Towards Cure For Multiple SclerosisA breakthrough finding on the mechanism of myelin formation by Jonah Chan, assistant professor of cell and neurobiology at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, could have a major impact on the treatment of diseases such as multiple sclerosis and demyelination as a result of spinal cord injuries.
Myelin, the white matter that coats all nerves, allows long-distance communication in the nervous system. "It plays........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 11/2/2006 8:44:19 PM)
Ecologists Will Study West Nile Virus, Malaria, And Bird FluOver the past 20 years, unprecedented changes in biodiversity have coincided with the emergence and re-emergence of numerous infectious diseases around the world. To address this problem, the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have announced funding for eight projects under the Ecology of Infectious Diseases (EID) program, a multi-year, joint-agency effort now in its seventh year of funding.
........Go to the Health-articles (Added on 11/1/2006 8:28:19 PM)
Nap A Day Makes Doctors OKGive emergency room doctors a nap, and not only will they do a better job, they'll also be nicer to you, according to a new study from Stanford University School of Medicine.
The findings, would be published in the recent issue of Annals of Emergency Medicine, showed improved mood, a higher alertness level and the ability to complete a simulated I.V. insertion more quickly among doctors and nurses who were allowed a short nap while working........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 11/1/2006 4:00:02 PM)
Amniocentesis Safe For Pregnant WomenAmniocentesis is the most commonly prescribed invasive test performed during pregnancies in the United States. Most women fear them while doctors recommend them based on guidelines from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. These guidelines stem from past research studies and recommendations by the CDC that were based only on maternal age. Studies that are decades old have suggested that amniocentesis increases the rate of........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 11/1/2006 4:09:36 AM)
Topiramates Increases Risk Of Kidney StonesTopiramate (Topamax), a drug usually prescribed to treat seizures and migraine headaches, can increase the propensity of calcium phosphate kidney stones, scientists at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found.
A study - the largest cross-sectional examination of how the long-term use of topiramate affects kidney-stone formation - appears in the recent issue of the American Journal of Kidney Diseases.
Several case reports have described........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 10/31/2006 4:02:25 AM)
Dad Or Mom?In families with two working parents, fathers had greater impact than mothers on their children's language development between ages 2 and 3, according to a study by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Frank Porter Graham (FPG) Child Development Institute and UNC's School of Education.
Researchers videotaped pairs of parents and their 2-year-old children in their homes during playtime. The children whose fathers used more........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 10/30/2006 8:15:51 PM)
Oral Contraceptives Increase Risk For Breast CancerA meta-analysis published in the recent issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings indicts oral contraceptives as putting premenopausal women at significantly increased risk for breast cancer, especially women who use them prior to having a child.
The meta-analysis builds on many studies with similar findings. But even as the findings stack up, many women are unaware of the risks posed by oral contraceptive use prior to pregnancy, says lead study........Go to the Cancer-blog (Added on 10/30/2006 5:56:39 PM)
How Multiple Copies Of A Gene Affect Metastasis?Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have for the first time described how multiple copies of a gene are responsible for metastases in early-stage breast cancer and poor prognosis for patients.
According to a research findings published in this week's issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the gene, called uPAR, offers a promising target for therapeutic drugs to stop or slow the progression of the disease and........Go to the Cancer-blog (Added on 10/30/2006 5:34:45 PM)
Switch Involved In Allergy IdentifiedA research team has identified a key enzyme responsible for triggering a chain of events that results in allergic reaction, according to new study findings published online this week in Nature Immunology.
The work by researchers from Virginia Commonwealth University, the Hospital for Special Surgery and Weill Cornell Medical College in New York sets the stage for development of new strategies and target therapies that control allergic........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 10/29/2006 6:46:22 PM)
Videoconferencing In Pediatric OncologyAn article in the January 2007 issue of the Pediatric Blood & Cancer examines the use of videoconferencing between industrialized and developing countries as a way of improving patient care. The journal is available online via Wiley InterScience at http://www.interscience.wiley.com/journal/pbc.
