Health News

Childhood Food Allergies Related To Race Rather Than Environment

Date: Feb-26-2013
Research conducted at Henry Ford Hospital shows that race and possibly genetics play a role in children's sensitivity to developing allergies. Researchers found:   African-American children were sensitized to at least one food allergen three times more often than Caucasian children.   African-American children with one allergic parent were sensitized to an environmental allergen twice as often as African-American children without an allergic parent...

MRI Captures Brain "Clean-Up Crew"

Date: Feb-26-2013
All parts of the body generate waste that must be flushed out in order to remove harmful materials, old proteins, and other cellular detritus. Most tissues utilize the lymphatic system to keep clean, but the central nervous system (CNS) does not have lymphatic vasculature and relies instead on a waste clearance pathway known as the glymphatic system. The glymphatic system cleans the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) that surround the brain and spinal cord and relies on specialized CNS support cells known as glia...

Secrets Of Important Natural Antibiotic - From Sweat

Date: Feb-26-2013
An international team of scientists has discovered how an important natural antibiotic called dermcidin, produced by our skin when we sweat, is a highly efficient tool to fight tuberculosis germs and other dangerous bugs. Their results could contribute to the development of new antibiotics that control multi-resistant bacteria. Scientists have uncovered the atomic structure of the compound, enabling them to pinpoint for the first time what makes dermcidin such an efficient weapon in the battle against dangerous bugs...

Food Choices Can Be Child's Play With Smarter Lunchrooms

Date: Feb-26-2013
In January 2012, the United States Department of Agriculture passed a series of regulations designed to make school lunches more nutritious, which included requiring schools to increase whole grain offerings and making students select either a fruit or vegetable with their purchased lunch. However, children cannot be forced to eat these healthier lunches. In a new study scheduled for publication in The Journal of Pediatrics, researchers determined that small, inexpensive changes to school cafeterias influenced the choice and consumption of healthier foods. Andrew S...

Reprogramming Cells To Fight Diabetes

Date: Feb-26-2013
For years researchers have been searching for a way to treat diabetics by reactivating their insulin-producing beta cells, with limited success. The "reprogramming" of related alpha cells into beta cells may one day offer a novel and complementary approach for treating type 2 diabetes. Treating human and mouse cells with compounds that modify cell nuclear material called chromatin induced the expression of beta cell genes in alpha cells, according to a new study that appears online in the Journal of Clinical Investigation...

Giving Makes People Feel Better Than Getting, In Rich And Poor Nations Alike

Date: Feb-26-2013
Feeling good about spending money on someone else rather than for personal benefit may be a universal response among people in both impoverished countries and rich nations, according to new research published by the American Psychological Association. "Our findings suggest that the psychological reward experienced from helping others may be deeply ingrained in human nature, emerging in diverse cultural and economic contexts," said lead author Lara Aknin, PhD, of Simon Fraser University in Canada...

Pancreatic Cells Reprogrammed By Epigenetic Alterations To Secrete Insulin

Date: Feb-26-2013
Epigenetic modification is a change to gene expression or cellular phenotype that is caused by alterations that don't involve the underlying DNA sequence. Because all cells in your body contain the exact same genes, these epigenetic changes help determine which genes different cells express, allowing them to develop specialized functions. The pancreas consists of insulin-secreting beta cells and glucagon-secreting alpha cells...

Molecular Workings Of Antibacterial Protein Revealed

Date: Feb-26-2013
On the front lines of our defenses against bacteria is the protein calprotectin, which "starves" invading pathogens of metal nutrients. Vanderbilt investigators now report new insights to the workings of calprotectin - including a detailed structural view of how it binds the metal manganese. Their findings, published online before print in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could guide efforts to develop novel antibacterials that limit a microbe's access to metals...

Neuroscientist Sheds Light On Cause Of 'Chemo Brain'

Date: Feb-26-2013
It's not unusual for cancer patients being treated with chemotherapy to complain about not being able to think clearly, connect thoughts or concentrate on daily tasks. The complaint - often referred to as chemo-brain - is common. The scientific cause, however, has been difficult to pinpoint. New research by Rutgers University behavioral neuroscientist Tracey Shors offers clues for this fog-like condition, medically known as chemotherapy-induced cognitive impairment...

In Mice With Myotonic Dystrophy, Drug Delivery Strategy Eliminates Myotonia Symptoms

Date: Feb-26-2013
By targeting the specific mutation that causes the hereditary neuromuscular disease myotonic dystrophy, it is possible to neutralize the mutant RNA toxicity and minimize or even eliminate the disabling symptoms of the disease. New classes of drugs called antisense oligonucleotides are being designed to achieve this. Innovative work to develop a modified antisense drug that can be administered intravenously and achieve the desired therapeutic effect is described in an article in Nucleic Acid Therapeutics, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers...