Health News

Osteoarthritis Pain Targeted

Date: Aug-23-2012
The research relates to a family of molecules firstly discovered in Melbourne that applied to blood cell development. One of these, granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor or GM-CSF, acts as a messenger between cells acting at a site of inflammation...

Mental Health Challenges Facing Homeless Parents And Children Living In Shelters And Transitional Housing

Date: Aug-23-2012
A new paper from North Carolina State University calls for more research on how to help homeless families with children who are facing mental-health problems, as well as changes in how shelters are treating these families. "We wanted to lay out the specific mental-health challenges facing homeless parents and children living in shelters and transitional housing," says Dr. Mary Haskett, a professor of psychology at NC State and co-author of the paper...

In People With Parkinson's Disease, Sleep Improves Memory

Date: Aug-23-2012
People with Parkinson's disease performed markedly better on a test of working memory after a night's sleep, and sleep disorders can interfere with that benefit, researchers have shown. While the classic symptoms of Parkinson's disease include tremors and slow movements, Parkinson's can also affect someone's memory, including "working memory." Working memory is defined as the ability to temporarily store and manipulate information, rather than simply repeat it. The use of working memory is important in planning, problem solving and independent living...

In Fruit Flies, Acai Counteracts Oxidative Stress, Lengthens Lifespan

Date: Aug-23-2012
Bewildered by the array of antioxidant fruit juices on display in the supermarket and the promises they make? To sort out the antioxidant properties of fruits and berries, scientists at Emory University School of Medicine turned to fruit flies for help. They found that a commercially available acai berry product can lengthen the lives of fruit flies, when the flies' lives are made short through additional oxidative stress. Under certain conditions (a simple sugar diet) acai supplementation could triple flies' lifespans, from eight to 24 days...

Protein Discovered That Promotes Cancers, Heart Disease; Substance Created To Block Its Effects

Date: Aug-23-2012
Strong scientific evidence suggests that high levels of a blood protein called galectin-3 may increase the risk of heart attacks, cancer and other diseases, and help forecast the outcome of those diseases, a scientist reported at the 244th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society. Isaac Eliaz, M.D., who outlined the scientific case against galectin-3, said a new galectin-3 blood test approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration can be useful in determining the risk and prognosis of numerous diseases...

'Anti-Hunger' Yogurts, Smoothies May Help Those Struggling With Dieting

Date: Aug-23-2012
Promising results were reported from a proof-of-concept clinical trial of an "anti-hunger" ingredient for yogurt, fruit shakes, smoothies and other foods that would make people feel full longer and ease the craving to eat. Scientists described the ingredient, a new version of a food additive that has been in use for more than 50 years, at the 244th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society...

Seeking A Vaccine Against HIV By Targeting Sugars

Date: Aug-23-2012
As a step toward designing the first effective vaccine against HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, scientists are reporting new insights into how a family of rare, highly potent antibodies bind to HIV and neutralize it - stop it from infecting human cells. The antibodies were isolated from people infected with HIV and work against a wide range of HIV strains. The researchers described the study at the 244th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society...

Study Could Lead To Better Ways Of Treating Pain, Memory Loss

Date: Aug-23-2012
Working with units of material so small that it would take 50,000 to make up one drop, scientists are developing the profiles of the contents of individual brain cells in a search for the root causes of chronic pain, memory loss and other maladies that affect millions of people. They described the latest results of this one-by-one exploration of cells or "neurons" from among the millions present in an animal brain at the 244th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the world's largest scientific society...

Study Of Infants' Perceptions Of Safe And Risky Ground Has Implications For Infant Safety

Date: Aug-23-2012
Researchers have long studied infants' perceptions of safe and risky ground by observing their willingness to cross a visual cliff, a large drop-off covered with a solid glass surface. In crawling, infants grow more likely to avoid the apparent drop-off, leading researchers to conclude that they have a fear of heights. Now a new study has found that although infants learn to avoid the drop-off while crawling, this knowledge doesn't transfer to walking. This suggests that what infants learn is to perceive the limits of their ability to crawl or walk, not a generalized fear of heights...

Gaining Extra Study Time By Sacrificing Sleep Is Counterproductive

Date: Aug-23-2012
Regardless of how much a high school student generally studies each day, if that student sacrifices sleep in order to study more than usual, he or she is more likely to have academic problems the following day. Because students tend to increasingly sacrifice sleep time for studying in the latter years of high school, this negative dynamic becomes more and more prevalent over time. Those are the findings of a new longitudinal study that focused on daily and yearly variations of students who sacrifice sleep to study...