Health News

The eyes are the window to...the pancreas?

Date: Nov-20-2013
A part of the pancreas that produces and secretes insulin - and is therefore essential for maintaining normal blood sugar levels or responsible for diabetes - is largely inaccessible. But now, researchers have found a way to study the insulin-producing cells: by transferring them to the eye.Researchers from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden say this technique enables the eye to serve as a sort of window into health reports from the pancreas. Their findings, which could have a major impact on diabetes research, are published in the journal PNAS.

Low-fat diet, omega-3 linked to reduced prostate cancer aggression

Date: Nov-20-2013
A follow-up study reveals that men suffering from prostate cancer who took fish oil supplements alongside a low-fat diet demonstrated changes in their cancer tissue that may indicate reduced cancer aggression. This is according to research published in the journal Cancer Prevention Research.Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among American men. According to the American Cancer Society, around 238,590 new cases of the cancer will be diagnosed in the US this year, highlighting the need for new interventions that may reduce prevalence and progression of the disease.

'Sensational' barrels in the brain

Date: Nov-20-2013
A new study from scientists at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai, gives an insight into how the circuitry for high resolution signal processing is wired in the brain.Our sensory system has the ability to discriminate signals coming in from various sensory modalities such as visual, auditory, or somatosensory (touch) pathways at a very high resolution. This ability is directly linked to two parameters: One, the amount of cerebral cortex that processes the incoming information- e.g.

More still to be done to improve the challenge of antimicrobial resistance in China

Date: Nov-19-2013
A campaign by the Chinese Government to reduce the serious public health challenge of antimicrobial resistance* has been largely successful but important obstacles remain if China is to reduce the high death rates and ill-health caused by multidrug-resistant organisms, according to Chinese experts writing in PLOS Medicine. Yonghong Xiao and colleagues from Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China, explain that in China, the main cause of antimicrobial resistance is the irrational use of antimicrobial drugs, in healthcare and veterinary settings and also by the general public.

Guidelines for AIDS treatment may not improve child death rates

Date: Nov-19-2013
Recent changes to World Health Organization guidelines for starting anti-AIDS drugs (antiretroviral therapy - ART) in young children are unlikely to improve death rates but may increase the numbers of children receiving ART by simplifying access to treatment, according to a study by international researchers published in PLOS Medicine.

How basic scientists help the pharmaceutical industry market drugs

Date: Nov-19-2013
In a new perspective, published today (19 November) in the open access journal PLOS Biology, Adriane Fugh-Berman MD charges that basic science, not just clinical trials, is plagued by financial conflicts of interest. Fugh-Berman identifies evidence showing that industry-funded studies on animals and cell cultures can be as biased as industry-funded clinical trials, and can distort data on medical treatments.

Smoking increases risk of death for nasopharyngeal carcinoma survivors

Date: Nov-19-2013
Survivors of nasopharyngeal carcinoma who are former or current smokers are more likely to have their disease progress, relapse, orspread, and are more likely to die of their disease, compared with survivors of nasopharyngeal carcinoma who have never smoked, according to a study published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Mouse study: promiscuous moms have more alluring sons

Date: Nov-19-2013
In the world of mice, male attractiveness does not rely on the amount of cheddar owned or the ability to quote Shakespeare on cue. It all comes down to pheromones in urine, and a recent study suggests that sons of promiscuous mice moms make more urinary pheromones, smelling "sexier" to potential mates.Researchers say that though this is an advantage reproduction-wise, it may not be a desirable feature; the sexy smelling males have shorter lives.A team from the University of Utah, led by senior author Prof.

Consistent sleep patterns tied to healthier weight

Date: Nov-19-2013
A new study published online recently in the American Journal of Health Promotion suggests that keeping to a consistent sleep routine may help people maintain a healthier weight.Bruce Bailey, a professor in exercise science at Brigham Young University in Provo, UT, and colleagues found that women who woke at the same time and went to sleep at the same every day had lower body fat.Prof.

Scientists create 'mini-kidneys' from human stem cells

Date: Nov-19-2013
The US National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive Kidney Disease states that more than 20 million adults in the US have some form of chronic kidney disease, showing the need for better knowledge and treatment of the condition. Now, scientists have created miniature 3D kidney structures from human stem cells with the aim of providing just that.Investigators from the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in California say the mini-kidney structures could open new avenues for studying the development of kidney disease and lead to the creation of new drugs that target the condition.