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Thursday, November 29, 2012

ScienceDaily: Top Health News

ScienceDaily: Top Health News


Health-care providers can play critical role in reducing and preventing intimate partner violence

Posted: 28 Nov 2012 03:29 PM PST

Researchers report that health-care providers can play a critical role in helping to reduce and prevent intimate partner violence by screening and referring patients to appropriate resources.

HIV treatment reduces risk of malaria recurrence in children

Posted: 28 Nov 2012 03:29 PM PST

A combination of anti-HIV drugs has been found to also reduce the risk of recurrent malaria by nearly half among HIV-positive children, according to researchers.

Scientists identify depression and anxiety biomarker in youths

Posted: 28 Nov 2012 03:29 PM PST

Scientists have discovered a cognitive biomarker -- a biological indicator of a disease -- for young adolescents who are at high risk of developing depression and anxiety. Their findings were published Nov. 28 in the journal PLOS ONE.

Risk of childhood obesity can be predicted at birth

Posted: 28 Nov 2012 03:27 PM PST

A simple formula can predict at birth a baby's likelihood of becoming obese in childhood, according to a new study.

Moral evaluations of harm are instant and emotional

Posted: 28 Nov 2012 03:27 PM PST

People are able to detect, within a split second, if a hurtful action they are witnessing is intentional or accidental, new research on the brain shows. The study is the first to explain how the brain is hard-wired to recognize when another person is being intentionally harmed.

Mediation combined with art therapy can change your brain and lower anxiety

Posted: 28 Nov 2012 03:27 PM PST

Cancer and stress go hand-in-hand, and high stress levels can lead to poorer health outcomes in cancer patients. The combined creative art therapy with a Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program for women with breast cancer and showed changes in brain activity associated with lower stress and anxiety after the eight-week program.

Ponatinib acts against the most resistant types of chronic myeloid leukemia

Posted: 28 Nov 2012 03:27 PM PST

Phase I trial shows third-generation drug helps patients after other treatments fail.

Moral judgments quicker, more extreme than practical ones, but also flexible

Posted: 28 Nov 2012 03:27 PM PST

Judgments we make with a moral underpinning are made more quickly and are more extreme than those same judgments based on practical considerations, a new set of studies finds. However, the findings also show that judgments based on morality can be readily shifted and made with other considerations in mind.

Order of psychiatric diagnoses may influence how clinicians identify symptoms

Posted: 28 Nov 2012 01:22 PM PST

The diagnostic system used by many mental health practitioners in the United States assumes that symptoms of two disorders that occur at the same time are additive and that the order in which the disorders are presented doesn't matter. But new research suggests that order actually plays a significant role in determining how clinicians think about psychiatric disorders.

NSAID use linked to reduced hepatocellular carcinoma risk and mortality due to chronic liver disease

Posted: 28 Nov 2012 01:22 PM PST

Researchers found that aspirin use is associated with a decreased risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma and death from chronic liver disease, according to a new study.

Drug may offer new approach to treating insomnia

Posted: 28 Nov 2012 01:21 PM PST

A new drug may bring help for people with insomnia, according to a new study.

Online tool creates catch-up immunization schedules

Posted: 28 Nov 2012 01:20 PM PST

A new online tool takes the guesswork out of developing individualized catch-up immunization schedules by allowing parents and health care providers to easily create a schedule that ensures missed vaccines and future vaccines are administered according to approved guidelines.

Women 16-49 at risk of multiple pollutants, which could harm brain development of fetuses and babies

Posted: 28 Nov 2012 11:39 AM PST

In a new analysis of thousands of US women of childbearing age, researchers found that most exceeded the median blood level for two or more of three environmental pollutants that could harm brain development of fetuses and babies: lead, mercury, and polychlorinated biphenyls.

Implantable silk optics multi-task in body: Dissolvable micro-mirrors enhance imaging, administer heat, deliver and monitor drugs

Posted: 28 Nov 2012 11:39 AM PST

Researchers have demonstrated silk-based implantable optics that offer significant improvement in tissue imaging while simultaneously enabling photo thermal therapy, administering drugs and monitoring drug delivery. The devices also lend themselves to a variety of other biomedical functions. Biodegradable and biocompatible, these tiny mirror-like devices dissolve harmlessly at predetermined rates and require no surgery to remove them.

