Health News

How Is Epilepsy Triggered?

Date: Jul-25-2012
At present, around 37,000 people in Ireland are affected by epilepsy, now neuroscientists have identified a new gene involved in the disorder. The teams finding may help in the development of a new treatment option for the condition. The study, conducted by researchers at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSO), is published in Nature Medicine. The team focused on a new class of gene called a microRNA. This class of gene controls protein production inside cells. The researchers found that patients with epilepsy have significantly higher levels of microRNA-134 in their brain...

New Contagion Model Examines Role Of Airports In Spreading Disease

Date: Jul-25-2012
The first study to model the dynamics of disease spreading in the early stages of an outbreak, looked at 40 US airports and finds the one that would spread the disease from its home city to other places the fastest would be New York's Kennedy International Airport, followed by airports in Los Angeles, Honolulu, and San Francisco. Researchers in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) write about their findings in a paper published online on 19 July in PLoS ONE...

Area Of The Brain Responsible For Link Between Vision And Emotion

Date: Jul-25-2012
Neuroscientists recently discovered a new area of the brain that uniquely specializes in peripheral vision. This area could potentially be targeted in future treatments for Alzheimer's disease and panic disorders. A team of researchers, led by Dr. Hsin-Hao Yu and Professor Marcello Rosa from Monash Univeristy's Department of Physiology, found that a brain area, called postriata, was specialized in detecting fast-moving objects in peripheral vision. Their findings were published July 24th in the journal Current Biology. Postriata is found in a primitive part of the cerebral cortex...

Cognitive Function Improved By Ginseng-Fortified Milk

Date: Jul-25-2012
Research has shown that American Ginseng is beneficial to combat aging, for central nervous system disorders and that it has neurocognitive effects, yet incorporating American Ginseng into foods presented scientists with challenges due to its bitter taste and because processing food can destroy its healthy benefits. Scientists have now managed to formulate a low-lactose functional milk, which preserves American Ginsengs' healthy benefits and an exploratory study deemed the product as being 'readily accepted' by a niche group of consumers...

Diabetes Drug Linagliptin Effective And Safe For Long-Term Use

Date: Jul-25-2012
The oral DPP-4 inhibitor linagliptin has been declared safe and effective in reducing glucose levels for up to 102 weeks, either as a stand-alone treatment or in combination with other selected oral anti-diabetic drugs, according to extended trials of individuals with type 2 diabetes in 32 different countries. The study, featured in the August edition of IJCP, was conducted to monitor 2,121 previous participants who took part in 4 previous 24-week randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled trials for an additional period of 78 more weeks...

Drug Use And Antisocial Behavior Strongly Linked With Adolescent Pregnancy

Date: Jul-25-2012
Numerous studies have been conducted on the impacting factors for pregnancy outcomes in young women, yet so far, no study has established which of these factors are the most important and the impact of depression on pregnancy outcomes is particularly unclear...

Improving Lives Of ICU Patients And Their Families

Date: Jul-25-2012
The experience of being admitted to an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is extremely stressful and disruptive for all family members, but in particular, to the patients themselves. A study, which aims to develop prevention and intervention to improve the wellbeing and lives of those involved, has discovered that 20% of patients admitted to ICU showed signs of anxiety, whilst 23-27% of patients displayed signs of depression. The anxiety rate amongst family members increased to 76% and the family's depression rate to 42-60%...

Intentions Of Infants Communicated Through Speech

Date: Jul-25-2012
Researchers from New York and McGill University have discovered that infants can detect how speech communicates unobservable intentions. The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) provides scientists with a better understanding on how early in life we can rely on language to gain knowledge about matters beyond first-hand experiences...

Eggstra Special! New Analysis Shows More Vitamin D And Fewer Calories In Today's Eggs

Date: Jul-25-2012
Official new data shows that today's eggs contain more than 70% more vitamin D and double the amount of selenium than when previous analyses were carried out 30 years ago. Today's eggs also contain around 20% less fat, more than 20% less saturated fat, around 13% fewer calories and more than 10% less cholesterol than previous surveys suggested. An average medium egg now contains 66 calories (compared to the previous figure of 78 calories) and an average large egg 77 calories (previously 91 calories)...

Liver Cancer Could Be Due To Absence Of Tiny Molecule

Date: Jul-25-2012
The absence of a tiny, abundant liver-specific microRNA (miRNA) molecule may lead to liver cancer, say researchers who tested the idea in mice and write about their findings in a paper published online this week in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. They suggest their findings show it may be possible to develop a treatment that restores the molecule, miR-122, in some patients with liver cancer, an often fatal disease for which there are few treatments...