ScienceDaily: Top Health News

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• Risks of testosterone treatment urgently needed, researcher suggests
• Zinc supplementation shows promise in reducing cell stress after blasts
• Cartilage, made to order: Living human cartilage grown on lab chip
• Can exercise help reduce methamphetamine use?
• Novel drug cocktail may improve clinical treatment for pancreatic cancer
• Alcohol use in adolescence connected to risky behavior in adulthood
• Fight memory loss with a smile (or chuckle)
• School nutrition, wellness program improves eating habits, lowers BMI
• Diet can predict cognitive decline, researchers say
• Specialized yoga program could help women with urinary incontinence
• Critical end-stage liver disease discovery made
• Revolutionary 'metamaterial' has potential to reshape neurosurgery
• Primary HPV screening offers important new option for cervical cancer detection, prevention
• Protein crucial for development of biological rhythms in mice identified by researchers
• Study supports safety of antimicrobial peptide-coated contact lenses

Risks of testosterone treatment urgently needed, researcher suggests Posted: 27 Apr 2014 03:52 PM PDT Physicians do not have sufficient information from clinical trials to understand the risks associated with the prescription of testosterone in older men, according to an expert.

Zinc supplementation shows promise in reducing cell stress after blasts Posted: 27 Apr 2014 03:51 PM PDT Supplementation with zinc might reduce cell stress after the type of blast injury soldiers experience from IEDs, researchers say. Each year, approximately 2 million traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) occur in the USA, including with soldiers, with little more than ibuprofen to treat them. Results of a new study suggest that zinc supplementation reduces blast-induced cell stress.

Cartilage, made to order: Living human cartilage grown on lab chip Posted: 27 Apr 2014 03:51 PM PDT The first example of living human cartilage grown on a laboratory chip has been created by scientists. The researchers ultimately aim to use their innovative 3-D printing approach to create replacement cartilage for patients with osteoarthritis or soldiers with battlefield injuries. Osteoarthritis is marked by a gradual disintegration of cartilage, a flexible tissue that provides padding where bones come together in a joint. Causing severe pain and loss of mobility in joints such as knees and fingers, osteoarthritis is one of the leading causes of physical disability in the United States.

Can exercise help reduce methamphetamine use? Posted: 27 Apr 2014 03:51 PM PDT Exercise may help reduce methamphetamine use, researchers have concluded after a recent study. The abuse of amphetamine type psychomotor stimulants remains a critical legal and public health problem in the US.

Novel drug cocktail may improve clinical treatment for pancreatic cancer Posted: 27 Apr 2014 03:51 PM PDT A potential combination therapy for pancreatic cancer that, when used in mice, is more effective than the chemotherapy drug traditionally used alone has been developed by researchers. Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer deaths in the U.S. and has the lowest overall survival rate of all major cancers (~6%).

Alcohol use in adolescence connected to risky behavior in adulthood Posted: 27 Apr 2014 03:51 PM PDT Teen drinking alters brain chemistry, suggesting early alcohol use has long-term effects on decision making, an animal study demonstrates. The findings could shed light on the development of alcohol and drug addiction. "In humans, the younger you are when you first experience alcohol, the more likely you are to experience problems with alcohol in adulthood," researchers say. The study bolsters the evidence that alcohol exposure early in life can have long-term effects on risk taking and decision making, which can increase a person's risk for substance abuse problems.

Fight memory loss with a smile (or chuckle) Posted: 27 Apr 2014 03:51 PM PDT The stress hormone cortisol can negatively affect memory and learning ability in the elderly. Researchers found that showing a 20-minute funny video to healthy seniors and seniors with diabetes helped them score better on memory tests and significantly reduced their cortisol levels when compared to non-video watchers.

School nutrition, wellness program improves eating habits, lowers BMI Posted: 27 Apr 2014 03:51 PM PDT Percentage of overweight or obese children in test school drops from 56 percent to 38 percent over the course of a single school year thanks to a new nutrition program that fits into Common Core standards. Researchers say the program could be adopted nationally at little cost to schools. "When we designed the study, we anticipated short-term outcomes like kids having more knowledge of nutrition or being able to identify more vegetables. We always had a long-term goal of decreasing BMI, but we didn't anticipate that it would happen in such a short timeframe. We are thrilled," they say.

Diet can predict cognitive decline, researchers say Posted: 27 Apr 2014 09:10 AM PDT Lower dietary consumption of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexanoic acid (DHA) might be risk factors for cognitive decline, researchers say. There is growing evidence that very long chain omega-3 fatty acids are beneficial for maintaining cognitive health. "While more research is needed to determine whether intake of fatty fish such as salmon, tuna and trout can help prevent against cognitive decline, our preliminary data support previous research showing that intake of these types of fish have health benefits," one researcher said.

Specialized yoga program could help women with urinary incontinence Posted: 26 Apr 2014 06:13 AM PDT An ancient form of meditation and exercise could help women who suffer from urinary incontinence, according to a new study. researchers discovered that a yoga training program, designed to improve pelvic health, can help women gain more control over their urination and avoid accidental urine leakage. Men were not included in this study because urinary incontinence in men is often related to problems related to the prostate, which may be less likely to improve with yoga.

Critical end-stage liver disease discovery made Posted: 25 Apr 2014 01:23 PM PDT The discovery of an unknown cellular pathway has helped scientists and physicians better understand end-stage liver disease and offers a potential target for new therapeutics that could slow or even reverse the disease's progression. Although cirrhosis of the liver is most commonly associated with alcohol or drug abuse, the condition -- marked by scar tissue replacing healthy liver tissue -- also can result from viral hepatitis, obesity and diabetes, as well as certain inherited diseases.

Revolutionary 'metamaterial' has potential to reshape neurosurgery Posted: 25 Apr 2014 01:23 PM PDT The development of graphene -— a highly advanced metamaterial with many unique and varied properties -— may lead to exciting new applications in the diagnosis and treatment of neurological diseases, according to a report. The authors write, "As a surgical specialty that heavily relies on technological innovations, it is expected that neurosurgery will significantly benefit from several graphene-based technological developments in the next decades."

Primary HPV screening offers important new option for cervical cancer detection, prevention Posted: 24 Apr 2014 01:15 PM PDT New options for detecting and preventing cervical cancer have been welcomed recently into the scientific community, including the primary human papillomavirus (HPV) testing recently approved by the FDA. Primary HPV testing does not replace the Pap test, and it is extremely unlikely that doctors will stop using the Pap any time soon. However, FDA approval of primary HPV testing means the HPV test can be used first when screening a woman for cervical cancer.

Protein crucial for development of biological rhythms in mice identified by researchers Posted: 24 Apr 2014 09:46 AM PDT A protein essential to the formation of the tiny brain region in mice that coordinates sleep-wake cycles and other so-called circadian rhythms has been identified by researchers. By disabling the gene for that key protein in test animals, the scientists were able to home in on the mechanism by which that brain region, known as the suprachiasmatic nucleus or SCN, becomes the body's master clock while the embryo is developing.

Study supports safety of antimicrobial peptide-coated contact lenses Posted: 24 Apr 2014 08:27 AM PDT Contact lenses coated with an antimicrobial peptide could help to lower the risk of contact lens-related infections, reports a study. Studies in animals and now humans support the biocompatibility and safety of lenses coated with the antimicrobial peptide melimine. The authors write, "[T]his study has shown that melimine coated contact lenses can be safely worn by humans without any major side effects."

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