Health News

Loneliness increases risk of premature death in seniors

Date: Feb-17-2014
According to research by a professor at the University of Chicago, extreme loneliness can increase an older person's risk of premature death by 14%.This makes extreme loneliness a risk factor for premature death that is nearly as potent as disadvantaged socioeconomic status. Disadvantaged socioeconomic status is known to cause an increase of 19% in risk of early death. The researcher notes that a 2010 study even found that loneliness has twice the impact on early death as obesity does.

Novel contact lenses 'enable more effective glaucoma drug delivery'

Date: Feb-17-2014
According to the Glaucoma Research Foundation, approximately 2.2 million Americans have glaucoma - a leading cause of blindness in the US. Now, researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles have created nanodiamond-embedded contact lenses that they say could improve the treatment of the condition.This is according to a study published in the journal ACS Nano.Glaucoma is a disease caused by damage to the optic nerve in the eye - the nerve that sends electrical impulses from the retina to the brain.

New eye layer has possible link to glaucoma

Date: Feb-17-2014
A new layer in the human cornea - discovered by researchers at The University of Nottingham last year - plays a vital role in the structure of the tissue that controls the flow of fluid from the eye, research has shown.The findings, published in a paper in the British Journal of Ophthalmology, could shed new light on glaucoma, a devastating disease caused by defective drainage of fluid from the eye and the world's second leading cause of blindness.

Novel contact lenses 'enable more effective glaucoma drug delivery'

Date: Feb-17-2014
According to the Glaucoma Research Foundation, approximately 2.2 million Americans have glaucoma - a leading cause of blindness in the US. Now, researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles have created nanodiamond-embedded contact lenses that they say could improve the treatment of the condition.This is according to a study published in the journal ACS Nano.Glaucoma is a disease caused by damage to the optic nerve in the eye - the nerve that sends electrical impulses from the retina to the brain.

New finding has implications for autism and schizophrenia

Date: Feb-17-2014
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have discovered that a well-known protein has a new function: It acts in a biological circuit to determine whether an immature neural cell remains in a stem-like state or proceeds to become a functional neuron.The findings, published in the online issue of Cell Reports, more fully illuminate a fundamental but still poorly understood cellular act - and may have significant implications for future development of new therapies for specific neurological disorders, including autism and schizophrenia.

Working with paramedics allows intravenous medications to be given to stroke patients within 'golden hour'

Date: Feb-17-2014
In the first study of its kind, a consortium led by UCLA physicians found that giving stroke patients intravenous magnesium within an hour of symptom onset does not improve stroke outcomes, according to research presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference.However, the eight-year study found that, by working with paramedics in the field, intravenous medications can be given to stroke patients within the "golden hour," the window in which patients have the best chance to survive and avoid debilitating, long-term neurological damage.

Guided only by simple rules, termite-inspired robots build complex structures

Date: Feb-17-2014
Termites are what inspired this whole research topic for us," said the study's lead author Justin Werfel, a researcher at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering in Cambridge, Massachusetts. "We learned the incredible things these tiny insects can build and said: Fantastic. Now how do we create and program robots that work in similar ways but build what humans want?"Unlike humans, who require a high-level blueprint to build something complicated, termites can build complex mounds hundreds of times their size without a detailed plan.

OCD dogs serve as model of the disorder in humans

Date: Feb-17-2014
Characterized by persistent thoughts or impulses, obsessive compulsive disorder forces individuals to perform repetitive actions to try to relieve anxiety about their uncontrollable thoughts. Dogs can also suffer from this disorder and researchers say they may be able to serve as a simplified model of the human condition, after finding certain genetic links.

Need for blood donations to maintain platelet supply may be eliminated by new stem cell method

Date: Feb-17-2014
Platelets, whose primary function is to prevent bleeding, are vital for treating various forms of trauma and blood diseases. However, they can only be obtained through blood donations at present. Researchers reporting online in the Cell Press journal Cell Stem Cell recently found a way to create platelets without the need for donated blood, an advance that could possibly erase supply shortages and ensure platelet treatments for all who need them.The supply of donated platelets, which have a short shelf life and must be kept at room temperature, is often insufficient to meet clinical needs.

Need for blood donations to maintain platelet supply may be eliminated by new stem cell method

Date: Feb-17-2014
Platelets, whose primary function is to prevent bleeding, are vital for treating various forms of trauma and blood diseases. However, they can only be obtained through blood donations at present. Researchers reporting online in the Cell Press journal Cell Stem Cell recently found a way to create platelets without the need for donated blood, an advance that could possibly erase supply shortages and ensure platelet treatments for all who need them.The supply of donated platelets, which have a short shelf life and must be kept at room temperature, is often insufficient to meet clinical needs.