Πέμπτη 29 Αυγούστου 2013

ScienceDaily: Top Health News

ScienceDaily: Top Health News


Kids' fast food ads emphasize giveaways more than food

Posted: 28 Aug 2013 06:11 PM PDT

Fast-food marketing aimed at children emphasizes giveaways and movie tie-ins much more frequently than ads targeted at adults, according to new research.

Promising chronic pain drug developed

Posted: 28 Aug 2013 02:28 PM PDT

A recent report indicates that 116-million Americans live with some form of chronic pain. Historically, chemists have developed drugs aimed at just one biological target. Two drugs used together may metabolize differently or present other issues. This new drug, named UMB 425 affects two different opioid receptors, providing diminished tolerance.

School-age drinking increases breast cancer risk​​​​​​

Posted: 28 Aug 2013 02:26 PM PDT

Here's a sobering fact for millions of young women heading back to school: The more alcohol they drink before motherhood, the greater their risk of future breast cancer.

Does migraine affect income or income affect migraine?

Posted: 28 Aug 2013 02:26 PM PDT

Studies show that migraine is more common among people with lower incomes. This relationship is examined in a study looking at whether developing migraines limits people's educational and career achievements, leading to a lower income status, or whether problems related to low income such as stressful life events and poor access to health care increase the likelihood of developing migraines.

Migraine may permanently change brain structure

Posted: 28 Aug 2013 02:26 PM PDT

Migraine may have long-lasting effects on the brain's structure, according to a new study.

Mindfulness training can help reduce teacher stress and burnout

Posted: 28 Aug 2013 11:48 AM PDT

Teachers who practice "mindfulness" are better able to reduce their own levels of stress and prevent burnout, according to a new study.

Brain inflammation linked to more severe Parkinson's symptoms

Posted: 28 Aug 2013 11:48 AM PDT

Reversing inflammation in the fluid surrounding the brain's cortex may provide a solution to the complex riddle of Parkinson's, according to researchers who have found a link between pro-inflammatory biomarkers and the severity of symptoms such as fatigue, depression and anxiety in patients with the chronic disease.

Researchers aim to use light -- not electric jolts -- to restore healthy heartbeats

Posted: 28 Aug 2013 11:48 AM PDT

When a beating heart slips into an irregular rhythm, the treatment is electric current from a pacemaker or defibrillator. But the electricity itself can cause pain, tissue damage and other side effects. Now, researchers want to replace jolts with a gentler remedy: light.

How anthrax toxins cause illness, death

Posted: 28 Aug 2013 11:48 AM PDT

Researchers have identified the cells in two distinct areas of the body that are simultaneously targeted for damage by anthrax toxins, eventually causing illness and sometimes death. Their findings are based on testing in mice. However, the results may contribute to the development of anthrax treatments for humans, the researchers say.

Scientists 'spike' stem cells to generate myelin

Posted: 28 Aug 2013 11:48 AM PDT

Stem cell technology has long offered the hope of regenerating tissue to repair broken or damaged neural tissue.

The science of collaboration

Posted: 28 Aug 2013 11:48 AM PDT

The future of biomedical innovation depends in part on a new trend for all players in biomedical innovation to work together for the common goal, say researchers.

Blocking molecular pathway reverses pulmonary hypertension in rats

Posted: 28 Aug 2013 11:48 AM PDT

Pulmonary hypertension, a deadly form of high blood pressure that develops in the lungs, may be caused by an inflammation-producing molecular pathway that damages the inner lining of blood vessels, according to a new study.

A major cause of age-related memory loss identified: Potentially reversible

Posted: 28 Aug 2013 11:48 AM PDT

Scientists have found that the deficiency of a protein called RbAp48 in the hippocampus is a significant contributor to age-related memory loss and that this form of memory loss is reversible. The study, conducted in postmortem human brain cells and in mice, also offers the strongest causal evidence that age-related memory loss and Alzheimer's disease are distinct conditions.

Intestinal flora determines health of obese people

Posted: 28 Aug 2013 10:19 AM PDT

Scientists have shown that there is a link between richness of bacterial species in the intestines and the susceptibility for medical complications related to obesity. The researchers demonstrated that people with fewer bacterial species in their intestines are more likely to develop complications, such as cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. A flora with decreased bacterial richness appears to function entirely differently to the healthy variety with greater diversity.

A potential cause of autism? Key enzymes are found to have a 'profound effect' across dozens of genes linked to autism

Posted: 28 Aug 2013 10:18 AM PDT

Problems with a key group of enzymes called topoisomerases can have profound effects on the genetic machinery behind brain development and potentially lead to autism spectrum disorder (ASD), according to new research. Scientists have described a finding that represents a significant advance in the hunt for environmental factors behind autism and lends new insights into the disorder's genetic causes.

New approach to prevent diabetes-induced birth defects?

Posted: 28 Aug 2013 10:11 AM PDT

Scientists have identified a cell signaling pathway which plays a significant role in causing developmental defects of the fetal spinal cord and brain in babies of women with diabetes. Using an animal model of disease, the team's results point to a potential new therapeutic target for preventing these defects in pregnant women having preexisting diabetes.

