ScienceDaily: Top Health News

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• Promising new target for Parkinson's disease therapies
• Complex spinal surgeries with two attending physicians, instead of one, benefit patients
• Poll: Youth attitudes on 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade
• Standard written checklists can improve patient safety during surgical crises
• Powerful people better at shaking off rebuffs, bonding with others
• Handheld mobile device performs laboratory-quality HIV testing
• Which nutritional factors help preserve muscle mass, strength and performance in seniors?
• Protein folding via charge zippers
• Light switch inside brain: Laser controls individual nerve cells in mouse
• Abortions are safe when performed by nurses practitioners, physician assistants and certified nurse midwives, study suggests
• Simple blood test can help identify trauma patients at greatest risk of death
• Good bacteria in the intestine prevent diabetes, study suggests
• Small change for big improvement: Halogen bonds and drug discovery
• How repeated aggression triggers social aversion in mice
• Severity of emphysema predicts mortality
• Stroke survivors with PTSD more likely to avoid treatment
• How the brain copes with multi tasking alters with age
• Inadequate food facilities in NC migrant camps could cause illness
• Botox beats steroids for painful foot condition, plantar fasciitis, study suggests
• Compensation negotiation among women in the workplace
• People with low risk for cocaine dependence have differently shaped brain to those with addiction
• Implicit race bias increases the differences in the neural representations of black and white faces
• Guided care provides better quality of care for chronically ill older adults
• Fighting sleep: Potential new treatments for deadly sleeping sickness
• Trapping malaria parasites inside host blood cell forms basis for new class of drugs
• How the flu virus tells time
• Drug targets hard-to-reach leukemia stem cells responsible for relapses
• New insights into the mechanics of muscle fatigue
• New study examines post-Roe v. Wade arrests of and forced interventions on pregnant women
• As colorectal cancer gets more aggressive, treatment with grape seed extract is even more effective, study shows
• Overactive enzyme found in failing hearts
• Potential new treatment for gastrointestinal cancers discovered

Promising new target for Parkinson's disease therapies Posted: 18 Jan 2013 02:23 PM PST With a new insight into a model of Parkinson's disease, researchers have identified a novel target for mitigating some of the disease's toll on the brain.

Complex spinal surgeries with two attending physicians, instead of one, benefit patients Posted: 18 Jan 2013 11:53 AM PST Two heads are better than one, as the saying goes -- and a new study demonstrates how having two attending surgeons in the operating room during spinal surgeries can benefit patients in multiple ways.

Poll: Youth attitudes on 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade Posted: 18 Jan 2013 11:52 AM PST On the 40th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade, more young people identify as "pro-choice" rather than "pro-life," according to a national poll of more than 4,000 high school and college students. Little fear of overturn of decision according to poll of high school and college students.

Standard written checklists can improve patient safety during surgical crises Posted: 18 Jan 2013 11:52 AM PST When hospital operating room staff follow a written safety checklist to respond to a medical crisis during surgery, they are nearly 75 percent less likely to miss a critical clinical step.

Powerful people better at shaking off rebuffs, bonding with others Posted: 18 Jan 2013 10:01 AM PST Employees often tiptoe around their bosses for fear of offending them. But new research shows people in power have thicker skin than one might think.

Handheld mobile device performs laboratory-quality HIV testing Posted: 18 Jan 2013 08:26 AM PST A new handheld mobile device can check patients' HIV status with just a finger prick, and synchronize the results in real time with electronic health records. This technology takes a step toward providing remote areas of the world with diagnostic services traditionally available only in centralized healthcare settings.

Which nutritional factors help preserve muscle mass, strength and performance in seniors? Posted: 18 Jan 2013 08:17 AM PST A new review identifies nutritional factors that contribute to sarcopenia (loss of muscle mass), or conversely, are beneficial to the maintenance of muscle mass. The Group reviewed evidence from worldwide studies on the role of nutrition in sarcopenia, specifically looking at protein, acid–base balance, vitamin D/calcium, and other minor nutrients like B vitamins.

