ScienceDaily: Top Health News

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• Growing human GI cells may lead to personalized treatments
• Cell mechanics may hold key to how cancer spreads, recurs
• Dimethyl fumarate for multiple sclerosis: Added benefit not proven
• Should women 'man up' for male-dominated fields?
• Stem cell behavior of human bowel discovered for first time
• Notch developmental pathway regulates fear memory formation
• Key piece to cancer cell survival puzzle found
• Powerful new system for classifying tumors revealed
• Dramatic growth of grafted stem cells in rat spinal cord
• Part of brain stays as active in old age as it was in youth
• Gene increases risk of breast cancer to one in three by age 70
• Nasal test developed for to diagnose Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
• Racial makeup of private prisons shows disparities, new study finds
• Increased adoption of complex care management can help meet cost savings, quality goals
• Stress during pregnancy can be passed down through generations, rat study shows
• Companies' religious affiliation can buffer negative reactions
• Losing weight won't necessarily make you happy, researchers say
• Study shines new light on genetic alterations of aggressive breast cancer subtype
• Eating at fast food, full service restaurants linked to more calories, poorer nutrition
• Financial incentives for hospitals only reduce patient death rates in short-term
• Prostate cancer screening reduces deaths by a fifth: Large, long-term European trial
• New insights into how young and developing readers make sense of words
• Uranium Exposure, Skin Cancer: Study May Help Explain Link
• Wellness coaching: Expert explains how it improves overall quality of life
• Single-cell analysis holds promise for stem cell and cancer research
• U.S. medical schools urged to increase enrollment of undocumented immigrants
• Acute psychological stress promotes skin healing in mice
• How critically ill infants can benefit most from human milk
• Infectious prion protein discovered in urine of patients with variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
• Dermatologist Cautions Parents About Misinformation on Safety of Children's Skin Care Products
• Reducing stress may help lead to clearer skin
• New pharmaceutical product to prevent heroin deaths
• Community religious beliefs influence whether wives work outside home, study finds
• Link between vitamin D, dementia risk confirmed
• Studying muscle function to treat heart failure
• Behavior-focused therapies help children with autism, study shows
• Designing embryo transfer policies: What's at issue?
• Brain tumors fly under body's radar like stealth jets, new research suggests
• Gene-editing technique offers new way to model cancer
• Another potential ALS treatment avenue identfied by researchers
• Bone tumor destroyed using incisionless surgery: First in North American child
• Most kids with blunt torso trauma can skip the pelvic X-ray
• Molecular competition drives adult stem cells to specialize, study shows
• Discovery about wound healing key to understanding cell movement
• Low uptake of colorectal cancer screening by African Americans shown in study
• Debunking family myth as primary reason for gender gap in politics
• New hand-held device uses lasers, sound waves for deeper melanoma imaging
• Older adults have 'morning brains': Noticeable differences in brain function across the day
• Boomers building muscle at the gym -- but where's the passion
• Dementia risk quadrupled in people with mild cognitive impairment
• Young people support LGBT rights but disagree on priorities
• Discovery yields master regulator of toxin production in staph infections
• Job insecurity in academia harms the mental wellbeing of non-tenure track faculty
• Climate change could drive rise in debilitating disease
• Trapped: Cell-invading piece of virus captured in lab by scientists
• Crime Victims' Institute tracks the state of stalking in Texas

Growing human GI cells may lead to personalized treatments Posted: 07 Aug 2014 09:18 AM PDT A method of growing human cells from tissue removed from a patient's gastrointestinal tract may eventually help scientists develop tailor-made therapies for inflammatory bowel disease and other GI conditions. Researchers have made cell lines from individual patients in as little as two weeks. They said the cell lines can help them understand the underlying problems in the GI tracts of individual patients and be used to test new treatments.

Cell mechanics may hold key to how cancer spreads, recurs Posted: 07 Aug 2014 09:18 AM PDT Cancer cells that break away from tumors to go looking for a new home may prefer to settle into a soft bed, according to new findings. Some particularly enterprising cancer cells can cause a cancer to spread to other organs or evade treatment to resurface after a patient is thought to be in remission. The researchers found that these tumor-repopulating cells may lurk quietly in stiffer cellular environments, but thrive in a softer space.

