Health News

Smoking Past And Present Impedes Hip Replacement Recovery

Date: Mar-22-2013
Smoking has been linked to prolonged healing time and greater risk for complications in orthopaedic and other surgeries, according to a new study presented at the 2013 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS). Researchers reviewed records of all total hip replacement (THR, or total hip arthroplasty) patients between 2007 and 2009 to identify patients who used tobacco products at the time of surgery, or who smoked regularly prior to surgery. There were 110 patients who regularly smoked, with a mean age of 55 and a mean follow up of 46 months following THR...

New Anatomically Based Classification Developed For Diagnosing Cervical Spinal Stenosis

Date: Mar-22-2013
Physician-researchers at the Rothman Institute at Jefferson have developed a new, clinically meaningful scale of severity for diagnosing patients with cervical spinal stenosis. Their goal was to create a more accurate scale than the current "mild, moderate or severe" designations used for patients with this condition, a narrowing of the spinal canal in the neck. Researchers sought to create a reproducible, clinically validated classification of central cervical stenosis. The group presented their results at the annual American Association of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS) meeting in Chicago...

How Extra Virgin Olive Oil Protects Against Alzheimer's Disease

Date: Mar-22-2013
The mystery of exactly how consumption of extra virgin olive oil helps reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD) may lie in one component of olive oil that helps shuttle the abnormal AD proteins out of the brain, scientists are reporting in a new study. It appears in the journal ACS Chemical Neuroscience. Amal Kaddoumi and colleagues note that AD affects about 30 million people worldwide, but the prevalence is lower in Mediterranean countries...

Interaction Between 2 Brain Areas Triggers Divergent Emotional Behaviors

Date: Mar-22-2013
New research from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine for the first time explains exactly how two brain regions interact to promote emotionally motivated behaviors associated with anxiety and reward. The findings could lead to new mental health therapies for disorders such as addiction, anxiety, and depression. A report of the research was published online by the journal, Nature. Located deep in the brain's temporal lobe are tightly packed clusters of brain cells in the almond shaped amygdala that are important for processing memory and emotion...

Anti-Cancer Properties Of Soybeans Highlighted In New Study

Date: Mar-22-2013
First study to report that proteins found in soybeans, could inhibit growth of colon, liver and lung cancers, published in Food Research International. Soybean meal is a bi-product following oil extraction from soybean seeds. It is rich in protein, which usually makes up around 40% of the nutritional components of the seeds and dependent on the line, and can also contain high oleic acid (a monounsaturated omega-9 fatty acid). The study looked at the role soybeans could have in the prevention of cancer...

Health Professionals 'Cool' On Legal Controls Of Risk-Laden Overseas Fertility Treatment

Date: Mar-22-2013
PROBLEMS in accessing donor sperm and eggs at home appear to be behind a reported increase in the number of UK citizens who seek fertility treatment abroad, despite the fact that this is widely seen as risky. Now, a team of academic experts, including a University of Huddersfield professor, have investigated the phenomenon and analysed the attitudes of health professionals...

Novel Modification Of Structural Protein Implicated In Rare Fat-Distribution Disease

Date: Mar-22-2013
Studying a protein that gives structure to the nucleus of cells, Johns Hopkins researchers stumbled upon mutations associated with familial partial lipodystrophy (FPLD), a rare disease that disrupts normal patterns of fat distribution throughout the body. "Our findings open new paths for learning how and why fat cells are disproportionately affected by mutations in the protein lamin A, which is found in the nucleus of most cells of the body," says Katherine Wilson, Ph.D., professor of cell biology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine...

Nano-'Hitchhikers' Bring Stem-Cell Therapy For Damaged Hearts A Step Closer

Date: Mar-22-2013
The promise of repairing damaged hearts through regenerative medicine - infusing stem cells into the heart in the hope that these cells will replace worn out or damaged tissue - has yet to meet with clinical success. But a highly sensitive visualization technique developed by Stanford University School of Medicine scientists may help speed that promise's realization. The technique is described in a study published in Science Translational Medicine. Testing the new imaging method in humans is probably three to five years off...

Infant Weight And Length Over First Year Unaffected By Antidepressant Exposure During Pregnancy

Date: Mar-22-2013
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants taken by a woman during pregnancy do not impact her infant's growth over the first year, reports a new study from a Northwestern Medicine scientist. There had been concern that antidepressant treatment during pregnancy reduced growth during the first year. Previous data suggested depression during pregnancy also could diminish infant growth...

Sleep Critical To The Formation And Stability Of Long-Term Memories

Date: Mar-22-2013
Sleep plays an important role in the brain's ability to consolidate learning when two new potentially competing tasks are learned in the same day, research at the University of Chicago demonstrates. Other studies have shown that sleep consolidates learning for a new task. The new study, which measured starlings' ability to recognize new songs, shows that learning a second task can undermine the performance of a previously learned task. But this study is the first to show that a good night's sleep helps the brain retain both new memories...