Protein folding via charge zippers Posted: 18 Jan 2013 08:15 AM PST Membrane proteins are the "molecular machines" in biological cell envelopes. They control diverse processes, such as the transport of molecules across the lipid membrane, signal transduction, and photosynthesis. Their shape, i.e. folding of the molecules, plays a decisive role in the formation of, e.g., pores in the cell membrane. Scientists are now reporting a novel charge zipper principle used by proteins to form functional units.

Light switch inside brain: Laser controls individual nerve cells in mouse Posted: 18 Jan 2013 08:15 AM PST Activating and deactivating individual nerve cells in the brain is something many neuroscientists wish they could do, as it would help them to better understand how the brain works. Scientists have now developed an implant that is able to genetically modify specific nerve cells, control them with light stimuli, and measure their electrical activity all at the same time.

Abortions are safe when performed by nurses practitioners, physician assistants and certified nurse midwives, study suggests Posted: 18 Jan 2013 07:41 AM PST First trimester abortions are just as safe when performed by trained nurse practitioners, physician assistants and certified nurse midwives as when conducted by physicians, according to a new six-year study.

Simple blood test can help identify trauma patients at greatest risk of death Posted: 18 Jan 2013 04:22 AM PST A simple, inexpensive blood test performed on trauma patients upon admission can help doctors easily identify patients at greatest risk of death, according to a new study.

Good bacteria in the intestine prevent diabetes, study suggests Posted: 18 Jan 2013 03:47 AM PST All humans have enormous numbers of bacteria and other micro-organisms in the lower intestine. New research suggests that the influence of the intestinal bacteria extends deep inside the body to influence the likelihood of getting diabetes. Scientists have been able to show that intestinal bacteria, especially in male mice, can produce biochemicals and hormones that stop diabetes developing.

Small change for big improvement: Halogen bonds and drug discovery Posted: 18 Jan 2013 03:47 AM PST Halogen bonding has been applied in crystal engineering, materials research, and nanotechnology for some time. Scientists have now developed a new tool to use halogen bonds for drug discovery applications.

How repeated aggression triggers social aversion in mice Posted: 18 Jan 2013 03:47 AM PST One of the mechanisms involved in the onset of stress-induced depression has been highlighted in mice. Scientists have determined the role of the corticosterone (stress hormone) receptor, in the long-term behavioral change triggered by chronic stress. In mice subject to repeated aggressions, this receptor participates in the development of social aversion by controlling the release of dopamine, a key chemical messenger. If this receptor is blocked, the animals become "resilient": although anxious, they overcome the trauma and no longer avoid contact with their fellow creatures.

Severity of emphysema predicts mortality Posted: 18 Jan 2013 03:46 AM PST Severity of emphysema, as measured by computed tomography (CT), is a strong independent predictor of all-cause, cardiovascular, and respiratory mortality in ever-smokers with or without chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to a new study.

Stroke survivors with PTSD more likely to avoid treatment Posted: 18 Jan 2013 03:45 AM PST 65% of stroke survivors with PTSD, vs. 33% of those without PTSD, failed to adhere to treatment. Nonadherence in PTSD patients was partially explained by increased ambivalence toward medication. About one-third of stroke survivors with PTSD viewed medications as disruptions to their lives, worried about long-term effects of medications or potential dependence on them.

How the brain copes with multi tasking alters with age Posted: 17 Jan 2013 08:00 PM PST The pattern of blood flow in the prefrontal cortex in the brains alters with age during multi-tasking, finds a new study. Increased blood volume, measured using oxygenated haemoglobin (Oxy-Hb) increased at the start of multitasking in all age groups. But to perform the same tasks, healthy older people had a higher and more sustained increase in Oxy-Hb than younger people.

Inadequate food facilities in NC migrant camps could cause illness Posted: 17 Jan 2013 01:28 PM PST Farmworkers are at potential risk from food and waterborne illnesses because of the condition of cooking and eating facilities available to them, according to a new study.

Botox beats steroids for painful foot condition, plantar fasciitis, study suggests Posted: 17 Jan 2013 12:20 PM PST Plantar fasciitis is the most frequent cause of chronic heel pain, leaving many sufferers unable to put their best foot forward for months at a time. Now a Mexican study suggests that physicians should turn to Botox rather than steroids to offer patients the fastest road to recovery.

