ScienceDaily Health Headlines
for Tuesday, November 30, 2010
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Apes unwilling to gamble when odds are uncertain (November 30, 2010) -- Humans are known to play it safe in a situation when they aren't sure of the odds, or don't have confidence in their judgments. We don't like to choose the unknown. And new evidence is showing that chimpanzees and bonobos, our closest living primate relatives, treat the problem the same way we do. ... > full story
Celecoxib may be effective in preventing non-melanoma skin cancers (November 30, 2010) -- Celecoxib may help prevent non-melanoma skin cancers in patients with extensive actinic keratosis, which is often a precursor to these cancers, according to a randomized clinical trial. ... > full story
Artesunate suppositories are cost-effective intervention for severe childhood malaria (November 30, 2010) -- Giving emergency artesunate suppositories to children with suspected severe malaria before referring them for treatment is a cost-effective intervention that can substantially improve the management of childhood malaria in remote African settings, according to a new study. ... > full story
Prescriptions for teens and young adults on the rise (November 30, 2010) -- Adolescents and young adults are most likely to abuse prescription medications. Yet prescription rates for controlled medications have nearly doubled for those age groups in the past 14 years, according to a recent study. ... > full story
Male reproductive problems may add to falling fertility rates (November 30, 2010) -- Reduced male fertility may be making it even harder for couples to conceive and be contributing to low birth rates in many countries, reveals a new report. ... > full story
Brain cells called pericytes become a player in Alzheimer's, other diseases (November 30, 2010) -- Cells in the brain called pericytes that have not been high on the list of targets for treating diseases like Alzheimer's may play a more crucial role in the development of neurodegenerative diseases than has been realized. The findings, published in Neuron, cast the pericyte in a surprising new role as a key player shaping blood flow in the brain and protecting sensitive brain tissue from harmful substances. ... > full story
Black children more likely to die from neuroblastoma, study finds (November 30, 2010) -- Black, Asian, and Native-American children are more likely than white and Hispanic children to die after being treated for neuroblastoma, according to new research on the pediatric cancer. The study, of more than 3,500 patients with the disease, is the largest ever to look at racial disparities in risk and survival for the most common solid cancer found in young children. ... > full story
Diagnosis uncertainty increases anxiety in patients (November 30, 2010) -- Have you ever felt uneasy sitting in a doctor's waiting room or climbed the walls waiting for your test results? That feeling of anxious uncertainty can be more stressful than knowing you have a serious illness, according to a new study. ... > full story
Bladder regeneration using stem cells from patients own bone marrow (November 29, 2010) -- Researchers have developed a medical model for regenerating bladders using stem cells harvested from a patient's own bone marrow. The research is especially relevant for pediatric patients suffering from abnormally developed bladders, but also represents another step towards new organ replacement therapies. ... > full story
Pre-eclampsia: Early urine test predicts pregnancy complication (November 29, 2010) -- Pre-eclampsia affects approximately 5% of pregnancies and can pose serious health concerns for mother and child. Some patients develop severe disease associated with kidney, liver, and neurological problems. The condition is characterized by high blood pressure and the loss of protein in the urine during the second half of pregnancy. ... > full story
Does sex matter? It may when evaluating mental status (November 29, 2010) -- Schizophrenia is a mental disorder that differs between the sexes in terms of age at onset, symptomatology, response to medication and structural brain abnormalities. Now, a new study shows that there is gender difference between men and women's mental ability -- with women performing better than men. ... > full story
Superantigens could be behind several illnesses (November 29, 2010) -- Superantigens, the toxins produced by staphylococcus bacteria, are more complex than previously believed, reveals new research. The discovery shows that the body’s immune system can cause more illnesses than thought. ... > full story
Stem cell therapy: A future treatment for lower back pain? (November 29, 2010) -- Lower back pain affects many people and may be caused by degeneration of the discs between the vertebrae. Treatment for the condition using stem cells may be an alternative to today's surgical procedures, new research from Sweden suggests. ... > full story
US adults most likely to forgo care due to cost, have trouble paying medical bills, survey finds (November 29, 2010) -- A new 11-country survey from the Commonwealth Fund finds that adults in the United States are far more likely than those in 10 other industrialized nations to go without health care because of costs, have trouble paying medical bills, encounter high medical bills even when insured, and have disputes with their insurers or discover insurance wouldn't pay as they expected. ... > full story
Gene therapy prevents memory problems in mice with Alzheimer's disease (November 29, 2010) -- Scientists have discovered a new strategy to prevent memory deficits in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Humans with AD and mice genetically engineered to simulate the disease have abnormally low levels of an enzyme called EphB2 in memory centers of the brain. Improving EphB2 levels in such mice by gene therapy completely fixed their memory problems. ... > full story
