Παρασκευή 22 Φεβρουαρίου 2013

ScienceDaily: Top Health News

ScienceDaily: Top Health News

For embolism patients, clot-busting drug is worth risk, study suggests

Posted: 21 Feb 2013 04:42 PM PST

When doctors encounter a patient with a massive pulmonary embolism, they face a difficult choice: Is it wise to administer a drug that could save the patient's life, even though many people suffer life-threatening bleeding as a result? Based on new findings researchers are answering that question in no uncertain terms.

Influenza study: Meet virus' new enemy

Posted: 21 Feb 2013 04:42 PM PST

Virologists have discovered a new class of molecular compounds capable of killing the influenza virus. Working on the premise that too much of a good thing can be a killer, the scientists have advanced previous researchers' methods of manipulating an enzyme that is key to how influenza replicates and spreads. The new compounds will lead to a new generation of anti-influenza drugs that the virus' strains can't adapt to, and resist, as easily as they do Tamiful.

Why some soldiers develop PTSD while others don't

Posted: 21 Feb 2013 04:42 PM PST

Pre-war vulnerability is just as important as combat-related trauma in predicting whether veterans' symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder will be long-lasting, according to new research.

Promising new method for next-generation live-attenuated viral vaccines against Chikungunya virus

Posted: 21 Feb 2013 04:42 PM PST

Researchers have applied a novel method of vaccine creation for Chikungunya virus using a technique called large scale random codon re-encoding. Using this approach, scientists have demonstrated that the engineered viruses exhibit a stable phenotype with a significantly decreased viral fitness, making it a new vaccine candidate for this emerging viral disease.

Stem cell 'homing' signal may help treat heart failure patients

Posted: 21 Feb 2013 04:42 PM PST

In the first human study of its kind, researchers activated heart failure patients' stem cells with gene therapy to improve their symptoms, heart function and quality of life. Rather than use multiple procedures to remove, multiply, then re-insert cells, scientists injected a treatment that signals stems cells to come to injured tissue to repair it -- like a homing signal. Researchers are conducting a larger trial.

‘Stressed’ bacteria become resistant to antibiotics

Posted: 21 Feb 2013 04:40 PM PST

Bacteria become resistant to antibiotics when stressed, finds new research. In particular E. coli grown at high temperatures become resistant to rifampicin. It is generally thought that antibiotic resistance is costly to maintain, for example mutations which reduce antibiotic uptake also restrict the amount of nutrients entering the cell. Consequently in the absence of antibiotics non-resistant bacteria will out-compete the resistant ones. However researchers have discovered that by putting bacteria under stress, by growing them at a high temperature, the bacteria could spontaneously develop resistance to the antibiotic rifampicin.

New clues to Epstein-Barr virus

Posted: 21 Feb 2013 12:27 PM PST

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) affects more than 90 percent of the population worldwide and was the first human virus found to be associated with cancer. Now, researchers have broadened the understanding of this widespread infection with their discovery of a second B-cell attachment receptor for EBV.

Scientists make older adults less forgetful in memory tests

Posted: 21 Feb 2013 11:39 AM PST

Scientists have found compelling evidence that older adults can eliminate forgetfulness and perform as well as younger adults on memory tests. The cognitive boost comes from a surprising source -- a distraction learning strategy.

Should grandma join Facebook? It may give her a cognitive boost, study finds

Posted: 21 Feb 2013 11:39 AM PST

Preliminary research findings suggest learning to use Facebook may help give adults older than 65 a cognitive boost. The study shows that seniors who learned to use Facebook saw improvements in their ability to continuously monitor and quickly add or delete the contents of their working memory.

Protein 'passport' helps nanoparticles get past immune system

Posted: 21 Feb 2013 11:38 AM PST

The immune system exists to destroy foreign objects, whether they are bacteria, viruses, flecks of dirt or splinters. Unfortunately, drug-delivering nanoparticles and implanted devices like pacemakers are just as foreign and subject to the same response. Now, researchers have figured out a way to provide a "passport" for such therapeutic devices, enabling them to bypass the body's security system.

