Health News

Specific area of the brain linked to anxiety disorders in youth

Date: Nov-21-2013
Anxiety disorders are common in children and adolescents, affecting up to 25 percent of the youth population. Anxiety causes distress and functional impairment and, if left untreated, can result in bad grades, problems at home and increased rates of psychiatric disorders in adulthood.These risks constitute a significant public health burden, and they underscore the importance of continued efforts to understand the cause and course of the disorder.

Taking heart medications after discharge may not translate to avoiding readmission

Date: Nov-21-2013
A targeted effort to help high-risk heart failure patients stay on their medications did improve adherence to drug regimens, but had surprisingly little effect lowering hospital readmission rates, according to a study at Duke Medicine.The findings, presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions meeting in Dallas, suggest that medication management is just one of many issues facing patients most at risk for their conditions to worsen."We found that we could solve much of the problem around medication adherence, but that is not the whole issue," said Bradi B.

First rigorous comparison of two surgical approaches for severe heart valve disease

Date: Nov-21-2013
New research presented today at the 2013 Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania found no difference in outcomes at one-year between two recommended surgical options for treating ischemic mitral regurgitation (IMR) - repair of the leaky valve or its replacement with an artificial valve.

Immune system mutations found in breast cancers

Date: Nov-21-2013
Mutations in the genes that defend the body against cancer-related viruses and other infections may play a larger role in breast cancer than previously thought, according to a study at the University of Illinois at Chicago.Bernard Friedenson, associate professor of biochemistry and molecular genetics at UIC, looked at the DNA sequences of breast cancers from 21 different women and found mutations in genes involved in immunity in every one of them.

Using Twitter to track the spread of influenza

Date: Nov-21-2013
A social media - monitoring program led by San Diego State University geography professor Ming-Hsiang Tsou could help physicians and health officials learn when and where severe outbreaks are occurring in real time. In results published last month in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, Tsou demonstrated that his technique might allow officials to more quickly and efficiently direct resources to outbreak zones and better contain the spread of the disease.

Improving mental health in developing countries with the help of non-specialist health workers

Date: Nov-21-2013
Non-specialist health workers are beneficial in providing treatment for people with mental, neurological and substance-abuse (MNS) problems in developing countries - where there is often a lack of mental health professionals - according to a new Cochrane review.Researchers, led by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, say non-specialist health workers (such as doctors, nurses or lay health workers) not formally trained in mental health or neurology, and other professionals with health roles, such as teachers, may have an important role to play in delivering MNS health care.

Deep-space radiation hazards documented and quantified

Date: Nov-21-2013
Scientists from the University of New Hampshire and colleagues have published comprehensive findings on space-based radiation as measured by a UNH-led detector aboard NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). The data provide critical information on the radiation hazards that will be faced by astronauts on extended missions to deep space such as those to Mars.The papers in a special issue of the journal Space Weather document and quantify measurements made since 2009 by the Cosmic Ray Telescope for the Effects of Radiation (CRaTER) radiation detector.

Spironolactone reduces heart failure hospitalizations, but not mortality

Date: Nov-21-2013
A late-breaking clinical trial, known as the Treatment of Preserved Cardiac Function Heart Failure with an Aldosterone Antagonist (TOPCAT) trial, presented at the American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Sessions, demonstrates that spironolactone did not reduce the primary outcome of cardiovascular death, heart failure hospitalization, nor surviving a cardiac arrest in patients with heart failure and preserved ejection fraction (pump function). However, spironolactone did reduce the major burden faced by these patients-the risk of repeated hospitalizations for heart failure.

Heart repair dramatically improved after heart attack

Date: Nov-21-2013
Researchers from the Baylor College of Medicine and the Texas Heart Institute have discovered a new way to dramatically improve heart repair. The future goal is to use this knowledge to combat human cardiovascular disease by improving repair after a heart attack. The research has just been published in the scientific journal Development.Professor James Martin led the team who uncovered the signaling pathway, called the Hippo pathway, that normally blocks heart repair in adult mice following injury. When the researchers removed certain signals, the hearts were able to regenerate.

Complete blood count risk score helps doctors predict life expectancy

Date: Nov-21-2013
For years, doctors have been divided on how effective annual testing and screenings are for apparently healthy individuals. New research, however, shows that a simple blood test may predict who is at highest risk to develop heart problems - and how long these people may have to live.