ScienceDaily Health Headlines
for Monday, September 1, 2008
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Bone That Blends Into Tendons Created By Engineers (August 31, 2008) -- Engineers have used skin cells to create artificial bones that mimic the ability of natural bone to blend into other tissues such as tendons or ligaments. The artificial bones provide for better integration with the body and handle weight more successfully. ... > full story
More Genes Are Controlled By Biological Clocks Than Previously Thought (August 31, 2008) -- The tick-tock of your biological clock may have just gotten a little louder. The number of genes under control of the biological clock in a much-studied model organism is dramatically higher than previously reported. The new study implies that the clock may be much more important in living things than suspected only a few years ago. ... > full story
Flu Shot Does Not Reduce Risk Of Death, Research Shows (August 31, 2008) -- The widely-held perception that the influenza vaccination reduces overall mortality risk in the elderly does not withstand careful scrutiny, according to researchers. The vaccine does confer protection against specific strains of influenza, but its overall benefit appears to have been exaggerated by a number of observational studies that found a very large reduction in all-cause mortality among elderly patients who had been vaccinated. ... > full story
Reducing Risky Health Behaviors In Teens: A Tall Order (August 31, 2008) -- Programs targeting at-risk kids must tackle a constellation of issues in order to be effective. "To really improve adolescent health, programs should seek to reduce risk taking, improve social capital and improve levels of affluence," said co-author of a new study. ... > full story
Memory Trick Shows Brain Organization (August 31, 2008) -- A simple memory trick has helped show researchers how an area of the brain called the perirhinal cortex can contribute to forming memories. ... > full story
Hearing Specialist Craft First Professional Guidelines For Earwax (August 31, 2008) -- The age-old advice to routinely clean out earwax is discouraged under the first published guidelines from health care professionals about removing wax from the ear. ... > full story
Heavy Breathing: An Obscure Link In Asthma And Obesity (August 31, 2008) -- There is a strong link between obesity and asthma and as the prevalence of both conditions has been increasing steadily, epidemiologists have speculated that there is an underlying condition that connects the two. But one long-suspected link, the systemic inflammation associated with obesity, has been essentially ruled out by a recent study that found no evidence of its involvement. ... > full story
Incidence Of Intestinal Parasite Coccidia Is Increasing In Broilers (August 31, 2008) -- Coccidia are single-celled intestinal parasites that currently represent one of the greatest challenges to the broiler industry. To keep the level of infection low, farmers commonly add coccidia-inhibiting chemicals (coccidiostats) to broiler feed. While this does not kill the parasites, it greatly reduces the incidence of overt sickness and death from infection. While clinical coccidiosis is therefore not a problem, veterinary authorities have never been able to gauge the extent of subclinical coccidiosis and the consequences this may have for animal welfare issues and production costs. ... > full story
Treatment For Hearing Loss? Scientists Grow Hair Cells Involved in Hearing (August 30, 2008) -- Scientists have successfully produced functional auditory hair cells in the cochlea of the mouse inner ear. The breakthrough suggests that a new therapy may be developed in the future to successfully treat hearing loss. ... > full story
Young Type-2 Diabetic Men Suffer Low Testosterone Levels, Study Shows (August 30, 2008) -- Young men with type 2 diabetes have significantly low levels of testosterone, endocrinologists at the University at Buffalo have found -- a condition that could have a critical effect on their quality of life and on their ability to father children. ... > full story
One Cause Of Higher Rates Of Transplanted Kidney Rejection In Blacks (August 30, 2008) -- Scientists may have an explanation for at least some of the higher organ rejection rates seen among black -- as compared to white -- kidney transplant recipients. ... > full story
Novel Approach In Molecular Differentiation Of Prion Strains (August 30, 2008) -- Scientists have identified a prion protein characteristic that is unique to some natural but unusual sheep scrapie cases. This finding may provide a novel method by which to study prion diversity and their possible changes during cross-species transmission. ... > full story
