NewsRx Health back issues from May 2009:
Baby's first dreams.
May 03, 2009 ... After about seven months growing in the womb, a human fetus spends most of its time asleep. Its brain cycles back and forth between the frenzied activity of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and the quiet resting state of non-REM sleep. But whether the brains of younger, immature fetuses ...
Glitazones have not yet been sufficiently investigated.
May 03, 2009 ... There is so far a lack of scientific evidence that glitazones are better than alternative therapies at reducing mortality or complications caused by blood vessel damage in people with type 2 diabetes. As long-term studies are lacking, reliable conclusions on the long-term benefit or harm ...
Tijuana injection drug users on collision course for HIV and TB.
May 03, 2009 ... A study by researchers from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, in collaboration with Mexican researchers and health officials, shows that as many as 67 percent of injection drug users in Tijuana test positive for tuberculosis (TB) infection. The analysis, which ...
Alzheimer cell death in zebrafish: Demise of neurons observed live for the first time.
May 03, 2009 ... Extensive death of nerve cells leads to severe dementia in patients with Alzheimer's disease. Until now, it has only been possible to investigate the neuronal devastation in post mortem animal models, and by using complicated methods. Researchers at the German Center for Neurodegenerative ...
Tourette syndrome misconceptions only one battle for patients.(Report)
May 03, 2009 ... The most disabling aspect of Tourette syndrome is that in 90% of cases, it exists in conjunction with another disorder. The most frequent co-occurring condition in people with Tourette is attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), though the cause of this association is uncertain ....
Brain mechanisms for behavioral flexibility.(Report)
May 03, 2009 ... New research provides insight into how the brain can execute different actions in response to the same stimulus. The study, published by Cell Press in the April 16 issue of the journal Neuron, suggests that information from single brain cells cannot be interpreted differently within a ...
Gene therapy for muscular dystrophy shows promise beyond safety.
May 03, 2009 ... Researchers have cleared a safety hurdle in efforts to develop a gene therapy for a form of muscular dystrophy that disables patients by gradually weakening muscles near the hips and shoulders. Described as the first gene therapy trial in muscular dystrophy demonstrating ...
Enhancing the effects of the drug used to treat chronic myeloid leukemia.
May 03, 2009 ... Individuals with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) are first treated with a drug known as imatinib mesylate. Although very effective, as the disease progresses it often becomes resistant to the drug. However, a team of researchers, at the University of Leicester, United Kingdom, and Thomas ...
The immune system's role in hepatitis C recurrence after liver transplantation.
May 03, 2009 ... A new study pinpoints certain aspects of the immune system that may play a role in the recurrence and progression of hepatitis C virus (HCV) after liver transplantation. The study is in the April issue of Liver Transplantation, a journal published by John Wiley & Sons. The article is also ...
Former inmates have increased risk of high blood pressure.
May 03, 2009 ... Young adults who have been incarcerated appear more likely to have high blood pressure and left ventricular hypertrophy, an enlarging of the heart muscle that is a common consequence of hypertension, according to a report in the April 13 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the ...
Conserved gene expression reveals our 'inner fish'.
May 03, 2009 ... A study of gene expression in chickens, frogs, pufferfish, mice and people has revealed surprising similarities in several key tissues. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access Journal of Biology have shown that expression in tissues with a limited number of specialized cell ...
Genetic link uncovered in disparate colon cancer death.
May 03, 2009 ... A new study reveals the first-ever genetic link to the reason African-Americans are at increased risk of dying from colon cancer. The discovery by researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is focused on a protein variant called Pro72 identified through genetic ...
HIV pays a price for invisibility.
May 03, 2009 ... Mutations that help HIV hide from the immune system undermine the virus's ability to replicate, show an international team of researchers in the April 13 issue of the Journal of Experimental Medicine. The study was published online on March 23. When HIV infects a cell, a complex ...
OHSU scientists partner with others to form center aimed at combating infectious diseases.
May 03, 2009 ... Oregon Health & Science University and the University of Washington, along with a number of partner institutions across the Northwest, have received federal funding to form a regional research center aimed at combating emerging or re-emerging infectious diseases that pose a serious threat ...
Stem cell transplantation helps patients with diabetes become insulin free.(Clinical report)
May 03, 2009 ... This release is available in Chinese. The majority of patients with type 1 diabetes who underwent a certain type of stem cell transplantation became insulin free, several for more than three years, with good glycemic control, and also increased C-peptide levels, an indirect ...
Discovery of variations in resistance to sulfadoxine across Africa.
May 03, 2009 ... Researchers have discovered that malaria parasites in east and west Africa carry different resistance mutations, which suggests that the effectiveness of sulfadoxine as an antimalarial drug may vary across Africa. The findings have implications for the manner in which malaria ...
Deadly parasite's rare sexual dalliances may help scientists neutralize it.
