Role of Enzyme in DNA RepairResearchers from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), National Cancer Institute (NCI), and Integrative Bioinformatics Inc. have made an important discovery about the role of an enzyme called ataxia telangiectasia mutated protein (ATM) in the body's ability to repair damaged DNA. NIAMS and NCI are part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
When DNA within a cell is damaged, the cell's........Go to the Cancer-blog (Added on 6/27/2007 6:47:58 PM)
Pitched Debate Over Anemia-Fighting DrugsThe recent issue of Elsevier's Community Oncology takes an in-depth look at the charge that ESAs, generally considered vital to cancer patients' quality of life, are overprescribed for profit. Scientists, oncologists, and critics of oncologists are in a heated debate now over the use of ESAs, or erythropoiesis-stimulating agents-drugs that fight anemia by boosting levels of oxygen-carrying red blood cells and the protein hemoglobin.
A number........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 6/27/2007 6:06:48 AM)
Sweden's early baby boom provides lessons for USSweden, like much of Scandinavia, is known for its high quality care for elderly adults. Most importantly, the system helps to keep elderly adults independent. With the growing demand brought on by aging baby boomers however, the government has been challenged to maintain this high level of services.
In response, the government has become instead more efficient and surprisingly the proportion of elderly adults with the greatest needs the........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 6/27/2007 5:26:09 AM)
Personal comments by physiciansIn well-intentioned efforts to establish relationships, some physicians tell patients about their own family members, health problems, travel experiences and political beliefs.
While such disclosures seem an important way to build a personal connection, a University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry investigation of secretly-recorded first-time patient visits to experienced primary care physicians has found these personal........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 6/25/2007 8:32:29 PM)
Tracking the ecosystem within usFor more than 100 years, researchers have known that humans carry a rich ecosystem within their intestines. An astonishing number and variety of microbes, including as a number of as 400 species of bacteria, help humans digest food, mitigate disease, regulate fat storage, and even promote the formation of blood vessels. By applying sophisticated genetic analysis to samples of a years worth baby poop, Howard Hughes Medical Institute scientists........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 6/25/2007 8:22:18 PM)
Estrogen Therapy Gives Aging Brain Cells A BoostCyclical, long-term estrogen injections protected brain cells from age-related deterioration, as per a new study conducted at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. The study suggests that age is a factor in estrogen therapy and sheds light on the intricate relationship between mind, age, and hormones. The study would be reported in the online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences during the week of June 25.
In a multi-center........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 6/25/2007 8:20:52 PM)
Will you ever be able to buy fitness in a bottle?The diet pill industry is worth billions per year in the US alone so there’s huge incentive for companies to market miracle pills and the 1994 Dietary Supplement Act makes it easy. Just ask Bob Park. This means that neither safety nor efficacy need to be proven for “natural” remedies and this has predictable results. Despite this, the idea that drugs can help with weight loss and even improve fitness is plausible. Indeed,........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 6/24/2007 11:40:24 AM)
Understanding Of Charcot-marie-tooth DiseaseResearchers have identified the gene responsible for one type of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disorder, a common inherited neurological disease, thanks to the chance appearance of a strain of impaired pale tremor mice in a University of Michigan research laboratory.
The discovery of the gene mutation means a genetic test will be possible for people with a less common subtype of the disorder -- one that until now was unidentified and had an unknown........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 6/22/2007 4:50:33 AM)
Male circumcision and risk of AIDSIn new academic research published recently in the online, open-access, peer-evaluated scientific journal PLoS ONE, male circumcision is found to be much less important as a deterrent to the global AIDS pandemic than previously thought. The author, John R. Talbott, has conducted statistical empirical research across 77 countries of the world and has uncovered some surprising results.
The new study finds that the number of infected........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 6/20/2007 9:37:42 AM)
Medical Metal DetectorInspired by the device used to find lost coins in the sand, Johns Hopkins undergraduates have invented a small handheld metal detector to help doctors locate hidden orthopedic screws that need to be removed from patients' bodies. The device emits a tone that rises in pitch as the surgeon moves closer to the metal screw. It also serves as a surgical tool to guide the removal of the hardware.
