ScienceDaily: Top Health News

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• Modest weight loss may reduce heart disease, diabetes risks in middle-aged women
• Heart disease linked with dementia in older postmenopausal women
• Total smoking bans work best
• Animal vaccine study yields insights that may advance HIV vaccine research
• HPV home tests could identify cancer risk
• 3D technology from film industry improves rehab for stroke patients
• Sunlight adaptation region of Neanderthal genome found in up to 65 percent of modern East Asian population
• 3-D tissue printing: Cells from the eye inkjet-printed for the first time
• Computer-controlled table could direct radiotherapy to tumors while sparing vital organs
• Residents of poorer nations find greater meaning in life
• Freezing semen doubles chances of fatherhood for men after treatment for Hodgkin lymphoma
• Dogs recognize familiar faces from images
• Scientists provide new insights into cause of human neurodegenerative disease
• Debate continues on impact of artificial sweeteners
• Will stem cell therapy help cure spinal cord injury?
• Non-specialist psychosocial interventions for children with autism spectrum disorders
• Moderate alcohol consumption boosts body's immune system, study suggests
• Different parents, different children: bladder cancers arise from different stem cells
• Silencing synapses to deal with addictions
• TV ads nutritionally unhealthy for kids, study finds
• Radiation therapy to treat uterine cancer linked to increased risk of bladder cancer later in life
• Study challenges long-held hypothesis that iron promotes atherosclerosis
• Childhood bullying shown to increase likelihood of psychotic experiences in later life
• Lung cancer death rates continue to fall, helping drive decrease in overall cancer death rates
• Tinnitus discovery opens door to possible new treatment avenues
• Pediatricians urge consumption of only pasteurized dairy products

Modest weight loss may reduce heart disease, diabetes risks in middle-aged women Posted: 18 Dec 2013 02:10 PM PST Sustaining a modest weight loss for 2 years in overweight or obese, middle-aged women may reduce risk factors for heart disease and diabetes. Women who lost 10 percent or more of their body weight reduced almost every measure of cardiometabolic health.

Heart disease linked with dementia in older postmenopausal women Posted: 18 Dec 2013 02:10 PM PST Heart disease is linked with decreased brain function in older postmenopausal women. Women who have high blood pressure or diabetes may also be at higher risk for decreasing brain function over time.

Total smoking bans work best Posted: 18 Dec 2013 12:25 PM PST Completely banning tobacco use inside the home – or more broadly in the whole city – measurably boosts the odds of smokers either cutting back or quitting entirely.

Animal vaccine study yields insights that may advance HIV vaccine research Posted: 18 Dec 2013 10:37 AM PST A vaccine study in monkeys designed to identify measurable signs that the animals were protected from infection by SIV, the monkey version of HIV, as well as the mechanism of such protection has yielded numerous insights that may advance HIV vaccine research.

HPV home tests could identify cancer risk Posted: 18 Dec 2013 08:29 AM PST HPV self-testing is as effective as tests done by doctors, according to a study. Simple HPV home tests could therefore complement existing screening program, and identify more women at risk for cervical cancer.

3D technology from film industry improves rehab for stroke patients Posted: 18 Dec 2013 08:29 AM PST Researchers have been using 3D technology from the film industry to analyze the everyday movements of stroke patients. The results indicate that computerized motion analysis increases our knowledge of how stroke patients can improve their ability to move through rehabilitation.

Sunlight adaptation region of Neanderthal genome found in up to 65 percent of modern East Asian population Posted: 18 Dec 2013 07:02 AM PST With the Neanderthal genome now published, for the first time, scientists have a rich new resource of comparative evolution. For example, recently, scientists have shown that humans and Neanderthals once interbred, with the accumulation of elements of Neanderthal DNA found in up to 5 percent in modern humans. Scientist have found evidence of accumulation of a Neanderthal DNA region found on chromosome 3 that contains 18 genes, with several related to UV-light adaptation, including the Hyal2 gene. Their results reveal this region was positively selected and enriched in East Asians, ranging from up to 49 percent in Japanese to 66 percent in Southern Chinese.

3-D tissue printing: Cells from the eye inkjet-printed for the first time Posted: 18 Dec 2013 07:02 AM PST Scientists have used inkjet printing technology to successfully print cells taken from the eye for the very first time. The breakthrough could lead to the production of artificial tissue grafts made from the variety of cells found in the human retina and may aid in the search to cure blindness.

Computer-controlled table could direct radiotherapy to tumors while sparing vital organs Posted: 18 Dec 2013 07:02 AM PST Swivelling patients around on a computer-controlled, rotating table could deliver high doses of radiotherapy to tumors more quickly than current methods, while sparing vulnerable organs such as the heart, brain, eyes and bowel. Sophisticated computer modelling could be used to slowly move the table -- known as a couch -- and a radiation source in three dimensions to direct radiation precisely to the patient's tumor, researchers have suggested.

