Health News

Marijuana treatments for autoimmune disorders

Date: Nov-28-2013
Researchers from the University of South Carolina say that tetrahydrocannabinol, the principal constituent of marijuana, may have another medical use - treating those with autoimmune disorders.Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is known to have analgesic effects so can be used to treat pain. It also aids relaxation and can reduce feelings of nausea and stimulate appetite, making it useful for those undergoing chemotherapy.Now, a new study, published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, explores how microRNAs are influenced by THC.

Minimally invasive surgical techniques increasing for pediatric kidney patients

Date: Nov-28-2013
More children, like adults, are undergoing minimally invasive surgery for diseased kidneys, with most of the procedures being performed at teaching hospitals to treat non-cancerous conditions.Those conclusions were reached in a unique study by researchers at Henry Ford Hospital who set out to fill a knowledge gap about the use of nephrectomy - the surgical removal of a diseased kidney - in the U.S. pediatric population.

Lighting up in a new way in Cleveland - little cigar use increasing

Date: Nov-28-2013
A new data brief released by the Prevention Research Center for Healthy Neighborhoods at Case Western Reserve University (PRCHN) shows that more than one-in-five African-American young adults in Cleveland, ages 18 to 29, routinely uses little cigars.Additional findings detailed in the PRCHN data brief include: Little cigar use in Cleveland is 7.1 percent overall, but it is highest among black/African-American young adults age 18-29, where as many as one in five (22.0 percent) uses little cigars.

What are the health benefits of popular foods?

Date: Nov-28-2013
Though the field of medicine continues to advance and branch out in so many ways, nutritionists and health experts continue to praise the benefits of certain foods. In fact, eating healthfully has been shown to reduce the risk of obesity, cardiovascular illnesses and even certain types of cancer.1 However, understanding which foods to eat for specific benefits can sometimes be difficult, which is why Medical News Today previously supplied a list of the top 10 healthy foods.

Statin use significantly impacted by drug interactions

Date: Nov-28-2013
A new study has found that many people who stopped taking cholesterol-lowering statin drugs were also taking an average of three other drugs that interfered with the normal metabolism of the statins.The other drugs can contribute to a common side effect of taking statins - muscle pain - and often led people to discontinue use of a medication that could otherwise help save their lives, researchers learned.

Problems in clock genes contribute to neurodegeneration

Date: Nov-28-2013
A new discovery may help explain the surprisingly strong connections between sleep problems and neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's disease. Sleep loss increases the risk of Alzheimer's disease, and disrupted sleeping patterns are among the first signs of this devastating disorder.Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the University of Pennsylvania have shown that brain cell damage similar to that seen in Alzheimer's disease and other disorders results when a gene that controls the sleep-wake cycle and other bodily rhythms is disabled.

Compounds created that boost antibiotics' effectiveness

Date: Nov-28-2013
Inhibitor compounds developed by UC Irvine structural biologists and Northwestern University chemists have been shown to bolster the ability of antibiotics to treat deadly bacterial diseases such as MRSA and anthrax.The discovery by UC Irvine's Thomas Poulos and Northwestern's Richard Silverman builds on previous work in which they created compounds that inhibit an enzyme called neuronal nitric oxide synthase. These have demonstrated the potential to treat neurodegenerative diseases by blocking overproduction of cell-killing nitric oxide within neurons.

EMRs provide systematic method to discover new disease association

Date: Nov-28-2013
Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers and co-authors from four other U.S. institutions from the Electronic Medical Records and Genomics (eMERGE) Network are repurposing genetic data and electronic medical records to perform the first large-scale phenome-wide association study (PheWAS), released in Nature Biotechnology.Traditional genetic studies start with one phenotype and look at one or many genotypes, PheWAS does the inverse by looking at many diseases for one genetic variant or genotype.

Vascular changes in the neck may play role in Alzheimer's disease

Date: Nov-28-2013
Studies on Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia have long focused on what's happening inside the brain. Now an international research team studying Alzheimer's and mild cognitive impairment is reporting potentially significant findings on a vascular abnormality outside the brain.The finding has potential implications for a better understanding of Alzheimer's and other neurological disorders associated with aging.

When symptoms become strengths in autism

Date: Nov-28-2013
A novel approach to treating children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder could help them navigate their world by teaching them to turn their symptoms into strengths.In the article "Symptoms as Solutions: Hypnosis and Biofeedback for Autonomic Regulation in Autism Spectrum Disorders," published in the winter edition of the American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, Dr.