ScienceDaily Health Headlines
for Friday, August 29, 2008
Class Of Diabetes Drugs Carries Significant Cardiovascular Risks (August 29, 2008) -- A class of oral drugs used to treat type 2 diabetes may make heart failure worse, according to an editorial published online in the journal Heart. ... > full story
Even Without Dementia, Mental Skills Decline Years Before Death (August 29, 2008) -- A new study shows that older people's mental skills start declining years before death, even if they don't have dementia. ... > full story
Recent Advances Make Cervical Cancer Control In Developing World Feasible For First Time (August 29, 2008) -- Recent advances in cervical cancer prevention mean that controlling the disease in developing countries is becoming feasible for the first time, experts say. Developments such as highly effective vaccines against the human papilloma virus (HPV) and promising new screening tests provide an unprecedented opportunity to tackle the disease in poor countries, where pap smear screening has largely failed because it is too expensive and too complicated to implement. ... > full story
Researchers To Survey Students On Managing Psychiatric Medications In The Transition From Home To College (August 29, 2008) -- An increasing number of students are packing more than their computers and iPods when leaving for college. They are bringing along prescribed psychiatric medications. Researchers at Case Western Reserve University will survey students on managing psychiatric medications in the transition from home to college. ... > full story
Researchers Provide Solution To World's Worst Mass Poisoning Case (August 29, 2008) -- A solution to the world's worst case of ongoing mass poisoning, linked to rising cancer rates in Southern Asia, has been developed by researchers from Queen's University Belfast. They have created new low-cost technology to provide arsenic-free water to millions of people in South Asia currently exposed to high levels of the poison in groundwater. ... > full story
Potential New Targets For Antidepressant Medications (August 29, 2008) -- The news about antidepressant medications over the past several years has been mixed. The bad news from large multicenter studies such as STAR*D is that current antidepressant medications are effective, but not as effective as one might hope. ... > full story
NIAID Describes Challenges, Prospects For An HIV Vaccine (August 29, 2008) -- Events of the past year in HIV vaccine research have led some to question whether an effective HIV vaccine will ever be developed. In the Aug. 28 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine, officials from NIAID examine the extraordinarily challenging properties of the virus that have made a vaccine elusive and outline the scientific questions that, if answered, could lead to an effective HIV vaccine. ... > full story
Novel Trial Design Aims To Speed Drug Development (August 29, 2008) -- Researchers propose a novel multi-arm trial design that can test several therapies simultaneously and could speed drug development in cancer, according to an article in the Aug. 26 online issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. ... > full story
Economic And Social Disadvantage Can Affect Young Citizens' Voter Turnout (August 29, 2008) -- A study recently published in the Journal of Social Issues illustrates how certain disadvantages experienced in adolescence, such as early pregnancy, dropping out of high school, being arrested, or going to an underprivileged school, contribute to lower voter turnout in young adulthood. In addition, the types of disadvantage vary across racial groups. ... > full story
New Beta-blocker To Offer Hope To Heart And Lung Sufferers (August 28, 2008) -- Researchers in the UK are developing new drug that could ease the suffering of hundreds of thousands of heart disease patients who are unable to take beta-blockers. ... > full story
HIV Patients At Greater Risk For Bone Fractures (August 28, 2008) -- HIV-infected patients have a higher prevalence of fractures than non HIV-infected patients, across both genders and critical fracture sites according to a new study accepted for publication in the Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. ... > full story
Sticks And Stones: A New Study On Social And Physical Pain (August 28, 2008) -- According to a new study, words may pack a harder punch that we realize. Psychologists have found that while the pain of physical events may fade with time, the pain of social occurrences can be reinstantiated through memory retrievals. ... > full story
Why Transplanted Insulin Cells Die (August 28, 2008) -- New research can enhance survival of islets transplants and improve treatment of type 1 diabetes. ... > full story
Variations Of Rare Lung Disease Examined (August 28, 2008) -- Scientists are conducting a new research study that examines why symptoms of LAM are different in certain subgroups of people with the goal of finding more successful therapies. ... > full story
Study Shows Link Between Spanking And Physical Abuse (August 28, 2008) -- Spanking has been, and still is, a common method of child discipline used by American parents. But mothers who report that they or their partner spanked their child in the past year are nearly three times more likely to state that they also used harsher forms of punishment than those who say their child was not spanked, according to a new study led by the Injury Prevention Research Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. ... > full story
Low Levels Of Brain Chemical May Lead To Obesity (August 28, 2008) -- A brain chemical that plays a role in long term memory also appears to be involved in regulating how much people eat and their likelihood of becoming obese, according to a National Institutes of Health study of a rare genetic condition. ... > full story
