ScienceDaily Health Headlines -- for Wednesday, March 14, 2012

ScienceDaily Health Headlines

for Wednesday, March 14, 2012

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Scientists produce eye structures from human blood-derived stem cells (March 13, 2012) -- For the first time, scientists have made early retina structures containing proliferating neuroretinal progenitor cells using induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells derived from human blood. ... > full story

Reduced baby risk from another Cesarean (March 13, 2012) -- A major study has found that women who have had one prior cesarean can lower the risk of death and serious complications for their next baby -- and themselves -- by electing to have another cesarean. ... > full story

Simple, low-cost yoga program can enhance coping and quality of life for the caregivers (March 13, 2012) -- For dementia caregivers, researchers have found that engaging in a brief, 12-minute yogic practice that included an ancient chanting meditation, can lead to improved cognitive functioning, and lower levels of depression for caregivers. ... > full story

Children at risk for schizophrenia show disordered brain networks (March 13, 2012) -- Neuroscientists have discovered stark developmental differences in brain network function in children of parents with schizophrenia when compared to those with no family history of mental illness. ... > full story

Multiple sclerosis study documents negative effect of warmer weather on cognition (March 13, 2012) -- Scientists have shown that outdoor temperature significantly impacts cognitive functioning in multiple sclerosis (MS). In cross-sectional and longitudinal samples, patients performed worse on processing speed and memory tasks during warmer outdoor temperatures. Previous research documented increased disease activity during warmer months; this study is the first to show that cognition also fluctuates. This is the first study to support the subjective impression of patients with MS that warm weather negatively affects their cognition. ... > full story

Gene known to protect against cancer can also promote tumor growth (March 13, 2012) -- Can a gene simultaneously protect against cancer and favor its growth? Researchers have discovered a gene with this double-edged property and suspect there may be many more that share it. ... > full story

Botox injections now used for severe urinary incontinence (March 13, 2012) -- When you think of Botox injections, you probably think of getting rid of unwanted wrinkles around the eyes or forehead, but recently the FDA approved using the injections to help patients with neurological conditions who suffer from incontinence, or an overactive bladder. ... > full story

More trans fat consumption linked to greater aggression, researchers find (March 13, 2012) -- Researchers have shown -- by each of a range of measures, in men and women of all ages, in Caucasians and minorities -- that consumption of dietary trans fatty acids is associated with irritability and aggression. ... > full story

Get me out of this slump: Visual illusions improve sports performance (March 13, 2012) -- With the NCAA men's college basketball tournament set to begin, college basketball fans around the United States are in the throes of March Madness. Anyone who has seen a game knows that the fans are like extra players on the court, and this is especially true during critical free throws. Fans of the opposing team will wave anything they can, from giant inflatable noodles to big heads, to make it difficult for players to focus on the basket. ... > full story

Scientists tap the cognitive genius of tots to make computers smarter (March 13, 2012) -- People often wonder if computers make children smarter. Scientists are now asking the reverse question: Can children make computers smarter? It appears so. ... > full story

Microbubbles and ultrasound help penetrate blood-brain barrier (March 13, 2012) -- One of the trickiest parts of treating brain conditions is the blood-brain barrier, a blockade of cells that prevent both harmful toxins and helpful pharmaceuticals from getting to the body's control center. But, a new technique uses an MRI machine to guide the use of microbubbles and focused ultrasound to help drugs enter the brain, which may open new treatment avenues for devastating conditions like Alzheimer's and brain cancers. ... > full story

Research shows 50 years of motherhood manuals set standards too high for new moms (March 13, 2012) -- New research into 50 years of motherhood manuals has revealed how despite their differences they have always issued advice as orders and set unattainably high standards for new moms and babies. ... > full story

Potential drug for speeding up cellular recycling (March 13, 2012) -- Cell biologists have identified a potential drug that speeds up trash removal from the cell's recycling center, the lysosome. ... > full story

Body clocks may hold key for treatment of bipolar disorder (March 13, 2012) -- Scientists have gained insight into why lithium salts are effective at treating bipolar disorder in what could lead to more targeted therapies with fewer side-effects. ... > full story

Research aims for better diagnosis of language impairments (March 13, 2012) -- Recent studies aim at finding better ways to diagnose young children with language impairments. The work could lead to better treatments for individual children with communication disorders. ... > full story

Just 60 seconds of combat can impair memory, finds study of police officers (March 13, 2012) -- Just 60 seconds of all-out physical exertion in a threatening situation can seriously damage the memories of those involved for many details of the incident, according to a new study of police officers.   ... > full story

Red meat consumption linked to increased risk of total, cardiovascular, and cancer mortality (March 12, 2012) -- A new study has found that red meat consumption is associated with an increased risk of total, cardiovascular, and cancer mortality. ... > full story

