ScienceDaily: Top Health News

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• Does the brain 'remember' antidepressants? More proof for the power of placebo
• Genetic risk and stressful early infancy join to increase risk for schizophrenia
• A 24-karat gold key to unlock the immune system
• Smokers could be more prone to schizophrenia
• Chronic stress spawns protein aggregates linked to Alzheimer's
• Single antibody shrinks variety of human tumors transplanted into mice, study shows
• 'Could my child have autism? ' Ten signs of possible autism-related delays in 6- to 12-month-old children
• New analysis could give cues about when to move infants from NICU
• Tiny reader makes fast, cheap DNA sequencing feasible
• Two drugs already on the market show promise against tuberculosis
• Lowering LDL, the earlier the better
• To drive infections, a hijacking virus mimics a cell's signaling system
• Early-life exposure to secondhand smoke affects girls more than boys, new study suggests
• Neuronal transport granules: Single occupancy vehicles
• New way to treat chronic pain, suggested by study
• Smiling through the tears: Study shows how tearjerkers make people happier
• Rapid rise in blood pressure before midlife may cause irreversible heart damage
• New class of platelet blockers proves effective in phase III trial, study suggests
• Sleeping too much or too little can be bad for your heart
• Compound in soy products may help lower blood pressure
• Low LDL cholesterol is related to cancer risk
• Pregnancy increases risk of heart attack
• Snacking on raisins may offer a heart-healthy way to lower blood pressure
• Drugs with fewest side-effects for treating irritable bowel syndrome identified, study suggests
• Aspirin: High or low dose following heart attack?
• Ticagrelor effective at reducing first, as well as recurrent and overall cardiovascular events
• Growth in the womb and early infancy predicts bone size and strength in childhood
• Skaters' brains: Specialized training of complex motor skills may induce sports-specific structural changes in cerebellum
• Bone marrow stem cells can improve heart function, study suggests
• 'Noodle gels' or 'spaghetti highways' could become tools of regenerative medicine
• Inner weapons against allergies: Gut bacteria control allergic diseases, study suggests
• A hidden architecture: Researchers use novel methods to uncover gene mutations for common diseases
• Shorter telomeres linked to poor cardiovascular outcomes

Does the brain 'remember' antidepressants? More proof for the power of placebo Posted: 26 Mar 2012 01:10 PM PDT Using a placebo pill appearing identical to the real thing, researchers have found that how the brain responds to antidepressant medication may be influenced by its remembering past antidepressant exposure.

Genetic risk and stressful early infancy join to increase risk for schizophrenia Posted: 26 Mar 2012 01:09 PM PDT Working with genetically engineered mice and the genomes of thousands of people with schizophrenia, researchers say they now better understand how both nature and nurture can affect one's risks for schizophrenia and abnormal brain development in general.

A 24-karat gold key to unlock the immune system Posted: 26 Mar 2012 01:09 PM PDT Using nanoparticles made of pure gold, researchers have developed a new method of introducing chemical residues into the immune system, triggering immune cells to help the body fight infection. The breakthrough could lead to an increased understanding of viruses and bacteria, better drug delivery systems, and more effective medications and vaccinations.

Smokers could be more prone to schizophrenia Posted: 26 Mar 2012 01:08 PM PDT Smoking alters the impact of a schizophrenia risk gene. Scientists have demonstrated that healthy people who carry this risk gene and smoke process acoustic stimuli in a similarly deficient way as patients with schizophrenia. Furthermore, the impact is all the stronger the more the person smokes.

Chronic stress spawns protein aggregates linked to Alzheimer's Posted: 26 Mar 2012 01:08 PM PDT Repeated stress triggers the production and accumulation of insoluble tau protein aggregates inside the brain cells of mice, say researchers.

Single antibody shrinks variety of human tumors transplanted into mice, study shows Posted: 26 Mar 2012 01:08 PM PDT Human tumors transplanted into laboratory mice disappeared or shrank when scientists treated the animals with a single antibody, according to a new study. The antibody works by masking a protein flag on cancer cells that protects them from macrophages and other cells in the immune system. The scientists achieved the findings with human breast, ovarian, colon, bladder, brain, liver and prostate cancer samples.

