Health News

Cannabis Use Likely To Affect Teen Brains

Date: Oct-12-2012
The system of the brain responsible for mediating the effects of cannabis, the endocannabinoid system, is most vulnerable to the drug during adolescence, according to new research. "During adolescence the endocannabinoid system in the brain undergoes a lot of change, and interfering with these changes by using cannabis could have consequences for the development of healthy brains in adults," says Dr Leonora Long of Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA)...

Collaborative Efforts Develop The American Institute Of Ultrasound In Medicine (AIUM) Practice Guideline

Date: Oct-12-2012
The American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM) is pleased to announce the collaborative development of the AIUM Practice Guideline for the Performance of a Focused Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility Scan. Indications for an ultrasound examination for a focused reproductive endocrinology and infertility scan include but are not limited to monitoring of ovulation induction and ovarian stimulation...

Mouse Model Reveals More About Spatial Memory Problems Associated With Alzheimer's

Date: Oct-12-2012
Researchers at Western University have created a mouse model that reproduces some of the chemical changes in the brain that occur with Alzheimer's, shedding new light on this devastating disease. Marco Prado, Vania Prado and their colleagues at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry's Robarts Research Institute, looked at changes related to a neurotransmitter or chemical messenger, named acetylcholine (ACh), and the kinds of memory problems associated with it. The research is now published online by PNAS...

Early Life Adversity Affects Broad Regions Of Brain DNA In Both Rodents And Humans

Date: Oct-12-2012
Early life experience results in a broad change in the way our DNA is "epigenetically" chemically marked in the brain by a coat of small chemicals called methyl groups, according to researchers at McGill University. A group of researchers led by Prof. Moshe Szyf, a professor of Pharmacology and Therapeutics in the Faculty of Medicine, and research scientists at the Douglas Institute have discovered a remarkable similarity in the way the DNA in human brains and the DNA in animal brains respond to early life adversity...

Study Finds South Asian People Like To Exercise In Social Groups

Date: Oct-12-2012
A study by Stirling's Dr Ruth Jepson has determined that South Asian people in the UK will be more likely to exercise if it can be done as part of a group and has a social element People of South Asian backgrounds living in the UK have a five-fold increased risk of diabetes and a two-fold increased risk of heart disease by comparison with the general population. However they are less likely to exercise than the general population...

Loss Of Sight Is A Primary Concern For Ageing Europeans As New Expert Forum States That A Large Proportion Of Blindness Is Preventable

Date: Oct-12-2012
E-FAB (European Forum Against Blindness) marks World Sight Day with a call to prevent avoidable blindness which remains a significant problem in Europe A new survey of over 5,000 people across five EU countries reveals a level of concern and perceived need for better vision care services As part of World Sight Day 2012, a survey across five EU countries reveals that over twice as many people are most concerned about developing sight loss compared to developing other conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, and respiratory disease...

Advanced Computer Simulator Developed To Manage Hospital Emergencies

Date: Oct-12-2012
Researchers of the group High Performance Computing for Efficient Applications and Simulation (HPC4EAS) of the Department of Computer Architecture and Operating Systems of the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (UAB), in collaboration with the team at the Emergency Services Unit at Hospital de Sabadell (Parc Taulí Healthcare Corporation), have developed an advanced computer simulator to help in decision-making processes (DSS, or decision support system) which could aid emergency service units in their operations management...

Potential Therapeutic Target In Critical Limb Ischemia

Date: Oct-12-2012
Restoring diminished levels of a protein shown to prevent and reverse heart failure damage could also have therapeutic applications for patients with critical limb ischemia (CLI), suggests a new preclinical study published online in Circulation Research from researchers at the Center for Translational Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University ...

Potential Test For Early Diagnosis Of Mesothelioma

Date: Oct-12-2012
Researchers at NYU School of Medicine have discovered the protein product of a little-known gene may one day prove useful in identifying and monitoring the development of mesothelioma in early stages, when aggressive treatment can have an impact on the progression of disease and patient prognosis. "This gene produces a protein, fibulin-3, that is present in levels four to five times higher in the plasma of patients with mesothelioma compared to levels in asbestos-exposed patients or patients with several other conditions that cause tumors in the chest," said lead investigator Harvey I...

Risk Of Acquiring MRSA May Be Greater If You Live Near Livestock

Date: Oct-12-2012
People who live near livestock or in livestock farming communities may be at greater risk of acquiring, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), according to a new study led by an international team of researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the Dutch Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) and VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam...