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Week 06 news
10 Reasons Why We Don't Need GM
Foods
With the cost of food recently skyrocketing - hitting not just shoppers but the poor and
hungry in the developing world - genetically modified (GM) foods are once again being
promoted as the way to feed the world. But this is little short of a confidence trick. Far
from needing more GM foods, there are urgent reasons why we need to ban them altogether.
3 rivers now biologically dead
Experts at the Department of Environment have classified three rivers in the capital as
"biologically dead."
A documentary on obesity, brought
to you by Big Pharma
The New York Times weighed in as well, running a story that included an interview with
Creative Coalition's executive director, Robin Bronk. All parties deny that Glaxo has any
intention of using the film as a marketing tool for its weight loss drug.
A gimmick-free weight-loss pill in
the works
A Universite de Montreal research team is developing a pill composed of leptin, the
protein that tells our brain to stop eating. "Mice deprived of leptin will not stop
eating. They become so big they have trouble moving around," says Moise Bendayan, a
pathology professor at the Universite de Montreal Faculty of Medicine who has studied the
leptin protein extensively (see also University of Montreal).
A molecule that destroys normal
metabolism is found
Overeating in mice triggers a molecule once considered to be only involved in detecting
and fighting viruses to also destroy normal metabolism, leading to insulin resistance and
setting the stage for diabetes, according to the results of a new study led by researchers
at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH). The research specifically links the immune
system and metabolism, a pairing increasingly suspected in diseases that include — in
addition to diabetes — heart disease, fatty liver, cancer, and stroke. Understanding
how to regulate the molecule through targeted drugs or nutrients could eventually change
the way these diseases are prevented and treated in humans.
A potent suppressor of endometrial
cancer is revealed
Endometrial cancer is the most common cancer of the female reproductive tract,
representing 6% of all cancers. There is currently no screening method or biomarker to
indicate early presence of disease. "It is a very common malignancy that affects
women of all ages" comments paper author Dr. Diego Castrillon. The cancer forms from
the cells that grow along the inner lining of the uterus, which is called the endometrium,
and usually it is diagnosed following patient reports of abnormal bleeding. The normal
endometrium is a dynamic place, providing a thick, highly vascularized environment ready
to generate a placenta if it is implanted with an embryo. The dynamic and cyclic activity
of the endometrium makes it very sensitive to signaling molecules. Early changes in a
number of signaling proteins are known to contribute to endometrial cancer in some
patients. A major research goal is to understand how signals create cancer cells and to
identify places where intervention might shut down the signals that promote cancer cell
survival and growth. Researchers learn about cancer by creating genetic changes to
signaling proteins in mice that reflect changes found in human cancer patients. Animal
models are produced in this way to help understand how cancer cells form and progress. One
challenge is to localize genetic changes to the environment of interest. In the case of
endometrial cancer, researchers need to specifically modify only those cells that are in
the endometrium, so that their data is not complicated by changes in other tissues.
A Warning on Mixing Herbs and
Medicine
Researchers are warning that popular herbs and supplements, including St. John’s wort
and even garlic and ginger, do not mix well with common heart drugs and can also be
dangerous for patients taking statins, blood thinners and blood pressure medications.
Acupuncture found effective against
depression during pregnancy
In a study to be presented today at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's (SMFM)
annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting ™, in Chicago, researchers will unveil findings
that show that acupuncture may be an effective treatment for depression during pregnancy.
"Depression during pregnancy is an issue of concern because it has negative effects
on both the mother and the baby as well as the rest of the family," said Dr. Schnyer,
one of the study's authors. About 10% of pregnant women meet criteria for major depression
and almost 20% have increased symptoms of depression during pregnancy. The rates of
depression in pregnant women are comparable to rates seen among similarly aged
non-pregnant women and among women during the postpartum period, but there are far fewer
treatment studies of depression during pregnancy than during the postpartum period.
Dealing with depression is difficult for pregnant women because the use of
anti-depressants poses concerns to the developing fetus and women are reluctant to take
medications during pregnancy.
Alcohol, Energy Drinks Add Up to
Higher Intoxication Levels, Increased Driving Risk
Energy drinks, favored among young people for the beverages’ caffeine jolt, also play
a lead role in several popular alcoholic drinks, such as Red Bull and vodka. But combining
alcohol and energy drinks may create a dangerous mix, according to University of Florida
research. In a study of college-aged adults exiting bars, patrons who consumed energy
drinks mixed with alcohol had a threefold increased risk of leaving a bar highly
intoxicated and were four times more likely to intend to drive after drinking than bar
patrons who drank alcohol only.
All humans are 'aliens from outer
space', scientist claims
Humans are all aliens who came to earth from outer space, a leading British scientist has
claimed.
Alternative futures of a warming
world
An international team of climate scientists will take a new approach to modeling the
Earth's climate future, according to a paper in 11 February Nature. The next set of models
will include, for the first time, tightly linked analyses of greenhouse gas emissions,
projections of the Earth's climate, impacts of climate change, and human decision-making.
This approach will influence the next international scientific assessment undertaken by
the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). It will provide the framework for
thousands of individual scientific studies on climate impacts and adaptation, climate
modeling, and changes in the way societies generate and use energy. "This is an
open-ended approach that enables us to compare the environmental and socio-economic
effects of different potential responses to climate change," said lead author Richard
Moss, a scientist with the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
who performs climate change impacts research at the Joint Global Change Research Institute
in College Park, Md. Moss has been a long-time contributor to the IPCC, previously
directed the office of the US Global Change Research Program, and served as vice president
for climate programs at the World Wildlife Fund. "This comparative evaluation is
extremely important to determine the technical, policy and economic requirements for
reaching whatever society decides is a safe level of climate change. We hope to provide
decision-makers with better tools to help people deal with a shifting climate," he
said.
Ancient remains put teeth into
Barker hypothesis
Ancient human teeth are telling secrets that may relate to modern-day health: Some
stressful events that occurred early in development are linked to shorter life spans.
"Prehistoric remains are providing strong, physical evidence that people who acquired
tooth enamel defects while in the womb or early childhood tended to die earlier, even if
they survived to adulthood," says Emory University anthropologist George Armelagos.
Armelagos led a systematic review of defects in teeth enamel and early mortality recently
published in Evolutionary Anthropology. The paper is the first summary of prehistoric
evidence for the Barker hypothesis – the idea that many adult diseases originate
during fetal development and early childhood. "Teeth are like a snapshot into the
past," Armelagos says. "Since the chronology of enamel development is well
known, it's possible to determine the age at which a physiological disruption occurred.
The evidence is there, and it's indisputable." The Barker hypothesis is named after
epidemiologist David Barker, who during the 1980s began studying links between early
infant health and later adult health. The theory, also known as the Developmental Origins
of Health and Disease Hypothesis (DOHaD), has expanded into wide acceptance.
Andrew Wakefield, Scientific
Censorship, and Fourteen Monkey
When it comes to vaccines, Jenny McCarthy and Jim Carrey get it. They see how the pharma
industry is engineering a campaign to silence Dr. Andrew Wakefield in order to suppress
the publication of startling new evidence linking vaccines to severe neurological damage.
Antibodies from Plants May Help
Fight Disease
The first head-to-head comparison of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies produced from
plants versus the same antibodies produced from mammalian cells has shown that
plant-produced antibodies can fight infection equally well. Scientists from Washington
University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Arizona State University conducted the
comparison as a test of the potential for treating disease in developing nations with the
significantly less expensive plant-based production technique. The results are reported
online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Are bees also addicted to caffeine
and nicotine?
Bees prefer nectar with small amounts of nicotine and caffeine over nectar that does not
comprise these substances at all, a study from the University of Haifa reveals. “This
could be an evolutionary development intended, as in humans, to make the bee
addicted,” states Prof. Ido Izhaki, one of the researchers who conducted the study.
Are birth defects caused by IVF?
SCIENTISTS are to begin taking blood from IVF teenagers to find out if they are more
likely to be suffering genetic disorders than other children.
Artificial pancreas tested in kids
with diabetes
Children and teens with Type 1 diabetes were able to better control their blood sugar
using an automated system that measures glucose levels in real time than with a
conventional insulin pump, researchers found.
Association Discovered Between
Eczema in Early Childhood and Psychological Problems in Children at Age 10 Years
Eczema in early childhood may influence behavior and mental health later in life. This is
a key finding of a prospective birth cohort study to which scientists of Helmholtz Zentrum
München contributed. In cooperation with colleagues of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität
(LMU), Technische Universität München (TUM) and Marien-Hospital in Wesel, North
Rhine-Westphalia this study followed 5,991 children who were born between 1995 and 1998.
The study has been published in the current issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical
Immunology 125 (2010); 404-410.
Association of Perfluorooctanoic
Acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS) with Uric Acid
Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA; used in products such as Teflon and Gore-Tex) and
perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS; formerly used in Scotchgard) are environmentally
persistent synthetic compounds that have been widely detected in human blood samples.
Steenland et al. (p. 229) evaluated serum PFOA and PFOS in relation to serum levels of
uric acid, a by-product of nucleic acid metabolism that has been positively associated
with hypertension, kidney disease, and other adverse health outcomes. Higher serum levels
of PFOA were associated with a higher prevalence of hyperuricemia, but the limitations of
cross-sectional data and the possibility of noncausal mechanisms prohibit conclusions
regarding causality.
Attention-deficit hyperactivity
disorder link to genius
Attention-deficit disorders may be the spark behind creative geniuses such as Byron,
Picasso and even Kurt Cobain, claims a psychiatrist.
Attractive Women, Especially
Blondes, Anger More Easily
Attractive women may gain the competitive edge by letting their temper flare more,
research suggests.
Bad malaria pills in Africa raise
resistance fears
The most effective type of malaria-fighting drugs sold in three African countries are
often of poor quality, raising fears of increased drug resistance that could wipe out the
last weapon left to battle a disease that kills one million people each year, according to
a U.S. report released Monday.
Barley Protein Concentrate Could
Replace Fishmeal in Aquaculture Feeds
Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists and Montana Microbial Products (MMP) of
Butte, Mont., have developed a barley protein concentrate that could be fed to trout and
other commercially produced fish. Physiologist Rick Barrows at the ARS Small Grains and
Potato Germplasm Research Unit in Aberdeen, Idaho, teamed with MMP to apply for a patent
on a new enzymatic method that concentrates barley protein and produces raw material for
another valuable commodity--ethanol. This process provides a high-protein ingredient that
may replace other, more expensive protein sources like fishmeal and soy protein
concentrate in commercial fish feed.
Big Changes for the Psychiatrist's
'Bible'
Substantial changes are in the offing for the "psychiatrist's bible," the
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, according to a draft of the
forthcoming fifth edition.
Blacks with MS Have More Severe
Symptoms, Decline Faster than Whites, New Study Shows
Fewer African Americans than Caucasians develop multiple sclerosis (MS), statistics show,
but their disease progresses more rapidly, and they don't respond as well to therapies, a
new study by neurology researchers at the University at Buffalo has found. Magnetic
resonance images (MRI) of a cohort of 567 consecutive MS patients showed that blacks with
MS had more damage to brain tissue and had less normal white and gray matter compared to
whites with the disease.
Blocking cell movement for cancer,
MS treatment
University of Adelaide researchers in Australia are finding new ways to block the movement
of cells in the body which can cause autoimmune diseases and the spread of cancer. Led by
Professor of Immunology Shaun McColl, the researchers have identified molecular
"receptors" on the surface of cells which are involved in helping cells migrate
to sites where they can cause disease. "A number of diseases like cancer and
autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis and arthritis, involve the inappropriate
migration of cells," says Professor McColl. "Our research shows that these
receptors which help the cells migrate can be blocked pharmacologically, preventing the
cell migration which causes the disease."
