ScienceDaily: Top Health News

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• Seeing more African Americans in prison increases support for policies that exacerbate inequality
• Curing rheumatoid arthritis in mice: Antibody-based delivery of IL4
• Exposure to inflammatory bowel disease drugs could increase leukemia risk
• Healthy diet set early in life
• Nutrition an issue for Indigenous Australians
• Many cancer survivors smoke years after diagnosis
• Correct seat belt use saves children's lives
• Victims of war: How Gaza conflict will traumatize a generation of adolescents
• Loss of sensation in the feet of diabetes patients linked to cardiovascular disease, stroke
• Experts offer support to families displaced by conflict in Syria
• Better to give than to receive: Personality affects knowledge exchange
• Aggressive behaviour increases adolescent drinking, depression doesn't
• New prosthetic arm controlled by neural messages
• Could your brain be reprogrammed to work better?
• Baby aspirin? Many doctors don't recommend, despite guidelines
• Angry bees: Insect aggression boosted by altering brain metabolism
• Finding may aid recovery from spinal cord injury
• New hospital screening tool helps find children at nutritional risk easier, study finds
• Common tuberculosis vaccine can be used to prevent infection as well as disease
• Alteplase given promptly after stroke reduces long-term disability, even in older people, those with severe stroke
• Our brains judge a face's trustworthiness, even when we can’t see it
• Pistachios may lower vascular response to stress in type 2 diabetes
• Brief counseling for drug use doesn't work
• Promising Ebola virus treatment development: Crucial research conducted to advance medicine
• 'Treatments waiting to be discovered' inside new database
• Electronic cigarettes: Many questions, limited research
• Flavor trumps health for blueberry buying, study shows

Seeing more African Americans in prison increases support for policies that exacerbate inequality Posted: 06 Aug 2014 07:28 AM PDT Informing the public about African Americans' disproportionate incarceration rate may actually bolster support for punitive policies that perpetuate inequality, according to a new study. Results showed that white participants who were exposed to higher racial disparities in incarceration rates reported being more afraid of crime and more likely to support the kinds of punitive policies that exacerbate these racial disparities.

Curing rheumatoid arthritis in mice: Antibody-based delivery of IL4 Posted: 06 Aug 2014 07:28 AM PDT With a new therapeutic product, researchers have managed to cure arthritis in mice for the first time. The scientists are now planning to test the efficacy of the drug in humans. Rheumatoid arthritis is a condition that causes painful inflammation of several joints in the body. The joint capsule becomes swollen, and the disease can also destroy cartilage and bone as it progresses. Rheumatoid arthritis affects 0.5% to 1% of the world's population.

Exposure to inflammatory bowel disease drugs could increase leukemia risk Posted: 06 Aug 2014 06:51 AM PDT Immunosuppressive drugs called thiopurines have been found to increase the risk of myeloid disorders, such as acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome, a rare bone marrow disorder, seven-fold among inflammatory bowel disease patients. IBD can negatively impact an individual's life and result in a significant amount of medical bills. Treatments for IBD vary, including: nutrition, emotional support, medical therapy and surgery.

Healthy diet set early in life Posted: 06 Aug 2014 06:51 AM PDT Promoting a healthy diet from infancy is important to prevent childhood obesity and the onset of chronic disease, researchers find. The study described quantity and diversity of food and drinks consumed by children aged 12-16 months.

Nutrition an issue for Indigenous Australians Posted: 06 Aug 2014 06:51 AM PDT Nutrition has not been given enough priority in national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health policy in recent years, researchers conclude. "Improving nutrition is essential for promoting Aboriginal health, and this needs to be supported by policy at the national level," they say.

Many cancer survivors smoke years after diagnosis Posted: 06 Aug 2014 06:51 AM PDT Nearly one in 10 cancer survivors reports smoking many years after a diagnosis, according to a new study. Survivors were more likely to smoke if they were younger, had less education and income, or drank more alcohol. About 40 percent of smokers said they planned to quit within the next month, but this intention was lower among survivors who were married, older, or smoked more.

Correct seat belt use saves children's lives Posted: 06 Aug 2014 06:48 AM PDT 9 out of 10 children are seriously or fatally injured in traffic accidents because they are incorrectly restrained or because of loose objects in cars. Correct use of safety equipment will save more lives, according to a new study.

