ScienceDaily: Top Health News

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• Smell and eye tests show potential to detect Alzheimer's early
• Cause of mysterious food allergy found, new treatment strategy suggested
• Study of noninvasive retinal imaging device presented at Alzheimer's conference
• Stem cell scientists lay TRAP for disease
• Smoking prevalence in those with mobility impairments studied by researchers
• When good gut bacteria get sick
• New metastasis-suppressor gene identified by cancer researchers
• New method may allow breast cancer drug to be given through skin
• Early palliative care cuts costs for critically ill patients
• It’s your game…Keep it Real reduces dating violence among minority youth
• Technology developed to redirect proteins towards specific areas of genome
• Window of opportunity against HIV comes from 'fitness bottleneck'
• New technology reveals insights into mechanisms underlying amyloid diseases

Smell and eye tests show potential to detect Alzheimer's early Posted: 13 Jul 2014 12:55 PM PDT A decreased ability to identify odors might indicate the development of cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease, while examinations of the eye could indicate the build-up of beta-amyloid, a protein associated with Alzheimer's, in the brain, according to the results of four new research trials.

Cause of mysterious food allergy found, new treatment strategy suggested Posted: 13 Jul 2014 12:55 PM PDT A novel genetic and molecular pathway in the esophagus that causes eosinophillic esophagitis has been identified by researchers, opening up potential new therapeutic strategies for an enigmatic and hard-to-treat food allergy. The condition is triggered by allergic hypersensitivity to certain foods and an over-accumulation in the esophagus of white blood cells called eosinophils (part of the body's immune system).

Study of noninvasive retinal imaging device presented at Alzheimer's conference Posted: 13 Jul 2014 12:55 PM PDT A noninvasive optical imaging device can provide early detection of changes that later occur in the brain and are a classic sign of Alzheimer's disease, according to preliminary results from investigators.

Stem cell scientists lay TRAP for disease Posted: 11 Jul 2014 12:33 PM PDT A 'mouse TRAP' has been set by scientists to capture the early signs of kidney failure, as described by a recent study. Their new transgenic mouse line uses a technique called TRAP to extract cellular and genetic information from a variety of solid organs.

Smoking prevalence in those with mobility impairments studied by researchers Posted: 11 Jul 2014 12:33 PM PDT People with mobility impairments under age 65 have significantly higher rates of smoking than those without mobility impairments. Additionally, smokers with mobility impairments were less likely to attempt quitting than those without mobility impairments, and evidence-based, quit-smoking treatments may not be sufficient for this population.

When good gut bacteria get sick Posted: 11 Jul 2014 12:33 PM PDT Unique computational models have been used by researchers to show how infection can affect bacteria that naturally live in our intestines. The findings may ultimately help clinicians to better treat and prevent gastrointestinal infection and inflammation through a better understanding of the major alterations that occur when foreign bacteria disrupt the gut microbiota.

New metastasis-suppressor gene identified by cancer researchers Posted: 11 Jul 2014 10:26 AM PDT A new suppressor of cancer metastasis, FOXO4, has been identified by cancer researchers. Among patients with deadly cancers, more than 90 percent die because of metastatic spread of their disease. The new findings may point the way toward development of more effective treatments for prostate cancers and other malignant solid tumors.

New method may allow breast cancer drug to be given through skin Posted: 10 Jul 2014 03:34 PM PDT Endoxifen, a drug that has proven effective in the prevention and treatment of breast cancer, but with serious side-effects, may be delivered effectively through the skin using a new topical drug-delivery system. Endoxifen, one of the most commonly used hormone therapy for breast cancer, has also been shown to prevent the disease. However, taken orally, the drug can cause side-effects such as hot flashes and vaginal atrophy, along with increased risk of endometrial cancer and stroke, that leave it wanting as a routine method of chemoprevention.

Early palliative care cuts costs for critically ill patients Posted: 10 Jul 2014 12:17 PM PDT Palliative care delivered early during hospitalization can help cut costs for critically ill patients, finds a new study. Palliative care aims to relieve suffering, be it physical, emotional, social or spiritual. Unlike hospice, palliative care is not limited to the last six months of life. Nor must palliative care patients be considered terminally ill: they often continue to receive disease-modifying treatments along with palliative care services.

It’s your game…Keep it Real reduces dating violence among minority youth Posted: 10 Jul 2014 12:17 PM PDT It's Your Game…Keep it Real (IYG), a health education program designed to delay sexual behavior and promote healthy dating relationships, can significantly reduce dating violence behaviors among minority youth, a study has shown. Researchers looked at four areas of dating violence: physical victimization, emotional victimization, physical perpetration and emotional perpetration.

Technology developed to redirect proteins towards specific areas of genome Posted: 10 Jul 2014 11:16 AM PDT A research group has managed to reprogram the binding of a protein called BuD to DNA in order to redirect it towards specific DNA regions. The lead researcher says the discovery "will allow us to modify and edit the instructions contained in the genome to treat genetic diseases or to develop genetically-modified organisms."

Window of opportunity against HIV comes from 'fitness bottleneck' Posted: 10 Jul 2014 11:15 AM PDT New research on HIV transmission among heterosexual couples in Zambia shows that viral fitness is an important basis of a 'genetic bottleneck' imposed every time a new person is infected. The findings define a window of opportunity for drugs or vaccines to prevent or limit infection. HIV represents evolution on overdrive. Every infected individual contains a swarm of viruses that exhibit variability in their RNA sequence, and new mutations are constantly appearing. Yet nearly every time someone new is infected, this diverse population of viruses gets squeezed down to just one individual.

New technology reveals insights into mechanisms underlying amyloid diseases Posted: 10 Jul 2014 10:06 AM PDT Amyloid diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, type 2 diabetes, cataracts, and the spongiform encephalopathies, all share the common trait that proteins aggregate into long fibers which then form plaques. Yet in vitro studies have found that neither the amylin monomer precursors nor the plaques themselves are very toxic. New evidence using two-dimensional infrared (2D IR) spectroscopy has revealed an intermediate structure during the amylin aggregation pathway that may explain toxicity, opening a window for possible interventions, according to a report.

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