ScienceDaily: Top Health News

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• Biomarkers discovered for inflammatory bowel disease
• Changing cancer's environment to halt its spread
• H. pylori, smoking trends, and gastric cancer in US men
• Reducing caloric intake delays nerve cell loss
• Drawing closer to Alzheimer’s magic bullet? Drugs found to both prevent and treat Alzheimer's disease in mice
• Keeping stem cells strong: RNA molecule protects stem cells during inflammation
• Genetic risk for obesity found in many Mexican young adults
• Ethicists' behavior not more moral
• Decisions to forgo life support may depend heavily on the icu where patients are treated
• Low radiation scans help identify cancer in earliest stages
• Radioactive nanoparticles target cancer cells
• Scientists uncover how grapefruits provide a secret weapon in medical drug delivery
• Poliovirus vaccine trial shows early promise for recurrent glioblastoma
• Aggressive behavior linked specifically to secondhand smoke exposure in childhood
• Evaluating a new way to open clogged arteries
• Common food supplement fights degenerative brain disorders, study suggests
• Finding a family for a pair of orphan receptors in the brain
• Glaucoma drug can cause droopy eyelids
• Low population immunity to new bird flu virus H7N9 in humans
• Vitamin C can kill drug-resistant TB
• Waiting for a sign? Researchers find potential brain 'switch' for new behavior
• Visual search function: Where scene context happens in our brain
• Insight into the dazzling impact of insulin in cells
• Child maltreatment increases risk of adult obesity
• Doctors prescribe more analgesics to women than to men just for being female, Spanish study shows
• New tumor-killer shows great promise in suppressing cancers
• New factor to control oncogene-induced senescence discovered
• Cancer and birth defects in Iraq: The nuclear legacy
• Clouds in the head: New model of brain's thought processes
• Genetic predictors of postpartum depression uncovered
• Monoclonal antibody appears effective and safe in asthma phase IIa trial
• Asthma symptoms impair sleep quality and school performance in children
• How gold nanoparticles can help fight ovarian cancer
• Mediterranean diet seems to boost aging brain power
• Elusive search for biomarkers in Huntington's disease
• Premature birth interrupts vital brain development processes leading to reduced cognitive abilities in infants

Biomarkers discovered for inflammatory bowel disease Posted: 21 May 2013 04:42 PM PDT Researchers have identified a number of biomarkers for inflammatory bowel disease, which could help with earlier diagnosis and intervention in those who have not yet shown symptoms.

Changing cancer's environment to halt its spread Posted: 21 May 2013 04:42 PM PDT By studying the roles two proteins, thrombospondin-1 and prosaposin, play in discouraging cancer metastasis, scientists have identified a five-amino acid fragment of prosaposin that significantly reduces metastatic spread in mouse models of prostate, breast and lung cancer. The findings suggest that a prosaposin-based drug could potentially block metastasis in a variety of cancers.

H. pylori, smoking trends, and gastric cancer in US men Posted: 21 May 2013 04:39 PM PDT Trends in Helicobacter pylori and smoking explain a significant proportion of the decline of intestinal-type noncardia gastric adenocarcinoma incidence in US men between 1978 and 2008, and are estimated to continue to contribute to further declines between 2008 and 2040.

Reducing caloric intake delays nerve cell loss Posted: 21 May 2013 04:39 PM PDT Activating an enzyme known to play a role in the anti-aging benefits of calorie restriction delays the loss of brain cells and preserves cognitive function in mice, according to a new study. The findings could one day guide researchers to discover drug alternatives that slow the progress of age-associated impairments in the brain.

Drawing closer to Alzheimer’s magic bullet? Drugs found to both prevent and treat Alzheimer's disease in mice Posted: 21 May 2013 12:39 PM PDT Imagine a pharmaceutical prevention, treatment or even cure for Alzheimer's disease. It is almost impossible to overstate how monumental a development that would be and how it would answer the prayers of millions. Though science isn't there yet, a new study offers a tantalizing glimpse of potential solutions.

Keeping stem cells strong: RNA molecule protects stem cells during inflammation Posted: 21 May 2013 12:39 PM PDT A team of researchers led by biologists at the California Institute of Technology has found that, in mouse models, the molecule microRNA-146a acts as a critical regulator and protector of blood-forming stem cells (called hematopoietic stem cells, or HSCs) during chronic inflammation, suggesting that a deficiency of miR-146a may be one important cause of blood cancers and bone marrow failure.

