ScienceDaily Health Headlines -- for Saturday, December 31, 2011

ScienceDaily Health Headlines

for Saturday, December 31, 2011

Welcome to another edition of ScienceDaily's email newsletter. You can change your subscription options or unsubscribe at any time.

Alzheimer's: Diet patterns may keep brain from shrinking (December 30, 2011) -- People with diets high in several vitamins or in omega 3 fatty acids are less likely to have the brain shrinkage associated with Alzheimer's disease than people whose diets are not high in those nutrients, according to a new study. ... > full story

New synthetic molecules treat autoimmune disease in mice (December 30, 2011) -- A team of scientists has turned the tables on an autoimmune disease. In such diseases, including Crohn's and rheumatoid arthritis, the immune system mistakenly attacks the body's tissues. But the scientists managed to trick the immune systems of mice into targeting one of the body's players in autoimmune processes, an enzyme known as MMP9. ... > full story

Targeted therapy extends progression-free survival of patients with advanced ovarian cancer (December 30, 2011) -- Targeted drugs, which block or disrupt particular molecules involved in the growth of tumors, have been shown to be effective treatments against many types of cancer. A new Phase 3 clinical trial has shown that a targeted therapy called bevacizumab (Avastin) effectively delayed the progression of advanced ovarian cancer. Patients with newly diagnosed advanced ovarian cancer now typically undergo surgery and chemotherapy, but the new research suggests an additional avenue of treatment. ... > full story

Children don't give words special power to categorize their world (December 30, 2011) -- New research challenges the conventional thinking that young children use language just as adults do to help classify and understand objects in the world around them. In a new study involving 4- to 5-year-old children, researchers found that the labels adults use to classify items -- words like "dog" or "pencil" -- don't have the same ability to influence the thinking of children. ... > full story

Brain cell malfunction in schizophrenia identified (December 29, 2011) -- Scientists have discovered that DNA stays too tightly wound in certain brain cells of schizophrenic subjects. The findings suggest that drugs already in development for other diseases might eventually offer hope as a treatment for schizophrenia and related conditions in the elderly. ... > full story

Scientists map susceptibility to type 2 diabetes (December 29, 2011) -- New research has provided the first proof of molecular risk factors leading to type 2 diabetes, providing an “early warning” sign that could lead to new approaches to treating this and other human disease conditions. ... > full story

Using MP3 players at high volume puts teens at risk for early hearing loss, say researchers (December 29, 2011) -- Today's ubiquitous MP3 players permit users to listen to crystal-clear tunes at high volume for hours on end -- a marked improvement on the days of the Walkman. But according to new research, these advances have also turned personal listening devices into a serious health hazard, with teenagers as the most at-risk group. ... > full story

Oxidative DNA damage repair (December 28, 2011) -- Oxidative stress damages DNA. Researchers have now decoded the mechanism that repairs DNA damaged in this way. This repair mechanism could lead to less invasive approaches in cancer therapy and contribute to the development of new tests for the early diagnosis of cancer. ... > full story

Mutation in gene that's critical for human development linked to arrhythmia (December 28, 2011) -- The biologic and genetic mechanisms controlling the formation and function of the cardiac conduction system (CCS) are not well understood, but new research with mice shows that altered function of a gene called Tbx3 interferes with the development of the CCS and causes lethal arrhythmias. ... > full story

Childhood hypersensitivity linked to OCD (December 28, 2011) -- Medical researchers have established a direct correlation between sensory processing and ritualistic behaviors in children. A new study suggests that when children experience heightened levels of sensitivity, they develop ritualistic behaviors to better cope with their environment -- one potential pathway to OCD. ... > full story

Less invasive anesthetic methods better for endovascular aneurysm repair (December 27, 2011) -- Researchers have identified a safer, more cost effective way to provide anesthesia for patients undergoing endovascular repair of an abdominal aortic aneurysm -- a common, often asymptomatic condition that, if not found and treated, can be deadly. ... > full story

Keeping our beaches safe from fecal contamination (December 27, 2011) -- Fecal contamination of public beaches caused by sewage overflow is both dangerous for swimmers and costly for state and local economies. Current methods to detect Escherichia coli, a bacterium highly indicative of the presence of fecal matter in water, typically require 24-48 hours to produce a result. A new, accurate, and economical sensor-based device capable of measuring E. coli levels in water samples in less than 1-8 hours could serve as a valuable early warning tool. ... > full story