Health News

Men with type 1 diabetes are better at blood sugar control than women, large European study suggests

Date: Sep-27-2013
Men with type 1 diabetes appear to be better at blood sugar control than women, but there is no significant difference in blood sugar control between boys and girls. These are the findings of new research presented at this week's annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Barcelona, Spain. The research is by Professor Sarah Wild, University of Edinburgh, UK, and colleagues from the International quality of care for type 1 diabetes group...

Insights will enhance aid to victims of future disasters

Date: Sep-27-2013
People pay more attention to the number of people killed in a natural disaster than to the number of survivors when deciding how much money to donate to disaster relief efforts, according to new research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. The donation bias can be reversed, however, with a simple change in terminology...

Early stages of Parkinson disease may be identified by epigenetic changes observed in blood

Date: Sep-27-2013
Parkinson disease, a neurodegenerative disorder in which both genetic and environmental factors play important roles, has been associated with epigenetic changes (those molecular modifications that alter the behavior of genes without changing the DNA sequence). Because accurate diagnosis is not easy for this disease, scientists are continuously trying to identify early signs of the disease that enable treatment before major neurological damage occurs...

Healthy Michigan Medicaid expansion plan: A test-bed for a number of market-oriented Medicaid reforms

Date: Sep-27-2013
Michigan's newly expanded Medicaid program could act as a model for other states to achieve bipartisan health care reform even in a heated national political climate, says the head of the University of Michigan's health policy institute in an article published online by the New England Journal of Medicine. By blending public sector and private sector approaches to health coverage, Michigan's elected officials have found a pragmatic path forward that other states could learn from, says John Ayanian, M.D., MPP, director of the U-M Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation...

Stem-cell fat grafts effective for plastic surgery

Date: Sep-27-2013
Scientists say that the first randomized human trial using stem-cell enriched fat grafts for reconstructive surgery shows that the procedure is safe, reliable and effective. Researchers from the Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark say the procedure could become central to plastic and reconstructive surgery. Autologous fat grafting, or lipofilling, is being increasingly used in reconstructive surgery, such as breast reconstruction following cancer, the researchers say...

Anxiety stinks, study shows

Date: Sep-27-2013
Many of us have experienced the calming effects of lovely smells like jasmine or lavender. But a new study has shown that anxiety can cause the brain to transform neutral odors to negative ones, creating a "vicious cycle," whereby stress is heightened. Researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to look at the brains of a dozen volunteers who were shown disturbing pictures and texts in order to induce anxiety. Before entering the MRI, the team, led by Professor Wen Li, had the volunteers rate a panel of neutral smells...

Disease-specific human embryonic stem cell lines placed on NIH Stem Cell Registry

Date: Sep-27-2013
Scientists from King's College London have announced that 16 human embryonic stem (hES) cell lines have been approved by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) and placed on their Stem Cell Registry, making them freely available for federally-funded research in the USA. The stem cell lines, which carry genes for a variety of hereditary disorders such as Huntington's disease, spinal muscular dystrophy and cystic fibrosis, are considered to be ideal research tools for designing models to understand disease progression, and ultimately in helping scientists develop new treatments for patients...

What is acute respiratory distress syndrome?

Date: Sep-26-2013
Acute respiratory distress syndrome is a condition where the body is not receiving enough oxygen from the lungs. Often referred to by its initials, ARDS is a complication of an existing lung infection, injury or serious illness. ARDS is also known as respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) or adult respiratory distress syndrome. According to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, most people with ARDS are in hospital when the symptoms appear. However, ARDS can develop outside a hospital setting...

What is degenerative disc disease?

Date: Sep-26-2013
Degenerative disc disease refers to the degeneration of at least one of the intervertebral discs of the spinal column. Some people may call it degenerative disc disorder. Degenerative disc disease is a "disease of aging", an age related disease. Over the years and decades, the repeated daily stresses on the spine and occasional minor, unnoticed injuries, as well as major ones, begin to take their toll. For most people the gradual degeneration of the discs is not a problem. However, in some cases it eventually causes severe, chronic and debilitating discogenic pain...

Study of 'sister' stem cells uncovers new cancer clue

Date: Sep-26-2013
Scientists have used a brand new technique for examining individual stem cells to uncover dramatic differences in the gene expression levels - which genes are turned 'up' or 'down' - between apparently identical 'sister' pairs. The research, published in Stem Cell Reports, was conducted and funded by The Institute of Cancer Research, London. It provides the latest evidence that despite having identical DNA, sister stem cells can display considerable differences in their molecular characteristics...