ScienceDaily Health Headlines -- for Wednesday, July 13, 2011

ScienceDaily Health Headlines

for Wednesday, July 13, 2011

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Biologists identify new strategy used by bacteria during infection (July 13, 2011) -- Biologists identified a new way in which bacteria hijack healthy cells during infection, which could provide a target for new antibiotics. ... > full story

Advice to drink eight glasses of water a day 'nonsense,' argues doctor (July 13, 2011) -- The recommendation to drink six to eight glasses of water a day to prevent dehydration "is not only nonsense, but is thoroughly debunked nonsense," an expert argues in a new article. ... > full story

Study investigates association between intake of sodium and potassium and deaths among U.S. adults (July 13, 2011) -- A high sodium intake, especially when combined with a low potassium intake, is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mortality, according to a new study. ... > full story

Family meals remain important through teen years, expert says (July 13, 2011) -- As children become teenagers, it may be more challenging to regularly include them in family meals, but doing so is key to heading off such problems as eating disorders, obesity, and inadequate nutrition in adolescence, according to a new study. The results showed that teens who eat at least five meals a week with their families are 35 percent less likely to engage in disordered eating than teens who don't. ... > full story

Bodyguard for the brain: Researchers identify mechanism that seems to protect brain from aging (July 13, 2011) -- Researchers have discovered a mechanism that seems to protect the brain from aging. In experiments with mice, they switched off the cannabinoid-1 receptor. As a consequence, the animals showed signs of degeneration -- as seen in people with dementia -- much faster. ... > full story

Low dose naltrexone: Harnessing the body's own chemistry to treat human ovarian cancer (July 13, 2011) -- Researchers have discovered that a low dose of the opioid antagonist naltrexone (LDN) markedly suppresses progression of human ovarian cancer transplanted into mice. LDN's antitumor action was comparable to that of chemotherapy (cisplatin, taxol). LDN combined with cisplatin but not taxol had an additive inhibitory action on tumorigenesis. LDN offers a non-toxic and efficacious biologic pathway-related treatment that may benefit patients with this deadly cancer. ... > full story

No substantial link between swine flu vaccine and Guillain-Barre syndrome, experts confirm (July 13, 2011) -- Adjuvanted vaccines used during the 2009 swine flu pandemic did not increase the risk of Guillain-Barre syndrome substantially, if at all, finds a large Europe-wide study. ... > full story

Male flirts less happy at work (July 13, 2011) -- Men who flirt at work tend to be less satisfied with their job, according to new research. ... > full story

Positron emission tomography may help identify the presence of Alzheimer's disease lesions in the brain (July 12, 2011) -- The use of positron emission tomography (PET) imaging may help identify findings in brain tissue associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD), according to two articles. ... > full story

Deeper insight in the activity of cortical cells (July 12, 2011) -- Scientists can now image the processing of information deeper in the cortex with the help of a new multi-photon microscope design. ... > full story

Younger age associated with greater treatment response in children with amblyopia (July 12, 2011) -- Treatment for amblyopia (commonly known as lazy eye) was associated with better response among younger children (3 to 7 years of age) than older children, according to a meta-analysis of previous studies. ... > full story

Neighborhood fast food availability related to an individual's fast food consumption (July 12, 2011) -- Living near fast-food restaurants appears related to an individual's consumption of these foods whereas living near grocery stores and supermarkets appears generally unrelated to dietary quality, according to a new study. ... > full story

Indirubin, component Of Chinese herbal remedy, might block brain tumor's spread, study suggests (July 12, 2011) -- Indirubin, the active ingredient in a traditional Chinese herbal medicine, might offer a new strategy for treating glioblastoma, a deadly form of brain cancer. A new study shows that indirubin both blocks the migration of glioblastoma cells, preventing their spread to other areas of the brain, and the migration of endothelial cells, preventing them from forming the new blood vessels the tumor needs to grow. ... > full story

Researchers suggest ways for physicians to individualize cost-effectiveness of treatments (July 12, 2011) -- In an era of skyrocketing health-care costs and finite financial resources, health economists are increasingly called upon to determine which medical treatments are the most cost-effective. Now two researchers suggest a way to tailor this cost-benefit analysis (more accurately known as an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio, or ICER) more precisely to individuals by assessing the outcome of each treatment on smaller subgroups of patients. ... > full story

Cracking the code of the mind (July 12, 2011) -- Researchers have applied advanced mathematical and engineering techniques to connect neurons with electronics and understand how neuronal networks work. In addition to real-world applications, this research also permits scientists to investigate activity patterns of many neurons simultaneously, providing a window on how different parts of the brain communicate with each other. ... > full story