Eliminating malaria has longlasting benefits for many countries

Posted: 21 Feb 2013 11:38 AM PST

A review of malaria elimination suggests stopping malaria transmission completely has longlasting benefits for many countries and that once eliminated, the disease is unlikely to reemerge over time.

How human language could have evolved from birdsong: Researchers propose new theory on deep roots of human speech

Posted: 21 Feb 2013 11:16 AM PST

The sounds uttered by birds offer in several respects the nearest analogy to language," Charles Darwin wrote in "The Descent of Man" (1871), while contemplating how humans learned to speak. Language, he speculated, might have had its origins in singing, which "might have given rise to words expressive of various complex emotions." Linguistics and biology now researchers propose a new theory on the deep roots of human speech.

Heavy backpacks may damage nerves, muscles and skeleton, study suggests

Posted: 21 Feb 2013 11:16 AM PST

Damage to muscles and the skeleton is the frequent consequence of carrying heavy backpacks and occupational gear on our backs. New research confirms that damage to the nerves that travel through the neck and shoulders is also a serious risk.

Modeling Alzheimer's disease using iPSCs

Posted: 21 Feb 2013 11:13 AM PST

Researchers have successfully modeled Alzheimer's disease (AD) using both familial and sporadic patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells, and revealed stress phenotypes and differential drug responsiveness associated with intracellular amyloid beta oligomers in AD neurons and astrocytes.

Life's tiniest architects pinpointed: Molecular regulators of epigenetics

Posted: 21 Feb 2013 11:12 AM PST

If a genome is the blueprint for life, then the chief architects are tiny slices of genetic material that orchestrate how we are assembled and function. The study pinpoints the molecular regulators of epigenetics -- the process by which unchanging genes along our DNA are switched on and off at precisely right time and place.

Aspirin and omega-3 fatty acids work together to fight inflammation

Posted: 21 Feb 2013 11:12 AM PST

Experts tout the health benefits of low-dose aspirin and omega-3 fatty acids but the detailed mechanisms involved in their effects are not fully known. Now researchers show that aspirin helps trigger the production of molecules called resolvins that are naturally made by the body from omega-3 fatty acids. These resolvins shut off, or "resolve," the inflammation that underlies destructive conditions such as inflammatory lung disease, heart disease, and arthritis.

Antibacterial protein's molecular workings revealed

Posted: 21 Feb 2013 08:59 AM PST

Investigators report new insights to the workings of calprotectin, an immune system protein that "starves" bacterial pathogens of the metal nutrients they require. The findings, which include a detailed structural view of how calprotectin binds the metal manganese, could guide efforts to develop novel antibacterials that limit a microbe's access to metals.

Scientists unveil secrets of important natural antibiotic

Posted: 21 Feb 2013 07:43 AM PST

An international team of scientists has discovered how an important natural antibiotic called dermcidin, produced by our skin when we sweat, is a highly efficient tool to fight tuberculosis germs and other dangerous bugs.

In rich and poor nations, giving makes people feel better than getting, research finds

Posted: 21 Feb 2013 07:43 AM PST

Feeling good about spending money on someone else rather than for personal benefit may be a universal response among people in both impoverished countries and rich nations, according to new research.

Early life stress may take early toll on heart function

Posted: 21 Feb 2013 07:43 AM PST

Early life stress like that experienced by ill newborns appears to take an early toll of the heart, affecting its ability to relax and refill with oxygen-rich blood, researchers report.

Common acne drug not associated with increased risk of IBD

Posted: 21 Feb 2013 06:20 AM PST

Doctors should not be discouraged from prescribing isotretinoin to adolescents for inflammatory acne, according to a new study showing the drug does not increase the risk of inflammatory bowel disease.

Cooling may prevent trauma-induced epilepsy

Posted: 21 Feb 2013 06:18 AM PST

In the weeks, months and years after a severe head injury, patients often experience epileptic seizures that are difficult to control. A new study in rats suggests that gently cooling the brain after injury may prevent these seizures.

