Health News

Biologists Reveal How Cells Control The Direction In Which The Genome Is Read

Date: Jun-26-2013
MIT biologists have discovered a mechanism that allows cells to read their own DNA in the correct direction and prevents them from copying most of the so-called "junk DNA" that makes up long stretches of our genome. Only about 15 percent of the human genome consists of protein-coding genes, but in recent years scientists have found that a surprising amount of the junk, or intergenic DNA, does get copied into RNA - the molecule that carries DNA's messages to the rest of the cell. Scientists have been trying to figure out just what this RNA might be doing, if anything...

Hunger For Amino Acids Makes Brain Cancer More Aggressive

Date: Jun-26-2013
To fuel phases of fast and aggressive growth, tumors need higher-than-normal amounts of energy and the molecular building blocks needed to build new cellular components. Cancer cells therefore consume a lot of sugar (glucose A number of tumors are also able to catabolize the amino acid glutamine, an important building block of proteins. A key enzyme in amino acid decomposition is isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH). Several years ago, scientists discovered mutations in the gene coding for IDH in numerous types of brain cancer...

Xtandi™ (Enzalutamide) Authorised In The European Union (EU) For Advanced Prostate Cancer

Date: Jun-26-2013
Enzalutamide authorised in European Union (EU) for the treatment of adult men with metastatic castrationresistant prostate cancer whose disease has progressed on or after docetaxel therapy[1] Astellas Pharma Europe Ltd., the European Headquarters of Tokyobased Astellas Pharma Inc. (TSE:4503), and Medivation, Inc...

Study Shows Significant Reductions In Blood Glucose With Investigational Compound Empagliflozin Used As Monotherapy In Adults With Type 2 Diabetes

Date: Jun-26-2013
Data presented at the American Diabetes Association 73rd Scientific Sessions® also showed reduction in body weight and systolic blood pressure in treated study subjects Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly and Company have announced results of a 24week Phase III clinical trial, which showed that treatment with the investigational compound empagliflozin* as monotherapy produced statistically significant reductions in HbA1c (average blood glucose) versus placebo, in patients with Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) who had not received any treatment for at least 12 weeks prior to randomisation...

Low Income Uninsured Adults Who May Be Eligible For Medicaid Under The ACA Less Likely To Have Chronic Conditions Compared With Medicaid Enrollees

Date: Jun-26-2013
Compared with adults already enrolled in Medicaid, lowincome uninsured adults who may be eligible for Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act were less likely to have chronic conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, and hypercholesterolemia, although those with 1 of these conditions were less likely to be aware they had it or to have the disease controlled, according to a study in the June 26 issue of JAMA. The study is being released early to coincide with its presentation at the AcademyHealth annual research meeting...

Ability To Lower Costs For Higher Cost Medicare Patients Through Better Outpatient Care May Be Limited

Date: Jun-26-2013
In an analysis that included a sample of patients in the top portion of Medicare spending, only a small percentage of their costs appeared to be related to preventable emergency department visits and hospitalizations, limiting the ability to lower costs for these patients through better outpatient care, according to a study in the June 26 issue of JAMA. The study is being released early to coincide with its presentation at the AcademyHealth annual research meeting...

New Device Using Drop Of Blood To Detect Disease Shows Promise

Date: Jun-26-2013
An NJIT research professor known for his cutting-edge work with carbon nanotubes is overseeing the manufacture of a prototype lab-on-a-chip that would someday enable a physician to detect disease or virus from just one drop of liquid, including blood. "Scalable nano-bioprobes with sub-cellular resolution for cell detection," Biosensors and Bioelectronics, (Elsevier, Vol...

Human Heart Matured By New Biowire' Technology Mimicking Fetal Heartrate

Date: Jun-26-2013
A new method of maturing human heart cells that simulates the natural growth environment of heart cells while applying electrical pulses to mimic the heart rate of fetal humans has led researchers at the University of Toronto to an electrifying step forward for cardiac research. The discovery, announced this week in the scientific journal Nature Methods, offers cardiac researchers a fast and reliable method of creating mature human cardiac patches in a range of sizes...

Improved Health And Happiness Experienced By Regular Attendees Of Synagogues

Date: Jun-26-2013
Two new Baylor University studies show that Israeli Jewish adults who attend synagogue regularly, pray often, and consider themselves religious are significantly healthier and happier than their non-religious counterparts. They also report greater satisfaction with life. "These findings nicely reinforce the inherited Jewish folk wisdom that going to shul (synagogue) is 'good for you,'" said Baylor University researcher Jeff Levin, Ph.D...

Physical Environment May Affect Likelihood Of Dishonest Behavior

Date: Jun-26-2013
A new study from researchers at leading business schools reveals that expansive physical settings (e.g. having a big desk to stretch out while doing work or a large driver's seat in an automobile) can cause individuals to feel more powerful, and in turn these feelings of power can elicit more dishonest behavior such as stealing, cheating, and even traffic violations...