Health News

Treatment For Glaucoma May Lead To Droopy Eyelids

Date: May-24-2013
Prostaglandin analogues (PGAs), drugs which lower intraocular pressure, are often the first line of treatment for people with glaucoma, but their use is not without risks. PGAs have long been associated with blurred vision, dryness, changes in eye color and other side effects. Now a new study has found that these drugs also cause upper and lower eyelid drooping and other issues that can interfere with vision. The findings are described in PLOS ONE...

Elite Athletes, Dietary Supplements And The Secondary Effects Of Performance-Enhancing Substances

Date: May-24-2013
Most elite athletes consider doping substances "are effective" in improving performance, while recognising that they constitute cheating, can endanger health and entail the obvious risk of sanction. At the same time, the reasons why athletes start to take doping substances are to achieve athletic success, improve performance, for financial gain, to improve recovery and to prevent nutritional deficiencies, as well as "because other athletes also use them"...

Nutritional Supplement Delays Advancement Of Parkinson's And Familial Dysautonomia

Date: May-24-2013
Widely available in pharmacies and health stores, phosphatidylserine is a natural food supplement produced from beef, oysters, and soy. Proven to improve cognition and slow memory loss, it's a popular treatment for older people experiencing memory impairment. Now a team headed by Prof. Gil Ast and Dr. Ron Bochner of Tel Aviv University's Department of Human Molecular Genetics has discovered that the same supplement improves the functioning of genes involved in degenerative brain disorders, including Parkinson's disease and Familial Dysautonomia (FD)...

Mass Spectrometers Offer Insight Into The Dazzling Impact Of Insulin In Cells

Date: May-24-2013
Australian scientists have charted the path of insulin action in cells in precise detail like never before. This provides a comprehensive blueprint for understanding what goes wrong in diabetes. The breakthrough study, conducted by Sean Humphrey and Professor David James from Sydney's Garvan Institute of Medical Research, is now published in the early online edition of the prestigious journal Cell Metabolism...

US Teen Birth Rates Drop To New Low

Date: May-23-2013
Teen birth rates have dropped significantly, most notably among Hispanic teens, according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Among adolescents aged 15 to 19 years, the birth rate rate fell by close to one half from 1991 to 2011 - from approximately 62 births for every 1,000 teens to 31 births per 1,000. During the most recent period examined, 2007 to 2011, rates dropped 25%, from 41.5 to around 31. Rates decreased during that time by 30% in seven states, and Utah and Arizona each had a 35% reduction...

Light From Electronic Devices Prevents Proper Night's Sleep

Date: May-23-2013
Electric lights that brighten smartphones, laptops, tablets, and other electronic devices are frequently causing people to not get a proper night's sleep, according to a new report published in the journal Nature. The body's natural rhythm becomes distorted as a result of artificial lights. Additionally, these lights can impact chemicals in the brain as well as prompt people to use stimulants such as caffeine...

SAP To Employ Hundreds Of Autistic People

Date: May-23-2013
In an effort to "help the world and improve lives" German software company, "SAP AG", has just announced it plans to work alongside Specialisterne and recruit hundreds of people diagnosed with autism (Autism Spectrum Disorder) to join their workforce. The company said that it seeks to hire people with autism as software testers, programmers and data quality assurance specialists. They say they want people who 'spark innovation' and 'think differently'...

Alzheimer's Cause Found In Trigger Of Brain Protein Malfunction

Date: May-23-2013
In a new breakthrough to find the cause of Alzheimer's disease, scientists have pinpointed a molecule that appears to trigger a chain reaction of protein malfunction that eventually clogs up and kills brain cells. The teams, from the University of Cambridge in the UK and Lund University in Sweden, write about their findings in a paper due to be published online first this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Tuomas Knowles, one of the study leaders, runs a group based at Cambridge that studies the physical aspects of protein molecule self-assembly...

Step Toward Universal Flu Vaccine Shows Promise In Animal Tests

Date: May-23-2013
A new approach for creating immunity against the flu virus that produces a stronger immune reaction and protects against more strains than the current vaccines, has shown promising results in animal tests. The result is a step forward in the development of a universal flu vaccine say the researchers behind it. Every year, flu vaccine developers race against time to produce vaccines that match circulating viruses...

Patients At Risk Of Heart Disease Set To Benefit From Clinical Trial

Date: May-23-2013
Patients suffering from high blood pressure - the single most important risk for death worldwide - could be helped by a UK-wide clinical trial aimed at improving treatments. Clinicians have recruited the 500th patient to the trial, which is evaluating the most effective drug combinations for newly diagnosed patients. Researchers want to know whether prescribing two drugs at the start of treatment is better than the more common approach of starting patients on one drug and only introducing a second if the first is not effective enough...