'Could my child have autism? ' Ten signs of possible autism-related delays in 6- to 12-month-old children Posted: 26 Mar 2012 01:07 PM PDT Though autism is often not diagnosed until the age of three, some children begin to show signs of developmental delay before they turn a year old. While not all infants and toddlers with delays will develop autism spectrum disorders, experts point to early detection of these signs as key to capitalizing on early diagnosis and intervention, which is believed to improve developmental outcomes.

New analysis could give cues about when to move infants from NICU Posted: 26 Mar 2012 01:06 PM PDT New analysis of premature infants' heartbeats and breathing could give cues about their readiness to leave the NICU.

Tiny reader makes fast, cheap DNA sequencing feasible Posted: 26 Mar 2012 01:06 PM PDT Researchers have devised a nanoscale sensor to electronically read the sequence of a single DNA molecule, a technique that is fast and inexpensive and could make DNA sequencing widely available.

Two drugs already on the market show promise against tuberculosis Posted: 26 Mar 2012 01:05 PM PDT A two-drug combination is one of the most promising advances in decades for the treatment of tuberculosis (TB) — a disease that kills 2 million people annually — a scientist has reported. The treatment, which combines two medications already approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), delivers a knockout punch to forms of TB that shrug off other antibiotics.

Lowering LDL, the earlier the better Posted: 26 Mar 2012 10:36 AM PDT Coronary atherosclerosis – a hardening of the arteries due to a build-up of fat and cholesterol – can lead to heart attacks and other forms of coronary heart disease (CHD). Lowering low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or "bad" cholesterol, reduces the risk of CHD, and researchers found that lowering LDL beginning early in life resulted in a three-fold greater reduction in the risk of CHD than treatment with a statin started later in life.

To drive infections, a hijacking virus mimics a cell's signaling system Posted: 26 Mar 2012 10:35 AM PDT New biological research reveals how an invading virus hijacks a cell's workings by imitating a signaling marker to defeat the body's defenses. By manipulating cell signals, the virus destroys a defensive protein designed to inhibit it. This finding, from studies in human cell cultures, may represent a broader targeting strategy used by other viruses, and may lay the scientific groundwork for developing more effective treatments for infectious diseases.

Early-life exposure to secondhand smoke affects girls more than boys, new study suggests Posted: 26 Mar 2012 10:35 AM PDT The negative health effects of early-life exposure to secondhand smoke appear to impact girls more than boys -- particularly those with early-life allergic sensitization, according to new research from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.

Neuronal transport granules: Single occupancy vehicles Posted: 26 Mar 2012 10:25 AM PDT Protein precursors destined for the spiny extensions of neurons travel single file, according to a new study.

New way to treat chronic pain, suggested by study Posted: 26 Mar 2012 10:25 AM PDT Gene that encodes crucial pain receptor may be the key to individualizing therapy for a major health problem.

Smiling through the tears: Study shows how tearjerkers make people happier Posted: 26 Mar 2012 10:25 AM PDT People enjoy watching tragedy movies like "Titanic" because they deliver what may seem to be an unlikely benefit: tragedies actually make people happier in the short-term.

Rapid rise in blood pressure before midlife may cause irreversible heart damage Posted: 26 Mar 2012 08:39 AM PDT The current "watch-and-wait" approach to high blood pressure readings in younger people may set patients on a course for irreversible heart damage, according to new research.

New class of platelet blockers proves effective in phase III trial, study suggests Posted: 26 Mar 2012 08:38 AM PDT Adding vorapaxar, an investigational platelet blocker, to standard antiplatelet therapy significantly reduces the risk of recurrent cardiovascular events in patients with known atherosclerosis, a hardening and narrowing of the arteries, according to new research.

Sleeping too much or too little can be bad for your heart Posted: 26 Mar 2012 08:38 AM PDT Getting too little sleep – or even too much – appears to spell trouble for the heart. New data reveal that adults who get less than six hours of sleep a night are at significantly greater risk of stroke, heart attack and congestive heart failure. Even those who reportedly sleep more than eight hours a night have a higher prevalence of heart problems, namely chest pain (angina) and coronary artery disease, a narrowing of the blood vessels that supply blood and oxygen to the heart.

Compound in soy products may help lower blood pressure Posted: 26 Mar 2012 08:37 AM PDT Soy-based food products have taken grocery store shelves by storm, and the benefits of soy are steadily beginning to emerge. Eating foods that contain isoflavones – a key compound in soy milk, tofu, green tea and even peanuts – every day may help young adults lower their blood pressure.

