Health News

Infertility In Boys Following Cancer Treatment Could Become A Thing Of The Past

Date: Nov-04-2012
A promising stem-cell-based approach for treating infertility has been successfully demonstrated in non-human primates, as reported in a study published by Cell Press in the November issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell. The preclinical study represents an important milestone for translating this strategy to the clinic, particularly for cancer survivors who have been rendered infertile by chemotherapy they received before reaching sexual maturity...

Scientists Learn How To Unlock The Destiny Of A Cell

Date: Nov-04-2012
Scientists have discovered that breaking a biological signaling system in an embryo allows them to change the destiny of a cell. The findings could lead to new ways of making replacement organs. The discovery was made in the laboratory of Joel H. Rothman, a professor in the Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology at UC Santa Barbara. The studies were reported in the interdisciplinary journal Genes and Development, and were carried out by Ph.D student Nareg Djabrayan, in collaboration with Rothman and two other members of the laboratory, Ph...

Predicting How, And How Fast, Cells Will Change

Date: Nov-04-2012
A research team at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has developed a model* for making quantifiable predictions of how a group of cells will react and change in response to a given environment or stimulus - and how quickly. The NIST model, in principle, makes it possible to assign reliable numbers to the complex evolution of a population of cells, a critical capability for efficient biomanufacturing as well as for the safety of stem cell-based therapies, among other applications. The behavior and fate of cells are only partially determined by their DNA...

Adding Soy To The Diet Does Not Affect Onset Of Menopausal Hot Flashes: Large, Multi-Ethnic Study

Date: Nov-04-2012
A team of investigators led by UC Davis found that eating soy products such as soy milk and tofu did not prevent the onset of hot flashes and night sweats as women entered menopause. Unlike previous studies investigating the relationship between soy and these menopausal symptoms, the current study included a very large population over a long period of time: more than 1,600 women over 10 years...

Neurosurgical Risk Prevention And The Surgical Checklist

Date: Nov-04-2012
The November issue of Neurosurgical Focus is dedicated to lessening the number and severity of adverse events surrounding neurosurgical intervention for a variety of disorders. Guest editors Alexander Khalessi (University of California, San Diego), James Forrest Calland (University of Virginia), Gabriel Zada (University of Southern California), and Michael Y. Wang (University of Miami Health System) selected 16 articles on systems-based quality improvement for neurosurgical procedures...

Australia's Gen X Overtaking Baby Boomers On Obesity

Date: Nov-04-2012
New research from the University of Adelaide shows that Australia's Generation X is already on the path to becoming more obese than their baby boomer predecessors. Studies show that boomers currently have the highest level of obesity of any age group in Australia. However, new research by University of Adelaide PhD student Rhiannon Pilkington has revealed some alarming statistics. As part of her research, she has compared obesity levels between the two generations at equivalent ages...

Blocking A Meth High Could Help Addicts Committed To Recovery

Date: Nov-04-2012
Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have performed successful tests of an experimental methamphetamine vaccine on rats. Vaccinated animals that received the drug were largely protected from typical signs of meth intoxication. If the vaccine proves effective in humans too, it could become the first specific treatment for meth addiction, which is estimated to affect 25 million people worldwide. "This is an early-stage study, but its results are comparable to those for other drug vaccines that have then gone to clinical trials," said Michael A...

Tired, But Awake: Sleep Disorders Lead To 253 Million Days Of Sick Leave A Year In The United States Alone

Date: Nov-04-2012
Insomnia and sleep apnoea are turning us into major health service consumers, causing us to be less productive at work, and may even lead to serious accidents. If you can't sleep at night, you're not alone. Around ten per cent of the population suffer from insomnia, where you have trouble falling asleep, wake up frequently at night, and still feel tired when the morning comes. "When you feel tired and indisposed, your performance at work suffers," says Børge Sivertsen, professor at UiB's Department of Clinical Psychology and senior researcher at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health...

Inflammation And Cognition Likely Associated With Schizophrenia

Date: Nov-04-2012
There are a growing number of clues that immune and inflammatory mechanisms are important for the biology of schizophrenia. In a new study in Biological Psychiatry, Dr. Mar Fatjo-Vilas and colleagues explored the impact of the interleukin-1β gene (IL1β) on brain function alterations associated with schizophrenia...

Autism Interventions Need To Be Supported By More Evidence

Date: Nov-03-2012
Interventions designed to improve core deficits in children with autism spectrum disorders are supported by varying levels of evidence, highlighting the need for well-designed studies to better evaluate the interventions, according to a new RAND Corporation study. Researchers found that when they evaluated the past research on a wide variety of interventions aimed at improving core deficits in social/communication, language, behavior and adaptive skills, the evidence of efficacy ranged from moderate to insufficient...