ScienceDaily: Top Health News

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• Nurture trumps nature in study of oral bacteria in human twins, study finds
• Single gene variant in donors may affect survival of transplanted kidneys
• Safety results of intra-arterial stem cell clinical trial for stroke presented
• New studies could result in better treatments for epilepsy, behavioral disorders
• Enzyme triggers cell death in heart attack
• Anti-cancer drug fights immune reaction in some infants with Pompe disease
• More than just 'zoning out': Exploring the cognitive processes behind mind wandering
• Engineered flies spill secret of seizures
• Antibiotic resistance a growing concern with urinary tract infection
• Using cell phone data to curb the spread of malaria
• Anesthetic combination provides a more rapid recovery after oral surgery
• Clues to cancer metastasis: Discovery points to potential therapies for bone metastasis
• Alzheimer's sufferers may function better with less visual clutter
• Parental bonding makes for happy, stable child
• How nerve signals are sent around the body at varying speeds as electrical impulses
• Airborne superbugs elude hospital cleaning regimes
• New insight into celiac disease
• Feeding the Schwanns: New technique could bring cell therapy for nerve damage a step closer
• Twenty-one genes tied to cholesterol levels identified
• Stopping the itch: New clues into how to treat eczema
• Diverse intestinal viruses may play a role in AIDS progression
• New model explains role of dopamine in immune regulation
• New tool determines leukemia cells' 'readiness to die,' may guide clinical care
• Target for obesity drugs comes into focus
• Novel mechanisms underlying major childhood neuromuscular disease identified
• Brain scans predict children's reading ability
• Prospective Alzheimer's drug builds new brain cell connections, improves cognitive function of rats
• Gene implicated in schizophrenia risk is also associated with risk for cannabis dependence
• Generation of functional thyroid tissue from stem cells
• Advance in manipulating T-cells

Nurture trumps nature in study of oral bacteria in human twins, study finds Posted: 11 Oct 2012 02:33 PM PDT A new long-term study of human twins indicates the makeup of the population of bacteria bathing in their saliva is driven more by environmental factors than heritability.

Single gene variant in donors may affect survival of transplanted kidneys Posted: 11 Oct 2012 02:30 PM PDT A single genetic variant in kidney donors' cells may help determine whether their transplanted organs will survive long term, according to a new study. The findings provide new information that might be used to improve transplant longevity by revealing that the genetic make-up of kidney transplant donors affects the survival of transplanted organs.

Safety results of intra-arterial stem cell clinical trial for stroke presented Posted: 11 Oct 2012 01:21 PM PDT Early results of a Phase II intra-arterial stem cell trial for ischemic stroke showed no adverse events associated with the first 10 patients, allowing investigators to expand the study to a targeted total of 100 patients.

New studies could result in better treatments for epilepsy, behavioral disorders Posted: 11 Oct 2012 01:21 PM PDT Three studies could result in new types of treatment for the disease and, as a bonus, for behavioral disorders as well.

Enzyme triggers cell death in heart attack Posted: 11 Oct 2012 01:21 PM PDT A new study shows that CaM kinase II enzyme activity triggers heart cell death by making the cells' energy-producing mitochondria leaky. Inhibiting the enzyme in mitochondria protected mice from heart cell death during heart attack and other forms of heart stress. The findings could lead to better therapies for common forms of heart disease.

Anti-cancer drug fights immune reaction in some infants with Pompe disease Posted: 11 Oct 2012 01:21 PM PDT Adding a third anti-cancer agent to a current drug cocktail appears to have contributed to dramatic improvement in three infants with the most severe form of Pompe disease -- a rare, often-fatal genetic disorder characterized by low or no production of an enzyme crucial to survival.

More than just 'zoning out': Exploring the cognitive processes behind mind wandering Posted: 11 Oct 2012 01:21 PM PDT It happens innocently enough: One minute you're working on a report and the next minute you're thinking about how you need to do laundry. Mind wandering is frequent and common. And while it can be counterproductive, research suggests that mind wandering isn't necessarily a bad thing. New research explores mind wandering in various contexts, examining how it relates to cognitive processes involved in working memory and executive control.

