ScienceDaily Health Headlines
for Monday, January 3, 2011
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Walking slows progression of Alzheimer's, study suggests (January 2, 2011) -- Walking may slow cognitive decline in adults with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease, as well as in healthy adults, according to a new study. ... > full story
Type 1 diabetes computer model's predictive success validated through lab testing (January 2, 2011) -- Type 1 diabetes researchers have demonstrated the effectiveness of a recently developed computer model in predicting key information about nasal insulin treatment regimens in Type 1 (juvenile) diabetes. ... > full story
Most women do not get recommended mammograms, study finds (January 2, 2011) -- Only half of eligible women in the United States are getting their annual mammograms, even if they have insurance to pay for the procedure, according to a new study. ... > full story
Alzheimer's disease: Are plaques and tangles a symptom, not the cause? (January 1, 2011) -- One researcher thinks that the national research effort to understand Alzheimer's disease has gone about as far as it can go with its current theories. And that's not far enough. He thinks plaques and tangles are a symptom, not the cause. ... > full story
Esophageal cancer risk lower than expected for patients with GERD (January 1, 2011) -- The risk of esophageal cancer among patients who suffer from gastroesophageal reflux disease is not as high as many may think, according to new research. ... > full story
When the brain knows no fear: Fear discovery could lead to new interventions for PTSD (January 1, 2011) -- Researchers have pinpointed the part of the brain that causes people to experience fear -- a discovery that could improve treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder and other anxiety conditions. ... > full story
New genetic alterations associated with human height identified (January 1, 2011) -- New research identifies uncommon and previously unknown variants associated with height and might provide insight into the genetic architecture of other complex traits. ... > full story
Key protein discovered that allows nerve cells to repair themselves (January 1, 2011) -- An unexpected process that is required for regeneration after severe neuron injury has been discovered in the part of the neuron that receives information from other cells and from the outside world. The scientists hope that the discovery will provide insights for researchers who are developing drug therapies for patients with nerve disease or nerve damage. ... > full story
Scientists peer into the future of stem cell biology (January 1, 2011) -- Remarkable progress in understanding how stem cell biology works has been reported by a team of leading scientists. Stem cell biology is making waves around the world with great hope for the eventual repair of parts of the body. While many scientists see these breakthroughs as viable, there are hurdles that must be overcome, including the worrisome potential for introducing cancer when making a repair to an organ. ... > full story
Blood-thinning treatment standards changing for heart patients, new research shows (January 1, 2011) -- Researchers have found that warfarin, a known anticoagulation (blood-thinning) drug, may not be as beneficial to some patients with atrial fibrillation as previously thought. ... > full story
Study probes obesity link to fibromyalgia (January 1, 2011) -- Afflicting up to 5 percent of the U.S. population, mostly women, fibromyalgia is characterized by widespread pain and range of function problems. A new study reports there is close association between obesity and disability in fibromyalgia patients. ... > full story
Alzheimer's: Therapy for brain disease could target blood (December 31, 2010) -- The aggregated proteins strewn about the brain are the hallmark of one of the most common neurodegenerative disorders: Alzheimer's disease. But while these irregular, gunky proteins, called amyloid-beta, are believed to contribute to the deterioration of memory and cognitive ability in Alzheimer's patients, no one knows how they lead to these symptoms. New experiments show how amyloid-beta interacts with a clotting agent in the blood, increasing blood clots that are harder than usual to break down and starving neurons of their regular supply of oxygen. The research suggests that the effects of amyloid-beta on the blood vessels feeding the brain could be an important aspect of the havoc they wreak on the brain. ... > full story
New cognitive robotics lab tests theories of human thought (December 31, 2010) -- Researchers are exploring how human thought outwits brute force computing in the real world. Twenty programmable robots allow students to test the real-world performance of computer models that mimic human thought. ... > full story
Strict heart rate control provides no advantage over lenient approach, study finds (December 31, 2010) -- Strict heart rate control in atrial fibrillation patients is not beneficial over lenient control, according to new research. The antiplatelet drug clopidogrel, plus aspirin, might be considered to reduce the risk of major vascular events, including stroke in patients who are poor candidates for the anticoagulant drug warfarin. Catheter ablation is useful to maintain normal sinus rhythm in patients with atrial fibrillation. ... > full story
Lower levels of education are associated with increased risks of heart failure (December 31, 2010) -- Results from a large European study suggest that poorly educated people are more likely to be admitted to hospital with chronic heart failure than the better educated, even after differences in lifestyle have been taken into account. ... > full story
Consistent exercise associated with lower risk of colon cancer death (December 31, 2010) -- Consistent exercise is associated with a lower risk of dying from colon cancer, according to a new study. The study is among the first to show that physical activity can make the disease less deadly. ... > full story
Home health care could help sustain health care systems, study finds (December 31, 2010) -- Home health care technology may provide one important solution to global concerns about how to sustain health care systems threatened by rising costs and manpower shortages, but such a change faces multiple obstacles to adoption, according to a new study. ... > full story
