Health News

Chip Identifies Bacterial Infection In Minutes, Not Days

Date: Jun-18-2013
Bacterial infections kill tens of thousands of North Americans every year. The fact it can take days to find out which bacteria are behind the infections and even longer to establish exactly which drugs will work, doesn't help. Now according to a new study, a chip that identifies bacteria in minutes promises to slash those timescales. And not only does the chip identify the specific pathogen, it can also tell which drugs it is resistant to, say researchers from the University of Toronto (U of T) in Canada...

Air Pollution Raises Autism Risk

Date: Jun-18-2013
Pregnant women exposed to high levels of air pollution are twice as likely to have a child with autism compared to women exposed to low levels, scientists from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) reported in Environmental Health Perspectives (June 18th edition). The authors claim that theirs is the first large nationwide study to examine associations between air pollution and ASD (autism spectrum disorder) rates across the United States...

Blood Test May Detect Sexually Transmitted Throat Cancer

Date: Jun-18-2013
A blood test can detect antibodies of HPV that can cause throat and oral cancers years before the symptoms of the disease become apparent, researchers from the National Cancer Institute and the International Agency for Research on Cancer reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. In the study, close to 1 in 3 people with oropharyngeal cancer had antibodies to HPV (human papilloma virus), compared with fewer than 1 in 100 without cancer. When present, these antibodies could be found several years before onset of the disease...

Link Between Missing Enzyme And Drug Addiction

Date: Jun-18-2013
A missing brain enzyme increases concentrations of a protein related to pain-killer addiction, according to an animal study. The results were presented at The Endocrine Society's 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco. Opioids are pain-killing drugs, derived from the opium plant, which block signals of pain between nerves in the body. They are manufactured in prescription medications like morphine and codeine, and also are found in some illegal drugs, like heroin. Both legal and illegal opioids can be highly addictive...

Drug-Resistant Prostate Cancer Treated With New Medication In The Laboratory

Date: Jun-18-2013
A new drug called pyrvinium pamoate inhibits aggressive forms of prostate cancer that are resistant to standard drugs, according to a study conducted in an animal model. The results were presented at The Endocrine Society's 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco. "Our novel prostate cancer drug works by a unique mechanism of action," said study lead author Jeremy Jones, PhD, assistant professor of molecular pharmacology at City of Hope, Beckman Research Institute, in Duarte, CA. "Thus, it has the potential to treat cancers resistant to currently approved therapies...

Brain Inflammation Due To Obesity Compounded By Low Testosterone

Date: Jun-18-2013
Low testosterone worsens the harmful effects of obesity in the nervous system, a new study in mice finds. The results were presented at The Endocrine Society's 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco. "Low testosterone and obesity are common in aging men, and each is associated with type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer's disease," said the study's lead investigator, Anusha Jayaraman, PhD, of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. "Our new findings demonstrate that obesity and low testosterone combine to not only increase the risk of diabetes but also damage the brain...

Study Opens Door For Additional Treatment Option For Hypothyroidism

Date: Jun-18-2013
Desiccated thyroid extract (DTE), derived from crushed preparations of animal thyroid glands, is a safe and effective alternative to standard T4 therapy in hypothyroid patients, a new study finds. The results were presented at The Endocrine Society's 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco. In adults, untreated hypothyroidism leads to poor mental and physical performance. It also can cause high blood cholesterol levels that can lead to heart disease. The condition is treated with Levothyroxine, a synthetic (laboratory-made) form of T4 that is identical to the T4 the thyroid naturally makes...

Lack Of Sleep May Trigger The 'Munchies' By Raising Levels Of An Appetite Stimulant

Date: Jun-18-2013
Insufficient sleep may contribute to weight gain and obesity by raising levels of a substance in the body that is a natural appetite stimulant, a new study finds. The results were presented today at The Endocrine Society's 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco. The researchers found that when healthy, lean, young adults received only 4.5 hours of sleep a night, they had higher daytime circulating, or blood, levels of a molecule that controls the pleasurable aspects of eating, compared with when they slept 8.5 hours...

Blood Sugar Control Improved By Weight Loss Drug Plus Diet And Exercise

Date: Jun-18-2013
The new weight loss drug lorcaserin (Belviq) appears to improve blood sugar control in nondiabetic, overweight individuals, independent of the amount of weight they lose, a new study finds. The results were presented at The Endocrine Society's 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco. Lorcaserin activates a serotonin receptor (5HT2C) in the brain believed to decrease appetite and promote a sense of fullness, thus encouraging decreased food consumption, said the study's principal investigator, Louis Aronne, MD, professor of clinical medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College, New York City...

Discovery Of Source Of Tumor Growth In Aggressive Prostate Cancer

Date: Jun-18-2013
Researchers have discovered a molecular switch that explains, at least in part, how some fast-growing prostate cancers become resistant to hormone treatment, a new study conducted in human cell cultures and mice finds. The results were presented at The Endocrine Society's 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco. A factor not normally found in the prostate, called Steroidogenic Factor 1, stimulates production of new steroid hormones and increases cell multiplication to fuel growth of the tumor, researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, found...