Health News

Combined treatment shows a better curative effect on spinal cord contusion

Date: Sep-11-2013
Following spinal cord injury, astrocyte proliferation and scar formation are the main factors inhibiting the regeneration and growth of spinal cord axons, leading to motor and sensory function loss below the level of spinal cord injury. Cell transplantation, bioengineering technology, drugs and other methods can reduce voids of injured spinal cord and suppress glial scar formation, but clinical application results show these methods used alone have no obvious effects...

Role of autophagic and lysosomal pathways in ischemic brain injury

Date: Sep-11-2013
Previous studies by Shaohua Gu and team from Shanghai Pudong New Area Zhoupu Hospital showed that rapamycin-induced autophagy decreased the rate of apoptosis, but the rate of apoptosis was increased after the autophagy inhibitor, 3-methyladenine, was used, indicating autophagy may be involved in mediating neuronal death in cerebral ischemia...

Can the law improve diabetes prevention and control?

Date: Sep-11-2013
New cases of diabetes continue to increase as does the health burden for those with diabetes. Law is a critical tool for health improvement, yet assessments reported in a new study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine indicate that federal, state, and local laws give only partial support to guidelines and evidence-based interventions relevant to diabetes prevention and control. The authors explore the role that law can play in serving as an effective health tool.  In 2010, diabetes was the seventh-leading cause of death in the United States...

Scientists discover how to map cell-signaling molecules to their targets

Date: Sep-11-2013
A team of University of Montreal and McGill University researchers have devised a method to identify how signaling molecules orchestrate the sequential steps in cell division. In an article published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the scientists explain how they could track the relationship between signaling molecules and their target molecules to establish where, when and how the targets are deployed to perform the many steps necessary to replicate an individual cell's genome and surrounding structures...

Capturing brain activity with sculpted light

Date: Sep-11-2013
Researchers in Vienna develop new imaging technique to study the function of entire nervous systems  Scientists at the Campus Vienna Biocenter (Austria) have found a way to overcome some of the limitations of light microscopy. Applying the new technique, they can record the activity of a worm's brain with high temporal and spatial resolution, ultimately linking brain anatomy to brain function. The journal Nature Methods publishes the details in its current issue...

Simple test created for drug-resistant malaria

Date: Sep-11-2013
Scientists have developed a new way of testing whether a lethal form of malaria is resistant to potent artemisinin drugs, according to a study published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases. Researchers from Cambodia and the US have created simple in-vitro and ex-vivo ring-stage survival assays (RSAs), which they say can clearly identify artemisinin-resistant, slow-clearing Plasmodium falciparum (P falciparum) parasites in those who have malaria...

New muscular dystrophy treatment shows promise in early study

Date: Sep-11-2013
A preclinical study led by researchers in the United States has found that a new oral drug shows early promise for the treatment of muscular dystrophy. The results, which are published today in EMBO Molecular Medicine, show that VBP15 decreases inflammation in mice with symptoms similar to those found in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The authors found that the drug protects and strengthens muscle without the harsh side effects linked to current treatments with glucocorticoids such as prednisone...

Victims of childhood bullying fare poorly in adulthood

Date: Sep-11-2013
A joint study by psychologists in the UK and the US, which analyzes the effects of childhood bullying on adult outcomes, shows that bullying has detrimental consequences for the victims but few negative effects for the perpetrators. The study, published in Psychological Science and led by Professor Dieter Wolke of Warwick University in the UK and Dr. William E. Copeland of Duke University Medical Center, is the first of its kind to investigate the effects of childhood bullying on adulthood...

Study: PrEP effectively prevents HIV for partners of infected

Date: Sep-11-2013
For couples in which one partner has HIV, preventing the infection in the other partner has been successfully achieved by consistently following antiretroviral pre-exposure prohpylaxis (PrEP), according to a recent study published in PLOS Medicine. The study, led by Dr. Jessica Haberer from Harvard Medical School, is the first to effectively monitor participants' adherence to preventative treatment and show successful outcomes as a result. Previous studies have shown inconsistent protection against HIV efficacy, with success rates ranging from 0-75%...

Lung cancer drug could aid plight of ectopic pregnancy patients

Date: Sep-11-2013
Women with ectopic pregnancies could be spared surgery if they are treated with a lung cancer drug, a study suggests. Researchers treated ectopic pregnancies - where an embryo implants inside the Fallopian tube - by combining an existing treatment with a lung cancer therapy. They found that prescribing both drugs together was more effective at helping cure an ectopic pregnancy than the conventional drug alone...