Month: June 2018

Medicine, Health Care The Link Between Handgrip Strength… Published: May 31, 2018.Released by American Geriatrics Society As we age, we may become weaker as our muscles tend to lose their mass and strength. This condition of losing muscle mass is called sarcopenia. Sarcopenia can lead to problems performing your daily activities, such as shopping, socializing, and taking care of yourself and your home. Having sarcopenia can lessen your quality of life–and your independence. A simple,

Medicine, Health Care Understanding Immune System Interplay to… Published: May 31, 2018.Released by Babraham Institute A rare opportunity to analyse both blood and tissue samples from human transplant recipients has allowed immunology researchers at the Babraham Institute to pinpoint how an immunosuppressive drug works to prevent the production of antibodies against the transplanted tissue. This understanding, gained through working together with transplant research immunologists in Oxford, may lead to improved ways of identifying transplant recipients

Medicine, Health Care Perception That Antibiotics Are Harmless… Published: May 31, 2018.Released by Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics Policy WASHINGTON — A new study of decision-making about the use of antibiotics in medicine has found that the mistaken belief that antibiotics are harmless is widespread, especially among patients. Clinicians and patients alike are influenced by the general notion of “why not take a risk” (“WNTAR”), a belief that there is potential benefit and very little

Medicine, Health Care Antifungal Drug Eliminates Sleeping Bowel… Published: May 31, 2018.Released by Cancer Research UK   An antifungal medication, commonly prescribed for toenail infections, could help eliminate dormant cells within bowel tumours, according to new research funded by Cancer Research UK and published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine today (Thursday). Researchers at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute have shown in laboratory studies in mice, that itraconazole effectively halts the growth and progression of

Medicine, Health Care Organoid Profiling Identifies Treatments for… Published: May 31, 2018.Released by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory   Cold Spring Harbor, NY — Patient-derived organoids, hollow spheres of cells cultured from tumors, can quickly and accurately predict how patients with pancreatic cancer respond to a variety of treatments, facilitating a precision-medicine approach to the deadly disease. That is the conclusion of an international team of researchers led by David Tuveson, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) Professor

Medicine, Health Care For Patients with Prostate Cancer,… Published: May 31, 2018.Released by Elsevier   New York, May 31, 2018 – A new study published in the Journal of Urology® reports that men with prostate cancer who had worse urinary, bowel, and sexual function after surgery or radiotherapy than others experienced more emotional distress. Interestingly, the reverse was also true as experiencing more distress led to worse function. The likelihood of this reciprocal relationship highlights the

Medicine, Health Care ‘Why Not Take a Risk’… Published: May 31, 2018.Released by George Washington University   WASHINGTON (May 31, 2018)–“Antibiotics can’t hurt. They might even make me feel better. Why not take a risk?” You may have had similar thoughts when sick with the flu or common cold. Your doctor may think so too. A new study led by David Broniatowski, an assistant professor in the George Washington University’s department of engineering management and systems

Medicine, Health Care Study Estimates Increased Death Rate… Published: May 31, 2018.Released by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Boston, MA – The mortality rate in Puerto Rico rose by 62% [95% confidence interval (CI) 11% to 114%] after Hurricane Maria, according to a new study led by researchers from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The study was conducted in January and February 2018, in collaboration with colleagues from Carlos Albizu University

Medicine, Health Care Infection Rates After Colonoscopy, Endoscopy… Published: May 31, 2018.Released by Johns Hopkins Medicine The rates of infection following colonoscopies and upper-GI endoscopies performed at U.S. outpatient specialty centers are far higher than previously believed, according to a Johns Hopkins study published online this month in the journal Gut. Johns Hopkins researcher Susan Hutfless led a team that plumbed medical data from the year 2014 and determined that patients who underwent one of

Medicine, Health Care Handgun Purchaser Licensing Laws Linked… Published: May 31, 2018.Released by Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health   State laws that require gun purchasers to obtain a license contingent on passing a background check performed by state or local law enforcement are associated with a 14 percent reduction in firearm homicides in large, urban counties, a new study from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found. Studies have shown that

Medicine, Health Care Inefficient Fat Metabolism a Possible… Published: May 31, 2018.Released by Karolinska Institutet Protracted weight gain can, in some cases, be attributed to a reduced ability to metabolise fat, a new study from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden published in the esteemed journal Cell Metabolism shows. Sensitive individuals might need more intensive lifestyle changes if they are to avoid becoming overweight and developing type 2 diabetes, claim the researchers, who are now developing means

Medicine, Health Care Lipid Molecules Can Be Used… Published: May 31, 2018.Released by Karolinska Institutet   Cancer cells can when the blood supply is low use lipid molecules as fuel instead of blood glucose. This has been shown in animal tumour models by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden in a study published in Cell Metabolism. The mechanism may help explain why tumours often develop resistance to cancer drugs that inhibit the formation of blood vessels.

