Health News

Extremely rare mitochondrial DNA deletions associated with aging can be accurately detected with Droplet Digital PCR

Date: Sep-07-2013
A study published in Aging Cell identifies a new tool to accurately analyze extremely rare mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) deletions associated with a range of diseases and disorders as well as aging. This approach, which relies on Droplet Digital PCR (ddPCR™) technology, will help researchers explore mtDNA deletions as potential disease biomarkers. The accumulation of mtDNA mutations is associated with aging, neuromuscular disorders, and cancer...

Women more likely to tear ACL due to 'knock knees'

Date: Sep-07-2013
Researchers say that women are nearly four times more likely to suffer from a tear to the ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) in the knee than men, but that it may be prevented by a different "landing strategy." The study, published in the Journal of Athletic Training, was conducted by researchers from Oregon State University (OSU), and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Greenboro. ACL injuries are defined as a tearing of the anterior cruciate ligament inside the knee joint. The injury causes the knee to swell, and the joint becomes too painful to bear weight...

Trust is a brain habit in longterm relationships

Date: Sep-07-2013
Some victims of repeated betrayal continue, much to the dismay of their friends, to reconcile with the one who hurt them. But a new study reveals that the length of a relationship can affect which region of the brain is used to make decisions, shedding light on how trust works. The study, conducted by sociologists in California and appearing in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, involved an online experiment in which each subject received $8. The subject could either keep the money or give it to an anonymous partner...

Heart attack death rates unchanged in spite of faster care at hospitals

Date: Sep-07-2013
Heart attack deaths have remained the same, even as hospital teams have gotten faster at treating heart attack patients with emergency angioplasty, according to a study in this week's New England Journal of Medicine. Hospitals across the country have successfully raced to reduce so-called door-to-balloon time, the time it takes patients arriving at hospitals suffering from a heart attack to be treated with angioplasty, to 90 minutes or less in the belief that it would save heart muscle and lives...

Lung cancer, COPD cases to rise over next decades

Date: Sep-06-2013
A new report issued from the European Respiratory Society (ERS) reveals that conditions of the lung cause 1 in 10 deaths in Europe, with mortality as a result of lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) expected to rise in the future. The report, called The European Lung White Book, draws from the latest research and statistics to provide burden, cost and risk information about respiratory diseases. According to the findings, direct and indirect costs from lung conditions cost European countries an estimated €390 billion (USD 511 billion) each year...

Healthy diet discourages obesity microbes in gut

Date: Sep-06-2013
When you dine, you are never alone. Trillions of microbial guests, resident in your gut, eat with you. They help digest your food and convert it into energy and fat. Now, new research suggests changing the mix of gut microbes can prevent obesity, but only if combined with a healthy diet. This was the conclusion of a study from researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, as reported in the journal Science on September 6th. The study reveals another clue about the intimate ties between gut bacteria and diet in the development of obesity...

Better hygiene linked to higher Alzheimer's risk

Date: Sep-06-2013
Researchers say that people living in wealthier countries may be at higher risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, according to a study published in the journal Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health. Lead study author Dr. Molly Fox and fellow researchers at the University of Cambridge, say that people living in industrialized countries have significantly reduced contact with bacteria and viruses, meaning they may have problems developing immunity and be at higher risk of dementia...

ARIAD reaches 50 percent patient enrollment in Phase 3 EPIC trial of Iclusig

Date: Sep-06-2013
ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARIA) has announced enrollment of fifty percent of the patients planned in its randomized Phase 3 trial of Iclusig® (ponatinib) in adult patients with newly diagnosed chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). The trial, formally known as EPIC (Evaluation of Ponatinib versus Imatinib in Chronic Myeloid Leukemia), is designed to provide definitive clinical data to support regulatory approval of ponatinib in treatment-naïve CML patients...

First study of its kind to show heart procedure reduces stroke risk in patients with atrial fibrillation despite other factors

Date: Sep-06-2013
A new study shows catheter ablation, a common procedure used to treat heart rhythm disorders, may reduce stroke risk for those with atrial fibrillation (AF) - the most common arrhythmia. The multicenter study, published in the September edition of HeartRhythm, the official journal of the Heart Rhythm Society (HRS), is the first to show AF ablation patients have significantly lower risk of stroke compared to AF patients who do not undergo ablation regardless of stroke risk profile...

National survey shows continued reduced levels of prescription drug use among young adults

Date: Sep-06-2013
The rate of past month nonmedical use of prescription drugs among young adults aged 18 to 25 in 2012 was 5.3 percent - similar to rates in 2010 and 2011, but significantly lower than the rate from 2009 (6.4 percent), according to a new report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). SAMHSA issued its 2012 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) report in conjunction with the 24th annual national observance of National Recovery Month...