ScienceDaily: Top Health News

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• What could possibly go wrong? A lot: Injuries from the Tough Mudder
• Molecule critical to healing wounds identified
• HIV protein may impact neurocognitive impairment in infected patients
• Can certain herbs stave off Alzheimer's disease?
• Vivax malaria may be evolving around natural defense
• Study shows bariatric surgery may turn back the effects of aging
• Researchers home in on roots of Caribbean populations using new DNA analysis method
• Key links between consumption, climate change
• New technique for developing drugs to treat serious illnesses
• Starting dialysis after conception may improve birth rates
• Pediatric ICU nurses with more experience, education cut inpatient mortality
• Social media brings academic journals to general readers
• Smartphone apps to help smokers quit come up short
• Immune-modulating drug unexpectedly benefits mice with fatal mitochondrial defect
• Anthrax bacteria play hide and seek
• Nicotine withdrawal traced to very specific group of brain cells
• Toxin produced by bacteria could serve as model for next-generation antibiotics
• Copper intake makes tumors breathe
• Low-dose treatment may block malaria transmission
• Topical treatment for psoriasis targets deeper layers of the skin, improves healing
• Primary care key to management of patients with HIV infection
• New malaria vaccines roadmap targets next generation products by 2030
• Rapid testing to diagnose flu leads to more appropriate care in ED
• Privately insured bariatric surgery patients lose more weight than government-subsidized
• Doctor says yes, insurer says no: higher death rate
• Research findings will help in fight against dengue

What could possibly go wrong? A lot: Injuries from the Tough Mudder Posted: 15 Nov 2013 12:45 PM PST The Tough Mudder, an extreme sports event that bills itself as "probably the toughest event on the planet," resulted in injuries ranging from multiple electrical burns to seizure-induced Todd's paralysis. A case series of serious injuries sustained by participants in one such race was reported in a new article.

Molecule critical to healing wounds identified Posted: 15 Nov 2013 10:03 AM PST Skin provides a first line of defense against viruses, bacteria and parasites that might otherwise make people ill. When an injury breaks that barrier, a systematic chain of molecular signaling launches to close the wound and re-establish the skin's layer of protection. A study now shows that the molecule FOX01 is critical to the wound-healing process.

HIV protein may impact neurocognitive impairment in infected patients Posted: 15 Nov 2013 10:02 AM PST A protein shed by HIV-infected brain cells alters synaptic connections between networks of nerve cells, according to new research. The findings could explain why nearly half of all patients infected with the AIDS virus experience some level of neurocognitive impairment.

Can certain herbs stave off Alzheimer's disease? Posted: 15 Nov 2013 08:15 AM PST Researchers have found that antioxidant extracts from spearmint and rosemary fight mild cognitive impairment in an animal model.

Vivax malaria may be evolving around natural defense Posted: 15 Nov 2013 06:49 AM PST Researchers have discovered recent genetic mutations in a parasite that causes over 100 million cases of malaria annually -- changes that may render tens of millions of Africans who had been considered resistant, susceptible to infection.

Study shows bariatric surgery may turn back the effects of aging Posted: 15 Nov 2013 06:37 AM PST Researchers say surgical weight loss may turn back the effects of aging at a genetic level, in the first study of its kind.

Researchers home in on roots of Caribbean populations using new DNA analysis method Posted: 14 Nov 2013 04:33 PM PST Those of us who want to learn about our ancestors -- who they were, where they came from and how they mingled (or didn't) with others around them -- often turn to historical records or elderly family members for answers. But a new study indicates that the answers can also be found within our own genes.

Key links between consumption, climate change Posted: 14 Nov 2013 04:32 PM PST Models of future climate scenarios have taken insufficient account of population patterns and trends, according to a review. The review examines the interconnections between population growth and climate change, from the perspective of global health.

New technique for developing drugs to treat serious illnesses Posted: 14 Nov 2013 04:32 PM PST Researchers exploit the power of evolution to create designer proteins to build drugs for the treatment of serious illnesses.

Starting dialysis after conception may improve birth rates Posted: 14 Nov 2013 04:31 PM PST Compared with women with advanced kidney disease who conceived after starting dialysis, women who conceived and then started dialysis during the pregnancy had a much better live birth rate (91% vs 63%), and their infants were of similar birth weight and gestational age. In both groups of women with kidney disease, babies were likely to be premature and of low birth-weight, which reflects the high-risk nature of these pregnancies.

Pediatric ICU nurses with more experience, education cut inpatient mortality Posted: 14 Nov 2013 12:58 PM PST Nursing leaders from 38 children's hospitals demonstrated that nursing education and experience significantly impact outcomes for patients who underwent cardiac surgery. The researchers recommend that there be no more than 20 percent of nurses with less than two years of clinical experience in pediatric ICUs to decrease mortality rates.

Social media brings academic journals to general readers Posted: 14 Nov 2013 12:58 PM PST A study recently published shows that a handful of academic journals have successfully leveraged social media to reach many times the readers of the journals themselves. But the majority of journals have yet to embrace social media and so lag behind professional organizations and patient advocacy groups in their ability to disseminate information in a culturally relevant way.

