Health News

Personalized therapy using antitumor T cells from a patient's own cancer

Date: Nov-15-2013
Patients with tumors that contain increased numbers of T lymphocytes generally survive longer than those with tumors without T-cell involvement, suggesting that T cells with potent antitumor function naturally exist in cancer and control tumor progression. With the exception of melanoma, it has been difficult to identify and isolate the tumor-reactive T cells from common cancers, however, the ability to do so could be used to fight a patient's own cancer.

Link between a society's sociality and the sophistication of its technology

Date: Nov-15-2013
The secret to why some cultures thrive and others disappear may lie in our social networks and our ability to imitate, rather than our individual smarts, according to a new University of British Columbia study.The study, published by the Proceedings of the Royal Academy: Biological Sciences, shows that when people can observe and learn from a wider range of teachers, groups can better maintain technical skills and even increase the group's average skill over successive generations.

The eyes may help diagnose Alzheimer's disease

Date: Nov-15-2013
An international team of researchers studying the link between vision loss and Alzheimer's disease report that the loss of a particular layer of retinal cells not previously investigated may reveal the disease's presence and provide a new way to track disease progression.The researchers, from Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) and the University of Hong Kong, examined retinas from the eyes of mice genetically engineered to develop Alzheimer's disease (AD). They presented their findings today at Neuroscience 2013, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience.

Study: federal nutrition program fails to improve dietary quality

Date: Nov-15-2013
The largest US federal nutrition program, called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program - or SNAP - does not do enough to provide recipients with food security or the nutritional content that they need. This is according to a study published in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior.The researchers, from Harvard School of Public Health, note that as of 2011, prevalence of food insecurity in the US was 14.9%.

In lab tests researchers find compound that stymies polyomaviruses

Date: Nov-15-2013
A team of scientists reports that a small molecule compound showed significant success in controlling the infectivity and spread of three polyomaviruses in human cell cultures. To date there has been no medicine approved to treat such viruses, which prey on transplant recipients, people with HIV, and others whose immune systems have been weakened.The compound, known by the abbreviated name "Retro-2," was able to protect the vast majority of cells in cultures when it was administered even after infection began.

Gymnasts at high risk of exposure to flame retardants

Date: Nov-15-2013
Competitive gymnasts have a higher exposure to potentially harmful flame-retardants than the general population, likely because such contaminants are present in foam used in gym equipment, a study led by Boston University School of Public Health researchers has found.The study, published online in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, found that the average concentration of a flame-retardant known as PentaBDE in gymnasts' blood sera was 4 to 6.5 times higher than in general U.S. population groups.

Engineered protein combining those active in HIV and Moloney murine leukaemia virus opens door for safer gene therapy‬

Date: Nov-15-2013
Gene therapy involves inserting healthy genetic material into a diseased cell. Using a carrier derived from a retrovirus, the genetic material is smuggled into a human cell where, once inside, it integrates itself into the cell's DNA. But gene therapy is not without risks. If integrated too near a carcinogenic gene, the newly introduced genetic material can also induce disease-causing mutations.In gene therapy, the delivery vehicle is not the retrovirus itself, but a viral vector: a derivative form of the retrovirus that retains its proteins but not its DNA.

Nostalgia increases optimism

Date: Nov-15-2013
New research from the University of Southampton shows that feeling nostalgic about the past will increase optimism about the future.The research, published in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, examined the idea that nostalgia is not simply a past-orientated emotion but its scope extends into the future, with a positive outlook.Dr Tim Wildschut, co-author of the study, comments: "Nostalgia is experienced frequently and virtually by everyone and we know that it can maintain psychological comfort. For example, nostalgic reverie can combat loneliness.

'No link' between AMD and Alzheimer's, study suggests

Date: Nov-15-2013
A new study published in the journal JAMA Ophthalmology suggests there is no association between age-related macular degeneration and dementia or Alzheimer's disease, opposing previous research that has indicated otherwise. Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and Alzheimer's disease are both conditions that commonly develop alongside increasing age.

Mechanisms identified that impairs insulin production in diabetes

Date: Nov-15-2013
Scientists from the New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) Research Institute and Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) have used stem cells created from the skin of patients with a rare form of diabetes - Wolfram syndrome - to elucidate an important biochemical pathway for beta-cell failure in diabetes. The findings by Linshan Shang and colleagues were published in Diabetes.Scientists from NYSCF produced induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells from skin samples from individuals with a rare form of diabetes, Wolfram syndrome.