Health News

Managing Fibromyalgia: A Guide For Physicians

Date: May-06-2013
Fibromyalgia, now recognized as a true health syndrome with origins in the central nervous system, has seen many recent evolutions regarding its diagnosis and management which should instil new approaches , states a review article published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). "The cause of fibromyalgia is unknown, but there is some evidence for a genetic predisposition, abnormalities in the stress response system or hypothalamic-pituitary axis, and possible triggering events," writes Dr...

1 In 4 Brits Walks For An Hour Or Less A Week

Date: May-06-2013
One in four adults in Britain walks for no more than an hour a week, according to an online survey commissioned from YouGov by the walking charity Ramblers. This figure includes everyday walking to the shops, work or school, says the charity, whose mission, among other things, is to encourage participation in walking for recreation and as a means of transport...

Your Saliva On Pacifiers Can Ward Off Childhood Allergies

Date: May-06-2013
If you clean your baby's pacifier by sucking it, you may well be reducing your infant's risk of developing allergies, researchers from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, reported in the journal Pediatrics (May 6th, 2013 issue). Exposing a baby's immune system to microbes which benefit from the host, but have no detrimental effects on that host (commensal microbes), may protect against the development of allergy. Microbes in our mouths may be transferred to our infants via pacifiers...

DNA Housekeeping Proteins May Also Prevent Cancer

Date: May-06-2013
Scientists once thought BAF proteins confined their activity to cellular housekeeping. But then they discovered these complexes do more than help package and maintain DNA in cells: it seems they also suppress tumor development in many types of tissue. Now a new study from Stanford University School of Medicine in the US finds BAF proteins are mutated in about one in five human cancers...

Blocking A Single Gene Renders Tumors Less Aggressive

Date: May-06-2013
Researchers at Johns Hopkins have identified a gene that, when repressed in tumor cells, puts a halt to cell growth and a range of processes needed for tumors to enlarge and spread to distant sites. The researchers hope that this so-called "master regulator" gene may be the key to developing a new treatment for tumors resistant to current drugs. "This master regulator is normally turned off in adult cells, but it is very active during embryonic development and in all highly aggressive tumors studied to date," says Linda Resar, M.D...

Obesity Researchers Uncover New Human Brown Fat Cell

Date: May-06-2013
The body's brown fat cells play a key role in the development of obesity and diabetes. Researchers at Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, have now discovered that we humans have two different kinds of brown fat cells and not one kind as previously thought. This discovery, now published in Nature Medicine, opens up new opportunities for future medicines that exploit the brown fat cells' ability to consume calories...

No Negative Effect Found For Children Admitted To Emergency Out-Of-Hours Intensive Care

Date: May-06-2013
Children admitted to UK intensive care units in out-of-hours emergencies are at no greater risk of dying than children arriving during normal working hours, according to new research. However, mortality rates are significantly higher in the winter, even after taking into account added health risks for children in the colder months. The study, published by researchers at the University of Leeds and the University of Leicester in the Journal of Pediatrics, is the first large-scale analysis of the influence of admission times on deaths in paediatric intensive care units...

In Combat Sports Dehydration Can Be A Problem

Date: May-06-2013
Athletes in combat sports often try to shed body weight in order to compete against lighter and smaller opponents. A new doctoral thesis from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, points to the human body's limited ability to quickly recover following extensive short-term weight loss. Almost half of the studied athletes were severely dehydrated on the morning of their matches. Nevertheless, the athletes seem to focus on the mental advantages of the method. Stefan Pettersson has studied the very best Swedish athletes in wrestling, taekwondo, judo and boxing...

The Creation Of Genetically Altered Mice To Model Human Disease Revolutionized

Date: May-06-2013
Whitehead Institute Founding Member Rudolf Jaenisch, who helped transform the study of genetics by creating the first transgenic mouse in 1974, is again revolutionizing how genetically altered animal models are created and perhaps even redefining what species may serve as models. "This new method is a game changer," says Jaenisch, who is also a professor of biology at MIT. "We can now make a mouse with five mutations in just three to four weeks, whereas the conventional way would take three to four years. And it's rather straightforward, probably even easier than the conventional way...

Gene Mutations Identified That Are Associated With Nearsightedness

Date: May-06-2013
People have long taken for granted that glasses and contact lenses improve vision for nearsightedness, but the genetic factors behind the common condition have remained blurry. Now researchers at Duke Medicine are closer to clearing this up. Mutations in a gene that helps regulate copper and oxygen levels in eye tissue are associated with a severe form of nearsightedness, according to a study published in the American Journal of Human Genetics. Nearsightedness - also known as myopia - is the most common human eye disease in the world...