Health News

Fewer laboratory animals needed for drug development thanks to fish scales

Date: Feb-26-2014
The scales of the zebrafish are very suitable for identifying potential new drugs for treating bone diseases. This is good news because it means fewer mice and rats will be needed for that work. What's more, zebrafish are not killed when the scales are removed; they simply grow back. On 13 March, medical biologist Erik de Vrieze will receive his doctorate from Radboud University Nijmegen for carrying out this research.How does one come up with the idea of studying zebrafish scales?

Novel blood screen reveals the risk of dying among healthy people

Date: Feb-26-2014
A new screening technology reveals a signature of mortality in blood samples. Researchers have identified four biomarkers that help to identify people at high risk of dying from any disease within the next five years.Researchers from Finland and Estonia have discovered novel biological markers that are strongly indicative of risk of dying from any disease within the near future. Blood samples from over 17 000 generally healthy people were screened for more than a hundred different biomolecules. The health status of these study volunteers was followed for several years.

White matter disease exacts heavy toll

Date: Feb-26-2014
Researchers have found further troubling evidence that cognitive damage from white matter disease is more widespread than first thought. A comprehensive meta-analysis of twenty seven published studies comparing healthy older adults to those who have cognitive impairment due to white matter disease has revealed that the disease can sabotage several cognitive areas.

US Obesity rates down in preschoolers, up in older women

Date: Feb-26-2014
New statistics show encouraging developments in obesity rates among younger children, say US authorities. Figures for the last 10 years show they fell by 43% among the nation's preschoolers. A new study by researchers at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, JAMA, shows that although overall obesity rates for the last 10 years have stayed at the same, high level, they fell significantly for children aged 2 to 5 years, and rose significantly among women aged 60 and over.

Receipt of live MMR vaccine associated with lower rate of infection-related hospital admissions for children

Date: Feb-26-2014
In a nationwide group of Danish children, receipt of the live measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine on schedule after vaccination for other common infections was associated with a lower rate of hospital admissions for any infections, but particularly for lower respiratory tract infections, according to a study in JAMA. Childhood vaccines are recommended worldwide, based on their protective effect against the targeted diseases.

Pancreatic and other cancers best treated with personalized medicine

Date: Feb-26-2014
If a driver is traveling to New York City, I-95 might be their route of choice. But they could also take I-78, I-87 or any number of alternate routes. Most cancers begin similarly, with many possible routes to the same disease. A new study found evidence that assessing the route to cancer on a case-by-case basis might make more sense than basing a patient's cancer treatment on commonly disrupted genes and pathways.

Nurse workload, education linked to patient survival following surgery

Date: Feb-26-2014
Between administering medications and coordinating care, nurses are some of the busiest health care professionals, often placed as the first point of contact for patients. Perhaps it comes as no surprise, then, that a recent study suggests patients are more likely to die after common surgeries when the nurses who care for them have heavier workloads.Results of the study are published in The Lancet, where researchers from nine European countries report on data derived from over 420,000 patients in 300 hospitals.

Virus-sized particle captured on video trying to enter cell

Date: Feb-26-2014
Tiny and swift, viruses are hard to capture on video. Now researchers at Princeton University have achieved an unprecedented look at a virus-like particle as it tries to break into and infect a cell. The technique they developed could help scientists learn more about how to deliver drugs via nanoparticles - which are about the same size as viruses - as well as how to prevent viral infection from occurring.

Depression a risk for heart disease

Date: Feb-26-2014
An extensive review of scientific literature indicates that depression should be added to the list of risk factors associated with heart disease. Others include obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and smoking.A 12-person panel of experts that included Robert M. Carney, PhD, and Kenneth E. Freedland, PhD, both professors of psychiatry at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, made the recommendation to the American Heart Association (AHA).Their findings are published online as a scientific statement in the journal Circulation.

Body shape index as predictor of mortality

Date: Feb-26-2014
In 2012, Dr. Nir Krakauer, an assistant professor of civil engineering in CCNY's Grove School of Engineering, and his father, Dr. Jesse Krakauer, MD, developed a new method to quantify the risk specifically associated with abdominal obesity.A follow-up study, published recently by the online journal PLoS ONE, supports their contention that the technique, known as A Body Shape Index (ABSI), is a more effective predictor of mortality than Body Mass Index (BMI), the most common measure used to define obesity.