Residents of poorer nations find greater meaning in life Posted: 18 Dec 2013 07:01 AM PST While residents of wealthy nations tend to have greater life satisfaction, new research shows that those living in poorer nations report having greater meaning in life. The findings suggest that meaning in life may be higher in poorer nations as a result of greater religiosity: as countries become richer, religion becomes less central to people's lives and they lose a sense of meaning in life.

Freezing semen doubles chances of fatherhood for men after treatment for Hodgkin lymphoma Posted: 18 Dec 2013 06:59 AM PST Men with Hodgkin lymphoma who want to become fathers after their cancer treatment have greatly increased chances of doing so if they have frozen and stored semen samples beforehand, according to research published.

Dogs recognize familiar faces from images Posted: 18 Dec 2013 06:58 AM PST So far the specialized skill for recognizing facial features holistically has been assumed to be a quality that only humans and possibly primates possess. Although it's well known, that faces and eye contact play an important role in the communication between dogs and humans, this was the first study, where facial recognition of dogs was investigated with eye movement tracking.

Scientists provide new insights into cause of human neurodegenerative disease Posted: 18 Dec 2013 06:58 AM PST A recent study opens a possible new route for treatment of Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), a devastating disease that is the most common genetic cause of infant death and also affects young adults. As there is currently no known cure for SMA, the new discovery gives a strong boost to the fight against SMA.

Debate continues on impact of artificial sweeteners Posted: 18 Dec 2013 06:53 AM PST New research has added to the debate about how our bodies respond to artificial sweeteners and whether they are good, bad or have no effect on us.

Will stem cell therapy help cure spinal cord injury? Posted: 17 Dec 2013 06:05 PM PST A systematic survey of the scientific literature shows that stem cell therapy can have a statistically significant impact on animal models of spinal cord injury, and points the way for future studies.

Non-specialist psychosocial interventions for children with autism spectrum disorders Posted: 17 Dec 2013 06:05 PM PST Many children with intellectual disability or lower functioning autism spectrum disorders, particularly those in low and middle income countries, do not receive psychosocial treatment interventions for their condition. If non-specialists were able to deliver such care, more children may be able to receive treatment.

Moderate alcohol consumption boosts body's immune system, study suggests Posted: 17 Dec 2013 02:10 PM PST Medical science has known for years that people who drink moderate amounts of alcohol actually have a reduced risk of death. Now, new research adds a fascinating twist: moderate drinking may actually bolster our immune system and help it fight off infection.

Different parents, different children: bladder cancers arise from different stem cells Posted: 17 Dec 2013 02:08 PM PST A study published shows that progenitor cells that create dangerous, muscle-invasive bladder cancer are different than the progenitor cells that create non-muscle invasive bladder cancer. Though these two cancers grow at the same site, they are different diseases.

Silencing synapses to deal with addictions Posted: 17 Dec 2013 12:53 PM PST Imagine kicking a cocaine addiction by simply popping a pill that alters the way your brain processes chemical addiction. New research suggests that a method of biologically manipulating certain neurocircuits could lead to a pharmacological approach that would weaken post-withdrawal cocaine cravings.

TV ads nutritionally unhealthy for kids, study finds Posted: 17 Dec 2013 12:52 PM PST The nutritional value of food and drinks advertised on children's television programs is worse than food shown in ads during general air time, according to new study.

Radiation therapy to treat uterine cancer linked to increased risk of bladder cancer later in life Posted: 17 Dec 2013 10:47 AM PST Radiation therapy used to treat uterine cancer may increase a patient's risk of developing bladder cancer. That is the conclusion of a recent study published. The findings indicate the importance of monitoring patients for potential signs of bladder cancer to ensure early diagnosis and treatment.

Study challenges long-held hypothesis that iron promotes atherosclerosis Posted: 17 Dec 2013 09:37 AM PST A research team has found no evidence of an association between iron levels in the body and the risk of atherosclerosis, the hardening and narrowing of the arteries that leads to cardiovascular disease, the number one killer in the U.S. The discovery contradicts a long-held hypothesis about the role of iron in the disease and carries important implications for patients with chronic kidney disease or anemia related to inflammatory disorders, many of whom receive high-dose iron supplementation therapy.

Childhood bullying shown to increase likelihood of psychotic experiences in later life Posted: 17 Dec 2013 07:42 AM PST New research has shown that being exposed to bullying during childhood will lead to an increased risk of psychotic experiences in adulthood, regardless of whether they are victims or perpetrators.

Lung cancer death rates continue to fall, helping drive decrease in overall cancer death rates Posted: 16 Dec 2013 03:37 PM PST The Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, covering the period 1975–2010, showed death rates for lung cancer, which accounts for more than one in four cancer deaths, dropping at a faster pace than in previous years.

Tinnitus discovery opens door to possible new treatment avenues Posted: 16 Dec 2013 12:43 PM PST For tens of millions of Americans, a condition called tinnitus means there's no such thing as the sound of silence. Now, new scientific findings that help explain what is going on inside their unquiet brains

Pediatricians urge consumption of only pasteurized dairy products Posted: 16 Dec 2013 05:04 AM PST Pregnant women, infants and young children should avoid raw or unpasteurized milk and milk products and only consume pasteurized products, according to a new policy statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

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