Health News

Many older Americans rely on people, devices, other strategies to get by

Date: Dec-25-2013
Only about a third of Americans ages 65 and older are fully able to take care of themselves and go about their daily lives completely independently, according to a new study published online in the American Journal of Public Health.Understanding that there are different ways older adults adapt to disability is a big step in developing public health policies that maximize the quality-of-life for all older Americans, said the study's lead author, Vicki Freedman, a research professor at the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research (ISR).

Studying evolution on the molecular level

Date: Dec-25-2013
The theory of evolution suggests that present-day organisms evolved from earlier life forms.At the molecular level, evolution reshaped some of the enzymes that help complete chemical processes - such as converting food into energy - in humans and all other life forms.Now a University of Iowa researcher and his colleagues describe the evolution of various forms of the enzyme "dihydrofolate reductase" as it occurred from bacteria to humans. Their paper, "Preservation of Protein Dynamics in Dihydrofolate Reductase Evolution," appears in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

Study shows pressure to conform to gender roles is stronger in all-girls schools

Date: Dec-25-2013
Newspaper headlines worldwide tout the benefits of single-sex schools: Girls 75% more likely to take math if they go to a single-sex private school, will boys learn better if girls aren't allowed? Single-sex education is best for girls in stereotypically male subjects...But new research from Concordia University shows not everyone benefits from single-sex education - especially not those who don't conform to gender norms.

Discovery of immune avoidance mechanism could lead to treatments for deadly mosquito-borne viruses

Date: Dec-25-2013
A mosquito-borne virus that kills about half of the people it infects uses a never-before-documented mechanism to "hijack" one of the cellular regulatory systems of its hosts to suppress immunity, according to University of Pittsburgh Center for Vaccine Research scientists. The discovery, which will be published in the journal Nature and is funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), could aid in the development of vaccines and treatments for eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV), a rare but deadly disease that is found primarily in the Atlantic and Gulf States.

Targeting micro RNA to halt atherosclerosis

Date: Dec-25-2013
Researchers at Emory and Georgia Tech have developed a potential treatment for atherosclerosis that targets a master controller of the process.The results are publishedin the journal Nature Communications.In a twist, the master controller comes from a source that scientists had thought was leftover garbage. It is a micro RNA molecule, which comes from an unused template that remains after punching out ribosomes - workhorse protein factories found in all cells.The treatment works by stopping the inflammatory effects of disturbed blood flow on cells that line blood vessels.

Risk of heart disease, diabetes in middle-aged women reduced by modest weight loss

Date: Dec-25-2013
Modest weight loss over 2 years in overweight or obese, middle-aged women may reduce risk factors for heart disease and diabetes, according to new research published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.In a study of 417 women participating in weight loss programs for up to 24 months, those who sustained a 10 percent or more loss of their body weight for two years reduced their total cholesterol, LDL "bad" cholesterol, HDL "good" cholesterol, triglycerides, insulin, glucose and inflammation markers.

In older postmenopausal women, heart disease linked with dementia

Date: Dec-25-2013
Heart disease may put older postmenopausal women at higher risk for decreased brain function such as dementia, according to new research in Journal of the American Heart Association."Our study provides further new evidence that this relationship (between heart disease and dementia) does exist, especially among postmenopausal women," said study author Bernhard Haring, M.D., M.P.H., clinical fellow in the Comprehensive Heart Failure Center and the Department of Internal Medicine I at the University of Würzburg in Germany.

Breast cancer drugs: real and fake acupuncture 'relieves side effects'

Date: Dec-25-2013
Anticancer drugs are known to cause an array of side effects for cancer patients. But new research suggests that both real and "sham" acupuncture treatments could help mitigate the side effects of these drugs for breast cancer patients. This is according to a study published in the journal Cancer.Researchers from the University of Maryland Greenebaum Cancer Center in Baltimore, MD, led by Dr. Ting Bao, say their findings may help doctors improve the care of their cancer patients.

'We bring gifts of gold, myrrh, and ovarian cancer treatment'

Date: Dec-25-2013
When you hear the word "frankincense," no doubt you think of the biblical three wise men who presented gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to the newly born baby Jesus. But what you may be less familiar with is the medicinal properties of frankincense. Now, new research suggests it may help in the treatment of ovarian cancer.Frankincense is an aromatic plant resin that comes from a tree called Boswellia sacra, found in Africa and Arabia.

3D Technology helps stroke victims' rehab

Date: Dec-25-2013
Sometimes, simple solutions to problems turn up in unlikely places. Researchers from Sweden are drawing inspiration from the movie industry to improve rehabilitation for stroke patients. Motion capture technology, used by filmmakers to convert people's movements into computer animations, has been enlisted to analyze the everyday movements of stroke patients and help them achieve more from their rehab. Researchers from the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, claim the 3D animations provide a new level of detail about stroke victims' mobility.