Compensation negotiation among women in the workplace Posted: 17 Jan 2013 10:34 AM PST Studies have shown that women are less likely to take the most direct approach to ensure that they receive fair pay compared to their male counterparts – simply asking. So what happens when women begin to negotiate for higher salaries? Could women begin to close the gender pay gap simply by learning to negotiate for more money?

People with low risk for cocaine dependence have differently shaped brain to those with addiction Posted: 17 Jan 2013 10:33 AM PST People who take cocaine over many years without becoming addicted have a brain structure which is significantly different from those individuals who developed cocaine-dependence, researchers have discovered.

Implicit race bias increases the differences in the neural representations of black and white faces Posted: 17 Jan 2013 10:33 AM PST Racial stereotypes have been shown to have subtle and unintended consequences on how we treat members of different race groups. According to new research race bias also increases differences in the brain's representations of faces.

Guided care provides better quality of care for chronically ill older adults Posted: 17 Jan 2013 10:32 AM PST Patients who received Guided Care, a comprehensive form of primary care for older adults with chronic health problems, rated the quality of their care much higher than patients in regular primary care, and used less home care. Researchers also found that in a 32-month randomized controlled trial, Guided Care patients rated the quality of their care significantly higher than those in normal care.

Fighting sleep: Potential new treatments for deadly sleeping sickness Posted: 17 Jan 2013 10:32 AM PST While its common name may make it sound almost whimsical, sleeping sickness, or African trypanosomiasis, is in reality a potentially fatal parasitic infection that has ravaged populations in sub-Saharan Africa for decades, and it continues to infect thousands of people every year.

Trapping malaria parasites inside host blood cell forms basis for new class of drugs Posted: 17 Jan 2013 10:29 AM PST One of the most insidious ways that parasitic diseases such as malaria and toxoplasmosis wreak their havoc is by hijacking their host's natural cellular processes, turning self against self.

How the flu virus tells time Posted: 17 Jan 2013 10:29 AM PST According to researchers, the flu knows how much time it has to multiply, infect other cells, and spread to another human being. If it leaves a cell too soon, the virus is too weak. If it leaves too late, the immune system has time to kill the virus.

Drug targets hard-to-reach leukemia stem cells responsible for relapses Posted: 17 Jan 2013 10:29 AM PST Researchers have discovered that hard-to-reach, drug-resistant leukemia stem cells (LSCs) that overexpress multiple pro-survival protein forms are sensitive – and thus vulnerable – to a novel cancer stem cell-targeting drug currently under development.

New insights into the mechanics of muscle fatigue Posted: 17 Jan 2013 08:18 AM PST A new study examines the consequences of muscle activity with surprising results, indicating that the extracellular accumulation of potassium that occurs in working muscles is considerably higher than previously thought.

New study examines post-Roe v. Wade arrests of and forced interventions on pregnant women Posted: 17 Jan 2013 07:58 AM PST A new study looks at criminal and civil cases in which a woman's pregnancy was a deciding factor leading to deprivations of her physical liberty.

As colorectal cancer gets more aggressive, treatment with grape seed extract is even more effective, study shows Posted: 17 Jan 2013 07:58 AM PST When the going gets tough, grape seed extract gets going: A new study shows that the more advanced are colorectal cancer cells, the more GSE inhibits their growth and survival. On the other end of the disease spectrum, GSE leaves healthy cells alone entirely.

Overactive enzyme found in failing hearts Posted: 17 Jan 2013 07:58 AM PST A certain enzyme, the CaM kinase II, keeps the cardiac muscle flexible. By transferring phosphate groups to the giant protein titin, it relaxes the muscle cells. In failing hearts, which don't pump enough blood around the body, the scientists found an overly active CaM kinase II.

Potential new treatment for gastrointestinal cancers discovered Posted: 17 Jan 2013 07:58 AM PST Researchers have identified a complex of proteins that promotes the growth of some types of colon and gastric cancers, and shown that medications that block the function of this complex have the potential to be developed into a new treatment for these diseases.

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