Health News

Study of cell behaviour in low oxygen conditions has important implications for tumours

Date: Feb-25-2014
Research at the University of Liverpool has explained how cells behave when placed in a low oxygen environment, a development that could have implications for cancer patients and other serious illnesses.The research opens up the possibility of controlling the signals that keep cells alive, preventing the damages caused by ischemia - a restriction of blood supply to tissues. It could also work to help destroy cancer cells.When the body is deprived of adequate oxygen supply it is known as hypoxia and can cause the death of cells.

Shedding light on human kidney function via zebrafish study

Date: Feb-25-2014
Researchers say the discovery of how sodium ions pass through the gill of a zebrafish may be a clue to understanding a key function in the human kidney. The findings from a collaboration between Mayo Clinic and the Tokyo Institute of Technology appear in the online issue of the American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology. The researchers discovered a protein responsible for gas exchanges in the fish gill structure.

Method discovered that allows native immune cells to launch an attack on pancreas cancer

Date: Feb-25-2014
Pancreas cancer is notoriously impervious to treatment and resists both chemotherapy and radiotherapy. It has also been thought to provide few targets for immune cells, allowing tumors to grow unchecked. But new research from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center shows that pancreas cancer "veils" itself from the immune system by recruiting specialized immune suppressor cells. The research team also found that removing these cells quickly triggers a spontaneous anti-tumor immune response.

Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute sets prioritized research agenda for managing two diverse conditions

Date: Feb-24-2014
Two articles being published in Annals of Internal Medicine seek to set prioritized research agendas to fill the evidence gaps about two diverse conditions - bipolar disorder in young people and ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) in women. Both conditions present similar challenges to physicians and patients because the diagnosis is often not clear-cut and typical treatments come with a trade-off of benefits and serious side effects.

U.S. Preventive Services Task Force publishes final recommendation statement on multivitamins to prevent cardiovascular disease and cancer

Date: Feb-24-2014
The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends against the use of beta-carotene or vitamin E supplements for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease or cancer, according to a recommendation statement being published in Annals of Internal Medicine. Researchers conducted a systematic review of the evidence to assess the benefits and harms of using vitamin, mineral, and multivitamin supplements for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease and cancer.

Guideline: People with irregular heartbeat should take blood thinners to prevent stroke

Date: Feb-24-2014
An updated guideline from the American Academy of Neurology recommends that people with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation, or irregular heartbeat, take oral anticoagulants, a type of blood thinner pill, to prevent stroke. The guideline is published in Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The World Stroke Organization has endorsed the updated guideline. Taking anticoagulants is especially important for people who have already had a stroke or a transient ischemic attack, which is a threatened stroke.

Acupuncture 'could treat inflammation and save lives'

Date: Feb-24-2014
In Western medicine, the jury is still out on whether acupuncture delivers health benefits. But now, a new study adds further evidence of its worthiness, as scientists have shown a direct connection between acupuncture and physical mechanisms that heal sepsis, a common condition in hospital intensive care units that springs from infection and inflammation.The researchers, from Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, published their results in the journal Nature Medicine.They note that sepsis causes around 250,000 deaths in the US each year, making it a major cause of death.

Nanoparticles used to target inflammation-causing immune cells

Date: Feb-24-2014
A system for precisely targeting "out-of-control" immune cells - without interfering with correctly functioning immune cells - has been developed using nanoparticles.Nanoparticle research is currently described as being the most studied branch of science.Nanoparticles - tiny objects that behave as a whole unit in terms of their transport and properties - have applications in all kinds of medical fields.They have been used as delivery systems for drugs and genes, for detecting disease or proteins, in tissue engineering and for destroying tumors, among other things.

Drinking age of 21: review confirms it saves lives

Date: Feb-24-2014
According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, approximately 5,000 US youths under the age of 21 die from unintentional injuries, homicides and suicides related to alcohol consumption every year. But a new review states that if the age-21 drinking law was not in place, these numbers would be even higher.The review was recently published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.

Mature, functioning liver cells made from skin cells

Date: Feb-24-2014
There have been several reports in recent years of scientists reprogramming skin cells so they transform into cells that are similar to cells from other organs, such as the heart, the pancreas and even brain cells. However, these have fallen short of producing mature, fully functioning versions of organ cells - essential if they are to be of any use in life-saving regenerative medicine.