Health News

Exposure To The Common Pollutant Naphthalene May Lead To Chromosomal Damage In Children

Date: May-31-2012
According to a new study, children exposed to high levels of the common air pollutant naphthalene are at increased risk for chromosomal aberrations (CAs), which have been previously associated with cancer. These include chromosomal translocations, a potentially more harmful and long-lasting subtype of CAs...

Measuring The Magnetic Field Of The Brain Using New Mini-Sensor

Date: May-31-2012
In future a new magnetic sensor the size of a sugar cube might simplify the measurement of brain activity. In the magnetically shielded room of Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) the sensor has passed an important technical test: Spontaneous as well as stimulated magnetic fields of the brain were detected. This demonstrates the potential of the sensor for medical applications, such as, the investigation of brain currents during cognitive processes with the aim of improving neurological diagnostics...

Menopause Journal Reflects On The Women's Health Initiative 10 Years Later

Date: May-31-2012
A great deal has been learned in the decade since the first results from the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) were published on July 9, 2002. The WHI was the largest and longest trial of postmenopausal women using hormone therapy (HT). The 27,000 women were prescribed estrogen-alone therapy, estrogen-progestogen therapy, or a placebo for 5 to 7 years, respectively. Researchers expected to find that hormones prevented chronic conditions of aging in women, including heart disease. Instead, they found that hormones produced a mix of risks and benefits...

Men With Metastatic Hormone-Refractory Prostate Cancer Benefit From Cabazitaxel When Docetaxel Is No Longer An Option

Date: May-31-2012
Cabazitaxel (trade name: Jevtana®) has been approved since March 2011 in men with metastatic prostate cancer who no longer respond to conventional therapy with hormone blockers and have already been pre-treated with the cytostatic drug docetaxel. In an early benefit assessment pursuant to the "Act on the Reform of the Market for Medicinal Products" (AMNOG), the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) examined whether cabazitaxel offers an added benefit compared with the present standard therapy...

Clue To Hepatitis B Virus Genetic Code Provided By 16th-Century Korean Mummy

Date: May-31-2012
The discovery of a mummified Korean child with relatively preserved organs enabled an Israeli-South Korean scientific team to conduct a genetic analysis on a liver biopsy which revealed a unique hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotype C2 sequence common in Southeast Asia. Additional analysis of the ancient HBV genomes may be used as a model to study the evolution of chronic hepatitis B and help understand the spread of the virus, possibly from Africa to East-Asia...

Women's Hormones Now Associated With Gum Disease

Date: May-31-2012
Women, keep those toothbrushes and dental floss handy. A comprehensive review of women's health studies by Charlene Krejci, associate clinical professor at the Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine, has shown a link between women's health issues and gum disease. Across the ages, hormonal changes take place during puberty, menstruation, pregnancy and menopause...

Solving 50-Year Cholera Mystery May Help Clear The Way For A New Class Of Antibiotics

Date: May-31-2012
For 50 years scientists have been unsure how the bacteria that gives humans cholera manages to resist one of our basic innate immune responses. That mystery has now been solved, thanks to research from biologists at The University of Texas at Austin. The answers may help clear the way for a new class of antibiotics that don't directly shut down pathogenic bacteria such as V. cholerae, but instead disable their defenses so that our own immune systems can do the killing. Every year cholera afflicts millions of people and kills hundreds of thousands, predominantly in the developing world...

Improved Functioning After Stroke With Telerehabilitation

Date: May-31-2012
Researchers led by Regenstrief Institute investigator Neale Chumbler, Ph.D., a research scientist with the Center of Excellence on Implementing Evidence-Based Practice at the Richard Roudebush VA Medical Center in Indianapolis, have developed STeleR, a home telerehabilitation program that they report improves lower body physical functioning after a stroke. Participating in STeleR also increased the likelihood of maintaining a regular fitness routine, enhanced money management skills, and improved the capability to prepare meals and take care of personal needs such as bathing...

Increased Injuries From Stun Guns

Date: May-31-2012
The police use of stun guns increases the risk of injuries for those on the receiving end, but tends to increase officer safety, according to the most comprehensive study of such devices to date. But when officers use stun guns in conjunction with other restraint methods, they also face an increase risk of injury. Those are the conclusions of two joint studies from the University of Central Florida and Michigan State University recently published in the journals, Justice Quarterly and Police Quarterly...

Use Of T Transplanted Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Could Lead To New Treatments For Huntington's Disease

Date: May-31-2012
Researchers from South Korea, Sweden, and the United States have collaborated on a project to restore neuron function to parts of the brain damaged by Huntington's disease (HD) by successfully transplanting HD-induced pluripotent stem cells into animal models. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) can be genetically engineered from human somatic cells such as skin, and can be used to model numerous human diseases. They may also serve as sources of transplantable cells that can be used in novel cell therapies...