Health News

Welders Told To Get Vaccination

Date: Jul-06-2012
Welders and other workers exposed to metal fumes should receive a simple vaccination that can prevent serious lung disease and even save their lives. A new review of the evidence published today in the scientific journal Occupational Medicine found that welders die more often from certain types of pneumonia and that they should be offered the PPV23 vaccination so that potentially fatal lung disease can be prevented. "Many employers are unaware that exposure to welding fume can cause pneumonia. Although fatal cases are rare, they can occur...

Hope for future treatments for Common Liver Disease with new opossum model

Date: Jul-06-2012
Scientists at Texas Biomed have developed the laboratory opossum as a new animal model to study the most common liver disease in the nation - afflicting up to 15 million Americans - and for which there is no cure. The condition, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), resembles alcoholic liver disease, but occurs in people who drink little or no alcohol. The major feature of NASH is accumulation of fat in the liver, along with inflammation and functional damage. Most people with NASH feel well and are not aware that they have a liver problem...

Drug Research For Parkinson's Disease May Improve With Patient-Derived Stem Cells

Date: Jul-06-2012
Researchers have taken a step toward personalized medicine for Parkinson's disease, by investigating signs of the disease in patient-derived cells and testing how the cells respond to drug treatments. The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health. The researchers collected skin cells from patients with genetically inherited forms of Parkinson's and reprogrammed those cells into neurons...

'Oncometabolite' Linked To Onset Of Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Date: Jul-06-2012
A team of international scientists led by principal investigator Dr. Tak Mak at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, has identified a causative link between the product of a mutated metabolic enzyme and the onset of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), one of the most common types of leukemia in adults. Called an "oncometabolite" for its role in cancer metabolism, the metabolite2-hydroxyglutarate (2HG) is a by-product of a gene mutation of an enzyme known as isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH). Says Dr...

Researchers Have Discovered A New Gene Target For Leukemia Therapy

Date: Jul-06-2012
These findings, slated for the July 26, 2012 print issue of Blood, the journal of the American Society of Hematology, could lead to cellular targets for a patient population that otherwise may not have desirable outcomes and could potentially stop the onset of leukemia before it begins...

New Clues Discovered To Explain Tendon Injury

Date: Jul-06-2012
Tendon disorders cost the UK economy more than £7bn a year and now scientists at Queen Mary, University of London have identified a vital component of tendons which could help treat them. The research, published in the highly regarded Royal Society journal Interface, found that a component of tendons known as the interfascicular matrix (IFM) is essential for their function...

Discovery Improves Understanding Of Early Onset Inflammatory Disease

Date: Jul-06-2012
Scientists at the University of East Anglia (UEA) have discovered a 'constant cloud' of potent inflammatory molecules surrounding the cells responsible for diseases such as thickening of the arteries and rheumatoid arthritis. Published online today by The Journal of Cell Science, the findings could eventually lead to new treatments for chronic inflammatory diseases...

A Natural Plant Protein Converted Into Drug-Delivery Vehicles

Date: Jul-06-2012
Finding biocompatible carriers that can get drugs to their targets in the body involves significant challenges. Beyond practical concerns of manufacturing and loading these vehicles, the carriers must work effectively with the drug and be safe to consume. Vesicles, hollow capsules shaped like double-walled bubbles, are ideal candidates, as the body naturally produces similar structures to move chemicals from one place to another. Finding the right molecules to assemble into capsules, however, remains difficult...

Genes In Rheumatoid Arthritis Altered By Epigenetics

Date: Jul-06-2012
It's not just our DNA that makes us susceptible to disease and influences its impact and outcome. Scientists are beginning to realize more and more that important changes in genes that are unrelated to changes in the DNA sequence itself - a field of study known as epigenetics - are equally influential. A research team at the University of California, San Diego - led by Gary S...

Panes Of Feel-Good Glass

Date: Jul-06-2012
Daylight acts on our body clock and stimulates the brain. Fraunhofer researchers have made use of this knowledge and worked with industry partners to develop a coating for panes of glass that lets through more light. Above all, it promotes the passage through the glass of those wavelengths of light that govern our hormonal balance. Most people prefer to live in homes that are airy and flooded with light. Nobody likes to spend much time in a dark and dingy room. That's no surprise, since daylight gives us energy and has a major impact on our sense of wellbeing. It is a real mood lifter...