ScienceDaily Health Headlines
for Tuesday, December 2, 2008
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Young Gymnasts Suffering New Types of Injuries, MRI Shows (December 2, 2008) -- Adolescent gymnasts are developing a wide variety of arm, wrist and hand injuries that are beyond the scope of previously described gymnastic-related trauma. Researchers noted that some gymnasts had necrosis, or "early death," of the bones of their knuckles. ... > full story
New RNA Processing Mechanism And New Class Of Small RNAs (December 2, 2008) -- Scientists report their discoveries of a previously unknown mechanism in the nucleus that processes non-coding RNA molecules to generate what might be a new class of small RNAs. ... > full story
Place Of Birth Contributes To Asthma Disparity (December 2, 2008) -- Public health researchers report the possible role of nativity (place of birth) on asthma prevalence in a black population in the United States. The findings emerged unexpectedly from a community-based participatory survey related to asthma conducted in Dorchester, Mass. ... > full story
Discovery Of Virus In Lemur Could Shed Light On AIDS (December 2, 2008) -- The genome of a squirrel-sized, saucer-eyed lemur from Madagascar may help scientists understand how HIV-like viruses co-evolved with primates, according to new research. ... > full story
Bariatric Surgery May Resolve Liver Disease (December 2, 2008) -- A recent study reports bariatric surgery results in improvement of histopathological features of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Complications of NAFLD, including steatosis, steatohepatitis and fibrosis appeared to improve or completely resolve in a majority of patients after bariatric surgery-induced weight loss, according to new results. ... > full story
Arthritis Research Shows Better Management More Important Than New Drugs (December 2, 2008) -- Although there has been an increase in the number of new arthritis treatments in recent years, the best results will come from more effective use of the drugs we have. Research published in Arthritis Research and Therapy investigates the effectiveness of available arthritis drugs and concludes that better management is the most important factor. ... > full story
Depression Treatment: Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy As Effective As Anti-depressant Medication, Study Suggests (December 2, 2008) -- Research shows for the first time that a group-based psychological treatment, Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy, could be a viable alternative to prescription drugs for people suffering from long-term depression. In this study, MBCT proved as effective as maintenance anti-depressants in preventing a relapse and more effective in enhancing peoples' quality of life. The study also showed MBCT to be as cost-effective as prescription drugs in helping people with a history of depression stay well in the longer-term. ... > full story
Combining Targeted Therapy Drugs May Treat Previously Resistant Tumors (December 1, 2008) -- Cancer researchers have discovered a potential treatment for a group of tumors that have resisted previous targeted therapy approaches. They found that blocking 2 cell signaling pathways leads to a dramatic shrinkage of K-Ras-mutated tumors in an animal model. ... > full story
New Approaches Make Retinal Detachment Highly Treatable (December 1, 2008) -- In a new study in the New England Journal of Medicine, a leading ophthalmologist writes that a high probability of reattachment and visual improvement is possible by using one of three currently available surgical techniques. ... > full story
Test-tube Babies Profitable Business For The State, Swedish Study Shows (December 1, 2008) -- Increased financial support for IVF fertilization would be downright profitable for the state according to Swedish research. Test-tube babies are an investment for the future, not an expense. ... > full story
Brain's Magnetic Fields Reveal Language Delays In Autism (December 1, 2008) -- Faint magnetic signals from brain activity in children with autism show that those children process sound and language differently from nonautistic children. Identifying and classifying these brain response patterns may allow researchers to more accurately diagnose autism and possibly aid in developing more effective treatments for the developmental disorder. Pediatric researchers used magnetocephalography to detect magnetic fields in the brain. ... > full story
Vitamin K Linked To Insulin Resistance In Older Men (December 1, 2008) -- A study of 355 non-diabetic elderly men and women found men who took a vitamin K supplement had less progression of insulin resistance over a period of three years compared to men not receiving vitamin K. Vitamin K did not appear to protect supplemented women from age-related increases in insulin resistance. ... > full story
