ScienceDaily: Top Health News

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• Brain activity in sex addiction mirrors that of drug addiction
• Text message medicine: Texts from the ER can reduce binge drinking
• Hydroxyethyl starch has direct harmful effects on kidney cells, lab study finds
• Obesity alone does not cause arthritis in animals
• Exercise is the best medicine, study shows
• Opening-up the stem cell niche: Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation without irradiation
• Growing up on livestock farm halves risk of inflammatory bowel diseases
• Stem cell researcher targets 'seeds' of breast cancer metastasis
• Women under-represented in academic medicine
• Non-invasive urine test could be used to predict premature birth, delivery of small babies
• 'Expressive therapy' intervention assists women living with HIV
• Blame it on the astrocytes: does brain's most abundant cell type have role in neurological disorders?
• Do women perceive other women in red as more sexually receptive?
• Novel treatment for drug-resistant tuberculosis shows promise, but concerns for patient safety remain
• Extra dose of inactivated polio vaccine boosts immunity in children and could speed up global eradication efforts
• World’s most advanced dengue vaccine candidate shows promise in phase 3 trial
• Ultrasound tracks odor representation in brain
• Better use of electronic health records makes clinical trials less expensive
• Counseling, guidance techniques used in Africa must reflect local cultures, resources
• Omega 3 fatty acids lessen severity of osteoarthritis in mice
• Certain risk factors for ACL re-injury identified
• ACL reconstructions may last longer with autografts
• After a concussion, which teens will have emotional symptoms?
• High stress, hostility, depression linked with increased stroke risk
• New light shed on nerve cell growth
• Sophisticated radiation detector designed for broad public use
• How Twitter can be used to address specific health issues
• Control strategy for Dengue, malaria increases risk of West Nile virus
• Potential new target for antibiotics against E. coli, other bugs
• Understanding consciousness: Researchers advocate for more scientific research on consciousness
• Sleep disturbances, common in Parkinson's disease, can be early indicator of disease onset
• In the gut, immunity is a two-way street: Complex role of gut bacteria
• Young adults' privacy potentially jeopardized by insurance plans, researchers report
• Innovative non-invasive 'liquid biopsy' method to capture circulating tumor cells from blood samples for genetic testing
• Inadequate support in schools for diabetic children, study finds
• Neurologist offers hope to patients with genetic tumor disorder
• Injectable foam could prevent fatal blood loss in wounded soldiers

Brain activity in sex addiction mirrors that of drug addiction Posted: 11 Jul 2014 12:33 PM PDT Pornography triggers brain activity in people with compulsive sexual behavior -- known commonly as sex addiction -- similar to that triggered by drugs in the brains of drug addicts, according to a a new study. However, the researchers caution that this does not necessarily mean that pornography itself is addictive.

Text message medicine: Texts from the ER can reduce binge drinking Posted: 11 Jul 2014 10:28 AM PDT Young adults who screened positive for a history of hazardous or binge drinking reduced their binge drinking by more than 50 percent after receiving mobile phone text messages following a visit to the emergency department, according to a study. Hazardous drinking is defined as five or more drinks per day for men and four or more drinks per day for women. Excessive alcohol consumption, including binge drinking, is responsible for an estimated 10 percent of deaths among working-age adults in the United States.

Hydroxyethyl starch has direct harmful effects on kidney cells, lab study finds Posted: 11 Jul 2014 10:28 AM PDT The increased risk of kidney injury related to the use of hydroxyethyl starch in resuscitation fluids reflects the mass of HES molecules, according to a report. Hydroxyethyl starch is a starch derivative that has been widely used for fluid resuscitation with volume expansion for critically ill or injured patients in shock. A growing body of evidence suggests that HES solutions may have harmful effects, including an increased risk of kidney injury and death.

Obesity alone does not cause arthritis in animals Posted: 11 Jul 2014 07:15 AM PDT The link between obesity and osteoarthritis may be more than just the wear and tear on the skeleton caused by added weight. A new study has found that the absence of the appetite hormone leptin can determine whether obese mice experience arthritis, no matter how heavy they are.

Exercise is the best medicine, study shows Posted: 11 Jul 2014 07:13 AM PDT Women would benefit from being prescribed exercise as medicine, according to a study that revealed moderate to high intensity activity is essential to reducing the risk of death in older women. "What we are saying is that high-intensity exercise is not only good for your physical health but also your brain health. Doctors should be developing exercise programs that are home-based and easy to incorporate as part of everyday activities," authors say.

