ScienceDaily: Top Health News

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• Cortisone can increase risk of acute pancreatitis
• Pregnant mother's blood pressure may affect future health of children
• Small molecules in the blood might gauge radiation effects after exposure
• Cell scaffolding protein fascin-1 is hijacked by cancer
• New clot removal devices show promise for treating stroke patients
• Mediterranean diet helps cut risk of heart attack, stroke: Results of PREDIMED study presented
• Higher levels of several toxic metals found in children with autism
• Doing good is good for you: Volunteer adolescents enjoy healthier hearts
• Virus shows promise as prostate cancer treatment
• Liver stem cells grown in culture, transplanted with demonstrated therapeutic benefit
• BPA may affect the developing brain by disrupting gene regulation
• Much needed test for river blindness infection developed
• Targeting CPR education in high-risk neighborhoods could save more lives
• Tweaking gene expression to repair lungs
• Extremely high estrogen levels may underlie complications of single-birth IVF pregnancies
• Boys' lack of effort in school tied to college gender gap
• Prenatal DHA reduces early preterm birth and low birth weight
• Moments of spirituality can induce liberal attitudes, researchers find
• Memory strategy may help depressed people remember the good times
• Giving a voice to kids with Down syndrome
• Intense acupuncture can improve muscle recovery in patients with Bell palsy, study suggests
• Ultrasound reveals autism risk at birth, study finds
• Childhood blood lead levels rise and fall with exposure to airborne dust in urban areas
• Antioxidant improves donated liver survival rate to more than 90%
• 'NanoVelcro' device to grab single cancer cells from blood: Improvement enables 'liquid biopsies' for metastatic melanoma
• Pain from the brain: Diseases formerly known as 'hysterical' illnesses
• Most babies slow to grow catch up by early teens
• Preventing chronic pain with stress management
• Scientists find way to image brain waste removal process which may lead to Alzheimer's diagnostic
• Babies born by C-section at risk of developing allergies

Cortisone can increase risk of acute pancreatitis Posted: 25 Feb 2013 06:03 PM PST A new study shows that cortisone -- a hormone used in certain medicines -- increases the risk of acute pancreatitis. According to the researchers, they suggest that patients treated with cortisone in some forms should be informed of the risks and advised to refrain from alcohol and smoking.

Pregnant mother's blood pressure may affect future health of children Posted: 25 Feb 2013 05:19 PM PST Up to 10 percent of all women experience some form of elevated blood pressure during pregnancy. Researchers now show that mild maternal hypertension early in pregnancy actually benefits the fetus, but that late pregnancy hypertension has negative health consequences for the child.

Small molecules in the blood might gauge radiation effects after exposure Posted: 25 Feb 2013 05:19 PM PST Researchers have identified molecules in the blood that might gauge the likelihood of radiation illness after exposure to ionizing radiation. The animal study shows that radiation predictably alters levels of certain molecules in the blood. If verified in human subjects, the findings could lead to new methods for rapidly identifying people at risk for acute radiation syndrome after occupational exposures or nuclear reactor accidents, and they might help doctors plan radiation therapy for patients.

Cell scaffolding protein fascin-1 is hijacked by cancer Posted: 25 Feb 2013 05:18 PM PST A protein involved in the internal cell scaffold is associated with increased risk of metastasis and mortality in a range of common cancers finds a meta-analysis. The protein, fascin-1, is involved in bundling together the actin filaments which form the internal scaffolding of a cell and are involved in cell movement.

New clot removal devices show promise for treating stroke patients Posted: 25 Feb 2013 05:18 PM PST Specialists are treating patients with a new generation of blood clot removal devices that show promise in successfully revascularizing stroke patients, including those with large vessel blockages. The Solitaire Flow Restoration Device and the Trevo device, approved by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2012 to treat stroke caused by the sudden obstruction of a brain blood vessel (acute ischemic stroke) showed improved results over a previous standard and first generation clot-removal device in clinical trials.

