ScienceDaily: Top Health News

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• Highly lethal Ebola virus has diagnostic Achilles' heel for biothreat detection, scientists say
• Experts call for research on prevalence of delayed neurological dysfunction after head injury
• Fecal microbial transplantation found to be possible treatment for ulcerative colitis
• Researchers identify edema inhibitor: Substance that can prevent the accumulation of fluid in body tissue
• New minimally invasive, MRI-guided laser treatment for brain tumor found to be promising in study
• New vision of how we explore our world
• Public support can influence soldiers' mental health, bug killing study suggests
• Cancer checkpoint: Mitochondrial metabolic regulator SIRT4 guards against DNA damage
• Skin deep: Fruit flies reveal clues to wound healing in humans
• Stem cells enable personalized treatment for bleeding disorder
• How can children's interests be protected in the face of poverty?
• Reducing salt and increasing potassium will have major global health benefits
• New frontiers in breast cancer screening
• EU minimum tax legislation for cigarettes has had no effect on smoking prevalence, according to new Spanish study
• Counting copy numbers characterizes prostate cancer
• Discovery in neuroscience could help re-wire appetite control
• Suicide risk linked to rates of gun ownership, political conservatism
• Antibody evolution could guide HIV vaccine development
• Findings from most in-depth study into UK parents who kill their children
• Overweight starting in early adulthood linked with kidney disease in older age
• On Twitter, anti-vaccination sentiments spread more easily than pro-vaccination sentiments
• Pathogen's scissor-like enzyme provides new clues to treatment of infectious disease
• Course of cardiovascular events more predictable: A protein enables risk assessment
• Despite free health care, household income affects chronic disease control in kids
• Researchers uncover a genetic vulnerability of lung cancer to lay the foundation for new drug options
• Gel safe and acceptable as approach to preventing HIV from anal sex
• Vermont's health care reform has lessons for other states
• Multiple factors predict repeat suicide-related behavior in youth

Highly lethal Ebola virus has diagnostic Achilles' heel for biothreat detection, scientists say Posted: 05 Apr 2013 03:46 PM PDT By screening a library of a billion llama antibodies on live Ebola viruses in the Texas Biomedical Research Institute's highest biocontainment laboratory, scientists in San Antonio have identified a potential weakness in the make-up of these deadly agents that can immediately yield a sensitive test.

Experts call for research on prevalence of delayed neurological dysfunction after head injury Posted: 05 Apr 2013 02:14 PM PDT One of the most controversial topics in neurology today is the prevalence of serious permanent brain damage after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Long-term studies and a search for genetic risk factors are required in order to predict an individual's risk for serious permanent brain damage, according to a new review article.

Fecal microbial transplantation found to be possible treatment for ulcerative colitis Posted: 05 Apr 2013 08:28 AM PDT A new clinical trial has found that fecal microbial transplantation (FMT) has resulted in the improvement or absence of symptoms in most pediatric patients with active ulcerative colitis.

Researchers identify edema inhibitor: Substance that can prevent the accumulation of fluid in body tissue Posted: 05 Apr 2013 07:48 AM PDT Researchers in Germany have detected a substance that can prevent the accumulation of fluid in body tissue and thus edema formation. Their results could be important in the future for the treatment of excessive fluid retention in patients with chronic heart failure. The researchers have also discovered a new molecular mechanism controlling water homeostasis in the kidneys.

New minimally invasive, MRI-guided laser treatment for brain tumor found to be promising in study Posted: 05 Apr 2013 07:48 AM PDT The first-in-human study of the NeuroBlate Thermal Therapy System finds that it appears to provide a new, safe and minimally invasive procedure for treating recurrent glioblastoma, a malignant type of brain tumor.

New vision of how we explore our world Posted: 05 Apr 2013 06:45 AM PDT Brain researchers have discovered that we explore the world with our eyes in a different way than previously thought. Their results advance our understanding of how healthy observers and neurological patients interact and glean critical information from the world around them.

Public support can influence soldiers' mental health, bug killing study suggests Posted: 05 Apr 2013 06:45 AM PDT Can events supporting troops reduce the risk of soldiers experiencing combat-related stress disorders? A new study suggests so.

Cancer checkpoint: Mitochondrial metabolic regulator SIRT4 guards against DNA damage Posted: 05 Apr 2013 06:45 AM PDT Healthy cells don't just happen. As they grow and divide, they need checks and balances to ensure they function properly while adapting to changing conditions around them. Researchers studying a set of proteins that regulate physiology, caloric restriction and aging have discovered another important role that one of them plays. SIRT4, one of seven sirtuin proteins, is known for controlling fuel usage from its post in the mitochondria, the cell's energy source. It responds to stressful changes in the availability of nutrients for the cell.

Skin deep: Fruit flies reveal clues to wound healing in humans Posted: 05 Apr 2013 06:45 AM PDT A new way to study wound healing in flies suggests new targets for wound-healing drugs.

Stem cells enable personalized treatment for bleeding disorder Posted: 05 Apr 2013 06:43 AM PDT Scientists have shed light on a common bleeding disorder by growing and analysing stem cells from patients' blood to discover the cause of the disease in individual patients.

How can children's interests be protected in the face of poverty? Posted: 05 Apr 2013 05:25 AM PDT According to several studies, more and more children around the world are separated from their homes and placed in residential facilities. However, most of them are neither orphaned nor abandoned: they are placed into these institutions due to financial or family difficulties, as is revealed by a new survey conducted in Madagascar.

