidepressant use and remained elevated even 4 years later.

Tucatinib (ONT-380) progressing in pivotal trial against HER2+ breast cancer Posted: 11 Jan 2017 06:14 AM PST Twenty-seven percent of 50 heavily pretreated patients with stage IV HER2+ breast cancer saw clinical benefit from the drug Tucatinib (ONT-380) , with at least 'stable disease' at 24 or more weeks after the start of treatment.

Using E. coli to detect hormone disruptors in the environment Posted: 11 Jan 2017 06:14 AM PST Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) have been implicated in the development of obesity, diabetes and cancer and are found in a wide array of products including pesticides, plastics and pharmaceuticals. EDCs are potentially harmful, even at low concentrations, equal in some cases to mere milligrams dissolved in in a swimming pool full of water. Now researchers report that they can quickly detect environmentally relevant concentrations of EDCs using engineered E. coli bacteria.

Nutritional quality of kids' menus at chain restaurants not improving Posted: 11 Jan 2017 06:14 AM PST US chain restaurants participating in an initiative to improve the nutritional quality of their children's menus have made no significant changes compared with restaurants not participating in the program.

Rural dementia: We need to talk Posted: 11 Jan 2017 06:14 AM PST English research into the experience of dementia in farming and farming families, and its impact on their businesses and home lives, has identified four areas of concern which need to be addressed if dementia in the countryside is to be managed. It is the first time that research has addressed this issue in farming.

Scientists pave the way for enhanced detection and treatment of vascular graft infections Posted: 11 Jan 2017 06:14 AM PST A study reports the detrimental aftereffects of infected grafts, including the formation of biofilms that can shelter bacteria and function as a source of recurrent infection. This new research should enable researchers to develop better strategies to diagnose and manage vascular graft infections.

More older Americans using cannabis, underscoring need for research Posted: 11 Jan 2017 06:14 AM PST Cannabis use among older adults in the US is on the rise, yet there is currently a lack of biomedical, clinical, and public health research to inform policy related to this trend, according to a new article.

First study to show chair yoga as effective alternative treatment for osteoarthritis Posted: 11 Jan 2017 06:14 AM PST The first randomized controlled trial to examine the effects of chair yoga on pain and physical function in older adults with osteoarthritis is proving to be an effective way to reduce pain and improve quality of life while avoiding pharmacologic treatment or adverse events for the millions who suffer from the disease in their lower extremities (hip, knee, ankle or foot).

Pumping iron is good for the heart, researchers show Posted: 11 Jan 2017 06:14 AM PST Just one session of interval weight-training can improve the risk of Type 2 diabetes complications, according to a new study. This is encouraging news for those starting the New Year with good intentions.

Legal or not, marijuana can increase the risk of developing alcohol use disorders Posted: 10 Jan 2017 04:49 PM PST Alcohol use disorders (AUDs) develop with time and in stages. Following the initiation of drinking, some people progress to problem drinking, and then develop a "cluster" of specific problems to comprise an AUD. However, not all stages of AUD development have been studied equally. This report examines high-risk families to understand underlying influences across multiple stages of AUD development.

Air pollution and lack of physical activity pose competing threats to children in China Posted: 10 Jan 2017 04:46 PM PST Health workers and policymakers need to find ways to address poor air quality and lack of exercise among children in China so that children can be more physically active without suffering the health risks caused by exposure to air pollution.

Stool samples from the Inuit of Nunavut: Study documents their 'gut microbiome' Posted: 10 Jan 2017 12:13 PM PST Since 2012, doctoral student Catherine Girard has collected stool samples from the Inuit of Nunavut. In a new study, she documents for the first time their 'gut microbiome' -- with surprising results.

Normal ranges for testosterone levels defined Posted: 10 Jan 2017 12:13 PM PST A large study of more than 9,000 men has established harmonized reference ranges for total testosterone in men that when applied to assays that have been appropriately calibrated will effectively enable clinicians to make a correct diagnosis of hypogonadism, according to a new study.

You are subscribed to email updates from Health & Medicine News -- ScienceDaily. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States