Blueberries counteract intestinal
diseases
It is already known that blueberries are rich in antioxidants and vitamins. New research
from the Lund University Faculty of Engineering in Sweden shows that blueberry fibre are
important and can alleviate and protect against intestinal inflammations, such as
ulcerative colitis. The protective effect is even better if the blueberries are eaten
together with probiotics. The project originated as an attempt to see whether various
types of dietary fibre and health-promoting bacteria, so-called probiotic bacteria such as
lactobacillus and bifidobacteria, can help alleviate and prevent the risk of ulcerative
colitis and colorectal cancer. “But new knowledge of this field is also of interest
to those who don’t believe they run the risk of developing any intestinal diseases.
In recent years the research world has been realizing that our health is governed to a
great extent by what happens in our large intestine,” explain Camilla Bränning, a
PhD in Applied Nutrition and Åsa Håkansson, a doctoral candidate in Food Hygiene at the
Division of Applied Nutrition and Food Chemistry.
Bowel disease link to blood clots
People living with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) are known to be at high risk of blood
clots when admitted to hospital during a flare-up of their disease but now new research by
scientists at The University of Nottingham has shown that those who are not admitted to
hospital during flare-ups are also at risk. The two main types of IBD are Ulcerative
Colitis and Crohn’s Disease which affect about one in every 250 people in the UK. The
research published today in the medical journal, The Lancet, could eventually mean new
advice for GPs and patients on how to reduce the risk of developing this dangerous
side-effect of bowel disease. IBD has been known to predispose sufferers to blood clots
(thromboembolism) for some time. Clots in the leg veins have a mortality rate of six per
cent, rising to as much as 20 per cent if the embolism is in the lungs. Previous research
has suggested that most patients who develop thromboembolism do so when their IBD is
‘active’, i.e. has flared up and they are three times more likely to have a
blood clot than non-sufferers. This has led to the use of anti-clotting drugs as standard
care for patients with active IBD who are admitted to hospital.
BPA affects male rat fertility for
generations
New research suggests that exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) during gestation and lactation
lowers male fertility in adulthood and that the effect may persist for at least three
generations. The rat study tested relatively low levels of BPA chosen to fall within the
range of human exposures. This study is the first to indicate that BPA might have
transgenerational effects on male reproductive health. Numerous prior studies using
laboratory animals have found that exposure to BPA during development can compromise
female fertility.
Brazilian Farmers Declare War on
Monsanto
Growers in [the Brazilian State of] Mato Grosso have declared war against Monsanto, the
multinational corporate owner of the GMO soya technology known as RR (Roundup Ready).
After exhausting all attempts to engage the company in dialogue, the growers are now
considering legal action. In Cuiaba, Aprosoja (the Association of Soya and Corn Producers
Association of the State of Mato Grosso) is preparing a lawsuit. In Sinop (500km North of
Cuiaba) the growers are looking to sue the company as well.
Breakthrough by Danish Scientists
in Preventing Maternal Malaria
Researchers at the University of Copenhagen have become the first in the world to
synthesize the entire protein that is responsible for life-threatening malaria in pregnant
women and their unborn children. The protein known as VAR2CSA enables malaria parasites to
accumulate in the placenta and can therefore potentially be used as the main component in
a vaccine to trigger antibodies that protect pregnant women against malaria. The research
team is now planning to test the efficacy of the protein-based vaccine on humans. The hope
is that within 10 years all African girls could be vaccinated against maternal malaria,
thereby preventing more than 200,000 deaths a year.
Butter leads to lower blood fats
than olive oil
High blood fat levels normally raise the cholesterol values in the blood, which in turn
elevates the risk of atherosclerosis and heart attack. Now a new study from Lund
University in Sweden shows that butter leads to considerably less elevation of blood fats
after a meal compared with olive oil and a new type of canola and flaxseed oil. The
difference was clear above all in men, whereas in women it was more marginal. The main
explanation for the relatively low increase of blood fat levels with butter is that about
20 percent of the fat in butter consists of short and medium-length fatty acids. These are
used directly as energy and therefore never affect the blood fat level to any great
extent. Health care uses these fatty acids with patients who have difficulty taking up
nutrition – in other words, they are good fatty acids. “A further explanation,
which we are speculating about, is that intestinal cells prefer to store butter fat rather
than long-chain fatty acids from vegetable oils. However, butter leads to a slightly
higher content of free fatty acids in the blood, which is a burden on the body,”
explains Julia Svensson, a doctoral candidate in Biotechnology and Nutrition at Lund
University. The greater difference in men is due to, among other things, hormones, the
size of fat stores, and fundamental differences in metabolism between men and women, which
was previously known. This situation complicates the testing of women, since they need to
be tested during the same period in the menstruation cycle each time in order to yield
reliable results.
Cadmium found in adult jewelry
New testing has found high levels of cadmium in adult necklaces and bracelets bought at
three leading retailers, including Saks Fifth Avenue, says a California environmental
group.
Cadmium, Environmental Exposure,
and Health Outcomes
Population data raise concerns about the validity of the current safe intake level that
uses the kidney as the sole target in assessing the health risk from ingested cadmium. The
data also question the validity of incorporating the default 5% absorption rate in the
threshold-type risk assessment model, known as the provisional tolerable weekly intake
(PTWI), to derive a safe intake level for cadmium.
Can Memory Be Improved? A
Meta-Analysis Suggests It Does
A meta-analysis published in the current issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics by
Swiss investigators B. Metternich and associates indicates the effectiveness of non
pharmacological interventions on memory complaints. Subjective memory complaints (SMC) in
the absence of psychiatric or neurological disorders are common among older adults.
Although increasing numbers of individuals are suffering from SMC, research into
interventions alleviating SMC is sparse. The present systematic review was conducted in
order to present a clearer picture of the quality, quantity and outcomes of SMC
intervention research. PubMed and PsychInfo were searched with a comprehensive search
string delivering 4,496 hits.
Canada government seeks to avoid
tobacco liability
The Canadian government asked the Supreme Court this week to overturn British Columbia
court rulings that could force it to share financial responsibility for damages caused by
tobacco use.
Cancer and Pesticides - the Legal
Floodgates Have Opened
Paul François says he is lucky to be alive. In April 2004, he went to clean out what he
thought was the empty tank in his agricultural spraying machine. When he opened the cap,
noxious fumes of some remaining pesticides escaped. He was not wearing a mask and
therefore breathed in a lungful. Immediately admitted to hospital, he fell into a coma.
Cat owners 'more educated than dog
owners'
Cats have long been thought to be cleverer than dogs - and now it seems the same is true
of their owners.
Cell Phones are the Cigarettes of
the 21st Century
In an 8-minute presentation, Dr. Magda Havas, Associate Professor at Trent University in
Canada, and an expert in electromagnetic fields of many kinds, examines some of the
harmful effects associated with cell phones, and how similar they are to cigarettes in
many ways.
Cell-phone bans while driving have
more impact in dense, urban areas
A new study analyzing the impact of hand-held cell phone legislation on driving safety
concludes that usage-ban laws had more of an impact in densely populated urban areas with
a higher number of licensed drivers than in rural areas where there are fewer licensed
drivers, according to a University of Illinois researcher.
Cells can read damaged DNA without
missing a beat
Scientists have shown that cells' DNA-reading machinery can skim through certain kinds of
damaged DNA without skipping any letters in the genetic "text." The studies,
performed in bacteria, suggest a new mechanism that can allow bacteria to develop
resistance to antibiotics. The results were published online this week in the Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences. The senior author is Paul Doetsch, PhD, professor of
biochemistry and radiation oncology at Emory University School of Medicine and associate
director for basic research at Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University. Working with
Doetsch, graduate student Cheryl Clauson examined the ability of RNA polymerase (the
enzyme that transcribes, or makes RNA from DNA) to handle damaged DNA templates. RNA
polymerase reads one strand of the double helix and assembles RNA that is complementary to
that strand. In test tube experiments, when the enzyme comes to a gap or a blank space, it
keeps reading but leaves out letters across from the damaged stretch. In contrast, in
cells, RNA polymerase puts a random letter (preferring A) across from the gap. "We
were surprised to find that the transcription machinery rolls right over the damaged
portion," Doetsch says. "This shows that if the cell initiates, but doesn't
complete repair, it still can lead to mutagenesis."
Chevron Says Conflict Taints Amazon
Pollution Report
Chevron Corp. said a report proposing that the company pay $27 billion for alleged
environmental damage in Ecuador should be thrown out because the court- appointed author
owns a cleanup company and didn’t disclose his conflict of interest.
Childhood obesity - It's not the
amount of TV, it's the number of junk food commercials
The association between television viewing and childhood obesity is directly related to
children's exposure to commercials that advertise unhealthy foods, according to a new UCLA
School of Public Health study published in the American Journal of Public Health. The
study, conducted by Frederick J. Zimmerman and Janice F. Bell, is the first to break down
the types of television children watch to better determine whether different kinds of
content may exert different effects on obesity. The researchers gathered data from primary
caregivers of 3,563 children, ranging from infants to 12-year-olds, in 1997. Through
time-use diaries, study respondents reported their children's activities, including
television viewing, throughout the course of an entire weekday and an entire weekend day.
Caregivers were also asked to report the format-— television programs, DVDs or
videos-— and the names of the programs watched. This data was used to classify
television viewing into either educational or entertainment programming and to determine
whether or not it contained advertising or product placement. A follow-up was conducted in
2002.
China imposes media ban over new
milk scandal
Chinese officials have banned independent reporting on the latest toxic food scandal
involving melamine, a chemical blamed for the deaths of six babies in 2008, a press
watchdog said Thursday.
China Report Shows More Pollution
in Waterways
China’s government on Tuesday unveiled its most detailed survey ever of the pollution
plaguing the country, revealing that water pollution in 2007 was more than twice as severe
as was shown in official figures that had long omitted agricultural waste.
China threatens world health by
unleashing waves of superbugs
China's reckless use of antibiotics in the health system and agricultural production is
unleashing an explosion of drug resistant superbugs that endanger global health, according
to leading scientists.
Chinese farms cause more pollution
than factories, says official survey
Groundbreaking government survey pinpoints fertilisers and pesticides as greater source of
water contamination.
Chocoholic mice fear no pain
Ever get a buzz from eating chocolate? A study published in the open access journal BMC
Neuroscience has shown that chocolate-craving mice are ready to tolerate electric shocks
to get their fix. Rossella Ventura worked with a team of researchers from the Santa Lucia
Foundation, Rome, Italy, to study the links between stress and compulsive food-seeking.
She said, “We used a new model of compulsive behavior to test whether a previous
stressful experience of hunger might override a conditioned response to avoid a certain
kind of food – in this case, chocolate”. Ventura and her colleagues first
trained well-fed mice and starved mice to seek chocolate in one chamber rather than going
into an empty chamber. Then, they added a mild electric shock to the chamber containing
the chocolate. Unsurprisingly, the well-fed animals avoided the sweet treat. However, mice
that had previously been starved, before being allowed to eat their way back up their
normal weight, resisted this conditioning – continuing to seek out chocolate despite
the painful consequences. This is an index of compulsive behavior and the researchers
claim that this matches compulsive food seeking in the face of negative consequences in
humans.
Climate change debate overheated
after sceptic grasped 'hockey stick'
Steve McIntyre pursued graph's creator Michael Mann, but replication of his temperature
spike has earned him credibility.
