Health News

Baby Boomers Should Be Tested For Hepatitis C, Says Panel

Date: Jun-25-2013
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has just issued new screening recommendations for adults, specifically baby boomers, at risk of hepatitis C virus infection. The new recommendations come following substantial evidence indicating that more widespread screening could significantly help identify people living with the infection. Task Force member, Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, Ph.D., M.D., said that there are millions of Americans infected with hepatitis C, but "many are unaware of their condition, in large part because they may not have any symptoms...

Breast Cancer: NHS Should Offer Women With Family History Preventive Drugs

Date: Jun-25-2013
Nearly half a million women in England and Wales with a family history of breast cancer should be offered drugs via the NHS to help lower their risk of developing the disease, according to updated guidance by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) released on Tuesday. NICE is an independent watchdog that provides guidance and advice to the the NHS, local authorities, and other organizations responsible for commissioning or providing healthcare, public health or social care services...

Tissues Made See-Through By Sugar Solution

Date: Jun-25-2013
Japanese researchers have developed a new sugar and water-based solution that turns tissues transparent in just three days, without disrupting the shape and chemical nature of the samples. Combined with fluorescence microscopy, this technique enabled them to obtain detailed images of a mouse brain at an unprecedented resolution. The team from the RIKEN Center for Developmental biology reports their finding in Nature Neuroscience...

Moderation Seems To Be Key When It Comes To Eating Fish To Prevent Atrial Fibrillation

Date: Jun-25-2013
An observational study presented at the EHRA EUROPACE congress held 23 to 26 June in Athens, Greece. The study found a U-shaped association between consumption of marine n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) and the risk of developing AF, with people who have both low and high intakes found to suffer more from AF than those with median intakes. The lowest risk of AF was found in those who consumed around 0.63 g marine n-3 PUFA per day, which corresponds to around two servings of fatty (oily) fish per week...

The 3-D Structure Of The Genome Shapes How Genes Are Expressed

Date: Jun-25-2013
Scientists from Australia and the United States bring new insights to our understanding of the three-dimensional 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. 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...

Evaluating Drugs Aimed At Treating Sickle Cell Crisis Via Computer Models

Date: Jun-25-2013
Using powerful computer models, researchers from Brown University have shown for the first time how different types of red blood cells interact to cause sickle cell crisis, a dangerous blockage of blood flow in capillaries that causes searing pain and tissue damage in people with sickle cell disease. The models showed that the rigid, crescent-shaped red blood cells that are the hallmark of sickle cell disease don't cause these blockages on their own. Instead, softer, deformable red blood cells known as SS2 cells start the process by sticking to capillary walls...

Increased Risk Of Water Well Contamination From Stray Gases Near Shale Gas Sites

Date: Jun-25-2013
Homeowners living within one kilometer of shale gas wells appear to be at higher risk of having their drinking water contaminated by stray gases, according to a new Duke University-led study. Duke scientists analyzed 141 drinking water samples from private water wells across northeastern Pennsylvania's gas-rich Marcellus shale basin. Their study documented not only higher methane concentrations in drinking water within a kilometer of shale gas drilling -- which past studies have shown -- but higher ethane and propane concentrations as well...

NMR Advance Brings Proteins Into The Open

Date: Jun-25-2013
When working a cold case, smart investigators try something new. By taking a novel approach to nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy - a blending of four techniques - scientists have been able to resolve a key interaction between two proteins that could never be observed before. They report on their findings the week of June 24, 2013 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). The interaction the team became the first to describe is nearly universal across all of life...

"Mother-Baby" Programme In Malawi Saves Newborn Lives

Date: Jun-25-2013
A five-year programme that mobilised communities to improve the quality of care for mothers and newborns reduced newborn mortality by 30 percent and saved at least 1,000 newborn lives in rural Malawi. The study, carried out in three rural districts in Malawi with a combined population of more than two million, was designed to test whether a combined effort to increase both community awareness and strategies for perinatal care and to improve the quality of healthcare would be more effective than either one alone. The study showed that the combination worked best...

Some Older Patients With Myelodysplastic Syndromes Benefit From Stem Cell Transplants

Date: Jun-25-2013
A new study by an international team led by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists provides the first statistically-based guidelines for determining whether a stem cell transplant is appropriate for older patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) - the most common blood disorders in people over 60 years of age, and frequently a precursor for leukemia...