Health News

Neutron studies of HIV inhibitors reveal new areas for improvement

Date: Aug-16-2013
The first study of interactions between a common clinical inhibitor and the HIV-1 protease enzyme has been carried out by an international team with members from the US, Britain and France using neutrons at the Institut Laue-Langevin in Grenoble, France. It provides medical science with the first true picture of how an antiviral drug used to block virus replication actually works, and critically how its performance could be improved...

Four cups of coffee a day linked to risk of early death

Date: Aug-16-2013
Americans are big coffee drinkers, consuming more than 400 million cups each day. But new research has found that drinking four cups of coffee a day could lead to numerous health problems and an increased mortality risk, according to a study published in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings. Researchers from the US conducted an analysis on the link between coffee consumption and causes of death, using data from the Aerobic Center Longitudinal Study (ACLS), The National Death Index, and by assessing death certificates...

Surgical Safety Checklist is no magic bullet to prevent unsafe surgery, say researchers

Date: Aug-16-2013
A widely promoted checklist to reduce complications and deaths during surgery is not straightforward to implement in either high- or low-income countries, says new research. It is especially unlikely to be used as intended in countries where the electricity supply is unreliable, there is a lack of basic materials such as gauze, and shifts can last for up to 36 hours...

Improved access to youth services likely following mental health youth report

Date: Aug-16-2013
A study of a cross-section of youth mental health services across Canada has found that two in five young people receiving services are experiencing significant concurrent mental health and substance use problems. The project, led by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), also shows that increased collaboration between youth service providers can enhance services for youth...

The development of BRAF inhibitors is a major milestone in treating patients with BRAF-mutant melanoma

Date: Aug-16-2013
Moffitt Cancer Center researchers suggest secondary cancers seen in melanoma patients who are being treated for a BRAF gene mutation may require new strategies, such as enhanced surveillance and combining BRAF-inhibitor therapy with other inhibitors, especially as they become more widely used. They discussed this topic in a review article that appears in the July issue of Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology. The BRAF gene is mutated in about half of all cases of melanoma, as well as other cancers, and the mutant protein can be successfully deactivated by BRAF inhibitor drugs...

Characteristics of family killers revealed by first taxonomy study

Date: Aug-16-2013
Of all the dark forms that murder can take, the slaying of a family by the father is one of the most tragic and the least understood. This first ever study of British 'family annihilators', publishing in the Howard Journal of Criminal Justice tomorrow, has analysed three decades of cases and reveals four new types of annihilator. "Family annihilators have received little attention as a separate category of killer," said Professor David Wilson, one of the paper's three authors, and Director of the Centre of Applied Criminology at Birmingham City University...

Targeting aggressive prostate cancer - collaborative study shows how non-coding RNAs fuel cancer growth

Date: Aug-16-2013
A team of researchers from UC Davis, UC San Diego and other institutions has identified a key mechanism behind aggressive prostate cancer. Published on August 14, 2013 in Nature, the study shows that two long non-coding RNAs (PRNCR1 and PCGEM1) activate androgen receptors, circumventing androgen-deprivation therapy. In their active state, these receptors turn on genes that spur growth and metastasis, making these cancers highly treatment-resistant. The study illustrates how prostate cancer can thrive, even when deprived of hormones, and provides tempting targets for new therapies...

Study shows feasibility of collecting alcohol brand consumption data in the ER

Date: Aug-16-2013
Budweiser, Steel Reserve, Colt 45, Bud Ice and Bud Light - were consumed in the highest quantities by emergency room patients, according to a new pilot study from researchers at The Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY) at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Three of these are "malt liquors" with higher alcohol content than regular beer. The pilot study, published by Substance Use and Misuse, is the first study of its kind to assess alcohol consumption by brand and type from patients reporting to the emergency department with injury...

Post-exercise muscle soreness may be relieved by watermelon juice

Date: Aug-16-2013
Watermelon juice's reputation among athletes is getting scientific support in a new study, which found that juice from the summer favorite fruit can relieve post-exercise muscle soreness. The report in ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry attributes watermelon's effects to the amino acid L-citrulline. Encarna Aguayo and colleagues cite past research on watermelon juice's antioxidant properties and its potential to increase muscle protein and enhance athletic performance. But scientists had yet to explore the effectiveness of watermelon juice drinks enriched in L-citrulline...

Mortality risk in COPD and sleep apnea reduced by CPAP

Date: Aug-16-2013
A new study suggests that continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy reduces the mortality rate in people who have both chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), which the authors refer to as "the overlap syndrome." "This study adds to the growing body of literature regarding the combined impact of OSA in patients with COPD," said lead author and principal investigator Michael L. Stanchina, MD, clinical assistant professor of medicine at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University and physician at Rhode Island Hospital in Providence, R.I...