Health News

Identification Of The Genetic Building Blocks Behind The Human Heart's Subtle Control System

Date: Sep-18-2012
An elaborate system of leads spreads across our hearts. These leads - the heart's electrical system - control our pulse and coordinate contraction of the heart chambers. While the structure of the human heart has been known for a long time, the evolutionary origin of our conduction system has nevertheless remained a mystery. Researchers have finally succeeded in showing that the spongy tissue in reptile hearts is the forerunner of the complex hearts of both birds and mammals...

New Test In The Fight Against Doping In Sport

Date: Sep-18-2012
Scientists from three UK universities have developed a new test to catch drugs-cheats in sport. Over the last 10 years, the GH-2004 team, which is based the University of Southampton, has been developing a test for Growth Hormone misuse in sport with funding from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and US Anti-Doping Agency and with support from UK Anti-Doping...

Best Treatment Option For Childhood Cancer Offered By Whole-Genome Scan

Date: Sep-18-2012
A whole-genome scan to identify large-scale chromosomal damage can help doctors choose the best treatment option for children with neuroblastoma, one of the most common types of childhood cancer, finds an international collaboration jointly led by The Institute of Cancer Research, London. The researchers called for all children diagnosed with neuroblastoma worldwide to have a whole-genome scan as a standard part of their treatment...

Huntington's Disease Patients Learn Faster

Date: Sep-18-2012
Huntington's gene mutation carriers: Severity of the genetic mutation related to learning efficiency  People who bear the genetic mutation for Huntington's disease learn faster than healthy people. The more pronounced the mutation was, the more quickly they learned. This is reported by researchers from the Ruhr-Universität Bochum and from Dortmund in the journal Current Biology. The team has thus demonstrated for the first time that neurodegenerative diseases can go hand in hand with increased learning efficiency...

Don't Blame Your Employer If You Are Feeling Stressed By Your Job

Date: Sep-18-2012
Work stress, job satisfaction and health problems due to high stress have more to do with genes than you might think, according to research by Timothy Judge, professor of management at the University of Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business. This information has been published two days after a separate study suggesting that work stress increases an employee's risk of heart attack by 23%...

Bone Loss Due To Alcoholism May Be Reclaimed By Abstinence From Alcohol Plus Physical Exercise

Date: Sep-18-2012
Osteoporosis, or reduced bone mineral density (BMD), is defined by an absolute decrease in total bone mass, caused mostly by an imbalance between osteoclastic bone resorption and osteoblastic bone formation. Reduced BMD often co-occurs with alcoholism. A study of the passage of bone formation and resorption in abstinent alcoholics has found that eight weeks of abstinence may be enough to initiate a healthier balance between the two. Results will be published in the December 2012 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research and are currently available at Early View...

Promiscuous Behavior In Teens Linked To Sexting

Date: Sep-18-2012
Teens who "sext" are significantly more likely to participate in sexually explicit behaviors, according to a recent study. Sexting, which is the practice of texting sexual messages, including photos, usually by use of cell-phones, is rapidly becoming popular among adolescents, which should be concerning to parents, doctors and teachers. This recent report shows there has been an alarming increase since a 2011 study which claimed that only 2.5% of American kids were sexting...

Rural Residents More Likely To Be Obese Than Their Urban Counterparts

Date: Sep-18-2012
A new study finds that Americans living in rural areas are more likely to be obese than city dwellers. Published in the National Rural Health Association's Fall 2012 Journal of Rural Health, the study indicates that residential location may play an important role in the obesity epidemic. Led by researchers at the University of Kansas, the study analyzed data collected by the National Center for Health Statistics and is the first in more than three decades to use measured heights and weights...

Protein Linked To Hunger Also Implicated In Alcoholism

Date: Sep-18-2012
Researchers at The Scripps Research Institute have found new links between a protein that controls our urge to eat and brain cells involved in the development of alcoholism. The discovery points to new possibilities for designing drugs to treat alcoholism and other addictions. The new study, published online ahead of print by the journal Neuropsychopharmacology, focuses on the peptide ghrelin, which is known to stimulate eating...

Grief Suffered By Carers Examined By Nurses

Date: Sep-18-2012
Family members who care for terminally ill patients at home can be helped by nurses throughout the course of the illness and particularly after the patient's death, according to Penn State nursing researchers. The death of a loved one can be particularly hard for those who were involved in the day-to-day care of the person. This transition can be eased by existing support from nurses and other medical professionals. "What we know is that the caregiver's primary contact with the health care system is during brief office visits [for the patient]," said Janice L...