Health News

Materialistic people are more likely to deal with fear of death with compulsive spending

Date: Sep-27-2013
Materialistic people experience more stress from traumatic events such as terrorist attacks and are more likely to spend compulsively as a result, according to an international study led by a Michigan State University business professor. These possession-driven folks tend to have lower self-esteem than others, said Ayalla Ruvio, assistant professor of marketing in MSU's Broad College of Business. "When the going gets tough, the materialistic go shopping," said Ruvio. "And this compulsive and impulsive spending is likely to produce even greater stress and lower well-being...

In prostate cancer, unstable chromosomes linked to less favorable response to RT and surgery

Date: Sep-27-2013
Detailed evaluation of a prostate cancer tumor biopsy may predict treatment outcomes for image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT) or surgery for prostate cancer, according to research presented at the American Society for Radiation Oncology's (ASTRO's) 55th Annual Meeting. The study results indicate that patients who have abnormal levels of breaks at common fragile sites (CFSs), sites within the chromosomes that are sensitive to DNA damage, are more likely to have their cancer to return -- treatment failure...

Melatonin helps control weight gain as it stimulates the appearance of 'beige fat'

Date: Sep-27-2013
Melatonin is a natural hormone segregated by the body and melatonin levels generally increase in the dark at night. It is also found in fruit and vegetables like mustard, Goji berries, almonds, sunflower seeds, cardamom, fennel, coriander and cherries. Spanish scientists have discovered that melatonin consumption helps control weight gain because it stimulates the appearance of 'beige fat', a type of fat cell that burns calories in vivo instead of storing them...

When foetus is exposed to cocaine the brain structure is intact but development is off track

Date: Sep-27-2013
Prenatal cocaine exposure affects both behavior and brain. Animal studies have shown that exposure to cocaine during in utero development causes numerous disruptions in normal brain development and negatively affects behavior from birth and into adulthood. For ethical reasons, similar studies in humans have been more limited but some research has shown that children exposed prenatally to cocaine have impairments in attention, control, stress, emotion regulation, and memory. Research also suggests that such children may be more predisposed to initiate substance use...

Research shows how medicine for the brain can be absorbed through the nose

Date: Sep-27-2013
New Danish/Italian research shows how medicine for the brain can be absorbed through the nose. This paves the way to more effective treatment of neurological diseases like Alzheimer's and tumors in the brain. A big challenge in medical science is to get medicine into the brain when treating patients with neurological diseases. The brain will do everything to keep foreign substances out and therefore the brains of neurological patients fight a constant, daily battle to throw out the medicine prescribed to help the patients...

Researchers block cell division, induce cell death, and overcome tumor resistance to therapy

Date: Sep-27-2013
A new experimental approach to treating a type of brain cancer called medulloblastoma has been developed by researchers at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham). The method targets cancer stem cells - the cells that are critical for maintaining tumor growth - and halts their ability to proliferate by inhibiting enzymes that are essential for tumor progression. The process destroys the ability of the cancer cells to grow and divide, paving the way for a new type of treatment for patients with this disease. The research team, led by Robert Wechsler-Reya, Ph.D...

A child's spatial and math thinking likely improved simply by playing with blocks

Date: Sep-27-2013
Playing with blocks may help preschoolers develop the kinds of skills that support later learning in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), according to a new study by researchers at the University of Delaware and Temple University. And for low-income preschoolers, who lag in spatial skills, such play may be especially important. The study is published in the journal Child Development. More than a hundred 3-year-olds of various socioeconomic levels took part in the study. Children who were better at copying block structures were also better at early math, the study found...

Current estimate of around quarter of a million deaths annually worldwide vastly underestimates true burden of rheumatic heart disease

Date: Sep-27-2013
A paper in the RHD special issue of Global Heart, the journal of the World Heart Federation, analyses the burden of disease and suggests that numbers published to date (ranging from at least 233,000 deaths per year upwards) could be substantial underestimates for a variety of reasons, most commonly lack of high quality (or in some cases any) data from high-prevalence countries and regions...

Childhood cancer survivors at higher risk of renal failure

Date: Sep-27-2013
In a new study, adult survivors of childhood cancers who had certain chemotherapy treatments or kidney surgery had worse kidney function that did not recover over time. Researchers say this means they may be at higher risk for premature chronic renal failure. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 20 million people in the US aged 20 years or older suffer from chronic renal failure...

Study raises questions over discrimination in GP exam

Date: Sep-27-2013
Concerns over discrimination in the UK general practitioner examination are raised in a study published on bmj.com. The researchers say they cannot rule out "subjective bias owing to racial discrimination" in the exam and call for additional training for international medical graduates to help them adapt to the UK health care system. A BMJ Careers investigation also reveals that ethnic minority doctors are less successful in securing NHS hospital posts than white doctors...