Health News

Method Developed That Could Enhance Gene Sequencing Data

Date: Jan-30-2013
When researchers sequence the RNA of cancer cells, they can compare it to normal cells and see where there is more RNA. That can help lead them to the gene or protein that might be triggering the cancer. But other than spotting a few known instigators, what does it mean? Is there more RNA because it's synthesizing too quickly or because it's not degrading fast enough? What part of the biological equilibrium is off? After more than a decade of work, researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center have developed a technique to help answer those questions...

Patients 3 Times More Likely To Get Screened For Colorectal Cancer Following Phone Navigation And Mailings

Date: Jan-30-2013
A mailing or phone call to help patients get screened for colorectal cancer significantly increases their chances of actually getting tested, according to a study published in the January issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention by researchers at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson. The research team, led by Ronald E. Myers, Ph.D...

Do The Health Benefits Of Berries Make It Past Your Mouth?

Date: Jan-30-2013
Research has suggested that compounds that give colorful fruits their rich hues, especially berries, promote health and might even prevent cancer. But for the first time, scientists have exposed extracts from numerous berries high in those pigments to human saliva to see just what kinds of health-promoting substances are likely to survive and be produced in the mouth...

Polymer Film That Gradually Releases DNA Coding For Viral Proteins Could Offer A Better Alternative To Traditional Vaccines

Date: Jan-30-2013
Vaccines usually consist of inactivated viruses that prompt the immune system to remember the invader and launch a strong defense if it later encounters the real thing. However, this approach can be too risky with certain viruses, including HIV. In recent years, many scientists have been exploring DNA as a potential alternative vaccine. About 20 years ago, DNA coding for viral proteins was found to induce strong immune responses in rodents, but so far, tests in humans have failed to duplicate that success...

Tissue Donations And How They Are Used By Biobanks

Date: Jan-30-2013
Donors to biobanks - vast collections of human tissue samples that scientists hope will lead to new treatments for diseases - have a right to basic information about how their donations may be used, a Michigan State University ethicist argues in a new paper. The idea behind biobanks is that a repository with hundreds of thousands of samples, each linked to medical records and other health information, can yield discoveries smaller data sets can't match. Once samples are collected, researchers in many fields can use the data repeatedly...

Mass Migration Driving Widespread HIV In India

Date: Jan-30-2013
Can new policies reverse this trend? A personal view published today on bmj.com exposes the true scale of HIV in India, placing the majority of blame on mass migration. Kounteya Sinha, Health Editor at the Times of India proposes that "mass migration is the greatest threat to India's HIV control programme" and asks how this can be combatted. India's 2001 census showed that a third of the population are migrants (up from 27.4% in 1991). And worryingly, India's National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) found that they have a 3.6% prevalence of HIV, 10 times that of the general population...

Study Supports Heart Rhythm Problems With Some Anti-Depressants

Date: Jan-30-2013
Use of electronic health records may be useful way of spotting potential treatment risks Some antidepressants, known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), are linked with a long QT interval (the duration of electrical activity of the heart muscle) - a marker for heart rhythm abnormalities, finds a study published on bmj.com today. The findings support recent warnings by the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) about the drug citalopram and suggest some other antidepressants may have similar effects...

Telephone Physiotherapy Advice Reduces Waiting Times And Provides Equally Good Patient Health Results

Date: Jan-30-2013
But patient satisfaction levels unchanged A physiotherapy service based on initial telephone assessment has the ability to provide faster access to the service and cut waiting times, a study published today on bmj.com suggests. Providing access to physiotherapy has long been a problem in the NHS with waiting times of several week or months. Furthermore, waiting lists may be congested with those who will benefit from physiotherapy advice but have little to gain from a course of face-to-face appointments...

Small Changes Like Taking Stairs, Raking Leaves May Equal A Trip To The Gym

Date: Jan-30-2013
New research at Oregon State University suggests the health benefits of small amounts of activity - even as small as one- and two-minute increments that add up to 30 minutes per day - can be just as beneficial as longer bouts of physical exercise achieved by a trip to the gym. The nationally representative study of more than 6,000 American adults shows that an active lifestyle approach, as opposed to structured exercise, may be just as beneficial in improving health outcomes, including preventing metabolic syndrome, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol...

First-Time Sexual Experience May Predict Future Sexual Satisfaction

Date: Jan-30-2013
Research conducted by Matthew Shaffer, a doctoral psychology student at UT and C. Veronica Smith, an assistant psychology professor at the University of Mississippi, reveals that the first sexual experience can set the tone for the rest of one's sexual life. The study is published in the Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy and is the first to look at whether the circumstances of losing one's virginity have lasting consequences. "The loss of virginity is often viewed as an important milestone in human development, signifying a transition to adulthood," said Shaffer...