Scientists identify amyotrophic lateral sclerosis disease mechanism

Posted: 28 Aug 2013 10:10 AM PDT

Researchers have tied mutations in a gene that causes amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other neurodegenerative disorders to the toxic buildup of certain proteins and related molecules in cells, including neurons.

Scientists uncover how superbug fights off antibiotic

Posted: 28 Aug 2013 08:41 AM PDT

Scientists working to stem the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria have taken a major step in their efforts to develop new treatments. In a new study, researchers report they have identified a novel mechanism that a particular superbug uses to fend off a key front-line antibiotic called daptomycin. The superbug often affects critically ill patients.

Autistic children can outgrow difficulty understanding visual cues and sounds

Posted: 28 Aug 2013 08:41 AM PDT

Scientists have shown that high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (ASD) children appear to outgrow a critical social communication disability. Younger children with ASD have trouble integrating the auditory and visual cues associated with speech, but the researchers found that the problem clears up in adolescence.

UK children less likely to be diagnosed with ADHD than US children

Posted: 28 Aug 2013 07:34 AM PDT

New research suggests that children are far less likely to be diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in the UK than they are in the US. However, the same study suggests that autism diagnosis is still rising.

Parasitic worm genome uncovers potential drug targets

Posted: 28 Aug 2013 07:33 AM PDT

Researchers have identified five enzymes that are essential to the survival of a parasitic worm that infects livestock worldwide and is a great threat to global food security. Two of these proteins are already being studied as potential drug targets against other pathogens.

Expectant mothers' periodontal health vital to health of her baby

Posted: 28 Aug 2013 06:23 AM PDT

New clinical recommendations urge pregnant women to maintain periodontal health as well. Research has indicated that women with periodontal disease may be at risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes, such giving birth to a pre-term or low-birth weight baby.

Combating sports-related concussions: New device accurately and objectively diagnoses concussions from the sidelines

Posted: 28 Aug 2013 06:23 AM PDT

There are millions of sports-related concussions each year, but many go undiagnosed because the fear of being benched often trumps the fear of permanent brain damage, and there is no objective test available to accurately diagnose concussions on the sidelines. Researchers have set out to change that by developing software and an inexpensive balance board that can measure balance with 99 percent accuracy on the field and in the clinic.

Spread of farming and origin of lactase persistence in Neolithic Age

Posted: 28 Aug 2013 06:20 AM PDT

Scientists have brought to light the spread of dairy farming in Europe and the development of milk tolerance in adult humans. It was after the transition from a hunter-gatherer society to that of a settled farming culture in the Neolithic period that dairy-related animal husbandry first evolved, and this practice spread from the Middle East to all of Europe. The processing of milk to make cheese and yogurt contributed significantly to the development of dairy farming, as this represented a way of reducing the lactose content of fresh milk to tolerable levels, making a valuable foodstuff available to the human population.

Personal goals may facilitate or hinder older adults' striving for exercise

Posted: 28 Aug 2013 06:20 AM PDT

Although exercise may significantly promote healthy aging, many older adults remain sedentary. One reason for this may lie behind older adults' personal goals.

Zealous imaging fuelling unnecessary and harmful treatment of low risk thyroid cancers, experts warn

Posted: 27 Aug 2013 05:43 PM PDT

New imaging techniques are fuelling an epidemic in diagnosis and treatment of thyroid cancers that are unlikely to ever progress to cause symptoms or death, warn experts.

Broccoli could be key in the fight against osteoarthritis

Posted: 27 Aug 2013 05:40 PM PDT

A compound found in broccoli could be key to preventing or slowing the progress of the most common form of arthritis, according to new research.

T-cell targeted therapy tested in type 1 diabetes study

Posted: 27 Aug 2013 05:39 PM PDT

Results from the START clinical study (Study of Thymoglobulin to Arrest Newly Diagnosed Type 1 Diabetes) are now available. The study did not meet its primary endpoint: at 12 months, insulin production, as measured by C-peptide responses, showed no difference in overall decline between the treatment and placebo groups.

New moms and obese people risk complications from influenza

Posted: 27 Aug 2013 09:27 AM PDT

New mothers and obese people, two groups not typically regarded as risk groups, were found to have a higher risk of death and other severe outcomes from influenza, according to a new global study.

Calcium supplements may not prevent bone loss in women with breast cancer

Posted: 27 Aug 2013 08:19 AM PDT

New research finds that the recommended daily doses of calcium and vitamin D supplements may not prevent loss of bone mineral density (BMD) in women undergoing breast cancer.

Divorce elevates risk for depression, but only for some people

Posted: 27 Aug 2013 06:17 AM PDT

Divorce is associated with an increased risk of future depressive episodes but only for those who already have a history of depression, according to a new study.

Coming soon to an optometrist's office near you: Wavefront analysis

Posted: 27 Aug 2013 06:17 AM PDT

Techniques developed by astronomers seeking a clear view of objects in space are coming closer to home, as eye care professionals apply the concept of wavefront optics to understanding -- and correcting -- subtle visual abnormalities of the human eye, according to a new article.

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