Health News

Many parents use complementary medicine to treat children with autism, developmental delay

Date: Jan-14-2014
In a study of the range of treatments being employed for young children with autism and other developmental delays, UC Davis MIND Institute researchers have found that families often use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) treatments and that the most frequent users of both conventional and complementary approaches are those with higher levels of parental education and income.

Therapy improves urinary incontinence, defecatory dysfunction and pelvic pain in women

Date: Jan-14-2014
One in three women suffer from pelvic floor dysfunction (PFD), a range of symptoms which include bladder and bowel problems as well as pelvic pain, according to the American Urogynecologic Society. Now, University of Missouri researchers have demonstrated that a comprehensive, nonsurgical treatment significantly improves symptoms in women with PFD.

Many viewers of 'Teen Mom' and '16 and Pregnant' have unrealistic views of teen pregnancy

Date: Jan-14-2014
The creator of MTV's "16 and Pregnant" and "Teen Mom" said the shows have been called "one of the best public service campaigns to prevent teen pregnancy." A new Indiana University research study finds the opposite to be true.The paper accepted for publication in the journal Mass Communication and Society presents findings that such teen mom shows actually lead heavy viewers to believe that teen mothers have an enviable quality of life, a high income and involved fathers.Teens who perceived reality television as realistic were most likely to hold these perceptions.

Researchers view competition, cooperation among motors in live cells

Date: Jan-14-2014
Rice University researchers have engineered cells to characterize how sensitively altering the cooperative functions of motor proteins can regulate the transport of organelles.The study, by the Rice lab of bioengineer and chemist Michael Diehl, compared the collective behaviors of kinesin-1 and myosinVa in living cells to determine how these motor proteins cooperate as they move vesicles and organelles along intracellular highways formed from cytoskeletal filaments.

Patients with back pain saved from X-ray radiation exposure by innovative motion evaluation tool

Date: Jan-14-2014
Those have undergone extensive back surgery and need repeated X-rays to monitor their progress may soon have access to a new technology that skips the X-rays and repeated radiation exposure, opting instead for an innovative, noninvasive, non-X-ray device that evaluates spinal movement. The technology was created and patented by two engineering undergraduate students who recently formed their own company to market the device.

Preventing therapy resistance in tumor cells

Date: Jan-14-2014
A new study led by University of Kentucky researchers suggests that activating the tumor suppressor p53 in normal cells causes them to secrete Par-4, another potent tumor suppressor protein that induces cell death in cancer cells. This finding may help researchers decipher how to inhibit the growth of tumors that have become resistant to other treatments. Loss of the tumor suppressor p53 often contributes to therapy resistance in tumors.

The human microbiome and its role in health, obesity

Date: Jan-14-2014
The human microbiome, the collection of trillions of microbes living in and on the human body, is not random, and scientists believe that it plays a role in many basic life processes. As science continues to explore and better understand the role of the human microbiome. A new report from the American Academy of Microbiology addresses some of the most common questions about this growing area of research.

The structure revealed of master regulator and new drug target for autism, cervical cancer

Date: Jan-14-2014
A team of scientists at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans has discovered the structure of the active form of E6-associated protein (E6AP), an enzyme that acts as a master regulator in the body. They report, for the first time, that the active form of E6AP is composed of three distinct protein molecules.

Discovery may aid vaccine design for common form of malaria

Date: Jan-14-2014
A form of malaria common in India, Southeast Asia and South America attacks human red blood cells by clamping down on the cells with a pair of proteins, new research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has revealed.The study provides details that will help scientists design better vaccines and drug treatments for the strain, Plasmodium vivax."More people live at risk of infection by this strain of malaria than any other," said senior author Niraj Tolia, PhD, assistant professor of molecular microbiology and of biochemistry and molecular biophysics.

Avoiding amputation by Injecting stem cells into peripheral nerves

Date: Jan-14-2014
Using skin-derived stem cells (SDSCs) and a previously developed collagen tube designed to successfully bridge gaps in injured nerves in rat models, the research team in Milan, Italy that established and tested the procedure has successfully rescued peripheral nerves in the upper arms of a patient suffering peripheral nerve damage who would have otherwise had to undergo amputations.The study will be published in a future issue of Cell Transplantation but is currently freely available on-line as an unedited early e-pub.