Opening-up the stem cell niche: Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation without irradiation Posted: 11 Jul 2014 07:13 AM PDT A novel mouse model allows for the transplantation of human blood-forming stem cells without the need for irradiation therapy. The results show that the Kit receptor is important for the function of human blood stem cells, notably in a transplantation setting. Further studies will now focus on using this knowledge about the role of the receptor to improve conditioning therapy in the setting of therapeutic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in patients.

Growing up on livestock farm halves risk of inflammatory bowel diseases Posted: 11 Jul 2014 07:13 AM PDT The incidence of inflammatory bowel diseases is rising sharply -- particularly among young people. However, new research indicates that growing up on a livestock farm may have a protective effect. "It is extremely exciting that we can now see that not only allergic diseases, but also more classic inflammatory diseases appear to depend on the environment we are exposed to early in our lives," says one expert.

Stem cell researcher targets 'seeds' of breast cancer metastasis Posted: 11 Jul 2014 06:22 AM PDT For breast cancer patients, the era of personalized medicine may be just around the corner. Breast cancer cells circulating through the blood streams of six patients have been isolated for study in a recent research project. Some of these deadly cancer cells are the "seeds" of metastasis, which travel to and establish secondary tumors in vital organs such as the bone, lungs, liver and brain.

Women under-represented in academic medicine Posted: 11 Jul 2014 06:22 AM PDT Women are under-represented in academic medicine resulting in a waste of public investment due to loss of research talent. a consequence of female under-representation, some areas of medicine are under-researched at a cost to patients and society. Discriminatory practices and unconscious bias, they say, continue to occur in academic medicine, despite a substantial fall in traditional discrepancies between men and women in medicine in recent years. The proportion of women entering medical school today is around 53%.

Non-invasive urine test could be used to predict premature birth, delivery of small babies Posted: 11 Jul 2014 06:21 AM PDT Testing for the presence of specific molecules present in the urine of pregnant women can give an indication in early pregnancy of whether a baby will be born premature or the fetus will suffer poor growth, according to research. Identifying these conditions early in pregnancy could potentially help reduce complications and manage any difficulties, although more work is needed before the findings can be translated to clinical settings.

'Expressive therapy' intervention assists women living with HIV Posted: 11 Jul 2014 06:21 AM PDT An 'expressive therapy' group intervention helps women living with HIV disclose their health status and improves their social support, self-efficacy and the safety and quality of their relationships, a study has shown. "Medication alone is totally insufficient," said the study's first author. "Over 90 percent of our patients are on effective antiretroviral therapy but far too many are dying from suicide, addiction, and violence. Depression, addiction, and especially trauma are very common and often devastating for women living with HIV but are not being effectively addressed by most clinics."

Blame it on the astrocytes: does brain's most abundant cell type have role in neurological disorders? Posted: 11 Jul 2014 06:21 AM PDT The demonstration that astrocytes, the brain's most abundant cell type, participate in the formation of inhibitory synapses in the cortex suggests an important role for these cells in some neurological disorders. Astrocytes, named for their star-like shape, are ubiquitous brain cells known for regulating excitatory synapse formation through cells. Recent studies have shown that astrocytes also play a role in forming inhibitory synapses, but the key players and underlying mechanisms have remained unknown until now.

Do women perceive other women in red as more sexually receptive? Posted: 11 Jul 2014 06:21 AM PDT Women are more likely to wear a red shirt when they are expecting to meet an attractive man, relative to an unattractive man or a woman. But do women view other women in red as being more sexually receptive? And would that result in a woman guarding her mate against a woman in red? A study has sought to answer these questions.

Novel treatment for drug-resistant tuberculosis shows promise, but concerns for patient safety remain Posted: 11 Jul 2014 06:20 AM PDT Community health experts call for balanced approach to continued development of promising new TB drug in a new article. They argue that research into bedaquiline -- a new drug, fast tracked for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) -- should proceed cautiously in people with drug-sensitive tuberculosis.

Extra dose of inactivated polio vaccine boosts immunity in children and could speed up global eradication efforts Posted: 11 Jul 2014 06:20 AM PDT Giving children under 5 years old an extra dose of inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) helps to boost their immunity to the poliovirus and should be added to vaccination programs in polio-endemic countries and those facing a high risk of imported cases, suggests new research.

