ScienceDaily Health Headlines -- for Tuesday, October 18, 2011

ScienceDaily Health Headlines

for Tuesday, October 18, 2011

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Halo effect: Family members of gastric-bypass patients also lose weight, study finds (October 18, 2011) -- Family members of patients who have undergone surgery for weight loss may also shed several pounds themselves, as well as eat healthier and exercise more, according to a new study. ... > full story

Bioengineering to generate healthy skin (October 18, 2011) -- Scientists are participating in research to study how to make use of the potential for auto regeneration of stem skills from skin, in order to create, in the laboratory, a patient's entire cutaneous surface by means of a combination of biological engineering and tissue engineering techniques. ... > full story

High rate of false-positives with annual mammogram (October 18, 2011) -- During a decade of receiving mammograms, more than half of cancer-free women will be among those summoned back for more testing because of false-positive results, and about one in 12 will be referred for a biopsy. ... > full story

One in four children exposed to some form of family violence, study finds (October 18, 2011) -- More than one in four children have been exposed to physical violence between their parents at some time, one in nine of them during the past year, according to new research. ... > full story

New research links common RNA modification to obesity (October 18, 2011) -- Scientists have discovered that a pervasive human RNA modification provides the physiological underpinning of the genetic regulatory process that contributes to obesity and type II diabetes. ... > full story

Lung cancer patients with diabetes show prolonged survival (October 18, 2011) -- Lung cancer patients with diabetes tend to live longer than patients without diabetes, according to a Norwegian study. ... > full story

Google Earth typhoid maps reveal secrets of disease outbreaks (October 18, 2011) -- In the mid-nineteenth century, John Snow mapped cases of cholera in Soho, London, and traced the source of the outbreak to a contaminated water pump. Now, in a twenty-first century equivalent, scientists working in Kathmandu, Nepal, have combined the latest in gene sequencing technology and global positioning system case localization to map the spread of typhoid and trace its source. ... > full story

Pediatric emergency department visits for psychiatric care on the rise (October 18, 2011) -- Pediatric patients, primarily those who are underinsured (either without insurance or receiving Medicaid), are increasingly receiving psychiatric care in hospital emergency departments, according to new research. ... > full story

New approach to treating Listeria infections (October 17, 2011) -- Research underway could lead to new treatments for people sickened by Listeria and other sepsis-causing bacteria. Research supports a new approach to treating these infections. ... > full story

Muscling toward a longer life: Genetic aging pathway identified in flies (October 17, 2011) -- Researchers have identified a set of genes that act in muscles to modulate aging and resistance to stress in fruit flies. Scientists have previously found mutations that extend fruit fly lifespan, but this group of genes is distinct because it acts specifically in muscles. The findings could help doctors better understand and treat muscle degeneration in human aging. ... > full story

Protein is potential new treatment target for adult pulmonary hypertension (October 17, 2011) -- A protein critical to development appears to have a grave impact on lungs exposed to smoking and air pollution, researchers report. Blocking that protein, called calpain, in the lungs may prove an effective way to avoid narrow, scarred blood vessels and pulmonary hypertension, researchers said. ... > full story

'Drunkorexia:' A recipe for disaster (October 17, 2011) -- It is well-known that eating disorders are common among teens and college students. Heavy alcohol consumption is another well-known unhealthy habit of this age group. A new study shows that when college students combine these two unhealthy habits, their long-term health may be affected. "Drunkorexia" is a new term coined by the media to describe the combination of disordered eating and heavy alcohol consumption. ... > full story

Children, not chimps, prefer collaboration: Humans like to work together in solving tasks -- chimps don't (October 17, 2011) -- Recent studies have shown that chimpanzees possess many of the cognitive prerequisites necessary for humanlike collaboration. Cognitive abilities, however, might not be all that differs between chimpanzees and humans when it comes to cooperation. Children, but not chimpanzees, prefer to collaborate. ... > full story

Possible link between bacterium and colon cancer discovered (October 17, 2011) -- Scientists have found strikingly high levels of a bacterium in colorectal cancers, a sign that it might contribute to the disease and potentially be a key to diagnosing, preventing, and treating it. ... > full story

New study reinforces need for continued infant sleep campaigns to prevent SIDS (October 17, 2011) -- New research reinforces the need for continued public education programs that encourage parents to place their infants to sleep in the supine (back) position in a safe crib or bassinet, to prevent an estimated 4,600 annual Sudden Unintended Infant Deaths, of which 50 percent are classified as Sudden Death Syndrome. ... > full story

