Health News

Heterogeneity Quantified In Early Stage Breast-Cancer, Which Ultimately Could Help Doctors To Eradicate It Before More Invasive Cancers Develop

Date: Apr-11-2013
A variety of mutations may give rise to breast cancer, but scientists generally assume that it starts off with just a few. That's because later-stage breast cancers tend to have more mutations - they are more heterogeneous - than early stage cancers. Now, new findings by scientists at Fox Chase Cancer Center demonstrate heterogeneity is prevalent even within legions of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), the most common, earliest stage non-invasive breast cancer (stage 0)...

During Pregnancy, Excess Estrogen Can Silence BRCA1 In Daughters, Increasing Breast Cancer Risk

Date: Apr-11-2013
Excess estrogen levels during pregnancy can disable, in their daughters, a powerful breast cancer tumor suppressor gene, say researchers at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center. They found the DNA repair gene BRCA1 to be silenced in one year-old girls exposed to a high hormonal fetal environment. The researchers say their study, presented at the AACR Annual Meeting 2013, suggests that BRCA1 silencing by methylation in utero may be an important mechanism that increases breast cancer risk later in life...

World Heart Federation Position Statement Published Online In Nature Reviews Cardiology

Date: Apr-11-2013
The World Heart Federation has published a new position statement outlining the five key strategic targets required to meet its strategic goal for rheumatic heart disease (RHD) - a 25% reduction in premature deaths from rheumatic fever (RF) and RHD among individuals aged RHD remains the most common cardiovascular disease in young people aged Conservative estimates indicate that there are between 15.6 and 19.6 million existing cases of RHD and its been estimated that there are around 252,000 new cases each year...

A Self-Fulfilling Prophesy: Thinking You're Old And Frail

Date: Apr-11-2013
Older adults who categorise themselves as old and frail encourage attitudinal and behavioural confirmation of that identity. This is the conclusion of a study conducted by Krystal Warmoth and colleagues at University of Exeter Medical School, which was presented at the British Psychological Society Annual Conference in Harrogate, UK. Krystal Warmoth interviewed 29 older adults in the South West of England face-to-face. Interviews conducted asked about their experiences of ageing and frailty. Self-perception and identification related to one's health and participation in an active life...

Obesity May Not Be A Symptom Of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

Date: Apr-11-2013
The relationship between obesity and polycystic ovary syndrome may be exaggerated, likely because the women who actively seek care for the condition tend to be heavier than those identified through screening of the general population, researchers report. PCOS affects about 10 percent of women and is characterized by excess male hormone, irregular ovulation and menstruation as well as increased risk of metabolic diseases often associated with being overweight...

For Bioterror Threats, Currently Approved Drugs Found Effective In Laboratory Mice

Date: Apr-11-2013
In the most extensive screen of its kind, Texas Biomed scientists in San Antonio have demonstrated the feasibility of repurposing already-approved drugs for use against highly pathogenic bacteria and viruses. The pathogens included emerging diseases and potential bioterror threats ranging from anthrax to the Marburg and Ebola viruses...

Genetic Predisposition Could Lead To Laziness

Date: Apr-11-2013
Studies show 97 percent of American adults get less than 30 minutes of exercise a day, which is the minimum recommended amount based on federal guidelines. New research from the University of Missouri suggests certain genetic traits may predispose people to being more or less motivated to exercise and remain active. Frank Booth, a professor in the MU College of Veterinary Medicine, along with his post-doctoral fellow Michael Roberts, were able to selectively breed rats that exhibited traits of either extreme activity or extreme laziness...

Future Disability May Be Predicted By Posture

Date: Apr-11-2013
The shape of an individual's spinal column may predict his or her risk for nursing home admission or need of home assistance in old age, according to a new article published online in the Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences. A team of researchers based in Japan discovered that the trunk angle of inclination - the angle between the true vertical and a straight line from the first thoracic vertebra to the first sacral vertebra - is associated with becoming dependent on help for activities of daily living (ADL)...

Helping Men To Become Stepdads

Date: Apr-11-2013
As any stepdad can tell you, it's one thing to win a mom's heart and another to win over her children. Although one-third of American children live in a stepfamily during part of their childhood, little is known about the development of the relationship between stepfathers and stepchildren...

Novel Approach To Developing A Dengue Virus Treatment Using Mutated Antibodies

Date: Apr-11-2013
Nearly half of the world's population is at risk of infection by the dengue virus, yet there is no specific treatment for the disease. Now a therapy to protect people from the virus could finally be a step closer, thanks to a team at MIT. In a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers, from MIT's Koch Institute of Integrative Cancer Research, present a novel approach to developing a dengue therapy using mutated antibodies...