Health News

Blood glucose measure appears to provide little benefit in predicting risk of cardiovascular disease

Date: Mar-26-2014
In a study that included nearly 300,000 adults without a known history of diabetes or cardiovascular disease (CVD), adding information about glycated hemoglobin (HbA 1c ), a measure of longer-term blood sugar control, to conventional CVD risk factors like smoking and cholesterol was associated with little improvement in the prediction of CVD risk, according to a study in JAMA.

Insufficient evidence to recommend routine screening for cognitive decline. Changes to FDA approval process needed to improve safety

Date: Mar-26-2014
1. USPSTF finds insufficient evidence to recommend routine screening for cognitive declineThe United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) found insufficient evidence to recommend routine screening for cognitive decline in older adults in the primary care setting. Dementia affects up to 5.5 million Americans and its prevalence increases with age. Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a decline in cognitive function that is not severe enough to interfere with independence in daily life.

Invading cancer cells cut off by p53

Date: Mar-26-2014
The tumor suppressor p53 does all it can to prevent oncogenes from transforming normal cells into tumor cells by killing defective cells or causing them to become inactive. Sometimes oncogenes manage to initiate tumor development in the presence of p53, but, even then, the tumor suppressor doesn't give up and focuses its efforts instead on limiting the tumor's ability to invade and metastasize. A study in The Journal of Cell Biology uncovers one way that p53 acts to prevent cancer cell invasion.

New technique provides method to noninvasively measure human neural networks in order to characterize how they form

Date: Mar-26-2014
Using spatial light interference microscopy (SLIM) techniques developed by Gabriel Popescu, director of the lab, the researchers were able to show for the first time how human embryonic stem cell derived neurons within a network grow, organize spatially, and dynamically transport materials to one another."Because our method is label-free, we've imaged these type of neurons differentiating and maturing from neuron progenitor cells over 12 days without damage," said Popescu. "I think this (technique) is pretty much the only way you can monitor for such a long time.

The role played by alcohol in traffic deaths is vastly under-reported

Date: Mar-26-2014
It's no secret that drinking and driving can be a deadly mix. But the role of alcohol in U.S. traffic deaths may be substantially underreported on death certificates, according to a study in the March issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.Between 1999 and 2009, more than 450,000 Americans were killed in a traffic crashes. But in cases where alcohol was involved, death certificates frequently failed to list alcohol as a cause of death.Why does that matter?

Powerful new tool for studying DNA elements that regulate genes

Date: Mar-26-2014
An international team led by researchers with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has developed a new technique for identifying gene enhancers - sequences of DNA that act to amplify the expression of a specific gene - in the genomes of humans and other mammals. Called SIF-seq, for site-specific integration fluorescence-activated cell sorting followed by sequencing, this new technique complements existing genomic tools, such as ChIP-seq (chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by sequencing), and offers some additional benefits.

Patient enrollment, use, and satisfaction with patient portals

Date: Mar-26-2014
Many physicians are adopting patient portals in response to governmental incentives for meaningful use (MU), but the stage 2 requirements for portal use may be particularly challenging for newer electronic health record (EHR) users. This study examines enrollment, use based on MU requirements, and satisfaction in a recently-adopting fee-for-service multispecialty system. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) financial incentives for meaningful use (MU)1 likely will persuade many reluctant doctors to adopt electronic health records (EHRs).

Moving public assistance payments from cash to plastic cuts crime

Date: Mar-26-2014
Counties that change their delivery of public assistance benefits from paper checks to an Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) system - using debit cards - see their street crimes drop significantly, according to a study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Beneficial stress hormones in caregivers boosted by adult day-care services

Date: Mar-26-2014
Family caregivers show an increase in the beneficial stress hormone DHEA-S on days when they use an adult day care service for their relatives with dementia, according to researchers at Penn State and the University of Texas at Austin.DHEA-S controls the harmful effects of cortisol and is associated with better long-term health."This is one of the first studies to show that DHEA-S can be modified by an intervention, which in our case, was the use of an adult day care service," said Steven Zarit, Distinguished Professor of Human Development and Family Studies, Penn State.

One in 10 male, same-sex Craigslist ads seek men who don't identify as gay

Date: Mar-26-2014
Online sexual hook-ups present a unique opportunity to explore many factors of decision-making that inform sexual health. A study conducted by Eric Schrimshaw, PhD, at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health and Martin J. Downing, Jr., PhD, of the National Development and Research Institutes, found evidence that men having sex with men use the Internet to find sexual partners who do not identify as gay, either to fulfill a fantasy or because it allows anonymous sexual encounters without discovery.