Health News

Misfolded proteins are capable of forming tree-like aggregates in Alzheimer's disease

Date: Nov-30-2013
A method by Rice University researchers to model the way proteins fold - and sometimes misfold - has revealed branching behavior that may have implications for Alzheimer's and other aggregation diseases.Results from the research appear online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.In an earlier study of the muscle protein titin, Rice chemist Peter Wolynes and his colleagues analyzed the likelihood of misfolding in proteins, in which domains - discrete sections of a protein with independent folding characteristics - become entangled with like sequences on nearby chains.

New method found to increase survival in sepsis

Date: Nov-30-2013
Sepsis, the body's response to severe infections, kills more people than breast cancer, prostate cancer and HIV/AIDS combined. On average, 30 percent of those diagnosed with sepsis die.A new study conducted by Jamey Marth, director of UC Santa Barbara's Center for Nanomedicine and professor of the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, reports a new method to increase survival in sepsis. The results appear in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Limited resources available for injured surgeons

Date: Nov-30-2013
Nearly half of orthopaedic surgeons sustain at least one injury during their career and, in many cases, the resources available to them are inadequate, according to a Vanderbilt study in The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery.The study is the first to demonstrate that many surgeons are injured on the job during their careers, according to lead author Manish Sethi, M.D., assistant professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation.

Supplements 'beneficial' for vitamin D-deficient ballet dancers

Date: Nov-30-2013
It is widely known that a lack of sunlight can sometimes cause a deficiency in vitamin D. But how does a lack of this vitamin affect athletes who train indoors, especially during the winter months? To find out, researchers in the UK studied vitamin D-deficient ballet dancers and observed whether supplementation helped.The study, published in the Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, was conducted through a collaboration between researchers at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital (RNOH), the University of Wolverhampton and dancers at the Birmingham Royal Ballet.

Measuring the value and impact of orthopaedic care

Date: Nov-30-2013
Healthcare expenditures currently account for 18% of the United States Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Some experts have suggested that an emphasis on value may be an effective strategy to evaluate healthcare costs. In a recent article published in the inaugural issue of JBJS Reviews, authors Benedict U. Nwachukwu, MD, MBA; Kamran S. Hamid, MD, MPH; and Kevin J.

New route to smoking addiction for adolescents: electronic cigarettes

Date: Nov-30-2013
E-cigarettes have been widely promoted as a way for people to quit smoking conventional cigarettes. Now, in the first study of its kind, UC San Francisco researchers are reporting that, at the point in time they studied, youth using e-cigarettes were more likely to be trying to quit, but also were less likely to have stopped smoking and were smoking more, not less."We are witnessing the beginning of a new phase of the nicotine epidemic and a new route to nicotine addiction for kids," according to senior author Stanton A.

How probiotics could affect hay fever

Date: Nov-30-2013
A study has shown that a daily probiotic drink changed how cells lining the nasal passages of hay fever sufferers reacted to a single out-of-season challenge. However, it did not lead to significant changes in hay fever symptoms, although this challenge test may not have accurately represented natural allergen exposure.Our immune system must distinguish between "friends" that can be beneficial to our health and "foes" that can have harmful effects. There is now a growing body of evidence that the gut microbiota, the trillions of bacteria that live in our gut, influences that recognition.

Progression towards Alzheimer's disease indicated by an abnormal resting-state functional brain network

Date: Nov-30-2013
Although we know that mild cognitive impairment is a transitional stage between normal aging and Alzheimer's disease, changes in brain networks during this transformation have yet to be studied. Dr. Jie Xiang and colleagues from Taiyuan University of Technology, China constructed brain networks using resting-state functional MRI data that were extracted from four populations (normal controls, patients with early mild cognitive impairment, patients with late mild cognitive impairment, and patients with Alzheimer's disease) using the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative data set.

Drivers dangerously overtake cyclists 'regardless of reflective clothing'

Date: Nov-30-2013
According to the US Department of Transportation, 677 cyclists were killed in motor vehicle accidents in 2011, while 48,000 were injured. Cyclists have long been told to wear high-visibility clothing on the road so that passing vehicles can see them. But a new study suggests that regardless of clothing, drivers continue to pass dangerously close when overtaking cyclists.

Repeated exposure to negative events may neutralize them

Date: Nov-30-2013
If it seems as if you are surrounded by bad news, so much so that you cannot bring yourself to finish reading the paper, take heart. Apparently, reading to the end of the article may actually enable you to release yourself from the negative thought cycle and to continue your day with more upbeat spirits.Researchers from the Tel Aviv University claim that repeated exposure to a negative event may prevent it from affecting you. A bad mood has more knock-on effects than simply causing distress. It can slow reaction time and affect speech, writing and counting.