Health News

Adapting To The US More Challenging For Refugees

Date: Aug-20-2012
Many refugees to the U.S. travel thousands of miles to a safe harbor, but once here find that adjusting to linguistic and cultural differences is an equally daunting task, according to new research to be presented by two University of Dayton sociologists at the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association. "In one or two weeks, some refugees find themselves going from a place like a Burundian refugee camp to a Midwestern city like Dayton," said sociology professor Theo Majka...

What's Your Lifetime Risk Of Developing Kidney Failure?

Date: Aug-20-2012
How likely are middle-aged adults to develop kidney failure during their lifetime? A study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN) provides some insights, which may be used to help set priorities related to kidney care and to increase public interest in the prevention of kidney disease. Kidney failure takes a significant toll on both individuals and the public as a whole, causing poor health in patients and generating considerable health care costs...

Like A Drug: The Rise Of American Megachurches

Date: Aug-20-2012
American megachurches use stagecraft, sensory pageantry, charismatic leadership and an upbeat, unchallenging vision of Christianity to provide their congregants with a powerful emotional religious experience, according to research from the University of Washington. "Membership in megachurches is one of the leading ways American Christians worship these days, so, therefore, these churches should be understood," said James Wellman, associate professor of American religion at the University of Washington...

Common Parasite May Trigger Suicide Attempts

Date: Aug-20-2012
A parasite thought to be harmless and found in many people may actually be causing subtle changes in the brain, leading to suicide attempts. New research appearing in the August issue of The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry adds to the growing work linking an infection caused by the Toxoplasma gondii parasite to suicide attempts. Michigan State University's Lena Brundin was one of the lead researchers on the team. About 10-20 percent of people in the United States have Toxoplasma gondii, or T...

Genes Carried By E. coli Bacteria Linked To Colon Cancer

Date: Aug-20-2012
Scientists at the University of Liverpool have identified a type of E. coli bacteria that may encourage the development of colon cancer. The Liverpool team had previously shown that people with colon cancer and with the inflammatory bowel diseases, Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, have high numbers of a sticky type of E. coli in their colons. The team have now found that E...

Black Stroke Survivors Have Higher Blood Pressure, Increased Risk Of Repeat Stroke

Date: Aug-20-2012
Blacks who survived a stroke caused by bleeding in the brain had higher blood pressure than whites a year later, according to a study published today in the journal Stroke. The finding might help explain why blacks have a greater risk of suffering a second stroke than whites. The research, a part of the Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) Stroke Disparities Program led by Chelsea Kidwell, M.D., was designed to examine racial and ethnic differences in strokes known as intracranial hemorrhage or ICH...

Why Are Elderly Duped?

Date: Aug-20-2012
Everyone knows the adage: "If something sounds too good to be true, then it probably is." So, why, then, do some people fall for scams and why are older folks especially prone to being duped? An answer, it seems, is because a specific area of the brain has deteriorated or is damaged, according to researchers at the University of Iowa...

Combination Peptide Therapies Might Offer More Effective, Less Toxic Cancer Treatment

Date: Aug-20-2012
Two studies suggest that two peptide agents used either together or individually with a low-dose of a standard chemotherapy drug might offer more effective cancer therapy than current standard single-drug treatments. The studies used animal models of breast cancer to show that the peptide combinations dramatically delay tumor onset and progression by both inhibiting tumor growth and blocking the formation of new tumor blood vessels, say researchers at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J...

Treatment For Cervical Disease Is Not Linked To Increased Risk Of Preterm Births

Date: Aug-20-2012
Treatment for cervical disease does not appear to increase the risk of subsequently giving birth prematurely, according to a study of over 44,000 women in England. The study, published online in the British Medical Journal recently, was the largest in the UK to investigate this and contradicts previous research suggesting treatment could be linked to an increased risk. Professor Peter Sasieni, professor of cancer epidemiology and biostatistics at the Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, part of Queen Mary, University of London (UK), led the study...

Discovery Of Immune Cells That Protect Against Multiple Sclerosis Offers Hope For New Treatment

Date: Aug-20-2012
In multiple sclerosis, the immune system attacks nerves in the brain and spinal cord, causing movement problems, muscle weakness and loss of vision. Immune cells called dendritic cells, which were previously thought to contribute to the onset and development of multiple sclerosis, actually protect against the disease in a mouse model, according to a study published by Cell Press in the August issue of the journal Immunity...