Climate change will make world more
'fragrant'
As CO2 levels increase and the world warms, land use, precipitation and the availability
of water will also change. In response to all these disruptions, plants will emit greater
levels of fragrant chemicals called biogenic volatile organic compounds.
Cocaine or ecstasy consumption
during adolescence increases risk of addiction
Exposure to ecstasy or cocaine during adolescence increases the "reinforcing
effects" that make people vulnerable to developing an addiction. This is the main
conclusion of a research team from the University of Valencia (UV), which has shown for
the first time how these changes persist into adulthood. "Although MDMA and cocaine
are psychoactive substances frequently used by teenagers, very few studies have been done
to analyse the short and long-term consequences of joint exposure to these drugs",
José Miñarro, lead author of the study and coordinator of the Psychobiology of Drug
Addiction group at the UV, tells SINC. The study, published in the journal Addiction
Biology, shows for the first time that exposure to these drugs during adolescence leads to
long-lasting changes that increase the reinforcing power of ecstasy or MDMA, and which
last until adulthood.
Coconut Water = The Next Big Thing?
It comes from a coconut and it just might be the new sports drink of the decade. Zico is
one brand of coconut water that’s already making a splash in the United States.
Commercial Fishing Endangers
Dolphin Populations
Extensive commercial fishing endangers dolphin populations in the Mediterranean. This has
been shown in a new study carried out at the University of Haifa's Department of Maritime
Civilizations. "Unfortunately, we turn our backs to the sea and do not give much
consideration to our marine neighbors," states researcher Dr. Aviad Scheinin. The
study, which was supervised by Prof. Ehud Spanier and Dr. Dan Kerem, examined the
competition between the two top predators along the Mediterranean coast of Israel: the
Common Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) and bottom trawlers. (Trawling is the
principal type of commercial fishing in Israel and involves dragging a large fishing net
through the water, close to the sea floor, from the back of a boat.) These two predators
off the coast of Israel trap similar types of fish near the sea floor, so the researchers
decided to examine the nature of the competition between the two.
Communication breakdown - what
happens to nerve cells in Parkinson’s disease
A new study from The Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital – The Neuro - at
McGill University is the first to discover a molecular link between Parkinson’s
disease and defects in the ability of nerve cells to communicate. The study, published in
the prestigious journal Molecular Cell and selected as Editor’s Choice in the
prominent journal Science, provides new insight into the mechanisms underlying
Parkinson’s disease, and could lead to innovative new therapeutic strategies.
Parkinson’s, a neurodegenerative disease affecting approximately 100,000 Canadians
and over 4 million people worldwide, a number expected to double by the year 2030, causes
muscle stiffness and tremor and prevents people from controlling their movements in a
normal manner. The disease is characterized by the degeneration and death of dopamine
neurons in specific regions of the brain, causing neurological impairment. It is not known
exactly what causes the death of these neurons. Mutations in the parkin gene are
responsible for a common inherited form of Parkinson’s disease. By studying defects
in the genes and proteins of patients with inherited forms of Parkinson’s, principal
author of the study at The Neuro, Dr. Edward Fon, is learning about the molecular
mechanisms involved in the death of dopamine neurons.
Compound created at OSU could
become important new antidepressant
Chemists at Oregon State University have discovered and synthesized a new compound that in
laboratory and animal tests appears to be similar to, but may have advantages over one of
the most important antidepressant medications in the world. A patent has been applied for
on the compound, and findings on it published in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry.
Continued animal studies and eventually, human clinical trials will be necessary before
the compound could be approved for human medical use, researchers say.“Based on our
results so far, this promises to be one of the most effective antidepressants yet
developed,” said James White, a professor emeritus of chemistry at OSU. “It may
have efficacy similar to some important drugs being used now, but with fewer side
effects.”
Comprehensive study using
bioinformatics predicts the molecular causes of many genetic diseases
It is widely known that genetic mutations cause disease. What are largely unknown are the
mechanisms by which these mutations wreak havoc at the molecular level, giving rise to
clinically observable symptoms in patients. Now a new study using bioinformatics, led by
scientists at the Buck Institute for Age Research, reports the ability to predict the
molecular cause of many inherited genetic diseases. These predictions involve tens of
thousands of genetic disease-causing mutations and have led to the creation of a web-based
tool available to academic researchers who study disease. The research is due to be
published online in the February 9, 2010 edition of Human Mutation. "We now have a
quantitative model of function using bioinformatic methods that can predict things like
the stability of the protein and how its stability is disrupted when a mutation
occurs," said Buck Institute faculty member Sean Mooney, PhD, who led the research
team. "Traditionally people have used a very time consuming process based on
evolutionary information about protein structure to predict molecular activity,"
Mooney said, "I think we're the first group to really quantitatively describe the
universe of molecular functions that cause human genetic disease." The research was
done in the contexts of inherited single gene diseases, complex diseases such as
cardiovascular and developmental disorders and mutations in cancerous tumors. The study
focused on amino acid substitutions (AAS), which are genetically driven changes in
proteins that can give rise to disease, and utilized a series of complex mathematical
algorithms to predict activity stemming from the mutations.
Conflict of Interest in Medical
Research, Education, and Practice
Concerns about the potentially corrupting influence of private industry on medical
research, education, and practice have been growing since the 1970s, when the U.S.
Congress passed the first anti-kickback law applying to medicine. Since then, Congress has
banned self-referrals in medicine, enacted laws that regulate the commercialization of
publicly funded biomedical research, and held hearings on conflicts of interest in
biomedicine. Government agencies have issued policies concerning disclosure of financial
interests in research, professional associations have published guidelines pertaining to
financial relationships with industry, and scientific journals have developed conflict of
interest policies.
Consumer exposure to biocides -
identification of relevant sources and evaluation of possible health effects
Numerous consumer products were found to contain biocides. However, it appeared that only
a limited number of biocidal active substances or groups of biocidal active substances
were being used. The lowest MOEs for dermal exposure or exposure by inhalation were
obtained for the following scenarios and biocides: indoor pest control using sprays,
stickers or evaporators (chlorpyrifos, dichlorvos) and spraying of disinfectants as well
as cleaning of surfaces with concentrates (hydrogen peroxide, formaldehyde,
glutardialdehyde). The risk from aggregate exposure to individual biocides via different
exposure scenarios was higher than the highest single exposure on average by a factor of
three. From the 20 biocides assessed 10 had skin-sensitizing properties. The biocides
isothiazolinone (mixture of 5 chloro-2-methyl-2H-isothiazolin-3-one and
2-methyl-2H-isothiazolin-3-one, CMI/MI), glutardialdehyde, formaldehyde and
chloroacetamide may be present in household products in concentrations which have induced
sensitization in experimental studies.
Controversy behind climate
science's 'hockey stick' graph
Pioneering graph used by IPCC to illustrate a compelling story of man-made climate change
raises questions about transparency.
Cracking the Code on Common Wrist
Injury
The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) recently approved and released an
evidence-based clinical practice guideline on the Treatment of Distal Radius Fractures. A
distal radius fracture –one of the most common fractures in the body– usually
occurs as a result of a fall. For example, a fall may cause someone to land on his or her
outstretched hands, breaking the larger of the two bones in the forearm, near the wrist.
Dangers of older allergy drugs
often underestimated and overlooked
A joint GA²LEN /EAACI report to be published in “Allergy” and available online
on 8 February reviews new data on the treatment of allergies with older antihistamines
compared with newer, second-generation H1-antihistamines. The research was funded by
GA²LEN, an EU-funded Network of Excellence. The findings suggest that first-generation
H1-antihistamines not only make patients drowsy, but also reduce rapid eye movement (REM)
sleep, impair learning, and reduce efficiency at work the next day. In addition,
first-generation H1-antihistamines have been implicated in numerous civil aviation, motor
vehicle, and boating accidents, and even deaths as a result of accidental or intentional
overdosing in infants and young children. First-generation H1-antihistamines have also
been linked to suicide cases in both teenagers and adults.
Depression and lack of
concentration do not necessarily go together
Many clinicians believe that depression goes hand in hand with cognitive difficulties such
as memory problems or difficulties concentrating and paying attention, but a recent review
of nearly 20 years of literature conducted by researchers from UT Southwestern Medical
Center has found that depression does not always lead to such impairments. "The
relationship between cognition – thinking, attention and memory – and depression
remains poorly understood from a neuroscientific standpoint," said Dr. Munro Cullum,
chief of psychology at UT Southwestern and senior author of the review appearing in the
January issue of Neuropsychology, a journal published by the American Psychological
Association. "This paper represents an important review of the literature that
challenges some of the clinical myths about the effects of depression on cognitive
functioning." Part of what contributes to the clinical lore is that difficulties in
concentrating can be a symptom of depression, and this may masquerade as other cognitive
problems such as variability in memory performance. "The presentation of depression
can vary between people," said Dr. Shawn McClintock, assistant professor of
psychiatry at UT Southwestern and lead author of the study. "Many symptoms can be
used to diagnose depression, so we tried to dissect and better understand how specific
factors in depression might contribute to cognitive difficulties." Just as a higher
fever can indicate more-severe illness, researchers wanted to determine if more-severe
depressive episodes led to a greater impairment of cognitive abilities. The reviewers
examined 35 studies published between 1991 and 2007 that investigated links between
depression severity in patients and specific impairments in their cognition. The areas of
cognition included processing speed, attention, memory, language abilities and executive
functioning.
Developmental delay in brain
provides clue to sensory hypersensitivity in autism
New research provides insight into why fragile X syndrome, the most common known cause of
autism and mental retardation, is associated with an extreme hypersensitivity to sounds,
touch, smells, and visual stimuli that causes sensory overload and results in social
withdrawal, hyperarousal, and anxiety. The study, published by Cell Press in the February
11 issue of the journal Neuron, uncovers a previously unknown developmental delay in a
critical brain circuit that processes sensory information in a mouse model of fragile X
syndrome. Fragile X syndrome is caused by a mutation that interferes with production of
fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP). FMRP has been shown to play a key role in
neuronal development and plasticity, and the loss of FMRP results in the complex and
severely debilitating symptoms associated with fragile X syndrome. "A central feature
of fragile X syndrome is an alteration in sensory processing that manifests in early
infancy and progressively worsens through childhood," explains senior study author,
Dr. Anis Contractor from the Department of Physiology at the Northwestern Feinberg School
of Medicine in Chicago. "Little is known about how disruptions in the part of the
brain that process sensory information, called the sensory cortex, contribute to these
deficits."
Diabetes drug ups risk for bone
fractures in older women
A Henry Ford Hospital study finds women with type 2 diabetes who take a commonly
prescribed class of medications to treat insulin resistance may be at a higher risk for
developing bone fractures. After taking a thiazolidinedione (TZD) for one year, women are
50 percent more likely to have a bone fracture than patients not taking TZDs, according to
study results. And those at the greatest risk for fractures from TZD use are women older
than 65. "Older women are already at a higher risk of osteoporosis and
osteoporosis-related fractures, which might explain why they appeared to be the most
affected by TZDs," says study senior author L. Keoki Williams, M.D., MPH, Center for
Health Services Research and Department of Internal Medicine at Henry Ford Hospital. The
study – one of the largest groups to examine the longitudinal relationship between
TZD use and fractures – appears in this month's issue of The Journal of Clinical
Endocrinology & Metabolism.
Dietary Protein Affects Timing of
Puberty
A new study in the Dec 30, 2009 issue of the Journal Nutrition suggests that a high intake
of animal protein may be at least one cause for early puberty.
