Health News

'Motion sensor' for autism diagnosis and therapy

Date: Jul-26-2013
Scientists have developed a new screening tool that could use an individual's movement to diagnose and treat autism, according to a series of studies published in the journal Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience. Researchers from Indiana University School of Medicine and Rutgers University have developed the method, which presents individuals with various images while a sensitive tracker monitors their movements. The researchers say that this method, which can be used in children over the age of three, could provide an earlier, more objective and more accurate diagnosis of autism...

Nerve regeneration of skin pathological scars promoted by mechanical tension

Date: Jul-26-2013
Scars are prone to appear at high tension parts, such as the sternum, shoulder and back, which are serious clinical problems. Surgeons reduce scar formation through Z, W, V-Y flap variation and reduced blade tension, but its specific mechanism is still not very clear. Hu Xiao and colleagues from Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University verified that mechanical tension contributed to the formation of a hyperplastic scar in the back skin of rats, in conjunction with increases in both nerve density and nerve growth factor expression in the scar tissue...

Motor relearning program improves neurological function of brain ischemia

Date: Jul-26-2013
The motor relearning program can significantly improve various functional disturbance induced by ischemic cerebrovascular diseases. However, its mechanism of action remains poorly understood. According to a study published in Neural Regeneration Research (Vol. 8, No. 16, 2013), models of ischemic brain injury in the rhesus macaque were induced by electrocoagulation of the M1 segment of the right middle cerebral artery, then the motor relearning program was after model establishment...

"Option awareness" approach makes emergency response faster and better

Date: Jul-26-2013
In a paper on decision making, human factors/ergonomics (HF/E) researchers found that choosing the best available emergency response could be improved by showing decision makers a depiction of the emergency decision space that allows them to compare their options visually. The researchers have developed the theory of option awareness (how people perceive and understand the desirability of available options), which can increase decision-making speed as well as accuracy, and confidence...

Mammography recall rates higher from hospitals

Date: Jul-26-2013
The rate at which women get called back for additional imaging after screening mammography may be higher at hospitals than at community office practices, mostly due to differences among the patients, according to a new study published online in the journal Radiology. The findings highlight the limitations of recall rates as a quality measure for breast cancer screening, the researchers said. Recall rates for mammography refer to the percentage of women who undergo screening and are called back for additional testing...

Individuals with HIV helped to adhere to treatment via peer-led program

Date: Jul-26-2013
Individuals diagnosed with HIV nowadays can live long, healthy lives if they follow their medical treatment plans; however, nearly half of individuals with the virus fail to get needed medical help or to continue treatment, according to previous research. Now, a nursing researcher at the University of Missouri has developed a peer-led intervention that helps individuals with HIV adhere to their treatment plans that can improve their quality of life...

The worst bone tumors not found to be driven by pathways activated in most K9 bone tumors

Date: Jul-26-2013
Many cancers show inappropriate activation of a cell signaling pathway called NOTCH. In the developing body, NOTCH tells brain cells to grow and proliferate. It should be quiet in the adult body, but cancers restart NOTCH to drive their own growth, far and beyond the rate of healthy tissues. A Colorado State University and University of Colorado Cancer Center study expected to find NOTCH signaling elevated in K9 osteosarcoma samples, gathered from patients at the CSU Flint Animal Cancer Center...

Sleep deprivation linked to skin aging

Date: Jul-26-2013
In a first-of-its-kind clinical trial, physician-scientists at University Hospitals (UH) Case Medical Center found that sleep quality impacts skin function and aging. The recently completed study, commissioned by Estee Lauder, demonstrated that poor sleepers had increased signs of skin aging and slower recovery from a variety of environmental stressors, such as disruption of the skin barrier or ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Poor sleepers also had worse assessment of their own skin and facial appearance...

The threat of severe violence between males may be a cue for bystanders to intervene in bar fights

Date: Jul-26-2013
People are more likely to try to break up a bar fight when they believe the conflict is too violent, or has the potential to become more violent, according to an international team of researchers. Bystanders break up about a third of the fights that occur in bars and are most likely to intervene in conflicts between males, said Michael Parks, who recently earned his doctorate in sociology at Penn State. These bystanders used nonaggressive interventions to break up about 65 percent of the fights between two aggressive males...

The importance of maintaining muscle mass during weight loss

Date: Jul-26-2013
Athletes seeking a healthy performance weight should eat high fiber, low-fat food balanced with their training regimen in order to maintain muscle while still burning fat, according to a report by an Oregon State University researcher. The United States now has a record number of overweight athletes, a population many think of as untouched by the obesity crisis. Nationally, more than 45 percent of high school linebackers are obese, and the number of overweight students entering college level-sports is increasing...