What makes a face look alive? Study says it's in the eyes (December 31, 2010) -- The face of a doll is clearly not human; the face of a human clearly is. Telling the difference allows us to pay attention to living things, which are capable of interacting with us. But where is the line at which a face appears to be alive? A new study finds that a face has to be quite similar to a human face to appear alive, and that the cues are mainly in the eyes. ... > full story
Risk for alcoholism linked to risk for obesity (December 31, 2010) -- Addiction researchers have found that a risk for alcoholism also may put individuals at risk for obesity, and the association between a family history of alcoholism and obesity risk has become more pronounced in recent years. ... > full story
Expansion of HIV screening cost-effective in reducing spread of AIDS, study shows (December 31, 2010) -- An expanded US program of HIV screening and treatment could prevent as many as 212,000 new infections over the next 20 years and prove to be very cost-effective, according to a new study. ... > full story
George Clooney Effect? High-earning women want older, more attractive partners, research finds (December 31, 2010) -- Psychologists have found that George Clooney may be even luckier than previously thought. New research has discovered that as women become more financially independent, they want an older, more attractive male partner. ... > full story
Your genome in minutes: New technology could slash sequencing time (December 31, 2010) -- Scientists are developing technology that could ultimately sequence a person's genome in mere minutes, at a fraction of the cost of current commercial techniques. ... > full story
New test for major killer of lung transplant patients: High stem cell count after transplant predicts debilitating syndrome (December 31, 2010) -- A lung transplant can mean a new chance at life. But many who receive one develop a debilitating, fatal condition that causes scar tissue to build up in the lungs and chokes off the ability to breathe. Researchers hope a new diagnostic tool they developed to predict bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome will allow doctors to intervene earlier and, ultimately, to provide life-saving treatments. ... > full story
Why does dialysis fail? (December 31, 2010) -- A protein implicated in the development of vascular diseases may also contribute to the failure of arteriovenous (AV) fistulas created for vascular access in dialysis patients, according to a new study. ... > full story
Depressed smokers less likely to stay tobacco free (December 31, 2010) -- Depressed smokers want to quit the nicotine habit just as much as non-depressed smokers, but a new study suggests that depression can put a kink in their success. ... > full story
Gene protects against dementia in high-risk individuals, study finds (December 30, 2010) -- Neuroscientists had assumed that a mutation in the progranulin gene, which makes the progranulin protein and supports brain neurons, was sufficient to produce a kind of dementia known as frontotemporal lobar degeneration. But now an international team of scientists has found another genetic factor they say appears to protect against the disorder in progranulin mutation carriers. ... > full story
New imaging advance illuminates immune response in breathing lung (December 30, 2010) -- In a recent study in mice, researchers developed a method to stabilize living lung tissue for imaging without disrupting the normal function of the organ. The method allowed the team to observe, for the first time, both the live interaction of living cells in the context of their environment and the unfolding of events in the immune response to lung injury. ... > full story
Trace amounts of microbe-killing molecules predict chronic granulomatous disease survival (December 30, 2010) -- Investigators have observed that the survival rate of people with a rare immunodeficiency disease called chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) is greatly improved when even very low levels of microbe-killing molecules are present. Because production of these molecules, made by an enzyme called NADPH oxidase, can be predicted from genetic analysis, a patient's risk for severe CGD could be assessed very early in life, allowing for more personalized treatment, say the researchers. ... > full story
Visual skills required for independence are impaired in children with autism, research finds (December 30, 2010) -- The ability to find shoes in the bedroom, apples in a supermarket, or a favorite animal at the zoo is impaired among children with autism, according to new research from the UK. They are unable to search effectively for objects in real-life situations -- a skill that is essential for achieving independence in adulthood. ... > full story
Bacteria provide example of one of nature's first immune systems, research shows (December 30, 2010) -- Scientists are uncovering the secrets of one of nature's most primitive immune systems through studying how bacteria incorporate foreign DNA from invading viruses into their own regulatory processes. ... > full story
Link between light signal and circadian rhythms pinpointed (December 30, 2010) -- Scientists have taken an important step in understanding the underlying molecular signals that influence a broad array of biological processes ranging from the sleep-wake cycle to cancer growth and development. ... > full story
Indoor plant intervention: New answers for health care design? (December 30, 2010) -- Could a plant "intervention" improve the well-being of patients in a difficult rehab process? Scientists have found that patients' overall physical and mental health improved during the program, but the presence of new plants did not increase the degree of improvement. However, pulmonary patients in the "plant intervention group" reported a larger increase in well-being during their rehabilitation program more often than lung patients from the "no-plant" control group. ... > full story
New regulator plays critical role in development B cells (December 30, 2010) -- Researchers have identified a new regulator playing a critical role in the development B cells, which produce antibodies -- a transcription factor called Miz-1, which is needed for the proper development and maturation of B cells in the bone marrow. ... > full story
