Health News

Quitting Smoking Leads To More Weight Gain Than Expected

Date: Jul-11-2012
When people give up smoking they usually put on from 4 to 5 kg (9 to 11 lbs) within 12 months, much more than previously thought, researchers from INSERM, France, and the University of Birmingham, UK, reported in the BMJ (British Medical Journal). The authors added that most of the weight gain tends to occur within three months of quitting...

Food In Smaller Pieces May Help Control Weight

Date: Jul-11-2012
Cutting up food into smaller pieces may help people control their weight more easily because they are more satisfying to eat than one large piece with the same number of calories, according to a new study presented at a conference this week. The 2012 meeting of the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior, which runs from 10 to 14 July in Zurich, Switzerland, heard how the researchers concluded that humans, like animals, seem to find eating food as smaller pieces more enjoyable and satisfying...

Fetal Genome Sequenced From Mother's Blood Sample

Date: Jul-11-2012
A new study published in Nature last week reveals how researchers have for the first time developed a way to sequence the genome of an unborn baby using only a sample of blood from the mother. The researchers believe this brings fetal genetic testing one step closer to routine clinical use. Senior author Dr Stephen Quake is the Lee Otterson Professor in the School of Engineering and professor of bioengineering and of applied physics at Stanford University in the US...

Preventing HIV Transmission

Date: Jul-11-2012
Is it possible to cut HIV transmission by using antiretroviral treatment? A collection of new articles published in the open-access journal PLoS Medicine, in conjunction with the HIV Modelling Consortium, addresses this pressing question. The PLoS Medicine articles provide insights into the feasibility of interventions, their potential epidemiological impact and affordability, and recent scientific observational studies and community trials, which will support evidence-based decision-making on the use of antiretroviral treatment to prevent HIV transmission...

Clinical Preventive Services Increased By Use Of Interactive Personal Health Records

Date: Jul-11-2012
Patients who use an interactive personal health record (IPHR) are almost twice as likely to be up to date with clinical preventive services as those who do not, according to a new study led by Alex Krist, M.D., M.P.H., research member of the Cancer Prevention and Control program at Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center. Published in the journal Annals of Family Medicine, the randomized controlled trial involved eight primary care practices and 4,500 patients. The patients were divided into a control group and an intervention group...

Neonatals' Blood-Brain Barrier Less Permeable Than Adults After Acute Stroke

Date: Jul-11-2012
The ability for substances to pass through the blood-brain barrier is increased after adult stroke, but not after neonatal stroke, according to a new study the UCSF that will be published July 11 in the Journal of Neuroscience. The novel findings may have major implications for drug development and the treatment of neonatal stroke, the researchers said. The blood-brain barrier is selectively permeable and blocks unwanted molecules from entering into the brain...

Hope For Treatment Of Hearing Loss With Usher Syndrome III

Date: Jul-11-2012
A new study published in the July 11 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience details the development of the first mouse model engineered to carry the most common mutation in Usher syndrome III causative gene (Clarin-1) in North America. Further, the research team from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine used this new model to understand why mutation in Clarin-1 leads to hearing loss. Usher Syndrome is an incurable genetic disease and it is the most common cause of the dual sensory deficits of deafness and blindness...

Hospitals Not Always Alerted Of Incoming Stroke Patients, Despite Benefit

Date: Jul-11-2012
Treatment is delivered faster when emergency medical services (EMS) personnel notify hospitals a possible stroke patient is en route, yet pre-notification doesn't occur nearly one-third of the time. That's according to two separate Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke program studies published in American Heart Association journals. The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association recommends EMS notify hospitals of incoming stroke patients to allow stroke teams to prepare for prompt evaluation and treatment...

Specialized Ultrasound Used In Preclinical Studies To Detect Presence Of Cancer

Date: Jul-11-2012
From the air, the twists and turns of rivers can easily be seen. In the body, however, tracing the twists and turns of blood vessels is difficult, but important. Vessel "bendiness" can indicate the presence and progression of cancer. This principle led UNC scientists to a new method of using a high-resolution ultrasound to identify early tumors in preclinical studies...

Exploiting "Molecular Glues" To Target Disease Relevant Proteolytic Enzymes

Date: Jul-11-2012
Scientists at the University Medical Center of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz in Germany identified a novel strategy to target the oncologically relevant protein-cleaving enzyme Taspase1. Taspase1 levels are not only elevated in cancer cells of patients with head and neck tumors and other solid malignancies but the enzyme is also critical for the development of leukemias. Central to this concept is the approach to inhibit the enzyme's activity by 'gluing together' individual Taspase1 molecules. The results of a study undertaken by Professor Dr...