Health News

Revolving images and multi-image keys open new horizons in descriptive taxonomy

Date: Sep-07-2013
Only a fraction of the biodiversity on the planet is known to scientists and exploration of new places and habitats continue to yield exciting discoveries and new species to describe by taxonomists. This task is becoming increasingly urgent as a function of the continuous overexploitation of natural resources and destruction of habitats. In fact, it has recently been estimated that it takes on average 21 years from the discovery of a species in nature to its formal scientific description...

Accelerated radiotherapy more efficient than current practice for treatment of un-resected NSCLC patients

Date: Sep-07-2013
Radiotherapy with or without chemotherapy is increasingly being used in the curative treatment for un-resected non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). But, until now, researchers had not looked at the cost-effectiveness of the treatment. In the October issue of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer's journal, the Journal of Thoracic Oncology (JTO), researchers compared the cost-effectiveness of different modified radiotherapy schemes and conventional fractional radiotherapy in the curative treatment of un-resected NSCLC patients...

Canadian group gives guideline recommendations for lung cancer screening

Date: Sep-07-2013
Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer death in Ontario. Screening for lung cancer using low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) has been the subject of many research studies since the 1990s. The National Lung Screening Trial compared LDCT with chest radiograph in high-risk populations and found a 20 percent reduction in lung cancer mortality at 6 years with LDCT after an initial scan and two annual rounds of screening...

Cancer may get help from immune cells

Date: Sep-07-2013
A new study from the University of Michigan (UM) suggests a group of immune cells, known as myeloid derived suppressor cells, could be giving cancer a hand by bolstering cancer stem cells - the small number of cells within a tumor that drive its growth. The researchers report their work in the September 4th online issue of the journal Immunity. Although cancer stem cells only make up about 1-3% of the cancer cells in a tumor, they keep the tumor growing by providing a continuous supply of new cells...

Young adults on the autism spectrum face tough prospects for jobs and independent living

Date: Sep-07-2013
For young adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), making the transition from school to the first rites of independent adult life, including a first job and a home away from home, can be particularly challenging. Two newly published studies show precisely how stark the situation is for finding success in employment and independent living among young adults on the autism spectrum, compared to their peers with other types of disabilities. The researchers emphasize the need to strengthen services to help adolescents and young adults and their families with transition planning...

More than one-third of populations worldwide may have low levels of vitamin D, study shows

Date: Sep-07-2013
A new systematic review published in the British Journal of Nutrition*, is one of the first to focus on patterns of vitamin D status worldwide and in key population subgroups, using continuous values for 25(OH)D to improve comparisons. Principal investigator, Dr. Kristina Hoffmann of the Mannheim Institute of Public Health (MIPH), Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University stated, "The strength of our study is that we used strict inclusion criteria to filter and compare data, using consistent values for 25(OH)D...

Promiscuity and sperm selection improves genetic quality in birds

Date: Sep-07-2013
New research from the University of East Anglia has shown that females can maximise the genetic quality of their offspring by being promiscuous. Researchers studied red junglefowl (the wild ancestor of the domestic chicken) in a collaborative project with the University of Oxford, Stockholm University and Linköping University. Findings published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B reveal that mating with different males helps females produce offspring that are more resistant to diseases...

A new form of aspirin to overcome 'aspirin resistance'

Date: Sep-07-2013
Scientists are reporting development of a new form of aspirin - taken daily by about 60 million people in the United States alone to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke - that could extend aspirin's benefits to people who may not respond to the drug. Their advance toward coping with "aspirin resistance" appears in the journal ACS Nano. Shiqi Peng, Ming Zhao and colleagues note that aspirin lowers cardiovascular disease risk by keeping blood cells called platelets from clumping and forming clots...

Pain-free microneedle influenza vaccine is effective, long-lasting

Date: Sep-07-2013
Scientists have developed an influenza vaccine delivered via microneedle patch that provided 100 percent protection against a lethal influenza virus in mice more than one year after vaccination. They report their findings in the September 2013 issue of the journal Clinical and Vaccine Immunology. Microneedles are a medium for delivery of influenza vaccine that avoids the pain associated with ordinary hypodermic needles. They are a mere seven tenths of a millimeter in length, and the volume of vaccine - a major contributor to pain - is minuscule...

Platelet Golgi apparatus and their significance after acute cerebral infarction

Date: Sep-07-2013
Expression of soluble CD40L has been shown to increase significantly in conditions such as stroke, myocardial infarction, unstable angina, high cholesterol, or other cardiovascular events. 95% of the circulating CD40L exists in activated platelets. However, the specific pathway of the transition of CD40L is not elucidated, and whether Golgi apparatus is involved in the expression of platelet CD40L still needs to be proven. Dr...