Health News

To Increase Bicycle Use, Improve Public Health, A Change In Cycle Track Policy Needed

Date: May-19-2013
Bicycle engineering guidelines often used by state regulators to design bicycle facilities need to be overhauled to reflect current cyclists' preferences and safety data, according to a new study from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers. They say that U.S. guidelines should be expanded to offer cyclists more riding options and call for endorsing cycle tracks - physically separated, bicycle-exclusive paths adjacent to sidewalks - to encourage more people of all ages to ride bicycles...

Returning Genetic Incidental Findings Without Patient Consent Violates Basic Rights

Date: May-19-2013
Informed consent is the backbone of patient care. Genetic testing has long required patient consent and patients have had a "right not to know" the results. However, as 21st century medicine now begins to use the tools of genome sequencing, an enormous debate has erupted over whether patients' rights will continue in an era of medical genomics. Recent recommendations from the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) suggest no...

Brain Stimulation - A Fast And Painless Way To Improve Math Ability And More

Date: May-19-2013
In the future, if you want to improve your ability to manipulate numbers in your head, you might just plug yourself in. So say researchers who reported in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on studies of a harmless form of brain stimulation applied to an area known to be important for math ability. "With just five days of cognitive training and noninvasive, painless brain stimulation, we were able to bring about long-lasting improvements in cognitive and brain functions," says Roi Cohen Kadosh of the University of Oxford...

The Brain Rewires Itself After Damage Or Injury

Date: May-18-2013
When the brain's primary "learning center" is damaged, complex new neural circuits arise to compensate for the lost function, say life scientists from UCLA and Australia who have pinpointed the regions of the brain involved in creating those alternate pathways - often far from the damaged site...

Statins May Reduce Exercise Benefits For Obese Adults

Date: May-18-2013
Statins, the most widely prescribed drugs worldwide, are often suggested to lower cholesterol and prevent heart disease in individuals with obesity, diabetes and metabolic syndrome, which is a combination of medical disorders including excess body fat and/or high levels of blood pressure, blood sugar and/or cholesterol. However, University of Missouri researchers found that simvastatin, a generic type of statin previously sold under the brand name "Zocor," hindered the positive effects of exercise for obese and overweight adults...

Breathing Emission Particles Turns HDL Cholesterol From 'Good' To 'Bad'

Date: May-18-2013
Academic researchers have found that breathing motor vehicle emissions triggers a change in high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, altering its cardiovascular protective qualities so that it actually contributes to clogged arteries. In addition to changing HDL from "good" to "bad," the inhalation of emissions activates other components of oxidation, the early cell and tissue damage that causes inflammation, leading to hardening of the arteries, according to the research team, which included scientists from UCLA and other institutions...

Comprehensive Survey Can Help Health Workers Identify Potentially Risky Behavior

Date: May-18-2013
A recent study by a team of researchers at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas found that risky sexual behavior can be predicted by cultural, socioeconomic and individual mores in conjunction with how one views themselves. Katherine Hertlein of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas will present her team's findings at the 63rd annual International Communication Association conference in London. Hertlein and colleagues surveyed over 800 participants and evaluated elements of the likelihood of one's engagement in high-risk sexual behavior...

Website Eases Switch To New Healthcare Codes

Date: May-18-2013
University of Illinois at Chicago researchers have developed a website that walks healthcare providers through the challenging transition from the current International Classification of Diseases -- ICD-9 -- to the new ICD-10. Doctors, hospitals and all other healthcare providers have until October 2014 to switch to the new coding system, used to classify every disease or condition and in every aspect of healthcare from ordering supplies to insurance reimbursement. The switch won't be easy -- the number of codes has grown from 14,000 to 68,000...

Depression Doubles Risk Of Stroke In Middle-Aged Women

Date: May-18-2013
Depression doubles the risk of having a stroke in middle-aged women, according to a new study in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association. The research, a 12-year examination of 10,547 Australian females between the ages of 47 and 52 years old, showed that depressed women had a 2.4 times higher likelihood of stroke than those who were not suffering from depression. After adjusting for factors known to increase stroke risks, results showed that depressed women were still 1.9 times more likely to experience a stroke. Study author Caroline Jackson, Ph.D...

Among Patients Carrying BRCA Mutations, PARP Inhibitor Shows Activity In Pancreatic, Prostate Cancers

Date: May-18-2013
In the largest clinical trial to date to examine the efficacy of PARP inhibitor therapy in BRCA 1/2 carriers with diseases other than breast and ovarian cancer, the oral drug olaparib was found to be effective against advanced pancreatic and prostate cancers. Results of the study, led by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer, Israel, will be presented during the American Society of Clinical Oncology's annual meeting in Chicago in early June (Abstract #11024)...