Disruption of circadian clock linked to obesity, diabetes and heart attacks

Posted: 21 Feb 2013 06:18 AM PST

Disruption in the body's circadian rhythm can lead not only to obesity, but can also increase the risk of diabetes and heart disease. That is the conclusion of the first study to show definitively that insulin activity is controlled by the body's circadian biological clock. The study, helps explain why not only what you eat, but when you eat, matters.

Molecular system that could help develop potential treatments for conditions such as Alzheimer's disease identified

Posted: 21 Feb 2013 05:47 AM PST

Scientists have identified the molecular system that contributes to the harmful inflammatory reaction in the brain during neurodegenerative diseases. An important aspect of chronic neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Huntington's or prion disease, is the generation of an innate inflammatory reaction within the brain. Results from the study open new avenues for the regulation of the inflammatory reaction and provide new insights into the understanding of the biology of microglial cells, which play a leading role in the development and maintenance of this reaction.

Cell therapy: New mouse model promises to advance research on induced pluripotent stem cells

Posted: 21 Feb 2013 05:46 AM PST

Cell therapy is a promising alternative to tissue and organ transplantation for diseases that are caused by death or poor functioning of cells. Considering the ethical discussions surrounding human embryonic stem cells, a lot is expected of the so-called 'induced pluripotent stem cells' (iPS cells). However, before this technique can be applied effectively, a lot of research is required into the safety and efficacy of such iPS cells. Scientists have now developed a mouse model that can advance this research to the next step.

Microbubbles improve myocardial remodelling after infarction

Posted: 21 Feb 2013 05:46 AM PST

Scientists have successfully tested a method in mice allowing the morphological and functional sequelae of a myocardial infarction to be reduced. Tiny gas bubbles are made to oscillate within the heart via focused ultrasound -- this improves microcirculation and decreases the size of the scar tissue. The results show that the mice, following myocardial infarction, have improved cardiac output as a result of this method, as compared to untreated animals.

Cancer drug a possible treatment for multiple sclerosis, rat study suggests

Posted: 21 Feb 2013 05:46 AM PST

A drug that is currently used for cancer can relieve and slow down the progression of the autoimmune disease multiple sclerosis (MS) in rats, according to a new study. The discovery might one day lead to better forms of treatment for patients with MS.

More than just looking: A role of tiny eye movements explained

Posted: 21 Feb 2013 05:46 AM PST

Have you ever wondered whether it's possible to look at two places at once? Because our eyes have a specialized central region with high visual acuity and good color vision, we must always focus on one spot at a time in order to see our environment. As a result, our eyes constantly jump back and forth as we look around. But what if -- when you are looking at an object -- your brain also allowed you to "look" somewhere else at the same time, out of the corner of your eye, as it were? Now, a scientist has found a possible explanation for how this might happen.

Talking about being old is important indicator of body dissatisfaction

Posted: 20 Feb 2013 05:37 PM PST

Similar to talking about being fat, talking about being old is an important an indicator of body dissatisfaction, shows new research. Body dissatisfaction is known to be correlated with, and predictive of, physical and mental health problems including binge eating, emotional eating, stress, low self-esteem, depression, and use of unhealthy weight control behaviors. High levels of talking about weight and being fat, 'fat talk', is known to be a good indicator of body dissatisfaction.

Digital processing system avoids 17.4 million drug errors in US in one year

Posted: 20 Feb 2013 03:50 PM PST

Processing a prescription through an electronic ordering system can halve the likelihood of a drug error, and avert more than 17 million such incidents in US hospitals in one year alone, indicates new research.

Scrap 'unwinnable' drugs war and divert funds into curbing global antibiotic misuse, experts say

Posted: 20 Feb 2013 03:49 PM PST

Governments around the world should stop squandering resources fighting an "unwinnable war" against illegal drugs, such as cocaine and heroin. Instead, they should use the cash to curb antibiotic misuse, which poses a far more serious threat to human health, claims a leading ethicist.
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