May 03, 2009 ... For years, microbiologist Stephen Beverley, Ph.D., has tried to get the disease-causing parasite Leishmania in the mood for love. In this week's Science, he and colleagues at the National Institutes of Health report that they may have finally found the answer: Cram enough Leishmania into ...
UCSF team closer to creating safe embryonic-like stem cells.
May 03, 2009 ... A team of UCSF researchers has for the first time used tiny molecules called microRNAs to help turn adult mouse cells back to their embryonic state. These reprogrammed cells are pluripotent, meaning that, like embryonic stem cells, they have the capacity to become any cell type in the ...
New studies examine elimination of hepatitis B and C.
May 03, 2009 ... Two new studies in the April issue of Hepatology explore the ways that hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) can be cleared from patients' bodies. Hepatology is a journal published by John Wiley & Sons on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases ...
Parents' sexuality influences adoption choices.(Clinical report)
May 03, 2009 ... A couple's sexual orientation determines whether or not they prefer to adopt a boy or a girl. Gay men are more likely to have a gender preference for their adopted child whereas heterosexual men are the least likely. What's more, couples in heterosexual relationships are more likely to ...
Homeopathic medicines: Can they help relieve side-effects of cancer therapy?
May 03, 2009 ... Drugs and radiotherapy given for cancer can cause unpleasant side effects such as nausea and vomiting, mouth sores, dermatitis, and menopausal symptoms. Around a third of patients with cancer use complementary therapies, including homeopathic medicines, to try to reduce these side effects ....
Screening to help prevent stroke in kids increases, but limited access a problem.
May 03, 2009 ... The number of children with a certain blood disorder undergoing an ultrasound to help prevent stroke is up significantly in the past 10 years since the publication of a major study showing its benefits. However, limited access to labs that perform this type of screening appears to be a ...
Biological FM signal maintains inflammation in cancer, asthma and other diseases.
May 03, 2009 ... A study published (10 April) in Science examines a key player in conditions such as cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, rheumatoid arthritis and asthma and has shown that cells use a sophisticated communication system to coordinate responses to infection and maintain inflammation in the ...
New therapeutic strategy could target toxic protein in most patients with Huntington's disease.
May 03, 2009 ... Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers have designed tiny RNA molecules that shut off the gene that causes Huntington's disease without damaging that gene's healthy counterpart, which maintains the health and vitality of neurons. Laboratory studies suggest that a single small ...
Healing heart attack victims, one cell at a time.
May 03, 2009 ... By using the amount of carbon 14 in the atmosphere from above-ground nuclear testing in the 1950s and 1960, researchers have determined that cells in the human heart develop into adulthood. But as humans age, the percentage of new heart cells decreases markedly. By age 25, ...
Exposure to valproate during pregnancy can impair a child's cognitive development.
May 03, 2009 ... Three-year-olds whose mothers took the antiepileptic drug valproate during pregnancy had average IQs six to nine points lower than children exposed to three other antiepileptic drugs, a landmark multi-center study has found. The study's authors say that women of childbearing age ...
Scientists discover way to jumpstart bone's healing process.
May 03, 2009 ... Rarely will physicians use the word "miraculous" when discussing patient recoveries. But that's the very phrase orthopaedic physicians and scientists are using in upstate New York to describe their emerging stem cell research that could have a profound impact on the treatment of bone ...
Etoricoxib provides long lasting pain relief after surgery.
May 03, 2009 ... Oral etoricoxib is at least as effective as other drugs commonly used for pain relief after surgery. A Cochrane Systematic Review has confirmed the effectiveness of the drug, which is sold under the brand name of Arcoxia. Developed as an alternative to conventional non-steroidal ...
Immigrant women may be at higher risk of having a baby with a birth defect.
May 03, 2009 ... Immigrant women are less likely to use folic acid supplements before pregnancy to prevent spina bifida, particularly those who recently immigrated to the country, according to a new study led by a St. Michael's Hospital physician in collaboration with Statistics Canada, Health Canada and ...
New drug shows promise in treating drug-resistant prostate cancer.
May 03, 2009 ... A new therapy for metastatic prostate cancer has shown considerable promise in early clinical trials involving patients whose disease has become resistant to current drugs. Chemists and biologists at UCLA and colleagues at several other institutions, including Memorial ...
Beverage consumption a bigger factor in weight.
May 03, 2009 ... When it comes to weight loss, what you drink may be more important than what you eat, according to researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Researchers examined the relationship between beverage consumption among adults and weight change and found that weight ...
Ovarian cancer screening not catching early disease.
May 03, 2009 ... The only available screening tests for ovarian cancer fail to catch early signs of the disease and often result in unnecessary surgery, said researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Comprehensive Cancer Center. The new study looked at a screening regimen that ...
Do patients at risk for B-cell malignancy need antiviral treatment?
