Health News

Tourists Holidaying In Southern Europe Frequently Experience Sexual Harassment, Sex Against Their Will

Date: Jun-26-2013
The European Institute of Studies on Prevention (Irefrea) surveyed more than 6,000 people in various airports in Mediterranean countries during summer 2009 to find out the levels of harassment and sex against one's will that had occurred. According to the experts, one in ten female English or German tourists has fallen victim to these practices while on holiday in southern Europe, as well as one in 15 males, as published in the journal Archives of Sexual Behavior...

Global Action Essential To Help Tobacco Users Quit

Date: Jun-26-2013
More than half of the countries who signed the WHO 2005 Framework Convention on Tobacco Control have not formed plans to help tobacco users quit. The World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) is a treaty developed to tackle the global tobacco epidemic that is killing 5 million people each year. It came into force in 2005 and is legally binding in 175 countries. The FCTC requires each country to develop plans to help tobacco users in their population to stop - plans that should be based on strong scientific evidence for what works...

The Genome's 3D Structure Shapes How Genes Are Expressed

Date: Jun-26-2013
Scientists from Australia and the United States bring new insights to our understanding of the threedimensional structure of the genome, one of the biggest challenges currently facing the fields of genomics and genetics. Their findings are published in Nature Genetics, online today. Roughly 3 metres of DNA is tightly folded into the nucleus of every cell in our body. This folding allows some genes to be 'expressed', or activated, while excluding others...

Study Finds Investigational Compound Empagliflozin Reduced Blood Glucose In Adults With Type 2 Diabetes And Impaired Kidney Function

Date: Jun-26-2013
Data presented at American Diabetes Association 73rd Scientific Sessions® also showed reductions in weight and blood pressure Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly and Company have announced results of a 52week Phase III clinical trial of the investigational compound empagliflozin*, which showed statistically significant reductions in HbA1c (average blood glucose) at week 24, with the addition of empagliflozin to existing oral glucoselowering therapy in people with Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) and mild to moderate renal impairment as measured by the estimated glomerular filtra...

Resurrecting Ancient Proteins In The Lab, Researchers Discover Just 2 Mutations Triggered An Evolutionary Leap 500 Million Years Ago

Date: Jun-26-2013
Evolution, it seems, sometimes jumps instead of crawls. A research team led by a University of Chicago scientist has discovered two key mutations that sparked a hormonal revolution 500 million years ago. In a feat of "molecular time travel," the researchers resurrected and analyzed the functions of the ancestors of genes that play key roles in modern human reproduction, development, immunity and cancer...

Four Common Pitfalls Of Electronic Medical Record Use In Emergency Departments

Date: Jun-26-2013
Emergency department information systems (EDIS), a significant focus of both federal legislation and U.S. health care reform, may ultimately improve the quality of medical care delivered in hospitals, but as currently configured present numerous threats to health care quality and patient safety. Two physician work groups in the American College of Emergency Physicians assessed the potential harm lurking in EDIS and make recommendations on how to improve patient safety as these systems are implemented across the country...

The Benefits Of Prescribing 3 Drugs At Time Of Diagnosis Of Type 2 Diabetes

Date: Jun-26-2013
Patients with type 2 diabetes fare significantly better if they are started on three medications at the time of diagnosis than if they are prescribed a single drug and have other therapies added later, a San Antonio researcher said at the 73rd Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association in Chicago. The findings, from a study funded by the association, could revise the way physicians manage the endocrine disease. Comparison UT Medicine San Antonio physician Ralph DeFronzo, M.D...

Helping RNA Escape From Cells' Recycling Process Could Make It Easier To Shut Off Disease-Causing Genes

Date: Jun-26-2013
Nanoparticles that deliver short strands of RNA offer a way to treat cancer and other diseases by shutting off malfunctioning genes. Although this approach has shown some promise, scientists are still not sure exactly what happens to the nanoparticles once they get inside their target cells. A new study from MIT sheds light on the nanoparticles' fate and suggests new ways to maximize delivery of the RNA strands they are carrying, known as short interfering RNA (siRNA)...

Older People With Age-Related Voice Problems May Benefit From Study Of 'Singing' Rats

Date: Jun-26-2013
A new study shows that the vocal training of older rats reduces some of the voice problems related to their aging, such as the loss of vocal intensity that accompanies changes in the muscles of the larynx. This is an animal model of a vocal pathology that many humans face as they age. The researchers hope that in the future, voice therapy in aging humans will help improve their quality of life The research appears in The Journals of Gerontology...

Genomic Alterations Tied To Kidney Tumor Aggressiveness Identified

Date: Jun-26-2013
Investigators in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) Research Network have uncovered a connection between how tumor cells use energy from metabolic processes and the aggressiveness of the most common form of kidney cancer, clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). Their findings demonstrate that normal metabolism is altered in ccRCC tumor cells, and involves a shift from using one metabolic pathway to another. This change - termed a metabolic shift - correlates with tumor stage and severity in some cases...