Dopamine levels determine addictive
behavior
Individuals with higher brain levels of the gratification hormone and low sensitivity to
it are more vulnerable to addictive behaviors, drug abuse and gambling, a new study finds.
Drinking milk during pregnancy may
lower baby's risk of MS
Drinking milk during pregnancy may help reduce your baby's chances of developing multiple
sclerosis (MS) as an adult, according to a preliminary study released today that will be
presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 62nd Annual Meeting in Toronto April 10
to April 17, 2010. The study involved 35,794 nurses whose mothers completed a
questionnaire in 2001 about their experiences and diet during pregnancy with their
nurse-daughter. Of the nurses studied, 199 women developed MS over the 16-year study
period. Researchers found that the risk of MS was lower among women born to mothers with
high milk or dietary vitamin D intake in pregnancy.
Drinking Water as an Overlooked
Source of Lead
Providence, Rhode Island, and Portland, Oregon, are two cities that by all accounts have
well-run water utilities and health departments. Both have also had recurring problems
with lead in tap water, yet both—according to some critics—have downplayed the
potential importance of lead in tap water as a route of exposure. The experiences of these
cities and others across the United States illustrate the difficulty not only of
determining the causes behind specific cases of lead poisoning but also of ensuring that
lead sources are eliminated.
Early life stress may predict
cardiovascular disease
Early life stress could be a risk factor for cardiovascular disease in adulthood,
researchers report. "We think early life stress increases sensitivity to a hormone
known to increase your blood pressure and increases your cardiovascular risk in adult
life," said Dr. Jennifer Pollock, biochemist in the Vascular Biology Center at the
Medical College of Georgia and corresponding author on the study published online in
Hypertension. The studies in a proven model of chronic behavioral stress – separating
rat pups from their mother three hours daily for two weeks – showed no long-term
impact on key indicators of cardiovascular disease such as increased blood pressure, heart
rate or inflammation in blood vessel walls. But when the rats reached adulthood, an
infusion of the hormone angiotensin II resulted in rapid and dramatic increases in all key
indicators in animals that experienced early life stress. Stress activates the
renin-angiotensin system which produces angiotensin II and is a major regulator of blood
vessel growth and inflammation – both heavily implicated in heart disease. "They
cannot adapt to stress as well as a normal animal does," Dr. Pollock said. Within a
few days, for example, blood pressure was nearly twice as high in the early-stress
animals.
Estrogen-only HRT may increase risk
of asthma after menopause
Oestrogen-only hormone replacement therapy (HRT) may increase the risk of developing
asthma after the menopause, suggests a large scale study published ahead of print in the
journal Thorax. The authors base their findings on 57, 664 women, who were quizzed about
their use of HRT and development of asthma symptoms every two years between 1990 and 2002.
All the women were taking part in the French E3N study, which includes almost 100, 000
women born between 1925 and 1950, and is the French component of the European Prospective
Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). None of these women had asthma when
menopausal symptoms began.
Ethics debate over blood from
newborn safety tests
A critical safety net for babies - that heelprick of blood taken from every newborn - is
facing an ethics attack.
Even third-hand smoke carries
carcinogens
Old tobacco smoke does more than simply make a room smell stale -- it can leave
cancer-causing toxins behind, U.S. researchers reported on Monday.
Exposure to secondhand smoke among
children in England has declined since 1996
The most comprehensive study to date of secondhand smoke exposure among children in
England is published today in the journal Addiction. The study, carried out by researchers
from the University of Bath's School for Health, reveals that exposure to household
secondhand smoke among children aged 4-15 has declined steadily since 1996. The
researchers wanted to find out if there were ways to predict the levels of secondhand
smoke encountered by children in private households, and whether those levels were
changing over time. Using eight surveys conducted between 1996 and 2006, researchers took
saliva samples from over 19,000 children aged 4-15 years. The saliva samples were analyzed
for a substance called cotinine, an indicator of tobacco smoke exposure. The results show
that the average cotinine levels among non-smoking children declined by 59% from 1996 to
2006, indicating that children's exposure to secondhand smoke has decreased markedly since
the mid-nineties. The researchers point out that the largest decline was between 2005 and
2006, a time of increased public debate and public information campaigns about secondhand
smoke in the lead-up to the 2007 implementation of smoke-free legislation for public
spaces.
Family meals, adequate sleep and
limited TV may lower childhood obesity
A new national study suggests that preschool-aged children are likely to have a lower risk
for obesity if they regularly engage in one or more of three specific household routines:
eating dinner as a family, getting adequate sleep and limiting their weekday television
viewing time. In a large sample of the U.S. population, the study showed that 4-year-olds
living in homes with all three routines had an almost 40 percent lower prevalence of
obesity than did children living in homes that practiced none of these routines. Other
studies have linked obesity to the individual behaviors of excessive TV viewing, a lack of
sleep and, to a lesser extent, a low frequency of family meals. But this is the first
study to assess the combination of all three routines with obesity prevalence in a
national sample of preschoolers. The researchers suggested that adopting these three
household routines could be an attractive obesity-prevention strategy for all families
with young children, especially because these routines may benefit children's overall
development. However, they also cautioned that this study alone does not confirm whether
the routines themselves, or some other factor, protect children from obesity. The study
appears online and is scheduled for publication in the March issue of the journal
Pediatrics.
FDA probes candy-like tobacco
products
U.S. health officials are seeking more information about the possible attraction and
addiction of flavored, dissolvable tobacco products that regulators worry look too much
like candy and can entice children.
FDA Shifts Position—Now Has
Concerns about BPA Risks
In a shift of position, the U.S. FDA is expressing concerns about possible health risks
from bisphenol A, or BPA, a widely used component of plastic bottles and food packaging.
The agency declared BPA safe in 2008.
Few women take tamoxifen to prevent
breast cancer
Researchers with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) have found that the prevalence of
tamoxifen use for the prevention of breast cancer among women without a personal history
of breast cancer is very low. Tamoxifen can reduce the risk of developing breast cancer in
women who are at increased risk for developing the disease. Details of this survey are
published in the February issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a
journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. The low prevalence of tamoxifen
use may stem from various sources, which were not investigated in this study, according to
the study's coauthor Andrew N. Freedman, Ph.D., chief of the Clinical and Translational
Epidemiolgy Branch, Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, NCI. However, he
stressed that "counseling individual women about using tamoxifen to prevent breast
cancer must include a patient's discussion with her physician about the drug's risks and
benefits, as well as consideration of the patient's personal values, preferences,
lifestyle and specific medical situation."
Financial hardship contributes to
diagnosis anxiety
A new analysis has found that women with medium or low levels of income are particularly
susceptible to anxiety and depression after being diagnosed with the precancerous breast
condition, ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). Published early online in Cancer, a
peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study suggests that women with
financial hardship may benefit from psychosocial interventions that are designed to
accommodate their unique needs. While research suggests that education and financial
status, also known as socioeconomic status, can affect mental and physical health, few
studies have examined its impact on psychological adjustment following a major stressor
such as being diagnosed with a potentially serious medical condition. To investigate,
Janet de Moor, MPH, PhD, of The Ohio State University College of Public Health and
colleagues looked at whether socioeconomic status affects the development of feelings of
anxiety and depression in women after they are diagnosed with DCIS. The investigators also
explored whether social support might impact the effects of socioeconomic status on
distress in these women. During the study, 487 women with newly diagnosed DCIS completed
questions about sociodemographic, psychosocial, and clinical characteristics at the time
of enrollment and again nine months after their diagnosis. The researchers found that
financial status was inversely associated with distress at the nine month follow up point:
women with financial hardship reported higher levels of anxiety and depression than women
with no financial hardship. Financial status also predicted change in anxiety and
depression: women with medium to high levels of financial hardship reported an increase in
their feelings of anxiety and depression during the study period, while women with no
financial hardship reported a decrease in their feelings of anxiety and depression over
time. In addition, the probability of exhibiting signs of clinical depression increased
with increasing financial hardship.
First Blinded Study of Venous
Insufficiency Prevalence in MS Shows Promising Results
More than 55 percent of multiple sclerosis patients participating in the initial phase of
the first randomized clinical study to determine if persons with MS exhibit narrowing of
the extracranial veins, causing restriction of normal outflow of blood from the brain,
were found to have the abnormality.
First discovery of the female sex
hormone progesterone in a plant
In a finding that overturns conventional wisdom, scientists are reporting the first
discovery of the female sex hormone progesterone in a plant. Until now, scientists thought
that only animals could make progesterone. A steroid hormone secreted by the ovaries,
progesterone prepares the uterus for pregnancy and maintains pregnancy. A synthetic
version, progestin, is used in birth control pills and other medications. The discovery is
reported in the American Chemical Society's Journal of Natural Products, a monthly
publication. "The significance of the unequivocal identification of progesterone
cannot be overstated," the article by Guido F. Pauli and colleagues, states.
"While the biological role of progesterone has been extensively studied in mammals,
the reason for its presence in plants is less apparent." They speculate that the
hormone, like other steroid hormones, might be an ancient bioregulator that evolved
billions of years ago, before the appearance of modern plants and animals. The new
discovery may change scientific understanding of the evolution and function of
progesterone in living things. Scientists previously identified progesterone-like
substances in plants and speculated that the hormone itself could exist in plants. But
researchers had not found the actual hormone in plants until now. Pauli and colleagues
used two powerful laboratory techniques, nuclear magnetic resonance and mass spectroscopy,
to detect progesterone in leaves of the Common Walnut, or English Walnut, tree. They also
identified five new progesterone-related steroids in a plant belonging to the buttercup
family.
fMRIs reveal brain's handling of
low-priority ideas
When we put an idea on the back burner, it goes into a processing area of the brain called
the default-mode network. This network enables us to hold the low-priority idea in
abeyance until a time when we aren't busy with something else. "The default-mode
network appears to be the brain's back burner for social decision making," said Peter
T. Fox, M.D., director of the Research Imaging Institute at The University of Texas Health
Science Center at San Antonio. "Usually these back-burner ideas relate to
interpersonal interactions and decisions that can't readily be quantified and shouldn't be
rushed." Dr. Fox likened this to putting a computer batch job into background
processing to wait until the system is less busy.
Gardasil Warnings Ignored Says
Researcher
Julie Smith, researcher and founder of a NZ website set up specifically to give
information about the HPV vaccine, Gardasil, offtheradar.co.nz says concerned parents have
been contacting her wanting to know how they can help to have the vaccine withdrawn from
NZ.
Gene that improves quality of
reprogrammed stem cells identified by Singapore scientists
In the 7 Feb. 2010 issue of the journal Nature, scientists at the Genome Institute of
Singapore (GIS), report that a genetic molecule, called Tbx3, which is crucial for many
aspects of early developmental processes in mammals, significantly improves the quality of
stem cells that have been reprogrammed from differentiated cells. Stem cells reprogrammed
from differentiated cells are known as induced pluripotent stem cells or iPS cells. By
adding Tbx3 to the existing reprogramming cocktail, GIS scientists successfully produced
iPS cells that were much more efficient in recapitulating the entire developmental
process. The capability of iPS cells for germ-line transmission represents one of the most
stringent tests of their ESC-like quality. This test requires that iPS cells contribute to
the formation of germ cells that are responsible for propagating the next generation of
offspring. "This represents a significant milestone in raising the current standards
of iPS cell research. With this new knowledge, we are now able to generate iPS cells which
are, or approach, the true equivalent of ESCs," said Lim Bing, M.D., Ph.D., lead
author of the Nature paper and Senior Group Leader at GIS, one of the research institutes
of Singapore's A*STAR (Agency for Science, Technology and Research).
