ScienceDaily Health Headlines
for Monday, June 30, 2008
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Higher Temperatures Helped New Strain Of West Nile Virus Spread (June 30, 2008) -- Higher temperatures helped a new strain of West Nile virus invade and spread across North America. Researchers found that the new strain is more efficiently transmitted than the older strain, and the advantage of the new strain increases with higher temperatures. These findings help explain the spread of virus strain responsible for largest US epidemics. ... > full story
Total Ankle Replacement With No Metal (June 30, 2008) -- Patients suffering from severe arthritis now have an option for total ankle replacement that offers increased mobility and pain relief without permanent metal implants. This technique is the first in the U.S to offer arthritis sufferers a non-metal, biological ankle replacement. ... > full story
Promising Finding In Severe Lung Disease (June 30, 2008) -- Researchers have identified a novel function for an enzyme that plays a role in the tissue injury in acute respiratory distress syndrome, also known as ARDS. ... > full story
Using Mental Strategies Can Alter The Brain's Reward Circuitry (June 30, 2008) -- The cognitive strategies humans use to regulate emotions can determine both neurological and physiological responses to potential rewards, neuroscientists has discovered. The findings, reported in the journal Nature Neuroscience, shed light on how the regulation of emotions may influence decision making. ... > full story
A Simple Therapy For Brain Injury (June 30, 2008) -- Severe brain injury due to blunt force trauma could be reduced by application of a simple polymer, polyethylene glycol or PEG, mixed in sterile water and injected into the blood stream -- as reported in the Journal of Biological Engineering. ... > full story
First Pharmaceutical Drug To Improve Survival Amongst Patients With Advanced Hepatocarcinoma (June 30, 2008) -- New research has shown that Sorafenib, an orally administered pharmaceutical medicine, results in patients with primary hepatocarcinomas to live 40 percent more on average compared to those not taking the drug. ... > full story
Attitude Determines Student Success In Rural Schools, Study Finds (June 30, 2008) -- While most of the country focuses on ACT scores, student-teacher ratio and rigorous curriculum to increase student success, a recent study finds the commitment to excellence determines student achievement in rural schools. ... > full story
First Patients Implanted In Study Evaluating Deep Brain Stimulation For Depression (June 29, 2008) -- St. Jude Medical, Inc. has announced the first patient implants in a clinical study that is investigating whether deep brain stimulation (DBS) therapy will help people who suffer from major depressive disorder, a severe form of depression. The patients, a 59-year-old woman and a 42-year-old man, were implanted with the St. Jude Medical Libra® Deep Brain Stimulation System, an investigational device. ... > full story
Discovery Of Lyme Disease Bug Clone May Explain Disease Spread (June 29, 2008) -- Scientists have discovered that a certain clone of Borrelia burgdorferi, the spirochete that causes Lyme disease, appears to be the most common strain causing Lyme disease in North America and Europe, and may account for the increase in cases for the past 20 years. ... > full story
Mechanism And Function Of Humor Identified By New Evolutionary Theory (June 29, 2008) -- The pattern recognition theory of humor is an evolutionary and cognitive explanation of how and why any individual finds anything funny. Effectively it explains that humor occurs when the brain recognizes a pattern that surprises it. It also identifies implications of pattern recognition in childhood cognitive development, other species and artificial intelligence, and posits humor as a major driving force in the evolution of humankind's unique perceptual and intellectual abilities. ... > full story
Customized 'Wimpy' Polioviruses Designed: A New Path To Vaccines? (June 29, 2008) -- A team of molecular biologists and computer scientists at Stony Brook University has designed and synthesized a new class of weakened polioviruses. They used their synthesizing method with computer software to systematically re-code the poliovirus genome. In doing so, the team is the first to demonstrate that a synthetic weakened virus can immunize an animal. These results show promise in the creation of new attenuated ('live virus') anti-viral vaccines and are reported in the journal Science. ... > full story
