ScienceDaily: Top Health News

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• Scientists relate urban population to air pollution
• Novel Chinese herbal medicine JSK improves spinal cord injury outcomes in rats
• US depression treatment demonstrated effective for UK
• LSD and other psychedelics not linked with mental health problems
• Americans diagnosed with Lyme disease: Number may be 10 times more than reported
• A home for the microbiome: Biologists identify how beneficial bacteria reside and thrive in gastrointestinal tract
• Copper identified as culprit in Alzheimer's disease
• Potential clue associated with aggressive prostate cancer identified
• High BPA levels in children associated with higher risk of obesity and abnormal waist circumference
• New models advance the study of deadly human prion diseases
• Brain network decay detected in early Alzheimer's
• Recurrence risk for autism spectrum disorders examined for full, half siblings
• High-flying pilots at increased risk of brain lesions
• The concussed brain at work: fMRI study documents brain activation during concussion recovery
• Potential disruption of endocrine system: Flame retardants can mimic estrogens, 3-D images show
• Far from being harmless, the effects of bullying last long into adulthood
• Brain cancer survival improved following FDA approval of bevacizumab
• Giving preschoolers choice increases sharing behavior
• Longest and largest study of insulin pumps to treat type 1 diabetes in children shows they control blood sugar more effectively and with fewer complications than injections
• New MR analysis technique reveals brain tumor response to anti-angiogenesis therapy
• Major study links aging gene to blood cancer
• Dialing back Treg cell function boosts cancer-fighting immune activity
• Equipping a construction helmet with a sensor can detect the onset of carbon monoxide poisoning

Scientists relate urban population to air pollution Posted: 19 Aug 2013 03:53 PM PDT Live in a large city like New York, London, Beijing or Mumbai, and you are likely exposed to more air pollution than people in smaller cities in surrounding areas. But exactly how a city's pollution relates to the size of its population has never been measured, until now.

Novel Chinese herbal medicine JSK improves spinal cord injury outcomes in rats Posted: 19 Aug 2013 03:53 PM PDT A new study demonstrates that Chinese herbal medicine Ji-Sui-Kang (JSK), given systemically for three weeks after injury in rats, improved locomotor function, reduced tissue damage, and preserved the structure of neural cells compared to control rats. The report also includes data showing that JSK may first act to reduce inflammation and cell apoptosis and death, and boost local oxygen supply while, later on, it appears to restore function and promote tissue regeneration.

US depression treatment demonstrated effective for UK Posted: 19 Aug 2013 03:53 PM PDT Collaborative care involves depressed people having access to a team of specialists, with advice and support often given over the phone. A trial found that collaborative care led to improvement of depression symptoms immediately after treatment. Furthermore, 15 per cent more patients were still improved after 12 months, compared with those who saw their GP.

LSD and other psychedelics not linked with mental health problems Posted: 19 Aug 2013 03:53 PM PDT The use of LSD, magic mushrooms, or peyote does not increase a person's risk of developing mental health problems, according to an analysis of information from more than 130,000 randomly chosen people, including 22,000 people who had used psychedelics at least once. The researchers found no link between the use of psychedelic drugs and a range of mental health problems. Instead they found some significant associations between the use of psychedelic drugs and fewer mental health problems.

Americans diagnosed with Lyme disease: Number may be 10 times more than reported Posted: 19 Aug 2013 03:28 PM PDT Preliminary estimates released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate that the number of Americans diagnosed with Lyme disease each year is around 300,000. Lyme disease is the most commonly reported tick-borne illness in the United States. The new estimate suggests that the total number of people diagnosed with Lyme disease is roughly 10 times higher than the yearly reported number.

A home for the microbiome: Biologists identify how beneficial bacteria reside and thrive in gastrointestinal tract Posted: 19 Aug 2013 02:18 PM PDT The human body is full of tiny microorganisms -- hundreds to thousands of species of bacteria collectively called the microbiome, which are believed to contribute to a healthy existence. The gastrointestinal tract is home to the largest concentration and highest diversity of bacterial species. But how do these organisms persist and thrive in a system that is constantly in flux? Biologists believe they have found the answer.

Copper identified as culprit in Alzheimer's disease Posted: 19 Aug 2013 02:16 PM PDT Copper appears to be one of the main environmental factors that trigger the onset and enhance the progression of Alzheimer's disease by preventing the clearance and accelerating the accumulation of toxic proteins in the brain, new research suggests.

Potential clue associated with aggressive prostate cancer identified Posted: 19 Aug 2013 01:26 PM PDT Researchers who are studying the underlying mechanisms that cause invasive tumor growth have identified a key transcription factor, a protein which regulates the flow of information from DNA, that is over-produced in treatment-resistant prostate cancer, as well as the two protein kinases that trigger the process.

