Health News

Frequency-Dependent Selection Fosters Diversity Of Populations But Does Not Always Increase The Average Fitness Of The Population

Date: Jul-02-2012
Genetic diversity arises through the interplay of mutation, selection and genetic drift. In most scientific models, mutants have a fitness value which remains constant throughout. Based on this value, they compete with other types in the population and either die out or become established. However, evolutionary game theory considers constant fitness values to be a special case. It holds that the fitness of a mutation also depends on the frequency of the mutation...

Severe Sleep Loss Affects Immune System Like Physical Stress Does

Date: Jul-01-2012
Sleep deprivation and physical stress have similar effects on the immune system of human beings, researchers from the Netherlands and the United Kingdom reported in the journal SLEEP. Both physical stress and severe sleep loss jolt the immune system into action, the authors explained. The scientists , from Erasmus MC University Medical Center Rotterdam, and the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences at the University of Surrey, United Kingdom, compared the number of white blood cells in 15 healthy young adult males who were subjected to normal sleep and severe sleep loss...

Study Suggests New Screening Method For Sudden Death In Athletes

Date: Jul-01-2012
A new study suggests that echocardiography be included as part of screenings to help identify student athletes with heart problems that could lead to sudden death. The Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center study, to be presented July 1 at the annual meeting of the American Society of Echocardiography, suggests adding a modified echo to the current practice of taking an EKG, getting a family history and having a physical exam...

PTSD Military And Veterans Should Receive Purple Hearts, NAMI Urges

Date: Jul-01-2012
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is an invisible wound and soldiers with PTSD should be considered for Purple Heart medals, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) urged yesterday as it launched a special report Parity for Patriots: The Mental Health Needs of Military Personnel, Veterans and their Families. The authors added that accountability for suicide prevention and the elimination of stigma should go all the way to the very top in the military. Veterans looking for mental health care often find the Veterans Affairs medical system difficult to get into...

A Need For Clergy To Put Others First Impacts Their Own Health

Date: Jul-01-2012
Clergy's practice of putting others first can be detrimental to their own health, say researchers at Duke University. Pastors have been found to have higher-than-average rates of chronic disease and depression. But it may be difficult to get pastors to seek care because they typically default to caring for others first. Duke researchers have been trying to design health programs that will be more effective for clergy, given these tendencies...

Genes Associated With Hippocampal Atrophy Revealed By Study

Date: Jul-01-2012
In a genome-wide association (GWA) study, researchers from Boston University Schools of Medicine (BUSM) and Public Health (BUSPH) have identified several genes which influence degeneration of the hippocampus, the part of the brain most associated with Alzheimer disease (AD). The study, which currently appears online as a Rapid Communication in the Annals of Neurology, demonstrates the efficacy of endophenotypes for broadening the understanding of the genetic basis of and pathways leading to AD. AD is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder for which there are no prevention methods...

Improving Employee Health And Well-Being Through Video Games May Reduce Health Insurance Premiums For Employers

Date: Jul-01-2012
Games that promote health can improve the well-being of employees, saving employers direct and indirect health care costs. Employers can more readily reap these benefits by offering game-based services that educate their employees about health and wellness and improve physical and psychological fitness, according to an Editorial in Games for Health Journal a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. The Editorial is available free on the Games for Health Journal website...

Study Suggests Tasers Don't Cause Cardiac Complications

Date: Jul-01-2012
Taser shots to the chest are no more dangerous than those delivered to other body locations, according to a new study by one of the country's leading experts on the devices. William P. Bozeman, M.D., an associate professor of emergency medicine at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, and colleagues reviewed 1,201 cases of real-life Taser uses by law enforcement agencies but found none in which the devices could be linked to cardiac complications, even when the Taser probes landed on the upper chest area and may have delivered a shock across the heart...

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Found To Be An Effective Way To Combat Anxiety Disorders

Date: Jul-01-2012
Whether it is a phobia like a fear of flying, public speaking or spiders, or a diagnosis such as obsessive compulsive disorder, new research finds patients suffering from anxiety disorders showed the most improvement when treated with cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) in conjunction with a "transdiagnostic" approach - a model that allows therapists to apply one set of principles across anxiety disorders...

Programmable DNA Scissors Found For Bacterial Immune System

Date: Jul-01-2012
Genetic engineers and genomics researchers should welcome the news from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) where an international team of scientists has discovered a new and possibly more effective means of editing genomes. This discovery holds potentially big implications for advanced biofuels and therapeutic drugs, as genetically modified microorganisms, such as bacteria and fungi, are expected to play a key role in the green chemistry production of these and other valuable chemical products...