The Good And The Bad Of A Potential Alzheimer's Target (June 29, 2008) -- Research in fruit flies has shown that enhancing the production of a protein called neprilysin can reduce the formation of plaques and neuron death associated with Alzheimer's, at the expense of reducing the flies' lifespan. ... > full story
Facebook Concepts Indicate Brains Of Alzheimer's Patients Aren't As Networked, Stanford Study Shows (June 29, 2008) -- Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine used concepts borrowed from the popular social networking site to analyze the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease. They found that patients' brains were less well-connected than the brains of people without the disorder. ... > full story
Marijuana May Be Effective For Neuropathic Pain (June 29, 2008) -- The growing body of evidence that marijuana (cannabis) may be effective as a pain reliever has been expanded with publication of a new study in The Journal of Pain reporting that patients with nerve pain showed reduced pain intensity from smoking marijuana. Researchers examined whether marijuana produces analgesia for patients with neuropathic pain. Thirty-eight patients were examined. They were given either high-dose (7%), low-dose (3.5%) or placebo cannabis. ... > full story
10 Percent Of Healthy People In Study Had Injury From 'Silent Strokes' (June 29, 2008) -- MRIs on healthy Framingham offspring found that about 10 percent had experienced a silent stroke. Silent stroke -- silent cerebral infarction -- is a risk factor for stroke and dementia. ... > full story
Should Doctors Be Increasing Their Carbon Footprint By Flying To Medical Conferences? (June 29, 2008) -- Every year thousands of doctors and scientists fly to meetings all over the world, but with climate change accelerating, can this type of travel be justified, two doctors debate the issue in the British Medical Journal. ... > full story
Device Blocking Stomach Nerve Signals Shows Promise In Obesity (June 28, 2008) -- A new implantable medical device shows promise as a reversible and less extreme alternative to existing bariatric surgeries, according to new findings. ... > full story
Blue Light Used To Harden Tooth Fillings Stunts Tumor Growth (June 28, 2008) -- A blue curing light used to harden dental fillings also may stunt tumor growth, Medical College of Georgia researchers say. ... > full story
Safer, More Efficient Medication For Hepatitis B Treatment Found (June 28, 2008) -- Patients with hepatitis B who did not respond to lamivudine therapy had a better virological response after switching to entecavir for a year. ... > full story
Personalizing Medicine: New Research Shows Potential Of Targeted Therapies For Cancer (June 28, 2008) -- A new study shows the potential to pre-target the treatment of cancer cells -- bringing personalized medicine one step closer from the laboratory to patients. By combining new molecular imaging techniques with targeted therapy, pre-targeting offers cancer patients a more individualized treatment that can increase the effectiveness of therapies and minimize discomfort experienced during treatment. ... > full story
Starvation Hormone Makes For Small Mice, Study Finds (June 28, 2008) -- Chronically high levels of a recently discovered starvation hormone markedly stunt the growth of mice, reveals a new study. The liver-produced hormone known as FGF21 does so by causing the mice to become resistant to growth hormone. ... > full story
Hidden Facial Cheek Fat Compartments Are Key To Youthful Appearance (June 28, 2008) -- Rejuvenating newly identified fat compartments in the facial cheeks can help reduce the hollowed look of the face as it ages, according to new research by plastic surgeons at UT Southwestern Medical Center. ... > full story
Ronin An Alternate Control For Embryonic Stem Cells (June 28, 2008) -- Like the masterless samurai for whom it is named, the protein Ronin chooses an independent path, maintaining embryonic stem cells in their undifferentiated state and playing essential roles in genesis of embryos and their development, said researchers who reported on this novel cellular regulator in the journal Cell. ... > full story
Binge Drinking Due To 'Copying' Behavior (June 28, 2008) -- The rise in binge drinking in the young is a "fashion phenomenon" where drinkers are copying their associates' behavior, new research carried out in the UK has shown. Researchers say the findings have major implications for Government policy makers charged with tackling the problem, which has longer-term and costly health implications. ... > full story
