ScienceDaily Health Headlines -- for Thursday, January 12, 2012

ScienceDaily Health Headlines

for Thursday, January 12, 2012

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Disruption of biological clocks can lead to neurodegeneration, early death, study suggests (January 12, 2012) -- New research provides evidence for the first time that disruption of circadian rhythms -- the biological "clocks" found in many animals -- can clearly cause accelerated neurodegeneration, loss of motor function and premature death. ... > full story

Less blood needed post-surgery, new study suggests (January 12, 2012) -- Patients need less blood after surgery than is widely thought. A new study comparing two plans for giving blood transfusions following surgery showed no ill effects from postponing transfusion until patients develop signs of anemia or their hemoglobin concentration falls below 8 g/dL. ... > full story

Biochemical signature predicts progression to Alzheimer's disease (January 12, 2012) -- New research from Finland suggests that Alzheimer's disease is preceded by a molecular signature indicative of hypoxia and up-regulated pentose phosphate pathway. This indicator can be analyzed as a simple biochemical assay from a serum sample months or even years before the first symptoms of the disease occur. In a healthcare setting, the application of such an assay could therefore complement the neurocognitive assessment by the medical doctor and could be applied to identify the at-risk patients in need of further comprehensive follow-up. ... > full story

Asthma rates double for World Trade Center first responders (January 12, 2012) -- A recent study has revealed that World Trade Center responders suffer from asthma at more than twice the rate of the general U.S. population, presumably as a result of their exposure to the toxic dust from the collapse of the WTC towers in 2001. ... > full story

Link between autoimmune diseases and wounds that don't heal examined (January 12, 2012) -- Millions of Americans suffer from wounds that don't heal, and while most are typically associated with diabetes, new research has identified another possible underlying cause – autoimmune diseases. The finding represents an unappreciated link that could lead to important new insights in wound healing, say researchers. ... > full story

Insulin signaling is distorted in pancreases of Type 2 diabetics (January 12, 2012) -- Altered insulin signaling, observed for the first time in the pancreases of human Type 2 diabetics, impairs the cells that produce insulin. ... > full story

Lower risk of death linked with access to key attributes of primary care (January 12, 2012) -- Greater access to features of high-quality primary care -- comprehensiveness, patient-centeredness and extended office hours -- is associated with lower mortality, according to a new national U.S. study. ... > full story

New hope for better treatment of psoriasis (January 11, 2012) -- Researchers are developing a promising new treatment for psoriasis. The study focuses on the psoriasin protein. ... > full story

Increased risk of developing asthma by age of three after Cesarean (January 11, 2012) -- A new study supports previous findings that children delivered by Cesarean section have an increased risk of developing asthma. ... > full story

Touching a nerve: How every hair in skin feels touch and how it all gets to the brain (January 11, 2012) -- Neuroscientists have discovered how the sense of touch is wired in the skin and nervous system. The new findings open new doors for understanding how the brain collects and processes information from hairy skin. ... > full story

Bacteria in the gut of autistic children different from non-autistic children (January 11, 2012) -- The underlying reason autism is often associated with gastrointestinal problems is an unknown, but new results reveal that the guts of autistic children differ from other children in at least one important way: many children with autism harbor a type of bacteria in their guts that non-autistic children do not. ... > full story

Protein complex plays role in suppressing pancreatic tumors (January 11, 2012) -- A well-known protein complex responsible for controlling how DNA is expressed plays a previously unsuspected role in preventing pancreatic cancer, according to researchers. ... > full story

Is there a dark side to moving in sync? (January 11, 2012) -- Moving in harmony can make people feel more connected to one another and, as a result, lead to positive collective action. Think of those feel-good vibes created in a yoga class as students move in unison through their downward-facing dogs. Yet given that synchronized physical activities are also a cornerstone of military training and are the highlights of military propaganda reels, could the interconnectedness created by coordinated action be mined to make people behave destructively instead? Two new studies find aligned action does not always lead to the common good. ... > full story

Omega-3 fatty acids could prevent and treat nerve damage, research suggests (January 11, 2012) -- Omega-3 fatty acids, which are found in fish oil, have the potential to protect nerves from injury and help them to regenerate, new research suggests. ... > full story

Gut microbe networks differ from norm in obese people, systems biology approach reveals (January 11, 2012) -- People harbor more than 100 trillion microbes. These microbes live in various habitats on and within the human anatomy; the gut houses the densest population of all, containing hundreds of bacterial species. Scientists detected organizational shifts away from the normal lean state in the gut flora of people who were obese. The differences relate to how the microbial community interacts with the human gut environment, rather than variations in its core energy-use processes. ... > full story