Mediterranean diet helps cut risk of heart attack, stroke: Results of PREDIMED study presented Posted: 25 Feb 2013 03:15 PM PST Results of a major study aimed at assessing the efficacy of the Mediterranean diet in the primary prevention of cardiovascular diseases show that such a diet supplemented with extra-virgin olive oil or tree nuts reduces by 30 percent the risk of suffering a cardiovascular death, a myocardial infarction or a stroke.

Higher levels of several toxic metals found in children with autism Posted: 25 Feb 2013 01:22 PM PST Researchers have found significantly higher levels of toxic metals in children with autism, compared to typical children. They hypothesize that reducing early exposure to toxic metals may help lessen symptoms of autism, though they say this hypotheses needs further examination.

Doing good is good for you: Volunteer adolescents enjoy healthier hearts Posted: 25 Feb 2013 01:22 PM PST Giving back through volunteering is good for your heart, even at a young age, according to researchers.

Virus shows promise as prostate cancer treatment Posted: 25 Feb 2013 12:31 PM PST A recombinant Newcastle disease virus kills all kinds of prostate cancer cells, including hormone resistant cells, but leaves normal cells unscathed, according to a new article. A treatment for prostate cancer based on this virus would avoid the adverse side effects typically associated with hormonal treatment for prostate cancer, as well as those associated with cancer chemotherapies generally.

Liver stem cells grown in culture, transplanted with demonstrated therapeutic benefit Posted: 25 Feb 2013 12:31 PM PST For decades scientists around the world have attempted to regenerate primary liver cells known as hepatocytes because of their numerous biomedical applications, including hepatitis research, drug metabolism and toxicity studies, as well as transplantation for cirrhosis and other chronic liver conditions. But no lab in the world has been successful in identifying and growing liver stem cells in culture -- using any available technique -- until now.

BPA may affect the developing brain by disrupting gene regulation Posted: 25 Feb 2013 12:31 PM PST Environmental exposure to bisphenol A (BPA), a widespread chemical found in plastics and resins, may suppress a gene vital to nerve cell function and to the development of the central nervous system, according to a new study.

Much needed test for river blindness infection developed Posted: 25 Feb 2013 12:30 PM PST Scientists have found a telltale molecular marker for Onchocerciasis or "river blindness," a parasitic infection that affects tens of millions of people in Africa, Latin America and other tropical regions. The newly discovered biomarker, detectable in patients' urine, is secreted by Onchocerca volvulus worms during an active infection. The biomarker could form the basis of a portable, field-ready test with significant advantages over current diagnostic methods.

Targeting CPR education in high-risk neighborhoods could save more lives Posted: 25 Feb 2013 12:30 PM PST Targeting CPR education in high-risk neighborhoods could increase the number of bystanders giving CPR and decrease deaths from cardiac arrest, according to a new statement.

Tweaking gene expression to repair lungs Posted: 25 Feb 2013 12:30 PM PST A healthy lung has some capacity to regenerate itself like the liver. In COPD, these reparative mechanisms fail. HDAC therapies may be useful for COPD, as well as other airway diseases. The levels of HDAC2 expression and its activity are greatly reduced in COPD patients. Decreased HDAC activity may impair the ability of the lung epithelium to regenerate.

Extremely high estrogen levels may underlie complications of single-birth IVF pregnancies Posted: 25 Feb 2013 10:16 AM PST Researchers have identified what may be a major factor behind the increased risk of two adverse outcomes in pregnancies conceived through IVF. Their findings support the hypothesis that extremely high estrogen levels at the time of embryo transfer increase the risk of infants born small for their gestational age and the risk of preeclampsia. They also outline a protocol that reduced those risks in a small group of patients.

Boys' lack of effort in school tied to college gender gap Posted: 25 Feb 2013 10:15 AM PST When it comes to college education, men are falling behind by standing still. The proportion of men receiving college degrees has stagnated, while women have thrived under the new economic and social realities in the United States.

Prenatal DHA reduces early preterm birth and low birth weight Posted: 25 Feb 2013 10:15 AM PST Infants of mothers who were given 600 milligrams of the omega-3 fatty acid DHA during pregnancy weighed more at birth and were less likely to be very low birth weight and born before 34 weeks gestation than infants of mothers who were given a placebo.