Smartphone apps to help smokers quit come up short Posted: 14 Nov 2013 12:57 PM PST Most popular smartphone apps do not include evidence-based practices known to help smokers quit, finds a new study.

Immune-modulating drug unexpectedly benefits mice with fatal mitochondrial defect Posted: 14 Nov 2013 11:21 AM PST In a lab devoted to increasing healthy lifespans, the transplant anti-rejection drug rapamycin showed unexpected health benefits and increased survival in a mouse model of a fatal mitochondrial defect. Children with the untreatable condition suffer from brain damage and muscle weakness, and rarely live beyond 6 or 7 years. The drug enables the body to bypass the mitochondrial defect by switching its metabolism to burn fats and amino acids instead of glucose, and thereby reduces toxic byproducts.

Anthrax bacteria play hide and seek Posted: 14 Nov 2013 09:20 AM PST An anthrax infection can be fatal even when the infectious agent is no longer detected. Research reveals the way its lethal factor manages to turn invisible to the immune system.

Nicotine withdrawal traced to very specific group of brain cells Posted: 14 Nov 2013 09:20 AM PST Nicotine withdrawal might take over your body, but it doesn't take over your brain. The symptoms of nicotine withdrawal are driven by a very specific group of neurons within a very specific brain region, according to a report. Although caution is warranted, the researchers say, the findings in mice suggest that therapies directed at this group of neurons might one day help people quit smoking.

Toxin produced by bacteria could serve as model for next-generation antibiotics Posted: 14 Nov 2013 09:20 AM PST The recent rise in antibiotic-resistant bacteria is a serious public health threat, and there is a need for new therapeutic strategies to combat these infections. A study has revealed a new toxin that inhibits bacterial growth by blocking the DNA replication machinery, which is not targeted by currently available antibiotics. The findings open new therapeutic avenues for developing the next generation of antibiotics.

Copper intake makes tumors breathe Posted: 14 Nov 2013 07:25 AM PST Copper imbalances have been associated with a number of pathological conditions, including cancer. Scientists have found that copper in drinking water -- given at the maximum levels permitted in public water supplies -- accelerated the growth of tumors in mice. On the other hand, reducing copper levels reduced tumor growth. The study strongly suggests that copper is an essential factor for the growth of tumors in humans as well.

Low-dose treatment may block malaria transmission Posted: 14 Nov 2013 07:25 AM PST Lower doses of the antimalarial drug primaquine are as effective as higher doses in reducing malaria transmission, according to a study.

Topical treatment for psoriasis targets deeper layers of the skin, improves healing Posted: 14 Nov 2013 07:19 AM PST A novel combination anti-psoriasis therapy has potential for superior and longer-lasting therapeutic effects than current topical treatments by targeting genetic abnormalities in deeper layers of the skin.

Primary care key to management of patients with HIV infection Posted: 14 Nov 2013 06:49 AM PST The HIV Medicine Association of the Infectious Diseases Society of America has updated its HIV care guidelines to reflect the fact that people with HIV are now living normal life spans, and their physicians need to focus on preventive care, including screening for high cholesterol, diabetes and osteoporosis.

New malaria vaccines roadmap targets next generation products by 2030 Posted: 14 Nov 2013 06:49 AM PST The world should aim to have vaccines that reduce malaria cases by 75 percent, and are capable of eliminating malaria, licensed by 2030, according to the updated 2013 Malaria Vaccine Technology Roadmap, launched today. This new target comes in addition to the original 2006 Roadmap's goal of having a licensed vaccine against Plasmodium falciparum malaria, the most deadly form of the disease, for children under 5 years of age in sub-Saharan Africa by 2015.

Rapid testing to diagnose flu leads to more appropriate care in ED Posted: 14 Nov 2013 06:49 AM PST When patients in the emergency department are diagnosed with influenza by means of a rapid test, they get fewer unnecessary antibiotics, are prescribed antiviral medications more frequently, and have fewer additional lab tests compared to patients diagnosed with influenza without testing, according to a new study. The findings suggest that diagnosing influenza with a rapid diagnostic test leads to more appropriate, specific, and efficient care.

Privately insured bariatric surgery patients lose more weight than government-subsidized Posted: 14 Nov 2013 06:41 AM PST Researchers found the biggest determinant of weight loss after bariatric surgery was not how long a patient was on a medically supervised diet program before surgery, but whether or not the patient had private or government-subsidized insurance.

Doctor says yes, insurer says no: higher death rate Posted: 14 Nov 2013 06:41 AM PST Researchers found patients who were denied or delayed insurance approval for bariatric surgery, despite being cleared by their medical team, had a mortality rate three times higher than patients who received insurance approval without delay.

Research findings will help in fight against dengue Posted: 13 Nov 2013 03:24 PM PST A study by an international team of researchers will help decrease the risk of dengue, a life-threatening mosquito-borne viral disease that is now one of the fastest spreading tropical diseases globally.

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