Health News

Apramycin Shows Promise Against Drug-Resistant TB And Other 'Superbugs,' Without Hearing Loss

Date: Jun-13-2012
The world needs new antibiotics to overcome the ever increasing resistance of disease-causing bacteria - but it doesn't need the side effect that comes with some of the most powerful ones now available: hearing loss. Researchers report that they have developed a new approach to designing antibiotics that kill even "superbugs" but spare the delicate sensory cells of the inner ear. Surprisingly, they have found that apramycin, an antibiotic already used in veterinary medicine, fits this bill - setting the stage for testing in humans...

Link Between Nanoparticles And Autoimmune Diseases Such As Rheumatoid Arthritis

Date: Jun-13-2012
New groundbreaking research by scientists at Trinity College Dublin has found that exposure to nanoparticles can have a serious impact on health, linking it to rheumatoid arthritis and the development of other serious autoimmune diseases. The findings that have been recently published in the international journal Nanomedicine have health and safety implications for the manufacture, use and ultimate disposal of nanotechnology products and materials. They also identified new cellular targets for the development of potential drug therapies in combating the development of autoimmune diseases...

Intensive Mobile Phone/Computer Use May Affect Young People's Sleep And Mental Health

Date: Jun-13-2012
Young adults who make particularly heavy use of mobile phones and computers run a greater risk of sleep disturbances, stress and symptoms of mental health. "Public health advice should therefore include information on the healthy use of this technology," says researcher Sara Thomee from the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden...

Study Suggests Life-extending Benefits Of Longer Telomeres If Recent Male Ancestors Reproduced At Older Ages

Date: Jun-13-2012
If your father and grandfather waited until they were older before reproducing, you might experience life-extending benefits. Biologists assume that a slow pace of aging requires that the body invest more resources in repairing cells and tissues. A new Northwestern University study suggests that our bodies might increase these investments to slow the pace of aging if our father and grandfather waited until they were older before having children...

In Meal Replacement Trial, Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Lose Weight, Decrease Insulin

Date: Jun-13-2012
A pilot study shows that a protein-rich meal replacement made from soy, yogurt, and honey (Almased®) helps patients with type 2 diabetes lose weight, gain better control of their blood sugar, and decrease their daily insulin dose. Patients in the study also lowered their body mass index (BMI), waist and hip circumference, and fasting glucose levels, while improving their HDL-cholesterol and triglycerides. The results were reported at the American Diabetes Association's 72nd Scientific Sessions®...

Integrative Body-Mind Training Prompts Double Positive Punch In Brain White Matter

Date: Jun-13-2012
Scientists studying the Chinese mindfulness meditation known as integrative body-mind training (IBMT) say they've confirmed and expanded their findings on changes in structural efficiency of white matter in the brain that can be related to positive behavioral changes in subjects practicing the technique regularly for a month...

Genes Linked To Chemotherapy Resistance In Breast Cancer

Date: Jun-13-2012
A study led by Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC) investigators has identified a gene expression pattern that may explain why chemotherapy prior to surgery isn't effective against some tumors and suggests new therapy options for patients with specific subtypes of breast cancer. The study by lead author Justin Balko, Pharm.D., Ph.D., was published online in Nature Medicine in advance of print publication. Balko is a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Carlos L. Arteaga, M.D...

Drug Side Effects Successfully Predicted By Computer Model

Date: Jun-13-2012
A new set of computer models has successfully predicted negative side effects in hundreds of current drugs, based on the similarity between their chemical structures and those molecules known to cause side effects, according to a paper appearing online this week in the journal Nature. The team, co-led by researchers in the UCSF School of Pharmacy, Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research (NIBR) and SeaChange Pharmaceuticals, Inc...

Growing Bone From Stem Cells In Fat Could End Painful Graft Operations

Date: Jun-13-2012
Bone grafts grown from purified stem cells originating from fat could lead to a more efficient way to regenerate bone and end the painful operations needed to collect a patient's own bone for grafting. The results could have significant impact on those suffering from severe bone injuries or disease. In a study published in the June issue of STEM CELLS Translational Medicine, researchers were able to demonstrate the potential of a population of stem cells found in human fat to generate bone. They also identified a new factor to stimulate bone growth...

Key To Killing Infectious Bacteria Such As Legionnaires' Turns Out To Be Long-Ignored Enzyme

Date: Jun-13-2012
New research shows that an enzyme that has long been considered relatively useless to the immune response instead has an important role in setting up immune cells to kill infection-causing bacteria. Ohio State University scientists have determined that this enzyme, called caspase-11 in mice, enables components in immune cells to fuse and degrade the bacteria that cause Legionnaires' disease, a type of pneumonia. Without that fusion and degradation, these bacteria thrive, grow or replicate and cause illness. Whether the effect is the same in other bacteria remains unknown...