Wake up, Mom: Gender differences in accepting sleep interruptions (December 30, 2010) -- Working mothers are two-and-a-half times as likely as working fathers to interrupt their sleep to take care of others. ... > full story
98.6 degrees Fahrenheit ideal temperature for keeping fungi away and food at bay (December 30, 2010) -- Two researchers have found that our 98.6 F (37 C) body temperature strikes a perfect balance: warm enough to ward off fungal infection but not so hot that we need to eat nonstop to maintain our metabolism. ... > full story
Coma and general anesthesia demonstrate important similarities (December 30, 2010) -- The brain under general anesthesia isn't "asleep" as surgery patients are often told -- it is placed into a state that is a reversible coma, according to three neuroscientists who have recently published an extensive review of general anesthesia, sleep and coma. This insight and others reported in their review article could eventually lead to new approaches to general anesthesia and improved diagnosis and treatment for sleep abnormalities and emergence from coma. ... > full story
Diabetes: Poor response to anti-anemia drug predicts higher risk of heart disease or death (December 30, 2010) -- Patients with diabetes, kidney disease and anemia who don't respond to treatment with an anti-anemia drug have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease or death, researchers have found. ... > full story
Doctors should be required to disclose sleep deprived status to patients before elective surgeries, experts urge (December 30, 2010) -- While regulations have been put in place to restrict the work hours of doctors in training, no such regulations exist for fully trained physicians. An editorial argues that sleep-deprived physicians should not be permitted to proceed with an elective surgery without a patient's informed, written consent. ... > full story
MRI scans reveal brain changes in people at genetic risk for Alzheimer's (December 30, 2010) -- People with a known, high risk for Alzheimer's disease develop abnormal brain function even before the appearance of telltale, amyloid plaques that are characteristic of Alzheimer's disease, according to a new study. The findings suggest that a gene variant affects brain function long before the brain begins accumulating the amyloid that will eventually lead to dementia. ... > full story
Protein involved in cystic fibrosis also plays role in emphysema, chronic lung disease (December 30, 2010) -- Researchers have discovered that a protein involved in cystic fibrosis also regulates inflammation and cell death in emphysema and may be responsible for other chronic lung diseases. The findings pave the way toward new treatments to prevent lung damage caused by infections or cigarette smoke in emphysema. ... > full story
African-Americans with liver cancer more likely to die, study finds (December 30, 2010) -- African-Americans with early stage liver cancer were more likely than white patients to die from their disease, according to a new study. Five years after diagnosis, 18 percent of white liver cancer patients were alive but only 15 percent of Hispanic patients and 12 percent of black patients were. Median survival times ranged from 10 months for whites and Hispanics to 8 months for blacks. The researchers also found racial and ethnic disparities in how often patients received treatment, with black and Hispanic patients less likely than whites to have any kind of treatment. ... > full story
Mortality rates are an unreliable metric for assessing hospital quality, study finds (December 30, 2010) -- A comparative analysis found wide disparities in the results of four common measures of hospital-wide mortality rates, with competing methods yielding both higher- and lower-than-expected rates for the same Massachusetts hospitals during the same year. ... > full story
'Breathalyzers' may be useful for medical diagnostics (December 29, 2010) -- Researchers have overcome a fundamental obstacle in developing breath-analysis technology to rapidly diagnose patients by detecting chemical compounds called "biomarkers" in a person's respiration in real time. ... > full story
Human protein improves muscle function of muscular dystrophy mice (December 29, 2010) -- A novel potential therapy based on a natural human protein significantly slows muscle damage and improves function in mice who have the same genetic mutation as boys with the most common form of muscular dystrophy. Now headed toward human trials, biglycan significantly slows the weakening of muscles in mice with the genetic mutation that causes muscular dystrophy. Biglycan causes utrophin,a natural muscle-building protein prevalent in young children, to collect in muscle cell membranes. ... > full story
How cortical nerve cells form synapses with neighbors (December 29, 2010) -- Important new light has been shed on how neurons in the developing brain make connections with one another. This activity, called synapse validation, is at the heart of the process by which neural circuits self-assemble. ... > full story
Structure deep within the brain may contribute to a rich, varied social life (December 29, 2010) -- Scientists have discovered that the amygdala, a small almond shaped structure deep within the temporal lobe, is important to a rich and varied social life among humans. ... > full story
Gene alteration in mice mimics heart-building effect of exercise (December 29, 2010) -- By tweaking a single gene, scientists have mimicked in sedentary mice the heart-strengthening effects of two weeks of endurance training, according to new research. The specific gene manipulation can't be done in humans, they say, but the findings may suggest a future strategy for repairing injured hearts through muscle regeneration. ... > full story
Protein helps parasite, toxoplasma gondii, survive in host cells (December 29, 2010) -- Researchers have learned why changes in a single gene, ROP18, contribute substantially to dangerous forms of the parasite Toxoplasma gondii. The answer has likely moved science a step closer to new ways to beat Toxoplasma and many other parasites. ... > full story
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