Dimethyl fumarate for multiple sclerosis: Added benefit not proven Posted: 07 Aug 2014 09:18 AM PDT No added benefit of dimethyl fumarate for multiple sclerosis can be determined, as no suitable data are available, neither for a direct nor for an indirect comparison, report researchers.

Should women 'man up' for male-dominated fields? Posted: 07 Aug 2014 09:18 AM PDT Women applying for a job in male-dominated fields should consider playing up their masculine qualities, indicates new research on bias in the hiring process. In a laboratory experiment, women who described themselves using masculine-like traits (assertive, independent, achievement oriented) were evaluated as more fitting for the job than those who emphasized female-like traits (warmth, supportiveness, nurturing, researchers report.

Stem cell behavior of human bowel discovered for first time Posted: 07 Aug 2014 09:17 AM PDT For the first time, scientists have uncovered new information on how stem cells in the human bowel behave, revealing vital clues about the earliest stages in bowel cancer development and how we may begin to prevent it.

Notch developmental pathway regulates fear memory formation Posted: 07 Aug 2014 09:17 AM PDT The molecule Notch, critical in many processes during embryonic development, is also involved in fear memory formation, researchers have learned. Understanding fear memory formation is critical to developing more effective treatments and preventions for anxiety disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Key piece to cancer cell survival puzzle found Posted: 07 Aug 2014 09:17 AM PDT A key mystery in cancer research has been solved by an international team of researchers who asked: What allows some malignant cells to circumvent the normal process of cell death that occurs when chromosomes get too old to maintain themselves properly? Researchers have identified a specific gene that human cells require in order to survive these types of defects.

Powerful new system for classifying tumors revealed Posted: 07 Aug 2014 09:17 AM PDT Cancers are classified primarily on the basis of where in the body the disease originates, as in lung cancer or breast cancer. According to a new study, however, one in 10 cancer patients would be classified differently using a new classification system based on molecular subtypes instead of the current tissue-of-origin system. This reclassification could lead to different therapeutic options for those patients.

Dramatic growth of grafted stem cells in rat spinal cord Posted: 07 Aug 2014 09:17 AM PDT Scientists have reported that neurons derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells and grafted into rats after a spinal cord injury produced cells with 10s of thousands of axons extending virtually the entire length of the animals' central nervous system.

Part of brain stays as active in old age as it was in youth Posted: 07 Aug 2014 09:14 AM PDT At least one part of the human brain may be able to process information the same way in older age as it does in the prime of life, according to new research. "Our studies have found that older and younger adults perform in a similar way on a range of visual and non-visual tasks that measure spatial attention," says one researcher. Spatial attention is critical for many aspects of life, from driving, to walking, to picking up and using objects.

Gene increases risk of breast cancer to one in three by age 70 Posted: 07 Aug 2014 07:55 AM PDT Medical researchers have studied breast cancer risks for one of potentially the most important genes associated with breast cancer after the BRCA1/2 genes. Women with mutations in the PALB2 gene have on average a one in three chance of developing breast cancer by the age of 70.

Nasal test developed for to diagnose Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease Posted: 07 Aug 2014 07:55 AM PDT A nasal brush test can rapidly and accurately diagnose Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), an incurable and ultimately fatal neurodegenerative disorder, according to a study. CJD is a prion disease. These diseases originate when, for reasons not fully understood, normally harmless prion protein molecules become abnormal and gather in clusters. Prion diseases affect animals and people. Human prion diseases include variant, familial and sporadic CJD. The most common form, sporadic CJD, affects an estimated 1 in one million people annually worldwide.