Too much sitting may be bad for your health (July 12, 2011) -- Lack of physical exercise is often implicated in many disease processes. However, sedentary behavior, or too much sitting, as distinct from too little exercise, potentially could be a new risk factor for disease. A new collection of articles addresses many aspects of the problem of sedentary behavior, including the relevant behavioral science that will be needed to evaluate whether initiatives to reduce sitting time can be effective and beneficial. ... > full story

Eating nuts daily could help control Type 2 diabetes and prevent complications, study suggests (July 12, 2011) -- Eating nuts every day could help control Type 2 diabetes and prevent its complications, according to new research. ... > full story

Effects of exercise on meal-related gut hormone signals (July 12, 2011) -- New research finds that alterations of meal-related gut hormone signals may contribute to the overall effects of exercise to help manage body weight. ... > full story

Evidence for 'food addiction' in humans (July 12, 2011) -- New research suggests that people can become dependent on highly palatable foods and engage in a compulsive pattern of consumption, similar to the behaviors we observe in drug addicts and those with alcoholism. ... > full story

Biomarker for autism discovered (July 12, 2011) -- Siblings of people with autism show a similar pattern of brain activity to that seen in people with autism when looking at emotional facial expressions. Researchers have now identified the reduced activity in a part of the brain associated with empathy and argue it may be a "biomarker" for a familial risk of autism. ... > full story

HPV infection highly prevalent among organ transplant recipients, study reveals (July 12, 2011) -- A new study reveals an association between the human papillomavirus (betaPV) infection and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) in organ transplant recipients. ... > full story

Seven in one blow: Scientists discover DNA regions influencing prostate cancer risk (July 12, 2011) -- Scientists are studying the genetic risks for prostate cancer. The researchers have discovered seven DNA regions for which an association with an increased prostate cancer risk has now been established for the first time. ... > full story

Hypoallergenic dogs don't have lower household allergen levels than other dogs, study finds (July 12, 2011) -- Contrary to popular belief, so-called hypoallergenic dogs do not have lower household allergen levels than other dogs. That's the conclusion of a study by researchers who sought to evaluate whether hypoallergenic dogs have a lower dog allergen in the home than other dogs. Hypoallergenic dogs are believed to produce less dander and saliva and shed less fur. ... > full story

Malaria parasites use camouflage to trick immune defences of pregnant women (July 12, 2011) -- Researchers have discovered why malaria parasites are able to hide from the immune defenses of expectant mothers. ... > full story

Even before language, babies learn the world through sounds (July 12, 2011) -- It's not just the words, but the sounds of words that have meaning for us. This is true for children and adults, who can associate the strictly auditory parts of language -- vowels produced in the front or the back of the mouth, high or low pitch -- with blunt or pointy things, large or small things, fast-moving or long-staying things. ... > full story

Nervous system stem cells can replace themselves, give rise to variety of cell types, even amplify (July 12, 2011) -- Scientists have discovered in young adult mice that a lone brain stem cell is capable not only of replacing itself and giving rise to specialized neurons and glia -- important types of brain cells -- but also of taking a wholly unexpected path: generating two new brain stem cells. ... > full story

New way to classify post-cardiac arrest patients to better predict outcomes (July 12, 2011) -- A new method for scoring the severity of illness for patients after cardiac arrest may help to predict their outcomes, according to researchers. New results also show that none of the severity categories rules out the potential for a patient's recovery. ... > full story

Parkinson's disease patients may benefit from virtual-reality-based therapies (July 12, 2011) -- In people with Parkinson's disease (PD), the inability to make quick movements limits basic functioning in daily life. Movement can be improved by various cuing techniques, such as providing visual or auditory stimuli when movements are started. Researchers now report that virtual reality and physical reality exercises can be used to provide effective stimuli to increase movement speeds in PD patients. ... > full story

Scientists solve mystery of nerve disease genes; Findings may lead to new therapies for Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease and other conditions (July 12, 2011) -- For several years, scientists have been pondering a question about a genetic disease called Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease type 2D: how can different types of mutations, spread out across a gene, produce the same condition? Now, a team of scientists may have found the answer. ... > full story

E. coli can survive in streambed sediments for months (July 12, 2011) -- Scientists have confirmed that the presence of Escherichia coli pathogens in surface waters could result from the pathogen's ability to survive for months in underwater sediments. ... > full story

Arthroscopic treatment of common hip problem improves range of motion, study finds (July 12, 2011) -- Arthroscopic treatment of a common hip problem that leads to arthritis is successful in terms of restoring range of motion, according to results from a recent study. ... > full story

Smoking does not keep you slim, Swedish research shows (July 12, 2011) -- You might think that you will gain weight if you quit smoking. But it’s not that simple. Research from Sweden shows that smoking doesn’t help you get thinner. ... > full story

Deformed limbs one of several birth defects linked to smoking in pregnancy (July 12, 2011) -- Missing or deformed limbs, clubfoot, facial disorders and gastrointestinal problems are some of the most common birth defects found to be associated with smoking during pregnancy, according to a major new report. ... > full story

