ScienceDaily: Top Health News

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• Pills of the future: Nanoparticles; Researchers design drug-carrying nanoparticles that can be taken orally
• Tongue-controlled wheelchair outperforms popular wheelchair navigation system
• Study connects dots between genes, human behavior
• Cancer increasing as babyboomers age
• Promising new treatment helps people with spine injuries walk better
• Scientists identify potential target for malaria drugs
• Researchers show how modified pacemaker strengthens failing hearts
• New clues to memory formation may help better treat dementia
• Key protein responsible for controlling communication between brain cells identified
• Polymer foam expands potential to treat aneurysms
• Genetic mutation increases risk of Parkinson's disease from pesticides
• Modafinil reduces depression's severity when taken with antidepressants
• Hysterectomized women may benefit from testosterone
• Mental health conditions cause greater stigma in families than physical problems
• Scientists design, test new approach for corneal stem cell treatments
• Negative BRCA testing may not always imply lowered breast cancer risk
• Automated prediction alert helps identify patients at risk for 30-day readmission
• Scientists work to engineer injectable therapy for rotator cuff injuries
• High salt levels in medicines increase risk of cardiovascular events
• Delivery rates unaffected by transferring fewer embryos, reimbursing six cycles of fertility treatment
• 2009 pandemic flu death toll much higher than official worldwide estimates
• Treating C. difficile with transplant of healthy fecal matter
• Treatment target identified for public health risk parasite
• Implantable slimming aid
• HIV vaccine preventing healthy cells' infection
• Brain bypass surgery gives young man his life back
• Medical research needs kids, two-thirds of parents unaware of opportunities
• Researchers have a nose for how probiotics could affect hay fever
• When the living, deceased don't agree on organ donation
• MR spectroscopy shows differences in brains of preterm infants

Pills of the future: Nanoparticles; Researchers design drug-carrying nanoparticles that can be taken orally Posted: 27 Nov 2013 02:04 PM PST Drugs delivered by nanoparticles hold promise for targeted treatment of many diseases, including cancer. However, the particles have to be injected into patients, which has limited their usefulness so far. Now, researchers have developed a new type of nanoparticle that can be delivered orally and absorbed through the digestive tract, allowing patients to simply take a pill instead of receiving injections.

Tongue-controlled wheelchair outperforms popular wheelchair navigation system Posted: 27 Nov 2013 02:04 PM PST Individuals with paralysis in a new clinical trial were able to use a tongue-controlled technology to access computers and execute commands for their wheelchairs at speeds that were significantly faster than those recorded in sip-and-puff wheelchairs, but with equal accuracy. The new study is the first to show that the wireless and wearable Tongue Drive System outperforms sip-and-puff in controlling wheelchairs. Sip-and-puff is the most popular assistive technology for controlling a wheelchair.

Study connects dots between genes, human behavior Posted: 27 Nov 2013 02:01 PM PST Establishing links between genes, the brain and human behavior is a central issue in cognitive neuroscience research, but studying how genes influence cognitive abilities and behavior as the brain develops from childhood to adulthood has proven difficult. Now, an international team of scientists has made inroads to understanding how genes influence brain structure and cognitive abilities and how neural circuits produce language.

Cancer increasing as babyboomers age Posted: 27 Nov 2013 02:00 PM PST As 10,000 baby boomers reach 65 each day, the incidence of cancer is increasing, estimated to increase by 67% between 2010 and 2030, bringing attention to the nation's response to cancer care. Cancer is diagnosed at a higher rate, accounts for more survivors, and results in more deaths than in younger patients.

Promising new treatment helps people with spine injuries walk better Posted: 27 Nov 2013 02:00 PM PST Scientists may have found a new treatment that can help people with spinal cord injuries walk better.

Scientists identify potential target for malaria drugs Posted: 27 Nov 2013 10:29 AM PST Researchers have identified the protein in malaria-causing Plasmodium parasites that is inhibited by a newly discovered class of anti-malarial compounds known as imidazopyrazines. The protein, phosphatidylinositol 4-kinase, is the first potential malaria drug target shown to be essential to all stages of the Plasmodium life cycle; imidazopyrazines impede its activity throughout this process.