Sugar-sweetened drinks linked to increased risk of heart disease in men, study suggests (March 12, 2012) -- Men who drank one sugar-sweetened beverage a day had a 20 percent higher risk of heart disease compared to men who did not drink any sugar-sweetened drinks. Daily sugar-sweetened drink consumption was also linked to higher levels of harmful lipids in the blood and inflammation. Artificially sweetened beverages did not increase heart-disease risk in this study. ... > full story

How the human body controls viruses thought to cause a variety of cancers (March 12, 2012) -- New research addresses how the human body controls gamma-herpesviruses, a class of viruses thought to cause a variety of cancers. ... > full story

Tweens just say 'maybe' to cigarettes and alcohol (March 12, 2012) -- When it comes to prevention of substance use in our tween population, turning our kids on to thought control may just be the answer to getting them to say no. ... > full story

Correcting human mitochondrial mutations (March 12, 2012) -- Researchers have identified, for the first time, a generic way to correct mutations in human mitochondrial DNA by targeting corrective RNAs, a finding with implications for treating a host of mitochondrial diseases. ... > full story

Scientists identify more than 500 genes that may cause pancreatic cancer (March 12, 2012) -- Scientists have identified more than 500 genes that may cause or contribute to the development of pancreatic cancer. This particularly deadly disease has a 1-in-20 survival rate after five years, largely because no effective genetic screening method exists for early detection. ... > full story

New study examines stair-related injuries among children in the US (March 12, 2012) -- A new study found that from 1999 through 2008, more than 93,000 children younger than five years of age were treated in US emergency departments for stair-related injuries. On average, this equates to a child younger than five years of age being rushed to an emergency department for a stair-related injury every six minutes in the US. ... > full story

Narcissism impairs ethical judgment even among the highly religious, study finds (March 12, 2012) -- Although high levels of narcissism can impair ethical judgment regardless of one's religious orientation or orthodox beliefs, narcissism is more harmful in those who might be expected to be more ethical, according to a new study. ... > full story

Epstein Barr-like virus infects and may cause cancer in dogs (March 12, 2012) -- Best known for causing mononucleosis, or "the kissing disease," the Epstein Barr virus has also been implicated in more serious conditions, including Hodgkin's, non-Hodgkin's and Burkitt's lymphomas. Now a team of researchers has the first evidence that an Epstein Barr-like virus can infect and may also be responsible for causing lymphomas in man's best friend. ... > full story

Spring break ritual could lead to brain damage (March 12, 2012) -- Every year, thousands of teens and young adults celebrate Spring Break by binge drinking large amounts of alcohol, a dangerous right-of-passage and one linked to possible brain damage later as adults. ... > full story

Delay in surgery can cause irreparable meniscus tears in children with ACL injuries (March 12, 2012) -- For children aged 14 and under, delaying reconstructive surgery for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries may raise their risk of further injury. If surgery occurs later than 12 weeks after the injury, the injury may even be irreparable. ... > full story

Pockets of high cervical cancer rates found in North Carolina, U.S. (March 12, 2012) -- A study of cervical cancer incidence and mortality in North Carolina has revealed areas where rates are unusually high. ... > full story

'Two steps' ahead in cystic fibrosis research (March 12, 2012) -- Restoring normal function to the mutant gene product responsible for cystic fibrosis (CF) requires correcting two distinct structural defects, according to new research. This finding could point to more effective therapeutic strategies for CF in the future. ... > full story

Beliefs about genes, God, can change health communication strategies (March 12, 2012) -- Beliefs about nature and nurture can affect how patients and their families respond to news about their diagnosis, according to health communication researchers. ... > full story

Growing market for human organs exploits poor (March 12, 2012) -- An anthropologist who spent more than a year infiltrating the black market for human kidneys has published the first in-depth study describing the often horrific experiences of poor people who were victims of organ trafficking. ... > full story

Potential role of parents' work exposures in autism risk examined: Possible link between some work exposures and risk for offspring (March 12, 2012) -- Could parental exposure to solvents at work be linked to autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in their children? According to an exploratory study, such exposures could play a role, but more research would be needed to confirm an association. ... > full story

Circumcision may help protect against prostate cancer (March 12, 2012) -- A new analysis has found that circumcision before a male's first sexual intercourse may help protect against prostate cancer. The study suggests that circumcision can hinder infection and inflammation that may lead to this malignancy. ... > full story

Powerful treatment provides effective relief for urinary incontinence, study suggests (March 12, 2012) -- The biggest study into the treatment of urinary incontinence with botulinum toxin (trade name Botox) has demonstrated that it is effective in treating overactive bladder (OAB) - a debilitating common condition which can affect up to 20% of people over the age of 40. ... > full story