What It's Like To Be A Bat: Vocal Sonar Does More Than Locate Objects; It Cues Memory And Assists Flight (June 28, 2008) -- Not many people think about what it's like to be a bat, but for those who do, it's enlightening and potentially groundbreaking for understanding aspects of the human brain and nervous system. ... > full story
How Neural Activity Spurs Blood Flow In The Brain (June 28, 2008) -- Neuroscientists have pinpointed exactly how neural activity boosts blood flow to the brain. The finding has important implications for our understanding of common brain imaging techniques such as fMRI, which uses blood flow in the brain as a proxy for neural activity. ... > full story
Overcrowding And Understaffing In Hospitals Increases Levels Of MRSA Infections (June 28, 2008) -- A review article authored by a University of Queensland academic has found overcrowding and understaffing in hospitals are two key factors in the transmission of MRSA infections worldwide. ... > full story
Sudden Hearing Loss Could Indicate Future Stroke (June 28, 2008) -- Patients hospitalized for sudden hearing loss were more likely to suffer a later stroke than some other patients. The findings haven't been duplicated in other research and should be interpreted cautiously. Researchers suggest patients with sudden sensorineural hearing loss be evaluated for stroke risk factors. ... > full story
The Validity Of Epo Testing For Athletes (June 28, 2008) -- Epo is a hormone sometimes misused by athletes to boost their endurance. Since the test to identify the drug's presence was introduced in 2000, 33 labs have been accredited by the World Anti-Doping Agency to administer the procedure. A research team has examined test results at two WADA labs, and found the detection power at the labs was poor. ... > full story
Scientists Discover How An Injured Embryo Can Regenerate Itself (June 27, 2008) -- Scientists have developed a mathematical model to describe interactions that occur within genetic networks of an embryo, answering the age-old question of how half embryos are able to maintain their tissues and organs in the correct proportions despite being smaller than a normal sized embryo. Understanding the processes that govern embryonic cell development, may lead, in the future, to scientists being able to repair injured tissues. ... > full story
Hard Work While Fatigued Affects Blood Pressure (June 27, 2008) -- When fatigued individuals perceive a task as being achievable and worth doing, they increase their effort to make up for their diminished capability due to fatigue. As a result, blood pressure tends to rise and remain elevated until the task is completed or individuals stop trying because they think success is impossible or too difficult to be justified. ... > full story
Too Many Choices Can Spoil The Research (June 27, 2008) -- The more choices people get, the less consistent they are in making those choices, according to a new study. The study's findings may affect the way researchers examine consumer choices. ... > full story
Higher Coffee Consumption Associated With Lower Liver Cancer Risk (June 27, 2008) -- A new large, prospective population-based study confirms an inverse relationship between coffee consumption and liver cancer risk. The study also found that higher levels of gamma-glutamyltransferase in the blood were associated with an increased risk of developing the disease. ... > full story
Promising Cancer Drug Target In Prostate Tumors Identified (June 27, 2008) -- Scientists report they have blocked the development of prostate tumors in cancer-prone mice by knocking out a molecular unit they describe as a "powerhouse" that drives runaway cell growth. The researchers say the growth-stimulating molecule called p110beta -- part of a cellular signaling network disrupted in several common cancers -- is a promising target for novel cancer therapies designed to shut it down. ... > full story
How Effective Are Underage Drinking Prevention Programs? (June 27, 2008) -- Underage drinking is a national concern that led the US surgeon general to issue a "Call to Action to Prevent and Reduce Underage Drinking" last year. Now, a new report assesses the effectiveness of underage drinking prevention programs and provides a better idea of how to achieve key goals outlined by the surgeon general. ... > full story
Portable Device Effective In Zapping Away Migraine Pain (June 27, 2008) -- A novel electronic device designed to "zap" away migraine pain before it starts has proven to be the next form of relief for those suffering from the debilitating disease, according to a study conducted at the Ohio State University Medical Center. ... > full story
