Health News

Improvement In Quality Of End-Of-Life Care Offered By The Liverpool Care Pathway

Date: May-13-2013
Death in hospital remains very common for cancer patients in developed countries. Although hospital surveys show that death was highly expected, patients dying in hospital have a high probability of unrelieved and poorly treated physical suffering, and emotional, spiritual and social distress. Quality improvement programmes in the United States and United Kingdom suggest that aspects of the 'excellent practice' of palliative care can be transferred to other settings. The Liverpool Care Pathway (LCP) for the dying patient is one pathway that seeks to achieve this...

Researchers Unleash The Watchdog Protein To Slow The Progression Of Parkinson's Disease

Date: May-13-2013
Research opens door to new drug therapies for Parkinson's disease McGill University researchers have unlocked a new door to developing drugs to slow the progression of Parkinson's disease. Collaborating teams led by Dr. Edward A. Fon at the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital -The Neuro, and Dr. Kalle Gehring in the Department of Biochemistry at the Faculty of Medicine, have discovered the three-dimensional structure of the protein Parkin...

Transplant Of Biomaterial Effective In Mice With Type 1 Diabetes

Date: May-13-2013
Researchers have made a significant first step with newly engineered biomaterials for cell transplantation that could help lead to a possible cure for Type 1 diabetes, which affects about 3 million Americans. Georgia Tech engineers and Emory University clinicians have successfully engrafted insulin-producing cells into a diabetic mouse model, reversing diabetic symptoms in the animal in as little as 10 days. The research team engineered a biomaterial to protect the cluster of insulin-producing cells - donor pancreatic islets - during injection...

Self-Abasing 'Fat-Talk' Can Make A Woman Unpopular

Date: May-13-2013
Women who engage in "fat talk" - the self-disparaging remarks girls and women make in relation to eating, exercise or their bodies - are less liked by their peers, a new study from the University of Notre Dame finds. Led by Alexandra Corning, research associate professor of psychology and director of Notre Dame's Body Image and Eating Disorder Lab, the study was presented recently at the Midwestern Psychological Association annual conference...

Public Agencies Can Address The Obesity Epidemic

Date: May-13-2013
With simple and innovative measures, public agencies at state and local levels can play a significant role in promoting healthier eating habits - steps that could make a difference in curbing the nation's obesity epidemic. One effective option, according to researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, is requiring restaurants to include calorie counts on menus, along with the physical activity equivalents required to burn off a meal...

Cancer-Suppressing Protein Found To 'Multitask'

Date: May-13-2013
The understanding of how a powerful protein called p53 protects against cancer development has been upended by a discovery by Walter and Eliza Hall Institute researchers. More than half of human cancers carry defects in the gene for p53, and almost all other cancers, with a normal p53 gene, carry other defects that somehow impair the function of the p53 protein. Inherited mutations in the p53 gene put people at a very high risk of developing a range of cancers...

Using The Pill To Alter Menstruation Cycles

Date: May-13-2013
A surprisingly large number of women 18 or older choose to delay or skip monthly menstruation by deviating from the instructions of birth-control pills and other hormonal contraceptives, a team of University of Oregon researchers and others found in a study of female students at the university...

A Woman's Risk Of Heart Disease May Be Increased By Insomnia And Disrupted Sleep During Menopause

Date: May-13-2013
Insomnia and other sleep disturbances are common among perimenopausal and postmenopausal women and may increase their risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Evidence that a combination of altered sleep duration and insomnia among women ages 50-79 doubled their risk of both CHD and CVD over a period of more than 10 years is presented in an article in Journal of Women's Health, a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available on the Journal of Women's Health website...

Agent Orange Linked To Fatal Prostate Cancer

Date: May-13-2013
A new study of US Veterans has found that exposure to Agent Orange is linked to a two-fold higher risk of developing the most lethal forms of prostate cancer. The researchers suggest a history of exposure to the agent, which contains the dioxin TCDD, a dangerous toxin and carcinogen, should be one of the first things to look for when screening Veterans as it could lead to earlier diagnosis and treatment and prolong survival...

Type 1 Diabetes Vaccine In Twenty Years May Be Possible

Date: May-13-2013
Diabetes UK have announced the biggest research program in the charity's history to try and develop a new vaccine for Type 1 diabetes within the next two decades, an accomplishment which could transform and improve the lives of the millions of people at high risk of developing the condition. Type 1 diabetes effects around 300,000 people in the UK (accounting for around 10% of all diabetes cases). According to the American Diabetes Association, over 3 million Americans live with type 1 diabetes...