ScienceDaily Health Headlines -- for Monday, June 20, 2011 ~ techdeck

ScienceDaily Health Headlines

for Monday, June 20, 2011

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Experimental radioprotective drug safe for lung cancer patients, says study (June 20, 2011) -- Patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer can safely take an experimental oral drug intended to protect healthy tissue from the effects of radiation, according to a new study. ... > full story

Noncoding RNA may promote Alzheimer's disease (June 20, 2011) -- Researchers pinpoint a small RNA that spurs cells to manufacture a particular splice variant of a key neuronal protein, potentially promoting Alzheimer's disease or other types of neurodegeneration. ... > full story

Taking tamoxifen to prevent breast cancer can save lives and money, study suggests (June 20, 2011) -- Tamoxifen, taken by certain women as a preventive measure against breast cancer, saves lives and reduces medical costs, a new study suggests. The study's results suggest that the benefits of tamoxifen to prevent cancer can sufficiently compensate for its side effects in post-menopausal women under age 55 years who have an increased risk of developing breast cancer. ... > full story

Pitchers bean more batters in the heat of the summer (June 20, 2011) -- During spring training, you will find Major League pitchers practicing their pitches, perfecting their technique and strengthening their muscles to endure the grueling 162 game season. A new study suggests that hurlers might also consider the effect these sweltering months could have on their brains. ... > full story

Scientists find candidate for new TB vaccine (June 20, 2011) -- Scientists have discovered a protein secreted by tuberculosis bacteria that could be a promising new vaccine candidate. The protein could also be used to improve diagnosis of TB. ... > full story

DCIS patients who get invasive breast cancer have higher mortality, study finds (June 20, 2011) -- Women with ductal carcinoma in situ -- DCIS -- who later develop invasive breast cancer in the same breast are at higher risk of dying from breast cancer than those who do not develop invasive disease, according to a new study. ... > full story

Grab the leash: Dog walkers more likely to reach exercise benchmarks (June 20, 2011) -- Man's best friend may provide more than just faithful companionship: A new study shows people who owned and walked their dogs were 34 percent more likely to meet federal benchmarks on physical activity. The results show that promoting dog ownership and dog walking could help many Americans -- of which fewer than half meet recommended levels of leisure-time physical activity -- become healthier. ... > full story

Calorie-burning brown fat is a potential obesity treatment, researchers say (June 19, 2011) -- A new study suggests that many adults have large amounts of brown fat, the "good" fat that burns calories to keep us warm, and that it may be possible to make even more of this tissue. ... > full story

Barrett's esophagus carries lower risk of malignancy than previously reported, study finds (June 19, 2011) -- Patients with Barrett's esophagus may have a lower risk of esophageal cancer than previously reported, according to a large, long-term study. ... > full story

College students sleep longer but drink more and get lower grades when classes start later (June 19, 2011) -- Later class start times were associated with a delayed sleep schedule, which led to poorer sleep, more daytime sleepiness, and a lower grade-point average. Students with later class start times also consumed more alcohol and reported more binge drinking. Students who were "night owls" with a natural preference to stay up later were more likely than "morning types" to have a delayed sleep schedule and to consume more alcohol. The study involved 253 college students. ... > full story

Molecular movements could lead to new way to treat cancer (June 19, 2011) -- New research could point to a new way to treat aggressive types of cancer. Scientists have found that a molecule called Met is responsible for stimulating the growth and spread of cancer because it is relocating to the wrong part of the cell. Experiments in the lab suggest that moving Met molecules from the inside of the cell to the cell surface could halt the growth of cancer cells and even cause tumors to shrink. ... > full story

After 55 years, surgery restores sight (June 19, 2011) -- After being hit in the eye by a stone, a detached retina left a man blind in his right eye. Doctors at the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary have reported a case, describing how this patient had functional vision restored 55 years after the childhood accident which left him blind. ... > full story

Fathers benefit from seeking help as parents (June 19, 2011) -- Men are sometimes criticized for being unwilling to ask for directions when they travel, but they can benefit from looking for help as they begin their journeys as fathers, according to a researcher on fatherhood. Along the way, they should not shy from asserting their roles, the researcher said. ... > full story