Teachers, children mistake candy for medicine in study (October 17, 2011) -- More than one in four kindergarten children, and one in five teachers, had difficulty distinguishing between medicine and candy in new research conducted by two, now seventh-grade students. ... > full story

Nourishing protein slows brain disease (October 17, 2011) -- A nourishing protein that promotes the growth of neurons and blood vessels appears to stop the progression of a genetic disease that causes degeneration of the cerebellum, according to new preclinical research. The disease, spinocerebellar ataxia type 1, typically strikes people in the 30s and 40s and eventually causes death. ... > full story

Eating green veggies improves immune defenses (October 17, 2011) -- Researchers have found another good reason to eat your green vegetables, although it may or may not win any arguments with kids at the dinner table. ... > full story

New role for RNA interference during chromosomal replication discovered (October 17, 2011) -- Scientists have described a new role for RNAi during chromosomal replication. They have now shown that RNAi allows the DNA replication fork to progress smoothly without resulting in DNA damage. ... > full story

Avoiding bias in medical research (October 17, 2011) -- A new statistical approach to address the problem of bias in self-reporting has been developed. ... > full story

People who really identify with their car drive more aggressively, study finds (October 17, 2011) -- People who view their car as an extension of themselves have stronger aggressive driving tendencies, according to a new study. ... > full story

Gene variant leads to better memory via increased brain activation (October 17, 2011) -- Carriers of the so-called KIBRA T allele have better memories than those who don't have this gene variant. This means we can reject the theory that the brain of a non-bearer compensates for this. ... > full story

Precise gene therapy without a needle (October 17, 2011) -- For the first time, researchers have found a way to inject a precise dose of a gene therapy agent directly into a single living cell without a needle. The technique uses electricity to "shoot" bits of therapeutic biomolecules through a tiny channel and into a cell in a fraction of a second. ... > full story

Developing new drugs made easier with method to track drugs in tissue (October 17, 2011) -- When a new drug is developed, the manufacturer must be able to show that it reaches its intended goal in the body's tissue, and only that goal. Such studies could be made easier with a new method. ... > full story

Musical aptitude relates to reading ability (October 17, 2011) -- Auditory working memory and attention, for example the ability to hear and then remember instructions while completing a task, are a necessary part of musical ability. But musical ability is also related to verbal memory and literacy in childhood. New research shows how auditory working memory and musical aptitude are intrinsically related to reading ability, and provides a biological basis for this link. ... > full story

Faulty molecular switch can cause infertility or miscarriage (October 17, 2011) -- Scientists have discovered an enzyme that acts as a 'fertility switch'. High levels of the protein are associated with infertility, while low levels make a woman more likely to have a miscarriage, the research has shown. ... > full story

Inhibiting allergic reactions without side effects (October 17, 2011) -- Researchers have announced a breakthrough approach to allergy treatment that inhibits food allergies, drug allergies, and asthmatic reactions without suppressing a sufferer's entire immunological system. ... > full story

Sports-related knee injuries in children have increased dramatically over the past decade (October 17, 2011) -- Knee injuries in children with tears of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and meniscus have increased dramatically over the past 12 years, say orthopedic surgeons. ... > full story

Nasal congestion: More than physical obstruction (October 17, 2011) -- Symptoms of nasal congestion have been difficult to treat because patient reports of congestion often have little relationship to the actual physical obstruction of nasal airflow. Now, scientists report that the annoying feeling of nasal obstruction is related to the temperature and humidity of inhaled air. This knowledge may help researchers design effective treatments for this familiar symptom of nasal sinus disease. ... > full story

Children dependent on life support vulnerable to loss of electrical power (October 17, 2011) -- Children dependent on electrically powered medical devices for life support and maintenance are vulnerable to an unexpected loss of power -- and their parents are ill-prepared to deal with it, according to new research. ... > full story

Twitter data used to track vaccination rates and attitudes (October 17, 2011) -- The first case study in how social-media sites can affect the spread of a disease has been designed and implemented by a scientist studying attitudes toward the H1N1 vaccine. The method is expected to be repeated in the study of other diseases. ... > full story

MP3 players 'shrink' our personal space (October 17, 2011) -- Researchers wanted to find out whether there is a way to make the intrusion of our personal space on the subway (underground railway) more tolerable. Their results reveal that listening to music through headphones can change people’s margins of personal space. ... > full story

Largest ever genetic study of liver function could point the way to new treatments (October 17, 2011) -- Researchers have identified a large number of areas in the human genetic code that are involved in regulating the way in which the liver functions, in a new study of over 61,000 people. The work identifies 42 genetic regions associated with liver function, 32 of which had not been linked to liver function before. ... > full story

