ScienceDaily Health Headlines
for Tuesday, November 4, 2008
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Mending Broken Hearts With Tissue Engineering (November 4, 2008) -- Broken hearts could one day be mended using a novel scaffold. The new scaffold approach could also aid the engineering of other tissues. ... > full story
Skin Cancer: Designer Molecule Tackles Malignant Cells By Two Completely Different Routes (November 4, 2008) -- By playing it safe and using a two-pronged attack, a novel designer molecule fights malignant melanoma. The substance is similar to components of viruses and in this way alerts the immune system. The body's own defenses are also strengthened against cancer cells in this process. At the same time, the novel molecule also puts pressure on the tumor in a different way. It switches off a specific gene in the malignant cells, thus driving them to suicide. With mice suffering from cancer, the researchers have thus been able to fight metastases in the lung. ... > full story
Video-assisted Thoracic Surgery Offers Comprehensive Cancer Removal Compared To Open Surgery, Study Suggests (November 4, 2008) -- Minimally invasive surgery for lung cancer called video-assisted thoracic surgery or VATS is a relatively new procedure performed almost exclusively at academic centers. Now, a preliminary study is giving surgeons an early look at its benefits. ... > full story
Greater Alcohol Outlet Density Is Linked To Male-to-female Partner Violence (November 4, 2008) -- Alcohol-outlet density is associated with a number of adverse health and social consequences. New research examines the relationship between AOD and intimate partner violence. Findings show that an increase of 10 alcohol outlets per 10,000 persons was associated with a 34 percent increased risk of male-to-female partner violence. ... > full story
Human Genes: Alternative Splicing Far More Common Than Thought (November 4, 2008) -- Scientists have long known that it's possible for one gene to produce slightly different forms of the same protein by skipping or including certain sequences from the messenger RNA. Now, scientists have shown that this phenomenon, known as alternative splicing, is both far more prevalent and varies more between tissues than was previously believed. ... > full story
Gene Scan Of Alzheimer's Families Identifies Four New Suspect Genes (November 4, 2008) -- The first family-based genome-wide association study in Alzheimer's disease has identified the sites of four novel genes that may significantly influence risk for the most common late-onset form of the devastating neurological disorder. ... > full story
New Mechanism Of Resistance To Dengue Virus (November 4, 2008) -- It is becoming increasingly common to see individuals infected by the dengue virus who develop an ultimately fatal hemorrhagic syndrome, particularly in children during epidemics. However, in most cases, dengue remains a generally benign or even asymptomatic viral infection. One explanation for this phenomenon is a new mechanism of resistance to dengue virus could form the basis for new strategies to prevent this disease. ... > full story
First International Guidelines For Treatment Of Psoriatic Arthritis Developed (November 4, 2008) -- Rheumatologists, dermatologists and patient advocates have come together to publish the first-ever international guidelines for the treatment of psoriatic arthritis, a disease that mainly affects people who have psoriasis but also some people without it. ... > full story
Criminal Offenders: Childhood Anxiety May Delay Onset Of Criminal Behavior Until After Age 21 (November 4, 2008) -- A new study examines whether certain childhood traits in boys delay criminal behavior until after the age of 21. ... > full story
Odorprints Like Fingerprints? Personal Odors Remain Distinguishable Regardless Of Diet (November 3, 2008) -- Scientists present behavioral and chemical findings to reveal that an individual's underlying odor signature remains detectable even in the face of major dietary changes. The findings indicate that biologically-based odorprints, like fingerprints, could be a reliable way to identify individual humans. ... > full story
Crucial Hormonal Pathway To Bone Building Uncovered (November 3, 2008) -- New study shows parathyroid hormone given intermittently enhances the body's own bone-building action through a specific "co-receptor" on the surface of bone cells. Previously, PTH was known to stimulate bone formation, but the exact mechanism was unknown. ... > full story
Patience During Stalled Labor Can Avoid Many C-sections, Study Shows (November 3, 2008) -- Pregnant women whose labor stalls while in the active phase of childbirth can reduce health risks to themselves and their infants by waiting out the delivery process for an extra two hours, according to a new study. ... > full story