Reducing salt and increasing potassium will have major global health benefits Posted: 05 Apr 2013 03:44 AM PDT Cutting down on salt and, at the same time, increasing levels of potassium in our diet will have major health and cost benefits across the world, according to new studies.

New frontiers in breast cancer screening Posted: 05 Apr 2013 03:44 AM PDT Researchers predict that advancements in breast cancer screening will need a personalized touch because mammography is not a "one strategy fits all" technology.

EU minimum tax legislation for cigarettes has had no effect on smoking prevalence, according to new Spanish study Posted: 05 Apr 2013 03:44 AM PDT Up to 2009 there is no statistically significant evidence of any reduction in smoking amongst men – and very little evidence of a reduction in smoking amongst women – resulting from the introduction of EU minimum tax legislation in Spain in 2006. This is despite the price of cigarettes rising up to three times faster than before the legislation came into effect, according to a new study.

Counting copy numbers characterizes prostate cancer Posted: 05 Apr 2013 03:44 AM PDT Non-invasive 'liquid biopsies' can find metastatic or recurrent prostate cancer, in a low cost assay suitable for most healthcare systems, finds new research. Genomic signatures of prostate cancer, isolated from plasma DNA, display abnormal copy numbers of specific areas of chromosomes. It is even possible to separate out patients who develop resistance against hormone deprivation therapy, which is the most common form of treatment in men with metastatic prostate cancer.

Discovery in neuroscience could help re-wire appetite control Posted: 05 Apr 2013 03:42 AM PDT Researchers have made a discovery in neuroscience that could offer a long-lasting solution to eating disorders such as obesity. It was previously thought that the nerve cells in the brain associated with appetite regulation were generated entirely during an embryo's development in the womb and therefore their numbers were fixed for life. But new research has identified a population of stem cells capable of generating new appetite-regulating neurons in the brains of young and adult rodents.

Suicide risk linked to rates of gun ownership, political conservatism Posted: 05 Apr 2013 03:40 AM PDT Residents of states with the highest rates of gun ownership and political conservatism are at greater risk of suicide than those in states with less gun ownership and less politically conservative leanings, according to a new study.

Antibody evolution could guide HIV vaccine development Posted: 04 Apr 2013 03:45 PM PDT Observing the evolution of a particular type of antibody in an infected HIV-1 patient, a new study has provided insights that will enable vaccination strategies that mimic the actual antibody development within the body.

Findings from most in-depth study into UK parents who kill their children Posted: 04 Apr 2013 03:44 PM PDT Experts have revealed their findings from the most in-depth study ever to take place in the UK into the tragic instances of child killing by parents, known as filicide. The research found 37 per cent of parents and step-parents who killed their children were suffering from some form of mental illness and 12% had been in contact with mental health services within a year of the offense.

Overweight starting in early adulthood linked with kidney disease in older age Posted: 04 Apr 2013 03:44 PM PDT Individuals who are overweight starting in early adulthood are twice as likely to have chronic kidney disease at age 60 to 64 years than those who are not overweight. Larger waist-to-hip ratios ("apple-shaped" bodies) during middle age are also linked with chronic kidney disease at age 60 to 64 years.

On Twitter, anti-vaccination sentiments spread more easily than pro-vaccination sentiments Posted: 04 Apr 2013 09:20 AM PDT On Twitter, a research team tracked the pro-vaccine and anti-vaccine messages about a new vaccine for combating a virus strain responsible for swine flu, and then observed how Twitter users expressed their own sentiments about the vaccine. The results may help health officials improve strategies for vaccination-awareness efforts.

Pathogen's scissor-like enzyme provides new clues to treatment of infectious disease Posted: 04 Apr 2013 06:28 AM PDT Researchers report that a pathogen annually blamed for an estimated 90 million cases of food-borne illness defeats a host's immune response by using a fat-snipping enzyme to cut off cellular communication.

Course of cardiovascular events more predictable: A protein enables risk assessment Posted: 04 Apr 2013 04:30 AM PDT Medical researchers have managed to predict the probability of a cardiovascular patient suffering a heart attack, stroke or arterial occlusion within three months. In the long-term, this knowledge may enable targeted preventive measures.

Despite free health care, household income affects chronic disease control in kids Posted: 04 Apr 2013 04:22 AM PDT Even in Canada, where free healthcare is available, the glycated hemoglobin levels of diabetic kids (type 1) are correlated with household income.

Researchers uncover a genetic vulnerability of lung cancer to lay the foundation for new drug options Posted: 04 Apr 2013 04:22 AM PDT Physician-researchers at UT Southwestern have identified a vulnerability of certain lung-cancer cells – a specific genetic weakness that can be exploited for new therapies.

Gel safe and acceptable as approach to preventing HIV from anal sex Posted: 03 Apr 2013 05:03 PM PDT A reformulated version of an anti-HIV gel developed for vaginal use was found safe and acceptable by HIV-negative men and women who used it rectally, according to a Phase I clinical trial just published. The study tested a reduced glycerin formulation of tenofovir gel, and has spurred the development of an expanded safety study of the gel.

Vermont's health care reform has lessons for other states Posted: 03 Apr 2013 05:00 PM PDT Vermont's aggressive health care reform initiatives can serve as a roadmap for other states, according to new research.

Multiple factors predict repeat suicide-related behavior in youth Posted: 03 Apr 2013 12:44 PM PDT New research has found that multiple factors independently predict what makes youth more likely to make repeat suicide-related behavior.

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