Promising new approach to treating debilitating nervous system disease (October 17, 2011) -- A groundbreaking study suggests what could become the first effective treatment for a debilitating and fatal disease of the central nervous system called SCA1. ... > full story

Exercise before and during early pregnancy increases two beneficial proteins for mothers-to-be (October 17, 2011) -- Study suggests that exercise before conception and in the early stages of pregnancy may protect a mother-to-be by stimulating the expression of two proteins thought to play a role in blood vessel health. ... > full story

Estrogen may prevent younger menopausal women from strokes, study suggests (October 17, 2011) -- Estrogen may prevent strokes in premature or early menopausal women, researchers have found in a new study. Their findings challenge the conventional wisdom that estrogen is a risk factor for stroke at all ages. ... > full story

American Academy of Pediatrics expands ages for diagnosis and treatment of ADHD in children (October 17, 2011) -- Updated guidelines offer new information on diagnosing and treating attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in younger children and in adolescents. ... > full story

Updated cervical cancer screening evidence (October 17, 2011) -- In 2003 the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force published recommendations for cervical cancer screening. To inform an updated recommendation, researchers performed two reviews of the published literature focusing on evidence that has become available since the 2003 recommendation. ... > full story

Approaches to treating substance abuse among African-Americans (October 17, 2011) -- A new study is the first to examine the effectiveness of a widely used counseling approach to treating substance abuse among African-Americans. The study found that African-American women were more likely than men to continue a counseling approach to treating substance abuse, but their substance-abuse issues continued. ... > full story

Broccoli-based compound beats drug resistance in lung disease (October 17, 2011) -- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common lung disease that gets progressively worse over time. Inflammation has a central role in driving COPD. However, patients derive little benefit from treatment with potent anti-inflammatory drugs known as corticosteroids. Now, researchers have identified a candidate therapeutic that could potentially be used to augment the anti-inflammatory effects of corticosteroids in individuals with COPD -- a compound obtained from cruciferous vegetables. ... > full story

Canada needs to adopt a national suicide prevention strategy, experts urge (October 17, 2011) -- Canada needs to adopt a national suicide prevention strategy, and physicians can play a key role in the strategy, states a new analysis. ... > full story

Rates of suicide attempts and hospitalizations in children and adolescents in Canada's child welfare system (October 17, 2011) -- Although children and adolescents in the child welfare system are at increased risk of attempted suicide compared with the general population, rates are highest before they enter care, then rates begin to decline. ... > full story

Pediatric cancer and palliative care: Parental preferences compared with health-care professionals (October 17, 2011) -- Parents of children in the palliative stage of cancer favor aggressive chemotherapy over supportive care compared with health care professionals, new research suggests. ... > full story

Hidden genetic influence on cancer discovered (October 15, 2011) -- In findings with major implications for the genetics of cancer and human health, researchers have uncovered evidence of powerful new genetic networks and showed how it may work to drive cancer and normal development. ... > full story

Bone marrow cells migrate to tumors and can slow their growth (October 15, 2011) -- Bone marrow-derived cells participate in the growth and spread of tumors of the breast, brain, lung, and stomach. To examine the role of BMDCs, researchers developed a mouse model that could be used to track the migration of these cells while tumors formed and expanded. Their results strongly suggest that more effective cancer treatments may be developed by exploiting the mechanism by which bone marrow cells migrate to tumors and retard their proliferation. ... > full story

Psychopathic killers: Computerized text analysis uncovers the word patterns of a predator (October 15, 2011) -- As words can be the soul's window, scientists are learning to peer through it: Computerized text analysis shows that psychopathic killers make identifiable word choices -- beyond conscious control -- when talking about their crimes. This research could lead to new tools for diagnosis and treatment, and have implications law enforcement and social media. ... > full story

'Never married' men still more likely to die from cancer (October 15, 2011) -- It is known that the unmarried are in general more likely to die than their married counterparts and there is some indication that the divide is getting worse. New research looks at the changes in cancer survival over the past 40 years and show that the difference in mortality between the married and never married, especially between married and never married men, has also increased. ... > full story

Uncharted territory: Scientists sequence the first carbohydrate biopolymer (October 15, 2011) -- For the first time ever, a team of researchers has announced the sequence of a complete complex carbohydrate biopolymer. The surprising discovery provides the scientific and medical communities with an important and fundamental new view of these vital biomolecules, which play a role in everything from cell structure and development to disease pathology and blood clotting. ... > full story