Antioxidants Can Reduce The Toxic Effects Of Lead, Study Suggests (November 3, 2008) -- A research study shows that administering natural antioxidants can reduce the effects of lead poisoning in animals during the gestation and lactation periods. The study suggests that it could also be effective in humans. ... > full story
Weight Does Not Affect Women's Sexual Behavior, Study Finds (November 3, 2008) -- Oregon and Hawaiian researchers have found that a woman's weight does not seem to affect sexual behavior. In fact, overweight women are more likely to report having sex with men than women considered to be of "normal weight." ... > full story
Stem Cell Therapies For Heart Disease (November 3, 2008) -- New research brings stem cell therapies for heart disease one step closer. The findings reveal that our bodies' ability to respond to an internal "mayday" signal may hold the key to success for long-awaited regenerative medicine. ... > full story
Teen Pregnancy Linked To Viewing Of Sexual Content On TV (November 3, 2008) -- Adolescents who have high levels of exposure to television programs that contain sexual content are twice as likely to be involved in a pregnancy over the following three years as their peers who watch few such shows, according to a new study. ... > full story
Obesity, Other Health Problems Delay MS Diagnosis (November 3, 2008) -- People with pre-existing medical conditions, such as obesity, and vascular problems such as diabetes, high blood pressure or high cholesterol, may experience a delay in being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, or experience an increase in severity of the disease at diagnosis. ... > full story
Streamlining Brain Signals For Speed And Efficacy (November 3, 2008) -- Life exists at the edge of chaos, where small changes can have striking and unanticipated effects, and major stimuli may go unheard. But there is no space for ambiguity when the brain needs to transform head motion into precise eye, head, and body movements that rapidly stabilize our posture and gaze. Now researchers have explained how the vestibular-ocular reflex, which keeps us and the world around us stable, achieves its accuracy. ... > full story
Magnet Restores Color Perception In Partially-sighted Patient (November 3, 2008) -- By manipulating the brain non-invasively in a new way with magnetic stimulation, researchers have shown that they can restore some experience of color where before there was no visual awareness whatsoever. ... > full story
Compound Stabilizes Main Natural Suppressor Of Tumors (November 3, 2008) -- Scientists have discovered a substance with the capacity to maintain protein p53 stable even when it presents certain mutations that promote the appearance of cancer. ... > full story
New Mouse Mutant Contains Clue To Progressive Hearing Loss (November 3, 2008) -- Researchers have defined a mutation in the mouse genome that mimics progressive hearing loss in humans. Scientists have found that mice carrying a mutation called Oblivion displayed problems with the function of hair cells in the inner ear, occurring before clear physical effects are seen. ... > full story
Study Of Learning Disabled Mice Shows Balance In The Brain Is Key (November 3, 2008) -- A new study has revealed the molecular and cellular underpinnings of one of the most common, single gene causes for learning disability in humans. The findings made in learning disabled mice offer new insight into what happens in the brain when we learn and remember. ... > full story
Vigorous Activity Protects Against Breast Cancer, Study Shows (November 3, 2008) -- Normal-weight women who carry out lots of vigorous exercise are approximately 30 percent less likely to develop breast cancer than those who don't exercise vigorously. A study of more than 30,000 postmenopausal American women has revealed that a sedentary lifestyle can be a risk factor for the disease -- even in women who are not overweight. ... > full story
How Signals Flow Between Neurons: New Research Explains Membrane Fusion At Synapse (November 3, 2008) -- Imagine a bathtub with two soap bubbles colliding but never fusing. Then you add detergent, and the surface of the water goes flat as the walls of the bubbles collapse and merge. Scientists have used that analogy to describe the action of synaptotagmin-1, which acts to catalyze the fusion of the membranes of tiny neurotransmitter-filled bubbles called vesicles with the wall membrane of a neuron. This action allows signals to flow between neurons. ... > full story
Prenatal Exposure To Famine May Lead To Persistent Epigenetic Changes (November 3, 2008) -- Prenatal exposure to famine can lead to epigenetic changes that may affect a person's health into midlife. New findings show a trickle-down effect from pregnant women to the DNA of their unborn children and the timeframe over which such early damage can operate. These data are the first to show that early-life environmental conditions can cause epigenetic changes in humans that persist throughout life. ... > full story