Lab-made tissue picks up the slack of Petri dishes in cancer research (January 11, 2012) -- New research, using oral cancer cells in a three-dimensional model of lab-made tissue, demonstrates that previous models used to examine cancer may not be complex enough to accurately mimic the true cancer environment. ... > full story

'Tiger mothers' should tame parenting approach, expert says (January 11, 2012) -- A new study is refuting the "tiger mother" approach to parenting that pushes children to excel at all costs. ... > full story

Parkinson's treatment shows positive results in clinical testing (January 11, 2012) -- Deep brain stimulation -- also known as DBS -- is effective at improving motor symptoms and quality of life in patients with advanced Parkinson's disease, according to new research. ... > full story

Mosquito immune system engineered to block malaria (January 11, 2012) -- Researchers have demonstrated for the first time that the Anopheles mosquito’s innate immune system could be genetically engineered to block the transmission of the malaria-causing parasite to humans. In addition, they showed that the genetic modification had little impact on the mosquito’s fitness under laboratory conditions. ... > full story

New model for epidemic contagion (January 11, 2012) -- Humans are considered the hosts for spreading epidemics. The speed at which an epidemic spreads is now better understood thanks to a new model accounting for the provincial nature of human mobility, according to a new study. ... > full story

Global study sheds light on role of exercise, cars and televisions on the risk of heart attacks (January 11, 2012) -- A worldwide study has shown that physical activity during work and leisure time significantly lowers the risk of heart attacks in both developed and developing countries. Ownership of a car and a television was linked to an increased risk of heart attacks, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. ... > full story

Pill some day may prevent serious foodborne illness, scientist says (January 11, 2012) -- Modified probiotics, the beneficial bacteria touted for their role in digestive health, could one day decrease the risk of Listeria infection in people with susceptible immune systems, according to new research. ... > full story

HIV drug reduces graft-versus-host disease in stem cell transplant patients (January 11, 2012) -- An HIV drug that redirects immune cell traffic appears to significantly reduce the dangerous complication graft-versus-host disease in blood cancer patients following allogeneic stem cell transplantation, according to new research. ... > full story

Student team's glucose sensor uses DNA instead of chemicals (January 11, 2012) -- People with diabetes may one day have a less expensive resource for monitoring their blood glucose levels, if research by a group of students becomes reality. ... > full story

New light shed on how children learn to speak (January 11, 2012) -- Researchers have discovered that children under the age of two control speech using a different strategy than previously thought. ... > full story

Marijuana smoke not as damaging to lungs as cigarette smoke, study suggests (January 11, 2012) -- Using marijuana carries legal risks, but the consequences of occasionally lighting up do not include long-term loss of lung function, according to a new study. In the study in which participants had repeated measurements of lung function over 20 years, occasional and low cumulative marijuana use was not associated with adverse effects on pulmonary function. ... > full story

Patterns of connections reveal brain functions (January 11, 2012) -- Neuroscientists have identified face-recognition areas based on what parts of the brain they link to. ... > full story

Cholesterol-lowering medication accelerates depletion of plaque in arteries (January 11, 2012) -- Researchers have discovered how cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins promote the breakdown of plaque in the arteries. ... > full story

Scientists characterize protein essential to survival of malaria parasite (January 11, 2012) -- A biology lab has successfully cracked the structure of an enzyme made by Plasmodium falciparum, the parasitical protozoan that causes the most lethal form of malaria. Plasmodium cannot live without the enzyme, which is uses to make cell membrane. Because people don't make this enzyme, it is an ideal target for an anti-malarial drug. Such a drug might kill Plasmodium but have minimal side effects for people. ... > full story

Language may be dominant social marker for young children (January 11, 2012) -- Children's reasoning about language and race can take unexpected turns, according to researchers, who found that for younger white children in particular, language can loom larger than race in defining a person's identity. ... > full story

New research may lead to a whole new class of vaccines (January 11, 2012) -- New research may lead to a whole new class of vaccines. Scientists have discovered new properties of a potential vaccine adjuvant that suggest it could be useful for enhancing protection against a number of different infections. ... > full story

Breaking oncogene's hold on cancer cell provides new treatment direction (January 11, 2012) -- Just as people's bodies and minds can become addicted to substances their cancers can become addicted to certain genes that insure their continued growth and dominance. Researchers have now developed ways to exploit the addictions of cancers to kill them without harming normal tissues. ... > full story

World Trade Center responders: PTSD and respiratory illness linked (January 11, 2012) -- More than 10 years after 9/11, when thousands of rescue and recovery workers descended on the area surrounding the World Trade Center in the wake of the terrorist attacks, a research team has published results of a study examining the relationship between the two signature health problems among WTC first responders—respiratory illness and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). ... > full story

