ScienceDaily Health Headlines
for Tuesday, December 29, 2009
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Alzheimer's Disease: Amyloid Precursor Protein -- Good, Bad Or Both? (December 29, 2009) -- New data about amyloid precursor protein, or APP, a protein implicated in development of Alzheimer's disease, suggests it also may have a positive role -- directly affecting learning and memory during brain development. So is APP good or bad? Researchers say both, and that a balance of APP is critical. ... > full story
Relatives of boys with sexual birth defects not at risk for testicular germ cell cancer (December 29, 2009) -- Boys with the sexual birth defects known as hypospadias and cryptorchidism are at risk for developing testicular germ cell cancer, but their relatives are not, according to a new study. ... > full story
Study links real-time data to flu vaccine strategies (December 29, 2009) -- Adaptive vaccination strategies, based on age patterns of hospitalizations and deaths monitored in real-time during the early stages of a pandemic, outperform seasonal influenza vaccination allocation strategies, according to a new article. ... > full story
Afib Triggered By A Cell That Resembles A Pigment-producing Skin Cell (December 29, 2009) -- The source and mechanisms underlying the abnormal heart beats that initiate atrial fibrillation (Afib), the most common type of abnormal heart beat, have not been well determined. Researchers have now identified a population of cells that are like pigment-producing cells in the skin in the atria of the heart and pulmonary veins of mice and humans, and uncovered evidence in mice that these cells contribute to Afib. ... > full story
RORalpha, the orchestrator of neuron protection (December 29, 2009) -- How do the brain cells called astrocytes ensure the protection of neurons? By studying the protagonists in the protection and satisfactory functioning of neurons, scientists have found a mechanism that clarifies the role of astrocytes. Crucial to this mechanism, RORalpha protein is revealed as an essential regulator of inflammatory factors. This discovery constitutes a new path for research on novel drugs in the event of cerebral lesions (e.g. neurodegenerative diseases or trauma). ... > full story
Researchers develop drug information interface to save lives (December 29, 2009) -- A new drug information interface system has been shown to help in dealing with visual and motor impairments, which can make sorting, holding and identifying pills a challenge as we age. ... > full story
Football (soccer) fights depression (December 29, 2009) -- Despite being a significant risk group, young men are amongst those least likely to seek professional help when mentally distressed or suicidal. The 'Back of the Net' program, a pilot initiative using football (called soccer in the U.S.) and cognitive behavioral based techniques was effective in decreasing symptoms of depression in young men. ... > full story
One step closer to closure: Neuroscientists discover key to spinal cord defects (December 28, 2009) -- Spinal cord disorders like spina bifida arise during early development when future spinal cord cells growing in a flat layer fail to roll up into a tube. Researchers now report a never-before known link between protein transport and mouse spinal cord development, a discovery that opens new doors for research on all spinal defects. ... > full story
Genetic causes identified for disturbances in lipid metabolism; implications for diabetes (December 28, 2009) -- Scientists have identified new gene variants associated with disturbances in the lipid metabolism. Some of these common human gene variants are already known to be risk factors for diabetes mellitus. ... > full story
Couples are better able to cope with health shocks than singles, study finds (December 28, 2009) -- Marital status plays a significant role in how individuals cope economically with disability and health shocks, according to new research. ... > full story
Microbes help mothers protect kids from allergies (December 28, 2009) -- A pregnant woman's exposure to microbes may protect her child from developing allergies later in life. Researchers in Germany find that exposure to environmental bacteria triggers a mild inflammatory response in pregnant mice that renders their offspring resistant to allergies. ... > full story
Miss whiplash with locking headrest, study suggests (December 28, 2009) -- Whiplash neck injuries among drivers and their passengers who have been shunted from behind are a major cause of long-term health problems and, in extreme cases, death. A new type of vehicle headrest promises to improve both safety and comfort. ... > full story
Protein that keeps stem cells poised for action identified (December 28, 2009) -- Researchers have now identified a critical component, called Jarid2, of this delicate balancing act -- one that both recruits other regulatory proteins to genes important in differentiation and also modulates their activity to keep them in a state of ongoing readiness. ... > full story
'Self-seeding' of cancer cells may play a critical role in tumor progression (December 28, 2009) -- Cancer progression is commonly thought of as a process involving the growth of a primary tumor followed by metastasis, in which cancer cells leave the primary tumor and spread to distant organs. A new study shows that circulating tumor cells -- cancer cells that break away from a primary tumor and disseminate to other areas of the body -- can also return to and grow in their tumor of origin, a newly discovered process called "self-seeding." ... > full story
A mechanical model of vocalization (December 28, 2009) -- When people speak, sing or shout, they produce sound by pushing air over their vocal folds -- bits of muscle and tissue that manipulate the air flow and vibrate within it. When someone has polyps or some other problem with their vocal folds, the airflow can be altered, affecting the sound production. ... > full story
Seeing family for the holidays? Scientists discover how the stress might kill you (December 28, 2009) -- If you ever thought the stress of seeing your extended family over the holidays was slowly killing you -- bad news: a new study shows that you might be right. Here's the good news: results from the same study might lead to entirely new treatments that help keep autoimmune diseases like lupus, arthritis, and eczema under control. ... > full story