Credit Card-swipe Device To Test For Hundreds Of Diseases (November 3, 2008) -- Scientists successfully created a sensitive prototype device that could test for dozens or even hundreds of diseases simultaneously by acting like a credit card-swipe machine to scan a card loaded with microscopic blood, saliva or urine samples. The prototype works on the same principle -- giant magnetoresistance or GMR -- that is used to read data on computer hard drives or listen to tunes on portable digital music players. ... > full story
Brain Stimulation Improves Dexterity (November 3, 2008) -- Applying electrical stimulation to the scalp and the underlying motor regions of the brain could make you more skilled at delicate tasks. Research in the journal BMC Neuroscience shows that a non-invasive brain-stimulation technique, transcranial direct current stimulation, is able to improve the use of a person's non-dominant hand. ... > full story
Can Your Doctor Correctly Read A Critical Heart Test? Improving Accuracy Of Electrocardiogram Interpretation (November 3, 2008) -- Correct interpretation of an electrocardiogram may prompt life-saving, emergency measures; incorrect interpretation may delay care with life-threatening consequences. Currently, there is no uniform way to teach doctors in training how to interpret an ECG or assess their competence in the interpretation. To address the lack of uniformity, a team of physicians from the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the American College of Cardiology has developed the first Web-based training and examination program for reading ECGs. ... > full story
Key To Aggressive Breast Cancer Discovered (November 3, 2008) -- In trying to find out why HER2-positive breast cancer can be more aggressive than other forms of the disease, researchers have surprisingly discovered that HER2 itself is the culprit. HER2 advances tumor growth by shutting down its own suppressor. ... > full story
Diabetes Medication May Be Linked To Lower Risk Of Death From Cardiovascular Disease (November 3, 2008) -- The diabetes medication metformin may be associated with a lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease, according to a meta-analysis of previously published studies. No associations were found between other diabetes medications and beneficial or harmful cardiovascular effects, in part because of insufficient data, the authors note. ... > full story
Media Coverage Affects How People Perceive Threat Of Disease (November 3, 2008) -- Popular media coverage of infectious diseases greatly influences how people perceive those diseases, making them seem more dangerous, according to a new study. ... > full story
Simple Chemical Procedure Augments Therapeutic Potential Of Stem Cells (November 3, 2008) -- Researchers have developed a simple method for making a certain class of adult stem cells more therapeutically effective. By attaching a molecule called SLeX to the surface of human cells extracted from bone marrow, researchers have altered how the cells travel through vessels. This might enable the cells to more effectively reach sites of injury and replace damaged tissue. ... > full story
Diabetes Treatment Becomes More Complex, Costly (November 3, 2008) -- Because of the increased number of patients, growing reliance on multiple medications and the shift toward more expensive new medicines, the annual cost of diabetes drugs nearly doubled in only six years, rising from .7 billion in 2001 to .5 billion in 2007. The single greatest contributor was the use of newer, more expensive medications. ... > full story
NASA-enhanced Dust Storm Predictions To Aid Health Community (November 3, 2008) -- NASA satellite data can improve forecasts of dust storms in the American Southwest in ways that can benefit public health managers. ... > full story
Birth Control Pill Does Not Deserve Its Reputation For Causing Weight Gain (November 3, 2008) -- Research has not proven that the pill causes weight gain. But many women are put off using contraceptive pills because this has been listed as one of their adverse effects. Their concern may be narrowing their contraceptive choices without good reason, according to new research. ... > full story
'Opt Out' System Could Solve Donor Organ Shortage, Says Researcher (November 3, 2008) -- A system of presumed consent for organ donation -- where people have to opt out of donating their organs when they die -- is the best way to tackle a growing waiting list for transplant, says an expert in organ donation and the illegal trade of body parts. ... > full story