Male reproductive problems may add to falling fertility rates (November 29, 2010) -- Reduced male fertility may be making it even harder for couples to conceive and be contributing to low birth rates in many countries, a new report reveals. ... > full story
National pilot program facilitates kidney paired-donation transplants (November 29, 2010) -- A computer algorithm matched living kidney donors with medically compatible transplant candidates late last month as the national Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) began a national pilot program to increase the number of kidney paired-donation (KPD) transplants. ... > full story
Potential new target for treating triple negative breast cancer identified (November 29, 2010) -- Scientists believe they may have found a new target for treating triple negative breast cancer -- one of the more difficult breast cancers to treat successfully and for which there is no targeted therapy at present. New research shows that TNBC cells respond to compounds that disrupt the signaling processes of another receptor, EGFR, high levels of which are expressed in TNBC. ... > full story
Scientists learn more about how kidneys fail and how new drugs may intervene (November 29, 2010) -- Scientists are learning more about how protein gets in the urine when the kidneys begin to fail and how a new drug blocks it. ... > full story
Tobacco: Out of sight, out of mind? (November 29, 2010) -- Putting tobacco out of sight in shops can change the attitude of young people to smoking, while not hitting retailers in the pocket, researchers have discovered. ... > full story
Brain tissue loss in people with Alzheimer’s disease and mild cognitive impairment (November 29, 2010) -- People with Alzheimer's disease exhibit striking structural changes in the caudate nucleus, a brain structure typically associated with movement disorders such as Parkinson's disease, a new study has found. ... > full story
Iron compounds synthesized to combat tuberculosis (November 29, 2010) -- Researchers have synthesized two iron compounds that inhibit the in vitro growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacteria that causes tuberculosis. Due their low level of toxicity in mammal cells, the compounds could be used in the future as therapeutic agents and hospital disinfectants. ... > full story
Era of personalized oncology: New strategies for cancer drug development urgently needed, experts say (November 29, 2010) -- Millions of cancer patients worldwide may soon be able to receive more effective, personalized treatments for their disease, thanks to developments in the understanding of cancer biology, experts say. ... > full story
Dogs have bigger brains than cats because they are more sociable, research finds (November 28, 2010) -- Over millions of years dogs have developed bigger brains than cats because highly social species of mammals need more brain power than solitary animals, according to a new study. ... > full story
Cholesterol drug shows benefits for kidney patients, study suggests (November 28, 2010) -- A combination drug that lowers levels of 'bad' cholesterol in the blood can benefit people with chronic kidney disease and is safe, a new study suggests. ... > full story
Why are we getting fatter? Seeking a mysterious culprit (November 28, 2010) -- Researchers suggest there are multiple, still undiscovered causes for obesity, based observations of weight gain in controlled groups of animals that has no single explanation, such as diet or activity level. ... > full story
Danger of cancerous tissue development in chromosomal abnormalities (November 28, 2010) -- New research arouses a cautionary warning in the growing field of the development of stem cells as a means for future treatment of patients through replacement of diseased or damaged tissues by using the patient’s own stem cells. The research indicates a possible danger of cancerous tissue development in the use of such cells. ... > full story
Sensory stimulation protects against brain damage caused by stroke (November 28, 2010) -- Mild sensory stimulation given soon after the first symptoms of a stroke can prevent a large area of the brain from becoming damaged, a new animal study shows. If applicable to humans, these findings could potentially help protect vulnerable brain tissue in patients with stroke. ... > full story
Same face may look male or female, depending on where it appears in a person's field of view (November 28, 2010) -- Neuroscientists have made the surprising discovery that the brain sees some faces as male when they appear in one area of a person's field of view, but female when they appear in a different location. ... > full story
Fatal blood clot genetic risk identified (November 28, 2010) -- Researchers can now better identifying people at risk of developing potentially fatal blood clots that can lead to heart attack. ... > full story
Molecular switch controls neuronal migration in the developing brain (November 28, 2010) -- Researchers have identified key components of a signaling pathway that controls the departure of neurons from the brain niche where they form and allows these cells to start migrating to their final destination. ... > full story
A decade of refinements in transplantation improves long-term survival of blood cancers (November 28, 2010) -- A decade of refinements in marrow and stem cell transplantation to treat blood cancers significantly reduced the risk of treatment-related complications and death, according to new research. ... > full story
Pre-injury exercise may mitigate the effects of traumatic brain injury in mice (November 28, 2010) -- Being physically fit before a traumatic brain injury (TBI) might improve recovery, preliminary findings suggest. After TBI, mice bred for running behavior exhibited smaller brain lesions and engaged in more extensive post-injury activity than did mice that had been sedentary before the injury. ... > full story
