ScienceDaily: Top Health News

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• Patient expectations of acute bronchitis not consistent with the best evidence
• Supplements and cow's milk play biggest roles in determining vitamin D levels in children
• Scientists discover structure of protein essential for quality control, nerve function
• Graphic warnings on cigarettes effective across demographic groups
• Generic HIV treatment strategy could save nearly $1 billion annually but may be less effective
• New autism-related gene variants discovered
• Diet may not impact certain health outcomes in older persons
• Surprising twist to protein misfolding discovered
• Scientists identify protective role for antibodies in ebola vaccine study
• Parkinson's can lead to anxiety and other non-motor symptoms, even early on
• Early surgical menopause linked to declines in memory and thinking skills
• Impaired coordination of brain activity in autism involves local, as well as long-range, signaling
• Strawberries, blueberries may cut heart attack risk in women
• Tissue engineers report knee cartilage repair success with new biomaterial
• Lack of protein Sp2 disrupts neuron creation in brain
• New way found to boost common cancer drugs
• Social networks may inflate self-esteem, reduce self-control
• Stem-cell approach shows promise for Duchenne muscular dystrophy
• Physio for the home
• Gene promotes drug resistance in cancer
• Aggressive breast cancer's metastatic path revealed
• Parkinson's treatment can trigger creativity: Patients treated with dopamine-enhancing drugs are developing artistic talents, doctor says
• Liver controls wasting in cancer
• Protein identified that can disrupt embryonic brain development and neuron migration
• Medicinal 'toothbrush tree' yields antibiotic to treat TB in new way
• Alternative medicine use high among children with chronic conditions
• Understanding brain tumor growth opens door for non-surgical treatment
• Less reaction to DTaP vaccine given in kids' thighs than arms
• Smoking intensity and cancer markers predict seriousness of bladder cancer
• How do happiness and sadness circuits contribute to bipolar disorder?
• Depression after heart attack: Threat perception has to be addressed, experts urge
• New implant replaces impaired middle ear
• Twitter helps people lose weight, study suggests
• New discovery in autism-related disorder reveals key mechanism in brain development and disease
• Childhood obesity linked to more immediate health problems than previously thought

Patient expectations of acute bronchitis not consistent with the best evidence Posted: 14 Jan 2013 02:21 PM PST New research exposes a large discrepancy in the length of time patients expect an acute cough illness, also called acute bronchitis, to last and the reality of the illness. This mismatch may be a factor in the over-prescription of antibiotics.

Supplements and cow's milk play biggest roles in determining vitamin D levels in children Posted: 14 Jan 2013 02:21 PM PST Taking a vitamin D supplement and drinking cow's milk are the two most important factors that determine how much vitamin D is in a child's body, new research has found.

Scientists discover structure of protein essential for quality control, nerve function Posted: 14 Jan 2013 02:21 PM PST Using an innovative approach, scientists have determined the structure of Ltn1, a recently discovered "quality-control" protein that is found in the cells of all plants, fungi and animals.

Graphic warnings on cigarettes effective across demographic groups Posted: 14 Jan 2013 02:20 PM PST New research suggests hard-hitting graphic tobacco warnings may help smokers of diverse backgrounds who are struggling to quit smoking. A new study provides further evidence that bold pictorial cigarette warning labels that visually depict the health consequences of smoking -- such as those required under the 2009 Family Smoking and Prevention Tobacco Control Act -- play a life-saving role in highlighting the dangers of smoking and encouraging smokers to quit.

Generic HIV treatment strategy could save nearly $1 billion annually but may be less effective Posted: 14 Jan 2013 02:20 PM PST Replacing the combination of brand-name, antiretroviral drugs currently recommended for control of HIV infection with soon-to-be-available generic medications could save the US health care system almost $1 billion a year but may diminish the effectiveness of HIV treatment.

New autism-related gene variants discovered Posted: 14 Jan 2013 02:20 PM PST Genetics researchers have identified 25 copy number variations (CNVs) that occur in some patients with autism. While individually rare, these CNVs are "high impact," strongly increasing a person's autism risk.

Diet may not impact certain health outcomes in older persons Posted: 14 Jan 2013 01:15 PM PST Eating diets high in sugar and fat may not affect the health outcomes of older adults ages 75 and up, suggesting that placing people of such advanced age on overly restrictive diets to treat their excess weight or other conditions may have little benefit, according to researchers.

Surprising twist to protein misfolding discovered Posted: 14 Jan 2013 01:15 PM PST An effort to develop software that unravels the complexities of how proteins fold is paying dividends in new findings on how they misfold, according to researchers.

