Health News

Study reveals major role of RNA polymerase and other enzymes in DNA repair

Date: Jan-12-2014
Our health depends in large part upon the ability of specialized enzymes to find and repair the constant barrage of DNA damage brought on by ultraviolet light radiation and other sources. In a new study NYU School of Medicine researchers reveal how an enzyme called RNA polymerase patrols the genome for DNA damage and helps recruit partners to repair it. The result: fewer mutations and consequently less cancer and other kinds of disease.

Nut intake linked to lower risk of obesity

Date: Jan-12-2014
A new study, published in the online journal PLOS ONE, looks at the association between tree nuts (almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamias, pecans, pine nuts, pistachios and walnuts), metabolic syndrome (MetS) and obesity in a population with a wide range of nut intake ranging from never to daily.Researchers at Loma Linda University studied 803 Seventh-day Adventist adults using a validated food frequency questionnaire and assessed both tree nut and peanut intake together and separately.

Rare genetic mutation confirmed as a cause of Tourette Syndrome

Date: Jan-12-2014
Brain researchers say they have confirmed for the first time that a rare genetic mutation can cause some cases of Tourette syndrome, with the fault disrupting production of histamine in the brain.The New Haven, CT, researchers at the Yale School of Medicine say the histamine effect "is a cause of the tics and other abnormalities of Tourette syndrome." Tics are repetitive movements and vocal sounds, and they are unwanted and involuntary - they cannot be controlled.

Fighting tough infections with marine bacteria

Date: Jan-12-2014
Aggressive infections are a growing health problem all over the world. The development of resistant bacteria is rampant and, in the United States, resistant staphylococci cause more deaths than AIDS on an annual basis. Researchers from the University of Copenhagen are studying a new form of treatment based on marine bacteria. The results have been published in PLOS ONE.

A glimpse into the health of the most extreme marathon runners

Date: Jan-12-2014
For some runners, a marathon is not enough.Participation in so-called ultramarathons - defined as any distance beyond the standard 26.2-mile marathon - has grown exponentially in recent years. The number of runners who finished ultra-length races in North America increased from 15,500 in 1998 to 63,530 in 2012, according to UltraRunning Magazine. Despite its popularity, however, little is known about the health effects of this intense form of exercise.

Information may be as important as medication in reducing migraine pain

Date: Jan-12-2014
The information that clinicians provide to patients when prescribing treatments has long been thought to play a role in the way that patients respond to drug therapies. Now an innovative study of migraine headache confirms that a patient's expectations - positive, negative or neutral - influence the effects of both a medication and a placebo.

High fiber diet may protect against asthma

Date: Jan-12-2014
In the past 50 years, as fruits and vegetables have featured less and less in the Western diet, rates of allergic asthma have gone up. Now a new study suggests these trends are not coincidental, but causally linked.Funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), and led by Benjamin Marsland, an assistant professor at Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) in Switzerland, researchers report their work in a recent online issue of Nature Medicine.

Type 2 diabetes is an inflammatory disease, say researchers

Date: Jan-12-2014
New research from Denmark adds further weight to the idea that type 2 diabetes is an inflammatory disease.The recently published study describes how in mice, during the very early stages of type 2 diabetes, immune cells called macrophages invade pancreatic tissue, releasing large quantities of cytokines - pro-inflammatory proteins - that help destroy insulin-producing beta cells.More than 360 million people around the world have type 2 diabetes, including around 8% of Americans.

New obesity treatment possible with novel protein discovery

Date: Jan-11-2014
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than one-third of US adults are now obese. But new research published in the Journal of Neuroscience details how a protein in the brain regulates food intake and body weight - opening new doors for the treatment of obesity.The research team, led by Maribel Rios, associate professor of the department of neuroscience at Tufts University School of Medicine, say their findings may also help explain why some drugs, such as gabapentin and pregabalin, can cause people to gain weight.

Radiation from cardiology procedures equals more than 50 chest X-rays per person each year

Date: Jan-11-2014
Cardiologists are being urged to reduce patient radiation exposure in a European Society of Cardiology (ESC) position paper which outlines doses and risks of common cardiology examinations for the first time. The paper is publishe in the European Heart Journal.Lead author, Dr Eugenio Picano, FESC, said: "Cardiologists today, are the true contemporary radiologists. Cardiology accounts for 40% of patient radiology exposure and equals more than 50 chest X-rays per person per year.