Health News

Want a good night's sleep? Quit smoking

Date: Jan-06-2014
As if cancer, heart disease and other diseases were not enough motivation to make quitting smoking your New Year's resolution, here's another wake-up call: New research published in the January 2014 issue of The FASEB Journal suggests that smoking disrupts the circadian clock function in both the lungs and the brain. Translation: Smoking ruins productive sleep, leading to cognitive dysfunction, mood disorders, depression and anxiety."This study has found a common pathway whereby cigarette smoke impacts both pulmonary and neurophysiological function.

Researchers report technique that enables patient with 'word blindness' to read again

Date: Jan-06-2014
In the journal Neurology, researchers report a novel technique that enables a patient with "word blindness" to read again.Word blindness is a rare neurological condition. (The medical term is "alexia without agraphia.") Although a patient can write and understand the spoken word, the patient is unable to read.The article is written by Jason Cuomo, Murray Flaster, MD, PhD and Jose Biller, MD, of Loyola University Medical Center.Here's how the technique works: When shown a word, the patient looks at the first letter. Although she clearly sees it, she cannot recognize it.

Ovarian cancer: combination therapy using decitabine 'effective'

Date: Jan-06-2014
Women with recurrent ovarian cancer showed clinical benefit when treated with a drug called decitabine before undergoing chemotherapy and a cancer vaccine. This is according to a new study published in the journal Cancer Immunology Research.The research team, led by Dr. Kunle Odunsi of the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, NY, say their findings suggest that this combination of "chemoimmunotherapy" could give patients with ovarian cancer a new treatment option for the disease.The investigators say their main focus in the study was on a tumor antigen called NY-ESO-1.

Feeding pets raw meat diets 'may cause severe illness'

Date: Jan-06-2014
When it comes to our pets, we want to feed them the best. Some dog and cat owners believe raw meat, rather than commercial pet food, is healthiest for their animals. But a new study published in the Journal of American Veterinary Medicine suggests this may not be the case.The study's research team, led by Dr. Lisa Freeman of the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University in Massachusetts, notes that many animal enthusiasts claim raw meat-based diets (RMBDs) are a more natural diet for cats and dogs.

New lung cancer screening guidelines approved for older smokers

Date: Jan-06-2014
Guidelines recommending annual low-dose CT lung cancer screening for older smokers have been approved by the US Preventive Services Task Force. The recommendations apply to individuals aged between 55 and 80 who are at high risk for lung cancer as a result of heavy smoking.The guidelines are published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.According to the American Cancer Society, approximately 228,190 new cases of lung cancer will have been diagnosed during 2013, with 159,480 deaths from the disease. This accounts for around 27% of all cancer deaths.

Survival rates similar for gunshot/stabbing victims whether brought to the hospital by police or EMS

Date: Jan-06-2014
A new study from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania has found no significant difference in adjusted overall survival rates between gunshot and stabbing (so-called penetrating trauma injuries) victims in Philadelphia whether they were transported to the emergency department by the police department or the emergency medical services (EMS) division of the fire department.

Study finds patients give 'broad endorsement' to stem cell research

Date: Jan-06-2014
In an early indication of lay opinions on research with induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), which are stem cells made from skin or other tissues, a new study by bioethicists at Johns Hopkins University indicates that despite some ethical concerns, patients give the research "broad endorsement".During focus group discussions patients were largely in favor of participating in iPSC research even if personal benefit was unlikely, though they raised concerns about consent, privacy and transparency when considering donating tissue for this research.

More evidence suggests type 2 diabetes is an inflammatory disease

Date: Jan-06-2014
As people's waistlines increase, so does the incidence of type 2 diabetes. Now scientists have a better understanding of exactly what happens in the body that leads up to type 2 diabetes, and what likely causes some of the complications related to the disease. Specifically, scientists from Denmark have found that in mice, macrophages, a specific type of immune cell, invade the diabetic pancreatic tissue during the early stages of the disease.

Residual activity 'hot spots' in the brain key for vision recovery in stroke patients

Date: Jan-06-2014
Scientists know that vision restoration training (VRT) can help patients who have lost part of their vision due to glaucoma, optic nerve damage, or stroke regain some of their lost visual functions, but they do not understand what factors determine how much visual recovery is achieved.

New cell mechanism discovery key to stopping breast cancer metastasis

Date: Jan-06-2014
Researchers from Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah discovered a cellular mechanism that drives the spread of breast cancer to other parts of the body (metastasis), as well as a therapy which blocks that mechanism. The research results were published online in the journal Cell Reports on January 2."Genetic mutations do not drive this mechanism," said Alana Welm, PhD, senior author of the study, associate professor in the Department of Oncological Sciences, and an investigator at Huntsman Cancer Institute.