Where There's Wildfire Smoke, There's Toxicity (December 1, 2008) -- Detailed particulate analysis of the smoke produced by previous California wild fires indicates that the composition posed more serious potential threats to health than is generally realized, according to a new paper analyzing particulate matter from wildfires in Southern California. ... > full story
Kidney Function Discovery Sheds Light On Genetic Complexity Of Disease (December 1, 2008) -- To find a cure for cancer, hemophilia and other diseases, researchers need to be looking for complex, interacting genetic factors, according to the authors of a new study. ... > full story
Beetles May Be Source Of Food-Borne Pathogens In Broiler Flocks (December 1, 2008) -- A new study suggests that darkling beetles and their larvae can transmit harmful food-borne pathogens to chicks in broiler houses in successive rearing cycles. ... > full story
Using Challenging Concepts To Learn Promotes Understanding Of New Material (December 1, 2008) -- Although conventional wisdom suggests that the best way to learn a difficult skill is to progress from easier problems to more difficult ones, research examining this issue has resulted in mixed outcomes. Psychologists wanted to pinpoint the best strategies for learning new information and found that the effects of the different training methods depended on the type of categories that the participants were learning. ... > full story
It Takes Guts To Build Bone, Scientists Discover (December 1, 2008) -- Bone growth is controlled in the gut through serotonin, the same naturally present chemical used by the brain to influence mood, appetite and sleep, according to a new discovery. Until now, the skeleton was thought to control bone growth and serotonin was known as a neurotransmitter acting in the brain. This insight could transform how osteoporosis is treated by giving doctors a way to increase bone mass, not just slow its loss. ... > full story
Drivers Distracted More By Cell Phones Than By Passengers (December 1, 2008) -- Drivers are far more distracted by talking on a cellular phone than by conversing with a passenger in an automobile, according to a new study. The study, which used a sophisticated driving simulator, found that when drivers talk on a cell phone, they drift out of their lanes and missed exits more frequently than drivers conversing with a passenger. Passengers react to traffic, unlike a person at the other end of a cell phone conversation. ... > full story
New Vaccines Protect Against Asian H5N1 Influenza A Viruses In Domestic Ducks (December 1, 2008) -- Scientists are looking at a novel strategy to prevent the spread of pandemic avian influenza. They have developed a vaccine that protects ducks, a known natural reservoir for the virus. ... > full story
Lower Childhood IQ Associated With Higher Risk Of Adult Mental Disorders (December 1, 2008) -- In a new, long-term study covering more than three decades, researchers found that children with lower IQs showed an increased risk of developing psychiatric disorders as adults, including schizophrenia, depression and generalized anxiety disorder. ... > full story
Cleanliness Makes People Less Severe In Moral Judgments (December 1, 2008) -- New research in Psychological Science has found that the physical notion of cleanliness significantly reduces the severity of moral judgments, showing that intuition, rather than deliberate reasoning can influence our perception of what is right and wrong. "Take for example the situation of a jury member or voting in an election - if the jury member had washes their hands prior to delivering their verdict, they may judge the crime less harshly," according to one of the researchers. ... > full story
Insights Into Adaptive Ability Of Cells May Help Explain How Cancer Eludes Body's Natural Defense (December 1, 2008) -- Scientists have shed light on the ability of cells to adapt to disruptions to their basic division machineries -- a finding that may help explain how cancer cells elude the body's natural defense mechanisms or chemotherapy treatment. ... > full story
'Deranged Calcium Signaling' Contributes To Neurological Disorder (December 1, 2008) -- Defective calcium metabolism in nerve cells may play a major role in a fatal genetic neurological disorder that resembles Huntington's disease, researchers have found in a mouse study. ... > full story
Acupuncture Just As Effective Without Needle Puncture, Study Shows (December 1, 2008) -- Acupuncture works - but it works equally well with or without needle penetration. This conclusion can be drawn from a treatment study involving cancer patients suffering from nausea during radiotherapy. ... > full story