World’s most advanced dengue vaccine candidate shows promise in phase 3 trial Posted: 11 Jul 2014 06:20 AM PDT The first dengue vaccine candidate to reach phase 3 clinical testing has shown moderate protection (56%) against the disease in Asian children, according to new research. There is no licensed vaccine available to treat or prevent dengue fever, and efforts to develop one have been complicated by the fact that dengue is caused by four distinct dengue viruses, and a vaccine must target all four serotypes.

Ultrasound tracks odor representation in brain Posted: 11 Jul 2014 06:19 AM PDT A new ultrasound imaging technique has provided the first ever in vivo visualization of activity in the piriform cortex of rats during odor perception. This deep-seated brain structure plays an important role in olfaction, and was inaccessible to functional imaging until now. This work also sheds new light on the still poorly known functioning of the olfactory system, and notably how information is processed in the brain.

Better use of electronic health records makes clinical trials less expensive Posted: 11 Jul 2014 06:19 AM PDT Using electronic health records to understand the best available treatment for patients, from a range of possible options, is more efficient and less costly for taxpayers than the existing clinical trial process, a new study shows.

Counseling, guidance techniques used in Africa must reflect local cultures, resources Posted: 11 Jul 2014 06:19 AM PDT Counselling and guidance techniques developed in the Western world may not be appropriate for many African countries, where cultural influences, government policies and the availability of resources can have significant implications for service delivery. In order to develop more robust techniques, researchers and practitioners need rigorous analysis of professional practice across the nations of Africa.

Omega 3 fatty acids lessen severity of osteoarthritis in mice Posted: 11 Jul 2014 06:18 AM PDT Mice consuming a supplement of omega 3 fatty acids had healthier joints than those fed diets high in saturated fats and omega 6 fatty acids, according to researchers. "Our results suggest that dietary factors play a more significant role than mechanical factors in the link between obesity and osteoarthritis," said the study's senior author.

Certain risk factors for ACL re-injury identified Posted: 11 Jul 2014 06:18 AM PDT Re-tearing a repaired knee Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) happens all too frequently, however a recent study suggests that identification and patient education regarding modifiable risk factors may minimize the chance of a future ACL tear.

ACL reconstructions may last longer with autografts Posted: 11 Jul 2014 06:18 AM PDT Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) reconstructions occur more than 200,000 times a year, but the type of material used to create a new ligament may determine how long you stay in the game, say researchers.

After a concussion, which teens will have emotional symptoms? Posted: 10 Jul 2014 01:15 PM PDT After a concussion, teens who are sensitive to light or noise may be more likely to also have emotional symptoms such as anxiety, according to a new study.

High stress, hostility, depression linked with increased stroke risk Posted: 10 Jul 2014 01:14 PM PDT Higher levels of stress, hostility and depressive symptoms are associated with significantly increased risk of stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) in middle-age and older adults, according to new research. A TIA is a stroke caused by a temporary blockage of blood flow to the brain.

New light shed on nerve cell growth Posted: 10 Jul 2014 01:12 PM PDT New light has been shed on the complex processes of nerve cell growth, showing that a particular protein plays a far more sophisticated role in neuron development than previously thought. Specifically, the research sheds light on the role of RPM-1 in the development of axons or nerve fibers -- the elongated projections of nerve cells that transmit electrical impulses away from the neuron via synapses. Some axons are quite long; in the sciatic nerve, axons run from the base of the spine to the big toe.

Sophisticated radiation detector designed for broad public use Posted: 10 Jul 2014 12:19 PM PDT Nuclear engineers have developed a small, portable and inexpensive radiation detection device that should help people all over the world better understand the radiation around them, its type and intensity, and whether or not it poses a health risk. The system is a miniaturized gamma ray spectrometer, which means it can measure not only the intensity of radiation but also identify the type of radionuclide that is creating it. Such a system is far more sophisticated than old-fashioned "Geiger counters" that provide only minimal information about the presence and level of radioactivity.

How Twitter can be used to address specific health issues Posted: 10 Jul 2014 12:17 PM PDT A new study examined the use of the hashtag #childhoodobesity in tweets to track Twitter conversations about the issue of overweight kids. The study noted that conversations involving childhood obesity on Twitter don't often include comments from representatives of government and public health organizations that likely have evidence relating to how best to approach this issue. The authors think maybe they should.

Control strategy for Dengue, malaria increases risk of West Nile virus Posted: 10 Jul 2014 11:16 AM PDT Mosquitoes infected with the bacteria Wolbachia are more likely to become infected with West Nile virus and more likely to transmit the virus to humans, according to a team of researchers. "This is the first study to demonstrate that Wolbachia can enhance a human pathogen in a mosquito," one researcher said. "The results suggest that caution should be used when releasing Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes into nature to control vector-borne diseases of humans."

