Health News

Treatment Of Nocturia In Older Individuals With Insomnia Could Help To Improve Sleep Quality

Date: Mar-17-2013
A new study suggests that the bladder condition nocturia may worsen the already poor sleep of older adults with insomnia. "The results raise the clinical question of treating nocturia to help individuals with insomnia," said Jamie Zeitzer, PhD, the study's lead author. "That is, could much of the insomnia or poor sleep that occurs in older individuals be alleviated by treatment of nocturia? Of course, the opposite is quite possible - that proper treatment of insomnia might reduce the occurrence of nocturia as well...

A Step Closer To Understanding Glutamate Abnormalities In Schizophrenia

Date: Mar-17-2013
Since the 1960s, psychiatrists have been hunting for substances made by the body that might accumulate in abnormally high levels to produce the symptoms associated with schizophrenia. In particular, there was a search for chemicals that might be related to the hallucinogens phencyclidine (PCP) or lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), which could explain the emergence of psychotic symptoms in schizophrenia...

Hopes For Personalized Regenerative Medicine After Monkeys Receive Transplanted Brain Cells

Date: Mar-17-2013
For the first time, scientists have transplanted neural cells derived from a monkey's skin into its brain and watched the cells develop into several types of mature brain cells, according to the authors of a new study in Cell Reports. After six months, the cells looked entirely normal, and were only detectable because they initially were tagged with a fluorescent protein. Because the cells were derived from adult cells in each monkey's skin, the experiment is a proof-of-principle for the concept of personalized medicine, where treatments are designed for each individual...

Calling On The UK To Implement Minimum Pricing For Alcohol

Date: Mar-17-2013
According to WHO, liver cirrhosis accounts for 1.8% (i.e. 170,000) of all deaths in Europe. In recent years liver cirrhosis has become a serious health threat in some Western European countries such as Ireland and the United Kingdom, where over the last 10 years the associated mortality has increased . The European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) urges the UK government to press ahead with its proposed implementation of the minimum unit pricing of alcohol...

The Benefits Of Probiotics For Patients With Stress-Associated Gastrointestinal Disorders

Date: Mar-17-2013
For those with irritable bowel syndrome who wonder if stress aggravates their intestinal disorder, a new University of Michigan Health System study shows it's not all in their head. Researchers revealed that while stress does not cause IBS, it does alter brain-gut interactions and induces the intestinal inflammation that often leads to severe or chronic belly pain, loss of appetite and diarrhea...

Multiple Genetic Factors Identified That Impact The Development Of Nearsightedness

Date: Mar-17-2013
In the largest ever genome-wide association study on myopia, 23andMe, the leading personal genetics company, identified 20 new genetic associations for myopia, or nearsightedness. The company also replicated two known associations in the study, which was specific to individuals of European ancestry. The study included an analysis of genetic data and survey responses from more than 50,000 23andMe customers and demonstrates that the genetic basis of myopia is complex and affected by multiple genes. Myopia is the most common eye disorder worldwide...

Non-Invasive Monitoring Of Brain Development In Newborns

Date: Mar-17-2013
A new research technique, pioneered by Dr. Maria Angela Franceschini, was published in JoVE (Journal of Visualized Experiments). Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School have developed a non-invasive optical measurement system to monitor neonatal brain activity via cerebral metabolism and blood flow. Of the nearly four million children born in the United States each year, 12% are born preterm, 8% are born with low birth weight, and 1-2% of infants are at risk for death associated with respiratory distress...

New Probiotic Targets 40 Million Sufferers Of Antibiotic-Associated Diarrhea

Date: Mar-16-2013
Convenient 10-Day Course Has Consumer Appeal And May Improve Adherence To Antibiotic Therapy Miami-based bioceutical and nutritional supplement manufacturer Scimera BioScience® have announced the launch of its novel probiotic formulation, Asprega ProPac, to address the gastrointestinal side effects of antibiotic therapy including antibiotic-associated diarrhea, or AAD. Unique to ProPac, Scimera packages its probiotic in a convenient 10 day course to be taken along with a typical 10-day course of antibiotics. Doctors and physician extenders in the U.S...

Traffic Light Symbols On Menus The Most Effective In Educating Diners

Date: Mar-16-2013
A little-noticed provision of the Affordable Care Act requires all chain restaurants and retail food establishments with 20 or more locations to list calorie counts on their menus. But according to research co-written by a University of Illinois agricultural economist, numeric calorie labels might not be the most effective way to influence patrons to select "healthier" (often interpreted as lower-calorie) items...

Smoking Linked With Worse Urothelial Cancer Prognosis In Patients, Especially Women

Date: Mar-16-2013
Smoking significantly increases individuals' risk of developing serious forms of urothelial carcinoma and a higher likelihood of dying from the disease, particularly for women. That is the conclusion of a recent study published in BJU International. While the biological mechanisms underlying this gender difference are unknown, the findings indicate that clinicians and society in general should focus on smoking prevention and cessation to safeguard against deadly cancers of the bladder, ureters, and renal pelvis, especially in females...