Genetic Differences That Cause Childhood Eye Disease (November 3, 2008) -- Medical researchers have unlocked part of the mystery underlying a childhood eye disease. New research shows how children with some types of glaucoma end up with missing or extra pieces of DNA. ... > full story
African-American Canadians Who Receive Kidney Transplants Fare Better Than Those In US (November 3, 2008) -- African American kidney disease patients in both Canada and the United States are less likely than Caucasian Americans to have access to kidney transplants, but only African-Americans in the United States have worse health outcomes than Caucasians after a transplant is performed, according to a new study. The results could further open the debate about what has driven the disparities seen only in the United States. ... > full story
Systems Biology And Glycomics Applied To Study Of Human Inflammatory Diseases (November 3, 2008) -- An innovative systems biology approach to understanding the carbohydrate structures in cells is leading to new ways to understand how inflammatory illnesses and cardiovascular disease develop in humans. ... > full story
Patients Give Low Scores To Hospitals In First National Survey (November 3, 2008) -- Researchers analyzed the first national data on patients' experiences in hospital settings and found that though patients are generally satisfied with their care, there is substantial room for improvement in a number of key areas, including pain management and discharge instructions. ... > full story
Biologists Discover Motor Protein That Rewinds DNA (November 2, 2008) -- Biologists have discovered the first of a new class of cellular motor proteins that "rewind" sections of the double-stranded DNA molecule that become unwound, like the tangled ribbons from a cassette tape, in "bubbles" that prevent critical genes from being expressed. ... > full story
Transplantation: 'Molecular Miscegenation' Blurs The Boundary Between Self And Non-self (November 2, 2008) -- A new discovery by London biologists may yield new ways of handling transplant rejection. Scientists confirm the two-way transfer of a molecule that instructs the immune system to tell "self" from "non-self." By disrupting the transfer of this molecule, newly transplanted organs should become "invisible" to the host's immune system. Such an advance would be considered a major medical breakthrough. ... > full story
Severe Gestational Hypertension May Protect Sons Against Testicular Cancer (November 2, 2008) -- Women who experience severe gestational hypertension may give birth to boys at lower risk for testicular cancer, although the exact reasons why are still unclear. ... > full story
Ultrasound Shown To Exert Remote Control Of Brain Circuits (November 2, 2008) -- In a twist on nontraditional uses of ultrasound, neuroscientists have developed pulsed ultrasound techniques that can remotely stimulate brain circuit activity. The findings provide insights into how low-power ultrasound can be harnessed for the noninvasive neurostimulation of brain circuits and offers the potential for new treatments of brain disorders and disease. ... > full story
Does Your Personality Influence Who You Vote For? (November 2, 2008) -- Does your personality influence who you vote for? The short answer is yes, according to one professor of psychology. As Americans go to the polls in record numbers to vote for the next U.S. president, some voters will crave social stability and others will crave social change. Liberals and conservatives divide according to these personality preferences. ... > full story
Simple Blood Test Predicts Obesity (November 2, 2008) -- According to new research, the degree of change in blood triglyceride levels following a fatty meal may indicate susceptibility to diet-induced obesity. The findings open doors to new methods of identifying people, including children, who are at risk for becoming obese. ... > full story
Friend Or Foe? How The Body's Clot-busting System Speeds Up Atherosclerosis (November 2, 2008) -- Scientists have been puzzled by the fact that high levels of plasmin in blood and high levels of urokinase in artery walls are linked to high risk for rapid progression of atherosclerosis and heart attacks. Are these naturally occurring clot busters contributors to disease or evidence of the body's attempt to fight it? Molecular biology research shows interactions between urokinase and plasminogen accelerate atherosclerosis. Genetic loss of plasminogen production (the precursor to plasmin) protects mice against atherosclerosis, even when urokinase levels are elevated. ... > full story
Children Of Smokers Tend To Be More Impulsive (November 2, 2008) -- Adolescents may have more in common with their smoking parents than previously thought. These adolescents may also share a tendency to act impulsively, a trait that could be linked to a decision to become a smoker. ... > full story
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