Health News

First evidence of common brain code for space, time, distance

Date: Feb-06-2014
A new Dartmouth study provides the first evidence that people use the same brain circuitry to figure out space, time and social distances.The findings, which help reveal how our brains organize information and create our perspective of the world, appear in the Journal of Neuroscience. The researchers looked at whether there is an overlap, or a common mechanism, in the brain areas used to represent time, space and social distances.

Psychological mechanisms involved in home field advantage and 'choking'

Date: Feb-06-2014
The pomp. The pageantry. The exciting wins and devastating losses. Unbelievable feats of athleticism and sheer determination. That's right - it's time for the winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Everyone has their picks for who will take gold medals and we're likely to see some unexpected upsets.But there are certain athletes that may have a leg up on everyone else: the Russians.In a new article, psychological scientists Mark S. Allen of London South Bank University and Marc V.

Paracetamol overdose and liver failure

Date: Feb-06-2014
University of Adelaide researchers have identified a key step for the future prevention of liver failure resulting from taking too much of the everyday painkiller paracetamol (also known as acetaminophen).Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the study pinpoints a target for new treatments to prevent the potentially lethal consequences of paracetamol overdose."Paracetamol is the most frequently used over-the-counter pain medication," says Dr Grigori Rychkov, Senior Research Fellow in the University's School of Medical Sciences.

A model for studying cancer and immune diseases

Date: Feb-06-2014
The protein STAT1 is involved in defending the body against pathogens and for inhibiting tumour development. If the levels of the protein are out of balance, disease may result. Researchers at the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna have developed a mouse whose STAT1 levels can be modified at will, enabling the study of the involvement of STAT1 in various processes. The work has now been published in the online journal PLOS One.

Quality matters more than quantity when it comes to memory

Date: Feb-06-2014
The capacity of our working memory is better explained by the quality of memories we can store than by their number, a team of psychology researchers has concluded.

Sjögren's syndrome may not impede function, despite burden

Date: Feb-06-2014
People living with Sjögren's syndrome, an autoimmune disorder characterized by dry eyes and dry mouth, appear to function at a level comparable to their healthier peers, according to a cross-sectional study published online in advance of print in Clinical Rheumatology. The study by clinicians and researchers at Tufts University reveals that people living with Sjögren's perceive significant decline in cognitive, psychological and physical function. Nonetheless, despite the burdens of the disease, levels of function approach that of healthy controls.

New mathematical model shows that appearance of rash may determine how Lyme disease spreads through body

Date: Feb-06-2014
Lyme disease is often evident by a rash on the skin, but infections do not always produce similar rashes. This can make it difficult to detect the disease early, when antibiotic treatment is most effective. In the Biophysical Journal, published by Cell Press, researchers describe a new mathematical model that captures the interactions between disease-causing bacteria and the host immune response that affect the appearance of a rash and the spread of infection.

Tele-emergency system's ability to improve patient care

Date: Feb-06-2014
New research from the University of Iowa College of Public Health supports the claim that tele-emergency services can successfully extend emergency care in rural hospitals. A summary of the research was published in the new February edition of Health Affairs.Tele-emergency is the urgent care component of telehealth, a term used to describe services consisting of diagnosis, treatment, assessment, monitoring, communications, and education of medical conditions via digital technologies like videoconferencing.

Lower risk of heart disease among young US workers who adhere to a Mediterranean diet

Date: Feb-06-2014
Among a large group of Midwestern firefighters, greater adherence to Mediterranean-style diet was associated with lower risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD), according to a new study led by researchers from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA). The study is the first to assess the effects of Mediterranean-style diet among a group of young, working U.S. adults.The study appears online in PLOS ONE.

Endometriosis: new findings may lead to better treatment and care

Date: Feb-06-2014
According to the Endometriosis Foundation of America, more than 176 million women and girls worldwide suffer from endometriosis. But the exact cause of the condition is unknown. Now, researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology say they have uncovered cellular activity that may provide a better understanding of the mechanisms behind the condition.This is according to a study recently published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.