Health News

Closing Inequality Gap Key To Tackling Heart And Circulatory Disease

Date: Jun-14-2012
An examination of heart disease trends has identified a fall in death rates but a persisting problem with inequalities. The research looked at death rates from heart disease in England between 2000 and 2007 and found rates fell from 229 to 147 deaths per 100,000 - a decrease of 36 per cent. Researchers say around half the decrease was down to improved treatment uptake. But any improvements in blood pressure, cholesterol, smoking and physical activity were negated by an increase in body mass index and diabetes in the most deprived socioeconomic groups...

Simple, Rapid Diagnostic Test Aids Routine Syphilis Screening During Pregnancy

Date: Jun-14-2012
A simple and rapid test done near the patient that does not need laboratories, electricity, or highly trained staff (known as a point-of-care test) can effectively diagnose syphilis in pregnant women and has been adopted in six low- and middle-income countries thus preventing many stillbirths and deaths in newborn babies according to a report from international researchers published in this week's PLoS Medicine...

Strokes In Young Adults Frequently Overlooked - ENS 2012

Date: Jun-14-2012
International study: strokes among young people often overlooked Strokes are not just a medical condition of the advanced age - younger people can also be affected. But in this group, many strokes remain �silent' or symptoms are being misinterpreted. These findings from a large-scale European study were presented at the Meeting of the European Neurological Society in Prague. Strokes in young adults are often overlooked, Prof Dr Franz Fazekas (Head of the Department of Neurology, Medical University of Graz) told the 22nd Meeting of the European Neurological Society (ENS) in Prague...

In Chronic Pain, A Naturally Occurring Protein Plays A Role

Date: Jun-14-2012
Researchers in France and Sweden have discovered how one of the body's own proteins is involved in generating chronic pain in rats. The results, which also suggest therapeutic interventions to alleviate long-lasting pain, are reported in The EMBO Journal. Chronic pain is persistent and often difficult to treat. It is due, at least in part, to changes in molecular signalling events that take place in neurons, alterations that can ultimately disrupt the transmission of nerve signals from the spinal cord to the brain...

Head And Neck Cancer Patients With Submental Lymphedema Respond Well To Liposuction

Date: Jun-14-2012
Liposuction is a novel and minimally invasive procedure for treating persistent submental lymphedema in patients with previous head and neck cancer, according to an article published in the June 2012 issue of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery. "Submental lymphedema is a common problem encountered by patients following treatment of head and neck cancer," the authors state. It causes fluid deposition and persistent swelling of the soft tissues of the neck, leading to disfigurement and functional deficits...

Sperm Quality Unlikely To Be Affected By Unhealthy Lifestyles

Date: Jun-14-2012
Lifestyle advice given by doctors to men diagnosed with infertility should be radically overhauled according to research. Current guidelines from the National Institute for Clinical Excellence1 advise doctors to warn infertile men about the dangers of smoking, alcohol consumption and recreational drug use, as well as the risks of being overweight and wearing tight underwear. However, a team of scientists from the Universities of Manchester and Sheffield have found that many common lifestyle choices make little difference to male fertility, based on how many swimming sperm men produce...

One Of The Greatest Influences On Personality Development Is A Father's Love

Date: Jun-14-2012
A father's love contributes as much - and sometimes more - to a child's development as does a mother's love. That is one of many findings in a new large-scale analysis of research about the power of parental rejection and acceptance in shaping our personalities as children and into adulthood...

Small Molecule Prevents Cancer-Causing Message From Entering Cell Nucleus

Date: Jun-14-2012
What's good news in one setting might spell disaster in another. In cancer for instance, when a certain cell is commanded to grow and divide without restraint, it's a welcome message for the cell itself but a tragedy for the person who harbors this cell in his or her body. Weizmann Institute scientists have managed to decipher and block one type of molecular message that prompts unbridled cellular growth. The molecular message first arrives at the cell's membrane, but its ultimate destination is the cell's nucleus, which contains the DNA...

Mildly Stressful Situations Can Affect Our Perceptions In The Same Way As Life-Threatening Ones

Date: Jun-14-2012
Financial loss can lead to irrational behavior. Now, research by Weizmann Institute scientists reveals that the effects of loss go even deeper: Loss can compromise our early perception and interfere with our grasp of the true situation. The findings, which recently appeared in the Journal of Neuroscience, may also have implications for our understanding of the neurological mechanisms underlying post-traumatic stress disorder. The experiment was conducted by Dr. Rony Paz and research student Offir Laufer of the Neurobiology Department...

A Study On Same-Sex Parenting

Date: Jun-13-2012
A review and study published in Social Science Research states that children raised by same-sex parents are more likely to have lower levels of incomes, poorer mental and physical health, and higher levels of smoking and criminality. These findings have sparked controversy on both sides of the same-sex-marriage debate. After reviewing studies published between 1980 and 2005 cited by the 2005 official brief on same-sex parenting by the American Psychological Association (APA), Dr...