Health News

New Strategy Discovered To Prevent Hearing Loss

Date: Jul-09-2012
If you're concerned about losing your hearing because of noise exposure (earbud deafness syndrome), a new discovery published online in the FASEB Journal offers some hope. That's because scientists from Germany and Canada show that the protein, AMPK, which protects cells during a lack of energy, also activates a channel protein in the cell membrane that allows potassium to leave the cell. This activity is important because this mechanism helps protect sensory cells in the inner ear from permanent damage following acoustic noise exposure...

Study Finds That Physical Education Mandates Not Enough In Most States

Date: Jul-09-2012
Children need quality physical education to combat obesity and lead healthy lives. Georgia elementary schools make the grade when it comes to providing that education, but middle and high schools in the state don't even come close, according to a University of Georgia study. A study by UGA kinesiology professor Bryan McCullick examined the mandates for school-based physical education in all 50 United States. The results found only six states mandate the appropriate guidelines-150 minutes each week-for elementary school physical education...

Obesity Vaccine Effective In Mice

Date: Jul-09-2012
New vaccines promote weight loss. A new study, published in BioMed Central's open access journal, Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology, assesses the effectiveness of two somatostatin vaccinations, JH17 and JH18, in reducing weight gain and increasing weight loss in mice. Obesity and obesity-related disease is a growing health issue worldwide. Somatostatin, a peptide hormone, inhibits the action of growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1), both of which increase metabolism and result in weight loss...

Epigenetic Cause Of Osteoarthritis Discovered

Date: Jul-09-2012
In what could be a breakthrough in the practical application of epigenetic science, U.K. scientists used human tissue samples to discover that those with osteoarthritis have a signature epigenetic change (DNA methylation) responsible for switching on and off a gene that produces a destructive enzyme called MMP13. This enzyme is known to play a role in the destruction of joint cartilage, making MMP13 and the epigenetic changes that lead to its increased levels, prime targets for osteoarthritis drug development...

Promising Mechanism For Healing Spinal Cord Injury

Date: Jul-09-2012
Yona Goldshmit, Ph.D., is a former physical therapist who worked in rehabilitation centers with spinal cord injury patients for many years before deciding to switch her focus to the underlying science. "After a few years in the clinic, I realized that we don't really know what's going on," she said. Now a scientist working with Peter Currie, Ph.D., at Monash University in Australia, Dr. Goldshmit is studying the mechanisms of spinal cord repair in zebrafish, which, unlike humans and other mammals, can regenerate their spinal cord following injury...

Good Cholesterol Levels Increased By Algae Extract

Date: Jul-09-2012
A Wayne State University researcher has found that an extract from algae could become a key to regulating cardiovascular disease. In a study funded by Health Enhancement Products of Bloomfield Hills, Mich., Smiti Gupta, Ph.D., assistant professor in the department of nutrition and food science in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, has found that dietary intake of ProAlgaZyme increased the level of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) in an animal model...

Doctors Trusted But Internet Consulted By Patients For Added Information

Date: Jul-09-2012
Patients look up their illnesses online to become better informed and prepared to play an active role in their care - not because they mistrust their doctors, a new University of California, Davis, study suggests.  The study surveyed more than 500 people who were members of online support groups and had scheduled appointments with a physician. "We found that mistrust was not a significant predictor of people going online for health information prior to their visit," said Xinyi Hu, who co-authored the study as part of her master's thesis in communication...

Cardiac Repair Promoted By Economical, Effective And Biocompatible Gene Therapy Strategy

Date: Jul-09-2012
Dr Changfa Guo, Professor Chunsheng Wang and their co-investigators from Zhongshan hospital Fudan University, Shanghai, China have established a novel hyperbranched poly(amidoamine) (hPAMAM) nanoparticle based hypoxia regulated vascular endothelial growth factor (HRE-VEGF) gene therapy strategy which is an excellent substitute for the current expensive and uncontrollable VEGF gene delivery system. This discovery, reported in the June 2012 issue of Experimental Biology and Medicine, provides an economical, feasible and biocompatible gene therapy strategy for cardiac repair...

Driver Cellphone Blocking Technology Could Save Lives

Date: Jul-09-2012
Researchers in India are developing a new technology that will prevent truck drivers and other road users from using their cell phones while driving. The technology based on RFIDs could also be integrated with police traffic monitoring. Abdul Shabeer of the Anna University of Technology in Tamilnadu, India, and colleagues point out that globally around 20% of fatal road accidents with trucks and other heavy vehicles involved the drivers of those vehicles using a cell phone in their hand at the time of the accident...

Being Overweight Alone Does Not Increase The Short-Term Risk Of Death

Date: Jul-09-2012
An evaluation of national data by UC Davis researchers has found that extra weight is not necessarily linked with a higher risk of death. When compared to those with normal weight, people who were overweight or obese had no increased risk of death during a follow-up period of six years. People who were severely obese did have a higher risk, but only if they also had diabetes or hypertension...