Racial makeup of private prisons shows disparities, new study finds Posted: 07 Aug 2014 07:55 AM PDT A disproportionate number of Hispanics are housed in private prisons across the United States, a pattern that could leave such prisons vulnerable to legal challenges, new research shows. "This is a systemic issue," one investigator said. "Prison administrators should be aware of racial disparities in inmate placement to ensure that inmates' rights are being upheld and to avoid future lawsuits."

Increased adoption of complex care management can help meet cost savings, quality goals Posted: 07 Aug 2014 07:55 AM PDT Best practices in complex care management have been outlined in a new article that also discusses barriers to wider adoption of the approach and describe potential strategies to surmount those barriers. "Not only can fully addressing the needs of complex care patients keep them healthier, but it also can reduce costs by avoiding emergency departments visits and unnecessary hospitalizations," says one author.

Stress during pregnancy can be passed down through generations, rat study shows Posted: 07 Aug 2014 07:54 AM PDT To better understand problems during pregnancies today, we should look to the experiences of our ancestors, research suggests. Scientists investigating pregnancies in four generations of rats show that inherited epigenetic effects of stress could affect pregnancies for generations.

Companies' religious affiliation can buffer negative reactions Posted: 07 Aug 2014 07:54 AM PDT While companies like Hobby Lobby and Chick-fil-A are at the forefront of debate over the religious rights of employers, a new study shows religious affiliation can safeguard companies against negative reactions to store policies.

Losing weight won't necessarily make you happy, researchers say Posted: 07 Aug 2014 07:54 AM PDT Weight loss significantly improves physical health but effects on mental health are less straightforward, finds new research. In a study of 1,979 overweight and obese adults in the UK, people who lost 5 percent or more of their initial body weight over four years showed significant changes in markers of physical health, but were more likely to report depressed mood than those who stayed within 5 percent of their original weight.

Study shines new light on genetic alterations of aggressive breast cancer subtype Posted: 07 Aug 2014 07:52 AM PDT New information about the genetic alterations that may contribute to the development of a subtype breast cancer typically associated with more aggressive forms of the disease and higher recurrence rates has been uncovered by researchers. The study focused on the more aggressive molecular subtype of the estrogen-receptor positive breast cancer known as luminal B breast cancer.

Eating at fast food, full service restaurants linked to more calories, poorer nutrition Posted: 07 Aug 2014 07:52 AM PDT Eating at both fast-food and full-service restaurants is associated with significant increases in the intake of calories, sugar, saturated fat, and sodium, according to a new study. The researchers say the larger adverse effect they measured on energy intake for some lower socio-economic and minority populations has policy implications. They say efforts to improve diet and reduce energy intake from restaurant sources could actually help to reduce racial and socio-economic disparities in Americans' diets.

Financial incentives for hospitals only reduce patient death rates in short-term Posted: 07 Aug 2014 07:51 AM PDT Pay-for-performance schemes – which reward hospitals financially for improving the quality of care provided to patients – only reduce patient death rates in the short term, according to new research. A variety of programs have been introduced in the UK over the past decade, with mixed results.

Prostate cancer screening reduces deaths by a fifth: Large, long-term European trial Posted: 07 Aug 2014 07:50 AM PDT Screening for prostate cancer could reduce deaths from the disease by about a fifth, according to the long-term results of a major European study involving over 162 000 men. Despite this new evidence for the effectiveness of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing to reduce mortality, doubts as to whether the benefits of screening outweigh the harms remain, and routine PSA screening programmes should not be introduced at this time, conclude the authors.

New insights into how young and developing readers make sense of words Posted: 07 Aug 2014 07:50 AM PDT Skilled readers are often able to make sense of words suffering from 'typos' and jumbled up letter orders as long as the beginning and end letters of the words are correct.

Uranium Exposure, Skin Cancer: Study May Help Explain Link Posted: 07 Aug 2014 07:47 AM PDT The varying health risks from exposure to natural uranium are well established, but now researchers have identified a new target organ for uranium exposure: skin. "Our hypothesis is that if uranium is photoactivated by UV radiation it could be more harmful to skin than either exposure alone," the lead researcher said.

