Health News

Biologics in second-line therapy show benefit in rheumatoid arthritis

Date: Sep-04-2013
The German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) examined 9 biotechnologically produced drugs for the treatment of adults with rheumatoid arthritis in whom prior pharmacological treatment had failed. According to the findings, for each drug the data provide proof, an indication, or at least a hint of a benefit in relation to at least one outcome criterion. This is the conclusion of the final report published by IQWiG on 26 August 2013. In comparison to the preliminary report, additional data and studies confirm the positive effect of biologics...

UNC researchers find promising platelet protein that could offer new angle for developing drugs to prevent thrombosis

Date: Sep-04-2013
Platelets, which allow blood to clot, are at the heart of numerous cardiovascular problems, including heart attacks and stroke. New research has uncovered a key platelet protein that could offer a new angle for developing drugs to prevent thrombosis, or dangerous blood clots, in patients who are at high risk such as those with atherosclerosis or a history of heart problems...

Sleep deprivation has noticeable effects on facial appearance that may have social consequences

Date: Sep-04-2013
A new study finds that sleep deprivation affects facial features such as the eyes, mouth and skin, and these features function as cues of sleep loss to other people. Results show that the faces of sleep-deprived individuals were perceived as having more hanging eyelids, redder eyes, more swollen eyes and darker circles under the eyes. Sleep deprivation also was associated with paler skin, more wrinkles or fine lines, and more droopy corners of the mouth. People also looked sadder when sleep-deprived than after normal sleep, and sadness was related to looking fatigued...

Balancing Act: Cell Senescence, Aging Related to Epigenetic Changes

Date: Sep-04-2013
One way cells promote tumor suppression is through a process called senescence, an irreversible arrest of proliferation. Senescence is thought to be associated with normal aging, but is also a protective measure by the body against run-away cell replication. Studying the basic science of senescence gives biomedical researchers a better understanding of the mechanisms behind age-related diseases such as cancer. Researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have found that epigenetic factors play a role in senescence...

BUSM Researchers Call for Individualized Criteria for Diagnosing Obesity

Date: Sep-04-2013
With soaring obesity rates in the U.S., the American Medical Association has classified obesity as a disease. This major shift in healthcare policy brings much needed medical attention to obese patients. However, this definition of obesity focuses on a single criterion of Body Mass Index (BMI), which includes a large group of persons with high BMI who are metabolically healthy and not at high risk for type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease or obesity-associated cancers. In a review article published online in Endocrinology, Gerald V...

Whether obese, overweight or lean, women who thought about future scenarios were able to postpone gratification, study shows

Date: Sep-04-2013
Dieters call it willpower; social scientists call it delayed gratification. It's the ability to delay an immediate reward in favor of a bigger future reward, for example, having a slimmer body in a few months versus the hot fudge sundae now. Previous studies have shown that overweight and obese people have a harder time delaying gratification, so they are more likely to forego the healthy body later on in favor of eating more calorie-dense foods now...

Drug design success propels efforts to fight HIV with a combination of 2 FDA-approved drugs

Date: Sep-04-2013
A University of Minnesota research team featuring researchers from the Institute for Molecular Virology, School of Dentistry and Center for Drug Design has developed a new delivery system for a combination of two FDA approved drugs that may serve as an effective treatment for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The discovery, which allows for a combination of decitabine and gemcitabine to be delivered in pill form, marks a major step forward in patient feasibility for the drugs, which previously had been available solely via injection or intravenous therapy (IV)...

Researchers find parasitic worms limit the effects of giardia, and vice versa

Date: Sep-04-2013
If the idea of hookworms makes you shudder, consider this: Those pesky intestinal parasites may actually help your body ward off other infections, and perhaps even prevent autoimmune and other diseases. Studying members of the Tsimane, an indigenous population in the lowlands of Central Bolivia, UC Santa Barbara anthropologists Aaron Blackwell and Michael Gurven found that individuals infected by helminths - parasitic worms - were less likely than their counterparts to suffer from giardia, an intestinal malady caused by a flagellated protozoa...

What are the benefits of wine?

Date: Sep-03-2013
Wine, especially red wine has been studied extensively over many years, with impressive findings for heart benefits, longer lifespan, cancer protection, and better mental health. It is not only red wine that has received praise. Scientists reported in the Journal of Agricultural & Food Chemistry that white wine is just as heart healthy as red. However, as many more studies have focused on red wine, most of the content and quotes in this article refer to red wine...

Roll-out of community voluntary male circumcision is linked to reduced HIV infection levels

Date: Sep-03-2013
Roll-out of voluntary male circumcision services into the community of Orange Farm, South Africa is linked to substantial reductions in HIV infection levels, according to a study published in this week's PLOS Medicine. The study, (ANRS-12126), conducted by Bertran Auvert and colleagues from the University of Versailles (France), also reported that substantial uptake of voluntary male circumcision in one community was not linked to changes in sexual behavior that might affect HIV infection rates...