Mutations can spur dangerous identity crisis in cells (July 12, 2011) -- A new study brings scientists one step closer to developing treatments for issues associated with aging or chronic diseases in which cells lose their ability to maintain a stable pattern of gene expression. ... > full story

Telomeres: Two genes linked to why they stretch in cancer cells (July 12, 2011) -- Scientists have provided more clues to one of the least understood phenomena in some cancers: why the "ends caps" of cellular DNA, called telomeres, lengthen instead of shorten. ... > full story

Vitamin D insufficiency prevalent among psoriatic arthritis suffers (July 12, 2011) -- New research reports a high prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency among patients with psoriatic arthritis. Seasonal variation in vitamin D levels was not observed in patients in southern or northern locations. The findings also show no association between disease activity and vitamin D level. ... > full story

Satisfaction with the components of everyday life appears protective against heart disease (July 12, 2011) -- While depression and anxiety have long been recognized as risk factors for heart disease, there is less certainty over the beneficial effects of a "positive" psychological state, Now, following a study of almost 8,000 British civil servants, researchers say that a satisfying life is indeed good for the heart. ... > full story

Not all U.S. hospitals are following guidelines for percutaneous revascularization procedures for some patients with an occluded artery following a heart attack (July 12, 2011) -- Guideline recommendations for the appropriate use of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for patients who have an occluded coronary artery after having a myocardial infarction (heart attack) appear not to have been fully incorporated in clinical practice, according to a new study. ... > full story

Researchers urge awareness of dietary iodine intake in postpartum Korean-American women who consume brown seaweed soup (July 12, 2011) -- Researchers have brought attention to the potential health impacts for Korean and Korean-American women and their infants from consuming brown seaweed soup. ... > full story

Scleroderma study identifies roadblocks to employment (July 12, 2011) -- Systemic scleroderma has slowed Tracy Zinn but it has not stopped her from working. Thanks in part to determination and an accommodating employer, Zinn is now in her 13th year as an account executive for a firm that produces educational software. But, many with the incapacitating disease are not as fortunate. ... > full story

New genetic risk factor for sudden cardiac death (July 12, 2011) -- In a large and comprehensive investigation into the underlying causes of sudden cardiac death (SCD) -- a surreptitious killer of hundreds of thousands annually in the United States -- researchers have discovered a variation in the genome's DNA sequence that is linked to a significant increase in a person's risk of SCD. ... > full story

First-ever review finds smoking causes serious birth defects; March of Dimes urges women to quit smoking to save babies (July 12, 2011) -- The first-ever comprehensive review of 50 years of studies has established that maternal smoking causes serious birth defects including heart defects, missing/deformed limbs, clubfoot, gastrointestinal disorders, and facial disorders, such as cleft lip/palate. Smoking during pregnancy is a risk factor for premature birth and the March of Dimes urges pregnant women and those planning a pregnancy to quit smoking to reduce their chance of having a baby born prematurely or with a serious birth defect. ... > full story

Owl study expands understanding of human stereovision (July 11, 2011) -- Using owls as a model, a new research study reveals the advantage of stereopsis, commonly referred to as stereovision, is its ability to discriminate between objects and background, not in perceiving absolute depth. The findings show that owls see in stereo much like humans do. ... > full story

Key role of microRNAs in melanoma metastasis identified (July 11, 2011) -- Researchers have identified for the first time the key role specific microRNAs (miRNAs) play in melanoma metastasis to simultaneously cause cancer cells to invade and immunosuppress the human body's ability to fight abnormal cells. ... > full story

More oxygen in eyes of African-Americans may help explain glaucoma risk (July 11, 2011) -- Measuring oxygen during eye surgery, investigators have discovered a potential reason that African-Americans are at higher risk of getting glaucoma than Caucasians. They found that oxygen levels are significantly higher in the eyes of African-Americans with glaucoma than in Caucasians. ... > full story

Mortality rises, efficiency declines at teaching hospitals, due to 'July Effect' (July 11, 2011) -- Year-end changeovers in medical trainees are associated with increased mortality and decreased efficiency at teaching hospitals during the month of July, according to a new article. ... > full story

Do-it-yourself brain repair following stroke (July 11, 2011) -- Stroke is a leading cause of long-term disability and death in the United States. New research has now identified a way to exploit one of the brain's self-repair mechanisms to protect nerve cells and enhance brain repair in rodent models of stroke. The authors of the research suggest that this approach could provide a nontoxic treatment for stroke. ... > full story

Genetic basis of rare human diseases described (July 11, 2011) -- Researchers have discovered how genetic mutations cause a number of rare human diseases, which include Meckel syndrome, Joubert syndrome and several other disorders. ... > full story