Health News

Low estrogen 'improves efficacy' of PARP inhibitors on womb cancer

Date: Nov-13-2013
Researchers have discovered that low hormone levels may make endometrial cancer tumors more sensitive to a class of medication called PARP inhibitors - drugs that induce cancer cell death. This is according to a study published in the journal Molecular Cancer Therapeutics. Endometrial cancer, also known as womb cancer, forms in the tissue lining of the uterus. According to the National Cancer Institute, 49,560 new cases of womb cancer are expected in the US this year, including 8,190 deaths from the disease...

Certain fears processed by different neuron groups

Date: Nov-13-2013
In a mouse study conducted by researchers from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, it was found that certain fears - physical pain, aggressive members of the same species and predators - activate different brain circuits, even though the mice reacted to the different threats identically. Results of the study, which researchers say could help humans with phobias and panic attacks, are published in the journal Nature Neuroscience...

Scientists pinpoint specific brain areas and mechanisms associated with depression and anxiety

Date: Nov-13-2013
Research just released reveals new mechanisms and areas of the brain associated with anxiety and depression, presenting possible targets to understand and treat these debilitating mental illnesses. The findings were presented at Neuroscience 2013, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience and the world's largest source of emerging news about brain science and health. More than 350 million people worldwide suffer from clinical depression and between 5 and 25 percent of adults suffer from generalized anxiety, according to the World Health Organization...

Researchers look to armadillos, fruit flies, nematodes, and other species to understand human brain function and vision loss

Date: Nov-13-2013
Research just released reveals a new model for a genetic eye disease, and shows how animal models - from fruit flies to armadillos and monkeys - can yield valuable information about the human brain. The findings were presented at Neuroscience 2013, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience and the world's largest source of emerging news about brain science and health. Animal models have long been central in how we understand the human brain, behavior, and nervous system due to similarities in many brain areas and functions across species...

Successful treatment of depression in older veterans using cognitive behavioral therapy

Date: Nov-13-2013
Researchers have found significant and equivalent reductions in depressive symptoms for both older and younger veterans undergoing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for depression (CBT-D), according to an article published in The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences. This study, led by Bradley Karlin, PhD, at the U.S...

Epigenetic silencing of the HAND2 tumor suppressor promotes endometrial cancer

Date: Nov-12-2013
A study published in PLOS Medicine suggests that epigenetic modification of the HAND2 gene plays a critical role in the development of endometrial cancer. HAND2 is active in the healthy endometrium (the tissue lining the uterus) where it antagonizes the growth-inducing effects of estrogen. By contrast, in more than 90% of endometrial cancers, the gene has undergone hypermethylation, an epigenetic modification that doesn't change its DNA sequence but renders it inactive...

First dual-protection intravaginal ring design shows promise in long-term HIV & pregnancy prevention

Date: Nov-12-2013
A new intravaginal ring (IVR) has been developed for the sustained 90-day co-delivery of tenofovir and levonorgestrel, an anti-human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) drug and a contraceptive. Tenofovir is the only topical prophylactic shown to be effective at reducing the sexual transmission of HIV when formulated in a gel. This research is being presented at the 2013 American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) Annual Meeting and Exposition, the world's largest pharmaceutical sciences meeting, in San Antonio, Nov. 10 - 14.  While there are 35...

US health care analysis: 'national conversation needed'

Date: Nov-12-2013
Although the US health care system has experienced financial success, an analysis identifying trends in economics, costs and value from 1980 to 2011 reveals that the health care system has underperformed in certain areas, compared with similar countries. And though the report highlights some improvements in outcomes, the pace of progress is much slower than in past decades. The analysis was undertaken by Dr. Hamilton Moses III, of the Alerion Institute and the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, along with colleagues from The Boston Consulting Group and the University of Rochester...

New cognitive model 'could detect early-stage dementia'

Date: Nov-12-2013
According to the Alzheimer's Association, there are more than 5 million people in the US living with Alzheimer's disease. But researchers say they have developed a new model that could improve early detection of dementia, allowing better treatment options and potentially slowing the development of Alzheimer's disease. Researchers from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, MD, say the model, based on the reading of cognitive test scores, could determine whether memory loss in older adults is benign or whether it could develop into Alzheimer's disease...

Breast cancer radiotherapy during surgery could ease treatment

Date: Nov-12-2013
Two new studies published in leading journals this week show how a "one-stop" targeted radiotherapy given during lumpectomy may offer some patients with early-stage breast cancer a viable alternative to current treatments. Experts say the approach looks promising but more research is needed to identify which patients are most likely to benefit. Most women with breast cancer who undergo lumpectomy or partial mastectomy also undergo a course of radiation delivered to the whole of the affected breast...