Health News

Alzheimer's onset could be triggered by sleep disturbances

Date: Mar-18-2014
Chronic sleep problems can inflame a number of health problems, from widespread pain to speeding up cancer. Though sleep disturbances have been observed in people with Alzheimer's disease, whether this is a cause or effect has been unknown. Now, researchers say individuals with chronic sleep disruptions could face earlier onset of Alzheimer's.The researchers, from Temple University in Philadelphia, PA, have published the results of their pre-clinical study in the journal Neurobiology of Aging.

Doctors 2.0 & You - Leading international digital health and social media conference, June 5-6, 2014, Paris

Date: Mar-18-2014
Doctors 2.0 & You, partner of Stanford Medicine X and known for its 360° inclusive perspective on the patient, the physician, and digital tools, today announced 4th edition highlights. Remarking that "healthcare is now a recognized part of the explosion in social media, apps, quantified self and wearables," founder Denise Silber, confirms that « the June, 2014 program will provide an intensive look at the many moving parts of digital health and their results to date. How do patients and physicians benefit?Doctors 2.

Vigorous exercise tied to reduce flu risk

Date: Mar-18-2014
A report on a UK survey suggest that vigorous exercise may help reduce the risk of catching the flu. The survey finds no such link with moderate exercise. However, the report authors stress the results are preliminary and should be treated with caution.The findings come from the UK Flusurvey, in which more than 4,800 people have so far taken part this year. The online survey, which is now in its fifth year, is run by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.

New understanding of why chromosome errors are high in women's eggs

Date: Mar-18-2014
A new study from the University of Southampton has provided scientists with a better understanding of why chromosome errors are high in women's eggs.It is estimated that up to 60 per cent of eggs are affected by errors in how their chromosomes divide, making it the leading cause of infertility. Chromosome errors also lead to conditions such as Down Syndrome and early pregnancy loss.

Link between saturated fat and heart disease comes into question

Date: Mar-18-2014
A new review of published evidence challenges current guidelines that suggest in order to reduce heart disease risk, people should generally restrict intake of saturated fats - like those found in butter and dairy foods - in favor of unsaturated fats - such as in margarine and sunflower oil.The analysis, published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine by an international group led by a team at the UK's University of Cambridge, included 72 separate studies on heart risk and intake of fatty acids.

Older age at onset of type 1 diabetes associated with lower brain connectivity later in life

Date: Mar-18-2014
Children and adolescents older than age 8 at the onset of type 1 diabetes had weaker brain connectivity when tested later in life relative to those who had earlier ages of diagnosis, University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences researchers discovered.The findings, presented at the American Psychosomatic Society's annual meeting, were made by analyzing the brain scans of 44 middle-age adults diagnosed with type 1 diabetes as children."Adolescence is a time when the brain matures and makes connections in networks responsible for different functions," said John Ryan, Ph.D.

New therapeutic target identified for acute lung injury

Date: Mar-18-2014
A bacterial infection can throw off the equilibrium between two key proteins in the lungs and put patients at risk for a highly lethal acute lung injury, researchers report. Bacteria can alter a single amino acid in the protein RhoA, pushing its activity level well above that of Rac1 and prompting blood vessels to leak and flood thousands of tiny air sacs in the lungs, said Dr. Stephen Black, cell and molecular physiologist at the Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Regents University.

New research links body clocks to chronic lung diseases

Date: Mar-18-2014
The body clock's natural rhythm could be utilized to improve current therapies to delay the onset of chronic lung diseases. Scientists at The University of Manchester have discovered a rhythmic defence pathway in the lung controlled by our body clocks, which is essential to combat daily exposure to toxins and pollutants. Internal biological timers (circadian clocks) are found in almost all living things driving diverse processes such as sleep/wake cycles in humans to leaf movement in plants.

Research on the protein gp41 could help towards designing future vaccinations against HIV

Date: Mar-18-2014
Researchers from the University of Granada have discovered, for the first time, an allosteric interaction (that is, a regulation mechanism whereby enzymes can be activated or de-activated) between this protein, which forms part of the sheath of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and the antibody 2F5 (FAB), a potent virus neutralizer. This important scientific breakthrough could help specialists to understand the mechanisms behind generating immune responses and help towards the design of future vaccines against the HIV virus.

Researchers develop a new system to aid cardiovascular risk diagnosis

Date: Mar-18-2014
Researchers from the Universitat Politècnica de València, the Hospital General de Valencia and the Ophthalmology Unit of the Foundation for the Health and Biomedical Research of the Comunitat Valenciana (FISABIO-Oftalmología Médica) have developed a new software to aid cardiovascular risk diagnosis based on fundus image processing. The Paediatrics Unit of the Hospital General de Valencia has incorporated this software in a study of cardiovascular characteristics.The application makes it easier to measure the vessels and it allows clinical staff to have more uniform information.