Georgina Downs - UK Pesticides
Campaign
People move to the countryside thinking it will be a healthy environment to bring up their
children and do not know about the dangers and risks inherent in the spraying of poisonous
chemicals on surrounding fields, until they themselves suffer adverse effects on their
health.
Glaucoma medications linked with
lower risk of death
Glaucoma patients who take medication for the condition appear to have a reduced risk of
death over a four-year period, according to a study by researchers at the University of
Michigan W.K. Kellogg Eye Center.
Globalization Is Killing The Globe
- Return to Local Economies
Globalization is killing Europe, just as it's already wiped out much of the American
middle class.
Having Sex Twice A Week Reduces
Chance of Heart Attack by Half
Men who have sex at least twice a week can almost halve their risk of heart disease,
according to new research.
Heal yourself in 15 days by
rejecting the crowd
This article continues with part seven of our 15-day "Heal Yourself" series. It
begins with the idea of observing the poor health of the mainstream crowd: Do you want to
be as diseased as they are? If so, simply do what they do!
Hebrew U. researcher creates
'boutique' fish farms for Ugandans to combat Lake Victoria's depleted fish supplies
In a unique project to combat depleted fish supplies in Lake Victoria, researchers from
the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Makerere University in Kampala, have established
'boutique' fish farms in small villages around the Lake's shore in Uganda. Local fishermen
used to fish carp and perciform fish near the shores of the lake, as food for their
families. But fifty years ago, the Nile Perch was introduced into Lake Victoria in order
to increase local fisheries. The Nile Perch is a predator and it started to eat most of
the other fish. While the Nile Perch became the primary export of the countries around the
lake - namely Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania - depleted supplies over the last ten years of
the smaller fish around the shores of the lake on which local fishermen subsisted meant
that the local population was deprived of their main source of protein. Furthermore,
fishing the larger Nile Perch was unfeasible for local fishermen as the fish resided in
the middle of Lake Victoria and larger fishing boats were required in order to fish them.
High blood pressure may predict
dementia risk
Seniors with high blood pressure may face a higher likelihood of developing a type of
dementia, a new Canadian study suggests.
High sensitivity to stress isn't
always bad for children
Children who are especially reactive to stress are more vulnerable to adversity and have
more behavior and health problems than their peers. But a new longitudinal study suggests
that highly reactive children are also more likely to do well when they're raised in
supportive environments. The study, by scientists at the University of British Columbia,
the University of California, San Francisco, and the University of California, Berkeley,
appears in the January/February 2010 issue of the journal Child Development. "Parents
and teachers may find that sensitive children, like orchids, are more challenging to raise
and care for, but they can bloom into individuals of exceptional ability and strength when
reared in a supportive, nurturing, and encouraging environment," according to Jelena
Obradovi?, an assistant professor in the School of Education at Stanford University (Dr.
Obradovi? was at the University of British Columbia when she led the study). The
researchers looked at 338 kindergarteners, as well as their teachers and families, to
determine how family adversity and biological reactivity contribute to healthy
development.
Hormone replacement tied to lower
colon cancer risk
Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can carry serious health risks, but a new study adds to
evidence that menopausal women who use the hormones may have lower odds of developing
colon cancer.
In schizophrenia and bipolar
disorder, life is not black and white
Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder affect tens of millions of individuals around the
world. These disorders have a typical onset in the early twenties and in most cases have a
chronic or recurring course. Neither disorder has an objective biological marker than can
be used to make diagnoses or to guide treatment. Findings in Biological Psychiatry,
published by Elsevier suggest that electroretinography (ERG), a specialized measure of
retinal function might be a useful biomarker of risk for these disorders, and retinal
deficits may contribute to the perceptual problems associated with schizophrenia and
bipolar disorder. Over the past several years, research has suggested that cognitive
impairments in schizophrenia might be linked to early stages of visual perception. This
work is now drawing attention to the function of the retina, the component of the eye that
detects light. Within the retina, rods are light sensors that respond to black and white,
but not to color. Rods are particularly important for maintaining vision under conditions
of low light and for detecting stimuli at the periphery of vision. Cones are light sensors
that detect color and perceive stimuli at the center of vision.
India to rule on future of
aubergine as country's first genetically modified food
A fierce row over the future of the humble aubergine, staple ingredient of fiery brinjal
curries for tens of millions of Indians, will reach a climax on Wednesday with a key
government decision on the possible future commercial cultivation of genetically-modified
strains of the plant.
Industrial cleaner linked to
increased risk of Parkinson's disease
Workers exposed to tricholorethylene (TCE), a chemical once widely used to clean metal
such as auto parts, may be at a significantly higher risk of developing Parkinson's
disease, according to a study released today that will be presented at the American
Academy of Neurology's 62nd Annual Meeting in Toronto April 10 to April 17, 2010.
"This is the first time a population-based study has confirmed case reports that
exposure to TCE may increase a person's risk of developing Parkinson's disease," said
study author Samuel Goldman, MD, with the Parkinson's Institute in Sunnyvale, California,
and a member of the American Academy of Neurology. "TCE was once a popular industrial
solvent used in dry cleaning and to clean grease off metal parts, but due to other health
concerns the chemical is no longer widely used." For the study, researchers obtained
job histories from 99 pairs of twins in which only one of the twins had Parkinson's
disease. All of the twins were men and identified from the World War II-Veterans Twins
Cohort study. Scientists used twins in the study because they are genetically identical or
very similar and provide an ideal population for evaluating environmental risk factors.
Inhibiting serotonin in gut could
cure osteoporosis
An investigational drug that inhibits serotonin synthesis in the gut, administered orally
once daily, effectively cured osteoporosis in mice and rats reports an international team
led by researchers from Columbia University Medical Center, in the Feb. 7 issue of Nature
Medicine. Serotonin in the gut has been shown in recent research to stall bone formation.
The finding could lead to new therapies that build new bone; most current drugs for
osteoporosis can only prevent the breakdown of old bone. "New therapies that inhibit
the production of serotonin in the gut have the potential to become a novel class of drugs
to be added to the therapeutic arsenal against osteoporosis," said Gerard Karsenty,
M.D., Ph.D., chair of the Department of Genetics and Development at Columbia University
College of Physicians and Surgeons, lead author of the paper. "With tens of millions
of people worldwide affected by this devastating and debilitating bone loss, there is an
urgent need for new treatments that not only stop bone loss, but also build new bone.
Using these findings, we are working hard to develop this type of treatment for human
patients."
Intense sweets taste especially
good to some kids
New research from the Monell Center reports that children's response to intense sweet
taste is related to both a family history of alcoholism and the child's own self-reports
of depression. The findings illustrate how liking for sweets differs among children based
on underlying familial and biological factors. "We know that sweet taste is rewarding
to all kids and makes them feel good," said study lead author Julie A. Mennella, PhD,
a developmental psychobiologist at Monell. "In addition, certain groups of children
may be especially attracted to intense sweetness due to their underlying biology."
Because sweet taste and alcohol activate many of the same reward circuits in the brain,
the researchers examined the sweet preferences of children with a genetic predisposition
to alcoholism. They also studied the influence of depression, hypothesizing that children
with depressive symptoms might have a greater affinity for sweets because sweets make them
feel better. In the study, published online in the journal Addiction, 300 children between
5 and 12 years of age tasted five levels of sucrose (table sugar) in water to determine
their most preferred level of sweetness. The children also were asked questions to assess
the presence of depressive symptoms, while their mothers reported information on family
alcohol use.
IQ among strongest predictors of
CVD -- second only to cigarette smoking in large population study
While lower intelligence scores - as reflected by low results on written or oral tests of
IQ - have been associated with a raised risk of cardiovascular disease, no study has so
far compared the relative strength of this association with other established risk factors
such as obesity, smoking and high blood pressure. Now, a large study funded by Britain's
Medical Research Council, which set out to gauge the relative importance of IQ alongside
other risk factors, has found that lower intelligence scores were associated with higher
rates of cardiovascular disease and total mortality at a greater level of magnitude than
found with any other risk factor except smoking.(1) The findings, published in the
February issue of the European Journal of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation,
are derived from the West of Scotland Twenty-07 Study, a population study designed to
investigate the influence of social factors on health. The present analysis was based on
data collected in 1987 in a cohort of 1145 men and women aged around 55 and followed up
for 20 years. Data were collected for height, weight, blood pressure, smoking habits,
physical activity, education and occupation; cognitive ability (IQ) was assessed using a
standard test of general intelligence. When the data were applied to a statistical model
to quantify the associations of nine risk factors with cardiovascular mortality, results
showed that the most important was cigarette smoking, followed by low IQ. Similar results
were apparent when the health outcome was total mortality.
ISU multi-center study finds little
effect of soy isoflavones on bone loss in postmenopausal women
A previous six-month study by Iowa State University researchers had indicated that
consuming modest amounts of soy protein, rich in isoflavones, lessened lumbar spine bone
loss in midlife, perimenopausal women. But now an expanded three-year study by some of
those same researchers does not show a bone-sparing effect in postmenopausal women who
ingested soy isoflavone tablets, except for a modest effect at the femoral (hip) neck
among those who took the highest dosage. The multi-center clinical trial of 224
postmenopausal women -- led by D. Lee Alekel, professor of nutrition and interim associate
director of the Nutrition and Wellness Research Center (NWRC) at Iowa State, and supported
by the National Institute of Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, one of the
research institutes of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) -- was the longest ever
conducted on the effects of soy isoflavones on bone mineral density (BMD). It compared the
effects of either ingesting daily 80-mg daily or 120-mg soy isoflavone tablets, compared
to placebo tablets on BMD and other health outcomes.
Italian doctor heightens interest
in MS cause
The Italian doctor whose unconventional thinking on the cause of multiple sclerosis is in
North America to drum up interest in testing the idea.
Keep Fish Off Drugs - Don't Flush
Your Pills
Around the country, chemists have discovered that fish in the water downstream from water
treatment plants absorb chemicals found in antidepressant drugs into their bodies.
Lactobacillus improves Helicobacter
pylori infected gastritis
Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) are considered to be the most important etiological agents
of chronic gastritis. The eradication of H. pyloridepends on the combination of
antibiotics and acid suppression drugs. Unfortunately, the side effects of antibiotics
reduce the curative effect and treatment compliance. Probiotics provides an alternative
method which can inhibit H. pylori infection efficiently without antibiotics associated
side effects. A research team from China investigated the potential anti-H. pylori and
anti-inflammation in vivo effects of two lactobacillus strains from human stomach. Their
study will be published on January 28, 2010 in the World Journal of Gastroenterology.
Their results illustrated that both lactobacillus strain Lactobacillus fermenti (L.
fermenti) and Lactobacillus acidophilus (L. acidophilus), showed significant anti-H.
pylori activity, while strain L. fermenti displayed more efficient antagonistic activity
in vivo whose efficacy is close to the standard triple therapy, thus significantly
improving the H. pylori-associated Balb/c gastritis. Their study provided a new clue for
the therapy of H. pylori associated diseases, which could be prevented and treated by
regulating the balance of flora in stomach. Thus lactobacillus can be a choice to replace
antibiotics or as an adjuvant to antibiotics in treating H. pylori-infected diseases.
Leaf veins inspire a new model for
distribution networks
Following the straight and narrow may be good moral advice, but it’s not a great
design principle for a distribution network. In new research, a team of biophysicists
describe a complex netting of interconnected looping veins that evolution devised to
distribute water in leaves. The work, which bucks decades of thinking, may compel
engineers to revisit some common assumptions that have informed the building of many
human-built distribution networks.