Global Survey Highlights Need For Cancer Prevention Campaigns To Correct Misbeliefs, Survey Finds (August 30, 2008) -- Many people hold mistaken beliefs about what causes cancer, tending to inflate the threat from environmental factors that have relatively little impact while minimizing the hazards of behaviors well established as cancer risk factors, according to the first global survey on the topic. People in high-income countries were the least likely to believe that drinking alcohol increases the risk of cancer. ... > full story
Location, Location, Location Important For Genes, Too (August 30, 2008) -- To better understand how cells become cancerous, a new study by cancer researchers looks at four genes that help regulate cell growth in embryos and contribute to cancer in adults. The genes are generally believed to work together to help control cell proliferation. But this study shows that mice need just one of the four genes to develop from fertilized eggs through adulthood. ... > full story
Antidepressants Need New Nerve Cells To Be Effective, Researchers Find (August 30, 2008) -- Researchers have discovered in mice that the brain must create new nerve cells for either exercise or antidepressants to reduce depression-like behavior. ... > full story
ABC-transporters Expressed On Endothelial Cell Membranes Efflux Anti-HIV Drugs (August 30, 2008) -- Researchers have discovered that drug-efflux pumps, belonging to the ATP-binding cassette transporter family, are constitutively expressed on vascular endothelial cells. The study has crucial implications in the persistence of sub-endothelial HIV reservoirs and will be important to the development of future therapies. ... > full story
Tiny 3-D Ultrasound Probe Guides Catheter Procedures (August 30, 2008) -- An ultrasound probe small enough to ride along at the tip of a catheter can provide physicians with clearer real-time images of soft tissue without the risks associated with conventional X-ray catheter guidance. ... > full story
Newly-defined Factors May Prevent Postpartum Smoking Relapse (August 30, 2008) -- Although many women quit smoking during pregnancy to protect their unborn children from the effects of cigarettes, half resume the habit within a few months of giving birth. By shedding light on the factors that enable the other half to put down that cigarette for good, a study by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill could lead to programs designed to help women quit and stay quit. ... > full story
New Approach To Detect Early Progression Of Brain Tumors Identified (August 29, 2008) -- New research suggests a certain type of MRI scanning can detect when a patient is failing brain tumor treatment before symptoms appear. The results of the study pave the way for a proactive treatment approach. ... > full story
Doctors Performing Heart Surgery Face Risks To Eyes (August 29, 2008) -- Patients are not the only ones at risk during cardiac procedures. Doctors performing heart surgery also face health risks, namely to their eyes. The IAEA is helping to raise awareness of threats, through training in radiation protection related to medical uses of X-ray imaging systems. ... > full story
Atomic Bomb Effect Results In Adult-onset Thyroid Cancer Identified (August 29, 2008) -- Radiation from the atomic bomb blasts in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, in 1945, likely rearranged chromosomes in some survivors who later developed papillary thyroid cancer as adults, according to Japanese researchers. ... > full story
Americans Show Little Tolerance For Mental Illness Despite Growing Belief In Genetic Cause (August 29, 2008) -- While more Americans believe that mental illness has genetic causes, the nation is no more tolerant of the mentally ill than it was 10 years ago. ... > full story
Rapid Changes In Key Alzheimer's Protein Described In Humans (August 29, 2008) -- For the first time, researchers have described hour-by-hour changes in the amount of amyloid beta, a protein that is believed to play a key role in Alzheimer's disease, in the human brain. ... > full story
Growth Factor Predicts Poor Outcome In Breast Cancer (August 29, 2008) -- The response to insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-I) in breast cancer cells predicts an aggressive tumor that is less likely to respond to treatment, according to new research. The finding gives impetus to the movement to tailor cancer treatments to attributes of the various tumors. ... > full story
