ScienceDaily: Top Health News

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• Electronic nose could be used to detect sleep apnea
• Heart attack victims in rich, white neighborhoods twice as likely to get CPR than people who collapse in poor, black neighborhoods
• Older people guess weights less accurately than younger people
• Area of the brain that processes empathy identified
• Nearly 80 million Americans won't need vitamin D supplements under new guidelines
• Moderate drinking decreases number of new brain cells
• Video game with biofeedback teaches children to curb their anger
• Plants provide accurate low-cost alternative for diagnosis of West Nile Virus
• New target for cancer research uncovered
• Timing is everything: Hormone use may reduce or increase Alzheimer's disease risk in women
• Pigs may look healthy but can test positive for flu at fairs
• Self-affirmation enhances performance, makes us receptive to our mistakes
• Challenging Parkinson's dogma: Dopamine may not be the only key player in this tragic neurodegenerative disease
• Is obesity irreversible? Timing is key in weight loss
• Research findings breathe new life into lung disease
• Scientists target bacterial transfer of resistance genes
• A sense of control, even if illusory, eliminates emotion-driven distortions of time
• Brain waves reveal video game aptitude
• Gene linked to inflammation in the aorta may contribute to abdominal aortic aneurysm
• Survival of U.S. Affordable Care Act assessed in new commentaries
• Parkinson's breakthough could slow disease progression
• New gene therapy method tested in human cells ... and it works, researchers report
• Genome analysis of pancreas tumors reveals new pathway
• 'Grassroots' neurons wire and fire together for dominance in the brain
• Chewing betel quid exposes half a billion people to direct carcinogens
• Two-drug synergy may treat drug-resistant chronic myeloid leukemia
• Risk factors in hospital readmissions among general surgery patients identified in study
• Hot flashes can come back after SSRI
• Brainwave training boosts network for cognitive control and affects mind-wandering
• Hypnosis helps hot flashes, study suggests
• Pica: Unearthing a hidden dietary behavior
• Herbal and dietary supplements can adversely affect prescribed drugs, says extensive review
• Mouse model exposes a new type of T cell to target melanoma
• An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth: Majority of vendettas originate within a group
• Lactation protein suppresses tumors and metastasis in breast cancer
• New insight on managing fungal meningitis
• New clinical practice guidelines for overactive bladder, urodynamics, hematuria, and vasectomy
• Partial sleep deprivation linked to obesity
• Flame retardant 'Firemaster 550' is an endocrine disruptor, study finds
• Two commonly used anesthetics produce different metabolic patterns in children's unconscious brains
• Gene polymorphisms identified that are responsible for breast density and cancer risk

Electronic nose could be used to detect sleep apnea Posted: 24 Oct 2012 05:48 PM PDT An electronic nose, used to detect the presence of molecules in the breath of a patient, could be used to diagnose obstructive sleep apnea.

Heart attack victims in rich, white neighborhoods twice as likely to get CPR than people who collapse in poor, black neighborhoods Posted: 24 Oct 2012 02:55 PM PDT In the first study of its kind, researchers have found that those who suffer cardiac arrests in upper income, white neighborhoods are nearly twice as likely to get cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) than people who collapse in low-income, black neighborhoods.

Older people guess weights less accurately than younger people Posted: 24 Oct 2012 02:53 PM PDT As we grow older, we are less capable of correctly estimating differences in the weights of objects we lift, according to a new study.

Area of the brain that processes empathy identified Posted: 24 Oct 2012 02:52 PM PDT Study provides the first evidence suggesting that the empathy deficits in patients with brain damage to the anterior insular cortex are surprisingly similar to the empathy deficits found in several psychiatric diseases, including autism spectrum disorders, borderline personality disorder, schizophrenia, and conduct disorders, suggesting potentially common neural deficits in those psychiatric populations.

Nearly 80 million Americans won't need vitamin D supplements under new guidelines Posted: 24 Oct 2012 02:52 PM PDT Nearly 80 million Americans would no longer need to take vitamin D supplements under new Institute of Medicine guidelines, according to a new study.

