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Sunday, August 3, 2014

ScienceDaily: Top Health News

ScienceDaily: Top Health News


One reason brain tumors are more common in men

Posted: 01 Aug 2014 06:33 PM PDT

New research helps explain why brain tumors occur more often in males and frequently are more harmful. For example, glioblastomas, the most common malignant brain tumors, are diagnosed twice as often in males, who suffer greater cognitive impairments than females and do not survive as long. The researchers found that retinoblastoma protein, a protein known to reduce cancer risk, is significantly less active in male brain cells than in female brain cells.

Chili peppers for a healthy gut: Spicy chemical may inhibit gut tumors

Posted: 01 Aug 2014 06:33 PM PDT

Researchers report that dietary capsaicin – the active ingredient in chili peppers – produces chronic activation of a receptor on cells lining the intestines of mice, triggering a reaction that ultimately reduces the risk of colorectal tumors.

Society bloomed with gentler personalities, more feminine faces: Technology boom 50,000 years ago correlated with less testosterone

Posted: 01 Aug 2014 02:11 PM PDT

Scientists have shown that human skulls changed in ways that indicate a lowering of testosterone levels at around the same time that culture was blossoming. Heavy brows were out, rounder heads were in. Technological innovation, making art and rapid cultural exchange probably came at the same time that we developed a more cooperative temperament by dialing back aggression with lower testosterone levels.

Potential treatment, prevention of Parkinson's disease

Posted: 01 Aug 2014 02:09 PM PDT

Parkinson's disease affects neurons in the Substantia nigra brain region -- their mitochondrial activity ceases and the cells die. Researchers now show that supplying D-lactate or glycolate, two products of the gene DJ-1, can stop and even counteract this process. They also showed that the two substances rescued the toxic effects of the weed killer Paraquat. Cells that had been treated with this herbicide, which is known to cause a Parkinson's like harm of mitochondria, recovered after the addition of the two substances.

Taking the guesswork out of cancer therapy

Posted: 01 Aug 2014 07:50 AM PDT

Researchers have developed the first molecular test kit that can predict treatment and survival outcomes in kidney cancer patients.

Guidelines on non-cardiac surgery: Cardiovascular assessment and management

Posted: 01 Aug 2014 06:12 AM PDT

Worldwide, non-cardiac surgery is associated with an average overall complication rate of between 7 and 11 percent and a mortality rate between 0.8 and 1.5 percent, depending on safety precautions. Up to 42 percent of these are caused by cardiac complications. When applied to the population in the European Union member states, these figures translate into at least 167,000 cardiac complications annually, of which 19,000 are life-threatening.

New guidelines help keep asthma out of 'yellow zone'

Posted: 01 Aug 2014 06:12 AM PDT

New guidelines to assist patients in recognizing and treating acute loss of asthma control. They apply to the home setting only; not providers' offices, emergency departments or hospital settings.

Female baby boomers with asthma? You may need help

Posted: 01 Aug 2014 06:12 AM PDT

Women over the age of 65 who have asthma, are also likely to have a range of other health-related issues which are barriers to them staying healthy. Among other things, this group of women tends to not make asthma a priority when caring for themselves, leading to other asthma-related issues.

Plastic surgeons or nurses: Who are the better injectors?

Posted: 01 Aug 2014 06:12 AM PDT

In recent years, minimally invasive aesthetic injectable procedures have grown in popularity as more and more men and women are seeking age-defying treatments. As Botulinum toxin -- generally known as BOTOX® -- use has increased, a growing number of nonaesthetic health professionals have emerged to perform procedures utilizing this and other injectables. According to a survey, plastic surgeons consider themselves the most capable injectors.

Anxiety linked to seizures

Posted: 01 Aug 2014 06:11 AM PDT

New research by clinical psychologists from the UK and US has revealed psychogenic seizures which could be mistaken for epilepsy are linked to feelings of anxiety.

Keep calm moms: Maternal stress during pregnancy linked to asthma risk in offspring

Posted: 01 Aug 2014 06:10 AM PDT

During pregnancy, many women make a concerted effort to keep stress levels low -- and for good reason. Maternal stress has been linked to a number of negative outcomes for women and their infants, including developmental and behavioral problems. Now, it has been linked to the development of asthma. Researchers found that a single bout of stress during pregnancy can affect allergy and asthma susceptibility in neonates.

Southern-style eating increases risk of death for kidney disease patients

Posted: 01 Aug 2014 06:10 AM PDT

Consuming fried foods and sugar-sweetened beverages is linked to a 50 percent increase in risk of death, according to a new study.

Invasive lionfish likely safe to eat after all: Easy test before you eat

Posted: 31 Jul 2014 05:16 PM PDT

Scientists have learned that recent fears of invasive lionfish causing fish poisoning may be unfounded. If so, current efforts to control lionfish by fishing derbies and targeted fisheries may remain the best way to control the invasion. And there's a simple way to know for sure whether a lionfish is toxic: test it after it's been cooked.

Harmful drinkers would be affected 200 times more than low risk drinkers if a Minimum Unit Price was introduced

Posted: 31 Jul 2014 05:11 PM PDT

A new study of liver patients shows that a Minimum Unit Price policy for alcohol is exquisitely targeted towards the heaviest drinkers with cirrhosis. Researchers studied the amount and type of alcohol drunk by 404 liver patients, and also asked patients how much they paid for alcohol. They found that patients with alcohol related cirrhosis were drinking on average the equivalent of four bottles of vodka each week, and were buying the cheapest booze they could find.