Diabetes drug could work against Alzheimer's, animal study suggests (November 27, 2010) -- The diabetes drug metformin has an effect against one of the main causes of the Alzheimer's disease, according to new research in animal models. ... > full story
Reliable culture of human embryonic stem cells (November 27, 2010) -- Human embryonic stem cells have enormous potential for use in pharmaceutical development and therapeutics; however, to realize this potential there is a requirement for simple and reproducible cell culture methods that provide adequate numbers of cells of suitable quality. ... > full story
Being faced with gender stereotypes makes women less likely to take financial risks (November 27, 2010) -- Last year Nicholas Kristof declared in his New York Times column what banks need to fix their problems: Not just a bailout, but also "women, women, and women." Women are generally thought to be less willing to take risks than men, so he speculated that banks could balance out risky men by employing more women. Stereotypes like this about women actually influence how women make financial decisions, according to a new study. ... > full story
Severe asthma more prevalent than thought, related to pronounced nasal symptoms (November 27, 2010) -- People with multi-symptom asthma more often have night-time awakenings due to asthma-symptoms, a sign of severe asthma. Researchers have shown that asthma with multiple symptoms is more highly prevalent than previously suggested, comprising 20- 25% of all asthmatics. ... > full story
Finger-trap tension stabilizes cells' chromosome-separating machinery (November 27, 2010) -- Scientists have discovered an amazingly simple way that cells stabilize their machinery for forcing apart chromosomes. ... > full story
Epilepsy: Women need specific treatment, experts say (November 27, 2010) -- Doctors treating female epilepsy patients have to take account of the specific hormonal situation in women. Such an approach can often reduce the limitations imposed by the disease, according to experts. ... > full story
Elderly to outnumber children by 2050 in most parts of world (November 27, 2010) -- In just a few decades, there will be more elderly people than children in most parts of the world (with the exception of Africa). Media reports on the world's aging population tend to focus on pensions and care for the elderly. But other changes could be just as important. What will happen to family life, for example? And what will the relationship between the generations be like when so many of us live longer and have fewer children? ... > full story
Growth-factor gel shows promise as hearing-loss treatment (November 26, 2010) -- A new treatment has been developed for sudden sensorineural hearing loss, a condition that causes deafness in 40,000 Americans each year, usually in early middle-age. Researchers describe the positive results of a preliminary trial of insulin-like growth factor 1, applied as a topical gel. ... > full story
Female fish -- and humans? -- lose interest when their male loses a slugfest (November 26, 2010) -- If you see your special someone lose a competition, your subconscious may start whispering, "He's a loser," even as you insist your love is unaffected, according to researchers studying African cichlid fish. When female cichlids saw a favored suitor lose a fight with another male, the females showed marked changes in relatively primitive parts of their brains. Humans have those same primitive brain areas, suggesting we may subconsciously react in much the same way. ... > full story
Weather affects children's injury rate: Each 5-degree temperature rise boosts kids' hospital admissions for serious injury by 10 percent (November 26, 2010) -- Every 5 degree Celsius rise in maximum temperature pushes up the rate of hospital admissions for serious injuries among children, reveals one of the largest studies of its kind. ... > full story
Erythromycin A produced in E. coli for first time: Biosynthetic breakthrough paves way for other pharmaceuticals (November 26, 2010) -- For the first time, researchers have made the antibiotic erythromycin A, and two variants, using E. coli as the production host. This is a cost-effective way to make erythromycin A and new drugs to combat antibiotic resistant pathogens. The E. coli host also offers next-generation engineering opportunities for other products with complex biosynthetic pathways. ... > full story
Tightwads and spendthrifts: A Black Friday tradition (November 26, 2010) -- Every year about this time, on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving that traditionally begins the holiday shopping season, early-morning consumers stand in long lines eager to purchase some sought after prize. From the outside, it looks as if these holiday shoppers can't wait to plunk down their cash, but researchers say consumers often behave differently than they would ideally like to behave. ... > full story
More protein, less refined starch important for dieting, large study shows (November 26, 2010) -- If you want to lose weight or avoid gaining weight, you should cut down on finely refined starch calories such as white bread and white rice and instead eat a diet that is high in proteins with more lean meat, low-fat dairy products and beans, large scale study suggests. ... > full story
New tool detects Ebola, Marburg quickly, easily (November 26, 2010) -- Researchers have developed a simple diagnostic tool that can quickly identify dangerous viruses like Ebola and Marburg. The biosensor, which is the size of a quarter and can detect viruses in a blood sample, could be used in developing nations, airports and other places where natural or man-made outbreaks could erupt. ... > full story
No link between mold growth and development of asthma and allergy, Scandinavian study finds (November 26, 2010) -- A recent study in Norway shows that there is no link between mold-spore concentrations in the indoor air and development of asthma and allergy among children. ... > full story
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