Moderate drinking decreases number of new brain cells Posted: 24 Oct 2012 01:47 PM PDT Moderate to binge drinking significantly reduces the structural integrity of the adult brain. The new research indicates that daily drinking decreases nerve cell development in the hippocampus part of the brain -- necessary for some type of learning and memory -- by 40 percent.

Video game with biofeedback teaches children to curb their anger Posted: 24 Oct 2012 01:47 PM PDT Children with serious anger problems can be helped by a video game that hones their ability to regulate their emotions, finds a new study. Noticing that children with anger control problems are often uninterested in psychotherapy, but eager to play video games, researchers developed "RAGE Control" to motivate children to practice emotional control skills.

Plants provide accurate low-cost alternative for diagnosis of West Nile Virus Posted: 24 Oct 2012 01:47 PM PDT Biologists have developed a new method of testing for West Nile, using plants to produce biological reagents for detection and diagnosis.

New target for cancer research uncovered Posted: 24 Oct 2012 01:47 PM PDT Scientists have detailed a new target for anti-cancer drug development that is sitting at the ends of our DNA. Researchers found a patch of amino acids that, if blocked by a drug docked onto the chromosome end at this location, may prevent cancerous cells from reproducing. The amino acids at this site are called the "TEL patch" and once modified, the end of the chromosome is unable to recruit the telomerase enzyme, which is necessary for growth of many cancerous cells.

Timing is everything: Hormone use may reduce or increase Alzheimer's disease risk in women Posted: 24 Oct 2012 01:47 PM PDT A new study suggests that women who begin taking hormone therapy within five years of menopause may reduce their risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.

Pigs may look healthy but can test positive for flu at fairs Posted: 24 Oct 2012 01:46 PM PDT More than 80 percent of pigs that tested positive for influenza A virus at Ohio county fairs between 2009 and 2011 showed no signs of illness in a new study. A second study showed a 99+ percent genetic similarity among human and pig flu viruses from 2012, indicating interspecies transmission.

Self-affirmation enhances performance, makes us receptive to our mistakes Posted: 24 Oct 2012 12:08 PM PDT From the mistakes we make at work or school to our blunders in romantic relationships, we are constantly reminded of how we could be better. By focusing on the important qualities that make us who we are -- a process called self-affirmation -- we preserve our self-worth in the face of our shortcomings. New research explores the neurophysiological reactions that could explain how self-affirmation helps us deal with threats to our self-integrity.

Challenging Parkinson's dogma: Dopamine may not be the only key player in this tragic neurodegenerative disease Posted: 24 Oct 2012 12:07 PM PDT Scientists may have discovered why the standard treatment for Parkinson's disease is often effective for only a limited period of time. Their research could lead to a better understanding of many brain disorders, from drug addiction to depression, that share certain signaling molecules involved in modulating brain activity.

Is obesity irreversible? Timing is key in weight loss Posted: 24 Oct 2012 11:16 AM PDT It's one of the most frustrating mysteries of weight loss -- why the weight inevitably comes back.

Research findings breathe new life into lung disease Posted: 24 Oct 2012 11:16 AM PDT New research shows that while muscle cells are responsible for constricting or dilating the blood vessels, they are not responsible for sensing the amount of oxygen that gets to the lungs.

Scientists target bacterial transfer of resistance genes Posted: 24 Oct 2012 10:34 AM PDT The bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae -- which can cause pneumonia, meningitis, bacteremia and sepsis -- likes to share its antibiotic-defeating weaponry with its neighbors. Individual cells can pass resistance genes to one another through a process called horizontal gene transfer, or by "transformation," the uptake of DNA from the environment. Now researchers report that they can interrupt the cascade of cellular events that allows S. pneumoniae to swap or suck up DNA.

A sense of control, even if illusory, eliminates emotion-driven distortions of time Posted: 24 Oct 2012 10:34 AM PDT We humans have a fairly erratic sense of time. We tend to misjudge the duration of events, particularly when they are emotional in nature. Disturbingly negative experiences, for example, seem to last much longer than they actually do. And highly positive experiences seem to pass more quickly than negative ones. Now researchers say they have found a way to lessen these emotion-driven time distortions.

Brain waves reveal video game aptitude Posted: 24 Oct 2012 10:34 AM PDT Scientists report that they can predict who will improve most on an unfamiliar video game by looking at their brain waves.