Locust study promises new insights
into limb control
New research at the University of Leicester into how the brain controls the movements of
limbs could prompt major advances in understanding the human brain and the development of
prosthetic limbs. Dr Tom Matheson, a Reader in Neurobiology, and Professor Rodrigo Quian
Quiroga, a Professor of Bioengineering, have joined their areas of expertise together to
begin this innovative research. They were recently awarded over £800,000 from the
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) to carry out the analysis
of the sensory-motor control of limb movements. The study will involve recording,
analysing and manipulating the activity of individual nerve cells in locusts whilst they
make aimed limb movements. This research will help to uncover the general principles of
organisation that underpin all limb movements. At the same time the research will develop
new methods that can be applied to the analysis of human brain signals.
Low forms of cyclin E reduce breast
cancer drug's effectiveness
Overexpression of low-molecular-weight (LMW-E) forms of the protein cyclin E renders the
aromatase inhibitor letrozole ineffective among women with estrogen-receptor-positive
(ER+) breast cancers, researchers from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer
Center report in Clinical Cancer Research. The M. D. Anderson research, led by Khandan
Keyomarsi, Ph.D., professor in M. D. Anderson's Department of Experimental Radiation
Oncology and the Hubert L. and Olive Stringer Professor in Medical Oncology, found
evidence that women whose cancers express the LMW-E are more likely to develop resistance
to letrozole. However, their research also showed that treating breast cancer cells with a
cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK2) inhibitor can reverse letrozole resistance. Cyclin E is
one of the proteins that regulates the cell cycle, influencing how rapidly a cell passes
through the four phases and divides. In tumor cells, cyclin E is converted to
low-molecular weight forms, an event that does not occur in normal cells. High levels of
LMW-E accelerate the cell's transition through the G1phase, an important checkpoint that
can arrest the cell cycle if DNA damage is detected. Elevated levels of LMW-E have been
linked to uncontrolled cell proliferation and a poor outcome in breast cancer patients.
Magnesium found to boost learning
and memory
A study by Chinese scientists, published in the in the January 28th issue of the journal
Neuron, shows magnesium could have a powerful impact on the brain, too -- and boost
learning and memory.
Many Veterans Not Getting Enough
Treatment for PTSD
Although the Department of Veteran Affairs is rolling out treatments nationwide as fast as
possible to adequately provide for newly diagnosed PTSD patients, there are still
significant barriers to veterans getting a full course of PTSD treatment. The study is
published in the latest issue of the Journal of Traumatic Stress. More than 230,000 Iraq
and Afghanistan war veterans sought treatment for the first time at VA healthcare
facilities nationwide between 2002 and 2008. More than 20 percent of these veterans,
almost 50,000, received a new PTSD diagnosis. Treatments that have been shown to be
effective for PTSD typically require 10-12 weekly sessions. VA follows these
recommendations, however, fewer than ten percent of those Iraq and Afghanistan veterans
with newly diagnosed PTSD complete this recommended “dose” of PTSD treatment.
When the timeframe was expanded to a year rather than four months, fewer than thirty
percent of the veterans completed the recommended course of treatment. The study showed
that there are groups of veterans that are less likely to receive adequate care than
others, such as male veterans (compared to female veterans), veterans under twenty-five
years old, veterans who received their PTSD diagnoses from primary care clinics (requiring
referral to a mental health program), and veterans living in rural areas.
Marijuana ineffective as an
Alzheimer's treatment
The benefits of marijuana in tempering or reversing the effects of Alzheimer's disease
have been challenged in a new study by researchers at the University of British Columbia
and Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute. The findings, published in the current
issue of the journal Current Alzheimer Research, could lower expectations about the
benefits of medical marijuana in combating various cognitive diseases and help redirect
future research to more promising therapeutics. Previous studies using animal models
showed that HU210, a synthetic form of the compounds found in marijuana, reduced the
toxicity of plaques and promoted the growth of new neurons. Those studies used rats
carrying amyloid protein, the toxin that forms plaques in the brains of Alzheimer's
victims. The new study, led by Dr. Weihong Song, Canada Research Chair in Alzheimer's
Disease and a professor of psychiatry in the UBC Faculty of Medicine, was the first to
test those findings using mice carrying human genetic mutations that cause Alzheimer's
disease – widely considered to be a more accurate model for the disease in humans.
Maternal Bisphenol A Exposure
Promotes the Development of Experimental Asthma in Mouse Pups
Neonates from BPA-exposed mothers responded to this “suboptimal” sensitization
with higher serum IgE anti-OVA concentrations compared with those from unexposed mothers
(p <0.05), and eosinophilic inflammation in their airways was significantly greater. Airway responsiveness of the OVA-sensitized neonates from BPA-treated mothers was enhanced compared with those from unexposed mothers (p < 0.05). Perinatal exposure to BPA enhances allergic sensitization and bronchial inflammation and responsiveness in a susceptible animal model of asthma.
Maternal Serum Preconception
Polychlorinated Biphenyl Concentrations and Infant Birth Weight
Prenatal and postnatal polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs) exposure has been associated with
decrements in fetal and infant growth and development, although exposures during the
preconception window have not been examined despite recent evidence suggesting that this
window may correspond with the highest serum concentrations.
MDC Researchers Develop New Tool to
Investigate Ion Channels - Application of Neurotoxins of Cone Snails and Spiders
Neurotoxins from cone snails and spiders help neurobiologists Sebastian Auer, Annika S.
Stürzebecher and Dr. Ines Ibañez-Tallon of the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular
Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch, Germany, to investigate the function of ion channels in
neurons. Ion channels in the cell membrane enable cells to communicate with their
environment and are therefore of vital importance. The MDC researchers have developed a
system which for the first time allows the targeted, long-lasting investigation of ion
channel function in mammals and also the blockade of the ion channels with neurotoxins. In
transgenic mice they succeeded in blocking chronic pain by introducing a toxin gene into
the organism
Mediterranean Diet Cuts Risk of
Brain Damage Linked to Cognitive Problems
Following the Mediterranean diet may help food consumers reduce their risk of brain damage
in some small areas of the brain, which can lead to the cognitive problems like memory
loss and thinking inability, a new study suggests.
Melatonin Precursor Stimulates
Growth Factor Circuits in Brain
Scientists at Emory University School of Medicine have discovered unexpected properties
for a precursor to melatonin, the hormone that regulates sleep cycles. Melatonin is
produced from the neurotransmitter serotonin in a daily rhythm that peaks at night.
Melatonin's immediate precursor, N-acetylserotonin, was not previously thought to have
effects separate from those of melatonin or serotonin. Now an Emory team has shown that
N-acetylserotonin can stimulate the same circuits in the brain activated by the growth
factor BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor).
Mental illness risk four times
higher if you're bright
THE cleverest children in school are also those most likely to suffer a serious mental
illness as adults, research reveals.
Mexico starts planting GM corn,
activists appeal
Capping a decade-long battle, private companies in Mexico have begun the first legal
plantings of genetically modified corn, the Agriculture Department said Wednesday.
Mice shed new light on causes of
childhood deafness
Deafness is the most common disorder of the senses. Tragically, it commonly strikes in
early childhood, severely damaging an affected child's ability to learn speech and
language. In many cases, children gradually lose their hearing to become profoundly deaf
over a long period of months to years, but scientists know very little about how this
progressive loss happens, making prospects for prevention and cure very slim. Over half
the cases of childhood deafness are estimated to be due to defects in just one gene passed
from either the mother or father, and many of these deafness genes have been identified.
However, as the way we hear is so complicated, it has been really difficult to work out
exactly how these genes cause such wholesale effects.
Middle class wine drinkers 'harming
their unborn children'
Middle class women who regularly drink a bottle of wine at home with their partner are at
'high risk' of having a child with developmental problems, researchers said.
Migraines tied to risks of heart
attack
People who suffer migraines may have a higher risk of heart attack or stroke than those
without the painful headaches, research published Wednesday suggests.
Mining Giant Must Clean Up Mess
In December, the Justice Department announced a settlement in one of the largest
environmental bankruptcies in U.S. history. The American Smelting and Refining Company,
known as Asarco, will pay a record $1.79 billion to settle claims for hazardous waste
pollution at 80 sites in as many as 20 states.
Modification by ALAD of the
Association between Blood Lead and Blood Pressure in the U.S. Population
BLL was associated with systolic BP in non-Hispanic whites and with hypertension and
systolic and diastolic BP in non-Hispanic blacks. BLL was not associated with BP outcomes
in Mexican Americans. Non-Hispanic white ALAD2 carriers in the highest BLL quartile
(3.852.9 µg/dL) had a significantly higher adjusted prevalence odds ratio for
hypertension compared with ALAD1 homozygous individuals. We also found a significant
interaction between lead concentration and the ALAD2 allele in non-Hispanic whites and
non-Hispanic blacks in relation to systolic BP. BLL may be an important risk factor for
hypertension and increased systolic and diastolic BP. These associations may be modified
by ALAD genotype.
Moms' depression in pregnancy tied
to antisocial behavior in teens
Children from urban areas whose mothers suffer from depression during pregnancy are more
likely than others to show antisocial behavior, including violent behavior, later in life.
Furthermore, women who are aggressive and disruptive in their own teen years are more
likely to become depressed in pregnancy, so that the moms' history predicts their own
children's antisocial behavior. That's the conclusion of a new longitudinal study
conducted by researchers at Cardiff University, King's College London, and the University
of Bristol. The research appears in the January/February 2010 issue of the journal Child
Development. The study considered the role of mothers' depression during pregnancy by
looking at 120 British youth from inner-city areas. "Much attention has been given to
the effects of postnatal depression on young infants," notes Dale F. Hay, professor
of psychology at Cardiff University in Wales, who worked on the study, "but
depression during pregnancy may also affect the unborn child." The youths' mothers
were interviewed while they were pregnant, after they gave birth, and when their children
were 4, 11, and 16 years old.
More Smokers than Non-smokers
Accept HPV Vaccination for Their Daughters
A parent’s existing health habits or behaviors, like cigarette smoking, may influence
the likelihood that they will have their daughters vaccinated against HPV. According to
survey results on correlates of HPV vaccine use, whether parents would choose to vaccinate
their daughters was not associated with one’s background or medical history, but was
more closely associated with certain behavioral factors of the parents. Results of this
survey are published in the February issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers &
Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. “Whether or
not respondents indicated that they would vaccinate their daughters against this
cancer-causing virus was associated with physical activity, non-use of complementary or
alternative therapies and, more surprisingly, cigarette smoking,” said lead
researcher Carolyn Y. Fang, Ph.D., associate professor in the Cancer Prevention and
Control Program at Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia.
Most pandemic plans in Ontario
hospitals have not been tested
One quarter of Ontario hospitals surveyed in a Queen's University-led study do not have an
influenza pandemic plan and few plans that do exist have been tested. In addition, key
players were not involved in developing the plans, and funding for pandemic preparedness
was inadequate. "It's not good enough just to have a plan, you have to test it. You
have to know how well it will work in an emergency," says Dick Zoutman, Queen's
professor of Community Health and Epidemiology and lead researcher on the study. "The
number should be 100 per cent tested. I'm surprised and concerned we aren't there already
in the face of SARS and bird flu." The study's findings are published in the February
issue of the American Journal of Infection Control.
