Health News

Mutant protein discovered that blocks HIV infection and transmission

Date: Oct-03-2013
A mutant of an immune cell protein called ADAP (adhesion and degranulation-promoting adaptor protein) is able to block infection by HIV-1 (human immunodeficiency virus 1), new University of Cambridge research reveals. The researchers, who were funded by the Wellcome Trust, believe that their discovery will lead to new ways of combating HIV...

Mortality variations after surgery for oesophageal and gastric cancers

Date: Oct-03-2013
A pilot study has shown large variations between European countries in patient survival after surgery for oesophageal and gastric cancers. The 2013 European Cancer Congress (ECC2013) [1] heard that the reasons for these differences are not clear and cannot be explained simply in terms of the volume of patients treated at each hospital...

Damage minimized during a heart attack with a drug costing less than 2 euros

Date: Oct-03-2013
The study, involving emergency ambulance services and teams at seven hospitals across Spain, shows categorically that this simple, low-cost strategy could easily be extended throughout the world, providing significant clinical benefit. This would change current practice for treating heart-attack patients, who currently receive no medication before undergoing angioplasty surgery, the recommended procedure for removing the arterial blockage that caused the infarction...

Oats and their role in human health: a review of the evidence

Date: Oct-03-2013
Oats may deserve the well-earned status of "super grain", according to research presented at the American Association of Cereal Chemists International annual meeting, being held this week in Albuquerque, NM. World-renowned grain researchers presented compelling data to support the important role that oats can play in improving diet quality and supporting human health. As a part of the Quaker Oats Center of Excellence's aim to elevate the relevance and benefits of oats through science, agriculture and innovation, YiFang Chu, Ph.D...

Biological link between diabetes and heart disease found

Date: Oct-03-2013
Researchers from the UC Davis Health System have discovered a biological link between diabetes and heart disease, which may explain why diabetes sufferers have an increased risk for heart disease. This is according to a study published in the journal Nature. The researchers found that when blood sugars are abnormally high (hyperglycemia), this activates a biological pathway that causes irregular heartbeats - a condition called cardiac arrhythmia - that is linked to heart failure and sudden cardiac death...

Depression linked to higher Parkinson's risk

Date: Oct-03-2013
People suffering from depression may have a higher risk of developing Parkinson's disease. This is according to a study published in the journal Neurology. In the past, depression has been linked to numerous other disorders. Earlier this year, Medical News Today reported on a study suggesting that depression doubles the risk of stroke in middle-aged women. But researchers from the Taipei Veterans General Hospital in Taiwan say their research suggests that depression is an independent risk factor for Parkinson's disease - a progressive disorder of the nervous system...

Breast cancer incidence rates converging among white and African-American women

Date: Oct-03-2013
Breast cancer incidence rates increased slightly among African American women from 2006 to 2010, bringing those rates closer to the historically higher rates among white women, according to a new analysis by American Cancer Society researchers. The explanation behind the rise is unclear. The finding is published in Breast Cancer Statistics, 2013 published in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society...

Macrophage-derived mediators may have potential as biomarkers for urinary stone risk

Date: Oct-03-2013
A balance between the activation of the inflammatory macrophages and suppression of the anti-inflammatory macrophages in the kidney may play a pivotal role in kidney stone formation. These macrophage-derived mediators may have potential as biomarkers to reflect the urinary stone risk, according to a new study from Japan, which was recently presented at the recent 2nd Meeting of the EAU Section of Urolithiasis and received Clinical Research Award...

Cancer patients may benefit from repurposed hypertension med

Date: Oct-03-2013
Use of existing, well-established hypertension drugs could improve the outcome of cancer chemotherapy by opening up collapsed blood vessels in solid tumors. In their report in the online journal Nature Communications, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators describe how the angiotensin inhibitor losartan improved the delivery of chemotherapy drugs and oxygen throughout tumors by increasing blood flow in mouse models of breast and pancreatic cancer. A clinical trial based on the findings of this study is now underway...

Insulin pathway 'roadmap' could improve diabetes drugs

Date: Oct-02-2013
Researchers say they have developed the first "comprehensive roadmap" detailing protein interactions that enable pancreatic cells to produce, store and secrete insulin. This is according to a study published in Cell Reports. The research team from The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) says their finding may lead to a better understanding of the insulin secretion process and how this plays a part in insulin disorders, such as type 2 diabetes...