ScienceDaily: Top Health News

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• Estrogen fights urinary infection in mouse study
• Right target, but missing the bulls-eye for Alzheimer's
• Pavlov's rats? Rodents trained to link rewards to visual cues
• Many apples a day keep the blues at bay
• Novel approaches needed to end growing scourge of 'superbugs'
• Forecasting brain tumors like a storm
• Effect of taking smaller bites outweighs tendency to eat more when distracted
• Self-reported BMI bias estimates increasing due to weight bias, not weight loss
• Risk of lung cancer death has risen dramatically among women smokers in recent decades
• GP judgement not enough to accurately diagnose cases of pneumonia, study suggests
• Promising prognostic marker for aggressive breast cancer
• Bioengineers discover natural switch that controls spread of breast cancer cells
• Frequent multitaskers are bad at it: Can't talk and drive well
• Planning for bacteria in cancer patients may help hospitals fight infections
• Modifications of a nanoparticle can change chemical interactions with cell membranes
• Tall and thin not so great for lung disease
• Controlled crumpling of graphene forms artificial muscle
• Socially isolated rats are more vulnerable to addiction, report researchers
• Teenagers avoid early alcohol misuse through personality management
• First brain pacemaker implanted to treat Alzheimer’s
• Children's complex thinking skills begin before going to school
• Migraine triggers may not be as strong as you think
• Learning and memory may play a central role in synesthesia: Link to childhood toys containing magnetic colored letters
• Oxygen chamber can boost brain repair years after stroke or trauma
• Blocking digestive enzymes may reverse shock, stop multiorgan failure
• Personal epigenetic 'signatures' found consistent in prostate cancer patients' metastases
• Retrovirus in the human genome is active in pluripotent stem cells
• Free clinics reduce emergency department visits
• Caloric restriction has a protective effect on chromosomes
• More efficient way to make popular prescription medication
• Whole-exome sequencing identifies inherited mutations in autism
• New brain circuit sheds light on development of voluntary movements
• New research may aid treatment of multiple myeloma patients
• High blood calcium levels may indicate ovarian cancer
• New strategy to fight deadly infection in cystic fibrosis
• Immune cell death defects linked to autoimmune diseases
• Parents numb to misuse of narcotic pain meds by youth, new poll shows
• Candidate dengue vaccine shows promise in early-stage trial
• Astrocytes identified as target for new depression therapy: Starry brain cells used to mimic sleep deprivation
• Emerging antibiotic resistance in Listeria discovered in frozen burger patties
• When will we all live to 100?
• Are antidepressants overused?

Estrogen fights urinary infection in mouse study Posted: 23 Jan 2013 07:14 PM PST Estrogen levels drop dramatically in menopause, a time when the risk of urinary tract infections increases significantly. Researchers have found new evidence in mice that the two phenomena are connected by more than just timing.

Right target, but missing the bulls-eye for Alzheimer's Posted: 23 Jan 2013 07:14 PM PST For decades now, researchers have been trying, without success, to develop drugs that slow or prevent Alzheimer's. Now research at suggests that while the protein they have been focusing on-- amyloid-beta -- is the right one, what's needed is to direct a drug to a very specific location, which they've discovered, on that protein.

Pavlov's rats? Rodents trained to link rewards to visual cues Posted: 23 Jan 2013 04:58 PM PST In experiments on rats outfitted with tiny goggles, scientists say they have learned that the brain's initial vision processing center not only relays visual stimuli, but also can "learn" time intervals and create specifically timed expectations of future rewards. The research sheds new light on learning and memory-making, the investigators say, and could help explain why people with Alzheimer's disease have trouble remembering recent events.

Many apples a day keep the blues at bay Posted: 23 Jan 2013 04:53 PM PST Eating more fruit and vegetables may make young people calmer, happier and more energetic in their daily life, new research suggests.

Novel approaches needed to end growing scourge of 'superbugs' Posted: 23 Jan 2013 04:52 PM PST With the rising awareness of the so-called "superbugs," bacteria that are resistant to most known antibiotics, three infectious disease experts have called for novel approaches based on a "reconceptualization of the nature of resistance, disease and prevention."

Forecasting brain tumors like a storm Posted: 23 Jan 2013 04:52 PM PST The critical question shortly after a brain cancer patient starts treatment: how well is it working? But there hasn't been a good way to tell. Researchers have developed a new method -- similar to forecasting storms with computer models -- to predict an individual patient's brain tumor growth. This forecast will enable physicians to rapidly identify how well the tumor is responding to a particular therapy and quickly pivot to a new therapy if necessary.

Effect of taking smaller bites outweighs tendency to eat more when distracted Posted: 23 Jan 2013 04:52 PM PST Eating while distracted generally makes people eat more without being aware of it, but reducing bite sizes may be able to counter this effect, according to new research.

Self-reported BMI bias estimates increasing due to weight bias, not weight loss Posted: 23 Jan 2013 04:52 PM PST The gap between obesity levels measured by self-reported height and weight and obesity recorded by measured height and weight is increasing. This is due to an increasing bias in self-reported weight, according to new research.

