Health News

Film-industry technology provides insights into schizophrenia

Date: Jan-22-2014
The first 30 seconds of a social encounter is crucial for people with symptoms of schizophrenia for establishing contact with people, according to new research carried out at Queen Mary University of London.Using motion capture technology more commonly found in the film industry, the researchers studied social interactions of patients in a group and analysed the patterns of verbal and non-verbal communication.Publishing in the journal PLOS ONE, researchers found people with schizophrenia are sidelined in conversation even when other participants are unaware of their illness.

Probability of blindness from glaucoma has nearly halved

Date: Jan-22-2014
The probability of blindness due to the serious eye disease glaucoma has decreased by nearly half since 1980, according to a study published this month in Ophthalmology, the journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. The researchers speculate that advances in diagnosis and therapy are likely causes for the decrease, but caution that a significant proportion of patients still progress to blindness.A leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide, glaucoma affects more than 2.7 million individuals aged 40 and older in the United States and 60.5 million people globally.

Recurrent heart attacks and strokes may be reduced by novel nanotherapy breakthrough

Date: Jan-22-2014
Up to 30 percent of heart attack patients suffer a new heart attack because cardiologists are unable to control inflammation inside heart arteries - the process that leads to clots rupturing and causing myocardial infarction or stroke.But a report in Nature Communications by Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai scientists showcases the development of a new technology that may provide a solution to this high risk of repeat heart attacks - and potentially help save more lives.

Ankle-Foot Rehabilitation may be aided by Bio-Inspired Robotic Device

Date: Jan-22-2014
A soft, wearable device that mimics the muscles, tendons and ligaments of the lower leg could aid in the rehabilitation of patients with ankle-foot disorders such as drop foot, said Yong-Lae Park, an assistant professor of robotics at Carnegie Mellon University.Park, working with collaborators at Harvard University, the University of Southern California, MIT and BioSensics, developed an active orthotic device using soft plastics and composite materials, instead of a rigid exoskeleton.

Smartphone-capable biosensor inspired by turkeys acts as early warning system for toxins

Date: Jan-22-2014
Some may think of turkeys as good for just lunch meat and holiday meals. But bioengineers at the University of California, Berkeley, saw inspiration in the big birds for a new type of biosensor that changes color when exposed to chemical vapors. This feature makes the sensors valuable detectors of toxins or airborne pathogens.Turkey skin, it turns out, can shift from red to blue to white, thanks to bundles of collagen that are interspersed with a dense array of blood vessels. It is this color-shifting characteristic that gives turkeys the name "seven-faced birds" in Korean and Japanese.

In African-American women, link discovered between depressive symptoms and adult-onset asthma

Date: Jan-22-2014
According to a new study from the Slone Epidemiology Center (SEC) at Boston University, African-American women who reported high levels of depressive symptoms had a greater likelihood of adult-onset asthma compared to women who reported fewer depressive symptoms.The study, which currently appears online in the journal Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, was led by Patricia Coogan, DSc, senior epidemiologist at SEC and research professor of epidemiology at the Boston University School of Public Health.

In hereditary Parkinson's disease, quality control of mitochondria acts as a defense

Date: Jan-22-2014
Scientists from the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital in Canada have discovered that two genes linked to hereditary Parkinson's disease are involved in the early-stage quality control of mitochondria. The protective mechanism, which is reported in The EMBO Journal, removes damaged proteins that arise from oxidative stress from mitochondria.

Multiple sclerosis patients experience decreased life expectancy

Date: Jan-22-2014
The first large scale study in the U.S. on the mortality of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) has been published and provides new information about the life expectancy of people with the disease. The study appears in the journal Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders.David Kaufman, ScD, of the Slone Epidemiology Center at Boston University, is the lead author.

Bacteria contaminates hospital water taps, may threaten patient safety

Date: Jan-22-2014
New research finds significantly higher levels of infectious pathogens in water from faucet taps with aerators compared to water from deeper in the plumbing system. Contaminated water poses an increased risk for infection in immunocompromised patients. The study was published in the February issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America."Aerators are a reservoir for drug-resistant bacteria and a source of infection for patients at risk," said Maria Luisa Cristina, PhD, a lead author of the study.

Portable magnetic stimulation device 'effective' against migraines

Date: Jan-22-2014
According to The Migraine Trust, there are approximately 190,000 migraine attacks in the UK every day. Now, a new device that sends magnetic impulses to the brain could help combat the condition, and has been recommended as a treatment by the UK's National Institute for Health Care and Excellence.Migraine is defined as a severe recurrent headache that is often accompanied by sensitivity to light and nausea.There are two types of the condition - migraine with aura and migraine without aura.