ScienceDaily: Top Health News

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• A step closer to artificial livers: Researchers identify compounds that help liver cells grow outside body
• New method of mass-producing high-quality DNA molecules
• New technology makes breast cancer surgery more precise
• Exposure to general anaesthesia could increase the risk of dementia in elderly by 35 percent
• Targeted therapy boosts lung cancer outcomes
• Specific changes in brain structure after different forms of child abuse
• Procedures saving limbs of more peripheral arterial disease patients
• New therapy shown to improve progression-free survival and shrink tumors in rare cancer for the first time
• Mathematical models to better combat HIV
• Investigators link poultry contamination on farm and at processing plant
• Oncogene mutation hijacks splicing process to promote growth and survival
• Difference in arterial health seen in highly active college-age people compared to inactive peers
• Mother's level of education has impact on depression in her children
• Sleep deprived men over perceive women's sexual interest and intent
• Urinary tract infections:Getting better without antibiotics
• Smoking leads to five-fold increase in heart disease and stroke in under-50s
• How disease mutations affect the Parkin protein
• No benefit of double dose antiviral drug for severe influenza, study suggests

A step closer to artificial livers: Researchers identify compounds that help liver cells grow outside body Posted: 02 Jun 2013 11:46 AM PDT The liver can indeed regenerate itself if part of it is removed. However, researchers trying to exploit that ability in hopes of producing artificial liver tissue for transplantation have repeatedly been stymied: Mature liver cells, known as hepatocytes, quickly lose their normal function when removed from the body. Now, researchers have identified a dozen chemical compounds that can help liver cells not only maintain their normal function while grown in a lab dish, but also multiply to produce new tissue.

New method of mass-producing high-quality DNA molecules Posted: 02 Jun 2013 11:44 AM PDT A new method of manufacturing short, single-stranded DNA molecules can solve many of the problems associated with current production methods. The new method can be of value to both DNA nanotechnology and the development of drugs consisting of DNA fragments.

New technology makes breast cancer surgery more precise Posted: 01 Jun 2013 10:39 AM PDT Any breast cancer surgeon who regularly performs lumpectomies confronts the question "Did I get it all?" 30 to 60 percent of the time in the US, the answer is "no," requiring the patient to undergo a second surgery to remove the remaining tumor.

Exposure to general anaesthesia could increase the risk of dementia in elderly by 35 percent Posted: 01 Jun 2013 10:39 AM PDT Exposure to general anaesthesia increases the risk of dementia in the elderly by 35 percent, says new research.

Targeted therapy boosts lung cancer outcomes Posted: 01 Jun 2013 10:38 AM PDT Non-small cell lung cancer patients whose tumor cells had an abnormal ALK gene fared better if treated with crizotinib, a targeted therapy, than with traditional chemotherapy. Median progression-free survival was 7.7 months in the crizotinib group and three months in the chemotherapy group. Patients treated with crizotinib also reported a better quality of life than those treated with standard chemotherapy.

Specific changes in brain structure after different forms of child abuse Posted: 01 Jun 2013 10:37 AM PDT Different forms of childhood abuse increase the risk for mental illness as well as sexual dysfunction in adulthood, but little has been known about how that happens. Scientists have now discovered a neural basis for this association. The study shows that sexually abused and emotionally mistreated children exhibit specific and differential changes in the architecture of their brain that reflect the nature of the mistreatment.

Procedures saving limbs of more peripheral arterial disease patients Posted: 01 Jun 2013 10:36 AM PDT Peripheral arterial disease is a common circulation problem in which reduced blood flow can lead to complications that jeopardize the limbs, possibly even requiring amputation. Procedures known as revascularization have reduced the need for amputations 40 percent over two decades.

New therapy shown to improve progression-free survival and shrink tumors in rare cancer for the first time Posted: 01 Jun 2013 10:36 AM PDT The experimental drug selumetinib is the first targeted therapy to demonstrate significant clinical benefit for patients with metastatic uveal melanoma, according to new research.

Mathematical models to better combat HIV Posted: 31 May 2013 12:13 PM PDT Theoretical models of HIV dynamics immediately following exposure to the virus are providing a method to study infection and treatment at these early stages, as well as assist researchers in coming up with preemptive strategies for prevention.

Investigators link poultry contamination on farm and at processing plant Posted: 31 May 2013 12:13 PM PDT Researchers have identified a strong link between the prevalence and load of certain food-borne pathogens on poultry farms, and later downstream at the processing plant.

Oncogene mutation hijacks splicing process to promote growth and survival Posted: 31 May 2013 12:12 PM PDT Scientists have found that a singular gene mutation helps brain cancer cells to not just survive, but grow tumors rapidly by altering the splicing of genes that control cellular metabolism.

Difference in arterial health seen in highly active college-age people compared to inactive peers Posted: 31 May 2013 10:27 AM PDT Researchers found that people in their 20s already began to demonstrate arterial stiffening -- when arteries become less compliant as blood pumps through the body -- but their highly active peers did not. A reduction in compliance of the body's arteries is considered a risk factor, predictive of future cardiovascular disease, such as high blood pressure and stroke. This new study is the first to examine arterial stiffening in a young, healthy population.

Mother's level of education has impact on depression in her children Posted: 31 May 2013 08:46 AM PDT Children of women who did not finish high school were twice as likely to experience a major episode of depression in early adulthood as children whose mothers obtained a high school diploma.

Sleep deprived men over perceive women's sexual interest and intent Posted: 31 May 2013 07:55 AM PDT A new study suggests that one night of sleep deprivation leads to an increase in men's perceptions of both women's interest in and intent to have sex.

Urinary tract infections:Getting better without antibiotics Posted: 31 May 2013 07:53 AM PDT Given the option, many women with symptoms of urinary tract infections are choosing to avoid antibiotics and give their bodies a chance to heal naturally, finds new research. The research shows that 70% of women with symptoms of uncomplicated urinary tract infections who did not use antibiotics for a week were cured or showed improvement.

Smoking leads to five-fold increase in heart disease and stroke in under-50s Posted: 31 May 2013 07:53 AM PDT Smoking increases the risk of heart disease and stroke by five-fold in people under the age of 50 and doubles risk in the over-60s. The protection of children and adolescents from taking up smoking is essential to future health.

How disease mutations affect the Parkin protein Posted: 31 May 2013 07:52 AM PDT Researchers have determined the crystal structure of Parkin, a protein found in cells that when mutated can lead to a hereditary form of Parkinson's disease. The results define the position of many of the mutations linked to hereditary Parkinson's disease and explain how these alterations may affect the stability and function of the protein. The findings may in time reveal how the activity of Parkin is affected in patients with this rare but debilitating type of Parkinson's disease.

No benefit of double dose antiviral drug for severe influenza, study suggests Posted: 30 May 2013 04:24 PM PDT There are no virological or clinical benefits of giving double doses of the antiviral drug oseltamivir (Tamiflu) to patients admitted to hospital with severe influenza, finds a large study from South East Asia.

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