Fw: ScienceDaily Health Headlines -- for Wednesday, March 4, 2009

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ScienceDaily Health Headlines -- for Wednesday, March 4, 2009

ScienceDaily Health Headlines

for Wednesday, March 4, 2009

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Wave Of Brain Activity Linked To Anticipation Captured (March 4, 2009) -- Neuroscientists have, for the first time, shown what brain activity looks like when someone anticipates an action or sensory input which soon follows. They say this neural clairvoyance involves strong activity in areas of the brain responsible for preparing the body to move. ... > full story

Gene Involved In Pancreatic Cancer Identified (March 4, 2009) -- Researchers have identified a gene that is overexpressed in 90 percent of pancreatic cancers, the most deadly type of cancer. ... > full story

Broccoli May Help Protect Against Respiratory Conditions Like Asthma (March 4, 2009) -- A naturally occurring compound found in broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables may help protect against respiratory inflammation that causes conditions like asthma, allergic rhinitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. ... > full story

Gallbladder Removal Through Vagina Offers Minimally Invasive Alternative (March 4, 2009) -- Physicians have successfully removed a patient's gallbladder through the vagina. The technique, known as NOTES—natural orifice translumenal endoscopic surgery—is gaining in popularity and has been characterized by many in the medical profession as laying the groundwork for truly “incisionless” surgery. ... > full story

Patients Seeking Health News On Internet More Likely To Receive Latest Treatments (March 4, 2009) -- A new analysis finds that when colorectal cancer patients seek out health information from the Internet and news media, they are more likely to be aware of and receive the latest treatments for their disease. Patients who sought information about treatments for colorectal cancer were 2.83 times more likely to have heard about targeted therapies and 3.22 times more likely to have received targeted therapies than people who did not seek information. ... > full story

Statins Lower Stroke Severity, Improve Recovery (March 4, 2009) -- Researchers have shown that patients who were taking statins before a stroke experienced better outcomes and recovery than patients who weren't on the drug -- even when their cholesterol levels were ideal. ... > full story

New And Unexpected Mechanism Identified How The Brain Responds To Stress (March 4, 2009) -- Using a rat model, scientists have discovered that neurons in the hypothalamus, the brain's command center for stress responses, interpret "off" chemical signals as "on" chemical signals when stress is perceived. ... > full story

Prenatal Molecular Diagnosis For Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (March 4, 2009) -- Geneticists have reported the world's first series of cases of prenatal diagnosis for women at risk of having a child with tuberous sclerosis complex. Earlier, the team published the first molecular prenatal diagnosis of TSC. The current study details the sequencing of the TSC genes analyzed in 50 completed pregnancies. ... > full story

Program Effective In Educating Parents About Prevention Of Shaken Baby Syndrome (March 4, 2009) -- New studies in the United States and Canada show that educational materials aimed at preventing shaken baby syndrome increased knowledge of new mothers about infant crying, the most common trigger for people abusing babies by shaking them. ... > full story

Evidence Appears To Show How And Where Brain's Frontal Lobe Works (March 3, 2009) -- An expert in cognitive and linguistic sciences has mapped parts of the brain that control abstract or concrete decision making by studying stroke patients. ... > full story

Mechanisms That Prevent Alzheimer's Disease: Enzymatic Activity Plays Key Role (March 3, 2009) -- Scientists have succeeded in gaining further insight in the functioning of endogenous mechanisms that protect against the development of Alzheimer's disease. It was found that the activity of the enzyme & alpha;-secretase is mainly responsible for the protective effect. ... > full story

Women Less Likely To Have A Stroke After Mini-stroke (March 3, 2009) -- A new study shows 30 days after a transient ischemic attack, women are 30 percent less likely to have a stroke than men. The analysis, including hospitalization records for more than 122,000 patients aged 65 and older, could help improve prevention and heart-related care for both men and women. ... > full story