How Blood Vessel Cells Know To Form Tube-like Structures And Not Just Layers (August 29, 2008) -- How do blood vessel cells understand that they should organize themselves in tubes and not in layers? A special type of "instructor" molecule is needed, according to new research. This might be an important step towards using stem cells to build new organs. ... > full story
Physical And Sexual Abuse Linked To Asthma In Puerto Rican Kids (August 29, 2008) -- Children who are physically or sexually abused are more than twice as likely to have asthma as their peers, according to a recent study of urban children in Puerto Rico. In fact, physical and sexual abuse was second only to maternal asthma in all the risk factors tested, including paternal asthma and indicators of socioeconomic status. ... > full story
Treadmill Exercise Retrains Brain And Body Of Stroke Victims (August 29, 2008) -- People who walk on a treadmill even years after stroke damage can significantly improve their health and mobility, changes that reflect actual "rewiring" of their brains, according to new research. ... > full story
Black Raspberries Slow Cancer By Altering Hundreds Of Genes (August 29, 2008) -- New research strongly suggests that a mix of preventative agents, such as those found in concentrated black raspberries, may more effectively inhibit cancer development than single agents aimed at shutting down a particular gene. Researchers examined the effect of freeze-dried black raspberries on genes altered by a chemical carcinogen in an animal model of esophageal cancer. ... > full story
Variation Of Normal Protein Could Be Key To Resistance To Common Cancer Drug (August 29, 2008) -- Researchers have found evidence explaining why a common chemotherapy drug, cisplatin, may not always work for every cancer patient. They have shown that when a variant version of a key protein that normally causes cell death is active, patients may be resistant to the cancer-killing drug. ... > full story
Antidepressants In Suicide Prevention Reviewed (August 29, 2008) -- Scientists have presented the state of evidence concerning the relation of antidepressants and suicidal behavior and critically commented on the current discussion with regard to the role of antidepressive treatment in real-life clinical practice. ... > full story
Cystic Fibrosis: Engineered Proteins Can 'Bypass' Genetic Defect (August 29, 2008) -- By manipulating the machinery used by our cells for quality control, researchers have found a way to restore the function of cystic fibrosis (CF) airway cells. This could significantly reduce the sticky mucus that plugs the lungs of CF patients, which leads to antibiotic-resistant infections and untimely death. ... > full story
Common Treatment To Delay Labor Decreases Pre-term Infants' Risk For Cerebral Palsy (August 29, 2008) -- Pre-term infants born to mothers receiving intravenous magnesium sulfate -- a common treatment to delay labor -- are less likely to develop cerebral palsy than are pre-term infants whose mothers do not receive it, report researchers in a large National Institutes of Health research network. ... > full story
Risk Of Repeat Attacks In Heart Patients Causes Concern For Doctors (August 29, 2008) -- The risk of heart attack patients having repeat attacks after they are discharged from hospital is being underestimated, research has shown. An international study raises concerns that some patients may not be receiving the optimum medical treatment and follow-up care because doctors are misjudging the risk of a further heart attack. ... > full story
Variant Of Mad Cow Disease May Be Transmitted By Blood Transfusions, According To Animal Study (August 29, 2008) -- Blood transfusions are a valuable treatment mechanism in modern medicine, but can come with the risk of donor disease transmission. Researchers are continually studying the biology of blood products to understand how certain diseases are transmitted in an effort to reduce this risk during blood transfusions. ... > full story
Not All Fat Is Created Equal: Fat In Obese Patients Is 'Sick' Compared To Fat From Lean Patients (August 29, 2008) -- A new study finds that fat in obese patients is "sick" when compared to fat from lean patients, which could more fully explain the link between obesity and higher risk of diabetes, heart disease and stroke. ... > full story
Pregnancy Situations Have Impact On Brain Development In Pre-term Infants (August 29, 2008) -- Brain development in infants who are born very prematurely is still incomplete. Factors that cause premature birth may have an impact on the development of the premature infant's brain both during pregnancy and later on after birth. ... > full story