Risk of lung cancer death has risen dramatically among women smokers in recent decades Posted: 23 Jan 2013 04:52 PM PST Female smokers have a much greater risk of death from lung cancer and chronic obstructive lung disease in recent years than did female smokers 20 or 40 years ago, reflecting changes in smoking behavior.

GP judgement not enough to accurately diagnose cases of pneumonia, study suggests Posted: 23 Jan 2013 04:51 PM PST Pneumonia cannot be accurately diagnosed solely on a doctor's analysis of symptoms and patient history, according to new findings.

Promising prognostic marker for aggressive breast cancer Posted: 23 Jan 2013 04:51 PM PST Medical researchers have discovered a gene variant that drives the spread of breast cancer. The study lays the early foundation for predicting which breast cancer patients may develop more aggressive disease and for designing more effective treatments.

Bioengineers discover natural switch that controls spread of breast cancer cells Posted: 23 Jan 2013 04:51 PM PST With a desire to inhibit metastasis, biomedical engineers have found the natural switch between the body's inflammatory response and how malignant breast cancer cells use the bloodstream to spread.

Frequent multitaskers are bad at it: Can't talk and drive well Posted: 23 Jan 2013 04:51 PM PST Most people believe they can multitask effectively, but a new study indicates that people who multitask the most – including talking on a cell phone while driving – are least capable of doing so.

Planning for bacteria in cancer patients may help hospitals fight infections Posted: 23 Jan 2013 01:51 PM PST E. coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae are especially prevalent in patients with lung and GI cancers, more so for Klebsiella if these patients have been treated previously with aminopenicillins.

Modifications of a nanoparticle can change chemical interactions with cell membranes Posted: 23 Jan 2013 01:51 PM PST Researchers are studying the toxicity of commonly used nanoparticles, particles up to one million times smaller than a millimeter that could potentially penetrate and damage cell membranes.

Tall and thin not so great for lung disease Posted: 23 Jan 2013 01:50 PM PST Tall, thin women face a greater risk of infection with nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM), cousins of the organism that causes tuberculosis, according to researchers. Women with NTM infections also showed a weakened immune response.

Controlled crumpling of graphene forms artificial muscle Posted: 23 Jan 2013 01:50 PM PST Engineers are layering atom-thick lattices of carbon with polymers to create unique materials with a broad range of applications, including artificial muscles.

Socially isolated rats are more vulnerable to addiction, report researchers Posted: 23 Jan 2013 01:50 PM PST Rats that are socially isolated during a critical period of adolescence are more vulnerable to addiction to amphetamine and alcohol. Amphetamine addiction is also harder to extinguish in the socially isolated rats.

Teenagers avoid early alcohol misuse through personality management Posted: 23 Jan 2013 01:49 PM PST Personality-targeted interventions delivered by trained teachers and school staff decrease alcohol misuse in at-risk teens and delay their classmates' alcohol uptake.

First brain pacemaker implanted to treat Alzheimer’s Posted: 23 Jan 2013 01:49 PM PST During a five-hour surgery last October at Kathy Sanford became the first Alzheimer's patient in the United States to have a pacemaker implanted in her brain. She is the first of up to 10 patients who will be enrolled in a new FDA-approved study.

Children's complex thinking skills begin before going to school Posted: 23 Jan 2013 01:48 PM PST New research reveals that children begin to show signs of higher-level thinking skills as young as age 4 ½. Researchers have previously attributed higher-order thinking development to knowledge acquisition, but the new longitudinal study shows that other skills, not connected with knowledge, play a role in children's ability to reason analytically.

Migraine triggers may not be as strong as you think Posted: 23 Jan 2013 01:48 PM PST A new study suggests that triggers for migraine with aura may not be as strong as some people think. Auras that occur with migraine include visual disturbances, with symptoms such as flashing lights or wavy lines.

Learning and memory may play a central role in synesthesia: Link to childhood toys containing magnetic colored letters Posted: 23 Jan 2013 11:42 AM PST People with color-grapheme synesthesia experience color when viewing written letters or numerals, usually with a particular color evoked by each grapheme (i.e., the letter 'A' evokes the color red). In a new study, researchers present data from 11 color grapheme synesthetes who had startlingly similar color-letter pairings that were traceable to childhood toys containing magnetic colored letters.

Oxygen chamber can boost brain repair years after stroke or trauma Posted: 23 Jan 2013 11:42 AM PST Through the use of hyperbaric, oxygen-rich chambers, medical researchers have found a way to restore a significant amount of neurological function in brain tissue thought to be chronically damaged by stroke, traumatic injury, and metabolic disorder -- even years after the original injury.

Blocking digestive enzymes may reverse shock, stop multiorgan failure Posted: 23 Jan 2013 11:42 AM PST New research moves researchers closer to understanding and developing treatments for shock, sepsis and multiorgan failure. Collectively, these maladies represent a major unmet medical need: they are the number one cause of mortality in intensive care units in the United States, with hundreds of thousands of deaths annually. The new research provides novel results linking digestive enzymes to shock, sepsis and multiorgan failure.