Progress using induced pluripotent stem cells to reverse blindness (June 18, 2011) -- Researchers have used cutting-edge stem cell technology to correct a genetic defect present in a rare blinding disorder, another step on a promising path that may one day lead to therapies to reverse blindness caused by common retinal diseases. ... > full story

More evidence vitamin D boosts immune response (June 18, 2011) -- Laboratory-grown gingival cells treated with vitamin D boosted their production of an endogenous antibiotic, and killed more bacteria than untreated cells, according to a new study. The research suggests that vitamin D can help protect the gums from bacterial infections that lead to gingivitis and periodontitis. Periodontitis affects up to 50 percent of the US population, is a major cause of tooth loss, and can also contribute to heart disease. Most Americans are deficient in vitamin D. ... > full story

New clues about protein linked to Parkinson's disease: Structural biologists measure energy difference between protein variants (June 18, 2011) -- Researchers have uncovered structural clues about the protein linked to Parkinson's disease, which ultimately could lead to finding a cure for the degenerative neurological disorder. ... > full story

'Ultrawideband' could be future of medical monitoring (June 18, 2011) -- New research has confirmed that an electronic technology called "ultrawideband" could hold part of the solution to an ambitious goal in the future of medicine -- health monitoring with sophisticated "body-area networks." Such networks would offer continuous, real-time health diagnosis to reduce the onset of degenerative diseases, save lives and cut health care costs. ... > full story

How many US deaths are caused by poverty and other social factors? About the same as deaths from heart attacks and stroke, study finds (June 18, 2011) -- In the first comprehensive analysis of the contribution of social factors to US mortality, researchers found that poverty, low levels of education, poor social support and other social factors contribute about as many deaths in the US as such familiar causes as heart attacks, strokes and lung cancer. ... > full story

Dawn of agriculture took toll on health (June 18, 2011) -- When populations around the globe started turning to agriculture around 10,000 years ago, regardless of their locations and type of crops, a similar trend occurred: the height and health of the people declined. The pattern holds up across standardized studies of whole skeletons in populations, say researchers in the first comprehensive, global review of the literature regarding stature and health during the agriculture transition. ... > full story

A better way to remember (June 18, 2011) -- Scientists and educators alike have long known that cramming is not an effective way to remember things. With their latest findings, researchers studying eye movement response in trained mice, have elucidated the neurological mechanism explaining why this is so. Their results suggest that protein synthesis in the cerebellum plays a key role in memory consolidation, shedding light on the fundamental neurological processes governing how we remember. ... > full story

American Cancer Society report finds continued progress in reducing cancer mortality (June 18, 2011) -- A steady reduction in overall cancer death rates translates to the avoidance of about 898,000 deaths from cancer between 1990 and 2007, according to the latest statistics from the American Cancer Society. However, progress has not benefited all segments of the population equally. ... > full story

The way you relate to your partner can affect your long-term mental and physical health, study shows (June 18, 2011) -- The potentially lasting implications of day-to-day couple conflict on physical and mental well-being are revealed in a new study. ... > full story

Tapeworm drug inhibits colon cancer metastasis (June 17, 2011) -- A compound that for about 60 years has been used as a drug against tapeworm infection is also apparently effective against colon cancer metastasis, as studies using mice have shown. The compound silences a gene that triggers the formation of metastases in colon cancer. Researchers in Germany made this discovery in collaboration with researchers in the U.S. Plans are already underway to conduct a clinical trial. ... > full story

Size matters -- in virulent fungal spores -- and suggests ways to stop a killer (June 17, 2011) -- Scientists have found that larger fungal spores can be more lethal. Their findings about two different spore sizes of the fungus Mucor circinelloides, a pathogen that kills half or more of its victims, could help to develop new treatments and fight other types of fungal infections. Mucor infection is in the news as an environmental fungus contracted by people who had trauma in the wake of tornadoes in Joplin, Mo. ... > full story

