ScienceDaily Health Headlines
for Wednesday, October 5, 2011
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Circadian clock may impact organ transplant success (October 5, 2011) -- Health-care providers assess blood and tissue type as well as organ size and health to enhance transplant success. New research indicates that checklist might also need to include the circadian clock. While some human studies have shown the time of day transplant surgery is performed can influence the outcome, this study of mice with dysfunctional internal clocks is the first correlating circadian clocks with transplant success. ... > full story
Smokers twice as likely to have strokes, study suggests (October 5, 2011) -- Not only are smokers twice as likely to have strokes, they are almost a decade younger than non-smokers when they have them, according to a study. ... > full story
Fighting prejudice through imitation: Asking white people to mirror the movements of a black person lowers their levels of implicit prejudice (October 5, 2011) -- New research shows that you can reduce racial prejudice simply by having a person mimic the movements of a member of the race he or she is prejudiced against. The method may work by activating brain mechanisms that contribute to feelings of empathy. ... > full story
Newly identified gene may be risk factor for osteoporosis (October 5, 2011) -- Researchers have identified a new gene that modulates bone mass and that could become a risk factor for developing osteoporosis. ... > full story
Scientists shut down pump action to break breast cancer cells' drug resistance (October 5, 2011) -- Breast cancer cells that mutate to resist drug treatment survive by establishing tiny pumps on their surface that reject the drugs as they penetrate the cell membrane -- making the cancer insensitive to chemotherapy drugs even after repeated use. Researchers have found a new way to break that resistance and shut off the pumps by genetically altering those breast cancer cells to forcibly activate a heat-shock protein called Hsp27. ... > full story
Drunk behavior: A question of immunity (October 5, 2011) -- Researchers in Australia have found that immune cells in your brain may contribute to how you respond to alcohol. ... > full story
Hysterectomy is associated with increased levels of iron in the brain; Study suggests reducing iron may lower age-related brain disease risk (October 4, 2011) -- Men have more iron in their bodies and brains than women. These higher levels may be part of the explanation for why men develop these age-related neurodegenerative diseases at a younger age. But why do women have less iron in their systems than men? One possible explanation for the gender difference is that during menstruation, iron is eliminated through the loss of blood. Now, a new study confirms this suspicion and suggests strategies to reduce excess iron levels in both men and women. ... > full story
Combination therapy beneficial for head and neck skin carcinomas, study suggests (October 4, 2011) -- Patients who have high-risk non-melanoma skin carcinomas of the head and neck may benefit from concomitant radiotherapy and chemotherapy, according to a new study. Their study is the first to report on multiple patients with these skin carcinomas treated simultaneously with radio- and chemotherapy. ... > full story
Researchers identifiy more accurate treatment delivery for robotic radiosurgery system (October 4, 2011) -- A new study now reports that there is an alternative to the conventional CyberKnife treatment delivery system. This new technique uses a multileaf collimator (MLC) and can flexibly sculpt a single radiation beam to match the exact contour of a tumor -- significantly reducing the treatment time and minimizing the amount of radiation to the neighboring tissues. ... > full story
Intensive training helps children with reading and writing difficulties (October 4, 2011) -- Intensive daily training for a limited period is better for children with reading and writing difficulties than the traditional remedial tuition offered by schools, reveals new research. ... > full story
A shot of cortisone stops traumatic stress, study suggests (October 4, 2011) -- Scientists say that a single extra dose of cortisone -- which the body naturally produces just after a traumatic event -- reduces the chance that an individual will develop PTSD by 60 percent. ... > full story
Experiments suggest research avenues for treating excess fat storage and obesity (October 4, 2011) -- Scientists have begun to unravel the complex process by which cells take in and store microscopic fat molecules, suggesting new directions for further research into solutions for obesity and its related conditions, such as heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and fatty liver disease. ... > full story
Young children show improved verbal IQ after 20 days of exposure to music-based, cognitive training 'cartoons' (October 4, 2011) -- Canadian scientists who specialize in learning, memory and language in children have found exciting evidence that preschoolers can improve their verbal intelligence after only 20 days of classroom instruction using interactive, music-based cognitive training cartoons. ... > full story
Vitamin D could lower risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, study suggests (October 4, 2011) -- Scientists have shown that people with a good vitamin D supply are at lower risk of developing Type 2 diabetes mellitus. ... > full story
Cell movement provides clues to aggressive breast cancer (October 4, 2011) -- Researchers have identified a specific molecule that alters how breast cancer cells move. This affects the cells' ability to spread or metastasize to distant parts of the body, the hallmark of deadly, aggressive cancer. ... > full story