Moments of spirituality can induce liberal attitudes, researchers find Posted: 25 Feb 2013 10:15 AM PST People become more politically liberal immediately after practising a spiritual exercise such as meditation, researchers have found.

Memory strategy may help depressed people remember the good times Posted: 25 Feb 2013 09:20 AM PST New research highlights a memory strategy that may help people who suffer from depression in recalling positive day-to-day experiences.

Giving a voice to kids with Down syndrome Posted: 25 Feb 2013 09:20 AM PST A new case study shows children with Down syndrome can benefit from conventional stuttering treatment.

Intense acupuncture can improve muscle recovery in patients with Bell palsy, study suggests Posted: 25 Feb 2013 09:20 AM PST Patients with Bell palsy who received acupuncture that achieves de qi, a type of intense stimulation, had improved facial muscle recovery, reduced disability and better quality of life, according to a randomized controlled trial.

Ultrasound reveals autism risk at birth, study finds Posted: 25 Feb 2013 08:25 AM PST Low-birth-weight babies with a particular brain abnormality are at greater risk for autism, according to a new study that could provide doctors a signpost for early detection of the still poorly understood disorder.

Childhood blood lead levels rise and fall with exposure to airborne dust in urban areas Posted: 25 Feb 2013 07:25 AM PST A new nine-year study of more than 367,000 children in Detroit supports the idea that a mysterious seasonal fluctuation in blood lead levels -- observed in urban areas throughout the United States and elsewhere in the northern hemisphere -- results from resuspended dust contaminated with lead.

Antioxidant improves donated liver survival rate to more than 90% Posted: 25 Feb 2013 07:25 AM PST Researchers from Italy have found that the antioxidant, N-acetylcysteine (NAC), when injected prior to harvesting of the liver, significantly improves graft survival following transplantation. Results suggest that the NAC effect on early graft function and survival is higher when suboptimal organs are used.

'NanoVelcro' device to grab single cancer cells from blood: Improvement enables 'liquid biopsies' for metastatic melanoma Posted: 25 Feb 2013 06:22 AM PST Researchers have refined a method they previously developed for capturing and analyzing cancer cells that break away from patients' tumors and circulate in the blood. With the improvements to their device, which uses a Velcro-like nanoscale technology, they can now detect and isolate single cancer cells from patient blood samples for analysis.

Pain from the brain: Diseases formerly known as 'hysterical' illnesses Posted: 25 Feb 2013 06:22 AM PST Psychogenic diseases, formerly known as "hysterical" illnesses, can have many severe symptoms such as painful cramps or paralysis, but without any physical explanation. However, new research suggests that individuals with psychogenic disease, that is to say physical illness that stems from emotional or mental stresses, do have brains that function differently.

Most babies slow to grow catch up by early teens Posted: 25 Feb 2013 06:22 AM PST New research shows that most babies who are slow to put on weight in the first nine months of life have caught up to within the normal range by the age of 13, but remain lighter and shorter than many of their peers. There are significant differences in the pattern of "catchup," depending on the infant's age when the slow weight gain occurs.

Preventing chronic pain with stress management Posted: 25 Feb 2013 06:20 AM PST For chronic pain sufferers, such as people who develop back pain after a car accident, avoiding the harmful effects of stress may be key to managing their condition. This is particularly important for people with a smaller-than-average hippocampus, as these individuals seem to be particularly vulnerable to stress.

Scientists find way to image brain waste removal process which may lead to Alzheimer's diagnostic Posted: 25 Feb 2013 06:19 AM PST A novel way to image the brain's glymphatic pathway may provide the basis for a new strategy to evaluate Alzheimer's disease susceptibility, according to a new research.

Babies born by C-section at risk of developing allergies Posted: 25 Feb 2013 06:19 AM PST For expectant moms who may contemplate the pros and cons of natural child birth or Caesarian section, a new study suggests that C-section babies are susceptible to developing allergies by age two. Researchers found that babies born by C-section are five times more likely to develop allergies than babies born naturally when exposed to high levels of common allergens in the home such as those from dogs, cats and dust mites.

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