Health News

Parents Can Help Identify Autism In 1 Year Olds

Date: Jul-16-2012
According to a study published in The International Journal of Research & Practice, 31% of children categorized as at risk for autism spectrum disorders (ASD) at 12 months are diagnosed with ASD by age three. The study, conducted by researchers at University of North Carolina School of Medicine, also found that 85% of children at risk for ASD had some other developmental disability or concern by three years of age. The teams findings are based on results from the First Year Inventory (FYI)...

Goal Reminders Can Throw Off Hedonic Effects Of Food

Date: Jul-16-2012
Dieters and overweight individuals are more likely to make healthy food choices if words related to health and weight are shown on restaurant menu's, posters, and recipe cards, say researchers. The study, conducted by Ester Papies and colleagues of Utrecht University, The Netherlands, will be presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior (SSIB). Studies have shown that chronic dieters and overweight people are often heavily influenced by their eating habits, and by easily available food temptations in their environment...

Watching TV Gives Children Larger Waistline

Date: Jul-16-2012
An increasing number of parents nowadays use the television as 'electronic babysitter' according to evidence...

New Research Into The Link Between Diabetes And Heart Disease

Date: Jul-16-2012
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute has awarded a grant of $4.7 million to researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis to investigate heart disease in diabetic patients. According to Jean E. Schaffer, MD, the Virginia Minnich Distinguished Professor of Medicine: "Diabetes is an incredibly common problem. It affects a huge swath of the population. Importantly, people with diabetes don't just have a metabolic disorder. They develop complications in many organs. And one of the most deadly complications is heart disease...

Which Smokers Have Highest Risk Of COPD?

Date: Jul-16-2012
Researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College were awarded a $6.5 million grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to conduct a 5-year long research project into metabolic changes that occur in the lungs epithelial cells' in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients due to cigarette smoking. The team will also aim to investigate which cigarette smokers have the highest risk of developing COPD and try to identify new biomarkers that will be of benefit in developing new therapies for the disease...

Stress Reduction Therapy Could Significantly Help Multiple Sclerosis Patients

Date: Jul-16-2012
A new study by Northwestern Medicine research, published in the journal Neurology, discovered that a weekly stress management program for patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) prevented the development of new brain lesions, which often precede a flare-up of MS symptoms, like pain, loss of vision or use of limbs. Brain lesions are a marker of the disease's activity in the brain...

College Kids Need To Be Vaccinated Too

Date: Jul-16-2012
Even though the majority of parents vaccinate their young children regularly with immunizations to protect them against diphtheria, polio, measles, mumps and other diseases, many parents seem unaware that their college-age children also need immunizations. Peter N. Wenger, M.D...

LRP4 Protein Important For Communication Between Brain And Muscle Cells

Date: Jul-16-2012
In order to be able to walk and eat and function, the brain needs to be able to transmit strong signals to our muscles. Now scientists from Georgia Health Sciences University's Medical College have discovered that to ensure a robust conversation between brain and muscles, a protein called LRP4, which is located in muscle cells and neurons needs to be present. The study, published in the journal Neuron, shows that without the presence of LRP4, the communication between the two cells types is inefficient and short-lived...

New Platinum Drug Kills Cancer Cells Better

Date: Jul-16-2012
Researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US who are testing phenanthriplatin, a new experimental drug based on platinum, say it kills cancer cells better and may provide a more effective alternative to cisplatin, the most commonly used approved platinum chemotherapy drug. Platinum-based chemotherapy drugs are among the most powerful and widely used against cancer. However, they have toxic side effects, and tumors can  become resistant to them. Cisplatin, the most common platinum chemotherapy drug, was first approved in the US in 1978...

Gait Changes May Signal Cognitive Decline, Presage Alzheimer's

Date: Jul-16-2012
Changes in gait, such as slower walking or a more variable stride and rhythm, may be early signs of mental impairments that can develop into Alzheimer's before such changes can be seen on neuropsychological tests, said researchers at a conference this week. They suggest diagnosing changes in gait could alert doctors to begin testing for cognitive decline. A cluster of studies presented at the 2012 Alzheimer's Association's International Conference (AAIC) that is taking place until 19 July in Vancouver, Canada, are the first to link physical changes to the disease...