Health News

Type 2 Diabetes Revealed By Gut Bacteria

Date: Sep-27-2012
A new study suggests your gut bacteria could show whether you have type 2 diabetes. After analyzing some 60,000 bacterial markers in people with and without the disease, scientists in China and Europe conclude there is something recognizably different in the gut bacteria of people with type 2 diabetes. They write about their findings in a paper published online in Nature on 26 September...

Cutting Through The Genomic Thicket In Search Of Disease Variants

Date: Sep-27-2012
In the early stages of that vast undertaking known as the Human Genome Project, enthusiasm ran high. The enterprise would be costly and laborious but the clinical rewards, unprecedented. Once the complete blueprint of life was unlocked, the genetic underpinnings for a broad range of human maladies would be laid bare, allowing custom-tailored diagnosis and treatment and revolutionizing the field of medicine.  Or so it was thought...

Detecting Success Of Breast Reconstruction: Images Reveal Potential For NIR Imaging

Date: Sep-27-2012
In 2010 breast reconstruction entered the Top Five list of reconstructive procedures in the US, with 93,000 procedures performed, up 8% from 2009, and 18% from 2000. This is among the most common skin flap procedure performed. Skin flaps are typically used to cover areas of tissue loss or defects that arise as a result of traumatic injury, reconstruction after cancer excision and repair of congenital defects. In the case of a mastectomy - the surgical removal of the breast - skin flaps are commonly used to create a new breast...

Creating High-Tech Tools To Study Autism

Date: Sep-27-2012
Researchers in Georgia Tech's Center for Behavior Imaging have developed two new technological tools that automatically measure relevant behaviors of children, and promise to have significant impact on the understanding of behavioral disorders such as autism. One of the tools - a system that uses special gaze-tracking glasses and facial-analysis software to identify when a child makes eye contact with the glasses-wearer - was created by combining two existing technologies to develop a novel capability of automatic detection of eye contact...

Predicting Erectile Dysfunction From Prostate Cancer Treatment

Date: Sep-27-2012
Researchers have identified 12 DNA sequences that may help doctors determine which men will suffer from erectile dysfunction (ED) following radiation therapy for prostate cancer...

Improving Understanding Of Radiation Sensitivity In HPV-Positive Oropharyngeal Cancer

Date: Sep-27-2012
UC Davis cancer researchers have discovered significant differences in radiation-therapy response among patients with oropharyngeal cancer depending on whether they carry the human papillomavirus (HPV), a common sexually transmitted virus. The findings, published online in The Laryngoscope Journal, could lead to more individualized radiation treatment regimens, which for many patients with HPV could be shorter and potentially less toxic...

Steps To Isolate Stem Cells From Brain Tumors Shown In JoVE Article

Date: Sep-27-2012
A new video protocol in Journal of Visualized Experiments (JoVE) details an assay to identify brain tumor initiating stem cells from primary brain tumors. Through flow cytometry, scientists separate stem cells from the rest of the tumor, allowing quick and efficient analysis of target cells. This approach has been effectively used to identify similar stem cells in leukemia patients. "Overall, these tumors are extremely rare, with only around one in 100,000 people being diagnosed with a primary brain cancer," Dr. Sheila Singh, co-author and neurosurgeon from McMaster University, explains...

Most Of World Will Fail To Meet Goals For Women's And Children's Health By 2015 Amid Declining Donor Funding

Date: Sep-27-2012
The first report of the UN Secretary-General's independent Expert Review Group (iERG)* on Information and Accountability for Women's and Children's Health, launched on September 26 at the UN General Assembly, concludes that although headline reductions in maternal and child mortality during the past decade have been impressive in some countries, millions of women and children still die every year from preventable causes...

Report Gives Designers And Architects Strategies To Promote Active Living And Maximize Safety

Date: Sep-27-2012
Designing or modifying buildings and communities to facilitate physical activity must include strategies to maximize safety. A new report "Active Design Supplement: Promoting Safety," by the Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy, New York City Department of Health & Mental Hygiene's Built Environment and Healthy Housing Program, and the Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE) provides explicit guidelines for urban planners, architects, public health advocates, and others to consider when promoting active designs...

Nutrition Bars Fortified With Fish Oil Don't Taste Fishy

Date: Sep-27-2012
In today's fast-paced society, consumers often reach for nutrition bars when looking for a healthy on-the-go snack. A new study in the September issue of the Journal of Food Science published by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) found that partially replacing canola oil with fish oil in nutrition bars can provide the health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids without affecting the taste...