Personal epigenetic 'signatures' found consistent in prostate cancer patients' metastases Posted: 23 Jan 2013 11:40 AM PST In a genome-wide analysis of 13 metastatic prostate cancers, scientists at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center found consistent epigenetic "signatures" across all metastatic tumors in each patient. The discovery of the stable, epigenetic "marks" that sit on the nuclear DNA of cancer cells and alter gene expression, defies a prevailing belief that the marks vary so much within each individual's widespread cancers that they have little or no value as targets for therapy or as biomarkers for treatment response and predicting disease severity.

Retrovirus in the human genome is active in pluripotent stem cells Posted: 23 Jan 2013 10:39 AM PST A retrovirus called HERV-H, which inserted itself into the human genome millions of years ago, may play an important role in pluripotent stem cells. The discovery, which may help explain how these cells maintain a state of pluripotency and are able to differentiate into many types of cells, could have profound implications for therapies that would use pluripotent stem cells to treat a range of human diseases.

Free clinics reduce emergency department visits Posted: 23 Jan 2013 10:38 AM PST People who receive primary care from free clinics are less likely to use the emergency department for minor issues, according to a team of medical researchers.

Caloric restriction has a protective effect on chromosomes Posted: 23 Jan 2013 10:38 AM PST A sustained lowering of food intake over time results in an increase of telomere length -- the ends of chromosomes -- in adult mice, which has a protective effect on the DNA and genetic material.

More efficient way to make popular prescription medication Posted: 23 Jan 2013 10:37 AM PST In a demonstration of the power of green chemistry, scientists are reporting development of a new and more efficient process for making one of the most costly and widely used medications for severe mental illness.

Whole-exome sequencing identifies inherited mutations in autism Posted: 23 Jan 2013 10:36 AM PST While autism clearly runs in some families, few inherited genetic causes have been found. A major reason is that these causes are so varied that it's hard to find enough people with a given mutation to establish a clear pattern. Researchers have now pinpointed several inherited mutations -- among the first to be identified -- through an unusual approach: Using whole-exome sequencing to study large Middle Eastern families with autism.

New brain circuit sheds light on development of voluntary movements Posted: 23 Jan 2013 10:36 AM PST All parents know the infant milestones: turning over, learning to crawl, standing, and taking that first unassisted step. Achieving each accomplishment presumably requires the formation of new connections among subsets of the billions of nerve cells in the infant's brain. But how, when and where those connections form has been a mystery. Now researchers at Duke Medicine have begun to find answers.

New research may aid treatment of multiple myeloma patients Posted: 23 Jan 2013 10:33 AM PST A new study may help predict which patients with multiple myeloma will respond better to certain treatments.

High blood calcium levels may indicate ovarian cancer Posted: 23 Jan 2013 08:54 AM PST A new study reports that high blood calcium levels might predict of ovarian cancer, the most fatal of the gynecologic cancers.

New strategy to fight deadly infection in cystic fibrosis Posted: 23 Jan 2013 08:42 AM PST New research suggests that lowering excessive levels of a protein in immune system cells could be a strategy to clear an infection that is deadly to patients with cystic fibrosis (CF).

Immune cell death defects linked to autoimmune diseases Posted: 23 Jan 2013 07:16 AM PST Researchers have discovered that the death of immune system cells is an important safeguard against the development of diseases such as type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, which occur when the immune system attacks the body's own tissues.

Parents numb to misuse of narcotic pain meds by youth, new poll shows Posted: 23 Jan 2013 07:16 AM PST Only 1 in 5 parents say they are very concerned about children and teens misusing narcotics, according to U-M's National Poll on Children's Health.

Candidate dengue vaccine shows promise in early-stage trial Posted: 23 Jan 2013 06:47 AM PST A candidate dengue vaccine has been found to be safe and to stimulate a strong immune response in most vaccine recipients, according to results from an early-stage clinical trial.

Astrocytes identified as target for new depression therapy: Starry brain cells used to mimic sleep deprivation Posted: 23 Jan 2013 06:37 AM PST Neuroscientists have found that our star-shaped brain cells may be responsible for the rapid improvement in mood in depressed patients after acute sleep deprivation. The researchers report that the findings may help lead to the development of effective and fast-acting drugs to treat depression, particularly in psychiatric emergencies.

Emerging antibiotic resistance in Listeria discovered in frozen burger patties Posted: 23 Jan 2013 06:16 AM PST Researchers have revealed the presence of multidrug-resistant strains of Listeria monocytogenes in frozen burger patties taken from supermarkets and other retail shops in Malaysia.

When will we all live to 100? Posted: 22 Jan 2013 04:14 PM PST A new article brings attention to the rising amount of those expected to live to 100 and asks where it will end.

Are antidepressants overused? Posted: 22 Jan 2013 04:14 PM PST Antidepressant prescriptions in the UK have increased by 9.6 percent in 2011, to 46 million prescriptions. Does this reflect overmedicalisation or appropriate treatment? Two experts debate the issue.

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