Gene linked to inflammation in the aorta may contribute to abdominal aortic aneurysm Posted: 24 Oct 2012 10:34 AM PDT A gene known to be involved in cancer and cardiovascular development may be the cause of inflammation in the most common form of aortic aneurysm and may be a key to treatment, according to new research. The study is the first to show that Notch 1 signaling is activated in abdominal aortic aneurysmal tissue in mice and humans.

Survival of U.S. Affordable Care Act assessed in new commentaries Posted: 24 Oct 2012 10:34 AM PDT As the presidential candidates clash over the fate of the U.S. Affordable Care Act, a set of seven essays by leading legal experts, economists, and scholars examines the implications of the Supreme Court's decision on the ACA and makes it clear that there is no consensus about what is economically or morally just when it comes to health care coverage in this country.

Parkinson's breakthough could slow disease progression Posted: 24 Oct 2012 10:34 AM PDT In an early-stage breakthrough, scientists have developed a new family of compounds that could slow the progression of Parkinson's disease. Parkinson's is the second most common neurodegenerative disease and there is no treatment to slow the advance of the disease. The compounds are a new class of potential therapeutics.

New gene therapy method tested in human cells ... and it works, researchers report Posted: 24 Oct 2012 10:33 AM PDT Development of a new gene therapy method to prevent certain mitochondrial gene based diseases has reached a significant milestone. Researchers have successfully demonstrated their procedure in human cells. It's believed that this research, along with other efforts, will pave the way for future clinical trials in human subjects.

Genome analysis of pancreas tumors reveals new pathway Posted: 24 Oct 2012 10:33 AM PDT The latest genomic analysis of pancreatic tumors identified two new pathways involved in the disease, information that could be capitalized on to develop new and earlier diagnostic tests for the disease.

'Grassroots' neurons wire and fire together for dominance in the brain Posted: 24 Oct 2012 10:09 AM PDT Inside the brain, an unpredictable race -- like a political campaign -- is being run. Multiple candidates, each with a network of supporters, have organized themselves into various left- and right-wing clusters -- like grassroots political teams working feverishly to reinforce a vision that bands them together. While scientists know that neurons in the brain anatomically organize themselves into these network camps, or clusters, the implications of such groupings on neural dynamics have remained unclear until now.

Chewing betel quid exposes half a billion people to direct carcinogens Posted: 24 Oct 2012 09:48 AM PDT Chewing betel quid -- the fourth most popular psychoactive substance in the world after tobacco, alcohol and caffeine -- exposes its 600 million users to substances that act as direct carcinogens in the mouth, scientists are reporting in a new study.

Two-drug synergy may treat drug-resistant chronic myeloid leukemia Posted: 24 Oct 2012 09:48 AM PDT Researchers have dissected a case of synergy in drug-resistant chronic myeloid leukemia to understand the mechanism by which two drugs, danusertib and bosutinib, work together to overcome resistance in the BCR-ABL gatekeeper mutation-specific disease.

Risk factors in hospital readmissions among general surgery patients identified in study Posted: 24 Oct 2012 09:47 AM PDT Identifying risk factors in hospital re-admissions could help improve patient care and hospital bottom lines, according to a new study.

Hot flashes can come back after SSRI Posted: 24 Oct 2012 09:47 AM PDT Hot flashes and night sweats can return after women stop using escitalopram -- an antidepressant -- to treat these menopause symptoms, according to a new study. This is typical of stopping hormone therapy as well.

Brainwave training boosts network for cognitive control and affects mind-wandering Posted: 24 Oct 2012 09:47 AM PDT A breakthrough study has found that training of the well-known brainwave in humans, the alpha rhythm, enhances a brain network responsible for cognitive-control. The training technique, termed neurofeedback, is being considered as a promising new method for restoring brain function in mental disorders such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, schizophrenia, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Hypnosis helps hot flashes, study suggests Posted: 24 Oct 2012 08:15 AM PDT Hypnosis can help cut hot flashes by as much as 74 percent, shows a new study. This is the first controlled, randomized study of the technique to manage hot flashes, which affect as much as 80 percent of women who go through menopause.