Experts recommend closer scrutiny of radiation exposure from CT scans

Posted: 28 Nov 2012 11:35 AM PST

Amid increasing fear of overexposure to radiation from CT scans, a panel of experts has recommended more research on the health effects of medical imaging and ways to reduce unnecessary CT tests, as well as industry standardization of CT machines.

Double duty: Immune system regulator found to protect brain from effects of stroke

Posted: 28 Nov 2012 11:35 AM PST

A small molecule known to regulate white blood cells has a surprising second role in protecting brain cells from the deleterious effects of stroke, researchers report. The molecule, microRNA-223, affects how cells respond to the temporary loss of blood supply brought on by stroke -- and thus the cells' likelihood of suffering permanent damage.

Analysis of conflicting fish oil studies finds that omega-3 fatty acids still matter

Posted: 28 Nov 2012 11:35 AM PST

A new analysis helps to sort through conflicting findings from literally hundreds of studies on use of omega-3 fatty acids for heart disease. It concludes that they still matter; they do work; and that modern therapies for cardiovascular disease help to mask the benefits omega-3 consumption might otherwise provide.

New light shed on virus associated with developmental delays and deafness

Posted: 28 Nov 2012 11:35 AM PST

A new study reveals that primitive human stem cells are resistant to human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), one of the leading prenatal causes of congenital intellectual disability, deafness and deformities worldwide. Researchers found that as stem cells and other primitive cells mature into neurons, they become more susceptible to HCMV, which could allow them to find effective treatments for the virus and to prevent its potentially devastating consequences.

Common drug reverses common effect of becker muscular dystrophy

Posted: 28 Nov 2012 11:26 AM PST

Researchers have found in an initial clinical trial that a drug typically prescribed for erectile dysfunction or pulmonary hypertension restores blood flow to oxygen-starved muscles in patients with a type of muscular dystrophy that affects males, typically starting in childhood or adolescence.

Scientists pair blood test and gene sequencing to detect cancer

Posted: 28 Nov 2012 11:26 AM PST

Scientists have combined the ability to detect cancer DNA in the blood with genome sequencing technology in a test that could be used to screen for cancers, monitor cancer patients for recurrence and find residual cancer left after surgery.

Researchers increase understanding of genetic risk factor for type 1 diabetes

Posted: 28 Nov 2012 10:23 AM PST

Researchers have demonstrated how a genetic variant associated with type 1 diabetes and other autoimmune diseases influences susceptibility to autoimmunity.

Human genetic variation recent, varies among populations

Posted: 28 Nov 2012 10:22 AM PST

Nearly three-quarters of mutations in genes that code for proteins -- the workhorses of the cell -- occurred within the past 5,000 to 10,000 years, fairly recently in evolutionary terms, said genomic and genetic experts.

Chemists invent powerful toolkit, accelerating creation of potential new drugs

Posted: 28 Nov 2012 10:22 AM PST

Scientists have invented a set of chemical tools that is radically simplifying the creation of potential new drug compounds.

Scientists uncover a novel cooperative effort to stop cancer spread

Posted: 28 Nov 2012 09:20 AM PST

Scientists have uncovered a group of what have been considered relatively minor regulators in the body that band together to suppress the spread of cancer from its primary site.

Changes in nerve cells may contribute to the development of mental illness

Posted: 28 Nov 2012 09:20 AM PST

Reduced production of myelin, a type of protective nerve fiber that is lost in diseases like multiple sclerosis, may also play a role in the development of mental illness, according to new research.

First success of targeted therapy in most common genetic subtype of non-small cell lung cancer

Posted: 28 Nov 2012 09:15 AM PST

Chemotherapy and a new, targeted therapy work better in combination than chemotherapy alone in treating patients with the most common genetic subtype of lung cancer, new research suggests.

Young adults more likely to smoke cannabis than drink before driving, survey of Canadians shows

Posted: 28 Nov 2012 08:21 AM PST

Most adults are drinking responsibly, and fewer are smoking or using illicit substances -- but several areas of concern were found in a 2011 recent survey.