Victims of war: How Gaza conflict will traumatize a generation of adolescents Posted: 06 Aug 2014 06:48 AM PDT A new study has examined adolescent victims of conflict in the Gaza strip and has found that exposure to war-torn environments has a lasting and damaging effect on the psychology of young people. The study investigated types of traumatic events experienced by Palestinian adolescents exposed to war in Gaza in relation to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety and coping strategies and has found that a substantial number of adolescents in these situations develop a range of long-lasting emotional and behavior problems.

Loss of sensation in the feet of diabetes patients linked to cardiovascular disease, stroke Posted: 06 Aug 2014 06:48 AM PDT Loss of sensation in the feet, a result of diabetes, may be a predictor of cardiovascular events such as heart attack and strokes, researchers say. Diabetes, which affects 3.7million people in the UK, can cause damage to a person's blood vessels and nerves, especially if their blood sugar is poorly controlled, leading to poor circulation and loss of sensation in the feet, known as peripheral neuropathy.

Experts offer support to families displaced by conflict in Syria Posted: 06 Aug 2014 06:48 AM PDT Families living in and affected by the conflict in Syria have been receiving parenting advice from experts from an English university via a daily bread delivery service. Earlier research has shown parents need urgent help to parent children caught up in conflicts -- many of whom will be displaying signs of distress. The unique trial study has seen 3,000 leaflets sent out to families in Syria using a bread run.

Better to give than to receive: Personality affects knowledge exchange Posted: 06 Aug 2014 06:48 AM PDT Personality plays an important role in knowledge exchange. Givers share more important knowledge than takers, according to a recent study. Working professionals were classified as givers, matchers and takers based on a personality measure. The researchers examined how these three interaction styles affected resource and information sharing. The main finding: Givers not only share more resources and more information, but they also share mainly the important information. Takers keep everything for themselves.

Aggressive behaviour increases adolescent drinking, depression doesn't Posted: 06 Aug 2014 06:47 AM PDT Adolescents who behave aggressively are more likely to drink alcohol and in larger quantities than their peers, according to a recent study completed in Finland. Depression and anxiety, on the other hand, were not linked to increased alcohol use. The study investigated the association between psychosocial problems and alcohol use among 4074 Finnish 13- to 18-year-old adolescents.

New prosthetic arm controlled by neural messages Posted: 06 Aug 2014 06:47 AM PDT A new prosthetic system aims to identify the memory of movement in the amputee's brain in order to manipulate the device. Controlling a prosthetic arm by just imagining a motion may now be possible.

Could your brain be reprogrammed to work better? Posted: 05 Aug 2014 11:53 PM PDT Scientists from Australia and France have shown that electromagnetic stimulation can alter brain organization, which may make your brain work better. In a new study, the researchers demonstrated that weak sequential electromagnetic pulses (repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation -- or rTMS) on mice can shift abnormal neural connections to more normal locations.

Baby aspirin? Many doctors don't recommend, despite guidelines Posted: 05 Aug 2014 07:13 PM PDT A majority of middle-aged men and women eligible to take aspirin to prevent heart attack and stroke do not recall their doctors ever telling them to do so, according to a study of an American sample of more than 3,000 patients. The finding illustrates a common disconnect between public health guidelines and what occurs in clinical practice. The study is consistent with other research showing that physicians often do not recommend aspirin as prevention therapy to the general population, despite established guidelines.

Angry bees: Insect aggression boosted by altering brain metabolism Posted: 05 Aug 2014 07:12 PM PDT Scientists report they can crank up insect aggression simply by interfering with a basic metabolic pathway in the insect brain. Their study, of fruit flies and honey bees, shows a direct, causal link between brain metabolism -- how the brain generates the energy it needs to function -- and aggression.

Finding may aid recovery from spinal cord injury Posted: 05 Aug 2014 07:12 PM PDT Researchers have achieved the first conclusive non-invasive measurement of neural signaling in the spinal cords of healthy human volunteers. Their technique may aid efforts to help patients recover from spinal cord injuries and other disorders affecting spinal cord function, including multiple sclerosis.