Wellness coaching: Expert explains how it improves overall quality of life Posted: 07 Aug 2014 07:47 AM PDT Wellness coaching has become an increasingly prevalent strategy to help individuals improve their health and well-being. Recently, wellness coaching was found to improve quality of life, mood and perceived stress, according to a new study. Now one expert answers some common questions about wellness coaching.

Single-cell analysis holds promise for stem cell and cancer research Posted: 07 Aug 2014 07:46 AM PDT Researchers have identified cells' unique features within the developing human brain, using the latest technologies for analyzing gene activity in individual cells, and have demonstrated that large-scale cell surveys can be done much more efficiently and cheaply than was previously thought possible.

U.S. medical schools urged to increase enrollment of undocumented immigrants Posted: 07 Aug 2014 07:43 AM PDT Medical schools should increase their enrollment of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. under the federal DACA program who are seeking access to the medical professions. These students are often highly motivated and qualified and can help alleviate the nationwide shortage of primary care physicians, experts say.

Acute psychological stress promotes skin healing in mice Posted: 07 Aug 2014 07:43 AM PDT Brief, acute psychological stress promoted healing in mouse models of three different types of skin irritations, in a new study. Scientists found that healing was brought about by the anti-inflammatory effects of glucocorticoids -- steroid hormones -- produced by the adrenal glands in response to stress.

How critically ill infants can benefit most from human milk Posted: 07 Aug 2014 07:43 AM PDT Human milk is infant food, but for sick, hospitalized babies, it's also medicine. That's the central premise of a series of articles in a neonatal nursing journal's special issue focused on human milk for sick newborns.

Infectious prion protein discovered in urine of patients with variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease Posted: 07 Aug 2014 07:36 AM PDT The misfolded and infectious prion protein that is a marker for variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease – linked to the consumption of infected cattle meat – has been detected in the urine of patients with the disease. Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans and bovine spongiform encephalopathy in animals – also known as Mad Cow disease – are fatal neurodegenerative disorders. There are currently no noninvasive tools available to diagnose the disease and there are no treatments.

Dermatologist Cautions Parents About Misinformation on Safety of Children's Skin Care Products Posted: 07 Aug 2014 07:36 AM PDT Before the advent of Internet search engines, parents obtained much of their medical advice from their child's doctor. Today, with a plethora of information available at their fingertips, parents have more sources to consult than ever before. Yet dermatologists warn parents that not everything they read on blogs and websites about the safety of skin care products is true.

Reducing stress may help lead to clearer skin Posted: 07 Aug 2014 07:36 AM PDT Anyone who's had a pimple form right before an important event may wonder if stress caused the break out. While commonly linked anecdotally, proving the relationship between stress and inflammatory skin conditions, such as acne, psoriasis and rosacea, is another matter. An expert discusses the latest research on the impact stress has on inflammatory skin conditions and his thoughts on how this research could change treatment options.

New pharmaceutical product to prevent heroin deaths Posted: 07 Aug 2014 07:36 AM PDT A method for needle-free, intranasal administration of the anti-opioid drug naloxone has been developed. The product is in its final round of clinical trials and has retrieved Fast Track status from the FDA.

Community religious beliefs influence whether wives work outside home, study finds Posted: 06 Aug 2014 01:17 PM PDT Married women who live in communities in which a higher proportion of the population belongs to conservative religious traditions -- such as evangelical or Mormon -- are more likely to choose not to work outside the home, even if the women are not members of those faith groups, according to a study.

Link between vitamin D, dementia risk confirmed Posted: 06 Aug 2014 01:16 PM PDT Vitamin D deficiency is associated with a substantially increased risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease in older people, according to the most robust study of its kind ever conducted. An international team found that study participants who were severely vitamin D deficient were more than twice as likely to develop dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

Studying muscle function to treat heart failure Posted: 06 Aug 2014 01:16 PM PDT Researchers are hoping to uncover the molecular mechanisms of skeletal muscle fatigue through new studies. In doing so, they will advance understanding of muscle function and lead to new drug therapies for people with fatigue, including 5.7 million Americans living with chronic heart failure.