Potential new target for antibiotics against E. coli, other bugs Posted: 10 Jul 2014 11:13 AM PDT Scientists have identified a protein that is essential to the survival of E. coli bacteria, and consider the protein a potential new target for antibiotics. E. coli is part of the gram-negative family of bacteria, characterized by having an extra membrane, called the outer membrane, that reduces the chances for a drug to penetrate the cell to kill it. Inhibiting this protein, however, would require getting past just one of the two membranes, meaning it could be an attractive new target for antibiotics in this age of resistant pathogens.

Understanding consciousness: Researchers advocate for more scientific research on consciousness Posted: 10 Jul 2014 10:10 AM PDT Why does a relentless stream of subjective experiences normally fill your mind? Maybe that's just one of those mysteries that will always elude us. Yet, new research suggests that consciousness lies well within the realm of scientific inquiry -- as impossible as that may currently seem. Although scientists have yet to agree on an objective measure to index consciousness, progress has been made with this agenda in several labs around the world.

Sleep disturbances, common in Parkinson's disease, can be early indicator of disease onset Posted: 10 Jul 2014 10:06 AM PDT Up to 70% of Parkinson's disease (PD) patients experience sleep problems that negatively impact their quality of life. Some patients have disturbed sleep/wake patterns such as difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, while other patients may be subject to sudden and involuntary daytime sleep "attacks." A new article discusses the underlying causes of sleep problems in PD, as well as medications, disease pathology, and comorbidities, and describes the most appropriate diagnostic tools and treatment options.

In the gut, immunity is a two-way street: Complex role of gut bacteria Posted: 10 Jul 2014 10:06 AM PDT In recent years, it has become increasingly clear that many diseases are triggered or maintained by changes in bacterial communities in the gut. However, the general view up to now has been rather simple: bacteria stimulate the immune system, leading to inflammation or autoimmune disorders in a single direction. Now scientists have painted a more complex picture: the gut immune system does not simply prevent the influx of pathogens, but is actively involved in the maintenance of a rich and healthy community of gut bacteria.

Young adults' privacy potentially jeopardized by insurance plans, researchers report Posted: 10 Jul 2014 10:05 AM PDT Violations of privacy are increasing as more adolescents and young adults gain coverage on their parents' health insurance plans, according to a new health policy report. Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), adult children now can stay on their parents' health insurance plans until they reach age 26. But because they are dependents on their parents' health insurance, they are not afforded the same confidentiality protections as if they had individual plans.

Innovative non-invasive 'liquid biopsy' method to capture circulating tumor cells from blood samples for genetic testing Posted: 10 Jul 2014 10:05 AM PDT Researchers seek partners to commercialize a clinically proven non-invasive fluorescence virus-guided capture system of human colorectal circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from blood samples for genetic testing. This non-invasive companion diagnostics is important for personalized targeted cancer therapy.

Inadequate support in schools for diabetic children, study finds Posted: 10 Jul 2014 08:16 AM PDT The lives of young diabetics have been the focus of recent study, beginning from the age when they are starting to be more independent. Researchers report being shocked to discover the absence of an overall policy towards diabetes management within the secondary education sector, stating that "some pupils were getting tremendously good support from their teachers, and their friends were also providing better support because they knew about the condition. But there were other places where there clearly weren't any policies in place that were being adhered to."

Neurologist offers hope to patients with genetic tumor disorder Posted: 10 Jul 2014 08:15 AM PDT Although it is rare, tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) can be a difficult and frightening diagnosis for parents and children. The genetic disorder causes nonmalignant tumors to form in many different organs, including the brain, eyes, kidneys and heart. If a child's brain is affected by the disease, it can be especially debilitating since it can cause seizures, developmental delays, intellectual disability and autism.

Injectable foam could prevent fatal blood loss in wounded soldiers Posted: 10 Jul 2014 08:15 AM PDT A student-invented battlefield medical device has potential to save soldiers with deep wounds, especially at the neck, shoulder or groin. Without prompt care, a badly wounded soldier can easily bleed to death while being transported to a distant medical station. Tourniquets and medicated gauze pads often cannot stop the blood loss from a deep wound at the neck, shoulder or groin. To give these soldiers a fighting chance at survival, an injectable foam system designed to stop profuse bleeding from a wound has been developed.

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