Πέμπτη 27 Σεπτεμβρίου 2012

ScienceDaily: Top Health News

ScienceDaily: Top Health News


Leptin may play a role in hearing and vision loss, zebrafish study suggests

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 12:30 PM PDT

Leptin -- commonly dubbed the "fat hormone" -- does more than tell the brain when to eat. A new study shows that leptin may play a role in hearing and vision loss. This discovery, made in zebrafish treated to produce low leptin, could ultimately help doctors better understand sensory loss in humans.

'I'm bored!' -- Research on attention sheds light on the unengaged mind

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 12:30 PM PDT

Boredom is often seen as a trivial and temporary, but it can also be a chronic and pervasive stressor that has significant consequences for health and well-being. Despite this, boredom itself is still poorly understood. A new article explores the mental processes that underlie our feelings of boredom with the aim of creating a precise definition of boredom that can be applied across a variety of theoretical frameworks.

Ready for your close-up? Distance at which facial photos are taken influences perception, study shows

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 12:30 PM PDT

As the saying goes, "A picture is worth a thousand words." Previous studies have examined how our social judgments of pictures of people are influenced by factors such as whether the person is smiling or frowning, but until now one factor has never been investigated: the distance between the photographer and the subject. According to a new study, this turns out to make a difference.

Molecular process in fat cells that influences stress and longevity identified

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 12:29 PM PDT

Scientists have identified a new factor -- microRNA processing in fat tissue -- which plays a major role in aging and stress resistance. This finding may lead to the development of treatments that increase stress resistance and longevity and improve metabolism.

Two categories of multiple sclerosis patients defined

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 11:16 AM PDT

Medical researchers have found a way to distinguish patients with multiple sclerosis into two meaningful subsets.

Researchers determine how inflammatory cells function, setting stage for future remedies

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 10:32 AM PDT

A research team has determined how cells that cause inflammatory ailments, such as Crohn's disease, multiple sclerosis, and arthritis, differentiate from stem cells and ultimately affect the clinical outcome of these diseases.

Skip the cake? Neural processes at work during self-regulation identified

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 10:32 AM PDT

When making healthy choices, we often have to engage in an internal struggle. Now, scientists have identified the neural processes at work during such self-regulation -- and what determines whether you choose chocolate cake or something healthier.

New strategy for battling HIV

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 10:32 AM PDT

New research shows how the HIV virus targets "veterans" or memory T-cells could change how drugs are used to stop the virus.

Exposure to school-age children ups severity of cold infections

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 10:32 AM PDT

Exposure to school-age children raises the odds that a person with lung disease who catches a cold will actually suffer symptoms like a runny nose, sore throat and cough. While many studies have found that being around school-age children increases the risk of infection, the new findings go one step further: Of people who come down with colds, the course of the infection is much more likely to be worse in people exposed to children.

Gut bacteria could could play key role in development of type 2 diabetes

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 10:31 AM PDT

Studying gut bacteria can reveal a range of human illness. Now, new research shows that the composition of a person's intestinal bacteria could play an important role in the development of type 2 diabetes.

Scientists make old muscles young again in attempt to combat aging

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 10:31 AM PDT

An international team of scientists has identified for the first time a key factor responsible for declining muscle repair during aging, and discovered how to halt the process in mice with a common drug. Although an early study, the findings provide clues as to how muscles lose mass with age, which can result in weakness that affects mobility and may cause falls.

Pregnancy generates maternal immune-suppressive cells that protect the fetus

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 10:31 AM PDT

A new study suggests it might be possible to develop vaccines to prevent premature birth and other pregnancy complications. If so, such vaccines would be the first intended to stimulate the subset of regulatory CD4 T cells that suppress the immune response.

Protein structure unlocks one mystery of multi-drug tolerance

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 09:38 AM PDT

The structures of key bacterial proteins have revealed one of the biochemical secrets that enables bacteria to outwit antibiotics.

Pain pill abuse: Research sheds light on potential habit-forming properties of tramadol

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 09:38 AM PDT

A study by a team of University of Kentucky researchers has shed new light on the potential habit-forming properties of the popular pain medication tramadol.

Reducing acrylamide levels in french fries

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 09:38 AM PDT

The process for preparing frozen, par-fried potato strips -- distributed to some food outlets for making french fries -- can influence the formation of acrylamide in the fries that people eat, a new study has found. The study identifies potential ways of reducing levels of acrylamide, which the National Toxicology Program and the International Agency for Research on Cancer regard as a "probable human carcinogen."