Orthopedic screws, commonly made of a stainless........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 6/18/2007 10:49:37 PM)
Cancer stem cells can thwart anti-cancer agents Current cancer therapies often succeed at initially eliminating the bulk of the disease, including all rapidly proliferating cells, but are eventually thwarted because they cannot eliminate a small reservoir of multiple-drug-resistant tumor cells, called cancer stem cells, which ultimately become the source of disease recurrence and eventual metastasis. Now, research by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine suggests........Go to the Cancer-blog (Added on 6/15/2007 12:33:33 PM)
Colon cancer proteins show promise for blood testSearching for less invasive screening tests for cancer, Johns Hopkins researchers have discovered proteins present in blood that accurately identify colon cancer and premalignant polyps.
Initial studies of the proteins, CCSA-3 and CCSA-4, suggest they could be used to develop a blood test to identify at-risk individuals.
"The reality is that a number of people are not getting regular screening colonoscopies," says cancer researcher Robert........Go to the Cancer-blog (Added on 6/15/2007 12:32:11 PM)
Prostate cancer risk in BRCA2 carriersCarriers of a BRCA2 variation specific to Iceland are more likely to develop aggressive and lethal prostate cancer than noncarriers, according to a study published online June 12 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute
Mutations in the BRCA2 gene are associated with increased prostate cancer risk, but it has been unclear whether they are related to progression of the disease.
Laufey Tryggvadttir of the Icelandic Cancer Registry........Go to the Cancer-blog (Added on 6/13/2007 1:24:51 PM)
Mediterranean diet prevent colon cancer?Are all healthy eating plans the same when it comes to cancer prevention?
Scientists at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center are beginning a study to look at whether diet can impact a person's risk of developing colon cancer. Specifically, the scientists will compare a Mediterranean diet - high in olive oil, nuts and fish - with a standard healthy eating plan.
"Overall eating patterns appear to be more important for........Go to the Cancer-blog (Added on 6/13/2007 1:10:54 PM)
Periodontal diseases are blind to ageTwo new studies in the recent issue of the Journal of Periodontology (JOP) suggest that periodontal diseases are a threat to women of all ages due to hormonal fluctuations that occur at various stages of their lives.
One study looked at 50 women who were between the ages of 20 to 35 with varying forms of periodontitis. The study observed that women who currently were taking oral contraceptive pills had more gingival bleeding upon probing........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 6/13/2007 8:45:30 AM)
Night shift nurses more likely to have poor sleep habitsNurses who work the night shift are more likely to have poor sleep habits, a practice that can increase the likelihood of committing serious errors that can put the safety of themselves as well as their patients at risk, as per a research abstract that will be presented Monday at SLEEP 2007, the 21st Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS).
Arlene Johnson, of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, surveyed 289........Go to the Health-articles (Added on 6/12/2007 5:11:52 AM)
If They Have Low TestosteroneLow levels of testosterone may increase the long-term risk of death in men over 50 years old, as per scientists with the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine.
"The new study is only the second report linking deficiency of this sex hormone with increased death from all causes, over time, and the first to do so in relatively healthy men who are living in the community," said........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 6/11/2007 4:19:42 PM)
The fifth gene responsible for Joubert syndromeAn international study by scientists at Seattle Childrens Hospital Research Institute, the University of Washington School of Medicine, and Radboud University in Nijmegen, Netherlands has identified a new genetic cause for Joubert syndrome (JS). Joubert syndrome is an inherited condition that affects development of the cerebellum and brainstem, the structures in the brain that coordinate movements and regulate basic functions such as breathing,........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 6/11/2007 3:46:39 PM)
Alcohol Injections For Common Foot PainSonographically-guided alcohol injections has a high success rate and is well tolerated by patients with Mortons neuroma, a common cause of foot pain, as per a recent study conducted by scientists at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital and Kingston Hospital NHS Trust in Middlesex, United Kingdom.
Mortons neuroma is a growth of nerve tissue that occurs in a nerve in your foot, often between your third and fourth toes and commonly causes........Go to the Health-articles (Added on 6/10/2007 7:57:08 PM)
Alzheimer's disease would quadruple worldwide by 2050More than 26 million people worldwide were estimated to be living with Alzheimers disease in 2006, as per a research studyled by scientists at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The scientists also concluded the global prevalence of Alzheimers disease will grow to more than 106 million by 2050. By that time, 43 percent of those with Alzheimers disease will need high-level care, equivalent to that of a nursing home. The........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 6/10/2007 7:38:35 PM)
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'CARS' imaging reveals clues to myelin damageScientists have discovered that calcium ions could play a crucial role in multiple sclerosis by activating enzymes that degrade the fatty sheath that insulates nerve fibers.
