Health News

What are the health benefits of quinoa?

Date: Mar-28-2014
Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) and other ancient grains such as amaranth, barley and farro are rapidly growing in popularity because of their wide array of health benefits. Ancient grains are referred to as such because they have remained largely unchanged for hundreds or even thousands of years. Quinoa was known to the Incas as "the mother of all grains" and was first cultivated over 5000 years ago.Although there are hundreds of cultivated types of quinoa, the most common versions available in stores are white, red and black quinoa.

In mouse model of breast cancer peaches inhibit metastasis

Date: Mar-28-2014
Lab tests at Texas A&M AgriLife Research have shown that treatments with peach extract inhibit breast cancer metastasis in mice.AgriLife Research scientists say that the mixture of phenolic compounds present in the peach extract are responsible for the inhibition of metastasis, according to the study, which was this month published in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry.

Diabetes researchers develop a conditionally immortalized human β cell line

Date: Mar-28-2014
Pancreatic β cells maintain glucose homeostasis through storage and release of insulin. Diabetic patients exhibit drastic reduction and dysfunction in β cell populations, which cannot be regenerated or restored. Most of our current understanding of β cell mass regulation comes from experiments done with murine β cells; however, due to the limited availability of primary human β cells in depth analysis on these cells has been a challenge.

Intestinal T cell homeostasis disrupted by epigenetic alterations

Date: Mar-28-2014
A precise balance between mature T cell subsets is important for intestinal homeostasis. Disruption of T cell populations underlies autoimmune colitis, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Specific transcriptional programs are activated to determine the differentiation fate of naïve T cells; however, the role of epigenetic regulation in T cell maturation in the intestine is unclear.

HIV and hepatitis C vaccines move a step closer with new technique

Date: Mar-28-2014
Plans for a new type of DNA vaccine to protect against the deadly HIV and Hepatitis C viruses have taken an important step forward, with University of Adelaide researchers applying for a patent based on groundbreaking new research.Professor Eric Gowans from the University's Discipline of Surgery, based at the Basil Hetzel Institute at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, has submitted a patent application for what he describes as a relatively simple but effective technique to stimulate the body's immune system response, thereby helping to deliver the vaccine.

Too-restricted hours may work for some residents, but not for surgical residents

Date: Mar-28-2014
Strictly limiting the number of hours surgical residents can work has not improved patient outcomes but may have increased complications for some patients and led to higher failure rates on certification exams, a research paper concludes.Traditionally, doctors in the residency phase of their training spent very long hours in a hospital - often around-the-clock - so they could see a wide variety and high volume of patients. In the last 10 years, health authorities started limiting those hours in the hopes of improving patient safety and the education and well-being of doctors.

Mood-stabilizing drug may reduce risk of developing head and neck cancer

Date: Mar-28-2014
A new study indicates that a commonly used mood stabilizing drug may help prevent head and neck cancer. The study is published early online in Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society.Valproic acid (VPA) is currently prescribed as an anti-seizure medication and mood stabilizer, but it is also being studied as an anticancer agent because it inhibits histone acetyl transferases, which help control gene expression by changing DNA structure.

Genetic variation linked to heart disease risk through RNA machinery

Date: Mar-27-2014
Researchers have pinpointed a new mechanism of how natural variation in our DNA alters an individual's risk for developing heart disease by interfering with the ability of a developmental gene to interact with a specialized type of RNA. This work expands on previous work identifying the "hidden" causes of complex disease risk, with the goal of unlocking new pathways and potential drug targets for cardiovascular disease.

Stroke patients should receive customized palliative care

Date: Mar-27-2014
People recovering from a stroke should have a well-coordinated medical team to personalize care, optimize quality of life and minimize suffering, according to a scientific statement published in the American Heart Association journal Stroke.The statement is the first in the United States to outline fundamental palliative care for stroke survivors. Palliative care is patient- and family-centered care that improves life by anticipating, preventing and treating suffering."The majority of stroke patients need access to some form of palliative medicine," said Robert Holloway, M.D., M.P.H.

Prosthetic limbs: should they be more advanced by now?

Date: Mar-27-2014
"The psychological challenges for amputees is daunting. More can be done, but in my mind, the key to success resides in enabling the amputee to seamlessly engage in activities of daily living," says David Hankin. Hankin is CEO of the Alfred Mann Foundation - a medical research foundation based in California that works to create advanced medical technologies for people with debilitating medical conditions with the aim of improving their health and overall quality of life.One area the foundation focuses on is limb loss - a condition that approximately 1.