Low LDL cholesterol is related to cancer risk Posted: 26 Mar 2012 08:37 AM PDT Low LDL cholesterol in patients with no history of taking cholesterol-lowering drugs predates cancer risk by decades, suggesting there may be some underlying mechanism affecting both cancer and low LDL cholesterol that requires further examination, according to new research.

Pregnancy increases risk of heart attack Posted: 26 Mar 2012 08:37 AM PDT Heart attacks during pregnancy tend to be more severe, lead to more complications, and also occur for different reasons than commonly seen in the non-pregnant general population, suggesting that, in some cases, the standard approach to managing this condition may not always be best, according to new research.

Snacking on raisins may offer a heart-healthy way to lower blood pressure Posted: 26 Mar 2012 08:33 AM PDT If you have slightly higher than normal blood pressure – known as prehypertension – consider eating a handful of raisins. New data suggest that, among individuals with mild increases in blood pressure, the routine consumption of raisins (three times a day) may significantly lower blood pressure.

Drugs with fewest side-effects for treating irritable bowel syndrome identified, study suggests Posted: 26 Mar 2012 08:33 AM PDT Researchers have determined that two prevalent drug therapies -- rifaximin and lubiprostone -- offer some of the best options for treating irritable bowel syndrome, a widespread disorder that affects up to one in five Americans. The findings are based on an analysis of more than two dozen large-scale clinical trials.

Aspirin: High or low dose following heart attack? Posted: 26 Mar 2012 08:31 AM PDT New research reports that there is no significant difference between high versus low dose aspirin in the prevention of recurring cardiovascular events in patients who suffer from acute coronary syndromes, which are characterized by symptoms related to obstruction in coronary arteries, which supply blood to the heart.

Ticagrelor effective at reducing first, as well as recurrent and overall cardiovascular events Posted: 26 Mar 2012 08:31 AM PDT New research shows that the use of ticagrelor not only reduces the time to a first cardiovascular event (the metric used in most trials) but also significantly reduces the time to a second cardiovascular event or death, and reduces total events including cardiovascular death, heart attack, stroke, ischemic events and urgent revascularization.

Growth in the womb and early infancy predicts bone size and strength in childhood Posted: 26 Mar 2012 08:30 AM PDT Researchers have presented evidence that early growth predicts the size, mineralization, shape and strength of the hip bone in childhood.

Skaters' brains: Specialized training of complex motor skills may induce sports-specific structural changes in cerebellum Posted: 26 Mar 2012 08:29 AM PDT Specialized training of complex motor skills may induce sports-specific structural changes in the human brain.

Bone marrow stem cells can improve heart function, study suggests Posted: 26 Mar 2012 08:25 AM PDT Physicians have found that stem cells derived from heart failure patients' own bone marrow and injected into their hearts improved the function of the left ventricle, the heart's pumping chamber. Researchers also found that certain types of the stem cells were associated with the largest improvement and warrant further study.

'Noodle gels' or 'spaghetti highways' could become tools of regenerative medicine Posted: 26 Mar 2012 08:24 AM PDT Medicine's recipe for keeping older people active and functioning in their homes and workplaces — and healing younger people injured in catastrophic accidents — may include "noodle gels" and other lab-made invisible filaments that resemble uncooked spaghetti with nanoscale dimensions, a scientist has said.

Inner weapons against allergies: Gut bacteria control allergic diseases, study suggests Posted: 25 Mar 2012 02:32 PM PDT Researchers have found that commensal bacteria in humans might play an important role in influencing and controlling allergic inflammation. The study suggest that therapeutic targeting of immune cell responses to resident gut bacteria may be beneficial in treating allergic diseases.

A hidden architecture: Researchers use novel methods to uncover gene mutations for common diseases Posted: 25 Mar 2012 02:31 PM PDT Human geneticists have debated whether the genetic risk of the most common medical conditions derive from many rare mutations or common differences throughout the genome that modestly influence risk. A new study addresses this.

Shorter telomeres linked to poor cardiovascular outcomes Posted: 25 Mar 2012 07:28 AM PDT It is typical for telomeres to shorten as cells divide and chromosomes replicate over time. Now a new study suggest a strong link between telomere shortening and poor cardiovascular outcomes in patients with acute coronary syndrome.

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