Learning exactly how the myelin sheath is degraded might enable researchers to determine how to halt disease progress and reverse damage by growing new myelin, said Ji-Xin Cheng, an assistant professor in Purdue University's Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering and........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 6/27/2007 6:34:50 PM)
Neuroimaging Study Supports Ancient Buddhist TeachingsWhy does putting our feelings into words - talking with a therapist or friend, writing in a journal - help us to feel better? A new brain imaging study by UCLA psychology experts reveals why verbalizing our feelings makes our sadness, anger and pain less intense.
Another study, with the same participants and three of the same members of the research team, combines modern neuroscience with ancient Buddhist teachings to provide the first........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 6/27/2007 6:18:10 PM)
Intensive-care patients with alcohol problemsMore than 300,000 patients receive mechanical ventilation during intensive care per year in the United States, even though the hospital mortality rate for ventilated patients can approach 50 percent. New findings indicate that medical patients with an alcohol-use disorder (AUD) are more likely to require mechanical ventilation, and/or need it for a longer period of time.
Results are reported in the recent issue of Alcoholism: Clinical &........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 6/25/2007 9:25:21 PM)
SARS survivors recover from physical illnessMost patients who survived severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) had good physical recovery, but they or their caregivers often reported a decline in mental health one year later, as per a research studyin the June 25 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Severe Acute Respiratory syndrome (SARS) became a global epidemic in 2003. Most cases were in Asia, and the largest concentration of North American........Go to the Health-articles (Added on 6/25/2007 8:36:25 PM)
Can you hear me now?Scientists have shown that bone marrow stem cells injected into a damaged inner ear can speed hearing recovery after partial hearing loss. The related report by Kamiya et al, Mesenchymal stem cell transplantation accelerates hearing recovery through the repair of injured cochlear fibrocytes, appears in the recent issue of The American Journal of Pathology.
Hearing loss has a number of causes, including genetics, aging, and infection, and may........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 6/25/2007 8:31:06 PM)
teenage violence and domestic violence Scientists tracing the development of violent behavior have found a link between teenage violence and domestic violence.
Adolescents who engaged in violent behavior at a relatively steady rate through their teenage years and those whose violence began in their mid teens and increased over the years are significantly more likely to engage in domestic violence in their mid 20s than other young adults, as per a new University of Washington........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 6/25/2007 8:19:26 PM)
Alternative To Blood Test To Detect Drugs In The BodyThe department of Legal Medicine and Psychiatry has developed a new technique based on the analysis of pericardial fluid, a plasma ultrafiltered which surrounds the heart.
- Their work has determined for the first time that this fluid, easier to test than blood, presents a narcotic concentration similar to blood.
C@MPUS DIGITAL The presence of narcotic substances in a person's body can commonly be detected by a blood or urine test.
By........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 6/22/2007 4:59:40 AM)
New method for combating prostate cancerA novel method of drug delivery to inhibit the growth of prostate cancer cells has been developed by a doctoral candidate in pharmacy at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
The student, Danny Goldstein, received the Barenholz Prize for Creativity and Originality in Applied Research for his work. The award, named for its donor, Yehezkel Barenholz, the Dr. Daniel G. Miller Professor of Cancer Research at the Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical........Go to the Cancer-blog (Added on 6/22/2007 4:36:19 AM)
Helps Working Parents Of Chronically Ill ChildrenWorking parents are more able to care for their chronically ill children when given greater access to federal and employer-provided time off from their jobs, as per a RAND Corporation study issued today.
"We observed that having the time and financial flexibility to miss work is clearly important for parents who have children with serious chronic illnesses," said lead author Dr. Paul Chung, senior natural scientist at RAND and assistant........Go to the Health-articles (Added on 6/22/2007 4:34:35 AM)
New tumour markersThe term "cancer" (from the Greek karkinos, which means sea crab) was used for the first time by Greek doctor Hippocrates five hundred years b.C. to define the tumours that he observed in his patients. Nowadays it is still difficult to diagnose, and prognosis is bad. Cancer is already the main cause of death in a number of countries, ranking even above cardiovascular diseases.