Behavior-focused therapies help children with autism, study shows Posted: 06 Aug 2014 01:15 PM PDT Updated findings regarding the benefits of behavior-focused therapies for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have been reported by researchers. The review updates a prior systematic review of interventions for children (up to age 12) with a focus on recent studies of behavioral interventions.

Designing embryo transfer policies: What's at issue? Posted: 06 Aug 2014 12:40 PM PDT A commentary has been published that focuses on neonatal outcomes when designing embryo transfer policies. "While preterm birth is an important factor to consider in subsequent preterm birth risk, one wonders whether a more accurate prediction could be generated using a more complex model," the author writes.

Brain tumors fly under body's radar like stealth jets, new research suggests Posted: 06 Aug 2014 12:39 PM PDT Brain tumors fly under the radar of the body's defense forces by coating their cells with extra amounts of a specific protein, new research shows. Like a stealth fighter jet, the coating means the cells evade detection by the early-warning immune system that should detect and kill them.

Gene-editing technique offers new way to model cancer Posted: 06 Aug 2014 11:22 AM PDT A new gene-editing technique allows scientists to more rapidly study the role of mutations in tumor development. "The sequencing of human tumors has revealed hundreds of oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes in different combinations. The flexibility of this technology, as delivery gets better in the future, will give you a way to pretty rapidly test those combinations," explained an author of the paper.

Another potential ALS treatment avenue identfied by researchers Posted: 06 Aug 2014 11:22 AM PDT A series of studies that begun eight years ago has lead to a report that may be a major step forward in the quest to develop real treatments for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease.

Bone tumor destroyed using incisionless surgery: First in North American child Posted: 06 Aug 2014 11:21 AM PDT A Canadian child is the first in North America to have undergone a specialized procedure that uses ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to destroy a tumor in his leg without piercing the skin. Doctors used an MRI to guide high-intensity ultrasound waves to destroy a benign bone tumor called osteoid osteoma. The lesion had caused 16-year-old Jack Campanile excruciating pain for a year prior to the procedure. By the time he went to bed that night, the athletic teen experienced complete pain relief.

Most kids with blunt torso trauma can skip the pelvic X-ray Posted: 06 Aug 2014 10:45 AM PDT Pelvic x-rays ordered as a matter of course for children who have suffered blunt force trauma do not accurately identify all cases of pelvic fractures or dislocations and are usually unnecessary for patients for whom abdominal/pelvic CT scanning is otherwise planned. A study casts doubt on a practice that has been recommended by the Advanced Trauma Life Support Program, considered the gold standard for trauma patients.

Molecular competition drives adult stem cells to specialize, study shows Posted: 06 Aug 2014 10:44 AM PDT Adult organisms ranging from fruit flies to humans harbor adult stem cells, some of which renew themselves through cell division while others differentiate into the specialized cells needed to replace worn-out or damaged organs and tissues. Understanding the molecular mechanisms that control the balance between self-renewal and differentiation in adult stem cells is an important foundation for developing therapies to regenerate diseased, injured or aged tissue.

Discovery about wound healing key to understanding cell movement Posted: 06 Aug 2014 09:57 AM PDT Research by a civil engineer is helping shed light on the way wounds heal and may someday have implications for understanding how cancer spreads, as well as why certain birth defects occur.

Low uptake of colorectal cancer screening by African Americans shown in study Posted: 06 Aug 2014 09:51 AM PDT African Americans' participation in colorectal cancer screening is low and the use of colonoscopy infrequent despite similar access to care across races in a Veterans Affairs healthcare system, a study shows. The researchers also found that having established primary care at the time of screening eligibility significantly increased screening uptake.

Debunking family myth as primary reason for gender gap in politics Posted: 06 Aug 2014 09:51 AM PDT The widely touted myth that traditional family structures and roles contribute to women's lower political ambition is being debunked by one American expert. The significant impediments women face are a lack of political recruitment and lower self-perceptions of their qualifications, she argues.

