Health News

Aggressive boy behavior: 'epigenetic changes may be a cause'

Date: Sep-26-2013
Researchers say that chronic aggressive behavior found in some boys may be a result of epigenetic changes during pregnancy and early childhood, according to two studies published in the journal PLOS ONE. Both studies were led by Richard E. Tremblay of the University of Montreal and Moshe Szyf of McGill University. For the first study, the team analyzed the blood samples of 32 male individuals from Quebec with a disadvantaged background, who had suffered from chronic physical aggression since childhood. The males were selected from two longitudinal studies, conducted by Prof...

Survey reveals underage youth have easy access to cigarettes and alcohol

Date: Sep-26-2013
A survey conducted by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) shows that a majority of those underage students in Ontario, Canada who smoke or drink are getting cigarettes and alcohol from a friend or family member. Among students in Grades 7-12 who smoked cigarettes, 58 per cent say they received their last cigarette from a friend or family member, while 19 per cent report getting them from a corner store, grocery store, gas station, or bar...

No link between celiac disease and autism, study shows

Date: Sep-26-2013
Though previous case reports have suggested a link between autism and celiac disease, larger studies have shown contradictory results. And now, one of the largest studies of the two conditions found no association between them. Researchers from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden published the results of their study in JAMA Psychiatry. Dr. Jonas F. Ludvigsson led the study, in which a Swedish national patient register was used to find patients with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). The team also used 28 Swedish biopsy registers to find data about patients with celiac disease (CD)...

Zinc transport and diabetes linked

Date: Sep-26-2013
Individuals with a mutation in the gene encoding a zinc transporter, SLC30A8 have an elevated risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Insulin granules that are released from pancreatic β cells contain high levels of zinc; however, it is not clear why individuals with mutations in the SLC30A8 zinc transporter gene are predisposed to type 2 diabetes. In this issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Yoshio Fujitani and colleagues at Juntendo University investigated the role of zinc transport by SLC30A8 in β cells...

Anticoagulant therapy is underused in high-risk atrial fibrillation

Date: Sep-26-2013
AMSTERDAM - Investigators are reporting widespread underuse of anticoagulant therapy in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) who are at high risk of stroke, despite the fact that such therapy is known to decrease stroke risk in this population. The findings were released at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress 2013 and represent one-year outcomes from the ongoing Global Anticoagulant Registry in the Field (GARFIELD), which is the largest prospective database tracking AF patients at increased stroke risk...

Antidepressants linked to higher risk of type 2 diabetes

Date: Sep-25-2013
A new systematic review of published studies suggests when prescribing antidepressant medication, clinicians should be extra aware that they are linked to raised risk for type 2 diabetes, although the study does not suggest the drugs are the direct cause. Reporting their findings in the latest issue of Diabetes Care, researchers from the University of Southampton say use of antidepressants has risen sharply over recent years, and there are concerns they may have an adverse effect on glucose metabolism. They note 46...

Acupuncture or counseling may help depression

Date: Sep-25-2013
Patients who suffer from depression may benefit more from acupuncture or counseling alongside their usual care, compared with usual care alone. This is according to a study published in the journal PLOS Medicine. Researchers from the University of York in the UK say that although many patients with depression are interested in receiving non-drug therapies, there is little evidence supporting the use of counseling or acupuncture to treat depression within a primary care environment...

Soldiers: blast-related brain injuries cause pituitary problems

Date: Sep-25-2013
Estimates show that 19.5% of surviving US troops deployed in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts have sustained blast traumatic brain injuries (bTBIs) since 2001. And now, new research shows that these injuries can cause pituitary hormone problems. A Medical Research Council (MRC) study, published in the journal Annals of Neurology, revealed that soldiers who have pituitary gland problems as a result of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) may experience psychological and metabolic symptoms, which get in the way of their recovery. Researchers, led by Dr...

USC scientists ID protein that regulates cellular trafficking, potential for anti-cancer therapy

Date: Sep-25-2013
Molecular microbiologists at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC) have uncovered intricate regulatory mechanisms within the cell that could lead to novel therapeutics for the treatment of cancer and other diseases. Their findings, which have long-standing significance in the basic understanding of cell biology, appear in the journal Nature Cell Biology. "Our research reveals a new regulatory mechanism that coordinates two distinct intracellular processes that are critical to cellular homeostasis and disease development," said Chengyu Liang, M.D., Ph.D...

One of the most fundamental changes in the pharma industry today to be discussed at Eyeforpharma Barcelona 2014, March, 18-20

Date: Sep-25-2013
Pharma Gathers to Discuss 'One of the Most Fundamental Changes in the Pharma Industry Today' Representatives from every global pharmaceutical company including UCB, Novartis, Pfizer, Merck, Bayer and Grunenthal will gather at an annual industry summit to determine the future of patient-centric healthcare, which some believe to be the most fundamental change to the system in decades...