Surgeons perform first prosthetic bypass graft with patient's stem cells at point-of-care (June 17, 2011) -- The first three patients to undergo an investigational surgical procedure for peripheral vascular disease that involves the patient's own stem cells continue to do well, say doctors . The "TGI-PVG IDE" clinical trial initiated at the University of Louisville involves using a patient's own stem cells to line artificial bypass grafts to better the chances at saving the limbs of patients with peripheral artery disease. ... > full story

Look before you leap: Teens still learning to plan ahead (June 17, 2011) -- Researchers studied strategic planning and problem solving among 890 10-30 year-olds using a computerized test called the Tower of London. Older test takers did better on the tower test, showing a greater ability to plan ahead and solve problems. On the hardest problems, mature performance wasn't seen until at least age 22. These findings have implications for programs that target adolescents' still-emerging capacity to plan ahead, control impulses, regulate emotions, and resist peer pressure. ... > full story

Scientists turn memories off and on with flip of switch (June 17, 2011) -- Scientists have developed a way to turn memories on and off -- literally with the flip of a switch. Using an electronic system that duplicates the neural signals associated with learning, they replicated the brain function in rats associated with long-term learned behavior, even when the rats had been drugged to forget. "Flip the switch on, and the rats remember. Flip it off, and the rats forget," said the leader of the team reporting the result. ... > full story

Shorter sleep durations may increase genetic risks for obesity (June 17, 2011) -- A recent study found that the heritability of self-reported, habitual sleep duration was 32 percent, and shared environmental influences on sleep duration were negligible. Longer sleep duration was associated with decreased body mass index. Behavioral genetic modeling found that the heritability of self-reported BMI when sleep duration equaled seven hours was more than twice as large as the heritability of BMI when sleep duration equaled nine hours. The study involved 1,811 pairs of identical and fraternal twins. ... > full story

Survival niche for cancer cells (June 17, 2011) -- Cancer cells do not grow equally well everywhere in the body. Often, they first create the conditions in which they can grow. Immunologists and hematologists have now shown that specific forms of lymphoma also create their own survival niche. ... > full story

Poor 'gut sense' of numbers contributes to persistent math difficulties (June 17, 2011) -- Having a poor "gut sense" of numbers can lead to a mathematical learning disability and difficulty in achieving basic math proficiency. This inaccurate number sense is just one cause of math learning disabilities, according to researchers. ... > full story

Discovery of a new mechanism of gene control that is associated with cancer (June 17, 2011) -- In a new study, scientists reveal the mechanism of action of a protein that is essential for life and is associated with disease. ... > full story

How the immune system fights back against anthrax infections (June 17, 2011) -- Scientists have uncovered how the body's immune system launches its survival response to the notorious and deadly bacterium anthrax. The findings describe key emergency signals the body sends out when challenged by a life-threatening infection. ... > full story

No healing in a vacuum, study finds (June 17, 2011) -- Negative-pressure wound therapy probably does not promote healing, according to a recent meta-analysis of controlled trials. ... > full story

Low fertility in Europe reversed (June 17, 2011) -- The post-war trend of falling birth rates has been reversed across Europe, according to a new study. However, despite an increasing emphasis on family and fertility policies in Europe, this recent development involves social, cultural and economic factors more than individual policy interventions. ... > full story

Noninvasive brain implant could someday translate thoughts into movement (June 17, 2011) -- A brain implant developed at the University of Michigan uses the body's skin like a conductor to wirelessly transmit the brain's neural signals to control a computer, and may eventually be used to reactivate paralyzed limbs. ... > full story

Vaccine study supports immune targeting of brain tumors (June 17, 2011) -- An experimental vaccine targets overactive antigens in highly aggressive brain tumors and improves length of survival in newly diagnosed patients, according to new data. ... > full story

Gatekeepers: How microbes make it past tight spaces between cells (June 17, 2011) -- There are ten microbial cells for every one human cell in the body, and microbiology dogma holds that there is a tight barrier protecting the inside of the body from outside invaders, in this case bacteria. Bacterial pathogens can break this barrier to cause infection and researchers wondered how microbes get inside the host and circulate in the first place. They tested to see if microbes somehow weaken host cell defenses to enter tissues. ... > full story