May 03, 2009 ... Some studies have shown that a relationship of hepatitis C (HCV) infection with type II mixed cryoglobulinemia exists. However the precise mechanism remains unclear. A research article to be published on April 7, 2009 in the World Journal of Gastroenterology addresses this ...
CSHL-led team identifies key decision-point at which cells with broken DNA repair themselves or die.
May 03, 2009 ... When cells undergo potentially catastrophic damage, for example as a result of exposure to ionizing radiation, they must make a decision: either to fix the damage or program themselves for death, a process called apoptosis. It's a stark decision that is as mysterious as it is ...
Technique measures heat transport in the Earth's crust.
May 03, 2009 ... Putting a new spin on an old technique, Anne M. Hofmeister, Ph.D., research professor of earth and planetary sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, has revolutionized scientists' understanding of heat transport in the Earth's crust, the outermost solid shell of our planet. ...
Fatty liver disease: the next big thing.(Report)
May 03, 2009 ... Poor aerobic fitness is strongly associated with obesity and its consequent risks of heart disease, strokes and diabetes - now considered worldwide epidemics. But the underlying link has long puzzled scientists. New research in The Journal of Physiology connects low aerobic capacity to ...
New way to analyze sleep disorders.
May 03, 2009 ... Sleep is such an essential part of human existence that we spend about a third of our lives doing it -- some more successfully than others. Sleep disorders afflict some 50-70 million people in the United States and are a major cause of disease and injury. People who suffer from disturbed ...
Study finds multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacteria high in long-term care.
May 03, 2009 ... The prevalence of a certain form of drug-resistant bacteria, called multidrug-resistant gram-negative (MDRGN) organisms, far surpassed that of two other common antimicrobial-resistant infections in long-term care facilities, according to a study conducted by researchers at Hebrew ...
Scripps scientists uncover mimicry at the molecular level that protects genome integrity.
May 03, 2009 ... The new study, which was published on April 12, 2009, in an advanced online edition of the journal Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, draws new parallels between the Rad60 DNA repair factor and SUMO, a small ubiquitin-like modifier, which are both essential for maintaining genome ...
A healthy color.
May 03, 2009 ... About 80 percent of adults suffer from some form of periodontal, or gum disease, which can result in not just tooth loss, but has also been linked to heart disease, diabetes, blood infection, low birth-weight babies, cancer and most recently, obesity. Screening for the disease ...
Towards a natural pacemaker.
May 03, 2009 ... Artificial heart pacemakers have saved and extended the lives of thousands of people, but they have their shortcomings - such as a fixed pulse rate and a limited life. Could a permanent biological solution be possible? Richard Robinson and colleagues at New York's Columbia and ...
Therapeutic effect of imatinib improved with addition of chloroquine.
May 03, 2009 ... The therapeutic effects of the blockbuster leukemia drug imatinib may be enhanced when given along with a drug that inhibits a cell process called autophagy, researchers from the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson reported in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. The cell-death ...
A 'bionic nose' that knows.
May 03, 2009 ... Both cancer cells and the chemicals used to make bombs can foil detection because they appear in trace amounts too small for conventional detection techniques. Tel Aviv University has developed the ultimate solution: a molecule that can magnify weak traces of "hidden" molecules into ...
Many clinicians unaware of federally funded research on alternative therapies.
May 03, 2009 ... Approximately one in four practicing clinicians appear to be aware of two major federally funded clinical trials of alternative therapies, and many do not express confidence in their ability to interpret research results, according to a report in the April 13 issue of Archives of Internal ...
Marijuana smoking increases risk of COPD for tobacco smokers.
May 03, 2009 ... Smoking both tobacco and marijuana increases the risk of respiratory symptoms and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), found a study in CMAJ http://www.cmaj.ca/press/pg814.pdf. Smoking only marijuana, however, was not associated with increased risks. The study, which ...
UCI researchers find new way to fight cocaine addiction.
May 03, 2009 ... UC Irvine pharmacological researchers have discovered that blocking a hormone related to hunger regulation can limit cocaine cravings. Their findings could herald a new approach to overcoming addiction. Led by Shinjae Chung and Olivier Civelli, the study identified how the ...
Why do blacks with advanced kidney disease live longer than whites?
May 03, 2009 ... Blacks in the United States are more likely to require dialysis and develop end stage renal disease (ESRD) than whites, but they also live longer than whites once they reach later stages of kidney disease. A study of this phenomenon will appear in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal ...
Increased symptoms lead mentally disordered to become victims of violence.
May 03, 2009 ... Contrary to common stereotypes, individuals with major mental disorders are more likely to become victims of violent crimes when they are experiencing an increase in symptoms than they are to commit crime, according to a new study by Brent Teasdale, an assistant professor of criminal ...
DECIPHERing human disease.
