Health News

Risk Of Abdominal Fat May Be Increased By PCB

Date: May-30-2012
There is a correlation between high levels of the environmental toxin PCB and the distribution of body fat to the abdomen. This is shown in a new study published in the scientific journal Obesity. Abdominal fat is already known to increase the risk of diabetes and high blood pressure, among other conditions. Fat inside the abdomen (visceral fat) is considerably more dangerous that fat near the surface of the body (subcutaneous fat). For instance, fat in the abdomen has previously been linked to the development of diabetes...

Prototype "Intelligent" Goggles Help The Visually Impaired To See Obstacles

Date: May-30-2012
Researchers at Universidad Carlos III in Madrid (UC3M) have developed a system that can be built into virtual reality goggles that help patients with moderate visual impairment move around their surroundings. The application detects the distance and shape of objects and interacts with the user by means of a simple color code. People with moderate visual impairment, particularly those who have difficulty perceiving the full extent of their surroundings, could use the ingenious device that these UC3M scientists have created...

Transforming Human Stem Cells Into Critical Heart Muscle Cells Using New Stem Cell Technique

Date: May-30-2012
Cardiomyocytes, the workhorse cells that make up the beating heart, can now be made cheaply and abundantly in the laboratory. Writing this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a team of Wisconsin scientists describes a way to transform human stem cells - both embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cells - into the critical heart muscle cells by simple manipulation of one key developmental pathway...

Preventing HIV Infection Via Antiretroviral Treatment: An Evidence Review For Physicians

Date: May-30-2012
While immediate postexposure treatment for suspected HIV is critical, pre-exposure preventive treatment is a newer method that may be effective for people in high-risk groups, states a review of evidence published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). "Although postexposure prophylaxis has a long history of success, newer methods such as pre-exposure prophylaxis and earlier treatment in the course of infection ("treatment as prevention") are being implemented with some success," writes Dr...

The Aging Brain Benefits From Persistent Sensory Experience

Date: May-29-2012
Scientists have believed for decades that most of the wiring of the brain is established by the time a person has reached adolescence. Now, a new study published in Neuron reveals that even in adulthood, changes in sensory experiences can cause massive rewiring of the brain. Researchers from the Max Planck Florida Institute (MPFI) and New York's Columbia University have discovered that the rewiring involves fibers that provide primary input to the cerebral cortex, which is involved in cognition, sensory perception and motor control...

Modifying Behavior With A Protein

Date: May-29-2012
A study featured in the journal Cell Reports has revealed the discovery of a protein that is essential to maintain behavioral flexibility. It enables people to modify their behavior to adjust to similar, yet not identical previous experiences. The findings may provide a better understanding of autism and schizophrenia, diseases that are characterized by impaired behavioral flexibility. Stored memories that we have experienced previously enable us to repeat certain tasks. For example, we remember certain routes that we have driven previously...

Mental Health Disorders In Pregnant Women - New Screening Approach

Date: May-29-2012
In the developing world the prevalence of maternal mental disorders is significantly high and until recently there was no routine screening or treatment of maternal mental disorders in primary care settings in South Africa. Now, South African researchers reveal that a new approach to screen pregnant women for these disorders shows promise. The study is published in PLoS Medicine. Simone Honikman and her team from the University of Cape Town, implemented a program (The Perinatal Mental Health Project) in Cape Town, South Africa...

Transplanting Smokers' Lungs Is Better Than No Transplant At All

Date: May-29-2012
Although lung transplant patients who receive the lungs of smokers tend to survive for a shorter duration than patients who receive the lungs of non-smokers, researchers in the UK have found that they have a better overall chance of survival than those who remain on waiting lists. The study is published Online First in The Lancet. In recent years media reports have highlighted how some lung transfer patients have died after receiving smokers' lungs, therefore results from this study may prove controversial...

Poor Physical And Mental Health Among Trafficked Women

Date: May-29-2012
Around the world, millions of men, women and children are affected by the illegal trade of human trafficking. Although evidence shows that women who have been trafficked for sexual exploitation experience violence and poor physical and mental health, there is insufficient evidence regarding the health consequences trafficked children, men or individuals trafficked for other forms of exploitation experience, say researchers in the UK...

How Chemo Affects The Heart

Date: May-29-2012
The early online edition in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reveals a new study, which suggests that blocking a protein in the heart that is produced under stressful conditions could be a new approach to prevent cardiac damage caused by chemotherapy. According to earlier studies, almost a quarter of people who received the common chemotherapy drug doxorubicin have a risk of developing heart failure later on in life, yet so far it remains uncertain how this heart damage occurs...