More heart patients staying out of hospital thanks to telemonitoring

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 08:27 AM PDT

The use of telemonitoring for cardiac patients is increasing – despite mixed evidence as to how effective it really is.

Melatonin and exercise work against Alzheimer's in mice

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 08:01 AM PDT

The combination of two neuroprotective therapies, voluntary physical exercise, and the daily intake of melatonin has been shown to have a synergistic effect against brain deterioration in rodents with three different mutations of Alzheimer's disease.

Blood test accurately detects early stages of lung, breast cancer in humans

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 07:42 AM PDT

In less than an hour, a new test can detect breast cancer and non-small lung cancer -- the most common type of lung cancer -- before symptoms like coughing and weight loss start. Researchers anticipate testing for the early stages of pancreatic cancer shortly.

Study pinpoints epigenetic function of common cancer-causing protein: It's not what science thought

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 06:46 AM PDT

"This is a potent oncogene whose mechanism we thought we knew. But basically in this paper we demolish the accepted model. DNp63a doesn't work through p53 – it operates through epigenetic silencing of anti-proliferative genes," says the study's senior author, Joaquin M. Espinosa, Ph.D.

Robotic surgery through the mouth safe for removing tumors of the voice box, study shows

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 06:45 AM PDT

Robotic surgery though the mouth is a safe and effective way to remove tumors of the throat and voice box, according to a new study.

Brain parts can evolve independently, shows analysis of brains of 10,000 mice

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 06:45 AM PDT

Scientists have found compelling evidence that parts of the brain can evolve independently from each other. The brains of approximately 10,000 mice were analyzed. Seven individual parts of each brain were measured by volume and weight. The entire genome, except the Y chromosome, was scanned for each animal and the gene set for each brain part identified. The findings promise to significantly advance our understanding of the brain.

Nanotechnology device aims to prevent malaria deaths through rapid diagnosis

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 06:29 AM PDT

A pioneering mobile device using cutting-edge nanotechnology to rapidly detect malaria infection and drug resistance could revolutionize how the disease is diagnosed and treated.

Inner city infants have different patterns of viral respiratory illness than infants in the suburbs

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 06:29 AM PDT

Children living in low-income urban areas appear especially prone to developing asthma, possibly related to infections they acquire early in life. Researchers investigated viral respiratory illnesses and their possible role in the development of asthma in urban versus suburban babies. The differences in viral illness patterns they found provide insights that could help guide the development of new asthma treatments in children.

Using antibodies against immune deficiency

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 06:29 AM PDT

Early, intensive therapy with a biotechnologically produced medication can provide significantly faster pain relief for patients with rheumatic joint inflammation. Damage to joints can also be reduced when the medication is applied right at the beginning of the illness, according to new research.

Severe hunger increases breast cancer risk in war survivors, study suggests

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 06:26 AM PDT

Jewish women who were severely exposed to hunger during World War Two were five times more likely to develop breast cancer than women who were mildly exposed, according to new research

Brain tumours: Artificial stimulation of the immune system could mean less aggressive treatment

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 06:26 AM PDT

Brain metastases are common secondary complications of other types of cancer, particularly lung, breast and skin cancer. The body's own immune response in the brain is rendered powerless in the fight against these metastases by inflammatory reactions. Researchers have now, for the first time, precisely characterized the brain's immune response to infiltrating metastases. This could pave the way to the development of new, less aggressive treatment options.

Learning requires rhythmical activity of neurons

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 06:26 AM PDT

The hippocampus represents an important brain structure for learning. Scientists have discovered how it filters electrical neuronal signals through an input and output control, thus regulating learning and memory processes.

Researchers even closer to early detection of Parkinson's disease

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 06:26 AM PDT

Medical researchers have now elaborated on the discovery of a way to detect Parkinson's disease at an early stage, and applications in clinical care are not far away.

Researchers uncover biochemical chain of events needed to maintain an erection

Posted: 26 Sep 2012 06:17 AM PDT

For two decades, scientists have known the biochemical factors that trigger penile erection, but not what's needed to maintain one. Now new research uncovers the biochemical chain of events involved in that process. The information, say scientists, may lead to new therapies to help men who have erectile dysfunction.

Future health risks for obese children may be greater than previously thought

Posted: 25 Sep 2012 03:36 PM PDT

Being obese as a child or adolescent may have a larger effect on future health than previously thought, suggests a new study.

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