Five exercises can reduce neck, shoulder pain of women office workers (December 28, 2009) -- Strength training exercises using dumbbells can reduce pain and improve function in the trapezius muscle among women suffering trapezius myalgia, a tenderness and tightness in the upper trapezius muscle. The results are the latest findings from an ongoing Danish study aimed at reducing repetitive strain injury caused by office work. ... > full story
Aviation-based team training may influence clinicians' safety behaviors (December 28, 2009) -- Team training based on protocols originally developed for aviation crews may change safety-related behaviors and contribute to perceptions of empowerment among nurses and other surgical staff, according to a new study. ... > full story
High-blood-pressure treatment for the over-80s too aggressive, warns expert (December 28, 2009) -- People over 80 years are being treated too aggressively for high blood pressure, warns an expert. ... > full story
Drug for Alzheimer's disease does not appear to slow cognitive decline (December 28, 2009) -- Although there were promising results in a phase 2 trial, patients with mild Alzheimer disease who received the drug tarenflurbil as part of a phase 3 trial did not have better outcomes on measures of cognitive decline or loss of activities of daily living compared to patients who received placebo, according to a new study. ... > full story
Physician-assisted suicide: A perspective from advocates for people with disability (December 28, 2009) -- Although public opinion in the US on physician-assisted suicide is evenly divided, about half of states have either defeated bills to legalize assisted suicide or have passed laws explicitly banning it and only two states have legalized it. "A Disability Perspective on the Issue of Physician-Assisted Suicide," a special issue of Disability and Health Journal, examines the issues related to assisted suicide and disability, the legal considerations and the Oregon and Washington experiences. ... > full story
Modifying Neural Stem Cells Improves Their Therapeutic Efficacy (December 28, 2009) -- Stem cells isolated from the brain of adult mice (adult neural stem cells [aNSCs]) have shown very modest therapeutic effects in a mouse model of the chronic inflammatory neurodegenerative disease multiple sclerosis. But now, researchers have developed an approach to enhance the therapeutic effects of aNSCs in this model of multiple sclerosis, something that they hope might increase the chance that aNSC-based therapies might one day be developed for clinical use. ... > full story
Antibiotic unsuccessful in preventing preterm labor (December 28, 2009) -- Scientists have found that an antibiotic, currently used to treat infections linked to incidences of premature births, does not help reduce the risk of preterm labor. ... > full story
How Differing Asian Cultures And Attitudes Impact Cancer Screening Rates (December 28, 2009) -- Asian-Americans have higher instances of certain types of cancer, yet screening rates remain dismal. A new study calls for culturally sensitive materials to stress the importance of early screening, to help close the disparity. ... > full story
Secrets of the Brain: Researchers decipher parts of the neuronal code (December 27, 2009) -- The human brain works at a far higher level of complexity than previously thought. What has been given little attention up to now in the information processing of neuronal circuits has been the time factor. "Liquid computing" -- a new theory about how these complex networks of nerve cells actually work -- has just passed its first test. ... > full story
Targeted therapy prolongs life in patients with HER2-positive breast cancer (December 27, 2009) -- Lapatinib plus trastuzumab are significantly better than lapatinib alone in extending the lives of breast cancer patients whose tumors are HER2-positive, according to new research. ... > full story
Rise in drug resistance of dangerous infection in US hospitals (December 27, 2009) -- A new study reports a surge in drug-resistant strains of Acinetobacter, a dangerous type of bacteria that is becoming increasingly common in US hospitals. ... > full story
'Garbage disposal' role of VCP and implications for degenerative disease (December 27, 2009) -- New research reveals how a mutant ATPase blocks autophagy partway through to cause a multi-tissue degenerative disease. ... > full story
Structured reporting software creates less complete and accurate radiology reports than free text (December 27, 2009) -- As many software companies work to create programs that will give uniform structure to the way radiological test results are reported, a new study shows that such a system does not improve, but rather decreases the completeness and accuracy of the reports. ... > full story
Physician urges changes in diagnosis for sore throat in young adults (December 27, 2009) -- New analysis suggests that physicians need to re-think their diagnosis and treatment of sore throat, or pharyngitis, in adolescents and young adults to consider a more newly identified and potentially dangerous culprit as the source of that infection. ... > full story
Researchers find evidence of survival gains in bone marrow disease (December 27, 2009) -- Scientists demonstrate new survival data for the blood disorder myelofibrosis. This retrospective study is the largest ever conducted in young patients with primary myelofibrosis. ... > full story
Iranian Scholars Share Avicenna's Medieval Medical Wisdom (December 27, 2009) -- For pulmonary ailments, certain medieval physicians had a useful medical textbook on hand offering detailed information remarkably similar to those a modern doctor might use today. ... > full story
Further progress toward AIDS vaccine: Rabies-virus vaccine protects monkeys (December 26, 2009) -- Researchers are one step closer to developing a vaccine against the AIDS disease. They have found that a rabies virus-based vaccine administered to monkeys protected against the simian equivalent of the HIV virus (SIV). ... > full story
Physical activity associated with lower risk of mortality in men with history of colon cancer (December 26, 2009) -- Increased physical activity appears to be associated with a lower risk of cancer-specific and overall death in men with a history of colorectal cancer that has not spread to other parts of the body, according to a new study. ... > full story
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