Scientists identify protective role for antibodies in ebola vaccine study Posted: 14 Jan 2013 01:15 PM PST Researchers have found that an experimental vaccine elicits antibodies that can protect nonhuman primates from Ebola virus infection. Ebola virus causes severe hemorrhagic fever in humans and nonhuman primates, meaning that infection may lead to shock, bleeding and multi-organ failure. According to the World Health Organization, Ebola hemorrhagic fever has a fatality rate of up to 90 percent. There is no licensed treatment or vaccine for Ebola virus infection.

Parkinson's can lead to anxiety and other non-motor symptoms, even early on Posted: 14 Jan 2013 01:13 PM PST While movement problems are the main symptom of Parkinson's disease, a new study shows that even early in the course of disease people frequently experience many non-motor symptoms such as drooling, anxiety and constipation.

Early surgical menopause linked to declines in memory and thinking skills Posted: 14 Jan 2013 01:13 PM PST Women who undergo surgical menopause at an earlier age may have an increased risk of decline in memory and thinking skills, according to a new study. Early surgical menopause is the removal of both ovaries before natural menopause and often accompanies a hysterectomy.

Impaired coordination of brain activity in autism involves local, as well as long-range, signaling Posted: 14 Jan 2013 12:34 PM PST A new autism study has found that local functional connectivity of the brain -- the extent to which activity within a small region is coordinated -- is reduced in individuals with autism spectrum disorders. Although it has been recognized functional connectivity between separate areas of the brain was reduced in autistic individuals, it was assumed that local functional connectivity was actually increased.

Strawberries, blueberries may cut heart attack risk in women Posted: 14 Jan 2013 12:29 PM PST Women who ate at least three servings of blueberries and strawberries per week had fewer heart attacks. Blueberries and strawberries contain high levels of compounds that have cardiovascular benefits.

Tissue engineers report knee cartilage repair success with new biomaterial Posted: 14 Jan 2013 12:29 PM PST In a small study, researchers reported increased healthy tissue growth after surgical repair of damaged cartilage if they put a "hydrogel" scaffolding into the wound to support and nourish the healing process. The squishy hydrogel material was implanted in 15 patients during standard microfracture surgery, in which tiny holes are punched in a bone near the injured cartilage. The holes stimulate patients' own specialized stem cells to emerge from bone marrow and grow new cartilage atop the bone.

Lack of protein Sp2 disrupts neuron creation in brain Posted: 14 Jan 2013 12:29 PM PST A protein known as Sp2 is key to the proper creation of neurons from stem cells, according to new research.

New way found to boost common cancer drugs Posted: 14 Jan 2013 10:33 AM PST Shutting down a specific pathway in cancer cells appears to improve the ability of common drugs to wipe those cells out, according to new research.

Social networks may inflate self-esteem, reduce self-control Posted: 14 Jan 2013 10:33 AM PST Researchers have obtained evidence on Facebook behavior and how it relates to users' self-control, body-mass indexes, and credit-card debt.

Stem-cell approach shows promise for Duchenne muscular dystrophy Posted: 14 Jan 2013 10:33 AM PST Researchers have shown that transplanting stem cells derived from normal mouse blood vessels into the hearts of mice that model the pathology associated with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) prevents the decrease in heart function associated with DMD.

Physio for the home Posted: 14 Jan 2013 10:33 AM PST Accidents or operations are often followed by long periods of rehabilitation treatment. In future, a new technology will allow patients to do physiotherapy exercises at home, while still making sure that they are performing movements correctly.

Gene promotes drug resistance in cancer Posted: 14 Jan 2013 09:49 AM PST Scientists have identified a gene that may be a target for overcoming drug resistance in cancer. The finding could improve prognostic and diagnostic tools for evaluating cancer and monitoring patient response to treatment. It also could lead to new therapies for eradicating drug-resistant cancer cells.

Aggressive breast cancer's metastatic path revealed Posted: 14 Jan 2013 09:49 AM PST Scientists have discovered the molecular switch that allows aggressive triple negative breast cancer cells to grow the amoeba-like protrusions they need to crawl away from a primary tumor and metastasize throughout the body. Their findings suggest a novel approach for developing agents to treat cancer once it has spread.

Parkinson's treatment can trigger creativity: Patients treated with dopamine-enhancing drugs are developing artistic talents, doctor says Posted: 14 Jan 2013 08:16 AM PST In treating Parkinson's disease patients one medical researcher found that patients were exhibiting new bursts of artistic activity. Now she has begun to understand why.

