Health News

Hormone released after exercise can 'predict' biological age

Date: Feb-18-2014
Scientists from Aston University (UK) have discovered a potential molecular link between Irisin, a recently identified hormone released from muscle after bouts of exercise, and the ageing process.Irisin, which is naturally present in humans, is capable of reprograming the body's fat cells to burn energy instead of storing it. This increases the metabolic rate and is thought to have potential anti-obesity effects.The research team led by Dr James Brown have proven a significant link exists between Irisin levels in the blood and a biological marker of ageing called telomere length.

FDA approves Vimizim to treat rare congenital enzyme disorder

Date: Feb-18-2014
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Vimizim (elosulfase alfa), the first FDA-approved treatment for Mucopolysaccharidosis Type IVA (Morquio A syndrome). Morquio A syndrome is a rare, autosomal recessive lysosomal storage disease caused by a deficiency in N-acetylgalactosamine-6-sulfate sulfatase (GALNS). Vimizim is intended to replace the missing GALNS enzyme involved in an important metabolic pathway. Absence of this enzyme leads to problems with bone development, growth and mobility. There are approximately 800 patients with Morquio A syndrome in the United States.

Nanofiber 'monorails' ferry brain tumors to their death

Date: Feb-18-2014
Glioblastoma is the deadliest form of brain cancer, and one reason it is difficult to treat is because tumor cells spread to other parts of the brain by following nerve fibers and blood vessels. Now, using nanofiber "monorails," biomedical engineers have found a way to hijack this migratory feature and lure the malignant cells elsewhere. The idea is to entice the migrating cancer cells toward a more accessible location where they can be killed. This could be outside the brain, for instance.

Water samples taken from the Upper Ganges River shed light on the spread of potential 'superbugs'

Date: Feb-18-2014
Experts from Newcastle University, UK, and the Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi (IIT-Delhi), reveal the spread of antibiotic-resistance to one of the most pristine locations in Asia is linked to the annual human pilgrimages to the region. The research team are now calling on governments around the world to recognise the importance of clean drinking water in our fight against antibiotic resistance.The spread of antibiotic-resistance to one of the most pristine locations in Asia is linked to the annual human pilgrimages to the region, new research has shown.

Breastfeeding deterred by in-hospital formula use

Date: Feb-18-2014
When mothers feed their newborns formula in the hospital, they are less likely to fully breastfeed their babies in the second month of life and more likely to quit breastfeeding early, even if they had hoped to breastfeed longer, UC Davis researchers have found.We are a step closer to showing that giving formula in the hospital can cause problems by reducing how much women breastfeed later," says Caroline Chantry, lead author and professor of clinical pediatrics at UC Davis Medical Center.

Why hearing loss is correlated with auditory signals failing to get transmitted along the auditory nerve

Date: Feb-18-2014
A research team investigating tinnitus, from the University of Leicester, has revealed new insights into the link between the exposure to loud sounds and hearing loss.Their study, published in Neuroscience, helps to understand how damage to myelin - a protection sheet around cells - alters the transmission of auditory signals occurring during hearing loss.The three-year study was derived from a PhD studentship funded by Action on Hearing Loss. It was led by Dr Martine Hamann, Lecturer in Neurosciences at the University's Department of Cell Physiology and Pharmacology.

High frequency of EGFR mutations found in Asian population

Date: Feb-18-2014
Adenocarcinoma histology, female sex, never-smoking status, and Asian ethnicity have been considered the most important factors associated with EGFR mutations in non-small cell lung cancer and response to EGFR inhibitors. A recent study has found that, within the Asian population, the frequency of EGFR mutations associated with other demographic and clinical characteristics is higher than previously reported, even in patients with a history of smoking, suggesting that mutation testing should be done on a broader basis among Asian patients with advanced adenocarcinoma of the lung.

Steroid abuse by MLB players may be a result of multi-billion dollar baseball industry

Date: Feb-18-2014
The widespread use of illegal steroids among Major League Baseball players has been fueled by an "economy of bodily management," the free agent market and exploding television revenues, a UT Arlington assistant professor argues in a newly published research paper.Sarah Rose, a labor and disability historian, says by attacking individual ballplayers' morality, commentators have obscured the more salient issue.

Shorter life expectancy of 12 years on average for LGB individuals in communities with high vs. low stigma

Date: Feb-18-2014
In the first study to look at the consequences of anti-gay prejudice for mortality, researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health found that lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals who lived in communities with high levels of anti-gay prejudice have a shorter life expectancy of 12 years on average compared with their peers in the least prejudiced communities.

Teaching children to pay less attention to food might help them eat less

Date: Feb-18-2014
Among the multiple factors that can cause obesity is an abnormal neurocognitive or behavioral response to food cues. The brain becomes wired to seek - and expect - greater rewards from food, which leads to unhealthful overeating.Attention modification programs, which train a person to ignore or disregard specific, problematic cues or triggers, have been used effectively to treat cases of anxiety and substance abuse.