ScienceDaily Health Headlines
for Tuesday, October 26, 2010
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Chemotherapy plus radiation prevents bladder cancer recurrences, study finds (October 26, 2010) -- Adding chemotherapy to radiation therapy for muscle invasive bladder cancer allows 67 percent of people to be free of disease in their bladders two years after treatment. This compares to 54 percent of people who receive radiation alone, according to the largest randomized study of its kind. ... > full story
Stop the bleeding: New way to restore numbers of key blood-clotting cells (October 26, 2010) -- Platelets are cells in the blood that have a key role in stopping bleeding. Thrombocytopenia is the medical term used to describe the presence of abnormally low numbers of platelets in the blood. Platelet transfusion is used to treat several causes of thrombocytopenia, but there is a shortage of donors. However, researchers have now identified a potential new approach to platelet replacement therapy that circumvents the problem of donor shortage. ... > full story
Peace of mind closes health gap for less-educated, study finds (October 26, 2010) -- Psychological well-being is powerful enough to counteract the pull of socioeconomic status on the long-term health of the disadvantaged, according to a new study. ... > full story
Radiation therapy improves painful condition associated with multiple sclerosis, study finds (October 26, 2010) -- Stereotactic radiation is an effective, long-term treatment for trigeminal neuralgia: a painful condition that occurs with increased frequency in patients with multiple sclerosis. Radiation is noninvasive and has less negative side effects than other treatments, according to the longest follow-up in a study of its kind. ... > full story
Pathway drives spread of pediatric bone cancer (October 26, 2010) -- Researchers have identified an important signaling pathway that, when blocked, significantly decreases the spread of pediatric bone cancer. ... > full story
Listeria clever at finding its way into bloodstream, causing sickness (October 25, 2010) -- Pathogenic listeria tricks intestinal cells into helping it pass through those cells to make people ill, and, if that doesn't work, the bacteria simply goes around the cells, according to a new study. ... > full story
Statin use associated with statistically significant reduction in colorectal cancer (October 25, 2010) -- A systematic review of the medical literature supports the hypothesis that statins, cholesterol-lowering drugs used to prevent cardiac problems, are associated with reduced risk of colon and rectal cancers. A comprehensive analysis included 22 scientific studies with more than 2.5 million combined participants. ... > full story
Aspirin use associated with lower risk of cancer death for men with prostate cancer (October 25, 2010) -- Men with prostate cancer who take anticoagulants like aspirin in addition to radiation therapy or surgery may be able to cut their risk of dying of the disease by more than half, according to a large study. The study involved more than 5,000 men with localized cancer whose disease had not spread beyond the prostate gland. ... > full story
Genetic markers offer new clues about how malaria mosquitoes evade eradication (October 25, 2010) -- An international team of researchers reports the development and first use of a high-resolution microarray that features 400,000 genetic markers for the malaria mosquito, Anopheles gambiae, providing a vastly clearer picture of how the insect adapts to human interventions. The SNP array offers a powerful new tool to international efforts to eradicate the disease-carrying mosquito. ... > full story
Fighting wrinkles with lasers scientifically unraveled (October 25, 2010) -- Laser pulses enable skin rejuvenation, as research in the Netherlands has shown. Laser treatment introduces heat into the skin. Under the influence of heat shocks of 45°C, skin cells produce more collagen. This is the protein that gives the skin its firmness and elasticity. ... > full story
Common anxiety disorders make it tougher to quit cigarettes (October 25, 2010) -- Researchers may have pinpointed a reason many smokers struggle to quit. ... > full story
Increasing the efficiency of stem cells (October 25, 2010) -- A new technique for increasing the survival rates of human embryonic stem cells promises to revolutionize their use in drug discovery and therapy. ... > full story
Obese children show signs of heart disease typically seen in middle-aged adults, researcher says (October 25, 2010) -- The blood vessels of obese children have stiffness normally seen in much older adults with cardiovascular disease, a Canadian researcher says. The clock is ticking and the shape of the 13 year-old-heart is changing -- for the worse, he argues. ... > full story
Allergies and wheezing illnesses in childhood may be determined in the womb (October 25, 2010) -- A child's chances of developing allergies or wheezing is related to how he or she grew at vital stages in the womb, according to scientists. ... > full story
Marathons damage the hearts of less fit runners for up to three months, MRI data suggest (October 25, 2010) -- Is running a marathon good for you or can it damage the heart? A team of researchers and runners from the Heart and Stroke Foundation have come up with a practical way of answering the question. They used data from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to find out what is really going on in the marathoner's heart as the kilometers pile up. ... > full story
Sterilizing with fluorescent lights: New surface may kill antibiotic-resistant staph bacteria with fluorescent light (October 25, 2010) -- Scientists in New Mexico are working on a new type of antimicrobial surface that won't harm people or animals but is inhospitable to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus -- the bacterial cause of an estimated 19,000 deaths and -4 billion in health-care costs per year in the US. ... > full story