Natural Chemical From Sea Sponges Induces Death In Cancer Cells Via Unusual Pathway (August 29, 2008) -- A chemical called candidaspongiolide (CAN) inhibits protein synthesis but also kills cancer cells by triggering caspase 12-dependent programmed cell death, according to an article in the Aug. 26 online issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. ... > full story
New Evidence On Addiction To Medicines: Diazepam Has Effect On Nerve Cells In The Brain Reward System (August 29, 2008) -- Addictions to medicines and drugs are thought to develop over a relatively long period of time. The process involves both structural and functional changes in brain nerve cells that are still poorly understood. However, a single drug or alcohol dose is sufficient to generate an initial stage of addiction. ... > full story
Class Of Diabetes Drugs Carries Significant Cardiovascular Risks (August 29, 2008) -- A class of oral drugs used to treat type 2 diabetes may make heart failure worse, according to an editorial published online in the journal Heart. ... > full story
Even Without Dementia, Mental Skills Decline Years Before Death (August 29, 2008) -- A new study shows that older people's mental skills start declining years before death, even if they don't have dementia. ... > full story
Recent Advances Make Cervical Cancer Control In Developing World Feasible For First Time (August 29, 2008) -- Recent advances in cervical cancer prevention mean that controlling the disease in developing countries is becoming feasible for the first time, experts say. Developments such as highly effective vaccines against the human papilloma virus (HPV) and promising new screening tests provide an unprecedented opportunity to tackle the disease in poor countries, where pap smear screening has largely failed because it is too expensive and too complicated to implement. ... > full story
Researchers To Survey Students On Managing Psychiatric Medications In The Transition From Home To College (August 29, 2008) -- An increasing number of students are packing more than their computers and iPods when leaving for college. They are bringing along prescribed psychiatric medications. Researchers at Case Western Reserve University will survey students on managing psychiatric medications in the transition from home to college. ... > full story
Researchers Provide Solution To World’s Worst Mass Poisoning Case (August 29, 2008) -- A solution to the world's worst case of ongoing mass poisoning, linked to rising cancer rates in Southern Asia, has been developed by researchers from Queen's University Belfast. They have created new low-cost technology to provide arsenic-free water to millions of people in South Asia currently exposed to high levels of the poison in groundwater. ... > full story
Potential New Targets For Antidepressant Medications (August 29, 2008) -- The news about antidepressant medications over the past several years has been mixed. The bad news from large multicenter studies such as STAR*D is that current antidepressant medications are effective, but not as effective as one might hope. ... > full story
NIAID Describes Challenges, Prospects For An HIV Vaccine (August 29, 2008) -- Events of the past year in HIV vaccine research have led some to question whether an effective HIV vaccine will ever be developed. In the Aug. 28 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine, officials from NIAID examine the extraordinarily challenging properties of the virus that have made a vaccine elusive and outline the scientific questions that, if answered, could lead to an effective HIV vaccine. ... > full story
Novel Trial Design Aims To Speed Drug Development (August 29, 2008) -- Researchers propose a novel multi-arm trial design that can test several therapies simultaneously and could speed drug development in cancer, according to an article in the Aug. 26 online issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. ... > full story
Economic And Social Disadvantage Can Affect Young Citizens' Voter Turnout (August 29, 2008) -- A study recently published in the Journal of Social Issues illustrates how certain disadvantages experienced in adolescence, such as early pregnancy, dropping out of high school, being arrested, or going to an underprivileged school, contribute to lower voter turnout in young adulthood. In addition, the types of disadvantage vary across racial groups. ... > full story
New Beta-blocker To Offer Hope To Heart And Lung Sufferers (August 28, 2008) -- Researchers in the UK are developing new drug that could ease the suffering of hundreds of thousands of heart disease patients who are unable to take beta-blockers. ... > full story
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