How we come to know our bodies as our own (June 17, 2011) -- By taking advantage of a "body swap" illusion, researchers have captured the brain regions involved in one of the most fundamental aspects of self-awareness: how we recognize our bodies as our own, distinct from others and from the outside world. That self-perception is traced to specialized multisensory neurons in various parts of the brain that integrate different sensory inputs across all body parts into a unified view of the body. ... > full story

Heightened immunity to colds makes asthma flare-ups worse, study suggests (June 17, 2011) -- People often talk about "boosting" their immunity to prevent and fight colds. Nutritional supplements, cold remedies and fortified foods claim to stave off colds by augmenting the immune system. But new research suggests that tempering the immune response -- rather than enhancing it -- in asthma patients might be a better strategy when combating cold symptoms. ... > full story

Lyme disease bacteria take cover in lymph nodes (June 17, 2011) -- The bacteria that cause Lyme disease appear to hide out in the lymph nodes, triggering a significant immune response, but one that is not strong enough to rout the infection, report researchers. ... > full story

Surgeons successfully use artificial lung in toddler (June 17, 2011) -- Two-year-old Owen Stark came to hospital in the summer of 2010 near death from heart failure and dangerously high blood pressure in his lungs. Physicians knew they had to act fast to save his life. They made several strategic and innovative decisions that led to the first successful use of an artificial lung in a toddler. ... > full story

Postnatal depression linked to depression in offspring until age 16, study finds (June 17, 2011) -- A recent study is the first to demonstrate that the effects of maternal depression on the likelihood of the child to develop depression may begin as early as infancy. ... > full story

First diagnostic test for hereditary children's disease (June 17, 2011) -- A breakthrough in genetic research has uncovered the defect behind a rare hereditary children's disease that inhibits the body's ability to break down vitamin D. This discovery has led researchers to develop the first genetic and biochemical tests that positively identify the disease. ... > full story

Structural biologists reveal novel drug binding site in NMDA receptor subunit (June 17, 2011) -- Structural biologists have obtained a precise molecular map of the binding site for an allosteric inhibitor in a subtype of the NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) receptor, which is commonly expressed in brain cells, dysfunctions of which have been implicated in depression, schizophrenia, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases. ... > full story

Children as young as ten vomit to lose weight, with highest rates in boys (June 17, 2011) -- Children as young as ten are making themselves vomit in order to lose weight and the problem is more common in boys than girls. 13% of the 8,673 girls and 7,043 boys who took part in the research admitted they made themselves sick to lose weight. But the figures were much higher in younger children, with 16% of 10-12 year-olds and 15% of 13-15 year-olds vomiting. The figures fell to 8% in 16-18 year-olds. The study of 120 schools also found that 16% of the boys made themselves sick, compared with 10% of the girls. ... > full story

Scientists develop a fatty 'kryptonite' to defeat multidrug-resistant 'super bugs' (June 17, 2011) -- "Super bugs," which can cause wide-spread disease and may be resistant to most, if not all, conventional antibiotics, still have their weaknesses. A team of Canadian scientists discovered that specific mixtures of antimicrobial agents presented in lipid (fatty) mixtures can significantly boost the effectiveness of those agents to kill the resistant bacteria. ... > full story

Protein found that improves DNA repair under stress (June 17, 2011) -- Scientists have discovered an important new mechanism that allows cells to recognize when they are under stress and prime the DNA repair machinery to respond to the threat of damage. ... > full story

Plants teach humans a thing or two about fighting diseases (June 17, 2011) -- Avoiding germs to prevent sickness is commonplace for people. Wash hands often. Sneeze into your elbow. Those are among the tips humans learn. But plants, which are also vulnerable to pathogens, have to fend it alone. They grow where planted, in an environment teeming with microbes and other substances ready to attack. Texas scientists have learned from plants' immune response new information that could help understand humans' ability to ward off sickness. ... > full story