Health News

HIV Home Test Kit Wins FDA Approval

Date: Jul-04-2012
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on Tuesday that is has approved the first over the counter HIV test kit that allows Americans to test, in the privacy of their own homes, whether they are infected with the virus that causes AIDS. The OraQuick In-Home HIV Test detects the presence of antibodies to human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) and type 2 (HIV-2). It is the first rapid diagnostic test for any infectious disease that the FDA has approved for sale over the counter...

The UK's Potential Food Crisis

Date: Jul-04-2012
The Sustainable Consumption Institute research claims food which families now take for granted, such as meat and fresh vegetables, could become too expensive for many if global temperatures rise in line with the current trends and reach 4°C within the lifetime of many people. Even if families continue to take steps to lower their carbon emissions from energy use, global farming emissions will continue to rise because of our growing appetite for energy-intensive foods and a rising demand to meet just basic living standards across the world...

Treatment Guidelines And Position Statements On Transgender Persons Recommended By APA Task Force

Date: Jul-04-2012
A report from the American Psychiatric Association (APA) Task Force on Treatment of Gender Identity Disorder (GID) recommends the development of clinical practice guidelines for psychiatrists caring for patients who are transgender. The report also encourages the development of position statements regarding the health care and civil rights of people who are gender variant or transitioning gender. The task force report is available online in Springer's journal Archives of Sexual Behavior¹...

The Surprising Answer To Why Cancer Rate Increases With Age

Date: Jul-04-2012
Cancers are age-related, much more frequent in the old than in the young. A University of Colorado Cancer Center review published in the journal Oncogene argues against the conventional wisdom that the accumulation of cancer-causing mutations leads to more cancer in older people, instead positing that it is the changing features of tissue in old age that promote higher cancer rates in the elderly...

3 Genes Identified As Possible Markers For Academic Success

Date: Jul-04-2012
Researchers have identified genetic markers that may influence whether a person finishes high school and goes on to college, according to a national longitudinal study of thousands of young Americans. The study is in the July issue of Developmental Psychology, a publication of the American Psychological Association...

The Secret To Longevity? High Levels Of Brain-Protecting Protein Are Unique In The Naked Mole Rat

Date: Jul-04-2012
Compared to the average three year life span of a common rat, the 10 to 30 year life of the naked mole rat, a subterranean rodent native to East Africa, is impressive. And compared to the human body, the body of this rodent shows little decline due to aging, maintaining high activity, bone health, reproductive capacity, and cognitive ability throughout its lifetime. Now a collaborative of researchers in Israel and the United States is working to uncover the secret to the small mammal's long - and active - lifespan. Dr. Dorothee Huchon of Tel Aviv University's Department of Zoology, Prof...

Blocking Pathway To T-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Initiating Cell Regeneration

Date: Jul-04-2012
Research suggests that patients with leukemia sometimes relapse because standard chemotherapy fails to kill the self-renewing leukemia initiating cells, often referred to as cancer stem cells. In such cancers, the cells lie dormant for a time, only to later begin cloning, resulting in a return and metastasis of the disease. One such type of cancer is called pediatric T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, or T-ALL, often found in children, who have few treatment options beyond chemotherapy. A team of researchers - led by Catriona H. M...

In Vitro Study Identifies Potential Combination Therapy For Breast Cancer

Date: Jul-04-2012
A study conducted at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) demonstrates an effective combination therapy for breast cancer cells in vitro. The findings, published in the July 2012 issue of Anticancer Research, raise the possibility of using this type of combination therapy for different forms of breast cancer, including those that develop resistance to chemotherapy and other treatments. The study was led by researchers at the Boston University Cancer Center. Sibaji Sarkar, PhD, adjunct instructor of medicine at BUSM, is the study's corresponding author...

Parental Use Of Methamphetamines Leads To Increase In Child Abuse And Foster Care Admissions

Date: Jul-04-2012
Methamphetamine abuse leads to an increase in child abuse and neglect, which causes an increase in foster care admissions, according to a study* from Baylor University. The study, published online in the journal Economic Inquiry, found that a 1 percent increase in meth use led to a 1.5 percent increase in foster care admissions. It is the first study to provide evidence for meth abuse's causal effect on foster home admissions...

Breast Cancer Response To Endocrine Therapy: Preclinical Imaging Of Progesterone Receptor Signals Usefulness Of Biomarker

Date: Jul-04-2012
Research published in the July issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine shows imaging progesterone receptor (PR) status also may be able to identify responders and nonresponders to endocrine therapy at an early stage. Estrogen receptor-α(ERα) status is an important factor in determining the most appropriate treatment for breast cancer patients, especially for those who are ERα+ and likely to respond well to hormone-based, or endocrine, therapies. Prominent professor and research chemist Michael J. Welch, PhD, who passed away in May, was a contributing author for this research...