New hand-held device uses lasers, sound waves for deeper melanoma imaging Posted: 06 Aug 2014 09:51 AM PDT Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer, causing more than 75 percent of skin-cancer deaths. The thicker the melanoma tumor, the more likely it will spread and the deadlier it becomes. Now, a team of researchers has developed a new hand-held device that uses lasers and sound waves that may change the way doctors treat and diagnose melanoma. The tool is ready for commercialization and clinical trials.

Older adults have 'morning brains': Noticeable differences in brain function across the day Posted: 06 Aug 2014 09:51 AM PDT Older adults who are tested at their optimal time of day (the morning), not only perform better on demanding cognitive tasks but also activate the same brain networks responsible for paying attention and suppressing distraction as younger adults, according to researchers.

Boomers building muscle at the gym -- but where's the passion Posted: 06 Aug 2014 09:50 AM PDT Our motivations for exercise, from looking good to having fun, have been evaluated by researchers who find that for the baby boom generation, passion is the most important motivator -- a fact the fitness industry should embrace. "The marketing needs to be about passion, around finding deep personal meaning in physical activity," one author says. "If you watch people playing tennis or slaloming down a hill, they're not counting calories."

Dementia risk quadrupled in people with mild cognitive impairment Posted: 06 Aug 2014 09:49 AM PDT In a long-term, large-scale population-based study of individuals aged 55 years or older in the general population, researchers found that those diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) had a four-fold increased risk of developing dementia or Alzheimer's disease (AD) compared to cognitively healthy individuals. Several risk factors including older age, positive APOE-ɛ4 status, low total cholesterol levels, and stroke, as well as specific MRI findings were associated with an increased risk of developing MCI.

Young people support LGBT rights but disagree on priorities Posted: 06 Aug 2014 09:48 AM PDT While young people express strong support for marriage equality, they also believe the push for same-sex marriage has diverted too much attention from other important issues facing lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered individuals, a new American survey finds. The study shows that young people differ along racial and ethnic lines in setting priorities for advancing LGBT rights.

Discovery yields master regulator of toxin production in staph infections Posted: 06 Aug 2014 09:48 AM PDT An enzyme that regulates production of the toxins that contribute to potentially life-threatening Staphylococcus aureus infections has been discovered by researchers. The enzyme allows Staphylococcus aureus to use fatty acids acquired from the infected individual to make the membrane that bacteria need to grow and flourish. The results provide a promising focus for efforts to develop a much-needed new class of antibiotics to combat staph and other Gram-positive infections.

Job insecurity in academia harms the mental wellbeing of non-tenure track faculty Posted: 06 Aug 2014 07:28 AM PDT Non-tenure-track academics experience stress, anxiety, and depression due to their insecure job situation, according to the first survey of its kind.

Climate change could drive rise in debilitating disease Posted: 06 Aug 2014 07:27 AM PDT A disease prevalent in developing countries could be spread by the changes in rainfall patterns according to a new study. Buruli ulcer affects thousands of people every year, mainly in developing countries, and in the worst cases can cause fatality or permanent disability. The devastating bacterial infection starts with an area of swelling that becomes ulcerated, causing painful open wounds and necrosis of the skin. It is unknown how the water-borne disease is transmitted.

Trapped: Cell-invading piece of virus captured in lab by scientists Posted: 06 Aug 2014 06:51 AM PDT Scientists try to stay a step ahead of HIV in order to combat drug resistance and to develop better treatments. When a person is infected with HIV, there is an initial burst of virus production. This is when integrase inserts the virus DNA into many human cells, including CD4 T-immune cells, brain cells and other lymph cells. HIV is particularly devastating to the immune system's T-cells, which protect the body from infection.

Crime Victims' Institute tracks the state of stalking in Texas Posted: 06 Aug 2014 06:51 AM PDT According to a 2010 survey by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 1.4 million women in Texas experience stalking during their lifetimes. Despite recent laws adopted in the state to protect stalking victims, little information is available about the crime or policies and procedures to aid the criminal justice system, according to a new report.

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