Health News

Drug treatment means better, less costly care for children with sickle cell disease

Date: Sep-15-2013
The benefits of hydroxyurea treatment in people with sickle cell disease are well known - fewer painful episodes, fewer blood transfusions and fewer hospitalizations. Now new research from the Johns Hopkins Children's Center and other institutions reveals that by preventing such complications, the drug can also considerably lower the overall cost of medical care in children with this condition.  The cost-benefit analysis, described online Sept...

The protein Merlin "arranges" other protein interactions to control growth and prevent cancer

Date: Sep-15-2013
Johns Hopkins researchers have figured out the specific job of a protein long implicated in tumors of the nervous system. Reporting on a new study described in the Sept. 12 issue of the journal Cell, they detail what they call the "matchmaking" activities of a fruit fly protein called Merlin, whose human counterpart, NF2, is a tumor suppressor protein known to cause neurofibromatosis type II when mutated...

What are the health benefits of cinnamon?

Date: Sep-15-2013
Cinnamon is a spice that comes from the branches of wild trees from the genus Cinnamomum - native to the Caribbean, South America, and Southeast Asia. The spice is commonly used in cooking. However, cinnamon is also associated with a number of different health benefits. Cinnamon has been consumed since 2000 BC in Ancient Egypt, where it was very highly prized. In medieval times doctors used cinnamon to treat conditions such as coughing, arthritis and sore throats...

Does longer sevoflurane preconditioning contribute to better neuroprotective effects?

Date: Sep-14-2013
Sevoflurane belongs to volatile anesthetics, and preconditioning with sevoflurane has been shown to exert protective effects against ischemic injury in the brain. But the mechanism is unclear. Although studies have shown the neuroprotective effects of sevoflurane preconditioning in the transient cerebral ischemia model, its effect in the permanent focal cerebral ischemia model remains unclear. Dr...

Research uncovers potential antibody to prevent central line infection

Date: Sep-14-2013
A team of researchers at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center has developed an antibody that could prevent Candida infections that often afflict hospitalized patients who receive central lines. Margaret Hostetter, MD, director of infectious diseases at Cincinnati Children's, and her team developed the antibody, which prevents Candida albicans from binding to heparin, thereby stopping the formation of biofilm in a rat model of catheter-associated infection...

Individuals with a dual diagnosis (co-occurring substance use and psychiatric disorders) can benefit from 12-step programs too

Date: Sep-14-2013
Studies and testimonials have shown that 12-step mutual-help organizations such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA) can play an important role in addiction recovery among young adults with substance use disorders (SUDs). However, concerns exist regarding the suitability of 12-step programs for clinical subgroups such as those with co-occurring substance use and psychiatric disorders, called dual diagnosis (DD)...

Older drinkers may experience fewer hangovers due to less intense drinking

Date: Sep-14-2013
Many people are familiar with the uncomfortable morning-after symptoms of excessive drinking, commonly known as a hangover. While it is a common phenomenon, little is known about hangover differences across the lifespan. A study of hangovers across adulthood has found their severity depends on age. Results will be published in the February 2014 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research and are currently available at Early View...

Acetylcholine secretion by motor neuron-like cells from UC-MSC

Date: Sep-14-2013
Basic fibroblast growth factor exhibits a high affinity for heparin. Heparin combined with basic fibroblast growth factor significantly contributes to the differentiation of umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells into motor neurons. Xueyuan Liu and colleagues from Liaoning Medical University found that the third passage of umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells induced with heparin and basic fibroblast growth factor exhibited neuronal morphology, and Hb9 expression and acetylcholine levels increased following induction with heparin combined with basic fibroblast growth factor...

Uros people of Peru and Bolivia found to have distinctive genetic ancestries

Date: Sep-14-2013
New genetic research led by the Genographic Project consortium shows a distinctive ancestry for the Uros populations of Peru and Bolivia that predates the arrival of the Spanish conquistadores and may date back to the earliest settlement of the Altiplano, or high plain, of the central Andes some 3,700 years ago. Despite the fact that the Uros today share many lineages with the surrounding Andean populations, they have maintained their own divergent genetic ancestry...

No need to see spouse's face to know their feelings, study shows

Date: Sep-14-2013
It is usually easy to determine the mood of your partner. There is a look on their face that is an instant giveaway. But a new study suggests that we do not have to be in our partner's presence to be able to discern how they are feeling. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Germany, suggest that all adults, regardless of age, have the ability to make accurate judgements of other people's emotions using the knowledge they have of that person, rather than "sensory cues...