Health News

Hormone Replacement Therapy Started Early Increases Synapses In Rat Prefrontal Cortex

Date: Jul-11-2012
A new study of aged female rats found that long-term treatment with estrogen and a synthetic progesterone known as MPA increased levels of a protein marker of synapses in the prefrontal cortex, a brain region known to suffer significant losses in aging. The new findings appear to contradict the results of the Women's Health Initiative, a long-term study begun in 1991 to analyze the effects of hormone therapy on a large sample of healthy postmenopausal women aged 50 to 79...

Treatment Of Tumors Based On Differentiation Therapies, A Novel Strategy For The Treatment Of An Aggressive Type Of Skin Cancer

Date: Jul-11-2012
Skin squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is a subtype of very aggressive skin cancers that usually develops in sunexposed body regions, but can also affect a large number of organs such as the bladder, esophagus, lungs etc. However, little is known about the biology of these cells, which consequently makes difficult the generation of new specific therapies; actually, the standard treatments are based on surgery and subsequent radiotherapy...

Swine Flu Vaccine Linked To Guillain-Barré Syndrome Risk

Date: Jul-10-2012
The 2009 influenza A(H1N1) "swine flu" vaccine, which was administered to millions of people around the world, is associated with a "small but significant risk" of Guillain-Barré Syndrome, an uncommon paralyzing nerve disorder, scientists from Quebec, Canada, reported in JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association). The authors added that they believe the benefits of immunization outweighed the risks. Guillain-Barré syndrome is a very uncommon but serious autoimmune disorder that damages the peripheral nervous system. The syndrome is typically caused by an acute infectious process...

Cranberries Help Fight Urinary Tract Infections

Date: Jul-10-2012
Consuming products that contain cranberries seems to be linked to preventing urinary tract infections (UTIs), a common bacterial infection in some people. These are the results of a study published in JAMA's Archives of Internal Medicine. Women are particularly susceptible to urinary tract infections, and products containing cranberries have long been known as a 'natural remedy' for preventing UTIs...

New MRI Technique To Help Heart Disease Patients

Date: Jul-10-2012
Researchers at Edinburgh University, a British Heart Foundation (BHF) Centre of Research Excellence, have developed a new technique that is able to track cells in the bloodstream, according to a study published in the journal Circulation. The technique could be used in the future to measure the effectiveness of stem cell treatments to repair damaged heart tissue, say the researchers. Heart failure, which affects more than 750,000 people in the UK, is often caused by damaged heart tissue, and researchers believe that this damage could be repaired by injecting stem cells into patients...

Female Cyclists' Sexual Health May Be Affected By Handlebar Position

Date: Jul-10-2012
According to a new study published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine, researchers from Yale University School of Medicine have discovered that the position of a bicycle's handlebar is linked to changes in genital sensation in female cyclists. Research leader Marsha K. Guess, MD, MS, from Yale University School of Medicine and her team examined the way in which the seat of a bicycle is positioned in relationship to the handlebars. Their study included 48 competitive female cyclists...

Use Of Drug-Eluting Stents Don't Always Outweigh The Risks

Date: Jul-10-2012
Archives of Internal Medicine carries an article, from a multi-institutional team, that seems to show many cases where patients receiving drug-eluting stents don't gain all that much benefit from the devices. One part of the problem is the need to take anticlotting medications for at least a year, which carries risks and may have more potential for harm than not having the stent in the first place...

Autism Risk Higher When Parents Have Schizophrenia Or Bipolar Disorder

Date: Jul-10-2012
Children whose parents or siblings have been diagnosed with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder have a higher risk of of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). The results of a study were published online in the Archives of General Psychiatry, by medical geneticists from North Carolina's School of Medicine University who wanted to evaluate to which degree these disorders are linked in view of the statement "has important implications for clinicians, researchers and those affected by the disorders...

Math Anxiety Affects Girls More Than Boys

Date: Jul-10-2012
If a car is driving at a speed of 40 miles per hour for a distance of 60 miles, how long will it take to reach its destination? Those who may feel apprehensive at answering this question may suffer from mathematics anxiety. According to a new report featured in the journal Behavioral and Brain Functions, numerous school-age children feel anxious in mathematics. However, even though anxiety can impact the performance of both boys and girls, it is generally girls who tend to suffer more anxiety than boys...

Colon Cancer Cells Use "Let Me Pass" Signals

Date: Jul-10-2012
In what reads like a chilling tale of skulduggery and subterfuge, researchers writing online in the journal Cancer Cell this week, describe how colon cancer tumor cells send "let me pass" signals to make blood vessel walls permeable, thus allowing them to travel through and establish themselves in neighbouring tissue (extravasation)...