Findings Challenge Common Practice Regarding Glucose Control For Critically Ill Patients (August 28, 2008) -- An analysis of randomized trials indicates that for critically ill adults, tight glucose control is not associated with a significantly reduced risk of death in the hospital, but is associated with an increased risk of hypoglycemia, calling into question the recommendation by many professional societies for tight glucose control for these patients. ... > full story
Study Reveals Gap In HIV Testing Knowledge Among College Students (August 28, 2008) -- Most college students understand how they can prevent the transmission of HIV but are less knowledgeable about HIV testing, according to a new University of Georgia study. ... > full story
Subliminal Learning Demonstrated In Human Brain (August 28, 2008) -- Although the idea that instrumental learning can occur subconsciously has been around for nearly a century, it had not been unequivocally demonstrated. Now, new research uses sophisticated perceptual masking, computational modeling, and neuroimaging to show that instrumental learning can occur in the human brain without conscious processing of contextual cues. ... > full story
High Cholesterol Levels Drop Naturally In Children On High-fat Anti-seizure Diet, Study Show (August 28, 2008) -- Elevated cholesterol levels return to normal or near normal levels over time in four out of 10 children with uncontrollable epilepsy treated with the high-fat ketogenic diet, according to results reported in the Journal of Child Neurology. ... > full story
Olive Leaf Extract Can Help Tackle High Blood Pressure And Cholesterol (August 28, 2008) -- Taking 1000 mg of a specific olive leaf extract (EFLA 943) can lower cholesterol and lower blood pressure in patients with mild hypertension (high blood pressure). These findings came from a "Twins" trial, in which different treatments were given to identical twins. By doing this, researchers could increase the power of their data by eliminating some of the uncertainties caused by genetic variations between individual people. ... > full story
Army Personnel Show Increased Risk For Migraine; Condition Underdiagnosed, Mistreated (August 28, 2008) -- Two new studies show that migraine headaches are very common among US military personnel, yet the condition is frequently underdiagnosed. The studies, appearing in Headache, the peer-reviewed journal of the American Headache Society, examine the incidence among soldiers within 10 days of returning from a 1-year combat tour in Iraq , as well as US Army officer trainees. ... > full story
Teens Making Poor Choices When It Comes To Riding In Vehicles (August 28, 2008) -- Car crashes are the No. 1 killer of US teens. While states are passing laws to help teen drivers, little thought is being given to their habits as passengers. A new study uncovers a public health crisis and offers a solution to the problem. ... > full story
One Form Of Adult Mouse Cell Transformed Directly Into Another; Insulin-producing Cells Created (August 28, 2008) -- In a feat of biological prestidigitation likely to turn the field of regenerative medicine on its head, researchers report having achieved what has long been a dream and ultimate goal of developmental biologists: directly turning one type of fully formed adult cell into another type of adult cell. ... > full story
First Gene Associated With Dry Macular Degeneration Found (August 28, 2008) -- In a study that underscores the important role that individual genetic profiles will play in the development of new therapies for disease,scientists have made two important discoveries related to age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in adults over the age of 60. ... > full story
New Concepts In Contraception (August 28, 2008) -- Latest research into dual-purpose contraceptives and non-hormonal contraception will be presented at a major scientific conference in Melbourne. ... > full story
Unusual Ultrasonic Vocalization Patterns In Mice May Be Useful For Modeling Autism (August 28, 2008) -- Scientists have found novel patterns of ultrasonic vocalizations in a genetic mouse model of autism, adding a unique element to the available mouse behaviors that capture components of the human disease, and representing a new step towards identifying causes and better treatments. ... > full story
Heart Attack Prevention: Potential New Use For Viagra? (August 28, 2008) -- A breakthrough into regulating a single enzyme may lead to new drug therapies that will help prevent heart attacks and strokes. The research focuses on the effects of Viagra -- the popular erectile dysfunction drug, which is also used to treat pulmonary hypertension. ... > full story
More Aortic Chest Aneurysms Being Treated With Less-invasive Stents (August 28, 2008) -- An increasing number of patients with thoracic aortic aneurysms are being treated with a device called a stent graft, rather than open-chest surgery. The device is delivered with a cathether. Patients go home in a day or two. It's much less invasive than open-chest surgery. ... > full story
Fingerprint Breakthrough Hope In US Double Murder Probe (August 28, 2008) -- A double murder investigation that has remained unsolved for almost a decade could be provided new impetus following a forensic breakthrough. ... > full story
Over 10 Million Americans Are Taking Opioids Each Week, Study Finds (August 28, 2008) -- Researchers from Boston University's Slone Epidemiology Center have found that in a given week, over 10 million Americans are taking opioids, and more than 4 million are taking them regularly (at least five days per week, for at least four weeks). These findings appear in the Aug. 31 issue of the journal Pain. ... > full story
