Health News

Obesity can be either spurred or stopped by key cellular mechanism in the body's 'battery'

Date: Sep-27-2013
Becoming obese or remaining lean can depend on the dynamics of the mitochondria, the body's energy-producing "battery," according to two new studies by Yale School of Medicine researchers featured as the cover story in the Sept. 26 issue of the journal Cell. Mitochondria are vital cellular organelles that generate and maintain proper energy levels in complex organisms. Using animal models, the Yale research team studied mitochondria in different populations of brain cells known to be involved in the regulation of appetite...

Breast health linked to eating peanut butter and nuts

Date: Sep-27-2013
By eating more peanut butter during their high school years, girls could be improving their breast health in adulthood, according to a US study published recently in the journal Breast Cancer Research and Treatment. Dr. Graham Colditz, of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, and colleagues found that girls aged 9 to 15 who ate peanut butter and nuts twice a week were 39% less likely to develop benign breast disease by the age of 30 than girls who did not...

Big breakfast rich in protein and fat improves blood sugar control and makes people feel fuller than a small breakfast in adults with type 2 diabetes

Date: Sep-27-2013
A big breakfast rich in protein and fat appears to offer more benefits to people with type 2 diabetes than a smaller low calorie breakfast, concludes research presented at this year's annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes. The research is by Professor Daniela Jakubowicz, Tel Aviv University, Israel, and Dr Hadas Rabinovitz, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot , Israel, and colleagues...

FDA approval expands access to artificial heart valve for inoperable patients

Date: Sep-27-2013
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved revised labeling for the Sapien Transcatheter Heart Valve (THV), making the device available to an expanded group of patients who have inoperable aortic valve stenosis, a disease of the heart valves that causes narrowing of the aortic valve, restricting blood flow from the heart.  People with severe aortic valve stenosis must have a heart valve replacement to restore normal blood flow...

A potential new treatment option for patients with brain cancer

Date: Sep-27-2013
A novel drug for patients with brain cancer, 2B3-101, has shown preliminary positive results. The Dutch biotech to-BBB has developed 2B3-101 and initiated a clinical trial to investigate this new treatment. The Phase I safety results will be presented at the European Cancer Congress 2013 in Amsterdam at the end of September. "This first clinical trial with 2B3-101 has focused on the safety of this new treatment, yet, promising signs of anti-tumor activity were observed in many of the patients at the higher dose levels tested," says Dr...

iCAD announces positive three-year data using the Xoft System to treat skin cancer

Date: Sep-27-2013
iCAD, Inc. (Nasdaq: ICAD), an industry-leading provider of advanced image analysis, workflow solutions and radiation therapy for the early identification and treatment of cancer, has announced that positive data using the Company's Xoft® Axxent®Electronic Brachytherapy System® to treat non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) were presented at the American Society of Radiation Oncology's (ASTRO) 55th Annual Meeting being held from September 22-25, 2013 in Atlanta...

Genes associated with obesity or type 2 diabetes are chemically altered in human fat tissue in response to exercise

Date: Sep-27-2013
A study presented at this year's annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) shows that exercise can chemically alter the genes associated with obesity or type 2 diabetes (T2D) that are present in human adipose (fat) tissue. The study is by Dr Tina Rönn, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden.  Obesity is a predictor for type 2 diabetes (T2D), which in combination with genetic and life-style factors suggests a central role for fat (adipose) tissue in the pathogenesis of T2D...

KCNJ11 E23K polymorphism increases susceptibility for cardiovascular mortality in patients with type 2 diabetes

Date: Sep-27-2013
An analysis of genetic variations known to be associated with type 2 diabetes has shown that the 'bad' variant of one, the KCNJ11 E23Kpolymorphism, also increases the risk of cardiovascular mortality by at least 20%. Some 40% of the type 2 diabetic population has this bad variant. The research is by Associate Professor Valeriya Lyssenko, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden, and Steno Diabetes Center, Gentofte, Denmark, and Dr Sami Alkayyali, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden...

Mortality increased by 58% when sulfonylureas used as first-line therapy for type 2 diabetes instead of metformin

Date: Sep-27-2013
New research presented at this year's annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Barcelona, Spain, shows that patients receiving sulfonylureas as first line treatment for type 2 diabetes have higher mortality than those receiving metformin. The researchers, led by Professor Craig Currie, Cardiff University, UK, say that it may no longer be appropriate to offer first line treatment with sulfonylureas as a result of these findings...

Major surgical groups disappointed in Medicare decision to drop facility accreditation requirement for bariatric surgery

Date: Sep-27-2013
Despite strong opposition from leading surgical and medical groups, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has ruled it will no longer require Medicare patients to undergo bariatric surgical procedures at accredited facilities. CMS ruled that eligible Medicare patients may have bariatric operations performed at any center they choose, even those facilities with little experience in handling high-risk patients...