Medicine, Health Care Next-generation Sequencing Sheds Light on… Published: May 31, 2018.Released by Kobe University Rotavirus A causes acute diarrhea in young children, and infects both animals and humans worldwide. A Japanese research group has found that the acute gastroenteritis infecting children in Indonesia between 2015 and 2016 was caused by dominant strains of equine-like G3 rotavirus, genetically different from human strains of the virus. The findings could shed light on how the virus traveled

Medicine, Health Care Atherosclerosis: Stopped on Time … Published: May 31, 2018.Released by Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München   The internal clock controls all vital functions in the body. Body temperature as well as blood pressure or the release of certain enzymes are subject to oscillations throughout the day, the so-called circadian rhythm. For the first time, a team around Professor Oliver Söhnlein has now shown the influence of circadian rhythms on atherosclerosis – a vascular disease that ultimately

Medicine, Health Care New Guidelines Recommend Earlier Colorectal… Published: May 31, 2018.Released by Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center New guidelines developed by the American Cancer Society (ACS) recommend that screening for colorectal cancer for average-risk adults begin at age 45, five years earlier than the previous recommendation. The guideline update, published as an Early View paper in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians available online here, was co-authored by Elizabeth T. H. Fontham, DrPH,

Medicine, Health Care News Flash About Hot Flashes:… Published: May 31, 2018.Released by Mayo Clinic   SCOTTSDALE, Ariz – Menopause symptoms are not just for midlife anymore, according to a new Mayo Clinic study published this month in the Journal of the North American Menopause Society. The study, conducted by researchers at Mayo Clinic gathered data from nearly 5,000 women. When asked whether they experienced any symptoms commonly associated with menopause, such as hot flashes and

Medicine, Health Care Screening Resident Physicians Entering Training… Published: May 31, 2018.Released by Massachusetts General Hospital Screening resident physicians entering their first year of training to identify those with pre-existing sleep problems does not appear to provide useful data regarding risks of developing sleep impairment during subsequent months. In their study appearing in the June issue of the Journal of General Internal Medicine, a Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) research team describes finding that even those

Medicine, Health Care Neuroscientists Discover Roles of Gene… Published: May 31, 2018.Released by Massachusetts Institute of Technology   CAMBRIDGE, MA – People with a gene variant called APOE4 have a higher risk of developing late-onset Alzheimer’s disease: APOE4 is three times more common among Alzheimer’s patients than it is among the general population. However, little is known about why this version of the APOE gene, which is normally involved in metabolism and transport of fatty molecules

Medicine, Health Care The Secret to Longevity Is… Published: May 31, 2018.Released by McGill University   You are what you eat. Or so the saying goes. Science now tells us that we are what the bacteria living in our intestinal tract eat and this could have an influence on how well we age. Building on this, McGill University scientists fed fruit flies with a combination of probiotics and an herbal supplement called Triphala that was able

Medicine, Health Care More Important for Heart Patients… Published: May 31, 2018.Released by Norwegian University of Science and Technology Increased physical activity, not weight loss, gives individuals with coronary heart disease a longer lease on life, according to a new study conducted at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). NTNU researchers have found that heart disease patients can gain weight without jeopardizing their health, but sitting in their recliner incurs significant health risks.

Medicine, Health Care The Genome Guardian Turns to… Published: May 31, 2018.Released by Publicase Comunicação Científica   It has long been known that abnormal changes in the p53 protein are associated with many cancers. In fact, the gene that codes the p53 protein is the one most frequently mutated in human cancers. The protein, known as the guardian of the genome, has the main role of suppressing tumor formation and in so doing it blocks cancer

Medicine, Health Care SF State Study Finds US… Published: May 31, 2018.Released by San Francisco State University Our national forests and grasslands — 193 million acres throughout the United States — are a national treasure intended for use by everyone. But a new study by San Francisco State University Professor of Recreation, Parks Tourism Nina Roberts and the U.S. Forest Service finds that many ethnic minorities are not using or enjoying these places. The researchers

Medicine, Health Care Symptoms Worsen Around Menses for… Published: May 31, 2018.Released by University of Illinois at Chicago Symptoms associated with borderline personality disorder — a severe and chronic mood disorder characterized by an inability to manage strong emotions — tend to worsen just before and during menses, according to a study in Psychological Medicine. Borderline personality disorder is a mental illness marked by an ongoing pattern of varying moods, self-image and behavior, according to

Medicine, Health Care Gut-inhabiting Enterobacter Increases Subcutaneous Fat… Published: May 31, 2018.Released by University of Jyväskylä – Jyväskylän yliopisto A research project performed at the universities of Jyväskylä and Turku studied the effects of a specific gut enterobacterium on body fat mass. The researchers administered either live enterobacterium or a saline solution to mice intragastrically over a 12-week period. The mice that received the enterobacterium had significantly higher subcutaneous fat mass than the mice that

Medicine, Health Care Beyond BRCA: Links Between Breast,… Published: May 31, 2018.Released by University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine   PHILADELPHIA – Rates of inherited mutations in genes other than BRCA1/2 are twice as high in breast cancer patients who have had a second primary cancer – including, in some cases, different types of breast cancer – compared to patients who have only had a single breast cancer. But the rates of these mutations were still