Health News

In Both The US And England, Minority Children Are At Increased Risk For Weight Problems

Date: Sep-27-2012
With ties to diabetes, hypertension, and high cholesterol, childhood obesity in wealthy countries is certainly of growing concern to researchers. A new study explores the ties between childhood weight problems, socioeconomic status, and nationality and finds that race, ethnicity, and immigrant status are risk factors for weight problems among children in the US and England. This new study was published in the September issue of The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science (a SAGE journal) titled "Migrant Youths and Children of Migrants in a Globalized World...

Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring Would Provide A More Accurate Measurement Of The Prevalence Of Hypertension

Date: Sep-27-2012
A recently published editorial in the Journal of the American Society of Hypertension (JASH), "Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring Should Be Included in the National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (NHANES)," recognizes the importance of this national survey instrument but questions the efficiency of its diagnostic methods in assessing hypertension in the population.* Since the 1960s, CDC has utilized traditional blood pressure screening using a sphygmomanometer to measure the brachial artery pressure (a diagnostic instrument used since 1880). Drs. William B...

Improved Pain Treatment And Therapy In Dogs Offers Medical Insight For Humans

Date: Sep-27-2012
A Kansas State University professor's research improving post-surgery pain treatment and osteoarthritis therapy in dogs may help develop better ways to treat humans for various medical conditions. From the use of hot and cold packs to new forms of narcotics, James Roush, professor of clinical sciences, is studying ways to lessen pain after surgery and improve care for small animals, particularly dogs. He is working with the clinical patients who come to the College of Veterinary Medicine's Veterinary Health Center...

The Best Product For Cryopreservation Of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

Date: Sep-27-2012
In a study to determine the best cryopreservation (freezing) solution to maintain induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, a team of researchers from Japan compared 12 kinds of commercially prepared and readily available cryopreservation solutions and found that "Cell Banker 3" out-performed the other 11 solutions by allowing iPS cells to be preserved for a year in an undifferentiated state. The study is published in a recent special issue of Cell Medicine [3(1)], now freely available on-line...

Biologists Uncover Dynamic Between Biological Clock And Neuronal Activity

Date: Sep-27-2012
Biologists at New York University have uncovered one way that biological clocks control neuronal activity - a discovery that sheds new light on sleep-wake cycles and offers potential new directions for research into therapies to address sleep disorders and jetlag. "The findings answer a significant question - how biological clocks drive the activity of clock neurons, which, in turn, regulate behavioral rhythms," explained Justin Blau, an associate professor in NYU's Department of Biology and the study's senior author. Their findings appear in the Journal of Biological Rhythms...

Defining Stable Sequences For Collagen Synthesis Could Help Fight Disease, Design Drugs

Date: Sep-27-2012
The human body is proficient at making collagen. And human laboratories are getting better at it all the time. In a development that could lead to better drug design and new treatments for disease, Rice University researchers have made a major step toward synthesizing custom collagen. Rice scientists who have learned how to make collagen - the fibrous protein that binds cells together into organs and tissues - are now digging into its molecular structure to see how it forms and interacts with biological systems...

The Five Stages Of Grief

Date: Sep-27-2012
Moving through the traditional stages of grief can be as unpredictable as playing a pinball machine, with triggers of sorrow acting like pinball rudders to send a mourner into a rebound rather than an exit, according to a case study by a Baylor University researcher and a San Antonio psychologist. For some, grieving is complete after the loss is accepted. But for others, such events as the anniversary of a death or a scene that jogs the memory can send them slamming into grief again, according to a case study by Margaret Baier, Ph.D...

National Healthcare CFO Summit Fall 2012, 21-23 October 2012, Dallas, Texas

Date: Sep-27-2012
Everyone knows the cost curve in healthcare is unsustainable, so organizations should not get stuck in their old ways as things are going to change, says Gregory G. Wojtal, Arizona West Region Chief Financial Officer, Arizona Region, Banner Health. Healthcare reform is going to happen, even if it may not be exactly as prescribed in the ObamaCare program, he adds...

Knowledge Gap In Perceived Health Risks Revealed By Long-Term Study Of Cigarette And Waterpipe Tobacco Smoking

Date: Sep-27-2012
People who smoke both cigarettes and waterpipes - dual users - lack sufficient knowledge about the risks of tobacco smoking and are at considerable risk for dependence and tobacco-related diseases, such as cancer, heart disease and stroke later in life, according to findings of a new study by Virginia Commonwealth University. The study, the first of its kind to assess trends in cigarette and waterpipe tobacco smoke based on long-term data, reveals few users perceive dangers of waterpipe tobacco...

Infections Related To Kidney Stones Twice As Common In Females

Date: Sep-27-2012
Although kidney stones and other obstructions in the urinary tract are more common in men, women are twice as likely to develop infections related to the condition. Research from 2011 showed a dramatic rise in the number of women developing kidney stones, due to an increase in bad habits, including smoking and drinking. Another report suggested that drinking iced tea can lead to painful kidney stones because of its high concentration of oxalate, one of the key chemicals that lead to the formation of kidney stones...