Pediatric oncology has seen vast improvements in survival rates in industrialized countries over the last several decades, but developing nations are........Go to the Cancer-blog (Added on 10/27/2006 5:08:46 AM)
Media And Body-imageNew research explores the relationship between so called "thin-ideal" images in the media and body-image issues among young women. Female undergraduates who viewed advertisements displaying ultra-thin women exhibited increases in body dissatisfaction, negative mood, levels of depression and lowered self-esteem. These findings were especially true for women who have negative views of their current body image and believe themselves to be........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 10/27/2006 4:54:12 AM)
3-D monitor vision test for childrenA new random-dot stereotest using a 3D display and infrared oculography has been found to objectively assess stereopsis in children older than three years according to an article published in the November 2006 issue of Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science (IOVS).
The study involved 56 children, 38 with various visual impairments and 18 with normal vision. Study participants were seated on their mother's lap or alone with their heads........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 10/26/2006 5:14:02 AM)
Exercise Protects From ColdsA moderate exercise program may reduce the incidence of colds. A study published in the recent issue of The American Journal of Medicine, led by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, found that otherwise sedentary women who engaged in moderate exercise had fewer colds over a one year period than a control group.
Subjects in a group of 115 overweight and obese, sedentary, postmenopausal women were randomly assigned to either........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 10/26/2006 4:42:58 AM)
Skin Tone Influences Perception Of BeautyA new study is revealing that wrinkles aren't the only cue the human eye looks for to evaluate age. Facial skin color distribution, or tone, can add 10-12 years to a woman's perceived age.
The study, published in the latest issue of the journal Evolution and Human Behavior, used three-dimensional imaging and morphing software to remove wrinkles and furrows from pictures of women, leaving skin tone as the only variable. Researchers were........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 10/24/2006 6:17:54 PM)
Virtual Colonoscopy More ExpensiveWake Forest University Baptist Medical Center researchers have found that "virtual" colonoscopy using a computer tomography (CT) scanner is considerably more expensive than the traditional procedure due to the detection of suspicious images outside of the colon.
"Virtual colonoscopy will certainly play a role in the future of colon cancer screening," said gastroenterologist Richard S. Bloomfeld, M.S., M.D., assistant professor of medicine at........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 10/24/2006 5:48:38 PM)
Novel Studies Of Human InfectionA new type of laboratory mouse developed at UT Southwestern Medical Center can fight certain infections the same way humans do, making the rodents very useful for novel studies of human-pathogen interaction and developing disease therapies.
Normal mice are not susceptible to human-specific viruses, such as Epstein Barr virus and HIV, making it hard to study and craft drugs to target the viruses. Epstein Barr is a virus that causes........Go to the Health-articles (Added on 10/22/2006 11:03:35 PM)
Malaria in the Middle EastMalaria is not usually thought of as a major disease in the Middle East, but a study from Yemen in this week's BMJ reveals worryingly high levels of severe malaria in children.
In fact, the figures show that as many as 4 out of 10 children attending hospital with severe illness could be affected during the peak season. This is comparable to many areas of Africa.
Researchers identified over 2,000 children aged 6 months to 10 years who were........Go to the Health-articles (Added on 10/19/2006 9:51:46 PM)
Protein That Helps Chickenpox SpreadA team of researchers at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has identified a human protein that helps varicella-zoster virus, the cause of chickenpox and shingles, spread from cell to cell within the body.
NIAID virologist Jeffrey I. Cohen, M.D., and NIAID research fellow Qingxue Li, M.D., Ph.D., discovered that a surface protein of varicella-zoster virus........Go to the Cancer-blog (Added on 10/19/2006 9:25:33 PM)
Targeted Tumor TherapyTargeted tumor therapy lobs toxic payloads directly into tumors to destroy cancer cells while leaving normal cells unharmed. In the case of radiotherapy, these missiles, which should unerringly home in on the target and make it implode, consist of radioactive bullets guided by small molecules--known as agonists--that recognize and then activate specific receptors over-expressed on the surface of tumor cells.
But a team including researchers........Go to the Cancer-blog (Added on 10/19/2006 8:47:27 PM)
Femara More Effective Than NolvadexResearchers affiliated with the BIG-98 trial comparing Femara® (letrozole) to Nolvadex® (tamoxifen) have reported that longer follow-up confirms the superiority of Femara in postmenopausal women with early, hormone-positive breast cancer. The details of this follow-up study were presented at the 2006 annual European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) meeting in Istanbul in October.
Femara is an aromatase agent that is approved for........Go to the Cancer-blog (Added on 10/17/2006 9:55:30 PM)
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Breakthrough In Eye Cancer TreatmentScientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have demonstrated in a mouse model a new, locally applied treatment for the eye cancer retinoblastoma that not only greatly reduces the size of the tumor, but does so without causing the side effects common with standard chemotherapy. The treatment also appears to be suitable for certain forms of breast, lung, prostate and colon cancer, and is simple enough for widespread use even in countries........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 11/2/2006 5:18:07 AM)
Intact Tonsils Triple Risk Of Recurrent Strep ThroatChildren with recurrent strep throat whose tonsils have not been removed are over three times more likely to develop subsequent episodes of strep throat than children who undergo tonsillectomy, according to a Mayo Clinic study published in the Nov. 2 issue of Laryngoscope.
"These results suggest that tonsillectomy is a useful therapy for treating children with recurrent strep throat infections," says Laura Orvidas, M.D., Mayo Clinic ear,........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 11/2/2006 5:00:19 AM)
Stress Hormones May Speed Up Cancer GrowthNew research here suggests that hormones produced during periods of stress may increase the growth rate of a particularly nasty kind of cancer.
The study showed that an increase in norepinephrine, a stress hormone, can stimulate tumor cells to produce two compounds. These compounds can break down the tissue around the tumor cells and allow the cells to more easily move into the bloodstream. From there, they can travel to another location in........Go to the Cancer-blog (Added on 11/1/2006 5:08:16 AM)
HPV Test Is A Better Long-term PredictorThe best initial cervical cancer screening tool for younger women is still the traditional Pap smear. However, a large Danish study has found that for older women (age 40 and older), a test for human papillomavirus (HPV) is a much more effective way to screen for potential cancer.
The reason, report researchers in the November 1 issue of Cancer Research, is that HPV infection is both frequent and transient in younger women, and they would........Go to the Cancer-blog (Added on 11/1/2006 4:51:53 AM)
Light-sensitive Photoswitches For Macular DegenerationA research center newly created by the University of California, Berkeley, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) aims to put light-sensitive switches in the body's cells that can be flipped on and off as easily as a remote control operates a TV.
Optical switches like these could trigger a chemical reaction, initiate a muscle contraction, activate a drug or stimulate a nerve cell - all at the flash of a light.
One major goal of........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 10/31/2006 9:12:39 PM)
Brain's Response To PleasingWe all have tastes we love, and tastes we hate. And yet, our "taste" for certain flavors and foods can change over time, as we get older or we get tired of eating the same old thing.
Now, a new University of Michigan study gives new evidence about what's going on in the brain when we taste something we like, or develop a liking for something we once hated.
And although the study used rats instead of people, it has direct implications for........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 10/30/2006 8:46:30 PM)
Negative Brca Test Doesn't Guarantee SafetyIn women with a strong family history of breast cancer a negative BRCA test does not necessarily guarantee safety from breast cancer. These women are still at increased risk of developing the disease as per findings from the latest research. These women should start breast cancer screening at earlier age from 35 to 40 years.
Researchers explain that defects in the BRCA genes account for only around 5% of all diagnosed breast cancers in........Go to the Cancer-blog (Added on 10/30/2006 7:02:45 PM)
Nightmares, demons and slavesWorkplace bullying negatively impacts employees' physical and mental health, leading to higher company costs including increased employee illness, use of sick days, and medical costs, ultimately affecting productivity. Studies report that 25-30% of employees experience bullying and emotional abuse sometime during their work life.
In a recent study researching organizational conflict, emotion, wellness and work-life balance, published in the........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 10/29/2006 7:14:57 PM)
Cognitive Decline Is Often UndetectedMany patients over the age of 65 who are hospitalized with an acute illness experience a subtle change in their cognitive ability that often goes undiagnosed, untreated and underreported. As a result, a patient's ability to make decisions about his or her medical treatment may be negatively impacted.
These findings by Sharon Inouye, M.D., M.P.H., director of the Aging Brain Center at Hebrew SeniorLife and Professor of Medicine, Division of........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 10/27/2006 9:09:38 PM)
linking ethnic identity to breast cancer genesGenetic research over the past decade has linked Ashkenazi Jewish ethnicity to an increased risk for hereditary breast cancer, so much so that certain gene mutations have become known as "Jewish ancestral mutations." But a new study released in the recent issue of The American Journal of Public Health challenges this approach, warning that disparities in access to care and other unintended consequences can, and have, resulted.