Engineered flies spill secret of seizures Posted: 11 Oct 2012 12:16 PM PDT Scientists have observed the neurological mechanism behind temperature-dependent -- febrile -- seizures by genetically engineering fruit flies to harbor a mutation analogous to one that causes epileptic seizures in people. In addition to contributing the insight on epilepsy, their new study also highlights the first use of genetic engineering to swap a human genetic disease mutation into a directly analogous gene in a fly.

Antibiotic resistance a growing concern with urinary tract infection Posted: 11 Oct 2012 12:14 PM PDT As a result of concerns about antibiotic resistance, doctors in the United States are increasingly prescribing newer, more costly and more powerful antibiotics to treat urinary tract infections, one of the most common illnesses in women. Often they are not necessary.

Using cell phone data to curb the spread of malaria Posted: 11 Oct 2012 11:14 AM PDT New research that combines cell phone data from 15 million people in Kenya with detailed information on the regional incidence of malaria has revealed how human travel patterns contribute to the disease's spread.

Anesthetic combination provides a more rapid recovery after oral surgery Posted: 11 Oct 2012 11:08 AM PDT The ideal sedative for oral surgery should make the patient comfortable during the surgery and should wear off quickly enough that the patient can leave the dental chair soon after the procedure. Finding the best plan of anesthetic treatment is essential to the success of dental procedures such as the extraction of wisdom teeth.

Clues to cancer metastasis: Discovery points to potential therapies for bone metastasis Posted: 11 Oct 2012 10:50 AM PDT New research explains how mesenchymal stem cells help cancer cells to spread beyond primary tumor.

Alzheimer's sufferers may function better with less visual clutter Posted: 11 Oct 2012 10:49 AM PDT Psychologists have shown that an individual's inability to recognize once-familiar faces and objects may have as much to do with difficulty perceiving their distinct features as it does with the capacity to recall from memory. A new study suggests that memory impairments for people diagnosed with early stage Alzheimer's disease may in part be due to problems with determining the differences between similar objects. The research contributes to growing evidence that a part of the brain once believed to support memory exclusively -- the medial temporal lobe -- also plays a role in object perception.

Parental bonding makes for happy, stable child Posted: 11 Oct 2012 10:46 AM PDT Infants who have a close, intimate relationship with at least one parent are less likely to experience emotional or behavioral problems in childhood, according to a new study. The researchers found that a child can be close to either the mother or the father to reap the emotional dividend, and that closeness with both parents conferred no additional advantage.

How nerve signals are sent around the body at varying speeds as electrical impulses Posted: 11 Oct 2012 09:44 AM PDT Scientists have proved a 60-year-old theory about how nerve signals are sent around the body at varying speeds as electrical impulses. Researchers tested how these signals are transmitted through nerve fibers, which enables us to move and recognize sensations such as touch and smell.

Airborne superbugs elude hospital cleaning regimes Posted: 11 Oct 2012 09:44 AM PDT Hospital superbugs can float on air currents and contaminate surfaces far from infected patients' beds, according to researchers.

New insight into celiac disease Posted: 11 Oct 2012 09:40 AM PDT For the first time, scientists have visualized an interaction between gluten and T-cells of the immune system, providing insight into how celiac disease, which affects approximately one in 133 people, is triggered.

Feeding the Schwanns: New technique could bring cell therapy for nerve damage a step closer Posted: 11 Oct 2012 09:40 AM PDT A new way to grow cells vital for nerve repair could be a vital step for use in patients with severe nerve damage, including spinal injury.

Twenty-one genes tied to cholesterol levels identified Posted: 11 Oct 2012 09:39 AM PDT In the largest-ever genetic study of cholesterol and other blood lipids, scientists have identified 21 new gene variants associated with risks of heart disease and metabolic disorders. The findings expand the list of potential targets for drugs and other treatments for lipid-related cardiovascular disease.