May 03, 2009 ... Today - five years after the inception of the DECIPHER database - researchers have published a report that reveals the developing role of the database in revolutionising both clinical practice and genetic research. The report explores the growing benefits of DECIPHER for ...
Study reveals we seek new targets during visual search, not during other visual behaviors.
May 03, 2009 ... When we look at a scene in front of us, we need to focus on the important items and be able to ignore distracting elements. Studies have suggested that inhibition of return (in which our attention is less likely to return to objects we've already viewed) helps make visual search more ...
New therapies expected to help reduce future visual burden of age-related eye disease.
May 03, 2009 ... The prevalence of the eye disease age-related macular degeneration is projected to increase substantially by 2050, but the use of new therapies is expected to help mitigate its effects on vision, according to results of simulation modeling reported in the April issue of Archives of ...
Treating sleep disorders in people with traumatic brain injury may not eliminate symptoms.
May 03, 2009 ... A study in the April 15 issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine is the first to assess the effectiveness of treating sleep disorders in adults with a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Results indicate that treatment may result in the objective resolution of the sleep disorder without ...
Study: Health undervalued in reproductive rights debate.
May 03, 2009 ... Women's health is increasingly undervalued in conflicts over reproductive rights, including clashes based on moral objections under so-called conscience clauses, a new study by a University of Illinois legal expert found. Beth Burkstrand-Reid says a review of recent reproductive ...
Tropical forest seed banks: a blast from the past.
May 03, 2009 ... Seeds of some tree species in the Panamanian tropical forest can survive for more than 30 years before germinating. That is 10 times longer than most field botanists had believed. Using the Lab's Center for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry to measure the amount of carbon ...
Tweet this: Rapid-fire media may confuse your moral compass.
May 03, 2009 ... Emotions linked to our moral sense awaken slowly in the mind, according to a new study from a neuroscience group led by corresponding author Antonio Damasio, director of the Brain and Creativity Institute at the University of Southern California. The finding, contained in one of ...
Medication may improve portal hypertension.
May 03, 2009 ... In a new study, a therapeutic agent called sorafenib dramatically improved the condition of rats with portal hypertension. The drug is already approved in several countries for treatment of kidney and liver cancer, and it may be time to consider it for patients suffering from advanced ...
Treating HIV earlier to decrease the risk of death.(Report)
May 03, 2009 ... This release is available in French. Montreal, April 14 2009 - Begin treatment as early as possible: this general common sense rule seems to apply to most diseases except HIV-AIDS, which is only treated once a certain number of immune cells called "CD4+" cells have disappeared ....
Screening patients with diabetes for CAD does not significantly reduce risk of cardiac events.
May 03, 2009 ... Screening for coronary artery disease in patients with type 2 diabetes did not result in a significant reduction in the rate of heart attacks or cardiac death compared to patients who were not screened, according to a study in the April 15 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on diabetes. ...
Use of pancreatic islets show promise in diabetes research, treatments.
May 03, 2009 ... The use of pancreatic islets (hormone-producing cells) is increasing in diabetes research and may play an important role in future treatments, according to an article in the April 15 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on diabetes. John S. Kaddis, B.S., of the City of Hope National ...
Oral rehydration solution for diarrhea: More research needed on new formulations.
May 03, 2009 ... Newer polymer-based formulations of oral rehydration solution given to treat diarrhoea may offer some benefits over older sugar-salt formulations. But, say Cochrane researchers who carried out a review of the available evidence, more research is required to establish the best treatment ...
Obtaining biogas from food industry waste.
May 03, 2009 ... The AZTI-Tecnalia technological centre, experts in food research, have put a biogas plant into operation in order to investigate novel systems of sustainable energy production based on the use of waste and sub-products from the food industry. This new plant exploits the enormous potential ...
Melatonin is an effective treatment for sleep problems in children with autism.
May 03, 2009 ... A study in the April 15 issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine determined that over-the-counter melatonin medication can shorted the length of time it takes for children with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD), Fragile X Syndrome (FXS), or both to fall asleep at the beginning of the ...
Scientists discover genetic variant tied to increased stroke risk.
May 03, 2009 ... Millions of people have a genetic variant linked to increased risk of ischemic stroke, reports an international research team including scientists at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston in a study published online by The New England Journal of Medicine on April 15. ...
Survey research shows many Americans are aware of importance of voice care.
May 03, 2009 ... According to a recent survey by the American Academy of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS), the association representing America's ear, nose, and throat (ENT) doctors, many Americans believe that "keeping their voice healthy" is the biggest obstacle a singer on American Idol ...
Early administration of antiretroviral therapy can improve survival.(Report)
May 03, 2009 ... This release is available in Spanish. The first antiretroviral treatments appeared in 1996. Since then, new and better drugs have been discovered that have almost turned AIDS into a chronic disease. Nevertheless, there is still room to improve the performance of the the ...