Health News

Alcohol consumption during pregnancy may affect learning and memory function in offspring

Date: Jul-23-2013
Maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy has detrimental effects on fetal central nervous system development. Maternal alcohol consumption prior to and during pregnancy significantly affects cognitive functions in offspring, which may be related to changes in cyclin-dependent kinase 5 because it is associated with modulation of synaptic plasticity and impaired learning and memory. Prof...

Intake of sweet-tasting solutions reduced by subdiaphragmatic vagotomy in rats

Date: Jul-23-2013
A new study reports that subdiaphragmatic vagotomy reduces intake of sweet-tasting solutions in rats, and eliminates the hedonic perception produced by sucrose and saccharin in rats. Previous studies have shown that taste information and digestion information in animals during diet intake interact with each other in the central nervous system. So, how does subdiaphragmatic vagotomy influence the intake of sweet-tasting solution in rats? According to a study published in Neural Regeneration Research (Vol. 8, No...

Many countries have a constitutional right to health care, but not the US

Date: Jul-23-2013
Uruguay has it. So does Latvia, and Senegal. In fact, more than half of the world's countries have some degree of a guaranteed, specific right to public health and medical care for their citizens written into their national constitutions. The United States is one of 86 countries whose constitutions do not guarantee their citizens any kind of health protection...

Research on cell-based therapy and cancer furthered by stem cell discovery

Date: Jul-23-2013
Stem-cell researchers at UC San Francisco have found a key role for a protein called BMI1 that may help scientists direct the development of tissues to replace damaged organs in the human body. "Scientists have known that Bmi1 is a central control switch within the adult stem cells of many tissues, including the brain, blood, lung and mammary gland," said Ophir Klein, MD, PhD, who directs the Craniofacial and Mesenchymal Biology (CMB) Program and serves as chair of the Division of Craniofacial Anomalies at UCSF. "Bmi1 also is a cancer-causing gene that becomes reactivated in cancer cells...

Pathogen that caused Irish potato famine even more virulent now, a potential threat to global food security in the developing world

Date: Jul-23-2013
The plant pathogen that caused the Irish potato famine in the 1840s lives on today with a different genetic blueprint and an even larger arsenal of weaponry to harm and kill plants. In a study published in the journal Nature Communications, North Carolina State University plant pathologist Jean Ristaino and colleagues Mike Martin and Tom Gilbert from the University of Copenhagen compared the genomes, or sets of all genes, of five 19th century strains of the Phytophthora infestans pathogen with modern strains of the pathogen, which still wreaks havoc on potatoes and tomatoes...

After cervical spine fusion surgery pro athletes can resume careers

Date: Jul-23-2013
Most professional athletes are able to return to competition within a year after vertebral fusion surgery on the upper (cervical) spine, reports a study in the July issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health. Another study in the July Neurosurgery finds variations in treatment for patients with minor head injuries seen in the emergency department (ED) versus the doctor's office...

In EORTC trial for patients with desmoid-type fibromatosis, moderate dose radiotherapy effective

Date: Jul-23-2013
A phase 2 EORTC trial for patients with inoperable desmoid-type fibromatosis has shown that moderate dose radiotherapy is an effective treatment for patients with such a rare type of tumor. The study results published in Annals of Oncology show that response after radiation therapy is slow, and that continuing regression is seen even after three years. Dr. Ronald B...

Hope that nerve damage in MS could be repaired

Date: Jul-23-2013
By shedding light on how cells regenerate the myelin sheath surrounding nerve fibres in the brain, a new study published in Nature Neuroscience opens the door to treatments that could repair nerve damage and restore lost function in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). MS is a disease in which the immune system attacks and destroys myelin, the protein that insulates the nerves in the spinal cord, brain and optic nerve and stops the electrical signals from leaking out...

How to prevent Alzheimer's disease and dementia

Date: Jul-23-2013
Researchers say there are certain lifestyle measures we can take to reduce our risk of developing Alzheimer's disease and dementia, including being physically active, eating a healthy and balanced diet, maintaining good cardiovascular health, and exercising the brain. The Alzheimer's association says we need more scientifically based large-scale studies to back up some of the proposed measures, but research so far has been promising. The incidence of dementia, including Alzheimer's is expected to grow as lifespans increase...

Early death 11 times more likely with epilepsy

Date: Jul-23-2013
People who have epilepsy are 11 times more likely to die prematurely compared with those who do not have the condition, and the risk is even higher for those with mental illness, according to research published in the The Lancet. The study was carried out by researchers from the University of Oxford and University College London in the UK, who analyzed 69,995 patients in Sweden suffering from epilepsy over a 41-year period. The researchers looked at the risks and causes of premature mortality in people with epilepsy, including suicide, accidents and assaults...