We discount the pain of people we don't like (October 4, 2011) -- If a patient is not likeable, will he or she be taken less seriously when exhibiting or complaining about pain? Researchers have found that observers of patients estimate lower pain intensity and are perceptually less sympathetic to the patients' pain when the patients are not liked. ... > full story
Faulty intellectual disability genes linked to older dads at conception, research finds (October 4, 2011) -- Chromosomal abnormalities linked to intellectual disability can be traced back to the father, particularly those who are older when the child is conceived, new research finds. ... > full story
Study of COX-2 inhibitors could lead to new class of stroke drugs (October 4, 2011) -- A new study in mice points toward potential new therapies for stroke, a leading cause of death and foremost single cause of severe neurological disability. The study also may reveal why a much-heralded class of blockbuster drugs failed to live up to their promise. ... > full story
Robot brain implanted in a rodent: Researcher implants robotic cerebellum to repair motor function (October 4, 2011) -- With new cutting-edge technology aimed at providing amputees with robotic limbs, a researcher has successfully implanted a robotic cerebellum into the skull of a rodent with brain damage, restoring its capacity for movement. ... > full story
.7 billion spent on unnecessary tests and treatments in U.S. in one year (October 4, 2011) -- Researchers have found that .7 billion was spent in one year performing unnecessary tests or prescribing unnecessary medications in primary care, with 86 percent of that cost attributed to the prescription of brand-name statins to treat high cholesterol. ... > full story
Pale people may need vitamin D supplements (October 4, 2011) -- Fair-skinned people who burn quickly in the sun may need to take supplements to ensure they get the right amount of vitamin D, new research finds. ... > full story
MRI tests can be safe for people with implanted cardiac devices, study suggests (October 4, 2011) -- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), an important diagnostic test, has traditionally been off limits to more than 2 million people in the United States who have an implanted pacemaker to regulate heart rhythms or an implanted defibrillator to prevent sudden cardiac death. Now, cardiologists report that a protocol they developed has proved effective in enabling patients with implanted cardiac devices to safely undergo an MRI scan. ... > full story
Virtual reality worm-tracking challenge leads to new tool for brain research (October 4, 2011) -- Using new optical equipment, researchers put roundworms into a world of virtual reality, monitored both their behavior and brain activity and gained unexpected information on how the organism's brain operates as it moves. ... > full story
Parental weight strongly influences thinness in children (October 4, 2011) -- Children with thinner parents are three times more likely to be thin than children whose parents are overweight, according to a new study. ... > full story
Hormonal contraception doubles HIV risk, study suggests (October 4, 2011) -- Researchers have found that women using hormonal contraception -- such as a birth control pill or a shot like Depo-Provera -- are at double the risk of acquiring HIV, and HIV-infected women who use hormonal contraception have twice the risk of transmitting the virus to their HIV-uninfected male partners, according to a new study. ... > full story
Studies on vein blockages and multiple sclerosis reviewed (October 4, 2011) -- Studies that examined the possible link between vein blockages and multiple sclerosis are so inconsistent that it's impossible to reach a firm conclusion about the controversial theory, a new review has found. ... > full story
Certain therapies appear beneficial in reducing PTSD symptoms in some trauma survivors (October 4, 2011) -- Prolonged exposure therapy, cognitive therapy, and delayed prolonged exposure therapy, appear to reduce posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms in patients who have experienced a recent traumatic event, according to a new report. ... > full story
Overall quality of pregnant woman’s diet affects risk for two birth defects, study shows (October 4, 2011) -- The overall quality of a pregnant woman's diet is linked with risk for two types of serious birth defects, a new study has shown. In the study, women who ate better before and during pregnancy gave birth to fewer infants with malformations of the brain and spinal cord, or orofacial clefts, such as cleft lip and cleft palate. ... > full story
Scientists find mechanism that leads to drug resistance in bacteria causing melioidosis (October 4, 2011) -- Researchers have identified a novel mechanism whereby the organism Burkholderia pseudomallei -- the cause of melioidosis, a neglected tropical infectious disease -- develops resistance to ceftazidime, the standard antibiotic treatment. The change also makes the drug-resistant bacterium difficult to detect. ... > full story
Social media sites may reveal information about problem drinking among college students (October 4, 2011) -- Social media websites, such as Facebook and MySpace, may reveal information that could identify underage college students who may be at risk for problem drinking, according to a new study. ... > full story
