Health News

Researchers Identify Protein Responsible For Protection Against Viral Infections

Date: Apr-22-2013
Researchers have identified that when a virus enters the body a naturally occurring protein sets off an immune response that disrupts the virus from entering the body's cells. The finding, published in the journal Cell Host & Microbe, was carried out by researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC), and could be the key to developing future therapies against viral infections. The lead researcher of the study, Jae U...

Community Gardeners Less Likely To Be Overweight

Date: Apr-22-2013
People who are involved in community gardening tend to have a considerably lower body mass index than their non-gardening counterparts, a team from the University of Utah reported in the American Journal of Public Health. Previous studies had shown that community gardeners provide both nutritional and social benefits to neighborhoods, lead author Cathleen Zick explained. "But until now, we did not have data to show a measurable health benefit for those who use the gardens." The Utah team used BMI (body mass index) to measure how close or far people were to their ideal body weight...

Common Neurodegenerative Disorder Caused By Production Of Toxic Protein

Date: Apr-22-2013
Researchers have recently discovered that an expansion of DNA in patients with the common neurodegenerative disorder Fragile X-associated Tremor syndrome causes the production of an abnormal protein that is toxic to neurons. The findings, which are reported online in the Cell Press journal Neuron, suggest an unexpected process by which DNA expansions might lead to neurodegenerative diseases - including Huntington's disease and ALS. This discovery reveals a common feature among these diseases that could be targeted to treat affected individuals...

Sickle Cell Science Should Focus On Anti-Sickling Therapies

Date: Apr-22-2013
Pain is an undeniable focal point for patients with sickle cell disease but it's not the best focus for drug development, says one of the dying breed of physicians specializing in the condition. Rather scientists need to get back to the crux of the disease affecting 1 in 500 black Americans and find better ways to prevent the hallmark sickling that impedes red blood cells' oxygen delivery, damaging blood vessel walls and organs along the way, said Dr. Abdullah Kutlar, Director of the Sickle Cell Center at the Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Regents University...

Particular DNA Changes Linked With Prostate Cancer Development And Lethality

Date: Apr-22-2013
A new analysis has found that the loss or amplification of particular DNA regions contributes to the development of prostate cancer, and that patients with two of these DNA changes have a high likelihood of dying from the disease. Published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study provides valuable information on the genetics of prostate cancer and offers insights into which patients should be treated aggressively. Cells can become cancerous when they lose or amplify pieces of DNA containing important genes...

The Benefits Of A Mother Comforting Her Crying Baby

Date: Apr-22-2013
There is a very good reason mothers often carry their crying babies, pacing the floor, to help them calm down. New research published in the Cell Press journal Current Biology shows that infants experience an automatic calming reaction upon being carried, whether they are mouse or human babies. The study is the first to show that the infant calming response to carrying is a coordinated set of central, motor, and cardiac regulations and an evolutionarily conserved component of mother-infant interactions, the researchers say...

Researchers Study Learned Helplessness In Flies And Discover The Roots Of Depression

Date: Apr-22-2013
When faced with impossible circumstances beyond their control, animals, including humans, often hunker down as they develop sleep or eating disorders, ulcers, and other physical manifestations of depression. Now, researchers reporting in the Cell Press journal Current Biology show that the same kind of thing happens to flies. The study is a step toward understanding the biological basis for depression and presents a new way for testing antidepressant drugs, the researchers say. The discovery of such symptoms in an insect shows that the roots of depression are very deep indeed...

In Mild Kidney Disease, Dietary Restriction May Be The Best Way To Reduce Phosphate's Negative Effects On The Heart

Date: Apr-22-2013
High phosphate levels in the blood carry increased heart-related risks, but taking a drug that targets phosphate does not improve cardiovascular measures in patients with mild kidney disease, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN). The findings suggest that, at least for now, reducing dietary intake of phosphate may be the best way for these patients to reduce the mineral's effects on the heart...

Lower Extremity Physical Performance Tests May Help Identify Kidney Disease Patients At Risk For Premature Death

Date: Apr-22-2013
Kidney disease patients who have slower walking speed on physical performance tests seem to be more burdened by their disease than patients who perform well on lower extremity physical performance tests, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN). The findings indicate that measuring lower extremity physical performance may capture a complex set of skeletal muscle and neurologic impairments that develop in CKD patients and substantially affect their survival...

Study Suggests Health Benefits Beyond Nutrition For Participants In Community Gardening

Date: Apr-22-2013
People who participate in community gardening have a significantly lower body mass index - as well as lower odds of being overweight or obese - than do their non-gardening neighbors. Researchers at the University of Utah reported these and other findings in the American Journal of Public Health published online. "It has been shown previously that community gardens can provide a variety of social and nutritional benefits to neighborhoods," says Cathleen Zick, lead author of the study and professor of family and consumer studies at the University of Utah...