Researchers show how modified pacemaker strengthens failing hearts Posted: 27 Nov 2013 10:09 AM PST Heart researchers are unraveling the mystery of how a modified pacemaker used to treat many patients with heart failure, known as cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT), is able to strengthen the heart muscle while making it beat in a coordinated fashion. In a new study conducted on animal heart cells, the scientists show that CRT changes these cells so they can contract more forcefully. The researchers also identified an enzyme that mimics this effect of CRT without use of the device.

New clues to memory formation may help better treat dementia Posted: 27 Nov 2013 09:24 AM PST Do fruit flies hold the key to treating dementia? Biologists have taken a significant step forward in unraveling the mechanisms of Pavlovian conditioning. Their work will help them understand how memories form and, ultimately, provide better treatments to improve memory in all ages.

Key protein responsible for controlling communication between brain cells identified Posted: 27 Nov 2013 09:24 AM PST Scientists are a step closer to understanding how some of the brain's 100 billion nerve cells co-ordinate their communication.

Polymer foam expands potential to treat aneurysms Posted: 27 Nov 2013 09:23 AM PST Researchers are using the unique contraction and expansion properties of shape memory polymer foam to design a much improved treatment for brain aneurysms, which cause severe neurological damage or death for 30,000 Americans each year.

Genetic mutation increases risk of Parkinson's disease from pesticides Posted: 27 Nov 2013 09:23 AM PST Study uses patient-derived stem cells to show that a mutation in the α-synuclein gene causes increased vulnerability to pesticides, leading to Parkinson's disease.

Modafinil reduces depression's severity when taken with antidepressants Posted: 27 Nov 2013 08:53 AM PST A new study has concluded that taking the drug modafinil, typically used to treat sleep disorders, in combination with antidepressants reduces the severity of depression more effectively than taking antidepressants alone.

Hysterectomized women may benefit from testosterone Posted: 27 Nov 2013 08:05 AM PST New research has found that testosterone administration in women with low testosterone levels, whom previously had undergone hysterectomy with or without oophorectomy, was associated with improvements in sexual function, muscle mass and physical function.

Mental health conditions cause greater stigma in families than physical problems Posted: 27 Nov 2013 08:03 AM PST Mental and physical illnesses necessarily impact upon the lives of the relatives of those afflicted by them, all the more so in families where a member has a mental illness, because they suffer more discrimination. The results are based on a study carried out in 28 countries.

Scientists design, test new approach for corneal stem cell treatments Posted: 27 Nov 2013 07:59 AM PST Researchers have designed and tested a novel, minute-long procedure to prepare human amniotic membrane for use as a scaffold for specialized stem cells that may be used to treat some corneal diseases. This membrane serves as a foundation that supports the growth of stem cells in order to graft them onto the cornea. This new method may accelerate research and clinical applications for stem cell corneal transplantation.

Negative BRCA testing may not always imply lowered breast cancer risk Posted: 27 Nov 2013 07:59 AM PST Women who are members of families with BRCA2 mutations but who test negative for the family-specific BRCA2 mutations are still at greater risk for developing breast cancer compared with women in the general population, according to a study.

Automated prediction alert helps identify patients at risk for 30-day readmission Posted: 27 Nov 2013 07:59 AM PST An automated prediction tool which identifies newly admitted patients who are at risk for readmission within 30 days of discharge has been successfully incorporated into the electronic health record of an American hospital.

Scientists work to engineer injectable therapy for rotator cuff injuries Posted: 27 Nov 2013 07:59 AM PST A research team is attempting to engineer an injectable therapy for the shoulder's supraspinatus tendon, a rotator cuff tendon that is commonly torn in sports. When the tendon is damaged, the body makes things worse by activating enzymes that further break down the tendon. The scientists hope to develop an injectable compound that would deliver an inhibitor capable of blocking these enzymes, thereby reducing the severity of the injury or even healing the tissue.

High salt levels in medicines increase risk of cardiovascular events Posted: 26 Nov 2013 04:15 PM PST Millions of patients taking effervescent, dispersible and soluble medicines containing sodium are at greater risk of cardiovascular events compared with patients taking non-effervescent, dispersible and soluble versions of the same drugs, finds a study published.