New hospital screening tool helps find children at nutritional risk easier, study finds Posted: 05 Aug 2014 07:12 PM PDT While hospitals do not commonly screen children for nutrition, a new tool developed could change that. The Pediatric Nutrition Screening Tool (PNST) was found to be more effective than the existing pediatric Subjective Global Nutrition Assessment (SGNA). The PNST identified 37.6 percent of patients as being at nutritional risk, whereas the pediatric SGNA identified 34.2 percent. The PNSA was also effective at finding patients with low Body Mass Index (BMI).

Common tuberculosis vaccine can be used to prevent infection as well as disease Posted: 05 Aug 2014 07:12 PM PDT The vaccine used to protect against tuberculosis disease, bacillus calmette-guerin or BCG, also protects against tuberculosis infection, mycobacterium, as well as protecting against progression from infection to disease, finds new research. The BCG vaccine has been subject to numerous trials and studies over several decades, which have shown that it has a 60-80% protective efficacy against severe forms of tuberculosis (TB) in children. But to date there has been a lack of evidence on whether the vaccine is effective against TB infection.

Alteplase given promptly after stroke reduces long-term disability, even in older people, those with severe stroke Posted: 05 Aug 2014 07:11 PM PDT Many more stroke patients could benefit from thrombolytic treatment (the use of drugs to break up or dissolve blood clots), but it needs to be administered as quickly as possible after the first signs of illness, according to new findings from the largest meta-analysis to date investigating the clot-busting drug alteplase. The study involved more than 6700 stroke patients.

Our brains judge a face's trustworthiness, even when we can’t see it Posted: 05 Aug 2014 07:07 PM PDT Our brains are able to judge the trustworthiness of a face even when we cannot consciously see it, a team of scientists has found. Their findings shed new light on how we form snap judgments of others.

Pistachios may lower vascular response to stress in type 2 diabetes Posted: 05 Aug 2014 01:33 PM PDT Among people with type 2 diabetes, eating pistachios may reduce the body's response to the stresses of everyday life, according researchers. "In adults with diabetes, two servings of pistachios per day lowered vascular constriction during stress and improved neural control of the heart," said the lead investigator. "Although nuts are high in fat, they contain good fats, fiber, potassium and antioxidants. Given the high risk of heart disease in people with diabetes, nuts are an important component of a heart healthy diet in this population."

Brief counseling for drug use doesn't work Posted: 05 Aug 2014 01:33 PM PDT In an effort to stem substance use, the US has invested heavily in the past decade in a brief screening-and-intervention protocol for alcohol and other drugs. But a new study casts doubt on whether that approach, which has proven successful with risky alcohol use, works for illicit drugs.

Promising Ebola virus treatment development: Crucial research conducted to advance medicine Posted: 05 Aug 2014 01:33 PM PDT Researchers are investigating antibodies to fight Ebola virus, including the three antibodies recently used to treat two American health care workers infected with the Ebola virus. Ebola virus causes an extremely virulent disease that currently leads to death in 25 to 90 percent of cases. The fast-moving virus is spread via the blood or other bodily fluids of an infected person,

'Treatments waiting to be discovered' inside new database Posted: 05 Aug 2014 12:06 PM PDT A database named multiMiR has been described in a new article. It is the most comprehensive database collecting information about microRNAs and their targets, researchers report. In addition to assisting researchers search for relationships between microRNAs and their genetic targets, the database includes drugs known to affect these microRNAs and also lists diseases associated with microRNAs.

Electronic cigarettes: Many questions, limited research Posted: 05 Aug 2014 10:18 AM PDT Electronic cigarettes (ECIGs) are booming in popularity, but there's still only limited evidence on their potential health risks, or their advertised benefits in helping people to quit smoking, according to a new article. Also known as "electronic nicotine delivery systems," ECIGs consist of a heating element that turns an "e-liquid" solution into vapor, which the user inhales. The ECIG solutions typically contain nicotine, but not always.

Flavor trumps health for blueberry buying, study shows Posted: 05 Aug 2014 10:17 AM PDT Blueberries get lots of media attention for their antioxidant benefits, but a new study shows 60 percent of blueberry purchasers buy the fruit for its flavor, while 39 percent do so for psychological reasons. By "psychological," researchers mean those consumers may buy blueberries because they believe the fruit, which contains antioxidants, provides health benefits.

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