Health News

Change in set point in neuromuscular synapses could explain age-related decline in motor function

Date: Feb-11-2014
Scientists from the School of Medicine at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio have found a clue as to why muscles weaken with age. In a study published in The Journal of Neuroscience, they report the first evidence that "set points" in the nervous system are not inalterably determined during development but instead can be reset with age. They observed a change in set point that resulted in significantly diminished motor function in aging fruit flies."The body has a set point for temperature (98.

A child's gender influences symptoms of genetic disorder

Date: Feb-11-2014
A genetic disorder that affects about 1 in every 2,500 births can cause a bewildering array of clinical problems, including brain tumors, impaired vision, learning disabilities, behavioral problems, heart defects and bone deformities. The symptoms and their severity vary among patients affected by this condition, known as neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1).Now, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified a patient's gender as a clear and simple guidepost to help health-care providers anticipate some of the effects of NF1.

Behavior in real world affected by video games, study claims

Date: Feb-11-2014
The debate on whether video games influence behavior in real life has raged on for some time. Now, a new study involving college students demonstrates that playing a villain in a virtual environment encourages individuals to punish anonymous strangers.Results of the study were published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.Some studies have suggested negative side effects associated with video games. Recent research suggested violent video games reduce self-control in teens.

Infection contributes to higher risk of stroke death among African- Americans

Date: Feb-11-2014
Infection is a stronger trigger of stroke death in African- Americans than in whites, a University of Michigan study shows.African-Americans were 39 times more likely to die of a stroke if they were exposed to an infection in the previous month when compared to other time periods while whites were four times more likely and Hispanics were five times more likely to die of stroke after an infection, according to the findings that appear online in Neurology.The most frequent infections were urinary, skin, and respiratory tract infections and occurred within 30 days of a stroke.

Discovery of global regulator of mRNA editing

Date: Feb-11-2014
An international team of researchers, led by scientists from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Indiana University, have identified a protein that broadly regulates how genetic information transcribed from DNA to messenger RNA (mRNA) is processed and ultimately translated into the myriad of proteins necessary for life.

Diagnostic test developed for cryptosporidiosis diarrheal disease

Date: Feb-11-2014
Bioengineers at Rice University and the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) at Galveston have developed a simple, highly sensitive and efficient test for the diarrheal disease cryptosporidiosis that could have great impact on global health.Results from the diagnostic developed by the lab of Rice bioengineer Rebecca Richards-Kortum are read from a paper strip that resembles a pregnancy test. Lines on the strip tell whether samples taken from the stool of a patient contain genetic DNA from the parasite that causes the disease.

Maintaining stem cell pluripotency

Date: Feb-11-2014
The ability to reprogram adult cells so they return to an undifferentiated, pluripotent state - much like an embryonic stem cell - is enabling the development of promising new cell therapies. Accelerating progress in this field will depend on identifying factors that promote pluripotency, such as the Brg1 protein described in a new study published in BioResearch Open Access, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the BioResearch Open Access website.

Cognitive performance improved in older adults by nutritional supplement

Date: Feb-11-2014
Declines in the underlying brain skills needed to think, remember and learn are normal in aging. In fact, this cognitive decline is a fact of life for most older Americans.Therapies to improve the cognitive health of older adults are critically important for lessening declines in mental performance as people age. While physical activity and cognitive training are among the efforts aimed at preventing or delaying cognitive decline, dietary modifications and supplements have recently generated considerable interest.

GI tract may be the source for chlamydia reinfections

Date: Feb-11-2014
The current standard of care treatment for chlamydia sometimes fails to eradicate the disease, according to a review published ahead of print in Infection and Immunity, and the culprit may be in the gut.Chlamydia trachomatis not only infects the reproductive tract, but abides persistently - though benignly - in the gastrointestinal tract. There it remains even after eradication from the genitals by the antibiotic, azithromycin, says first author Roger Rank, of the Arkansas Children's Research Institute, Little Rock.

Dietary supplement users more likely to engage in a pattern of healthy habits

Date: Feb-11-2014
Dietary supplement users take these products as just one component of a larger effort to develop a healthier lifestyle, according to a newly published review in Nutrition Journal, a peer-reviewed scientific publication. The review, "Health Habits and Other Characteristics of Supplement Users" (Nutrition Journal. 2014, 13:14), co-authored by Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) consultant Annette Dickinson, Ph.D., and CRN's senior vice president, scientific and regulatory affairs, Duffy MacKay, N.D.