Health News

Premature aging of immune cells present in joints of kids with chronic arthritis, Pitt/Children's Hospital team says

Date: Jul-31-2013
The joints of children with the most common form of chronic inflammatory arthritis contain immune cells that resemble those of 90-year-olds, according to a new study led by researchers at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. The findings, published in the August issue of Arthritis and Rheumatism, suggest that innovative treatment approaches could aim to prevent premature aging of immune cells...

Saliva from heavy cell phone users shows increased risk factors for cancer

Date: Jul-31-2013
Scientists have long been worried about the possible harmful effects of regular cellular phone use, but so far no study has managed to produce clear results. Currently, cell phones are classified as carcinogenic category 2b - potentially carcinogenic to humans - by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). A new Tel Aviv University study, though, may bring bad news. To further explore the relationship between cancer rates and cell phone use, Dr...

UNMC study to test 'breakthrough' drug in mantle cell lymphoma patients - FDA expected to approve drug in 6 months

Date: Jul-31-2013
The University of Nebraska Medical Center is involved in testing a drug the Food and Drug Administration has fast-tracked towards approval because of its dramatic results in patients with mantle cell lymphoma and other cancers. "This experimental drug, Ibruitinib, is so promising that the FDA gave it fast track designation which rarely happens," said Julie M. Vose, M.D., chief of the division of hematology and oncology and Neumann M. and Mildred E. Harris Professor at UNMC. "Patients who've been on the treatment have had remarkable results with limited side effects...

Essential clue to Huntington's disease solution found by McMaster researchers

Date: Jul-31-2013
Researchers at McMaster University have discovered a solution to a long-standing medical mystery in Huntington's disease (HD). HD is a brain disease that can affect 1 in about 7,000 people in mid-life, causing an increasing loss of brain cells at the centre of the brain. HD researchers have known what the exact DNA change is that causes Huntington's disease since 1993, but what is typically seen in patients does not lead to disease in animal models. This has made drug discovery difficult...

Identifying teens at risk for PTSD following traumatic events

Date: Jul-31-2013
While most children cannot be shielded from emotionally traumatic events, clinicians can target those who are most vulnerable to developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), according to a large study from Boston Children's Hospital. Findings appear online in the August issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, accompanied by an editorial...

Single-strand DNA fixed by 'cowcatcher' enzyme

Date: Jul-31-2013
Every time one of your cells divides, it exposes its most essential component to great danger: its genome, the sum total of all its genetic information, embodied in the double-stranded helix of DNA. Prior to cell division, this DNA splits into two single strands, each bearing sequences of biochemical bases that form templates for the genomes of the daughter cells. These single strands are particularly vulnerable to assaults by reactive oxygen species - toxic byproducts of respiration - that could cause changes in the genetic information they contain...

Genistein in soybeans may Inhibit HIV Infection

Date: Jul-31-2013
A compound found in soybeans may become an effective HIV treatment without the drug resistance issues faced by current therapies, according to new research by George Mason University researchers. It's in the early stages, but genistein, derived from soybeans and other plants, shows promise in inhibiting the HIV infection, says Yuntao Wu, a professor with the George Mason-based National Center for Biodefense and Infectious Diseases and the Department of Molecular and Microbiology. Still, that doesn't mean people should begin eating large amounts of soy products...

Bone healing turbo boost offered by 'magic metal'

Date: Jul-31-2013
An unusual "nanowire" coating for medical implants may soon be helping broken bones and joint replacements to heal faster. Ohio State University reports that research engineers there have found that bone cells grow and reproduce almost twice as fast on a textured surface made of metal oxide wires, each tens of thousands of times thinner than a human hair. The engineers have developed an affordable technique for creating these wires, which they describe in a paper in the current issue of the journal Ceramics International...

Children can outgrow obesity - boys more than girls

Date: Jul-31-2013
Researchers have developed a model revealing how excessive calorie intake can affect the weight of children and adolescents, suggesting that children can grow out of obesity, according to a study published in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology. Researchers from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, as well as the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, say the model could lead to the development of new weight-loss programs for obese and overweight children...

Myotonic dystrophy may be due to an imbalance of metabolism

Date: Jul-31-2013
When you sprint, the "fast" muscle fibers give you that winning kick. In a marathon or just day-to-day activity, however, the "slow," or type 1 fibers, keep you going for hours. In people with myotonic dystrophy, the second most common form of muscular dystrophy and the one most likely to occur in adults, these slow or type 1 fibers do not work well, wasting away as the genetic disorder takes its grim toll. In a report that appears online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Dr. Thomas A. Cooper, professor of pathology & immunology at Baylor College of Medicine, and Dr...