Health News

National Birth Defects Prevention Month underscores need for higher choline intake

Date: Feb-03-2014
Recent research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (AJCN) found that during pregnancy, and particularly during the third trimester, large amounts of choline may be needed to support fetal development. Conclusions of the research revealed that current recommendations may be too low.1 Choline deficiency in pregnant women may result in elevated levels of homocysteine, potentially resulting in birth defects.

Independent association between diabetes and depression and impulse control disorders including binge-eating and bulimia

Date: Feb-03-2014
New research shows that depression and impulse control disorders (eating disorders in particular) are independently associated with diabetes diagnosis, after adjustment for presence of other mental disorders. The research, published in Diabetologia (the journal of The European Association for the Study of Diabetes), supports the focus on depression as an independent risk factor for diabetes, but also suggests this focus should be extended to impulse control disorders. The study is the first to report on the association between impulse control disorders and diabetes diagnosis.

The effect of core stabilization exercise in stroke patients improved by real-time video

Date: Feb-03-2014
About 80% of stroke survivors experience hemiparesis, which causes weakness or the inability to move one side of the body. Core stabilization exercise to improve postural stability and independent walking in chronic hemiparetic stroke patients could be enhanced by real-time video feedback, report researchers in Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience.Stroke is the most common cause of permanent disability in adults. Stroke patients generally show muscle weakness of limbs and trunk on the affected side.

Skin with blood and lymphatic capillaries grown for the first time

Date: Feb-03-2014
According to the American Burn Association, around 450,000 people in the US needed medical treatment for burn injuries in 2012. Much of this treatment was in the form of skin grafts, which can still leave the patient with scars. Now, scientists have grown full-thickness skin containing blood and lymphatic capillaries for the first time, which they say could reduce scarring.This is according to a study recently published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.Conventional skin grafting involves healthy skin being removed from one area of the body to replace damaged skin.

Management of paediatric trauma in England and Wales

Date: Feb-03-2014
The first national report on the nature and outcome of trauma management for children in England and Wales has been produced by TARNLET, the paediatric (0 - 15 years) component of the Trauma Audit and Research Network, The University of Manchester.Every year across England and Wales, 10,000 people die after injury and trauma is the leading cause of death amongst children. The Trauma Audit and Research Network (TARN) helps hospital staff to collect and evaluates data on all their significant trauma cases. Management and outcome reports support reviews of their trauma care.

Vitamin C and E supplements may hinder athletes' training

Date: Feb-03-2014
With the 2014 Winter Olympics just around the corner, hundreds of athletes are in training for one of the most important competitions of their lives. But according to new research, they should stay away from vitamin C and E supplements if they want to do well. A study has found that these supplements may hinder endurance training.Vitamins C and E are antioxidants. They boost the immune system so it can fight off bacteria and viruses.

Human engineered cardiac tissue may prove reliable as an in vitro surrogate for human myocardium and for preclinical therapeutic screenings

Date: Feb-03-2014
When it comes to finding cures for heart disease scientists are working to their own beat. That's because they may have finally developed a tissue model for the human heart that can bridge the gap between animal models and human patients. These models exist for other organs, but for the heart, this has been elusive. Specifically, the researchers generated the tissue from human embryonic stem cells with the resulting muscle having significant similarities to human heart muscle. This research was published in the February 2014 issue of The FASEB Journal.

Virus engineered to attack triple negative breast cancer cells

Date: Feb-03-2014
Scientists have discovered a potential cure for one of the most aggressive and least treatable forms of breast cancer called "triple negative breast cancer." In laboratory experiments involving human cancer cells, scientists used a virus similar to the one that helped eradicate smallpox to coax cancer cells to produce a protein which makes them susceptible to radioactive iodine. This discovery was published in the February 2014 issue of The FASEB Journal.

What are the health benefits of kale?

Date: Feb-03-2014
Kale is a very nutritious vegetable and there are a number of health benefits associated with its consumption.The vegetable belongs to the Brassica family, along with broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower.Kale comes in two different forms: kale (which has smooth leaves) and curly kale (which has crinkly leaves). Its leaves are typically either green, blue, or purple.So, what makes Kale so good for you?

The key to making aging cells young again is cell cycle speed

Date: Feb-03-2014
A fundamental axiom of biology used to be that cell fate is a one-way street - once a cell commits to becoming muscle, skin, or blood it always remains muscle, skin, or blood cell. That belief was upended in the past decade when a Japanese scientist introduced four simple factors into skin cells and returned them to an embryonic-like state, capable of becoming almost any cell type in the body.Hopeful of revolutionary medical therapies using a patient's own cells, scientists rushed to capitalize on the discovery by 2012 Nobel Laureate Shinya Yamanaka.