World's tallest man stops growing (March 12, 2012) -- The world’s tallest man appears to have stopped growing following treatment at the University of Virginia Medical Center, earning the medical center a mention in the 2012 Guinness World Records. ... > full story

Mechanism in cells that leads to inflammatory diseases discovered (March 12, 2012) -- Researchers have unlocked the mystery of how an inflammatory molecule is produced in the body, a discovery they say could lead to advances in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, Type 2 diabetes and numerous other chronic diseases that affect tens of millions of people. ... > full story

Reducing academic pressure may help children succeed (March 12, 2012) -- Children may perform better in school and feel more confident about themselves if they are told that failure is a normal part of learning, rather than being pressured to succeed at all costs, according to new research. ... > full story

Sending out an SOS: How telomeres incriminate cells that can't divide (March 12, 2012) -- The well-being of living cells requires specialized squads of proteins that maintain order. Degraders chew up worn-out proteins, recyclers wrap up damaged organelles, and-most importantly-DNA repair crews restitch anything that resembles a broken chromosome. If repair is impossible, the crew foreman calls in executioners to annihilate a cell. As unsavory as this last bunch sounds, failure to summon them is one aspect of what makes a cancer cell a cancer cell. ... > full story

Promising new drug target for kidney disease (March 12, 2012) -- Researchers have identified a regulator protein that plays a crucial role in kidney fibrosis, a condition that leads to kidney failure. Finding this regulator provides a new therapeutic target for the millions of Americans affected by kidney failure. ... > full story

Protein discovery could switch off cardiovascular disease (March 12, 2012) -- Scientists have discovered a protein inside blood vessels with an ability to protect the body from substances which cause cardiovascular disease. ... > full story

Antidepressant shows promise as cancer treatment (March 12, 2012) -- An antidepressant combined with a drug derived from vitamin A could be used to treat a common adult form of leukemia, suggests laboratory research. ... > full story

New approach to treating type 1 diabetes? Transforming gut cells into insulin factories (March 11, 2012) -- A new study suggests that cells in the patient’s intestine could be coaxed into making insulin, circumventing the need for a stem cell transplant. Until now, stem cell transplants have been seen by many researchers as the ideal way to replace cells lost in type I diabetes and to free patients from insulin injections. ... > full story

New transplant method may allow kidney recipients to live life free of anti-rejection medication (March 11, 2012) -- New ongoing research suggests organ transplant recipients may not require anti-rejection medication in the future thanks to the power of stem cells, which may prove to be able to be manipulated in mismatched kidney donor and recipient pairs to allow for successful transplantation without immunosuppressive drugs. A new clinical trial is set to study the use of donor stem cell infusions that have been specially engineered to "trick" the recipients' immune system into thinking the donated organ is part of the patient's natural self, thus gradually eliminating or reducing the need for anti-rejection medication. ... > full story

In recognizing faces, the whole is not greater than the sum of its parts (March 9, 2012) -- How do we recognize a face? To date, most research has answered "holistically": We look at all the features -- eyes, nose, mouth -- simultaneously and, perceiving the relationships among them, gain an advantage over taking in each feature individually. Now a new study overturns this theory. ... > full story

Nanotube technology leading to new era of fast, lower-cost medical diagnostics (March 9, 2012) -- Researchers have tapped into the extraordinary power of carbon "nanotubes" to increase the speed of biological sensors, a technology that might one day allow a doctor to routinely perform lab tests in minutes, speeding diagnosis and treatment while reducing costs. The new findings have almost tripled the speed of prototype nano-biosensors, and should find applications not only in medicine but in toxicology, environmental monitoring, new drug development and other fields. ... > full story

Scientists claim brain memory code cracked (March 9, 2012) -- Despite a century of research, memory encoding in the brain has remained mysterious. Neuronal synaptic connection strengths are involved, but synaptic components are short-lived while memories last lifetimes. This suggests synaptic information is encoded and hard-wired at a deeper, finer-grained molecular scale. ... > full story

Revisiting LSD as a treatment for alcoholism (March 8, 2012) -- Several decades ago, a number of clinics used LSD to treat alcoholism with some success. But until now, no research has pulled together the results of these trials to document exactly how effective LSD was. Now a new meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials of the drug provides evidence for a clear and consistent beneficial effect of LSD for treating alcohol dependency. ... > full story

Promising new drug could help patients battling deadly and difficult to treat form of melanoma (March 8, 2012) -- Researchers say they may have discovered a new drug for the treatment of metastatic melanoma, one that uses the patient’s own tumor cells to customize the therapy. ... > full story