Kindergarten friendships matter, especially for boys (January 11, 2012) -- High-quality friendships in kindergarten may mean that boys will have fewer behavior problems and better social skills in first and third grades, according to an expert in human development. ... > full story

New research suggests superior drug combo for difficult-to-control epilepsy (January 11, 2012) -- About one-third of Americans with epilepsy do not have good seizure control. Researchers now have dispelled the myth that all drug treatments are equally ineffective for such patients. By examining 30 years of patient records at two Washington state institutions for the developmentally disabled, researchers found a combination of two common drugs, lamotrigine and valproate, reduced seizure frequency by half, on average, compared to 32 other drug combinations. Adding a third drug provided no additional benefit. ... > full story

Nipping metastases in the bud (January 11, 2012) -- The proliferation of metastases is often the main cause of complications and death from cancer. Scientists have now been able to isolate a protein that plays a major role in metastasis development, and showed that the formation of secondary cancers could be prevented by blocking this protein. ... > full story

Endurance exercise linked to damage in right ventricle of heart (January 11, 2012) -- Researchers have found the first evidence that some athletes who take part in extreme endurance exercise such as marathons, endurance triathlons, alpine cycling or ultra triathlons may incur damage to the right ventricles of their hearts – one of the four chambers in the heart involved in pumping blood around the body. ... > full story

Stem cell research in the UK reaches significant milestone (January 11, 2012) -- Stem cell scientists have submitted to the UK Stem Cell Bank their first clinical grade human embryonic stem cell lines that are free from animal-derived products, known as 'xeno-free' stem cells. ... > full story

'Google Flu Trends' is a powerful early warning system for emergency departments (January 11, 2012) -- Monitoring Internet search traffic about influenza may prove to be a better way for hospital emergency rooms to prepare for a surge in sick patients compared to waiting for outdated government flu case reports. ... > full story

Steroids increase viability of preemies as young as 22 weeks, study suggests (January 10, 2012) -- Giving antenatal corticosteroids in extremely preterm infants -- those born between 22 and 25 weeks gestation and weighing less than two pounds -- is associated with significant reductions in death and long-term complications such as neurodevelopmental impairments, including cerebral palsy, poor motor skills and lower intelligence. ... > full story

Novel anti-viral immune pathway discovered in mosquito (January 10, 2012) -- Virginia Tech researchers have identified a novel anti-viral pathway in the immune system of culicine mosquitoes, the insect family to which mosquitoes that spread yellow fever, West Nile fever, dengue fever, and chikungunya fever belong. ... > full story

Parkinson's disease risk greater in those exposed to common chemical, trichloroethylene, study shows (January 10, 2012) -- A new study demonstrates a connection between a common solvent chemical and Parkinson's disease. The study looked at a cohort of human twins wherein one twin had been occupationally exposed to trichloroethylene (TCE) and other chemicals believed to be linked to development of Parkinson's. ... > full story

Fusion plasma research helps neurologists to hear above the noise (January 10, 2012) -- Fusion plasma researchers and neuroscientists are significantly improving our understanding of the data obtained from noninvasive study of the fast dynamics of networks in the human brain. ... > full story

Acupuncture reduces protein linked to stress in first of its kind animal study (January 10, 2012) -- Acupuncture significantly reduces levels of a protein in rats linked to chronic stress, researchers have found. They say their animal study may help explain the sense of well-being that many people receive from this ancient Chinese therapy. ... > full story

Stem cell therapy reverses diabetes: Stem cells from cord blood used to re-educate diabetic's own T cells (January 10, 2012) -- Type 1 diabetes is caused by the body's own immune system attacking its pancreatic islet beta cells and requires daily injections of insulin to regulate the patient's blood glucose levels. A new method uses stem cells from cord blood to re-educate a diabetic's own T cells and consequently restart pancreatic function reducing the need for insulin. ... > full story

Unexpected discovery opens up new opportunities for targeting cancer (January 10, 2012) -- Scientists have opened up a whole new approach to the therapeutic intervention for a family of anti-cancer drug targets, thanks to a completely new and unexpected finding. ... > full story

Diabetes study shines spotlight on lifestyle interventions (January 10, 2012) -- A new study assesses real-world lifestyle interventions to help delay or prevent the costly chronic disease that affects nearly 26 million Americans. ... > full story

Who's wealthy? Beyond net worth, asset and debt levels change our perceptions (January 10, 2012) -- Will borrowing money to buy a new car make you feel richer? It depends on your net worth, says a new study. "People's perceptions of wealth vary not only as a function of their net worth, but also of the amount of assets and debt they have," says a psychology graduate student. ... > full story