Health News

Staying ahead of Huntington's disease

Date: Dec-15-2013
Huntington's disease is a devastating, incurable disorder that results from the death of certain neurons in the brain. Its symptoms show as progressive changes in behavior and movements.The neurodegenerative disease is caused by a defect in the huntingtin gene (Htt) that causes an abnormal expansion in a part of DNA, called a CAG codon or triplet that codes for the amino acid glutamine. A healthy version of the Htt gene has between 20 and 23 CAG triplets.

Using novel method, study resolves 50-year 'chlamydial anomaly'

Date: Dec-15-2013
Researchers studying Chlamydia trachomatis bacteria, which cause the sexually transmitted infection chlamydia as well as infectious blindness, have confirmed that the bacteria contain - and, in fact, cannot function without - the common molecule peptidoglycan, a structural component found in the cell wall of many bacteria. This finding puts an end to years of uncertainty about whether Chlamydia bacteria, like almost all bacterial species, rely on peptidoglycan to reproduce and to maintain their shape and structure.

New insight into fish allergies

Date: Dec-15-2013
Food allergies are evidently much more specific than previously assumed. More precise tests may allow allergy sufferers more freedom of food choice in the future. This is the result of studies carried out by the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), the University of Leipzig and the Haukeland University Hospital in Bergen. The researchers examined patients with a Nile perch allergy. Being allergic to Nile perch does not mean also being allergic to cod.

Vaginal birth without epidural anesthesia and being accompanied during labour results in happier mothers

Date: Dec-15-2013
An article published in the journal Nutrición Hospitalaria (Hospital Nutrition) reveals that the attitude of healthcare personnel, along with starting early breast-feeding, are another two factors that help in increasing the mothers' level of satisfactionThe research was carried out by scientists from the University of Granada Nursing Dept.

What are the benefits of cod liver oil?

Date: Dec-15-2013
Cod liver oil, as the name suggests, is the essential oil extracted from the livers of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua).The oil is commonly taken as a dietary supplement. It is one of the best sources of omega 3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA) and contains relatively high amounts of vitamin A and vitamin D.The exact concentration of nutrients in cod liver oil depends on the species of Gadus family the oil comes from.1The medical use of cod liver goes back centuries.

FDA-approved lung cancer medication shrinks chordoma in mice

Date: Dec-15-2013
Johns Hopkins researchers say that a drug approved to treat lung cancer substantially shrank tumors in mice that were caused by a rare form of bone cancer called chordoma.Reporting in the journal PLOS ONE, the researchers say the finding offers hope to chordoma patients, who have no treatment options once surgery and radiation have been exhausted. There are no U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved medications for the disease and, because its incidence is only one in 1 million, there is little financial incentive for pharmaceutical companies to develop or test drugs to treat them.

Study shows maternal health program in India failing to deliver

Date: Dec-14-2013
A prominent program that claims to reduce infant and maternal deaths in rural India by encouraging mothers to deliver in private hospitals has been unsuccessful, despite the investment of more than $25 million since 2005, a new Duke University study finds.The Chiranjeevi Yojana program in Gujarat, a state in northwestern India, received the Wall Street Journal Asian Innovation Award in 2006 and has been hailed by some as a model for wide adoption throughout India.

After placing carotid stent, surgeons suggest skipping the balloon

Date: Dec-14-2013
Johns Hopkins surgeons say skipping one commonly taken step during a routine procedure to insert a wire mesh stent into a partially blocked carotid artery appears to prevent patients from developing dangerously low blood pressure, an extremely slow heart rate or even a stroke or heart attack.Reporting on results of a small study described online in the Journal of Vascular Surgery, the surgeons say inflating a balloon inside the artery after placing the stent greatly increases patients' risk of serious complications.

Faulty receptor in the brain 'muddles memories'

Date: Dec-14-2013
Scientists have discovered that by deactivating a major switch in the brain that is linked to learning and memory, memories become jumbled, like "hitting random notes on a keyboard," and lose their sense of association. This is according to a study published in the journal PLOS One.Researchers from the Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Regents University say they have "begun to crack the neural code" with their research, as it has allowed them to determine how thoughts and memories are created in real time.

Improved cooling cap for chemotherapy hair loss 'more effective'

Date: Dec-14-2013
Patients who undergo chemotherapy experience many side effects, but hair loss can be one of the most emotionally distressing. Now, a couple from the Netherlands have created what they say is an "improved" cooling cap that may prevent patients undergoing cancer treatment from losing their hair.Chemotherapy is a method used to treat patients with various types of cancer. The treatment involves the use of anti-cancer (cytotoxic) drugs in an attempt to kill cancer cells.