Health News

Cartilage Response To Loading Simulated To Study Joints At Tissue, Cellular Levels

Date: Jul-26-2012
A Cleveland Clinic research team is developing virtual models of human knee joints to better understand how tissues and their individual cells react to heavy loads - virtual models that someday can be used to understand damage mechanisms caused by the aging process or debilitating diseases, such as osteoarthritis. Led by Ahmet Erdemir, Ph.D...

Cell Phone Screener To Combat Anemia In Developing World Invented By Undergrads

Date: Jul-26-2012
Could a low-cost screening device connected to a cell phone save thousands of women and children from anemia-related deaths and disabilities? That's the goal of Johns Hopkins biomedical engineering undergraduates who've developed a noninvasive way to identify women with this dangerous blood disorder in developing nations. The device, HemoGlobe, is designed to convert the existing cell phones of health workers into a "prick-free" system for detecting and reporting anemia at the community level...

Test Shows Subconscious 'Stop Signs' Can Help Control Overeating

Date: Jul-26-2012
Once you pop the top of a tube of potato chips, it can be hard to stop munching its contents. But Cornell University researchers may have found a novel way to help: edible serving-size markers that act as subconscious stop signs. As part of an experiment carried out on two groups of college students (98 students total) while they were watching video clips in class, researchers from Cornell's Food and Brand Lab served tubes potato chips, some of which contained chips dyed red. Researchers found that the red chips served as subconscious "stop signs" that curtailed the amount of food consumed...

Certain White Blood Cells May Be Useful In Vaccinating Against Blood-Borne Infections And HIV

Date: Jul-26-2012
White blood cells called neutrophils, which are the first line of defense against infection, play an unexpected role by boosting antibody production, according to research led by Mount Sinai School of Medicine. The findings suggest neutrophils have multiple roles within the immune system and function at levels previously unknown to the scientific community. The research, published in Nature Immunology, provides groundbreaking insight into possible new approaches in vaccine development for blood-borne infections and HIV...

New Algorithm Will Change How Scientists Build Networks From Data To Help Predict Gene And Drug Interactions

Date: Jul-26-2012
Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine have developed a new computational method that will make it easier for scientists to identify and prioritize genes, drug targets, and strategies for repositioning drugs that are already on the market. By mining large datasets more simply and efficiently, researchers will be able to better understand gene-gene, protein-protein, and drug/side-effect interactions. The new algorithm will also help scientists identify fellow researchers with whom they can collaborate...

XCELL Trial Confirms Nitinol Stenting Aids In Wound Healing, Pain Relief, And Amputation-Free Survival

Date: Jul-26-2012
Patients with blocked arteries to their extremities, known as peripheral artery disease (PAD) or critical limb ischemia (CLI), may now find relief from lower leg pain and wounds caused by impaired leg artery circulation with the previously unproven therapy, percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA)...

Possible Explanation For Increased Incidence Of Diabetes Diagnosis In South Asians

Date: Jul-26-2012
A new diabetes study at the University of Leicester has discovered that South Asians (people of Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Sri Lanka origin) have higher levels of blood sugar than white Europeans independent of risk factors that influence sugar levels. The study of 4,688 white Europeans and 1,352 South Asians was led by Dr. Samiul A Mostafa, of the University of Leicester, Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, and was published in Diabetes Care, a journal of the American Diabetes Association...

Benefits Of Mindfulness Meditation: Reduces Loneliness In Older Adults, Lowers Inflammation Levels And Alters Gene Expression

Date: Jul-26-2012
For older adults, loneliness is a major risk factor for health problems - such as cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer's - and death. Attempts to diminish loneliness with social networking programs like creating community centers to encourage new relationships have not been effective. However, a new study led by Carnegie Mellon University's J. David Creswell offers the first evidence that mindfulness meditation reduces loneliness in older adults...

School Programmes For Deworming May Not Be That Effective: Research

Date: Jul-26-2012
Latest research, published on 11 July 2012, on the effect of deworming drugs on nutrition and school performance in children, commands our attention. The World Health Organization (WHO) report that more than a quarter of the world's population is infected with one or more of the soil-transmitted intestinal worms. WHO promote community and school programmes to give deworming drugs to all children in low-income countries regularly to improve nutrition, haemoglobin, cognition, school attendance, school performance and promote economic productivity...

Differences In Memory Retrieval Between Children And Adults

Date: Jul-26-2012
Neuroscientists from Wayne State University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are taking a deeper look into how the brain mechanisms for memory retrieval differ between adults and children. While the memory systems are the same in many ways, the researchers have learned that crucial functions with relevance to learning and education differ. The team's findings were published in the Journal of Neuroscience. According to lead author Noa Ofen, Ph.D...