ScienceDaily: Top Health News

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• 'Not just a flavoring: Menthol, Nicotine, Combined Desensitize Airway Receptors
• What brain studies reveal about risk of adolescent alcohol use, abuse
• Secondhand marijuana smoke may damage blood vessels as much as tobacco smoke
• Mentally stressed young women with heart disease more likely to have reduced blood flow to heart
• Active asthma may significantly raise risk of heart attack
• Poison control data show energy drinks and young kids don't mix
• Running does not lead to knee osteoarthritis, may protect people from developing disease, experts say
• Exercise, manual therapy improve pain, function in osteoarthritis
• Danger of repeat head injuries: Brain's inability to tap energy source
• Chronic kidney disease: Exercise provides clear benefits
• Weight loss surgery may improve kidney function
• Most U.S. adults cannot donate a kidney due to preventable health problems, potential loss of income
• Scientists uncover novel looping mechanism that controls the fitness of cells, impacting aging and disease
• Teens with earlier school start times have higher crash rates

'Not just a flavoring: Menthol, Nicotine, Combined Desensitize Airway Receptors Posted: 16 Nov 2014 10:20 AM PST Menthol doesn't just act as a flavoring, but has a pharmacologic impact, a new study suggests. The researchers say menthol acts in combination with nicotine to desensitize receptors in lungs' airways that are responsible for nicotine's irritation. Though not a focus of the work, the findings are important as FDA is considering restrictions on menthol cigarettes.

What brain studies reveal about risk of adolescent alcohol use, abuse Posted: 16 Nov 2014 06:43 AM PST What are the brain factors and behaviors that put teens at risk of alcohol use and abuse before they start drinking? Researchers explore this question in four new abstracts. One provides new evidence that adolescents at higher risk of alcoholism have reduced connections in key brain networks; another links impaired brain connections to impulsivity; and two examine impulsivity in relation to intake of sugar and DHA, an essential omega-3 fatty acid.

Secondhand marijuana smoke may damage blood vessels as much as tobacco smoke Posted: 16 Nov 2014 06:43 AM PST Secondhand marijuana smoke may have similar cardiovascular effects as tobacco smoke. Lab rats exposed to secondhand marijuana smoke had a 70 percent drop in blood vessel function.

Mentally stressed young women with heart disease more likely to have reduced blood flow to heart Posted: 16 Nov 2014 06:43 AM PST Young women with stable coronary heart disease are more likely than men of the same age to develop reduced blood flow to the heart if they're under emotional stress. Women 55 years and younger under mental stress had three times greater reduction in blood flow to the heart than men.

Active asthma may significantly raise risk of heart attack Posted: 16 Nov 2014 06:43 AM PST People with asthma may be at significantly higher risk of heart attack, researchers report.

Poison control data show energy drinks and young kids don't mix Posted: 16 Nov 2014 06:43 AM PST More than 40 percent of reports to the National Poison Data System for 'energy drink exposure' in a three-year span involved children under age 6. The effects of energy drinks in the reported cases included abnormal heart rhythms and seizures. Researchers call for better labeling of energy drink's high caffeine content and subsequent health consequences.

Running does not lead to knee osteoarthritis, may protect people from developing disease, experts say Posted: 16 Nov 2014 06:40 AM PST Running as a habitual exercise at any stage in life not only does not increase a person's risk of developing knee osteoarthritis and may even help protect a person from developing the painful disease, according to new research findings.

Exercise, manual therapy improve pain, function in osteoarthritis Posted: 16 Nov 2014 06:40 AM PST Patients with hip and knee osteoarthritis may improve their pain, stiffness and physical function with sustained physical exercise, manual therapy or both, according to new research findings.

Danger of repeat head injuries: Brain's inability to tap energy source Posted: 16 Nov 2014 06:40 AM PST Two or more serious hits to the head within days of each other can interfere with the brain's ability to use sugar – its primary energy source – to repair cells damaged by the injuries, new research suggests.

Chronic kidney disease: Exercise provides clear benefits Posted: 15 Nov 2014 05:31 AM PST Simple exercises can help improve the health of patients with kidney disease, experts say. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Because exercise capacity is significantly reduced in CKD patients, experts examined the effect of 12 months of exercise training on kidney function and measures of heart disease risk in patients with progressive CKD stages 3-4.

Weight loss surgery may improve kidney function Posted: 15 Nov 2014 05:31 AM PST In addition to helping patients shed pounds, weight loss surgery may also improve kidney function, researchers say. "Bariatric surgery serves as a good model to examine the effects of weight loss on kidney function. Our findings suggest a beneficial impact on kidney function in patients with and without baseline kidney disease," said one investigator.

Most U.S. adults cannot donate a kidney due to preventable health problems, potential loss of income Posted: 15 Nov 2014 05:31 AM PST The majority of individuals in the United States are not eligible to donate a kidney, even if they wanted to, a study shows.

Scientists uncover novel looping mechanism that controls the fitness of cells, impacting aging and disease Posted: 15 Nov 2014 05:31 AM PST A novel looping mechanism that involves the end caps of DNA may help explain the aging of cells and how they initiate and transmit disease, according to new research.

Teens with earlier school start times have higher crash rates Posted: 14 Nov 2014 03:11 PM PST Teen drivers who start class earlier in the morning are involved in significantly more motor vehicle accidents than peers with a later high school start time, a study shows. The results underscore the importance of the 'Awake at the Wheel' campaign of the National Healthy Sleep Awareness Project.

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