Health News

Male obesity could dictate future colon screenings

Date: Feb-07-2014
Obesity is a known risk factor for many cancers including colon cancer, yet the reasons behind the colon cancer link have often remained unclear.A Michigan State University study is shedding more light on the topic and has shown that elevated leptin - a fat hormone - higher body mass index and a larger waistline in men is associated with a greater likelihood of having colorectal polyps, precancerous growths linked to colon cancer.

Encouraging web-based health care in hospitals

Date: Feb-07-2014
In the first national look at how broadly web-based technologies are being used to provide health care, a University of Michigan researcher has found that 42 percent of U.S. hospitals use some type of "telehealth" approach.The study, published in the February issue of the journal Health Affairs, breaks down adoption rates by state. It also pinpoints state policies that might encourage more hospitals to adopt telehealth.

Mental health professionals' outlook improved by personal experience, work seniority

Date: Feb-07-2014
One might think that after years of seeing people at their worst, mental health workers would harbor negative attitudes about mental illness, perhaps associating people with mental health issues as less competent or dangerous. But a new study suggests the opposite.In a survey of 731 mental health professionals in Washington state, the more seniority employees had on the job, the more positively they viewed people with mental illness. The survey also linked mental health workers' positive attitudes with having advanced degrees and reporting a mental illness themselves.

Enabling the blind to 'see' colors and shapes with EyeMusic Sensory Substitution Device

Date: Feb-07-2014
Using auditory or tactile stimulation, Sensory Substitution Devices (SSDs) provide representations of visual information and can help the blind "see" colors and shapes. SSDs scan images and transform the information into audio or touch signals that users are trained to understand, enabling them to recognize the image without seeing it.Currently SSDs are not widely used within the blind community because they can be cumbersome and unpleasant to use.

New guidelines for reducing stroke risks unique to women

Date: Feb-06-2014
For the first time, guidelines have been developed for preventing stroke in women."If you are a woman, you share many of the same risk factors for stroke with men, but your risk is also influenced by hormones, reproductive health, pregnancy, childbirth and other sex-related factors," said Cheryl Bushnell, M.D., M.H.S., author of the new scientific statement published in the American Heart Association journal Stroke.

The ultimate decoy: Scripps Research Institute scientists find protein that helps bacteria misdirect immune system

Date: Feb-06-2014
A team led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) has discovered an unusual bacterial protein that attaches to virtually any antibody and prevents it from binding to its target. Protein M, as it is called, probably helps some bacteria evade the immune response and establish long-term infections.If follow-up studies confirm Protein M's ability to defeat the antibody response, it is likely to become a target of new antibacterial therapies. The protein's unique ability to bind generally to antibodies also should make it a valuable tool for research and drug development.

Stem cells cultivated without using human or animal cells

Date: Feb-06-2014
Previously, stem cells have been cultivated using animal proteins or by growing them from other human cells. Both methods come with associated problems. But, according to a study published in the journal Applied Materials & Interfaces, researchers have now identified a new method for cultivating stem cells.Stem cells are a kind of cell that are able to divide or self-renew indefinitely. This allows the stem cell to generate into a range of different cell types for the organ that they originate from, or they may even be able to regenerate the whole organ.

First sensory-enhanced artificial hand enables amputee to 'feel'

Date: Feb-06-2014
A 36-year-old man from Denmark has become the first amputee in the world to "feel" in real-time with a sensory-enhanced artificial hand. The prosthetic is surgically wired to nerves in his upper arm, allowing him to handle objects and instantly sense what they feel like.The sensory system connected to the artificial hand was created by Silvestro Micera and colleagues from the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland and the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies (SSSA) in Italy.

Smoking causes earlier menopause in some white women

Date: Feb-06-2014
Scientists have given us many reasons not to smoke, but now, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania provide evidence that, in white women with specific genetic variations, smoking causes early signs of menopause - up to 9 years earlier than average.Publishing their study in the journal Menopause, the researchers note that although prior research has shown that smoking accelerates menopause by 1-2 years, theirs is the first to suggest that genetics and smoking increases risks of early menopause.

Pharmaceutical Sales Training and Development Conference, March 24-25, Atlanta

Date: Feb-06-2014
Q1 Productions to Host 4th Annual Pharmaceutical Sales Training and Development Conference this MarchCrafting Global Learning Plans and Engaging Tenured Sales Representatives Among Newly Added Session TopicsFor the fourth consecutive year, Q1 Productions will host the annual Pharmaceutical Sales Training and Development Conference March 24-25 in Atlanta, fulfilling the marketplace demand for a more intimate and interactive, solution-generating meeting for sales training and development professionals.