Heart Attack Patients Who Stop Statin Risk Death, Say Researchers (August 28, 2008) -- Patients discontinuing statin medication following an acute myocardial infarction increase their risk of dying over the next year, say researchers at McGill University and the McGill University Health Center. Their study was published in a recent issue of the European Heart Journal. ... > full story
History Of Nonmelanoma Skin Cancer Is Associated With Increased Risk For Subsequent Malignancies (August 28, 2008) -- Individuals with a history of nonmelanoma skin cancer are at increased risk for other cancers, according to a study published in the Aug. 26 online issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. ... > full story
Protein Misprediction Uncovered By New Technique (August 28, 2008) -- A new bioinformatics tool is capable of identifying and correcting abnormal, incomplete and mispredicted protein annotations in public databases. The MisPred tool currently uses five principles to identify suspect proteins that are likely to be abnormal or mispredicted. ... > full story
Satisfaction And Regret After Radical Prostatectomy Procedures Studied (August 28, 2008) -- Studies have shown that approximately 16% of patients with localised prostate cancer regret their treatment choice. A new study compares differences in satisfaction and regret between patients who underwent open retropubic radical prostatectomy and robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy. ... > full story
New Role For Natural Killers (August 28, 2008) -- Scientists at the University of York have discovered a new role for a population of white blood cells, which may lead to improved treatments for chronic infections and cancer. ... > full story
Angiotensin Inhibitors And Receptor Blockers Linked To Lower Risk Of Nonmelanoma Skin Cancer (August 28, 2008) -- The use of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers was associated with a reduced risk of basal cell or squamous cell skin cancers in US veterans, researchers report in the Aug. 26 online issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. ... > full story
Providing Surgical Services Worldwide Should Be A Global Public Health Priority, Experts Urge (August 28, 2008) -- In an editorial in this week's PLoS Medicine, the journal's editors outline five key reasons why providing basic surgical services universally should be considered a global public health priority. ... > full story
Cocaine-induced Brain Plasticity May Protect The Addicted Brain: Findings May Lead To New Drug-abuse Treatments (August 27, 2008) -- Increased connections among brain cells caused by excessive drug use may represent the body's defense mechanism to combat addiction and related behaviors, scientists at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found. ... > full story
Chronic Stress Alters Our Genetic Immune Response (August 27, 2008) -- In the journal Biological Psychiatry, researchers shed new light on one link between stress and illness by describing a mechanism through which stress alters immune function. ... > full story
Consumption Of Nuts, Corn Or Popcorn Not Associated With Increased Risk Of Diverticulosis In Men (August 27, 2008) -- Contrary to a common recommendation to avoid eating popcorn, nuts and corn to prevent diverticular complications, a large prospective study of men indicates that the consumption of these foods does not increase the risk of diverticulosis or diverticular complications. ... > full story
How The Brain Compensates For Vision Loss Shows Much More Versatility Than Previously Recognized (August 27, 2008) -- New insights into how the brain compensates for loss of sight suggests the brain is more adaptable than previously recognized. ... > full story
Early Trigger For Type-1 Diabetes Found In Mice (August 27, 2008) -- Scientists are shedding light on how type-1 diabetes begins. Doctors have known the disease is caused by an autoimmune attack on the pancreas, but the exact trigger of the attack has been unclear. Now, a new study in mice implicates the immune signal interferon-alpha as an early culprit in a chain of events that upend sugar metabolism and make patients dependent on lifelong insulin injections. ... > full story
High Levels Of Uric Acid May Be Associated With High Blood Pressure (August 27, 2008) -- Reducing levels of uric acid in blood lowered blood pressure to normal in most teens in a study designed to investigate a possible link between blood pressure and the chemical, a waste product of the body's normal metabolism. ... > full story
Genetic Predisposition May Play A Role In Anxiety Disorders (August 27, 2008) -- Finnish scientists have identified genes that may predispose to anxiety disorders. Some of the studied genes show a statistical association with specific anxiety disorders. ... > full story
Medication Slows Progression Of Myopia In Children (August 27, 2008) -- Daily treatment with a medication called pirenzepine can slow the rate of progressive myopia, or nearsightedness, in children, reports a new study. ... > full story
High Levels Of Toxic Metals Found In Herbal Medicine Products Sold Online (August 27, 2008) -- One fifth of both US-manufactured and Indian-manufactured Ayurvedic medicines purchased via the Internet contain lead, mercury or arsenic. ... > full story
Uninsured Patients Receive Unpredictable, Rationed Access To Health Care (August 27, 2008) -- A case study of three health care institutions with different ownership models found that self-pay patients must navigate a system that provides no guarantees medical centers will follow their own policies for providing uncompensated care. ... > full story