The study, by........Go to the Cancer-blog (Added on 10/27/2006 5:15:41 AM)
Hypertension On The SpotlightThere may be as many as 70 million Americans with prehypertension. If these people can be treated pharmacologically to avoid or delay progression to clinical hypertension, there would be significant benefits to them and the overall health of the population. The recent TROPHY study seems to lead to that conclusion. However, two editorials published in the recent issue of the American Journal of Hypertension emphatically argue that the study is........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 10/27/2006 4:28:50 AM)
Moderate Drinking May Boost MemoryIn the long run, a drink or two a day may be good for the brain.
Scientists observed that moderate amounts of alcohol - amounts equivalent to a couple of drinks a day for a human - improved the memories of laboratory rats.
Such a finding may have implications for serious neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's, said Matthew During, the study's senior author and a professor of molecular virology, immunology and cancer genetics at Ohio........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 10/26/2006 5:18:30 AM)
Insight Into Posttraumatic Stress DisorderNew research into Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is leading to a better understanding of its underlying neurobiology, risk factors and long-term implications. The findings are published in a recent issue of Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences and were revealed at a conference jointly sponsored by the New York Academy of Sciences and the Mount Sinai School of Medicine.
Researchers are studying a number of previously unexplored........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 10/26/2006 5:08:10 AM)
Twins More Likely To Have Premature MenopauseTwins are more likely to have a premature menopause than other women, according to research published on line today (Wednesday 25 October) in Europe's leading reproductive medicine journal, Human Reproduction[1].
In a study of more than 800 Australian and UK twin pairs, lead by Dr Roger Gosden, Professor of Reproductive Biology at Weill Medical College of Cornell University in New York, premature ovarian failure was between three and five........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 10/25/2006 4:48:46 AM)
New Treatment For Obsessive-compulsive DisordersIn a paper published on-line in advance of publication in the Journal of Psychiatric Research, Sanjaya Saxena, M.D., Director of the Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders (OCD) Program at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine, reports the surprising finding that the serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SRI) medication, paroxetine, is effective in treating patients with compulsive hoarding syndrome.
The study of 79 patients........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 10/24/2006 6:05:22 PM)
Choosing Chemotherapy Using GenomicsScientists at Duke University's Institute for Genome Sciences & Policy have developed a panel of genomic tests that analyzes the unique molecular traits of a cancerous tumor and determines which chemotherapy will most aggressively attack that patient's cancer.
In experiments reported in the November 2006 issue of the journal Nature Medicine, the researchers applied the genomic tests to cells derived from tumors of cancer patients. They found........Go to the Cancer-blog (Added on 10/22/2006 11:23:06 PM)
Heart Surgery For Atrial Fibrillation SimplifiedHeart surgeons at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have helped usher in a new era in the surgical treatment of atrial fibrillation. Using radiofrequency devices - rather than a scalpel - they've greatly shortened the surgery and made it significantly easier to perform.
"Because of the devices, the procedure - called the Cox-Maze procedure - has gone from an operation that hardly anyone was doing to one that 80 to 90........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 10/22/2006 8:13:06 PM)
Immune System And Fight Against TBA key aspect of how the body kicks the immune system into action against tuberculosis is revealed in research published recently. The authors, writing in Science, hope that their research could aid the development of novel vaccines and immunotherapies to combat TB, which is responsible for two million deaths each year.
The cause of TB is a slow-growing bacterium known as Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Scientists have known for some time that........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 10/19/2006 9:36:26 PM)
Affymetrix 500K Array And Memory GeneAffymetrix Inc. announced recently that scientists at the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) in Phoenix, Arizona have used the Affymetrix 500K Array to discover a gene--called Kibra--linked to memory performance in humans. The team's findings may be used to develop new medicines for memory-based diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's by providing researchers with a better understanding of how memory works at the molecular........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 10/19/2006 8:59:05 PM)
Cancer Stem Cells Linked To Radiation ResistanceCertain types of brain cancer cells, called cancer stem cells, help brain tumors to buffer themselves against radiation treatment by activating a "repair switch" that enables them to continue to grow unchecked, researchers at Duke University Medical Center have found.
The researchers also identified a method that appears to block the cells' ability to activate the repair switch following radiation treatment. This finding may lead to the........Go to the Cancer-blog (Added on 10/18/2006 10:39:17 PM)
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