Health News

Study: weight-loss groups better than self-help approach

Date: Oct-16-2013
Whether 5 pounds or 50, losing weight can be an uphill battle. But a new study carried out by researchers at Baylor College of Medicine suggests that following a community-based program - in this case, Weight Watchers - will help dieters lose more weight than those who try to do it on their own. Results of the randomized controlled trial were published in The American Journal of Medicine. For the study, which lasted 6 months, overweight and obese participants were divided into two groups: a Weight Watchers (WW) group totaling 147 individuals, and a self-help group of 145 people...

IBD sufferers at higher risk of stroke and heart attack

Date: Oct-16-2013
New research from the Mayo Clinic shows an increased risk of stroke or heart attack for patients with inflammatory bowel disease. Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis are the most common forms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In this disease, an abnormal response from the body's immune system mistakes food for a foreign substance, which triggers an immune response whereby the body attacks the cells lining the intestines, causing inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract...

Faces 'primarily differentiated by race and gender,' study shows

Date: Oct-16-2013
Researchers from Harvard University say they have uncovered neurological patterns in the brain that play a part in differentiating people's faces, and according to their new study, our brain primarily recognizes faces by race and gender. According to the researchers, previous studies have shown that a part of the brain known as the fusiform face area (FFA) - a region in the visual system situated in the fusiform gyrus - plays a part in face recognition by extracting the "physical information" that distinguishes the faces of different people 200 milliseconds after seeing them...

Cabbage compound protects healthy tissue from radiation damage

Date: Oct-16-2013
A team of US researchers has discovered that an anti-cancer compound present in cruciferous vegetables, such as cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli, also protects rodents from lethal doses of radiation. The compound, called 3,3'-diindolylmethane, and known more simply as "DIM," is already shown to be safe in humans, and so the researchers expect it could serve as a shield to protect healthy tissue in human cancer patients from damage by radiation therapy, or lessen its side effects...

Family caregiving linked to longer life expectancy

Date: Oct-16-2013
A new US study led by Johns Hopkins researchers contradicts long-standing beliefs that the stress of caregiving leads to early death and instead shows that family caregivers live around 9 months longer than non- caregivers. Lead author Dr. David L. Roth, director of the Johns Hopkins University Center on Aging and Health, and colleagues report their findings in the latest online issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology. Commenting on the findings, Dr...

PRAC confirms that hydroxyethyl-starch solutions (HES) should no longer be used in patients with sepsis or burn injuries or in critically ill patients

Date: Oct-16-2013
The EMA's Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC) has completed its review of HES solutions following an assessment of new information and commitments from companies for additional studies and risk minimisation activities. The Committee confirmed that HES solutions must no longer be used to treat patients with sepsis (bacterial infection in the blood) or burn injuries or critically ill patients, because of an increased risk of kidney injury and mortality...

Health IT plays critical role in improving population health, says new report released at national primary care conference

Date: Oct-16-2013
In response to increasing collaborations among traditional medical providers and community organizations, the Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative (PCPCC) released a new report to support primary care clinicians in their efforts to adopt a population health approach that leverages health IT solutions. The report titled, "Managing Populations, Maximizing Technology: Population Health Management in the Medical Neighborhood," was released at the PCPCC's Annual Fall Conference (October 14 - 15) in Bethesda, MD...

Muscles and meth: Drug analog identified in 'craze' workout supplement

Date: Oct-16-2013
An international team of scientists have identified potentially dangerous amounts of methamphetamine analog in the workout supplement Craze, a product widely sold across the U.S. and online. The study, published in Drug Testing and Analysis, was prompted by a spate of failed athletic drug tests. The results reveal the presence of methamphetamine analog N,α- DEPEA, which has not been safely tested for human consumption, in three samples. "In recent years banned and untested drugs have been found in hundreds of dietary supplements...

Researchers find breakthrough in replacing skin biopsy as diagnostic tool

Date: Oct-16-2013
The lead article in the first issue of the new journal Technology reports that results of a simple, non-invasive test to quantify nerve fiber length and density in the cornea correlates with invasive skin biopsy results, and predicts the severity of symptoms of painful small fiber neuropathy in patients with sarcoidosis. Symptoms of small fiber neuropathy are very common, affecting an estimated 2-3% of the adult US population...

Structure of active coagulation factor XIII published - milestone on the way to safe anticoagulation

Date: Oct-16-2013
Zedira, in cooperation with the group of Prof. Gerhard Klebe in Marburg, reported the first crystal structure of coagulation factor XIII in the active conformation. The article is now published in Angewandte Chemie International Edition and provides a proprietary high-resolution structure of FXIIIa in complex with the inhibitor ZED1301 serving as lead structure. The data are of enormous value for structure based drug design. Direct acting Factor XIIIa-blockers may provide a novel and safe option for preventing thrombotic events...