Sex Life Of Killer Fungus Finally Revealed (December 1, 2008) -- Biologists have announced a major breakthrough in our understanding of the sex life of a microscopic fungus which is a major cause of death in immune deficient patients and also a cause of severe asthma. ... > full story
New HIV Cases Could Be Reduced By 95% With Universal Voluntary Testing And Immediate Treatment, Mathematical Model Shows (December 1, 2008) -- Universal and annual voluntary testing followed by immediate antiretroviral therapy treatment (irrespective of clinical stage or CD4 count) can reduce new HIV cases by 95% within 10 years, according to new findings based on a mathematical model developed by a group of HIV specialists in WHO. ... > full story
Melatonin May Save Eyesight In Inflammatory Disease, Study Suggests (December 1, 2008) -- Current research suggests that melatonin therapy may help treat uveitis, a common inflammatory eye disease. ... > full story
Genetic Variants Giving Rise To Differences In Metabolism Identified (December 1, 2008) -- Common genetic polymorphisms induce major differentiations in the metabolic make-up of the human population, according to an article in PLoS Genetics. Scientists have conducted a genome-wide association study with metabolomics, identifying genetic variants in genes involved in the breakdown of fats. The resulting differences in metabolic capacity can affect individuals' susceptibility to complex diseases such as diabetes and hyperactivity. ... > full story
Cancer Cell 'Bodyguard' Turned Into Killer (December 1, 2008) -- If you're a cancer cell, you want a protein called Bcl-2 on your side because it decides if you live or die. It's usually a trusted bodyguard, protecting cancer cells from programmed death and allowing them to grow and form tumors. But sometimes it turns into their assassin. Scientists knew it happened, but they didn't know how to actually cause such a betrayal. Now they do and it may lead to the development of new cancer-fighting drugs. ... > full story
Blocking A Neuropeptide Receptor Decreases Nicotine Addiction (December 1, 2008) -- Scientists have found that blocking the receptor for a specific neuropeptide, short chains of amino acids found in nerve tissue, significantly decreases the desire for nicotine in animal models. In addition, these data may explain intriguing findings from human smokers who spontaneously quit smoking when they suffer brain damage restricted to a small portion of their frontal cortex. ... > full story
People Wasting Billions Of Dollars On 'Quack' Health Food And Weight Loss Products, Expert Says (December 1, 2008) -- Globally every year, obese people waste billions of dollars on food products that "imply" that they aid weight loss, but are totally ineffective, says a nutritional expert on the British Medical Journal website. ... > full story
A Surgeon You Can Swallow (December 1, 2008) -- In the future, tablet-shaped robots could perform some surgical operations without injuring the body. A new publication shows how such surgical bio-microrobots might function. ... > full story
New Way Epigenetic Information is Inherited: Small RNAs Inherited From Mother Determines Offspring’s Fertility Trait (December 1, 2008) -- Scientists report that small RNA molecules called piRNAs can be passed directly from one generation to the next in fruit flies, thereby passing the trait of fertility from the mother to progeny. This process occurs independently of genomic DNA via direct deposits of maternal piRNAs into developing oocytes. The piRNAs suppress the expression of DNA sequences called "transposons" that would otherwise lead to infertility in the progeny fruit flies. ... > full story
Memory Mission Explores New Territory In Neuroscience (December 1, 2008) -- Astrophysicists peer into the far corners of deep space for dark matter, but for neuroscientists are exploring the unknown is much closer to home. ... > full story
Potassium Loss From Blood Pressure Drugs May Explain Higher Risk Of Adult Diabetes (December 1, 2008) -- Researchers have discovered that a drop in blood potassium levels caused by diuretics commonly prescribed for high blood pressure could be the reason why people on those drugs are at risk for developing type 2 diabetes. The drugs helpfully accelerate loss of fluids, but also deplete important chemicals, including potassium, so that those who take them are generally advised to eat bananas and other potassium-rich foods to counteract the effect. ... > full story
Life Is A Highway: Study Confirms Cars Have Personality (December 1, 2008) -- No one needs to tell Disney, which brought the likes of Herbie the Love Bug and Lightning McQueen to the big screen, that cars have personality. "Cars seem to have consistent personality traits associated with them, and ... this is similar to the way people perceive facial expressions," said one of the researchers. ... > full story