Liver controls wasting in cancer Posted: 14 Jan 2013 07:17 AM PST Many cancer patients suffer from a dramatic loss of fat and muscle mass. This extreme wasting, or cachexia, is often the actual cause of death in cancer patients. Scientists have now discovered in mice that tumors stimulate the production of a key gene switch in the liver. Activity of this switch lowers blood fat levels so that the animals lose weight. This finding may lead to approaches to slow down this fatal loss of body mass.

Protein identified that can disrupt embryonic brain development and neuron migration Posted: 14 Jan 2013 07:16 AM PST Interneurons – nerve cells that function as 'dimmers' – play an important role in the brain. Their formation and migration to the cerebral cortex during the embryonic stage of development is crucial to normal brain functioning. Abnormal interneuron development and migration can eventually lead to a range of disorders and diseases, from epilepsy to Alzheimer's. New research has identified two proteins, Sip1 and Unc5b, that play an important role in the development and migration of interneurons to the cerebral cortex – a breakthrough in our understanding of early brain development.

Medicinal 'toothbrush tree' yields antibiotic to treat TB in new way Posted: 14 Jan 2013 06:27 AM PST There are potentially new TB drugs in the pipeline from unusual sources. A newly discovered compound has been found to be effective against resistant strains of TB.

Alternative medicine use high among children with chronic conditions Posted: 14 Jan 2013 06:26 AM PST Children who regularly see specialists for chronic medical conditions are also using complementary medicine at a high rate, demonstrates recently published research.

Understanding brain tumor growth opens door for non-surgical treatment Posted: 14 Jan 2013 06:26 AM PST Researchers have for the first time identified a new group of growth factor receptors for brain tumors. Understanding how these work could mean that existing drugs could be used as alternative therapy to surgery or radiotherapy for patients with multiple brain tumors.

Less reaction to DTaP vaccine given in kids' thighs than arms Posted: 14 Jan 2013 06:26 AM PST Children age 12 to 35 months who receive DTaP vaccine in their thigh muscle rather than their arm are around half as likely to be brought in for medical attention for an injection-site reaction. So says a new study of 1.4 million children. These local reactions are the most common side effect of vaccinations.

Smoking intensity and cancer markers predict seriousness of bladder cancer Posted: 14 Jan 2013 06:25 AM PST Smoking not only causes bladder cancer -— it also affects its course, in that people who smoke more have greater likelihood of developing more aggressive and deadly disease. A new study also found that a panel of bladder cancer markers can predict which particular cases are at the highest risk for a fatal outcome.

How do happiness and sadness circuits contribute to bipolar disorder? Posted: 14 Jan 2013 06:25 AM PST Bipolar disorder is a severe mood disorder characterized by unpredictable and dramatic mood swings between the highs of mania and lows of depression. These mood episodes occur among periods of 'normal mood', termed euthymia. Prior research has clearly shown that brain emotion circuitry is dysregulated in individuals diagnosed with bipolar disorder. It is thought that these disturbances impair one's ability to control emotion and contribute to mood episodes. Investigators have now used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate which areas of the brain showed abnormal activation while patients in different mood phases of bipolar disorder tried to control their response to emotional and non-emotional material.

Depression after heart attack: Threat perception has to be addressed, experts urge Posted: 14 Jan 2013 06:25 AM PST Survivors of heart attacks are three times more likely to develop depression during the first six months after their heart attack, than people with no heart disease, new research suggests. If left untreated this contributes to a worse prognosis, for instance further cardiac events and possibly death, researchers say.

New implant replaces impaired middle ear Posted: 14 Jan 2013 06:25 AM PST Functionally deaf patients can gain normal hearing with a new implant that replaces the middle ear. The unique invention has been approved for a clinical study.

Twitter helps people lose weight, study suggests Posted: 14 Jan 2013 06:17 AM PST Researchers have found that using Twitter, the popular information network joining people throughout the world, is a valuable support system for helping people lose weight.

New discovery in autism-related disorder reveals key mechanism in brain development and disease Posted: 14 Jan 2013 06:17 AM PST A new finding in neuroscience for the first time points to a developmental mechanism linking the disease-causing mutation in an autism-related disorder, Timothy syndrome, and observed defects in brain wiring, according to a new study. These findings may be at the heart of the mechanisms underlying intellectual disability and many other brain disorders.

Childhood obesity linked to more immediate health problems than previously thought Posted: 14 Jan 2013 06:17 AM PST A new study focuses on the immediate consequences of childhood obesity and shows that obese youngsters are at far greater risk than had been supposed.

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