Mother's exposure to bisphenol A
may increase children's chances of asthma
For years, scientists have warned of the possible negative health effects of bisphenol A,
a chemical used to make everything from plastic water bottles and food packaging to
sunglasses and CDs. Studies have linked BPA exposure to reproductive disorders, obesity,
abnormal brain development as well as breast and prostate cancers, and in January the Food
and Drug Administration announced that it was concerned about "the potential effects
of BPA on the brain, behavior and prostate gland of fetuses, infants and young
children." Now, mouse experiments by University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston
researchers have produced evidence that a mother's exposure to BPA may also increase the
odds that her children will develop asthma. Using a well-established mouse model for
asthma, the investigators found that the offspring of female mice exposed to BPA showed
significant signs of the disorder, unlike those of mice shielded from BPA. "We gave
BPA in drinking water starting a week before pregnancy, at levels calculated to produce a
body concentration that was the same as that in a human mother, and continued on through
the pregnancy and lactation periods," said UTMB associate professor Terumi
Midoro-Horiuti, lead author of a paper on the study appearing in the February issue of
Environmental Health Perspectives.
Mother's instinct on sick children
is right, doctors told
A mother's instinct is usually right if she believes her child may be dangerously ill, say
experts.
Much Higher Tritium Levels Found At
Nuclear Plant
A radioactive substance recently found in groundwater monitoring wells at a Vermont
nuclear plant has turned up again at levels more than nine times those previously reported
and more than 37 times higher than a federal safe drinking water limit, officials said
Thursday.
Nanobubble can destroy cancer
cells, scientists say
Scientists have come up with a new method that isolates and destroys sick cells using
lasers and nanoparticles at Rice University.
Nearly 17,000 chemicals remain
corporate secrets – even the EPA doesn't know what they are
The 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) requires that manufacturers of products
containing potentially toxic chemicals disclose their ingredients to the federal
government, however a loophole in the requirement allows manufacturers to arbitrarily
withhold information that they deem sensitive to their business. As a result, over 17,000
product chemicals remain secret not only from the public but from government officials.
Neuroimaging study may pave way for
effective Alzheimer’s treatments
Scientists have determined that a new instrument known as PIB-PET is effective in
detecting deposits of amyloid-beta protein plaques in the brains of living people, and
that these deposits are predictive of who will develop Alzheimer’s disease. The
finding, the result of a survey of more than 100 studies involving the instrument,
including those by the scientists, confirms the sensitivity of the tool, not yet
commercially available. In clinical practice, amyloid deposits are detected only on
autopsy. The study also provides strong evidence supporting the so-called “amyloid
hypothesis” – the theory that accumulation of amyloid-beta protein plaques in
the brain is central to the development of the disease. While significant evidence has
supported this hypothesis, it has been questioned for two main reasons. First, amyloid
deposits do not correlate with the severity of the disease, and are, in fact, found at
autopsy in people who did not have clinical symptoms; and second, drugs targeting the
plaques have shown disappointing results, even when the drugs were successful at
substantially lowering plaque burden. Thus, the question of amyloid’s role in the
illness has remained.
New device literally smells out
stomach bugs
A device that sniffs out stomach bugs within minutes could save the NHS millions, it has
been revealed
New genome sequence will aid study
of important food, fuel crops
A global initiative that includes key scientists from Oregon State University has
successfully sequenced the genome of the wild grass Brachypodium distachyon, which will
serve as a model to speed research on improved varieties of wheat, oats and barley, as
well as switchgrass, a crop of major interest for biofuel production. The primary
international repository for the Brachypodium genome sequence data, called
“BrachyBase,” is situated at OSU, and helps scientists around the world make
important advances for human nutrition and new energy sources.
New Way Found to Kill Pediatric
Brain Tumors
Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have shown once again
that "ready, fire, aim," nonsensical though it may sound, can be an essential
approach to research. The scientists robotically "fired" 2,000 compounds into
culture plates containing tumor cells to see if the compounds had any effect. When the
robotic screener found one substance had scored a hit by inhibiting growth of the tumor
cells in its plate, researchers analyzed what that compound acted against. Follow-up
studies showed that the drug slowed tumor growth in mice by inhibiting the function of a
protein called STAT3. As a result, researchers now have a previously unrecognized target,
STAT3, at which they can "aim" new drugs for the treatment of cancer in
neurofibromatosis-1 (NF1), a genetic condition that causes increased risk of benign and
malignant brain tumors.
Nurses became 'immune to the sound
of pain'
An independent inquiry into Stafford Hospital – where patients were starved,
dehydrated, left in agony, and told to lie in their own faeces – has heard how -The
hospital's emergency assessment unit was so unsafe that staff branded it
"Beirut".
Obese boys more likely to begin
puberty late
In a study published Monday in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine,
researchers at 10 study sites across the country tracked the height and weight growth of
401 boys born in 1991, and gauged which boys had signs of genital growth indicative of
puberty's onset by the time they had reached 11 1/2.
Oceans Reveal Further Impacts of
Climate Change, Says UAB Expert
The increasing acidity of the world's oceans - and that acidity's growing threat to marine
species - are definitive proof that the atmospheric carbon dioxide that is causing climate
change is also negatively affecting the marine environment, says world-renowned Antarctic
marine biologist Jim McClintock, Ph.D., professor in the University of Alabama at
Birmingham (UAB)
One-woman fight against government
for pesticide ban
The government has launched a consultation on the use of pesticides by UK farmers. In part
it is doing so because of the actions of a lone campaigner.
Oral Sex, a Knife Fight and Then
Sperm Still Impregnated Girl
A strange tale of oral sex, a knife fight and the most unlikely of pregnancies recently
brought to light by the blogosphere has doctors touting the triumphant persistence of
sperm.
Organic and Inorganic Mercury in
Neonatal Rat Brain after Prenatal Exposure to Methylmercury and Mercury Vapor
Statistical analysis using linear mixed effects models showed that MeHg dose was the
primary determinant of both organic and inorganic brain Hg levels. For both outcomes, we
also found significant interactions between MeHg and Hg vapor exposure. These interactions
were driven by the fact that among animals not exposed to MeHg, animals exposed to Hg
vapor had significantly greater organic and inorganic brain Hg levels than did unexposed
animals. This interaction, heretofore not reported, suggests that coexposure to MeHg and
Hg vapor at levels relevant to human exposure might elevate neurotoxic risks.
Painless laser destroys fat
Doctors claim that patients can drop two dress sizes in just two weeks – without
having to exercise or diet. The Zerona treatment, which is painless, costs £1,000 for six
40-minute sessions.
Palin likens global warming studies
to 'snake oil'
Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin called studies supporting global climate change a
"bunch of snake oil science" Monday during a rare appearance in California, a
state that has been at the forefront of environmental regulations.
Paracetamol protects against kidney
failure after muscle injury
The commonly-used painkiller Paracetamol can protect against kidney failure after severe
muscle injury, according to research at the University of Essex. One of the main causes of
kidney failure affecting tens of thousands of people each year is a syndrome known as
Rhabdomyolysis-Induced Renal Failure. Common causes of this condition include trauma or
crushing injuries, drug abuse and intensive exercise. Now, an international team of
scientists, involving researchers at Essex, University College London and the USA, has
discovered that Paracetamol reduces the damage caused to kidneys following severe muscle
injury. The team at Essex is led by Professor Mike Wilson and Dr Brandon Reeder from the
Department of Biological Sciences. Explained Professor Wilson: ‘It is a very
important advance in our research because it offers the possibility of a very effective,
very simple, very cheap treatment which can be applied in developed and undeveloped
countries.'
Patient interest in video recording
of colonoscopy
Colonoscopy is operator-dependent and substantial numbers of pre-cancerous polyps are
missed during colonoscopy. Colonoscopies are often poorly documented, with only a few
still photographs taken of anatomic landmarks and abnormal findings. Video recording is
rarely used in colonoscopy except for teaching purposes; therefore, the potential impact
of systematic video recording on the quality of colonoscopy is unknown. To find if
patients are interested in obtaining a video recording of their colonoscopy procedure, a
research team from United States conducted a survey of patients undergoing colonoscopy at
Indiana University Hospital. Their study will be published on January 28, 2010 in the
World Journal of Gastroenterology. Their survey found that the majority expressed interest
in obtaining a video recording of their procedure. Awareness of missed lesions during
colonoscopy increased patient interest in having a video recording. While there were no
predictors of interest in having a video recording, younger patients were more willing to
pay for a video recording. Prior colorectal cancer and family history of colorectal cancer
predicted willingness to pay more for a video recording. Payment by patients for video
recordings is a potential mechanism of offsetting the cost of making video recordings.
Patients with amygdala injury
'unafraid' to gamble
Californian scientists think they may have discovered the part of the brain which makes
people fear losing money.
Patients with mild gallstone
pancreatitis can undergo surgery sooner, shortening hospital stays
Patients with mild gallstone pancreatitis usually stay in the hospital for several days,
waiting for the symptoms to subside, before undergoing surgery to remedy the condition. A
new study from researchers at Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute (LA BioMed)
indicates patients may no longer have to wait so long for surgery and could leave the
hospital sooner. The study, slated for publication in the Annals of Surgery in April,
found surgeons could safely operate on patients with mild gallstone pancreatitis within 48
hours of admission, rather than waiting for the painful inflammation in the pancreas to
subside before performing the surgery. "In the study, patients with mild
pancreatitis, who underwent surgery within two days of admission, left the hospital sooner
and had similar favorable outcomes as those patients who waited several days before
surgery," said Christian de Virgilio, MD, a LA BioMed principal investigator and the
corresponding author for the study. "The common practice of delaying surgery on
patients with mild gallstone pancreatitis should be abandoned because it results in longer
and more costly hospital stays."
People with anxiety disorder less
able to regulate response to negative emotions, study shows
People with generalized anxiety disorder, or GAD, have abnormalities in the way their
brain unconsciously controls emotions. That's the conclusion of a new Stanford University
School of Medicine study, and the study authors say the findings could open up new avenues
for treatments and change our understanding of how emotion is regulated in everyday life.
The work is published online in this month's American Journal of Psychiatry. According to
the National Institute of Mental Health, 18 percent of Americans have an anxiety disorder.
GAD in particular is marked by extreme feelings of fear and uncertainty; people with the
disorder live in a state of non-stop worry and often struggle getting through their daily
lives. "Patients experience anxiety and worry and respond excessively to emotionally
negative stimuli, but it's never been clear really why," said Amit Etkin, MD, PhD,
acting assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and first author of the
study. Etkin said clinical data have suggested that adult GAD patients initially register
negative stimuli in a largely normal way, but have deficits in how they then control
negative emotions. He and his colleagues conducted their research to better understand
these potential abnormalities and to shed light on two theories dating back to Sigmund
Freud: that most emotion regulation is done unconsciously, and that a disturbance in
unconscious emotion regulation leads to psychiatric symptoms. For the study, Etkin
recruited 17 people with GAD and 24 healthy participants and used functional magnetic
resonance imaging and a behavioral marker to compare what happened when the two groups
performed an emotion-based task. The task involved viewing images of happy or fearful
faces, overlaid with the words "fear" or "happy," and using a button
box to identify the expression of each face. Not all the words matched up — some
happy faces featured the word "fear," and vice versa — which created an
emotional conflict for participants.
PFCs and Cholesterol
he authors found a positive association between total cholesterol (TC) and serum
concentrations of PFOS, PFOA, and PFNA. TC is the sum of low-density and very low-density
lipoproteins (“bad” cholesterol) and high-density lipoproteins (“good”
cholesterol). The findings appeared driven by an increase in the non–high-density
lipoprotein fraction of TC, and the association was most pronounced for PFNA. In contrast,
PFHxS concentrations were inversely related to TC, samples reflecting the highest PFHxS
exposure had the lowest TC levels.
