Health News

Clinical Tool For Dementia Which Is Free And User-Friendly Is Reliable And Valid

Date: Jun-17-2012
A new study shows that a practical clinical tool developed by researchers from the Regenstrief Institute and the Indiana University School of Medicine to measure severity of dementia symptoms is reliable and valid. The Healthy Aging Brain Care Monitor is simple, user-friendly and sensitive to change in symptoms. "The HABC Monitor is a 'blood pressure cuff' for dementia," said Regenstrief Institute investigator Malaz Boustani, M.D., MPH, associate professor of medicine and associate director of the IU Center for Aging Research. A geriatrician, Dr...

The "Ethical Odyssey" Of An HIV Trial

Date: Jun-17-2012
In the battle against HIV/AIDS conditions on the frontlines are constantly in flux as treatment, research and policy evolve. The landmark HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) 052 study, which established that antiretroviral treatment in people who are HIV positive decreases the likelihood of transmitting HIV to their sexual partners, was no exception...

JILA Frequency Comb Helps Evaluate Novel Biomedical Decontamination Method

Date: Jun-17-2012
Like many new measurement tools, the laser frequency comb seemed at first a curiosity but has found more practical uses than originally imagined. The technique for making extraordinarily precise measurements of frequency has now moved beyond physics and optics to advance biomedicine by helping researchers evaluate a novel instrument that kills harmful bacteria without the use of liquid chemicals or high temperatures. Generated by ultrafast lasers, frequency combs precisely measure individual frequencies (colors) of light...

Broader Health Risk Suggested By Fragile X Gene's Prevalence

Date: Jun-17-2012
The first U.S. population prevalence study of mutations in the gene that causes fragile X syndrome, the most common inherited form of intellectual disability, suggests the mutation in the gene - and its associated health risks - may be more common than previously believed...

Drug Used For Centuries Activates The Body's Own Protective Mechanisms In Blood Vessels

Date: Jun-17-2012
An ancient heart drug that's inspired the work of herbalists and poets for centuries may treat a condition that plagues millions of overstressed and overweight Americans today. Since the 13th century, the herb Foxglove has been used to cleanse wounds and its dried leaves were brewed by Native Americans to treat leg swelling caused by heart problems...

Pollution Levels In Some Kitchens Are Higher Than City-Center Hotspots

Date: Jun-17-2012
Researchers from the University of Sheffield's Faculty of Engineering measured air quality inside and outside three residential buildings with different types of energy use (gas vs. electric cookers). They found that nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels in the kitchen of the city-centre flat with a gas cooker were three times higher than the concentrations measured outside the property and well above those recommended in UK Indoor Air Quality Guidance). These findings are published online in Journal of Indoor and Built Environment...

The Vulnerability Of Sexual Minority Women

Date: Jun-17-2012
Adult lesbian and bisexual women are more likely to report childhood abuse and adult sexual assault than heterosexual women, according to a new study by Dr. Keren Lehavot from the VA Puget Sound Health Care System in Seattle, USA and her collaborators. Furthermore, the researchers' work shows that women who are more butch report more abuse in childhood, particularly physical and emotional neglect, while women who identify as femme, and have a more feminine appearance, report more adult sexual assaults. The work is published online in Springer's journal, Sex Roles...

Quirky Fruit Fly Gene Could Point Way To New Cancer Drugs

Date: Jun-17-2012
Loyola researchers are taking advantage of a quirk in the evolution of fruit fly genes to help develop new weapons against cancer. A newly discovered fruit fly gene is a simplified counterpart of two complex human genes that play important roles in the development of cancer and some birth defects. As this fruit fly gene evolved, it split in two. This split has made it easier to study, and the resulting insights could prove useful in developing new cancer drugs. "Evolution has given us a gift," said Andrew K...

Grass Pollen Allergy Vaccine Successful In Phase IIa Trial

Date: Jun-16-2012
A novel vaccine for grass pollen allergy has shown significant improvements for patients in a Phase IIa trial. The vaccine BM32 is based on an innovative recombinant peptide carrier technology that allows for fewer injections and shows fewer side effects compared with other immunotherapy treatments for allergy sufferers. BM32 has been developed by Biomay AG, an Austrian biopharmaceutical company specialized in the discovery and development of innovative allergy therapeutics. The company has already initiated a Phase IIb trial for BM32 with 180 allergic patients...

Meditation Can Calm Stress, Aid Concentration, Aid Multitasking

Date: Jun-16-2012
Need to do some serious multitasking? Some training in meditation beforehand could make the work smoother and less stressful, new research from the University of Washington shows. Work by UW Information School professors David Levy and Jacob Wobbrock suggests that meditation training can help people working with information stay on tasks longer with fewer distractions and also improves memory and reduces stress. Their paper was published in Proceedings of Graphics Interface...