Is It Really a Concussion? Symptoms Overlap with Neck Injuries, Making Diagnosis a Tough Call

Posted: 31 Jul 2014 05:09 PM PDT

Athletes and others reporting cognitive difficulties after a head injury are usually diagnosed as having had a concussion. But is it really a concussion? A new study finds that many of the same symptoms are common to concussions and to injuries to the neck and/or balance system, known collectively as cervical/vestibular injuries.

Blood and saliva tests help predict return of HPV-linked oral cancers

Posted: 31 Jul 2014 05:09 PM PDT

Physicians have developed blood and saliva tests that help accurately predict recurrences of HPV-linked oral cancers in a substantial number of patients. The tests screen for DNA fragments of the human papillomavirus (HPV) shed from cancer cells lingering in the mouth or other parts of the body.

DNA replication: Molecular mechanism indicates novel routes to block uncontrolled cell division

Posted: 31 Jul 2014 05:09 PM PDT

Scientists have revealed the intricate mechanisms involved in the enzyme that governs DNA duplication during cell division.

Commentary: It’s time to address the health of men around the world

Posted: 31 Jul 2014 05:09 PM PDT

All over the world, men die younger than women and do worse on a host of health indicators, yet policy makers rarely focus on this "men's health gap" or adopt programs aimed at addressing it, according to an international group of researchers and health charity workers.

In high-stakes soccer, goalkeepers exhibit 'gambler's fallacy'

Posted: 31 Jul 2014 11:57 AM PDT

When goalkeepers are pitted against multiple kickers in tense penalty shootouts, their attempts to dive for the ball show a predictable pattern that kickers would do well to exploit. After kickers repeatedly kick in one direction, goalkeepers become increasingly likely to dive in the opposite direction, according to an analysis of all 361 kicks from the 37 penalty shootouts that occurred in World Cup and Union of European Football Associations Euro Cup matches over a 36-year period.

Master heat-shock factor supports reprogramming of normal cells to enable tumor growth and metastasis

Posted: 31 Jul 2014 11:55 AM PDT

Long associated with enabling the proliferation of cancer cells, the ancient cellular survival response regulated by Heat-Shock Factor 1 (HSF1) can also turn neighboring cells in their environment into co-conspirators that support malignant progression and metastasis. This study has implications for the diagnosis, prognosis, and management of cancer patients.

Molecule enhances copper's lethal punch against microbes

Posted: 31 Jul 2014 11:55 AM PDT

Harnessing a natural process in the body that pumps lethal doses of copper to fungi and bacteria shows promise as a new way to kill infectious microbes, scientists report.

Wiring-up the brain's vision centers

Posted: 31 Jul 2014 11:54 AM PDT

Researchers have evidence suggesting that neurons in the developing brains of mice are guided by a simple but elegant birth order rule that allows them to find and form their proper connections.

Misinformation diffusing online

Posted: 31 Jul 2014 08:10 AM PDT

The spread of misinformation through online social networks is becoming an increasingly worrying problem. Researchers have now modeled how such fictions and diffuse through those networks. They described details of their research and the taxonomy that could help those who run, regulate and use online social networks better understand how to slow or even prevent the spread of misinformation to the wider public.

Surgeons report significant migraine relief from cosmetic eyelid surgery technique

Posted: 31 Jul 2014 06:53 AM PDT

Plastic and reconstructive surgeons report a high success rate using a method to screen and select patients for a specific surgical migraine treatment technique. More than 90 percent of the patients who underwent this surgery to decompress the nerves that trigger migraines experienced relief and also got a bonus cosmetic eyelid surgery.

Anti-cholinergic drugs impair physical function in elderly patients

Posted: 31 Jul 2014 06:47 AM PDT

Drugs widely prescribed to the elderly could be responsible for a decline in cognitive and physical function according to new research. A new report reveals that anti-cholinergic drugs – which are used to treat conditions including asthma, high blood pressure, insomnia, dizziness and diarrhea - could impact physical functions in elderly patients such as eating and getting dressed.

Researchers focus on role of the protein progerin in atherosclerosis in both modern and ancient times

Posted: 30 Jul 2014 05:37 PM PDT

Since evidence of atherosclerosis has been discovered in ancient human mummies, attention has been focused on possible causative factors other than those related to modern lifestyles. Researchers now discuss the potential role of the protein progerin.

CT scans provide evidence of atherosclerosis in wide range of ancient populations

Posted: 30 Jul 2014 05:37 PM PDT

Although atherosclerosis is widely thought to be a disease of modern times, computed tomographic evidence of atherosclerosis has been found in the bodies of a large number of mummies. Researchers have reviewed the findings of atherosclerotic calcifications in the remains of ancient people -- humans who lived across a very wide span of human history and over most of the inhabited globe.

Chronic infection, smoke inhalation, or yet to be discovered causes could explain why ancient men and women had atherosclerosis

Posted: 30 Jul 2014 05:37 PM PDT

Potential causes that could have led to atherosclerosis in ancient times, the underlying disease process that causes heart attack and stroke and leads to coronary artery bypass surgery, angioplasty and stenting, outlined.

Our genes have made us susceptible to atherosclerosis, while our environment determines its speed, severity

Posted: 30 Jul 2014 05:36 PM PDT

In a new editorial, authors ask: 'Why do humans develop atherosclerosis? Is the human genome hardwired to develop atherosclerosis? Can atherosclerosis be entirely prevented? Is atherosclerosis fundamental to the aging process? Have the risk factors that have contributed to the development of atherosclerosis been the same all along human evolution?'

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