High BPA levels in children associated with higher risk of obesity and abnormal waist circumference Posted: 19 Aug 2013 01:26 PM PDT Children who have higher levels of Bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical previously used in many products for kids, like baby bottle and plastic toys, had a higher odds of obesity and adverse levels of body fat, according to a new study.

New models advance the study of deadly human prion diseases Posted: 19 Aug 2013 01:25 PM PDT By directly altering the gene coding for the prion protein (PrP), researchers have created mouse models of two neurodegenerative prion diseases, each of which manifests in different regions of the brain. These new models for fatal familial insomnia (FFI) and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) accurately reflect the distinct patterns of destruction caused by the these diseases in humans.

Brain network decay detected in early Alzheimer's Posted: 19 Aug 2013 01:25 PM PDT In patients with early Alzheimer's disease, disruptions in brain networks emerge about the same time as chemical markers of the disease appear in the spinal fluid, researchers have shown.

Recurrence risk for autism spectrum disorders examined for full, half siblings Posted: 19 Aug 2013 01:25 PM PDT A Danish study of siblings suggests the recurrence risks for autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) varied from 4.5 percent to 10.5 percent depending on the birth years, which is higher than the ASD risk of 1.18 percent in the overall Danish population, according to a new study.

High-flying pilots at increased risk of brain lesions Posted: 19 Aug 2013 01:25 PM PDT A new study suggests that pilots who fly at high altitudes may be at an increased risk for brain lesions.

The concussed brain at work: fMRI study documents brain activation during concussion recovery Posted: 19 Aug 2013 07:27 AM PDT For the first time, researchers have documented irregular brain activity within the first 24 hours of a concussive injury, as well as an increased level of brain activity weeks later -- suggesting that the brain may compensate for the injury during the recovery time.

Potential disruption of endocrine system: Flame retardants can mimic estrogens, 3-D images show Posted: 19 Aug 2013 07:27 AM PDT By determining the three-dimensional structure of proteins at the atomic level, researchers have discovered how some commonly used flame retardants, called brominated flame retardants (BFRs), can mimic estrogen hormones and possibly disrupt the body's endocrine system. BFRs are chemicals added or applied to materials to slow or prevent the start or growth of fire.

Far from being harmless, the effects of bullying last long into adulthood Posted: 19 Aug 2013 07:27 AM PDT A new study published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, shows that serious illness, struggling to hold down a regular job, and poor social relationships are just some of the adverse outcomes in adulthood faced by those exposed to bullying in childhood.

Brain cancer survival improved following FDA approval of bevacizumab Posted: 19 Aug 2013 07:24 AM PDT A new population-based study has found that patients with glioblastoma who died in 2010, after the Food and Drug Administration approval of bevacizumab, had lived significantly longer than patients who died of the disease in 2008, prior to the conditional approval of the drug for the treatment of the deadly brain cancer. Bevacizumab is used to treat patients with certain cancers whose cancer has spread.

Giving preschoolers choice increases sharing behavior Posted: 19 Aug 2013 06:02 AM PDT Allowing children to make a choice to sacrifice their own toys in order to share with someone else makes them more likely to share in the future, according to new research.

Longest and largest study of insulin pumps to treat type 1 diabetes in children shows they control blood sugar more effectively and with fewer complications than injections Posted: 18 Aug 2013 04:49 PM PDT The longest and largest study of the effectiveness of insulin pumps to treat type 1 diabetes in children has shown that the pumps are more effective at controlling blood sugar than insulin injections and cause fewer complications.

New MR analysis technique reveals brain tumor response to anti-angiogenesis therapy Posted: 18 Aug 2013 11:44 AM PDT A new way of analyzing data acquired in MR imaging appears to be able to identify whether or not tumors are responding to anti-angiogenesis therapy, information that can help physicians determine the most appropriate treatments and discontinue ones that are ineffective.

Major study links aging gene to blood cancer Posted: 18 Aug 2013 11:44 AM PDT A gene that helps control the ageing process by acting as a cell's internal clock has been linked to cancer by a major new study. Scientists found a genetic variant that influences the ageing process among four new variants they linked to myeloma -- one of the most common types of blood cancer. The study more than doubles the number of genetic variants linked to myeloma.

Dialing back Treg cell function boosts cancer-fighting immune activity Posted: 18 Aug 2013 11:13 AM PDT By carefully adjusting the function of crucial immune cells called Tregs, scientists may have developed a completely new type of cancer immunotherapy—harnessing the body's immune system to attack tumors.

Equipping a construction helmet with a sensor can detect the onset of carbon monoxide poisoning Posted: 17 Aug 2013 05:55 PM PDT Researchers integrated a specific type of sensor into a typical construction helmet to allow continuous and noninvasive monitoring of construction workers' blood gas saturation levels. The results of their study showed that a user of this helmet would be warned of impending carbon monoxide poisoning with a probability of greater than 99 percent.

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