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Tuesday, August 7, 2012

ScienceDaily: Top Health News

ScienceDaily: Top Health News


Brain signal IDs responders to fast-acting antidepressant

Posted: 06 Aug 2012 02:13 PM PDT

Scientists have discovered a biological marker that may help to identify which depressed patients will respond to an experimental, rapid-acting antidepressant. The brain signal, detectable by noninvasive imaging, also holds clues to the agent's underlying mechanism, which are vital for drug development. The signal is among the latest of several such markers recently uncovered, including factors detectable in blood, genetic markers, and a sleep-specific brain wave.

Decision-making brain activity in patients with hoarding disorder

Posted: 06 Aug 2012 01:18 PM PDT

Patients with hoarding disorder exhibited abnormal activity in regions of the brain that was stimulus dependent when deciding what to do with objects that did or did not belong to them.

Growth hormone-releasing hormonen appears to aid cognitive functioning

Posted: 06 Aug 2012 01:18 PM PDT

Treatment with growth hormone-releasing hormone appears to be associated with favorable cognitive effects among both adults with mild cognitive impairment and healthy older adults.

Weight training linked to reduced risk of type 2 diabetes

Posted: 06 Aug 2012 01:18 PM PDT

Men who do weight training regularly -- for example, for 30 minutes per day, five days per week -- may be able to reduce their risk of type 2 diabetes by up to 34 percent, according to a new study. And if they combine weight training and aerobic exercise, such as brisk walking or running, they may be able to reduce their risk even further -- up to 59 percent.

Behavioral intervention can reduce tics in adults with Tourette syndrome

Posted: 06 Aug 2012 01:18 PM PDT

Specially designed comprehensive behavioral therapy is more effective than sessions offering patient support and education in helping adults with Tourette syndrome manage their tics according to a new study.

More education, socioeconomic benefits equals longer life

Posted: 06 Aug 2012 01:17 PM PDT

Despite advances in health care and increases in life expectancy overall, Americans with less than a high school education have life expectancies similar to adults in the 1950s and 1960s.

Preschool children who can pay attention more likely to finish college: Early reading and math not predictive of college completion

Posted: 06 Aug 2012 12:14 PM PDT

Young children who are able to pay attention and persist on a task have a 50 percent greater chance of completing college, according to a new study. Surprisingly, achievement in reading and math did not significantly predict whether or not the students completed college. And the good news for parents and educators, the researchers said, is that attention and persistence skills are malleable and can be taught.

Seafood, wild or farmed? The answer may be both

Posted: 06 Aug 2012 12:14 PM PDT

Most people think of seafood as either wild or farmed, but in fact both categories may apply to the fish you pick up from your grocery store. An article recommends that when a combination of seafood production techniques are used, this be acknowledged in the marketplace.

Possible muscle disease therapeutic target found

Posted: 06 Aug 2012 12:12 PM PDT

The study of muscular system protein myostatin has been of great interest to researchers as a potential therapeutic target for people with muscular disorders. Although much is known about how myostatin affects muscle growth, there has been disagreement about what types of muscle cells it acts upon. New research narrows down the field to one likely type of cell.

Major breakthrough in macular degeneration

Posted: 06 Aug 2012 12:12 PM PDT

Researchers have made an exciting finding in the "dry" form of age-related macular degeneration known as geographic atrophy (GA). GA is an untreatable condition that causes blindness in millions of individuals due to death of retinal pigmented epithelial cells.

Epilepsy drug reverses memory loss in animal model of Alzheimer's disease

Posted: 06 Aug 2012 12:12 PM PDT

Scientists have discovered that an FDA-approved anti-epileptic drug reverses memory loss and alleviates other Alzheimer's-related impairments in an animal model of the disease.

Infants of overweight mothers grow more slowly

Posted: 06 Aug 2012 10:51 AM PDT

Babies born to overweight mothers gain less weight and grow more slowly than those born to normal-weight mothers, a new study has found. But they do catch up, meaning that pediatricians should refrain from boosting their nutrition, which could make matters worse, experts say.

Proteins may point way to new prostate cancer drug targets

Posted: 06 Aug 2012 10:08 AM PDT

Two proteins that act in opposing directions -- one that promotes cancer and one that suppresses cancer -- regulate the same set of genes in prostate cancer, researchers have found.

Novel inflammatory protein function discovered

Posted: 06 Aug 2012 10:05 AM PDT

A scientists has described the function of a previously un-characterized protein that dramatically influences inflammation.

Researchers discover blood biomarker for Lou Gehrig's disease, could lead to new treatments

Posted: 06 Aug 2012 10:05 AM PDT

Researchers have discovered that changes in monocytes (a type of white blood cell) are a biomarker for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease. The findings open doors to possible new treatments.

Anti-angina drug shows protective effects from carbon monoxide

Posted: 06 Aug 2012 07:22 AM PDT

Scientists have found that a common anti-angina drug could help protect the heart against carbon monoxide poisoning.

Vaginal delivery as safe as Cesarean for most early preterm births, study suggests

Posted: 06 Aug 2012 07:21 AM PDT

Vaginal delivery for early preterm fetuses presenting head first, or vertex presentation, had a high rate of success with no difference in neonatal mortality compared to cesarean delivery, a new study reports. For breech births, however, the failure rate of vaginal delivery was high and planned cesarean delivery was associated with significantly lower neonatal mortality.

Lying less linked to better health

Posted: 06 Aug 2012 06:39 AM PDT

Telling the truth when tempted to lie can significantly improve a person's mental and physical health, according to a new study.

Cyberbullying less frequent than traditional bullying

Posted: 06 Aug 2012 06:39 AM PDT

Traditional in-person bullying is far more common than cyberbullying among today's youth and should be the primary focus of prevention programs, according to new research.

Growing up grateful gives teens multiple mental health benefits

Posted: 06 Aug 2012 06:39 AM PDT

Grateful teens are more likely than their less grateful peers to be happy, less likely to abuse drugs and alcohol and less likely to have behavior problems at school, according to new research.

Brain's stem cells 'eavesdrop' to find out when to act

Posted: 06 Aug 2012 06:39 AM PDT

Working with mice, researchers say they have figured out how stem cells found in a part of the brain responsible for learning, memory and mood regulation decide to remain dormant or create new brain cells. Apparently, the stem cells "listen in" on the chemical communication among nearby neurons to get an idea about what is stressing the system and when they need to act.

Microswimmers: Micron-scale swimming robots could deliver drugs and carry cargo using simple motion

Posted: 06 Aug 2012 06:39 AM PDT

Researchers have used complex computational models to design micro-swimmers that could overcome the challenges of swimming at the micron scale. These autonomous micro-robots could carry cargo and navigate in response to stimuli such as light.

Pupil dilation reveals sexual orientation in new study

Posted: 06 Aug 2012 05:45 AM PDT

For the first time, researchers used a specialized infrared lens to measure pupillary changes to participants watching erotic videos. Pupils were highly telling: they widened most to videos of people who participants found attractive, thereby revealing where they were on the sexual spectrum from heterosexual to homosexual.

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