Genomic Causes Of Certain Type Of Leukemia Relapse Identified (December 1, 2008) -- Scientists have identified distinctive genetic changes in the cancer cells of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia that cause relapse. ... > full story
Diabetes Medications In Same Class Carry Different Risks Of Heart Failure, Death (December 1, 2008) -- Older adults who take the diabetes medication rosiglitazone appear to have a higher risk of death and heart failure than those taking the related medication pioglitazone, according to a new report. ... > full story
Children With Sickle Cell Disease Receiving Inadequate Care, Study Finds (December 1, 2008) -- A new study finds that youth populations with sickle cell disease are receiving inadequate health care, and thus may fail to benefit from scientific advances. The study finds that the patients, mostly African-Americans, often lack insurance or access to specialized sickle cell centers for treatment. ... > full story
Does Hormone Treatment Predispose Patients To Breast Cancer? (November 30, 2008) -- Breast cancer, the leading cause of death among women in France, is the most commonly occurring cancer in women. Sporadic breast cancer, which is non-hereditary, turns out to be the most widespread, representing 85 to 90% of all cases, but remains the least well-known. Researchers have just discovered the cause of 50% of sporadic breast cancers. ... > full story
Portuguese Scientists Discover New Mechanism That Regulates Formation Of Blood Vessels (November 30, 2008) -- Researchers have discovered a novel mechanism which regulates the process whereby new blood vessels are formed and wounds heal, including chronic wounds, such as those found in diabetic patients and those suffering from morbid obesity. These findings have implications for the development of new therapeutic approaches to healing damaged blood vessels and building new ones. ... > full story
How Binge Drinking May Drive Heart Disease (November 30, 2008) -- As the holidays arrive, a group of researchers has identified the precise mechanisms by which binge drinking contributes to clogs in arteries that lead to heart attack and stroke. The works adds to a growing body of evidence that drinking patterns matter as much, if not more, to risk for cardiovascular disease than the total amount consumed. Irregular, heavy drinking pattern clogs blood vessels. ... > full story
Common Cold Virus Came From Birds About 200 Years Ago, Study Suggests (November 30, 2008) -- A virus that causes cold-like symptoms in humans originated in birds and may have crossed the species barrier around 200 years ago, according to an article in the Journal of General Virology. Scientists hope their findings will help us understand how potentially deadly viruses emerge in humans. ... > full story
Ultrasound Waves Aid In Rapid Treatment Of Deep Vein Thrombosis (November 30, 2008) -- The use of ultrasound waves for deep vein thrombosis may help dissolve blood clots in less time than using clot-busting drugs alone, according to researchers. ... > full story
Exercise And Rest Reduce Cancer Risk (November 30, 2008) -- Exercise is good for more than just your waistline. A recent study suggests that regular physical activity can lower a woman's overall risk of cancer -- but only if she gets a good night's sleep. Otherwise, lack of sleep can undermine exercise's cancer prevention benefits. ... > full story
Science Professors Know Science, But Who Is Teaching Them How To Teach? (November 30, 2008) -- U.S. science and engineering students emerge from graduate school exquisitely trained to carry out research. Yet when it comes to the other major activity they'll engage in as professors -- teaching -- they're usually left to their own devices. That's now beginning to change. ... > full story
Fast Food A Potential Risk Factor For Alzheimer’s (November 30, 2008) -- Mice that were fed a diet rich in fat, sugar and cholesterol for nine months developed a preliminary stage of the morbid irregularities that form in the brains of Alzheimer's patients. The study gives some indications of how this difficult to treat disease might one day be preventable. ... > full story
Three Esophageal, Stomach Cancer Subtypes Linked To Smoking; One Associated With Alcohol Use (November 30, 2008) -- Researchers who have been following the health of more than 120,000 residents of the Netherlands for more than two decades have found that smoking is associated with two forms of esophageal cancer as well as a form of stomach cancer, and that drinking alcohol is strongly linked to one form of esophageal cancer. ... > full story
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