Pancreas cancer (PC), the subject of this thesis, has the poorest........Go to the Cancer-blog (Added on 6/20/2007 8:31:00 AM)
Protein May Prevent Eye Damage In Premature BabiesA protein long believed to be one of the bodys supporting players has quietly been taking a lead role in healthy eyesight, a discovery that could rapidly lead to therapys for babies born before their eyes are finished growing, University of Florida and Harvard Medical School scientists have found.
The finding, described in separate, back-to-back papers would be published in Tuesdays (June 19) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,........Go to the Health-articles (Added on 6/18/2007 10:01:40 PM)
Bone erosion reduced by denosumabTreatment with denosumab 60 mg and 180 mg (with background methotrexate) reduces the progression of bone erosion as per results of a 227 patient Phase II trial presented today at EULAR 2007, the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology in Barcelona, Spain.
Denosumab is a fully human monoclonal antibody which binds to and inhibits the RANK Ligand. The RANK Ligand is the essential mediator of osteoclast formation, function, and survival and........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 6/15/2007 11:16:53 AM)
Increased alcohol intake: decreased risk of developing rheumatoid arthritisBarcelona, Spain, Friday 15 June 2007: New data presented today at EULAR 2007, the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology in Barcelona, Spain, suggests that alcohol may protect against rheumatoid arthritis, with three units a week exhibiting protective effects and ten units a week being more protective still. An alcohol consumption of three units per week or more also reduced the risk by smoking or by a genetic predisposition to RA.
An........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 6/15/2007 11:15:27 AM)
Extended duration work shifts risky to the safetyWorking an extended duration shift can pose a risk to not only the safety and well-being of medical interns, but also to that of their patients, as per a research abstract that will be presented Wednesday at SLEEP 2007, the 21st Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS).
The study, authored by Laura Barger, PhD, of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, was based on 2,737 physicians in their first post-graduate........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 6/13/2007 8:59:48 AM)
Extra sleep improves athletes' performanceAthletes who get an extra amount of sleep are more likely to improve their performance in a game, as per a research abstract that will be presented Wednesday at SLEEP 2007, the 21st Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS).
The study, authored by Cheri Mah of Stanford University, was conducted on six healthy students on the Stanford men's basketball team, who maintained their typical sleep-wake patterns for a........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 6/13/2007 7:37:03 AM)
Catastrophic events can affect a person's sleepA significant disruption of day-to-day life can take place in those areas affected by a natural disaster. One of the more recent disasters occurred when Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast in late August 2005, causing loss of lives, extensive damage, and the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of residents. Disasters such as Hurricane Katrina are more likely to affect the quality and the quantity of a person's sleep, as per a research........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 6/12/2007 4:59:16 AM)
Sleep deprivation can lead to smoking, drinkingSleep loss or disturbed sleep can heighten the risk for adolescents to take up smoking and drinking, two habits that may prove to be detrimental to their health, as per a research abstract that will be presented Tuesday at SLEEP 2007, the 21st Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS).
The study, conducted by Xianchen Liu, MD, PhD, of the University of Pittsburgh, was based a questionnaire survey among 1,362........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 6/12/2007 4:57:04 AM)
Folic Acid No Benefit To Prevet Precancerous Colon TumorsTaking folic acid supplements does not reduce the risk of developing premalignant tumors in the colon and may even increase the risk, a new study has observed.
We had great hope that folic acid would be a very cheap and effective agent to prevent large bowel adenomas. We expected that folic acid would decrease the risk for colorectal cancers, perhaps as much as 40 percent. So these results are disappointing, said Robert Sandler, M.D., a........Go to the Cancer-blog (Added on 6/10/2007 8:53:19 PM)
Dual-imaging technique useful with brain surgeryBrain specialists linked to the Neuroscience Institute at the University of Cincinnati (UC) and University Hospital say the ability to incorporatein real timetwo high-tech imaging tools into the operating room can improve the functional abilities of patients who undergo brain surgery.
Neuroradiologist James Leach, MD, and his UC colleagues are among the first in the United States to combine functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 6/10/2007 7:43:59 PM)
Congenital Diaphragmatic HerniaThe diaphragm, a shelf of muscle that separates the chest cavity from the abdominal cavity, is critical to sustaining life. A life-threatening birth defect known as congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH), results from failure of normal diaphragm formation which in turn allows abdominal organs to migrate into the chest cavity. Abnormal lung development, so-called pulmonary hypoplasia, frequently co-occurs with CDH, and in fact is the major........Go to the Health-articles (Added on 6/7/2007 7:43:02 PM)
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