Tuberculosis bacterium's outer cell wall disarms the body's defense to remain infectious (October 4, 2011) -- The bacterium that causes tuberculosis has a unique molecule on its outer cell surface that blocks a key part of the body's defense. New research suggests this represents a novel mechanism in the microbe's evolving efforts to remain hidden from the human immune system. The TB bacterium has a molecule on its outer surface called lipomannan that can stop production of an important protein in the body's immune cells that helps contain TB infection and maintain it in a latent state. ... > full story
Virtual fly-through bronchoscopy yields real results (October 4, 2011) -- For patients with non-small cell lung cancer the accurate determination of the lymph node status before therapy is critical to develop an individualized treatment plan. Research from the October issue of the Journal of Nuclear Medicine highlights a new way for this information to be collected -- a virtual fly-through three-dimensional 18F-FDG PET/computed tomography bronchoscopy that has high diagnostic accuracy for the detection of regional lymph node metastases. ... > full story
Community effort brings lasting drop in smoking, delinquency, drug use (October 4, 2011) -- Delaying the age when kids try alcohol or smoking decreases the likelihood that they will become dependent later in life. A new study of Communities That Care, a new prevention system, shows that tenth graders in towns using they system were less likely to have tried drinking or smoking. Delinquent behavior decreased too. ... > full story
Regular exercise improves health of people with long-term kidney disease, study suggests (October 4, 2011) -- There are many reasons why people with chronic kidney disease (CKD) often lose fitness and have increasing difficulty performing normal daily tasks, but new research shows scientific evidence for the benefits of regular exercise for people with CKD, including those with a kidney transplant. They can improve their physical fitness, walk further, have healthier blood pressures, healthier heart rates, higher health-related quality of life scores and better nutritional characteristics compared to those who don't exercise. ... > full story
Prison education programs reduce inmate prison return rate, study shows (October 4, 2011) -- A researcher has found that educating inmates and preparing them to find jobs upon their release from prison greatly reduces their recidivism rate. ... > full story
Compliance by children's hospitals with quality measure for asthma care not associated with reduced readmission rates (October 4, 2011) -- Even though there has been high-compliance or improvement by children's hospitals regarding asthma care quality measures, improved compliance with providing a written home management plan upon discharge has not been associated with subsequent lower emergency department usage or asthma-related readmission rates, according to a new study. ... > full story
Association between advance directives and U.S. Medicare end-of-life expenditures varies across regions (October 4, 2011) -- U.S. Medicare patients with advance directives specifying limits in treatment who lived in regions with higher levels of end-of-life spending were less likely to have an in-hospital death, averaged significantly lower end-of-life Medicare spending and had significantly greater odds of hospice use than decedents without advance directives in these regions, according to a new study. ... > full story
Same-day discharge after elective PCI not associated with increased risk of death, rehospitalization, U.S. study shows (October 4, 2011) -- Among selected low-risk U.S. Medicare patients who underwent an elective percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI; procedures such as balloon angioplasty or stent placement used to open narrowed coronary arteries), same-day discharge was rarely implemented, but was not associated with an increased risk of being rehospitalized or having a higher risk of death at two days or at 30 days, than patients who remained in the hospital overnight, according to a new study. ... > full story
How much should patients in intensive care eat? (October 4, 2011) -- Patients who are fed more calories while in intensive care have lower mortality rates than those who receive less of their daily-prescribed calories, according to a recent study of data from the largest critical care nutrition database in the world. ... > full story
Children with spina bifida need personal 'starter' (October 4, 2011) -- Children born with spina bifida often have difficulties to perform everyday activities. This is not primarily due to being confined to a wheelchair or to parental overprotection as was previously believed -- new research shows that it is down to an inability to initiate and complete a task towards a specific goal. ... > full story
More children in Europe with Swedish family policy (October 4, 2011) -- European politicians who want women to have more children should consider the Swedish model with subsidized child care and paid parental leave. ... > full story
Non-English speaking head and neck cancer patients have significantly worse outcomes (October 4, 2011) -- Researchers have found that among advanced head and neck cancer patients receiving radiation-based treatment, being non-English speaking was a more significant predictor of treatment outcome than being of non-white race. ... > full story
Stroke rate 25 percent higher for Metis (October 4, 2011) -- The stroke rate among Manitoba Métis is nearly 25 percent higher than for other Manitobans, according to a new study. The higher stroke rate is driven by a 53 percent higher smoking rate, 34 percent higher rate of diabetes, and 13 percent higher rate of high blood pressure among Métis aged 40 years and older, compared to all other Manitobans. Steps are being taken to close the gap. ... > full story
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