Health News

Outcome In Chronic Stroke May Be Improved By Modifying Scar Tissue

Date: May-23-2012
New research from the Buck Institute for Research on Aging shows that modifying the scar tissue that develops following a stroke is a promising avenue for future treatments. The need for therapeutics for chronic stroke is compelling. There are 750,000 new strokes per year in the U.S., a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Aside from physical and occupational therapy, treatments for the six million patients in the U.S. who suffer from chronic stroke are lacking; the vast majority of patients remain in an ongoing state of disability with little hope of return to normal function. The...

Climate Of Anger And Marital Disagreements

Date: May-23-2012
How good are married couples at recognizing each other's emotions during conflicts? In general, pretty good, according to a study by a Baylor University researcher. But if your partner is angry, that might tell more about the overall climate of your marriage than about what your partner is feeling at the moment of the dispute. What's more, "if your partner is angry, you are likely to miss the fact that your partner might also be feeling sad," said Keith Sanford, Ph.D., an associate professor of psychology and neuroscience in Baylor University's College of Arts & Sciences. His study - "The...

'Living Off The Land' Associated With Lower Age-Related Blood Pressure Increases

Date: May-23-2012
Hunter-gatherers and forager-horticulturalists who live off the land and grow what they need to survive have lower age-related increases in blood pressure and less risks of atherosclerosis, according to two new studies in the American Heart Association journal Hypertension. High blood pressure and atherosclerosis - a disease in which arteries stiffen and fill with plaque - increase with age in the United States and other countries, raising risks for heart attack, stroke, kidney disease and death. Age-related increases in blood pressure have been observed in almost every population, except...

IDSA Diabetic Foot Infection Guidelines Suggest Multidisciplinary Team Approach Is Best

Date: May-23-2012
Diabetic Foot Infection Guidelines Suggest Multidisciplinary Team Approach Is Best Main Category: Diabetes Also Included In: Dermatology;  Infectious Diseases / Bacteria / Viruses Article Date: 23 May 2012 - 0:00 PDT  email to a friend   printer friendly   opinions    rate article  Current ratings for: 'IDSA Diabetic Foot Infection Guidelines Suggest Multidisciplinary Team Approach Is Best' Patient / Public: Healthcare Prof: Diabetic foot infections are an increasingly common problem, but proper care can save limbs and, ultimately, lives, suggest new guidelines...

Findings That Could Lead To New Interventions For Severe Malaria

Date: May-23-2012
Researchers from Seattle Biomedical Research Institute (Seattle BioMed), the University of Copenhagen and the University of Edinburgh have uncovered new knowledge related to host-parasite interaction in severe malaria, concerning how malaria parasites are able to bind to cells in the brain and cause cerebral malaria - the most lethal form of the disease. Three related papers were published in the May 21 online edition of PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences), a premier scientific journal, highlighting this research. "Identifying the molecules that allow malaria parasites to...

IT Planning For Data And Infrastructure Key To Sustaining Care Following Disasters

Date: May-23-2012
A new article titled, "An HIT Solution for Clinical Care and Disaster Planning: How One Health Center in Joplin, MO, Survived a Tornado and Avoided a Health Information Disaster," by the Geiger Gibson /RCHN Community Health Foundation Research Collaborative at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services, was released in the Online Journal of Public Health Informatics (OJPJI). It examines the experience of a community health center in the aftermath of the major tornado that swept through the American Midwest in the spring of 2011, and provides insight into key...

Brain Cells Found In Monkeys That May Be Linked To Self-Awareness And Empathy In Humans

Date: May-23-2012
The anterior insular cortex is a small brain region that plays a crucial role in human self-awareness and in related neuropsychiatric disorders. A unique cell type - the von Economo neuron (VEN) - is located there. For a long time, the VEN was assumed to be unique to humans, great apes, whales and elephants. Henry Evrard, neuroanatomist at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics in Tübingen, Germany, now discovered that the VEN occurs also in the insula of macaque monkeys. The morphology, size and distribution of the monkey VEN suggest that it is at least a primal anatomical...

G Protein-Coupled Receptor Mediates The Action Of Castor Oil

Date: May-23-2012
Castor oil is known primarily as an effective laxative; however, it was also used in ancient times with pregnant women to induce labour. Only now have scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research succeeded in unravelling the mysteries of the action mechanism. A receptor by the name of EP3 on the cells of the intestine and uterus is apparently responsible. This is activated by an ingredient in the oil. The oil obtained from the seeds of the castor oil plant Ricinus communis is one of the oldest drugs known to man. The first mention of it as a laxative can be found in...

Adding Vitamin D To BCG Vaccine To Fight Bladder Cancer

Date: May-23-2012
The tuberculosis vaccine is often used as a treatment for bladder cancer, and adding vitamin D might improve the vaccine's effectiveness, according to new research from the University of Rochester Medical Center presented today at the American Urological Association annual meeting. Yi-Fen Lee, Ph.D., associate professor of Urology at URMC, has conducted a pre-clinical study in a mouse model showing that a combination of vitamin D therapy and the Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine greatly improves bladder cancer survival. The next phase, an early clinical trial in patients, will begin soon...

Drug Target Identified For Diabetes

Date: May-23-2012
New research from the University of Cincinnati (UC) points to the naturally produced protein apolipoprotein A-IV (apoA-IV) as a potential target for a new diabetes therapeutic. Patrick Tso, PhD, professor in the UC Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, has published research on the ability of apoA-IV to reduce blood sugar levels and enhance insulin secretion. The results appear the week of May 21, 2012, in the online early edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. ApoA-IV is secreted by the small intestine in response to fat absorption. Previous studies have shown...