Family's economic situation influences brain function in children

Posted: 28 Nov 2012 07:39 AM PST

Children of low socioeconomic status work harder to filter out irrelevant environmental information than those from a high-income background because of learned differences in what they pay attention to, according to new research.

Four is the 'magic' number

Posted: 28 Nov 2012 06:39 AM PST

According to psychological lore, when it comes to items of information the mind can cope with before confusion sets in, the "magic" number is seven. But a new analysis challenges this long-held view, suggesting the number might actually be four.

Immune system could play a central role in age-related macular degeneration

Posted: 28 Nov 2012 06:39 AM PST

Changes in how genes in the immune system function may result in age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of visual impairment in older adults. The findings are epigenetic in nature, meaning that the underlying DNA is normal but gene expression has been modified, likely by environmental factors, in an adverse way. Environmental factors associated with AMD include smoking, diet, and aging. This is the first epigenetic study revealing the molecular mechanisms for any eye disease.

Malaria study suggests drugs should target female parasites

Posted: 28 Nov 2012 06:39 AM PST

Fresh insight into the parasite that causes malaria suggests a new way to develop drugs and vaccines to tackle the disease.

Potentially toxic flame retardants found in many U.S. couches

Posted: 28 Nov 2012 06:38 AM PST

More than half of all couches tested in a new study contained potentially toxic or untested chemical flame retardants that may pose risks to human health. Among the chemicals detected was "Tris," a chlorinated flame retardant that is considered a probable human carcinogen based on animal studies.

Many flame retardants in house dust at unsafe levels, study finds

Posted: 28 Nov 2012 06:38 AM PST

In a new study of the largest number of flame retardants ever tested in homes, researchers found that most houses had levels of at least one flame retardant that exceeded a federal health guideline.

Men with belly fat at risk for osteoporosis

Posted: 28 Nov 2012 06:38 AM PST

Visceral, or deep belly, obesity is a risk factor for bone loss and decreased bone strength in men, according to a new study.

High altitude climbers at risk for brain bleeds

Posted: 28 Nov 2012 06:38 AM PST

New magnetic resonance imaging research shows that mountain climbers who experience a certain type of high altitude sickness have traces of bleeding in the brain years after the initial incident, according to a new study.

CT depicts racial differences in coronary artery disease

Posted: 28 Nov 2012 06:38 AM PST

While obesity is considered a cardiovascular risk factor, a new study shows that African-American patients with coronary artery disease have much less fat around their hearts compared to Caucasian patients.

One child mothers with pre-eclampsia at higher risk of heart problems

Posted: 27 Nov 2012 04:12 PM PST

Women who develop pre-eclampsia during their first pregnancy (known as preterm pre-eclampsia) -- and who don't go on to have any more children -- are at greater risk of dying from heart disease in later life than women who have subsequent children, finds a new study.

Thyroid problems linked to irregular heart rhythm

Posted: 27 Nov 2012 04:03 PM PST

People with an overactive thyroid gland (hyperthyroidism) carry a greater risk of developing irregular heart rhythm (known as atrial fibrillation) than those with normal thyroid function, finds a new study.

Most women who have double mastectomy don't need it, study finds

Posted: 27 Nov 2012 04:00 PM PST

About 70 percent of women who have both breasts removed following a breast cancer diagnosis do so despite a very low risk of facing cancer in the healthy breast, new research finds.

Topical simvastatin shown to accelerate wound healing in diabetes

Posted: 27 Nov 2012 10:01 AM PST

Delayed wound healing is a major complication of diabetes because the physiological changes in tissues and cells impair the wound healing process. This can result in additional disease outcomes such as diabetic foot ulcer, a significant cause of morbidity in the growing population of diabetic patients. A new study has found that topically applied simvastatin accelerates wound healing in diabetic mice, suggesting important implications for humans with diabetes.

Amyloid imaging helps in evaluating possible Alzheimer disease

Posted: 27 Nov 2012 08:12 AM PST

A test to detect brain amyloid deposits associated with Alzheimer disease (AD) provides doctors with useful information on treatment and further testing for patients with cognitive impairment, according to a new study.

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