Health News

Access to pediatric kidney transplantation in the US may depend on where the child lives

Date: Jan-20-2014
A new study has revealed large geographic variation in waiting times for children across the United States in need of kidney transplants, with differences due mainly to local supply and demand. The findings, which will appear in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN), suggest that broader geographic sharing of kidneys for children should be considered.Kidneys are distributed to transplant recipients first locally within nearby geographic areas, then regionally and nationally based on a pre-defined allocation system.

Vitamin D may prevent cognitive impairment in Parkinson's patients

Date: Jan-20-2014
Vitamin D is known to benefit our health by regulating the amount of calcium and phosphate in the body - which helps keep our bones and teeth healthy. But new research suggests that for people with Parkinson's disease, the vitamin may help prevent or delay the onset of cognitive impairment and depressive symptoms.According to the Parkinson's Disease Foundation, around 60% of patients with Parkinson's disease suffer from depression, and the research team, including Dr. Amie L.

Vitamin B3, fiber 'protects against colon cancer and inflammation'

Date: Jan-20-2014
Previous research has suggested that a diet rich in fiber may reduce the risk of colon inflammation and cancer. But new research suggests that niacin, also known as vitamin B3, may also help protect against these conditions.The research team, including co-author Dr.

Health care services for prison population improved by Medicaid expansion

Date: Jan-20-2014
As Medicaid eligibility expands under the Affordable Care Act, prison systems are increasingly supporting prisoners' enrollment in Medicaid as a way to help lower prison system costs and improve prisoners' access to health care upon release. These are the findings of a nationwide survey of state prison administrators that was led by Josiah D. Rich, M.D., M.P.H., director of the Center for Prisoner Health and Human Rights, based at The Miriam Hospital. The study is published online in advance of print in the American Journal of Public Health.

2 proteins discovered that control chandelier cell architecture

Date: Jan-20-2014
Chandelier cells are neurons that use their unique shape to act like master circuit breakers in the brain's cerebral cortex. These cells have dozens, often hundreds, of branching axonal projections - output channels from the cell body of the neuron - that lend the full structure of a chandelier-like appearance. Each of those projections extends to a nearby excitatory neuron. The unique structure allows just one inhibitory chandelier cell to block or modify the output of literally hundreds of other cells at one time.

Study explores the role DNA plays to predispose individuals to diseases

Date: Jan-20-2014
A group of international researchers, led by a research fellow in the Harvard Medical School-affiliated Institute for Aging Research at Hebrew SeniorLife, published a paper in Cell describing a study aimed at better understanding how inherited genetic differences, or variants, predispose certain individuals to develop diseases such as type 2 diabetes. The study integrated computational methodology with experimentation to address and prove underlying genetic causes of type 2 diabetes.

An injured heart may be healed by immune cells

Date: Jan-20-2014
The immune system plays an important role in the heart's response to injury. But until recently, confusing data made it difficult to distinguish the immune factors that encourage the heart to heal following a heart attack, for example, from those that lead to further damage.Now, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have shown that two major pools of immune cells are at work in the heart. Both belong to a class of cells known as macrophages.

New sentinel for human health risks - sludge

Date: Jan-20-2014
Thousands of chemicals serving a variety of human needs flood into sewage treatment plants once their use life has ended. Many belong to a class of chemicals known as CECs (for chemicals of emerging concern), which may pose risks to both human and environmental health. Arjun Venkatesan, a recent doctorate and Rolf Halden, professor and director of the Center for Environmental Security at Arizona State University's Biodesign Institute, have carried out meticulous tracking of many of these chemicals.

Improved prosthetics, robotics likely with silver nanowire sensors

Date: Jan-20-2014
North Carolina State University researchers have used silver nanowires to develop wearable, multifunctional sensors that could be used in biomedical, military or athletic applications, including new prosthetics, robotic systems and flexible touch panels. The sensors can measure strain, pressure, human touch and bioelectronic signals such as electrocardiograms."The technology is based on either physical deformation or "fringing" electric field changes.

How the architecture of the brain shapes its functioning has implications for Alzheimer's, schizophrenia

Date: Jan-20-2014
The structure of the human brain is complex, reminiscent of a circuit diagram with countless connections. But what role does this architecture play in the functioning of the brain? To answer this question, researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin, in cooperation with colleagues at the Free University of Berlin and University Hospital Freiburg, have for the first time analysed 1.6 billion connections within the brain simultaneously.