Pica: Unearthing a hidden dietary behavior Posted: 24 Oct 2012 08:15 AM PDT A new study is showing that pica – and particularly geophagy, or the eating of soil or clay – is far more prevalent in Madagascar, one of the few areas of the world where it had gone unreported, than researchers previously thought. The research also suggests that the behavior may be more prevalent worldwide, particularly among men, than initially believed.

Herbal and dietary supplements can adversely affect prescribed drugs, says extensive review Posted: 24 Oct 2012 07:17 AM PDT A number of herbs and dietary supplements (HDS) can cause potentially harmful drug interactions, particularly among people receiving medication for problems with their central nervous or cardiovascular systems. Researchers examined 54 review articles and 31 original studies. They found that the greatest problems were caused by interactions between prescribed drugs and HDS that included ingredients such as St John's Wort, magnesium, calcium, iron or ginkgo.

Mouse model exposes a new type of T cell to target melanoma Posted: 24 Oct 2012 07:17 AM PDT Cancers arise in the body all the time. Most are nipped in the bud by the immune response, not least by its T cells, which detect telltale molecular markers -- or antigens -- on cancer cells and destroy them before they grow into tumors. Cancer cells, for their part, evolve constantly to evade such assassination. Those that succeed become full-blown malignancies. Yet, given the right sort of help, the immune system can destroy even these entrenched tumors.

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth: Majority of vendettas originate within a group Posted: 24 Oct 2012 07:16 AM PDT It all began with a harmless game of soccer among young men in northwestern Albania. After one of the players had been injured in a subsequent dispute, his team members shot a relative of the suspected attacker. Now the male members of the families involved in the blood feud do not dare leave their homes. Such vendettas and blood feuds occur in many societies, sometimes lasting for decades. The harm for the participants is enormous and lacks apparent benefit, as the participants often no longer remember what actually triggered the quarrel. Theoretical calculations also demonstrate that vendettas are costly for the participants from an evolutionary point of view and should therefore not develop. Scientists have now investigated the genesis of vendettas.

Lactation protein suppresses tumors and metastasis in breast cancer Posted: 24 Oct 2012 07:15 AM PDT A protein that is necessary for lactation in mammals inhibits the critical cellular transition that is an early indicator of breast cancer and metastasis, according to new research.

New insight on managing fungal meningitis Posted: 24 Oct 2012 06:33 AM PDT As the number of fungal meningitis cases in the United States continues to rise, physicians across the country are faced with how best to provide the early treatment that can save lives. An infectious disease expert has now detailed how the outbreak evolved and the complexities of providing anti-fungal treatments.

New clinical practice guidelines for overactive bladder, urodynamics, hematuria, and vasectomy Posted: 24 Oct 2012 06:33 AM PDT The American Urological Association introduces new clinical guidelines for the treatment of overactive bladder, urodynamics, hematuria, and vasectomy. The guidelines, which were developed using a rigorous nine-step process to synthesize and summarize the literature to determine the level and quality of evidence for a certain practice.

Partial sleep deprivation linked to obesity Posted: 24 Oct 2012 06:33 AM PDT Evidence linking partial sleep deprivation to energy imbalance is relevant to weight gain prevention and weight loss promotion. A new study bases this finding on an extensive review of literature published over a fifteen-year period.

Flame retardant 'Firemaster 550' is an endocrine disruptor, study finds Posted: 24 Oct 2012 06:29 AM PDT The flame-retardant mixture known as "Firemaster 550" is an endocrine disruptor that causes extreme weight gain, early onset of puberty and cardiovascular health effects in lab animals, according to a new study.

Two commonly used anesthetics produce different metabolic patterns in children's unconscious brains Posted: 24 Oct 2012 06:29 AM PDT Two commonly used anesthetics produce different metabolic patterns in the brains of unconscious children, according to a new study.

Gene polymorphisms identified that are responsible for breast density and cancer risk Posted: 23 Oct 2012 05:46 PM PDT It has long been known that breast density, or mammographic density, is a strong risk factor for breast cancer, and that estrogen and progestin hormone therapy increases dense breast tissue. Now, a study has identified several gene variants in hormone metabolism and growth factor pathways that may be associated with breast density and, hence, breast cancer risk.

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