Lack Of Fragile X And Related Gene Fractures Sleep (June 27, 2008) -- Lack of both the fragile X syndrome gene and one that is related could account for sleep problems associated with the disorder, which is the common cause of inherited mental impairment. ... > full story
Online Service Lets Blind Surf The Internet From Any Computer, Anywhere (June 27, 2008) -- New software lets blind and visually impaired people surf the Internet on the go. The computer science student who created the software, called WebAnywhere, says more accessibility tools must move from desktop machines to the Web. ... > full story
Why Do People Vote? Genetic Variation In Political Participation (June 27, 2008) -- A groundbreaking new study finds that genes significantly affect variation in voter turnout, shedding new light on the reasons why people vote and participate in the political system. The researchers suggest that, contrary to decades of conventional wisdom, family upbringing may have little or no effect on children’s future participatory behavior. ... > full story
Pregnancy May Help Protect Against Bladder Cancer (June 27, 2008) -- Pregnancy seems to confer some protection against bladder cancer in mice, scientists have found. Female mice that had never become pregnant had approximately 15 times as much cancer in their bladders as their counterparts that had become pregnant, according to new findings by investigators at the University of Rochester Medical Center. Their work appears online as a rapid communication in the journal Urology. ... > full story
Drug Treatment For Marfan Syndrome Looks Promising (June 27, 2008) -- A small study in 18 patients assessing the effectiveness of the drug losartan for treating Marfan syndrome in children has yielded encouraging results. Reporting in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers showed that losartan -- a compound used for years to treat high blood pressure -- slowed the enlargement of the aorta, the most life-threatening defect associated with Marfan syndrome. ... > full story
Mixed Feelings Not Remembered As Well As Happy Or Sad Ones (June 27, 2008) -- Imagine you're about to step onto a rollercoaster at an amusement park. You are filled with apprehension and joy, mixed emotions that last beyond the dizzying ride. How will you remember the experience? New research shows people tend to underestimate the intensity of their recalled feelings if those feelings were mixed, as opposed to purely happy or sad. ... > full story
New Research May Lead To Safer, More Effective Gene Therapy (June 27, 2008) -- A new study helps bring scientists closer to a safe and efficient gene delivery method that doesn't involve viruses. Researchers have created a novel synthetic gene vector that packages DNA into well-defined nanostructures that allow it to efficiently deliver genes without triggering immune responses. ... > full story
Faulty DNA Repair Could Be A Risk Factor For Lung Cancer In Nonsmokers (June 27, 2008) -- People who have never smoked but whose cells cannot efficiently repair environmental insults to DNA are at higher risk of developing lung cancer than those with effective genomic repair capability. ... > full story
Independent Thinkers Judge Distances Differently Than Holistic Types (June 27, 2008) -- Every day we're faced with decisions that involve spatial judgments. Which line should we choose at the supermarket? Which route should we take to work? A new study in the Journal of Consumer Research shows that thinking styles affect spatial judgment. ... > full story
Seniors With Type 2 Diabetes May Experience Memory Declines Immediately After Eating Unhealthy Meal (June 27, 2008) -- Adults with type 2 diabetes who eat unhealthy, high-fat meals may experience memory declines immediately afterward, but this can be offset by taking antioxidant vitamins with the meal, according to new research from Baycrest. ... > full story
Mechanism Explains Calcium Abnormalities In Alzheimer's Brain (June 27, 2008) -- A new study uncovers a mechanism that directly links mutations that cause early onset Alzheimer's disease with aberrant calcium signaling. The research, published by Cell Press in the June 26 issue of the journal Neuron, provides exciting molecular insights into the pathology of AD and may lead to new treatment strategies. ... > full story
Breakthrough In Plant Medicine Production (June 27, 2008) -- Researchers have succeeded in further unraveling and manipulating the glycosylation of proteins in plants. The scientists expect that this knowledge will allow plants to be applied more often in the production of therapeutic proteins, an important type of medicine. ... > full story
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