Health News

Using Human Stem Cells To Create Blood-Brain Barrier Building Blocks

Date: Jun-25-2012
The blood-brain barrier - the filter that governs what can and cannot come into contact with the mammalian brain - is a marvel of nature. It effectively separates circulating blood from the fluid that bathes the brain, and it keeps out bacteria, viruses and other agents that could damage it. But the barrier can be disrupted by disease, stroke and multiple sclerosis, for example, and also is a big challenge for medicine, as it can be difficult or impossible to get therapeutic molecules through the barrier to treat neurological disorders...

By Anticipating Changing Demands, Brain Structure Helps Guide Behavior

Date: Jun-25-2012
Every day the human brain is presented with tasks ranging from the trivial to the complex. How much mental effort and attention are devoted to each task is usually determined in a split second and without conscious awareness. Now a study from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers finds that a structure deep within the brain, believed to play an important role in regulating conscious control of goal-directed behavior, helps to optimize behavioral responses by predicting how difficult upcoming tasks will be. The report is receiving advance online publication in Nature...

Neurons That Control Overeating Also Drive Appetite For Cocaine

Date: Jun-25-2012
Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have zeroed in on a set of neurons in the part of the brain that controls hunger, and found that these neurons are not only associated with overeating, but also linked to non-food associated behaviors, like novelty-seeking and drug addiction. Published in the June 24 online issue of Nature Neuroscience, the study was led by Marcelo O. Dietrich, postdoctoral associate, and Tamas L. Horvath, the Jean and David W. Wallace Professor of Biomedical Research and chair of comparative medicine at Yale School of Medicine...

Salads With Dressing May Be Better For You Than Without

Date: Jun-25-2012
Salads are packed with healthy vegetables, but without the right type and amount of salad dressing you could be missing out on several disease-fighting vitamins and nutrients, according to researchers at Purdue University. The study is published online in the Journal Molecular Nutrition & Food Research. Vegetables are loaded with fat-soluble carotenoids - compounds, such as lutein, beta-carotene, lycopene, and zeaxanthin. Carotenoids are associated with a lower risk of developing diseases, such as heart disease, cancer, and macular degeneration...

Mothers At Risk Of Postpartum Depression: New Hospital Guidelines

Date: Jun-25-2012
Although 13 percent of new mothers experience postpartum depression (PPD) in the first year after childbirth, few women recognize the symptoms and seldom discuss their feelings with a health care provider. University of Louisville Hospital (ULH) hopes to change this statistic through a new policy to guide hospital-based perinatal nurses in caring for women with risk of PPD. M...

Host-Specific Microbiota Appears To Be Critical For A Healthy Immune System

Date: Jun-25-2012
Mice carrying a set of friendly microbes that are usually found in humans fail to develop a proper immune system and are left susceptible to illness as a result. The findings in the journal Cell, a Cell Press publication, show that animals have coevolved with and rely on their own very special array of microbial partners. As far as our immune systems are concerned, not just any bug collection will do. "Human microbe-colonized mice have gut immune systems that look essentially identical to germ-free mice," said Dennis Kasper of Harvard Medical School...

Early Developmental Activity In Zebrafish Affected By Environmental Estrogens

Date: Jun-25-2012
Chemicals in the environment that mimic estrogen can strongly influence the development of humans and other animals. New research presented at the 2012 International Zebrafish Development and Genetics Conference, held in Madison, Wisconsin, reveals that these substances may act even earlier than previously realized, at the very beginning stages of embryonic development...

Selenium Controls Staph On Implant Material

Date: Jun-25-2012
A coating of selenium nanoparticles significantly reduces the growth of Staphylococcus aureus on polycarbonate, a material common in implanted devices such as catheters and endotracheal tubes, engineers at Brown University report in a new study. Selenium is an inexpensive element that naturally belongs in the body. It is also known to combat bacteria. Still, it had not been tried as an antibiotic coating on a medical device material...

Avian Flu Viruses Have Potential To Evolve In Nature To Become Transmissible Between Humans

Date: Jun-25-2012
It might be possible for human-to-human airborne transmissible avian H5N1 influenza viruses to evolve in nature, new research has found. The findings, from research led by Professor Derek Smith and Dr Colin Russell at the University of Cambridge, were published in the journal Science. Currently, avian H5N1 influenza, also known as bird flu, can be transmitted from birds to humans, but not (or only very rarely) from human to human...

Reactive Oxygen Species Cut Off At Source By New Anti-Inflammatory Drugs

Date: Jun-25-2012
Scientists at Emory University School of Medicine have identified a new type of anti-inflammatory compound that may be useful in treating a wide range of conditions, including neurodegenerative and autoimmune diseases. These compounds inhibit the enzyme Nox2, part of a family of enzymes responsible for producing reactive oxygen species (ROS). The results were published in the journal Chemistry & Biology...