Delivery rates unaffected by transferring fewer embryos, reimbursing six cycles of fertility treatment Posted: 26 Nov 2013 04:14 PM PST Research from Belgium has shown that if governments legislate to restrict the numbers of embryos transferred during fertility treatment, but combine it with a policy of reimbursing six cycles of assisted reproduction technology (ART), there is no detrimental impact on pregnancy and delivery rates. However, there is a greatly reduced risk of multiple births, which have associated health risks for mother and babies and are an increased cost to the state.

2009 pandemic flu death toll much higher than official worldwide estimates Posted: 26 Nov 2013 04:14 PM PST A research team consisting of more than 60 collaborators in 26 countries has estimated the global death toll from the 2009 outbreak of the H1N1 virus to be 10 times higher than the World Health Organization's count, which was based on laboratory-confirmed cases of this flu. The study suggests that the pandemic virus caused up to 203,000 respiratory deaths around the world.

Treating C. difficile with transplant of healthy fecal matter Posted: 26 Nov 2013 04:14 PM PST Scientists have found that restoring the normal, helpful bacteria of the gut and intestines may treat patients suffering from recurrent Clostridium difficile infections.

Treatment target identified for public health risk parasite Posted: 26 Nov 2013 10:47 AM PST In the developing world, Cryptosporidium parvum has long been the scourge of freshwater. Its rapid ability to spread, combined with an incredible resilience to water decontamination techniques, such as chlorination, led the National Institutes of Health in the United Sates to add C. parvum to its list of public bioterrorism agents. Currently, there are no reliable treatments for cryptosporidiosis, but that may be about to change with the identification of a target molecule.

Implantable slimming aid Posted: 26 Nov 2013 09:39 AM PST Biotechnologists have constructed a genetic regulatory circuit from human components that monitors blood-fat levels. In response to excessive levels, it produces a messenger substance that signalizes satiety to the body. Tests on obese mice reveal that this helps them to lose weight.

HIV vaccine preventing healthy cells' infection Posted: 26 Nov 2013 09:38 AM PST AIDS research has attempted many strategies to tackle the HIV virus infection. Now, a new type of vaccine is based on one of the envelope proteins of the HIV virus, called the gp41 protein. What makes it interesting is that it is directly responsible for the fusion of the HIV virus into human cells. By integrating the gp41 protein into the vaccine, researchers try to trigger the production of antibodies that would block the entrance of HIV into human cells.

Brain bypass surgery gives young man his life back Posted: 26 Nov 2013 09:37 AM PST A neuroradiologist inserts a micro-catheter into an aneurysm and injects a flourescent dye, a complex, rare and new procedure which provides a neurosurgeon a clear view of the blood vessel that feeds the aneurysm. The surgeon then knows where to sew in a tranplanted blood vessel to bypass the aneursym.

Medical research needs kids, two-thirds of parents unaware of opportunities Posted: 26 Nov 2013 09:37 AM PST To improve healthcare for children, medical research that involves kids is a must. Yet, only five percent of parents say their children have ever participated in any type of medical research.

Researchers have a nose for how probiotics could affect hay fever Posted: 26 Nov 2013 07:23 AM PST A study has shown that a daily probiotic drink changed how cells lining the nasal passages of hay fever sufferers reacted to a single out-of-season challenge. However, it did not lead to significant changes in hay fever symptoms, although this challenge test may not have accurately represented natural allergen exposure.

When the living, deceased don't agree on organ donation Posted: 26 Nov 2013 06:27 AM PST All 50 states have adopted laws giving individuals the right to consent to organ donation after death via a signed donor card or driver's license, or by enrollment in a donor registry. While such laws give hospitals legal authority to proceed with organ procurement without consent of the registered donor's family, a new study shows that organ procurement organizations' implementation has been inconsistent and incomplete.

MR spectroscopy shows differences in brains of preterm infants Posted: 26 Nov 2013 06:26 AM PST Premature birth appears to trigger developmental processes in the white matter of the brain that could put children at higher risk of problems later in life, according to a study.

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