Childhood Sleep Problems Persisting Through Adolescence May Affect Cognitive Abilities (March 3, 2009) -- The rate of change in sleep problems through childhood, rather than the initial level of sleep problems, may affect cognitive abilities in late adolescence. ... > full story

Engineered Viruses Combat Antibiotic Resistance (March 3, 2009) -- A new approach to fighting bacterial infections could help prevent bacteria from developing antibiotic resistance and help kill those that have already become resistant. ... > full story

Gene Variant Associated With Cocaine Dependence, Cocaine-Induced Paranoia (March 3, 2009) -- Researchers have discovered that variants in the a-endomannosidase gene are associated with cocaine addiction and cocaine-induced paranoia in European American and African American populations. ... > full story

Houseplant Pest Gives Clue To Potential New Anthrax Treatment (March 3, 2009) -- Researchers in England have found how a citric acid-based Achilles heel used by a pathogen that attacks the popular African Violet house plant could be exploited not just to save African Violets but also to provide a potentially effective treatment for anthrax. ... > full story

Optical Techniques Show Continued Promise In Detecting Pancreatic Cancer (March 3, 2009) -- Optical technology has been shown to be effective in detecting the presence of pancreatic cancer through analysis of neighboring tissue in the duodenum. The promising new technology uses novel light-scattering techniques to analyze extremely subtle changes in the duodenum's cells. Cells that appear normal using traditional microscopy techniques do show signs of abnormality when examined using the new technique, which provides cell analysis on the much smaller nanoscale. ... > full story

Sex Is In The Brain, Whether It Be Lack Of Sexual Interest Or Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (March 3, 2009) -- More than 40 percent of women ages 18-59 experience sexual dysfunction, with lack of sexual interest -- hypoactive sexual desire disorder, or HSDD -- being the most commonly reported complaint, according to medical researchers. While some question the validity of this diagnosis, a multidisciplinary team from the Stanford University School of Medicine is devoted to objective investigation of such problems. ... > full story

Skin Moles May Indicate Higher Eye Melanoma Risk (March 3, 2009) -- It is well known that people with light skin and numerous moles and freckles -- which develop when skin is over-exposed to UV light -- are at higher risk for skin cancer (cutaneous melanoma). But the evidence was less clear on whether moles and freckles also indicate a higher risk of uveal melanoma, cancer of the eye's iris, ciliary body, or choroid. ... > full story

Vitamin B And Folic Acid May Reduce Risk Of Age-related Vision Loss (March 3, 2009) -- Taking a combination of vitamins B6 and B12 and folic acid appears to decrease the risk of age-related macular degeneration in women, according to a new report. ... > full story

Impulsivity In Kindergarten May Predict Gambling Behavior In Sixth Grade (March 3, 2009) -- Children whose teachers rated them as more impulsive in kindergarten appear more likely to begin gambling behaviors by the sixth grade, according to a new report. ... > full story

How Cellular Protein Detects Viruses And Sparks Immune Response (March 3, 2009) -- Scientists reveal how a cellular protein recognizes an invading virus and alerts the body to the infection. ... > full story

Novel Approach To Treating Rett Syndrome Under Development (March 3, 2009) -- A paper published online in Nature Neuroscience reveals the presence of methyl CpG binding protein 2 in glia. MeCP2 is a protein associated with a variety of neurological disorders, including Rett Syndrome, the most physically disabling of the autism spectrum disorders. The researchers show that MeCP2-deficient astrocytes, a subset of glia, stunt the growth of neighboring neurons. Remarkably, these neurons can recover when exposed to normal glia in culture. This research suggests a novel approach to treating Rett Syndrome. ... > full story

Having Parents With Bipolar Disorder Associated With Increased Risk Of Psychiatric Disorders (March 3, 2009) -- Children and teens of parents with bipolar disorder appear to have an increased risk of early-onset bipolar disorder, mood disorders and anxiety disorders, according to a new report. ... > full story

