Health News

Children With Poor Stress Responses Often Eat In The Absence Of Hunger, Increasing Risk Of Obesity

Date: Feb-19-2013
Children who overreact to stressors may be at risk of becoming overweight or obese, according to researchers at Penn State and Johns Hopkins University. "Our results suggest that some children who are at risk of becoming obese can be identified by their biological response to a stressor," said Lori Francis, associate professor of biobehavioral health. "Ultimately, the goal is to help children manage stress in ways that promote health and reduce the risks associated with an over- or under-reactive stress response...

Negative Obesity Coverage In Black Newspapers Could Discourage African-American Community From Taking Action

Date: Feb-19-2013
Obesity rates have increased dramatically in the last few decades. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, while African Americans are only 13 percent of the total population, 82 percent of black women are overweight or obese compared to nearly 60 percent of white women, and more than 70 percent of black males are classified as overweight or obese. A new study from the University of Missouri School of Journalism shows that American newspapers, and specifically newspapers geared toward an African-American audience, frame stories on obesity in a negative way...

Patient-Specific Cancer Cell Lines Designed To Predict Chemotherapy Sensitivity

Date: Feb-19-2013
In laboratory studies, scientists at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center have developed a way to personalize chemotherapy drug selection for cancer patients by using cell lines created from their own tumors. If the technique is successful in further studies, it could replace current laboratory tests to optimize drug selection that have proven technically challenging, of limited use, and slow, the researchers say. Oncologists typically choose anticancer drugs based on the affected organs' location and/or the appearance and activity of cancer cells when viewed under a microscope...

Emotional Response From Billboards Can Affect Our Driving Abilities

Date: Feb-19-2013
There's a billboard up ahead, a roadside sign full of language and imagery. Next stop: the emotionally distracted zone. One University of Alberta researcher has discovered that language used on billboards can provoke an emotional response that affects our driving abilities. And whether the words have a negative or positive connotation seems to determine whether the attention wanders or the foot gets heavier. Lead study author Michelle Chan says that although plenty of literature exists on road rage, none of it deals with external emotional stimuli...

New Enzyme Discovered That Acts As Innate Immunity Sensor

Date: Feb-19-2013
Two studies by researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center could lead to new treatments for lupus and other autoimmune diseases and strengthen current therapies for viral, bacterial, and parasitic infections. The studies identify a new enzyme that acts as a sensor of innate immunity - the body's first line of defense against invaders - and describe a novel cell signaling pathway. This pathway detects foreign DNA or even host DNA when it appears in a part of the cell where DNA should not be...

Concussions Cause Long-Term Effects Lasting Decades

Date: Feb-18-2013
Damage to the brain caused by concussion can last for decades after the original head trauma, according to research presented at a recent AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Annual Meeting. The finding comes to light at the same time as 4,000 former football players file lawsuits alleging that the National Football League failed to protect them from the long-term health consequences of concussion. According to Medilexicon's medical dictionary, concussion is "An injury of a soft structure, as the brain, resulting from a blow or violent shaking...

Modern Diet Ruining Our Teeth

Date: Feb-18-2013
A study of the evolution of our teeth over the last 7,500 years shows that humans today have less diverse oral bacteria than historic populations, which scientists believe have contributed to chronic oral diseases in post-industrial lifestyles. The researchers, from the University of Adelaide's Australian Centre for Ancient DNA (ACAD), the University of Aberdeen (Dept of Archeology), Scotland, and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Cambridge, England, published their study in Nature Genetics...

Gene Enables Cells To Survive Even If Growth Stops

Date: Feb-18-2013
Researchers in Australia have discovered a genetic defect that can stop cells growing but forces them into a death-defying state where they consume their own cellular material to survive. They believe the discovery of such an important feature of cell growth could lead to new treatments for diseases, including cancer. Joan Heath, Associate Professor the Melbourne-Parkville Branch of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, and colleagues, write about their findings in the 7 February online issue of PLOS Genetics...

TV Shows Can Improve Behavior Among Children

Date: Feb-18-2013
Television has a huge influence over children; with most kids mimicking the behaviors they see on screen - whether it be loving or violent. U.S. preschoolers watch an average of four hours of TV everyday and researchers believe that instead of trying to limit the amount of television they watch, it is best to encourage shows that promote positive behavior.  The study, published in Pediatrics, identified that there are ways that TV watching can impact children's behavior in a positive way...

Tax Sugary Drinks And Ban Fast Foods Near Schools, Say UK Doctors

Date: Feb-18-2013
As a "prescription" for the UK's obesity epidemic, doctors are calling for a tax on all sugary soft drinks, a ban on fast food outlets near schools and colleges, mandatory food-based standards in all hospitals, and £100 million ($155 million) spent on weight management services provisions, says a new report issued today by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (AoMRC) The report, titled "Measuring up: the medical profession's prescription for the nation's obesity crisis", and written by doctors from various fields of medicine, including general practice, paediatrics, su...