Genetic risk for obesity found in many Mexican young adults Posted: 21 May 2013 12:26 PM PDT As many as 35 percent of Mexican young adults may have a genetic predisposition for obesity, said a University of Illinois scientist who conducted a study at the Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosw.

Ethicists' behavior not more moral Posted: 21 May 2013 12:25 PM PDT Do ethicists engage in better moral behavior than other professors? The answer is no. Nor are they more likely than nonethicists to act according to values they espouse.

Decisions to forgo life support may depend heavily on the icu where patients are treated Posted: 21 May 2013 12:24 PM PDT The decision to limit life support in patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) appears to be significantly influenced by physician practices and/or the culture of the hospital, suggests new findings.

Low radiation scans help identify cancer in earliest stages Posted: 21 May 2013 12:24 PM PDT A study of veterans at high risk for developing lung cancer shows that low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) can be highly effective in helping clinicians spot tiny lung nodules which, in a small number of patients, may indicate the earliest stages of the disease. LDCT uses less than a quarter of the radiation of a conventional CT scan.

Radioactive nanoparticles target cancer cells Posted: 21 May 2013 10:22 AM PDT Researchers have found a way to create radioactive nanoparticles that target lymphoma tumor cells wherever they may be in the body.

Scientists uncover how grapefruits provide a secret weapon in medical drug delivery Posted: 21 May 2013 10:22 AM PDT Researchers have uncovered how to create nanoparticles using natural lipids derived from grapefruit, and have discovered how to use them as drug delivery vehicles.

Poliovirus vaccine trial shows early promise for recurrent glioblastoma Posted: 21 May 2013 10:21 AM PDT An attack on glioblastoma brain tumor cells that uses a modified poliovirus is showing encouraging results in an early study to establish the proper dose level.

Aggressive behavior linked specifically to secondhand smoke exposure in childhood Posted: 21 May 2013 10:21 AM PDT Children who are exposed to secondhand smoke in early childhood are more likely to grow up to physically aggressive and antisocial, regardless of whether they were exposed during pregnancy or their parents have a history of being antisocial.

Evaluating a new way to open clogged arteries Posted: 21 May 2013 09:15 AM PDT A new study analyzes the potential usefulness of a new treatment that combines the benefits of angioplasty balloons and drug-releasing stents, but may pose fewer risks.

Common food supplement fights degenerative brain disorders, study suggests Posted: 21 May 2013 09:15 AM PDT Widely available in pharmacies and health stores, phosphatidylserine is a natural food supplement produced from beef, oysters, and soy. Now scientists have discovered that the supplement improves the functioning of genes involved in degenerative brain disorders, including Parkinson's disease and familial dysautonomia.

Finding a family for a pair of orphan receptors in the brain Posted: 21 May 2013 09:15 AM PDT Researchers have identified a protein that stimulates a pair of "orphan receptors" found in the brain, solving a long-standing biological puzzle and possibly leading to future treatments for neurological diseases.

Glaucoma drug can cause droopy eyelids Posted: 21 May 2013 09:15 AM PDT Prostaglandin analogues (PGAs) are often the first line of treatment for people with glaucoma. PGAs have long been associated with blurred vision, dryness, changes in eye color and other side effects. Now a new study has found that these drugs also cause upper and lower eyelid drooping and other issues that can interfere with vision.

Low population immunity to new bird flu virus H7N9 in humans Posted: 21 May 2013 09:15 AM PDT The level of immunity to the recently circulating H7N9 influenza virus in an urban and rural population in Vietnam is very low, according to the first population level study to examine human immunity to the virus, which was previously only found in birds. The study has implications for planning the public health response to this pandemic threat.

Vitamin C can kill drug-resistant TB Posted: 21 May 2013 09:12 AM PDT In a striking, unexpected discovery, researchers have determined that vitamin C kills drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) bacteria in laboratory culture. The finding suggests that vitamin C added to existing TB drugs could shorten TB therapy, and it highlights a new area for drug design.

Waiting for a sign? Researchers find potential brain 'switch' for new behavior Posted: 21 May 2013 09:12 AM PDT You're standing near an airport luggage carousel and your bag emerges on the conveyor belt, prompting you to spring into action. How does your brain make the shift from passively waiting to taking action when your bag appears?

Visual search function: Where scene context happens in our brain Posted: 21 May 2013 07:57 AM PDT Though a seemingly simple and intuitive strategy, visual search function -- a process that takes mere seconds for the human brain -- is still something that a computer can't do as accurately. Over the millennia of human evolution, our brains developed a pattern of search based largely on environmental cues and scene context. It's an ability that has not only helped us find food and avoid danger in humankind's earliest days, but continues to aid us today. Where this -- the search for objects using scene and other objects -- occurs in the brain is little understood, and is for the first time discussed in a new paper.

Insight into the dazzling impact of insulin in cells Posted: 21 May 2013 07:57 AM PDT Australian scientists have charted the path of insulin action in cells in precise detail like never before. This provides a comprehensive blueprint for understanding what goes wrong in diabetes.

Child maltreatment increases risk of adult obesity Posted: 21 May 2013 07:57 AM PDT Children who have suffered maltreatment are 36 percent more likely to be obese in adulthood compared to non-maltreated children, according to a new study. The authors estimate that the prevention or effective treatment of seven cases of child maltreatment could avoid one case of adult obesity.

Doctors prescribe more analgesics to women than to men just for being female, Spanish study shows Posted: 21 May 2013 07:56 AM PDT Regardless of pain, social class or age, a woman is more likely to be prescribed pain-relieving drugs. A new study affirms that this phenomenon is influenced by socioeconomic inequality between genders.

New tumor-killer shows great promise in suppressing cancers Posted: 21 May 2013 07:56 AM PDT Scientists have bioengineered a novel molecule which has been proven to successfully kill tumor cells.

New factor to control oncogene-induced senescence discovered Posted: 21 May 2013 07:55 AM PDT A new article describes the major role that Pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) —- an enzyme of cellular energy metabolism -— plays in the regulation of the cellular senescence induced by the oncogene BRAF, which usually appears mutated in melanoma and other cancers.

Cancer and birth defects in Iraq: The nuclear legacy Posted: 21 May 2013 07:55 AM PDT Ten years after the Iraq war of 2003 a team of scientists based in Mosul, northern Iraq, have detected high levels of uranium contamination in soil samples at three sites in the province of Nineveh which, coupled with dramatically increasing rates of childhood cancers and birth defects at local hospitals, highlight the ongoing legacy of modern warfare to civilians in conflict zones.

Clouds in the head: New model of brain's thought processes Posted: 21 May 2013 07:54 AM PDT A new model of the brain's thought processes explains the apparently chaotic activity patterns of individual neurons. They do not correspond to a simple stimulus/response linkage, but arise from the networking of different neural circuits.

Genetic predictors of postpartum depression uncovered Posted: 21 May 2013 07:52 AM PDT Researchers say they have discovered specific chemical alterations in two genes that, when present during pregnancy, reliably predict whether a woman will develop postpartum depression.

Monoclonal antibody appears effective and safe in asthma phase IIa trial Posted: 21 May 2013 07:52 AM PDT A novel approach to obstructing the runaway inflammatory response implicated in some types of asthma has shown promise in a Phase IIa clinical trial, according to U. S. researchers.

Asthma symptoms impair sleep quality and school performance in children Posted: 21 May 2013 07:52 AM PDT The negative effects of poorly controlled asthma symptoms on sleep quality and academic performance in urban schoolchildren has been confirmed in a new study.

How gold nanoparticles can help fight ovarian cancer Posted: 21 May 2013 07:50 AM PDT Positively charged gold nanoparticles are usually toxic to cells, but cancer cells somehow manage to avoid nanoparticle toxicity. Researchers found out why and determined how to make the nanoparticles effective against ovarian cancer cells.

Mediterranean diet seems to boost aging brain power Posted: 20 May 2013 03:54 PM PDT A Mediterranean diet with added extra virgin olive oil or mixed nuts seems to improve the brain power of older people better than advising them to follow a low-fat diet, according to new research.

Elusive search for biomarkers in Huntington's disease Posted: 20 May 2013 01:36 PM PDT While Huntington's disease (HD) is currently incurable, the HD research community anticipates that new disease-modifying therapies in development may slow or minimize disease progression. The success of HD research depends upon the identification of reliable and sensitive biomarkers to track disease and evaluate therapies, and these biomarkers may eventually be used as outcome measures in clinical trials. Biomarkers could be especially helpful to monitor changes during the time prior to diagnosis and appearance of overt symptomatology.

Premature birth interrupts vital brain development processes leading to reduced cognitive abilities in infants Posted: 20 May 2013 12:42 PM PDT Researchers have for the first time used a novel form of MRI to identify crucial developmental processes in the brain that are vulnerable to the effects of premature birth. This new study shows that disruption of these specific processes can have an impact on cognitive function.

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