Health News

New ways to repair wounds and reduce impact of aging on the skin

Date: Dec-13-2013
Scientists at King's College London have, for the first time, identified the unique properties of two different types of cells, known as fibroblasts, in the skin - one required for hair growth and the other responsible for repairing skin wounds. The research could pave the way for treatments aimed at repairing injured skin and reducing the impact of ageing on skin function.Fibroblasts are a type of cell found in the connective tissue of the body's organs, where they produce proteins such as collagen. It is widely believed that all fibroblasts are the same cell type.

Important role may be played by tumor-suppressing genes in obesity, diabetes, heart disease and cancer

Date: Dec-13-2013
The function of two tumor-suppressing genes could play a vital role in helping to control obesity and other diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer, according to researchers in Temple University's Sbarro Institute for Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine.The researchers published their findings, "Silencing of RB1 and RB2/p130 during adipogenesis of bone marrow stromal cells results in dysregulated differentiation," in the Feb. 1, 2014, issue (online Nov. 25) of the journal Cell Cycle.

Researcher on corporal punishment makes definitive case against spanking

Date: Dec-13-2013
A new book by Murray Straus, founder and co-director of the Family Research Lab and professor emeritus of sociology at the University of New Hampshire, brings together more than four decades of research that makes the definitive case against spanking, including how it slows cognitive development and increases antisocial and criminal behavior."The Primordial Violence" (Routledge, 2013) shows that the reasons parents hit those they love includes a lot more than just correcting misbehavior. It provides evidence on the effect spanking has on children, and what can be done to end it.

Optimal framework for heartbeats

Date: Dec-13-2013
The heart maintains a careful balancing act; too soft and it won't pump blood, but too hard and it will overtax itself and stop entirely. There is an optimal amount of strain that a beating heart can generate and still beat at its usual rate, once per second.In a study published in the journal Current Biology, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have shown that this "sweet spot" depends on the stiffness of the collagen framework that the heart's cells live within.

Reservoirs of staph can lurk deep within the nose

Date: Dec-13-2013
Scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine have revealed that formerly overlooked sites deep inside the nose may be reservoirs for Staphylococcus aureus, a major bacterial cause of disease.The results of the study were published in Cell Host & Microbe.The Stanford investigators further found an inverse relationship between the presence of S. aureus at these sites and that of a different bacterial species, Corynebacterium pseudodiphtheriticum, suggesting that the two organisms compete with each other and that C.

Genetic signature identifies patients with more aggressive triple-negative cancers

Date: Dec-13-2013
A new test has the potential to help physicians identify patients with the most lethal forms of triple-negative breast cancer, a disease which requires aggressive and innovative treatment.The test, described in the journal PLOS ONE, was able to distinguish between patients with a good or poor prognosis, even within groups of patients already stratified by existing tests such as MammaPrint and Oncotype, as well as to extend its predictions to patients with more advanced or difficult-to-treat cancers.

Experimental compound dramatically reduces joint inflammation

Date: Dec-13-2013
An experimental compound synthesized and developed by scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) has the capacity to significantly reduce joint inflammation in animal models of rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disease that affects more than two million Americans.The study was published recently online ahead of print by the journal Arthritis & Rheumatism.The study showed the compound, known as SR2211, blocked development of virtually all symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis in mice within the first eight to ten days of treatment.

6-million-euro European study to combat bowel cancer

Date: Dec-13-2013
Queen's University has announced it is to lead a €6 million European study to find new treatments for bowel cancer.The research, which involves 13 partners in eight different European countries, will look at two major genetic factors which make bowel cancer difficult to treat.Bowel cancer, also known as colorectal cancer, is the second major cause of cancer mortality. It is the third most common cause of cancer in Europe, with over 200,000 deaths per year.

New way found to predict prognosis for heart failure patients

Date: Dec-13-2013
Johns Hopkins researchers have identified a new way to predict which heart failure patients are likely to see their condition get worse and which ones have a better prognosis. Their study is one of the first to show that energy metabolism within the heart, measured using a noninvasive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) test, is a significant predictor of clinical outcomes, independent of a patient's symptoms or the strength of the heart's ability to pump blood, known as the ejection fraction.

Risk for Alzheimer's disease doubled by rare gene variants

Date: Dec-13-2013
A team led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has identified variations in a gene that doubles a person's risk of developing Alzheimer's disease later in life.The research is published online in the journal Nature.Over the past two decades, scientists have discovered a number of common genetic variants linked to early-onset (which strikes before age 65) and the more common late-onset forms of Alzheimer's disease. But those variants account for only a fraction of Alzheimer's cases.