ScienceDaily: Top Health News

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• Fluoxetine (a.k.a. Prozac) is effective as an anti-viral, study suggests
• Tumor cells' inner workings predict cancer progression
• Novel therapy may prevent damage to the retina in diabetic eye diseases
• Researchers find link between childhood abuse and age at menarche
• The longer you're awake, the slower you get
• Computers can predict effects of HIV policies, study suggests
• 'Diving board' sensors key to DNA detection
• Standard radiation therapy dose provides pain relief for painful heel spurs (plantar fasciitis)
• Breakthrough treatment reduces post-surgical scarring for glaucoma patients
• The Olympics and bare feet: What have we learned?
• Accelerated resolution therapy significantly reduces PTSD symptoms, researchers report
• Lucid dreamers help scientists locate the seat of meta-consciousness in the brain
• Molecule found that inhibits recovery from stroke
• Shift work linked to increased risk of heart attack and stroke
• Molecular causes for life-threatening fungal infections in case of sepsis unraveled
• Newly discovered scaffold supports turning pain off
• A further step towards preventing diabetes
• Maternal iodine supplementation linked to congenital hypothyroidism in newborns

Fluoxetine (a.k.a. Prozac) is effective as an anti-viral, study suggests Posted: 27 Jul 2012 02:19 PM PDT Using molecular screening of small molecule libraries, a team of researchers has been able to identify fluoxetine (commonly known as Prozac), a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, as a potent inhibitor of coxsackievirus replication.

Tumor cells' inner workings predict cancer progression Posted: 27 Jul 2012 12:40 PM PDT Using a new assay method to study tumor cells, researchers have found evidence of clonal evolution in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). The assay method distinguishes features of leukemia cells that indicate whether the disease will be aggressive or slow-moving, a key factor in when and how patients are treated.

Novel therapy may prevent damage to the retina in diabetic eye diseases Posted: 27 Jul 2012 11:41 AM PDT Targeting a key protein blocks two important pathways related to blood vessel leakage in diabetic retinopathy

Researchers find link between childhood abuse and age at menarche Posted: 27 Jul 2012 09:14 AM PDT Researchers have found an association between childhood physical and sexual abuse and age at menarche.

The longer you're awake, the slower you get Posted: 27 Jul 2012 08:13 AM PDT Regardless of how tired you perceive yourself to be, lack of sleep can influence the way you perform certain tasks.

Computers can predict effects of HIV policies, study suggests Posted: 27 Jul 2012 08:12 AM PDT Policymakers in the fight against HIV/AIDS may have to wait years, even decades, to know whether strategic choices among possible interventions are effective. How can they make informed choices in an age of limited funding? A reliable, well-calibrated, predictive computer simulation could be a great help.

'Diving board' sensors key to DNA detection Posted: 27 Jul 2012 08:11 AM PDT A tiny vibrating cantilever sensor could soon help doctors and field clinicians quickly detect harmful toxins, bacteria and even indicators of certain types of cancer from small samples of blood or urine. Researchers are in the process of refining a sensor technology that they developed to measure samples at the cellular level into an accurate method for quickly detecting traces of DNA in liquid samples.

Standard radiation therapy dose provides pain relief for painful heel spurs (plantar fasciitis) Posted: 27 Jul 2012 07:24 AM PDT Patients with plantar fasciitis (painful bone heel spur) experience significantly less pain and improved quality of life following a standard dose of external beam radiation therapy, a common cancer treatment similar to receiving an X-ray, according to a randomized, cooperative group study.

Breakthrough treatment reduces post-surgical scarring for glaucoma patients Posted: 27 Jul 2012 07:24 AM PDT Scientists have developed an innovative way to combat post-surgical scarring for glaucoma patients. A clinical trial has shown that the use of a new drug delivery method has resulted in 40 percent fewer injections needed by glaucoma patients to prevent scarring after surgery. This also means fewer hospital visits for these patients in future.

The Olympics and bare feet: What have we learned? Posted: 27 Jul 2012 07:24 AM PDT A researcher finds that after Ethiopian Olympic runner Abebe Bikila introduced barefoot running to American in 1960, researchers still don't know if it promotes or prevents injuries. She presents a technique to help people ease into it.

Accelerated resolution therapy significantly reduces PTSD symptoms, researchers report Posted: 27 Jul 2012 07:24 AM PDT Brief treatments with an innovative behavioral treatment known as Accelerated Resolution Therapy substantially reduced symptoms associated with post-traumatic stress disorder including, depression, anxiety, sleep dysfunction and other physical and psychological symptoms, reports an initial study.

Lucid dreamers help scientists locate the seat of meta-consciousness in the brain Posted: 27 Jul 2012 06:55 AM PDT Studies of lucid dreamers show which centers of the brain become active when we become aware of ourselves in dreams. The human capacity of self-perception, self-reflection and consciousness development are among the unsolved mysteries of neuroscience. Now scientists are shedding new light on this area.

Molecule found that inhibits recovery from stroke Posted: 27 Jul 2012 06:55 AM PDT Researchers have identified a novel molecule in the brain that, after stroke, blocks the formation of new connections between neurons. As a result, it limits the brain's recovery. In a mouse model, the researchers showed that blocking this molecule—called ephrin-A5--induces axonal sprouting, that is, the growth of new connections between the brain's neurons, or cells, and as a result promotes functional recovery.

Shift work linked to increased risk of heart attack and stroke Posted: 27 Jul 2012 05:25 AM PDT Shift work is associated with an increased risk of major vascular problems, such as heart attacks and strokes, concludes a new study.

Molecular causes for life-threatening fungal infections in case of sepsis unraveled Posted: 27 Jul 2012 05:25 AM PDT With infectious diseases, it is often not the pathogen itself, but rather an excessive inflammatory immune response (= sepsis) that contributes to the patient's death, for instance as a result of organ damage. On intensive care units, sepsis is the second-most common cause of death worldwide. In patients with a severely compromised immune system specially, life-threatening candida fungal infections represent a high risk of sepsis.

Newly discovered scaffold supports turning pain off Posted: 27 Jul 2012 05:24 AM PDT Scientists have discovered a "scaffolding" protein that holds together multiple elements in a complex system responsible for regulating pain, mental illnesses and other complex neurological problems.

A further step towards preventing diabetes Posted: 26 Jul 2012 07:30 AM PDT Having identified the important role in controlling insulin secretion played by the protein Cx36, a team of scientists have perfected an innovative method which enables testing the effectiveness of thousands of molecules potentially usable in the fight against diabetes.

Maternal iodine supplementation linked to congenital hypothyroidism in newborns Posted: 26 Jul 2012 06:45 AM PDT Congenital hypothyroidism is thyroid hormone deficiency at birth that, if left untreated, can lead to neurocognitive impairments in infants and children. Although the World Health Organization recommends 200-300 µg of iodine daily during pregnancy for normal fetal thyroid hormone production and neurocognitive development, the US Institute of Medicine considers 1,100 µg to be the safe upper limit for daily ingestion. A case series describes three infants who developed congenital hypothyroidism as a result of excess maternal iodine supplementation.

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