Health News

Smoking, Drinking Very Difficult For Seniors With Serious Illnesses To Give Up

Date: Aug-02-2012
A recent study of adults age 50 to 85 found that only 19 percent of those diagnosed with lung disease quit smoking within two years. Furthermore, the research showed that the vast majority of older adults who learn they have a chronic condition do not adopt healthier behaviors, according to data presented in the Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences. The statistics come from the Health and Retirement Study, an ongoing survey of over 11,000 Americans aged 50 or older that began in 1992. For the new journal article, a research team led by Jason T...

Interdisciplinary Preclinical Research Reveals Two Drugs With Potential To Help Fight Kidney, Breast Cancer

Date: Aug-02-2012
A potentially powerful new approach to treating two lethal metastatic cancers - triple negative breast cancer and clear cell renal cell carcinoma, the most common form of kidney cancer - has been discovered by researchers at Mayo Clinic in Florida. In the online issue of Molecular Cancer Therapeutics, they report that two drugs, romidepsin and decitabine, work cooperatively to activate a potent tumor suppressor gene that is silenced in these cancers...

Understanding Of Fraser Syndrome Hearing Loss May Be Improved By Zebra Fish Mouth Formation Study

Date: Aug-02-2012
Using mutant zebra fish, researchers studying the earliest formation of cartilage of the mouth believe they may have gotten a look at a mechanism involved in a genetic defect linked to Fraser syndrome deafness in humans. Reporting in the Aug. 1 issue of the journal Development, they identify a potential developmental pathway worthy of more scrutiny in future research into Fraser syndrome, a many-faceted and rare recessive genetic disease. In humans, a mutation in the gene FRAS1, which plays a role in skin epithelial formation during early development, has been linked to Fraser syndrome...

Sneezing Is A Biological Response To The Nose's 'Blue Screen Of Death'

Date: Aug-02-2012
New research in The FASEB Journal suggests that sneezing is the body's natural reboot and that patients with disorders of the nose such as sinusitis can't reboot, explaining why they sneeze more often than others Who would have thought that our noses and Microsoft Windows' infamous blue screen of death could have something in common? But that's the case being made by a new research report appearing online in The FASEB Journal. Specifically, scientists now know exactly why we sneeze, what sneezing should accomplish, and what happens when sneezing does not work properly...

The Most Common Chronic Disease Among Olympic Athletes Is Asthma

Date: Aug-02-2012
Based on data from the last five Olympic games, a study by the University of Western Australia has identified those athletes with asthma and airway hyper-responsiveness. With a prevalence of around 8% they are the most common chronic conditions among Olympic athletes, and could be related to intense training. In summer and winter sports there is widespread suffering from asthma and airway hyper-responsiveness (AHR) among athletes who take part in endurance sports...

A Stressed Mother's Offspring At Greater Risk For Abdominal Obesity

Date: Aug-02-2012
New research in the FASEB Journal suggests that the neuropeptide Y in plasma and its Y2 receptor in visceral fat play an important role in obesity. A new report involving mice suggests that a relationship exists between maternal metabolic or psychological stress and the development of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and metabolic syndrome in her offspring. What's more, the report shows that if the stress cannot be reduced or eliminated, manipulating the neuropeptide Y (NPY) system in visceral fat may prevent maternal stress-induced obesity from occurring in the next generation...

Cancer Metastasis May Be Grounded By 'Flightless' Molecule

Date: Aug-02-2012
New research in The FASEB Journal shows that a molecule called 'flightless' significantly helps control the speed with which cells move through various tissues Thanks to the "flightless" molecule, the spread of cancer from one tissue to another may one day be grounded. In a new report published in the August 2012 print issue of The FASEB Journal, laboratory experiments show that "flightless" (named after its effects on fruit flies) increases the "stickiness" that causes cells, including cancer cells, to attach to underlying tissue, which in turn, slows their movement throughout the body...

In Substance Abuse Treatment Many Adolescents Report Using Medical Marijuana Prescribed For Someone Else

Date: Aug-02-2012
A study published in the July 2012 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry found that diverted medical marijuana use among adolescents receiving treatment for substance abuse is very common. Study participants from two adolescent substance abuse treatment programs in the Denver metropolitan area were asked questions about their medical marijuana use.121 of 164 adolescents (73.8%) reported using medical marijuana that had been recommended for someone else, also known as diverted medical marijuana, a median of 50 times...

Mouse Model Uncovers Opioid Receptors As A Drug Target For Stopping Obesity

Date: Aug-02-2012
New research in the FASEB Journals demonstrates that blocking the delta opioid receptor in mice created resistance to weight gain and stimulated gene expression promoting non-shivering thermogenesis Imagine eating all of the sugar and fat that you want without gaining a pound. Thanks to new research published in The FASEB Journal, the day may come when this is not too far from reality...

Anti-Inflammatory Molecule IL-10 From Donor Skin Cells Helps The Body Incorporate Skin Grafts

Date: Aug-02-2012
Scientists have found that the anti-inflammatory molecule, IL-10, may improve success rates of skin autografts (skin moved from one site of the body to another). This information provides a valuable drug target that may benefit burn and accident victims. Specifically, researchers from Portugal and Brazil show that IL-10 plays an important role in whether or not an isogenic skin graft (skin from one individual grafted into another genetically identical) is successful and that the cells responsible for this effect are from the donor skin and not from any tissue of the recipient...