Health News

Reducing Animal Testing With New Technique

Date: Jul-02-2012
A new way of testing the safety of natural and synthetic chemicals has been developed by scientists with funding from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). Their research, published in the journal Ecotoxicology, could reduce the number of fish needed to test the toxicity of a range of chemicals including pharmaceuticals and environmental pollutants. The researchers, led by Professor Awadhesh Jha of Plymouth University, have managed to coax cells from the liver of a rainbow trout to form a ball-shaped structure called a spheroid in a petri dish...

Indigenous Doctors Call For Greater Self-Determination In Indigenous Health Decisions, Australia

Date: Jul-02-2012
Self-determination is the key to improving the health and well-being of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, says an editorial published in the 2 July issue of the Medical Journal of Australia. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people needed to participate in "every layer of decision making" to meet their health needs, Associate Professor Peter O'Mara, president of the Australian Indigenous Doctors' Association (AIDA) wrote. "We should also be actively involved in the design, delivery and control of health services", he wrote...

Potential Explanation For Why A Diet High In DHA Improves Memory

Date: Jul-02-2012
We've all heard that eating fish is good for our brains and memory. But what is it about DHA, an omega-3 fatty acid found in fish, that makes our memory sharper? Medical researchers at the University of Alberta discovered a possible explanation and just published their findings in the peer-reviewed journal Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism...

Debilitating Eyesight Problems Are On The Decline For Older Americans

Date: Jul-02-2012
Today's senior citizens are reporting fewer visual impairment problems than their counterparts from a generation ago, according to a new Northwestern Medicine study. Improved techniques for cataract surgery and a reduction in the prevalence of macular degeneration may be the driving forces behind this change, the researchers said. "From 1984 until 2010, the decrease in visual impairment in those 65 and older was highly statistically significant," said Angelo P. Tanna, M.D., first author of the study. "There was little change in visual impairments in adults under the age of 65...

Sometimes, Cheating Is Allowed

Date: Jul-02-2012
Not lying is regarded as a learned and well-known rule of honesty among 14 and 15-year-olds at Zurich's high schools. Additional theoretical moral knowledge also includes conventional rules of honesty such as not using unfair aids during school tests or forging parents' signatures. What might seem like a duty to live up to school expectations at face value is actually a very different story beneath the surface. After all, dishonest practices are permitted for young people in certain classroom situations and with individual teachers...

Researchers Probe Origin Of Optimized Antibodies Against Infections

Date: Jul-02-2012
An organism's ability to make new antibodies and use them to optimize its own immune defenses is of central importance in the fight against pathogens. In the case of severe infections, the overall relative speed with which an immune response proceeds could mean the difference between life and death. An international team of scientists, among them systems immunologist Prof. Michael Meyer-Hermann of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) of Braunschweig, Germany, has now found that asymmetric division of antibody-producing B cells speeds up the body's immune defenses...

Survey Shows 71% Of GPs Are Concerned That Financial Restrictions Are Hindering Best Practice In Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) Risk Management

Date: Jul-02-2012
63% of respondents have exception coded patients who failed to reach CVD targets on statins alone despite alternative treatments being available Despite government calls to stop commissioners blacklisting the use of certain NICE, SIGN and SMC approved medicines, an MSD sponsored survey of over 450 UK GPs, reveals the extent of local prescribing restrictions being placed on cholesterol-lowering medications...

Ovarian Grafts Found To Have A Longer Life Span Than Expected

Date: Jul-02-2012
Transplanting previously frozen ovarian tissue back into female cancer survivors can lead to long-term hormonal function and preservation of fertility, according to a new study by Samuel Kim from the University of Kansas Medical Center in the US. His work¹, which shows that hormonal function was restored in five women 12-20 weeks after transplantation, and in one case lasted for more than seven years, appears online in the Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics, published by Springer...

Immune Response To Flu Differs Depending On The Amount Of Virus Received During Infection

Date: Jul-02-2012
Not only does the type of flu virus affect a patient's outcome, but a new research report appearing in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology suggests that the number of viruses involved in the initial infection may be important too. Scientists from Canada found that when mice were infected by relatively high concentrations of the flu virus, they not only developed immunity against the virus that infected them, but this also promoted the generation of a type of immune cell in the lungs poised to rapidly react against infections with other strains of the flu, as well...

New Insights Into The Effects Of Stress On Pregnancy

Date: Jul-02-2012
Expectant mothers who dealt with the strain of a hurricane or major tropical storm passing nearby during their pregnancy had children who were at elevated risk for abnormal health conditions at birth, according to a study led by a Princeton University researcher that offers new insights into the effects of stress on pregnancy. The study used birth records from Texas and meteorological information to identify children born in the state between 1996 and 2008 whose mothers were in the path of a major tropical storm or hurricane during pregnancy...