Health News

Illicit drug residues in Swedish sewage water

Date: Dec-24-2013
Chemists at Umea University have been able to trace narcotics substances and prescription drugs in measurements of wastewater from 33 Swedish sewage treatment plants. Cocaine, amphetamine, and methamphetamine, in measurable concentrations, were found in a total of half of the locations.When a person consumes a drug it is excreted through the digestive system, either unchanged or as metabolites through the body and ends up in the wastewater. Through taking a sample of water in treatment plants and measuring the levels of drugs can provide a snapshot of the drug usage in a particular city.

Students with a disability more likely to be restrained, secluded in school

Date: Dec-24-2013
The restraint and seclusion of students in U.S. public schools in response to student behavior problems are used much more frequently on students with a disability than on students without a disability, and especially in affluent school districts, according to new research at the Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire.Restraint is a practice that uses physical or mechanical means to restrict a student's freedom of motion. Seclusion is a practice that usually involves the involuntary isolation of a student for a period of several minutes.

Neurexin2 identified as a novel target for potential therapy of neurodegeneration in Spinal Muscular Atrophy patients

Date: Dec-24-2013
A recent study led by scientists from the National University of Singapore (NUS) opens a possible new route for treatment of Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), a devastating disease that is the most common genetic cause of infant death and also affects young adults. As there is currently no known cure for SMA, the new discovery gives a strong boost to the fight against SMA.SMA is caused by deficiencies in the Survival Motor Neuron (SMN) gene. This gene controls the activity of various target genes.

Nutritionally unhealthy foods in ads for kids

Date: Dec-24-2013
The nutritional value of food and drinks advertised on children's television programs is worse than food shown in ads during general air time, according to University of Illinois at Chicago researchers.The study is published in the December issue of the journal Childhood Obesity.Using Nielsen TV ratings data from 2009, UIC researchers examined children's exposure to food and beverage ads seen on all - both adult and children's - programming.

Task Force recommends BRCA mutation screening for high-risk women

Date: Dec-23-2013
According to a new guideline being published in Annals of Internal Medicine, the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends that primary care providers screen asymptomatic women with a family history of breast, ovarian, tubal, or peritoneal cancers to determine if that family history may be associated with an increased risk for potentially harmful mutations in breast cancer susceptibility genes BRCA1 or BRCA2. Women who screen positive should have genetic counseling and, if indicated after counseling, BRCA testing.

Unprecedented but justified. Princeton meningitis outbreak calls for "compassionate use" of unlicensed vaccine

Date: Dec-23-2013
In the wake of Princeton University's meningitis outbreak, healthy individuals on campus who are at risk for infection will be offered voluntary immunization with Bexsero (Novartis), a vaccine that has not been approved for use in the United States. Since March 22, 2013, health officials have confirmed eight cases of Neisseria meningitides serogroup B (MenB) meningitis among students and visitors at Princeton University. Bexsero is the only vaccine in production that protects against MenB.

The American College of Physicians explains how Medicaid expansion will help the poor

Date: Dec-23-2013
The American College of Physicians (ACP) explains how Medicaid expansion will benefit poor citizens and their physicians in an article being published early online in Annals of Internal Medicine. The authors write that under the provisions of the Affordable Care Act-mandated Medicaid expansion, patients who have historically been denied Medicaid coverage will now have access to a healthcare plan equivalent to a benchmark plan chosen by the state. The Medicaid plan will be required to cover 10 essential benefit categories, including regular health screenings.

Flu and cold top the 2013 chart of medical search terms

Date: Dec-23-2013
The top 10 trending health issues of 2013 have been released by Google, and top of the list of searches are flu and cold, with labor coming in at third place.The results are found in the year-end zeitgeist, the search giant's annual "spirit of the times" analysis. The appearance of the term labor as a highly popular search in the health issues list comes as "royal baby" made it to seventh place in the total Google search activity across 2013, a chart topped by "Nelson Mandela.

Drug combo defeats tumor defenses in pancreatic cancer

Date: Dec-23-2013
A UK team has discovered how to undermine a protective wall that pancreatic cancer tumors maintain around themselves, thus enabling the body's own immune cells - which they boosted with an antibody - to enter and attack cancer cells.In initial tests carried out at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute, based at the University of Cambridge, the combined treatment almost completely eliminated cancer cells in 1 week.Study leader Prof.

A tomato-rich diet may reduce breast cancer risk, study shows

Date: Dec-23-2013
It has long been known that postmenopausal women are at a higher risk of developing breast cancer. But now, new research suggests that adopting a diet rich in tomatoes may reduce this risk. This is according to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.According to the National Cancer Institute, women in the US have a 12.4% risk of developing breast cancer at some point in their lives. This risk increases with age, with women over the age of 50 having a 1 in 42 chance of developing the disease.