Stopping the itch: New clues into how to treat eczema Posted: 11 Oct 2012 09:39 AM PDT More than 15 percent of children suffer with eczema, or atopic dermatitis, an inflammatory skin disease that in some cases can be debilitating and disfiguring. Researchers have discovered a potential new target for the condition, demonstrating that by blocking it, they can lessen the disease in mice.

Diverse intestinal viruses may play a role in AIDS progression Posted: 11 Oct 2012 09:39 AM PDT In monkeys and humans with AIDS, damage to the gastrointestinal tract is common. How this gastric damage occurs has remained a mystery, but now researchers provide new clues, implicating the presence of potentially pathogenic virus species other than the main virus that causes AIDS. The findings could provide an opportunity to explain and eventually intervene in the processes that lead to AIDS progression.

New model explains role of dopamine in immune regulation Posted: 11 Oct 2012 09:37 AM PDT Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that is associated with emotions, movement, and the brain's pleasure and reward system. Investigators now provide a broad overview of the direct and indirect role of dopamine in modulating the immune system and discuss how recent research has opened up new possibilities for treating diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, multiple sclerosis or even the autoimmune disorders.

New tool determines leukemia cells' 'readiness to die,' may guide clinical care Posted: 11 Oct 2012 09:37 AM PDT Researchers have developed a method for determining how ready acute myeloid leukemia cells are to die, a finding that may enable oncologists to choose more effective treatments for their patients.

Target for obesity drugs comes into focus Posted: 11 Oct 2012 09:37 AM PDT Researchers have determined how the hormone leptin, an important regulator of metabolism and body weight, interacts with a key receptor in the brain.

Novel mechanisms underlying major childhood neuromuscular disease identified Posted: 11 Oct 2012 09:37 AM PDT A study suggests that spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a genetic neuromuscular disease in infants and children, results primarily from motor circuit dysfunction, not motor neuron or muscle cell dysfunction, as is commonly thought. In a second study, the researchers identified the molecular pathway in SMA that leads to problems with motor function. Findings from the studies, conducted in fruit fly, zebrafish and mouse models of SMA, could lead to therapies for this debilitating and often fatal neuromuscular disease.

Brain scans predict children's reading ability Posted: 11 Oct 2012 07:22 AM PDT New research can identify the neural structures associated with poor reading skills in young children, and could lead to an early warning system for struggling students.

Prospective Alzheimer's drug builds new brain cell connections, improves cognitive function of rats Posted: 11 Oct 2012 06:06 AM PDT Researchers have developed a new drug candidate that dramatically improves the cognitive function of rats with Alzheimer's-like mental impairment. Their compound, which is intended to repair brain damage that has already occurred, is a significant departure from current Alzheimer's treatments, which either slow the process of cell death or inhibit cholinesterase, an enzyme believed to break down a key neurotransmitter involved in learning and memory development.

Gene implicated in schizophrenia risk is also associated with risk for cannabis dependence Posted: 11 Oct 2012 05:53 AM PDT New research implicates a new gene in the risk for cannabis dependence. This gene, NRG1, codes for the ErbB4 receptor, a protein implicated in synaptic development and function.

Generation of functional thyroid tissue from stem cells Posted: 11 Oct 2012 05:52 AM PDT The generation of functional thyroid tissue from stem cells could allow the treatment of patients, which suffer from thyroid hormone deficiency due to defective function, or abnormal development of the thyroid gland. Researchers recently developed a protocol that allowed for the first time the efficient generation of functional thyroid tissue from stem cells in mice.

Advance in manipulating T-cells Posted: 10 Oct 2012 02:19 PM PDT Until recently, medical researchers had little hope of manipulating naïve T cells to study their crucial roles in immune function because they were largely impenetrable. Now, researchers have made a master key, able to get into naïve T cells to deliver bio-active cargo such as synthetic molecules.

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