New Monkey Model For HIV Developed With Altered Human Virus (March 3, 2009) -- By altering just one gene in HIV-1, scientists have succeeded in infecting pig-tailed macaque monkeys with a human version of the virus that has until now been impossible to study directly in animals. ... > full story

Dentistry Of Future? Gene Responsible For Formation Of Enamel Discovered (March 3, 2009) -- Scientists have identified a gene responsible for the formation of enamel, which is the key component of the teeth. The experiments were accomplished in mice carrying a deletion of the transcription factor Tbx1, a gene that plays a principal role in several human malformations (heart, thymus, parathyroid, face, and teeth) associated to the Di syndrome. ... > full story

How Microscopic Changes To Brain Cause Schizophrenic Behavior In Mice (March 3, 2009) -- Disrupting the function of a key molecule in the brain leads to microscopic brain abnormalities and schizophrenia-like behavior in mice. These abnormalities are similar to those seen in the autopsied brains of people who diagnosed with schizophrenia in life, according to a scientists. ... > full story

New Safer Way Developed To Reprogram Stem Cells (March 3, 2009) -- Exciting recent developments in stem cell research have revealed how specialized cells, such as skin cells, can be reprogrammed into pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) that can form all the body's tissues. But the reprogramming techniques currently in use rely on potentially harmful viruses to deliver the reprogramming factors required for this change. Now stem cell scientists report a new and safer way to generate such stem cells. ... > full story

Health Campaigns That Promote Exercise May Cause People To Eat More (March 3, 2009) -- New research suggests that weight-loss campaigns that promote exercise may actually cause people to eat more. People who viewed posters suggesting that they "join a gym" or "take a walk" ate more food after looking at the posters than people who saw similarly designed posters prompting them to "make friends" or "be in a group," the researchers found. ... > full story

Naturally Produced Estrogen May Protect Women >From Parkinson's Disease (March 3, 2009) -- Women who have more years of fertility (the time from first menstruation to menopause) have a lower risk of developing Parkinson's disease than women with fewer years, according to a large, new study. ... > full story

Frequency Of T-cells Determines Severity Of Asthma, Study Finds (March 3, 2009) -- According to a new study, the frequency of regulatory T-cells (Treg) correlates to the severity of inflammation in allergic asthma, suggesting that Treg may play an important role in asthma pathogenesis. ... > full story

Physical Fitness Improves Spatial Memory, Increases Size Of Brain Structure (March 3, 2009) -- When it comes to the hippocampus, a brain structure vital to certain types of memory, size matters. Numerous studies have shown that bigger is usually better. Now researchers have found that elderly adults who are more physically fit tend to have bigger hippocampi and better spatial memory than those who are less fit. ... > full story

New Gene Associated With Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Identified (March 3, 2009) -- Researchers have identified a novel genetic cause of inherited amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the fourth gene associated with familial forms of the devastating neurological disorder. ... > full story

New Variants Of Diarrhea-causing Toxins Found In Seafood (March 3, 2009) -- Researchers have described new variants of diarrhea-causing toxins in mussels, oysters and crabs. These variants are assumed to be less virulent than the forms of diarrhea toxin we are already familiar with and were found in varying amounts in the different types of seafood examined. ... > full story

Muscular Dystrophy And Exercise-induced Muscle Fatigue Have More In Common Than You Might Think (March 3, 2009) -- Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), which is a severe disorder characterized by rapid progression of muscle weakness that ultimately leads to death, is caused by genetic mutations that result in the absence of the protein dystrophin. Loss of localization of the muscle-related molecule nNOS at the muscle cell membrane (which is known as the sarcolemma) is also observed in DMD and has been linked to muscle damage. What determines the localization of nNOS in muscle cells is not well understood. ... > full story

