Health News

New method is a thousand times more sensitive to performance-enhancing drugs

Date: Mar-21-2014
While the world's best athletes competed during last month's winter Olympics, doctors and scientists were waging a different battle behind the scenes to make sure no one had an unfair advantage from banned performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs). Now, for the first time, researchers have unveiled a new weapon - a test for doping compounds that is a thousand times more sensitive than those used today."How much of a drug someone took or how long ago they took it are beyond the analyst's control. The only thing you can control is how sensitive your method is," said Daniel Armstrong, Ph.D.

Nanovaccines that need no-refrigeration could curb diseases in remote areas

Date: Mar-21-2014
A new kind of single-dose vaccine that comes in a nasal spray and doesn't require refrigeration could dramatically alter the public health landscape - get more people vaccinated around the world and address the looming threats of emerging and re-emerging diseases. Researchers presented the latest design and testing of these "nanovaccines" at the 247th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the world's largest scientific society.Their talk was one of more than 10,000 presentations at the meeting, held at the Dallas Convention Center and area hotels.

Researchers devise new, stretchable antenna for wearable health monitoring

Date: Mar-21-2014
Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a new, stretchable antenna that can be incorporated into wearable technologies, such as health monitoring devices."Many researchers - including our lab - have developed prototype sensors for wearable health systems, but there was a clear need to develop antennas that can be easily incorporated into those systems to transmit data from the sensors, so that patients can be monitored or diagnosed," says Dr.

How localized bacterial infections can turn into dangerous sepsis

Date: Mar-20-2014
We carry numerous bacteria on our skin, in our mouth, gut, and other tissues, and localized bacterial infections are common and mostly not harmful. Occasionally, however, a localized infection turns into dangerous systemic disease (sepsis), and scientists have new clues as to how that happens. A study published in PLOS Pathogens shows that after intravenous injection of a million bacteria into a mouse, the resulting systemic disease is often started by only a single one of them. Marco R.

Combo of overweight, high sodium intake speeds cell aging in teens

Date: Mar-20-2014
Overweight or obese teenagers who eat lots of salty foods may show signs of faster cell aging, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Epidemiology & Prevention/Nutrition, Physical Activity & Metabolism Scientific Sessions 2014."Lowering sodium intake, especially if you are overweight or obese, may slow down the cellular aging process that plays an important role in the development of heart disease," said Haidong Zhu, M.D., Ph.D.

Older, active, confident stroke caregivers are happiest

Date: Mar-20-2014
Stroke caregivers are happier when they continue to enjoy their own hobbies and interests, according to new research in the American Heart Association journal Stroke.Researchers used several questionnaires to assess well-being after one year among 399 family members caring for a loved one who survived a stroke. The caregivers were mostly women (69 percent) and married to the person they were caring for (70 percent).In a two-year follow-up, 80 of the caregivers completed the questionnaires again, with most of their answers similar to those at the end of one year.

Virtual conferencing effective weight management intervention

Date: Mar-20-2014
People participating in a virtual evidence-based group weight management intervention lost more weight than those in a control group.A weight management intervention delivered virtually via video conferencing helped participants lose weight, according to a study presented at the American Heart Association's Epidemiology & Prevention/Nutrition, Physical Activity & Metabolism Scientific Sessions 2014.Forty-seven obese men (21-60 years-old) participated in a 12-week group weight management intervention led by a healthcare provider.

New type of cell communication regulates blood vessel formation and tumour growth

Date: Mar-20-2014
When tumours grow, new blood vessels are formed that deliver oxygen and nutrients to the tumour cells. A research group at Uppsala University has discovered a new type of cell communication that results in suppressed blood vessel formation and delayed tumour growth. The results might explain why healthy individuals can have microscopic tumours for many years, which do not progress without formation of new blood vessels. Communication between cells controls their behaviour, e.g. survival, growth and mobility.

Could understanding how the brain processes music help treat illness?

Date: Mar-20-2014
New research is expanding scientists' understanding of how the human brain processes music. We take a look at recent projects examining the interactions of music and neurology and ask what benefits this knowledge might have therapeutically or for future research.Doctors have long known that listening to music can cause physiological changes. Lower levels of cortisol - the stress hormone - as well as better sleep and a lowered heart rate are associated with listening to music.

Drug-resistant bacterial infections on the rise in American children

Date: Mar-20-2014
An antibiotic-resistant type of Gram-negative bacteria is infecting an increasing number of children in the US, researchers report in the Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society.These findings come at a time when the issue of drug-resistant bacteria is at the forefront of public health concerns. In late 2013, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a report that provided the first snapshot of the toll and threat such "superbugs" pose to US health.