Health News

Study identifies path to safer drugs for heart disease, cancer

Date: Mar-26-2014
Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators may have found a way to solve a problem that has plagued a group of drugs called ligand-mimicking integrin inhibitors, which have the potential to treat conditions ranging from heart attacks to cancer metastasis. In a Nature Structural & Molecular Biology paper receiving advance online publication, the researchers provide a structural basis for the design of new and safer integrin inhibitors.

Warmer summers in Southeast England likely to lead to an increase in deaths

Date: Mar-26-2014
Warmer summers brought on by climate change will cause more deaths in London and southeast England than the rest of the country, scientists predict.Researchers at Imperial College London looked at temperature records and mortality figures for 2001 to 2010 to find out which districts in England and Wales experience the biggest effects from warm temperatures.In the most vulnerable districts, in London and the southeast, the odds of dying from cardiovascular or respiratory causes increased by over 10 per cent for every 1C rise in temperature.

Disappointing test results as drugs fail to reawaken dormant HIV infection

Date: Mar-26-2014
Scientists at Johns Hopkins report that compounds they hoped would "wake up" dormant reservoirs of HIV inside immune system T cells - a strategy designed to reverse latency and make the cells vulnerable to destruction - have failed to do so in laboratory tests of such white blood cells taken directly from patients infected with HIV."Despite our high hopes, none of the compounds we tested in HIV-infected cells taken directly from patients activated the latent virus," says Robert F. Siliciano, M.D., Ph.D.

Marijuana pills and sprays ease MS symptoms

Date: Mar-25-2014
Multiple sclerosis is characterized by disrupted communication between the brain and the body, resulting in symptoms ranging from blurred vision to muscle weakness and pain. There is no cure for the condition, and therapies have proven difficult, as many have serious side effects. But now, relief may come in the form of a medical marijuana pill.This is according to a new guideline released from the American Academy of Neurology and published in its journal Neurology.The guideline investigated complementary or alternative medicine therapies (CAM) for multiple sclerosis (MS).

Scientists find genetic cause of a rare, aggressive ovarian cancer

Date: Mar-25-2014
An international team of scientists has achieved a breakthrough by finding the genetic cause of a very rare and aggressive type of ovarian cancer that most often strikes girls and young women.The study, led by Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) a non-profit organization based in Phoenix, AZ, is published in the journal Nature Genetics.

WHO: air pollution responsible for 1 in 8 global deaths

Date: Mar-25-2014
According to a World Health Organization report released today, around 1 in 8 of total global deaths - 7 million deaths annually - are as a result of exposure to air pollution.The new data challenges previous information on air pollution. The figure of 7 million more than doubles the previous estimate of annual air pollution-caused deaths, making air pollution now the world's largest single environmental health risk."The risks from air pollution are now far greater than previously thought or understood, particularly for heart disease and strokes," says Dr.

Much of bone comprises shock-absorbing 'goo' that stops it shattering

Date: Mar-25-2014
A team of chemists from the UK has made a remarkable discovery about the structure of bone and shown that much of the mineral from which it is made comprises a viscous 'goo-like' fluid that is trapped between the crystals that form bone. They say their findings reveal new insights into bone diseases like osteoporosis.The goo-like fluid allows movement or slipperiness between the calcium phosphate nano-crystals so they do not shatter under pressure.

Shorter sleepers are over-eaters

Date: Mar-25-2014
Young children who sleep less eat more, which can lead to obesity and related health problems later in life, reports a new study by UCL researchers.The study found that 16 month-old children who slept for less than 10 hours each day consumed on average 105kcal more per day than children who slept for more than 13 hours. This is an increase of around 10% from 982kcal to 1087kcal.

What keeps tumor cells in place

Date: Mar-25-2014
Researchers at the University of Freiburg have found switches that colorectal cancer cells use to migrate away from the primary tumor site and to invade neighboring tissue. This migration is the first step in metastasis, the process by which the cancer forms secondary tumors in other organs. Prof. Dr. Andreas Hecht and his research group at the Institute of Molecular Medicine of the University of Freiburg published their findings in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

A towel less: How psychologists harness sociability to cut waste

Date: Mar-25-2014
Hotel guests can be gently persuaded to reduce the number of towels they use each day, psychology researchers at the University of Luxembourg have found. With fewer towels to wash, this reduces the waste of water, energy and detergent. This is good news for the environment and it cuts costs, so enabling hotels to reduce prices.Two hotels in Swiss and Austrian ski resorts helped with an experiment in early 2013. Three different signs were placed separately in different bathrooms, all of which gently reminded guests of the environmental impact of towel use.