Public Schools Outperform Private Schools in Math Instruction (March 3, 2009) -- In another "Freakonomics"- style study that turns conventional wisdom about public- versus private-school education on its head, education professors have found that public-school students outperform their private-school classmates on standardized math tests, thanks to two key factors: Certified math teachers and a modern, reform-oriented math curriculum. ... > full story

Aching Back? Cholesterol Medication Might Help (March 3, 2009) -- A new study finds that using statins may be useful in treatment for degenerative disc. Back pain, a hallmark of degenerative disc disease, sends millions of people to their doctor. In fact, more than 80 percent of patients who undergo spine surgery do so because of disc degeneration. And part of the answer may be as close as a patient's medicine cabinet. ... > full story

New Prognostic Indicator For Patients With Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (March 3, 2009) -- There may be a new way to predict mortality in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a devastating disease that slowly petrifies the lungs. Most patients live only three years after diagnosis on average; however, some remain stable for many years, while for others, the disease progresses more rapidly. ... > full story

Addiction: Insights From Parkinson's Disease (March 3, 2009) -- A new comprehensive review provides vital insights into the neurological basis of addiction by investigating Parkinson's disease patients, who in some instances develop various addictions when undergoing medical treatment. The review illustrates that persistently elevated levels of dopamine in the brain promote the development and maintenance of addictive behaviors. ... > full story

Low Levels Of Vitamin B12 May Increase Risk For Neural Tube Defects (March 2, 2009) -- Children born to women who have low blood levels of vitamin B12 shortly before and after conception may have an increased risk of a neural tube defect, according to a new analysis. Vegans and vegetarians may be at risk. ... > full story

Causes Of Rheumatic Heart Disease Discovered (March 2, 2009) -- Scientists have discovered the causes of rheumatic heart disease. Each year, around 15 million children fall ill with rheumatic heart disease worldwide; half a million of them die as a consequence. At the beginning of the medical cases of these children stands a simple throat infection with streptococcus -- spherical bacteria responsible for causing a range of different infections. ... > full story

Exacerbations In COPD: One Thing Leads To Another (March 2, 2009) -- New research shows that individual exacerbations in chronic obstructive lung disease themselves increase the likelihood of repeat exacerbations, even after five days of full, asymptomatic recovery -- bad news for patients with COPD, where each exacerbation can drive the progression of the disease. ... > full story

One-third Of Americans Lose Sleep Over Economy (March 2, 2009) -- One-third of Americans are losing sleep over the state of the US economy and other personal financial concerns, according to a new poll. The poll suggests that inadequate sleep is associated with unhealthy lifestyles and negatively impacts health and safety. ... > full story

Scientists Debug Superbug, Clostridium Difficile (March 2, 2009) -- Scientists have uncovered the workings of Clostridium difficile, a superbug that kills elderly hospital patients worldwide -- a discovery that has the potential to save lives and health-care systems billions of dollars each year. ... > full story

Drug-resistant Influenza A Virus Potentially Serious To High-risk Patients (March 2, 2009) -- A mutation of the influenza A (H1N1) virus that is resistant to the drug oseltamivir may pose a serious health threat to hospitalized patients who have a weakened immune system, according to a new study. ... > full story

Dog Bites A Particular Threat To Young Children, Especially As Temperatures Rise (March 2, 2009) -- Young children are especially vulnerable to severe dog bites in the head and neck areas, and there is a correlation between cases of dog bites and rising temperatures, according to new research. ... > full story

Thyroid Surgery Performed Without Neck Incision, Scar (March 2, 2009) -- Surgeons have performed robotic-assisted minimally invasive surgery to remove the thyroid gland without an incision or scar on the patient's neck. ... > full story

TV Viewing Before The Age Of 2 Has No Cognitive Benefit, Study Finds (March 2, 2009) -- In the first longitudinal study of its kind, researchers show that TV viewing before the age of two does not improve a child's language and visual motor skills. The findings suggest that maternal, child and household characteristics are more influential in a child's brain development. ... > full story

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