Synthetic FlexBone could help speed bone transplant recovery (October 25, 2010) -- With a failure rate as high as 50 percent, bone tissue grafts pose a significant obstacle to orthopedic surgeons attempting to repair complex fractures. Current synthetic substitutes rarely possess the bone-like properties needed for successful grafting and are often difficult for surgeons to manipulate in the operating room. In response to these challenges, researchers have developed a synthetic bone material called FlexBone. ... > full story
Proteins regulating water retention in salt-sensitive hypertension identified (October 25, 2010) -- Two proteins in the brain act as valves to turn the hormone that regulates water retention in the body on and off, researchers have discovered. Their findings may lead to advances in treatment for diseases like high blood pressure, congestive heart failure, and cirrhosis of the liver. ... > full story
Photovoltaic medicine: Miniature solar cells might make chemotherapy less toxic (October 25, 2010) -- Micro-scaled photovoltaic devices may one day be used to deliver chemotherapeutic drugs directly to tumors, rendering chemotherapy less toxic to surrounding tissue. ... > full story
Kryptonite superglue improving the quality of life in heart patients recovering from surgery (October 25, 2010) -- New research shows that a surgical procedure using a cutting-edge super glue pioneered a year ago by Canadian researchers can improve the recovery of heart patients recovering from open-chest surgery. ... > full story
Gene therapy can reverse pulmonary hypertension, study suggests (October 25, 2010) -- Scientists have discovered what could be the first truly effective breakthrough in the diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary hypertension, a devastating, life-threatening condition which results in an enlargement of the heart. ... > full story
Discovery may help scientists boost broccoli’s cancer-fighting power (October 25, 2010) -- A new study has shown for the first time that sulforaphane, the powerful cancer-fighting agent in broccoli, can be released from its parent compound by bacteria in the lower gut and absorbed into the body. This discovery raises the possibility that scientists will be able to enhance the activity of these bacteria in the colon, increasing broccoli's cancer-preventive power. ... > full story
Eye test for neurological diseases in livestock developed (October 25, 2010) -- Researchers have discovered that the eyes of sheep infected with scrapie return an intense, almost-white glow when they're hit with blue light. That finding suggests technologies can be developed to quickly and non-invasively test for transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, progressive and fatal neurological diseases such as mad cow disease. ... > full story
Gene mutation reveals new cause of rare neurological diseases (October 25, 2010) -- Scientists have discovered a new cause of spastic ataxia, and believe this cause is also a trigger for other mitochondrial diseases – neurological disorders that can lead to serious coordination, growth, visual, speech, and muscle defects. ... > full story
Childhood cancer survivors face long-term risk of GI complications, study finds (October 25, 2010) -- People treated for cancer when they were children have a higher-than-average risk of gastrointestinal problems -- some mild, some quite severe -- in the years following treatment, according to a new study. ... > full story
Parent-only treatment may be equally effective for children who are obese (October 25, 2010) -- New research indicates that parent-only treatments for childhood obesity work equally as well as plans that include parents and child, while at the same time more cost effective and potentially easier for families. ... > full story
Peripheral induction of Alzheimer's-like brain pathology in mice (October 25, 2010) -- Pathological protein deposits linked to Alzheimer's disease and cerebral amyloid angiopathy can be triggered not only by the administration of pathogenic misfolded protein fragments directly into the brain but also by peripheral administration outside the brain, according to a new study. ... > full story
Virtual colonoscopy option could improve colorectal cancer screening rates, patient survey suggests (October 25, 2010) -- Providing computed tomography colonography -- otherwise known as virtual colonoscopy -- as an alternative to conventional colonoscopy could improve colorectal cancer screening rates, according to a new study. ... > full story
Parents experience difficulty with consent process in pediatric cancer trials, study suggests (October 25, 2010) -- Compared with adult cancer patients, parents of children with cancer were more likely to be dissatisfied with the informed consent process for participating in clinical trials, according to a new study. ... > full story
Physicians agree Medicare reimbursement is flawed, disagree on how to reform it (October 25, 2010) -- A national survey finds most physicians believe Medicare reimbursement is inequitable, but there appears to be little consensus regarding proposed reforms, according to a new report. ... > full story
Primary care physicians may earn lowest hourly wages (October 25, 2010) -- Clinician's wages appear to vary significantly across physician specialties and are lowest for those in primary care, according to a new report. ... > full story
Computer software helps new medical graduates prescribe safely (October 25, 2010) -- New computer software has recently been created for new graduate doctors to ensure they prescribe safely from day one on the wards. The SCRIPT (Standard Computerized Revalidation Instrument for Prescribing and Therapeutics) project has brought together a team of experts in the UK to create this innovative, e-learning toolkit. ... > full story
Contraband cigarettes main source of supply for Ontario youth, study finds (October 25, 2010) -- A new study has found that contraband tobacco accounts for 43 percent of all cigarettes consumed by Ontario high school daily smokers in grades 9 to 12. ... > full story
Vitamin E in front line of prostate cancer fight (October 24, 2010) -- Survival rates of men with prostate cancer might soon be increased with a new vitamin E treatment which could significantly reduce tumor regrowth. ... > full story
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