Plant-Based "Eco-Atkins
Diet" Boosts Health, Drops Body Fat
Researchers have found evidence that it may be possible to use a version of the Atkins
diet to improve health, rather than harming it -- a vegetarian version dubbed the
"Eco-Atkins" diet. The Atkins diet is a form of high-protein, low-carbohydrate
diet that was popular in 2003 and 2004. Many health professionals blasted the diet as
dangerously high in fat, and research indicated that although it lowered levels of blood
triglycerides and raised levels of HDL ("good") cholesterol, it also raised
levels of the dangerous LDL ("bad") cholesterol.
Popular antidepressant interferes
with cancer drug
The popular antidepressant drug Paxil may interfere with breast cancer treatments, making
patients more likely to relapse and die, researchers in Canada reported on Monday.
Pre-school children should live as
they did 25 years ago - study
Young children should live as they did a generation ago to help prevent obesity, a new
study shows.
Predicting Residential Exposure to
Phthalate Plasticizer Emitted from Vinyl Flooring
The relatively simple dependence on source and chemical-specific transport parameters
suggests that the mechanistic modeling approach could be extended to predict exposures
arising from other sources of phthalates as well as additional sources of other
semivolatile organic compounds (SVOCs) such as biocides and flame retardants. This
modeling approach could also provide a relatively inexpensive way to quantify exposure to
many of the SVOCs used in indoor materials and consumer products.
Pregnancy baby brain lapse 'a myth'
Expectant mums need to stop blaming their bump for memory lapses, say experts who want to
dispel the "baby brain" myth.
Pregnant women, infants and young
athletes most at risk for Vitamin D deficiency
An increasing deficiency of Vitamin D detected in babies could put their lives in danger,
two recent Israeli studies show. Vitamin D deficiency has also been detected in young
athletes and pregnant women.
Prepregnancy, obesity and
gestational weight gain influence risk of preterm birth
Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine's (BUSM) Slone Epidemiology Center and
Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) have found that pre-pregnancy obesity
and gestational weight gain are associated with an increased risk of preterm birth in
African American participants from the Black Women's Health Study. This study currently
appears on-line in Epidemiology. A baby born at less than 37 weeks of gestation is
considered preterm. This occurs more often among black women than white women and is a
leading cause of infant morbidity and mortality in the United States. Obesity is
associated with intrauterine infections, systematic inflammation, dyslipidemia, and
hyperinsulinemia, all of which may increase the risk of preterm birth. In order to
investigate the relations of preterm birth with prepregnancy obesity and gestational
weight gain, the BUSM researchers used data from the Slone Epidemiology Center's Black
Women's Health Study. They compared mothers of more than 1,000 infants born three or more
weeks early with mothers of more than 7,000 full-term infants. They examined two types of
preterm birth: that indicated for medical reasons (medically-indicated) and that occurring
for no known reason (spontaneous).
Psychosocial problems are common in
children with dental fear
Children and adolescents with severe dental fear often come from families with a turbulent
background. It is also more common that they have had counselling contact with a
psychologist. These are the conclusions of research carried out at the Sahlgrenska Academy
at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.Annika Gustafsson, specialist in child dentistry,
has studied children and adolescents of school age who have received specialist dental
care because they develop many cavities and also suffer from severe dental fear. "I
wanted to investigate how children and adolescents with dental behaviour management
problems who received specialist dental care differed from patients of the same age within
ordinary dental care. I also wanted to discover why they cancel appointments and fail to
attend appointments more often," says Annika Gustafsson.
Rainforests can be converted to
palm oil plantations for biofuel production
The European Union may be planning to classify oil palm plantations as forests, raising
fears among environmental groups of expanded conversion of tropical rainforests for
biofuel production, reports the EUobserver, which cites a leaked document from the
European Commission.
Research could lead to way to halt
deadly immune response
Researchers have teased out the molecular process that can shut down a marauding, often
deadly immune response that kills thousands each year who suffer battlefield casualties,
heart attacks, strokes, automobile accidents and oxygen deprivation, according to an
article published in the January edition of Molecular Immunology. The article provides
additional detail about the enormously complex biomechanics of a reaction first observed
in the lab by Neel Krishna, Ph.D., and Kenji Cunnion, M.D., while conducting pediatric
research at Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters (CHKD) and Eastern Virginia
Medical School (EVMS) in Norfolk, Va. "Military medics and ER doctors know that one
of the most common killers is an out-of-control immune system that destroys organs after a
patient who has suffered a trauma is ostensibly stabilized," said Krishna, a
pediatric virologist at CHKD and assistant professor of microbiology and molecular cell
biology at EVMS.
Research identifies gene with
likely role in premenstrual disorder
Scientists have identified a gene they say is a strong candidate for involvement in
premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) and other maladies associated with the natural flux
in hormones during the menstrual cycle. In a paper published Monday in the Proceedings of
the National Academy of Sciences, Rockefeller University researchers detail experiments in
mice showing that a common human variant of the gene increases anxiety, dampens curiosity
and tweaks the effects of estrogen on the brain, impairing memory. If applied in the
clinic, the work could help diagnose and treat cognitive and mood disorders related to the
menstrual cycle and inform treatments during menopause, such as hormone replacement
therapy, researchers say. The experiments homed in on the gene for a protein that, among
other things, works with estrogen to enhance the adaptability of neurons in the
hippocampus, a brain region that plays a key role in mood, cognition and memory. A change
in one amino acid in this gene, called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), creates
the variant BDNF Met, which is carried by 20 to 30 percent of Caucasian women. Past
research showed that it is a risk factor for psychiatric problems such as depression and
bipolar disorder and is generally associated with higher anxiety and impaired memory. The
Rockefeller scientists and their colleagues at Weill Cornell Medical College now show that
the performance of memory tasks by mice with both the variant and the regular gene depends
on where they are in their estrous cycles. It is the first time that a genotype has been
shown to interact with a hormone cycle to influence a cognitive behavior, one reviewer of
the paper wrote. The researchers also show that mice with the variant gene are more
skittish-— they spent much less time in the vulnerable center of a well-lit cage
before scurrying to a corner. As a result, they spent less time exploring objects placed
in their cage.
Research reveals link between beer
and bone health
A new study suggests that beer is a significant source of dietary silicon, a key
ingredient for increasing bone mineral density. Researchers from the Department of Food
Science & Technology at the University of California, Davis studied commercial beer
production to determine the relationship between beer production methods and the resulting
silicon content, concluding that beer is a rich source of dietary silicon. Details of this
study are available in the February issue of the Journal of the Science of Food and
Agriculture, published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the Society of Chemical Industry.
"The factors in brewing that influence silicon levels in beer have not been
extensively studied" said Charles Bamforth, lead author of the study. "We have
examined a wide range of beer styles for their silicon content and have also studied the
impact of raw materials and the brewing process on the quantities of silicon that enter
wort and beer." Silicon is present in beer in the soluble form of orthosilicic acid
(OSA), which yields 50% bioavailability, making beer a major contributor to silicon intake
in the Western diet. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), dietary silicon
(Si), as soluble OSA, may be important for the growth and development of bone and
connective tissue, and beer appears to be a major contributor to Si intake. Based on these
findings, some studies suggest moderate beer consumption may help fight osteoporosis, a
disease of the skeletal system characterized by low bone mass and deterioration of bone
tissue.
Researcher on Climate Is Cleared in
Inquiry
An academic board of inquiry has largely cleared a noted Pennsylvania State University
climatologist of scientific misconduct, but a second panel will convene to determine
whether his behavior undermined public faith in the science of climate change, the
university said Wednesday.
Researchers find how brain hears
the sound of silence
A team of University of Oregon researchers have isolated an independent processing channel
of synapses inside the brain's auditory cortex that deals specifically with shutting off
sound processing at appropriate times. Such regulation is vital for hearing and for
understanding speech. The discovery, detailed in the Feb. 11 issue of the journal Neuron,
goes against a long-held assumption that the signaling of a sound's appearance and its
subsequent disappearance are both handled by the same pathway. The new finding, which
supports an emerging theory that a separate set of synapses is responsible, could lead to
new, distinctly targeted therapies such as improved hearing devices, said Michael Wehr, a
professor of psychology and member of the UO Institute of Neuroscience. "It looks
like there is a whole separate channel that goes all the way from the ear up to the brain
that is specialized to process sound offsets," Wehr said. The two channels finally
come together in a brain region called the auditory cortex, situated in the temporal lobe.
To do the research, Wehr and two UO undergraduate students -- lead author Ben Scholl, now
a graduate student at the Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, and Xiang Gao
-- monitored the activity of neurons and their connecting synapses as rats were exposed to
millisecond bursts of tones, looking at the responses to both the start and end of a
sound. They tested varying lengths and frequencies of sounds in a series of experiments.
Researchers reveal 3-D structure of
bullet-shaped virus with potential to fight cancer
Vesicular stomatitis virus, or VSV, has long been a model system for studying and
understanding the life cycle of negative-strand RNA viruses, which include viruses that
cause influenza, measles and rabies. More importantly, research has shown that VSV has the
potential to be genetically modified to serve as an anti-cancer agent, exercising high
selectivity in killing cancer cells while sparing healthy cells, and as a potent vaccine
against HIV. For such modifications to occur, however, scientists must have an accurate
picture of the virus's structure. While three-dimensional structural information of VSV's
characteristic bullet shape and its assembly process has been sought for decades, efforts
have been hampered by technological and methodological limitations. Now, researchers at
UCLA's California NanoSystems Institute and the UCLA Department of Microbiology,
Immunology and Molecular Genetics and colleagues have not only revealed the 3-D structure
of the trunk section of VSV but have further deduced the architectural organization of the
entire bullet-shaped virion through cryo-electron microscopy and an integrated use of
image-processing methods.
Researchers strike gold - saffron
found to help vision loss in elderly
The golden herb saffron may hold the key to preventing the loss of sight in the elderly, a
world first trial by researchers at the University of Sydney and in Italy has found.
Running Phthalates to Ground -
Pinpointing Exposure Sources in a Virtual Home
The new model suggests that levels of phthalates measured in adults and children may
result in part from contact with surfaces that may absorb high concentrations of DEHP,
such as clothing. Changing the variables in the model house—from airflow to the
amount of DEHP in the vinyl flooring to square footage in a room—made a difference in
estimated exposure levels. Varying the parameters in this simple model demonstrated the
potential for DEHP exposures arising from a single product to differ by as much as 40
times from one situation to another. That variability underscores the wide range of
possible exposures across the population—and the difficulty of relying on
biomonitoring alone to identify the most harmful sources.
Scientists identify first genetic
variant linked to biological aging in humans
Scientists announced today (7 Feb) they have identified for the first time definitive
variants associated with biological ageing in humans. The team analyzed more than 500,000
genetic variations across the entire human genome to identify the variants which are
located near a gene called TERC. The study in Nature Genetics published today by
researchers from the University of Leicester and King's College London, working with
University of Groningen in the Netherlands, was funded by The Wellcome Trust and the
British Heart Foundation. British Heart Foundation Professor of Cardiology at the
University of Leicester Professor Nilesh Samani, of the Department of Cardiovascular
Sciences, who co-led the project explained that there are two forms of ageing –
chronological ageing i.e. how old you are in years and biological ageing whereby the cells
of some individuals are older (or younger) than suggested by their actual age. He said:
"There is accumulating evidence that the risk of age-associated diseases including
heart disease and some types of cancers are more closely related to biological rather than
chronological age.
Scott & White Memorial Hospital
uses device to revolutionize treatment of traumatic aortic injury
Scott & White Memorial Hospital vascular surgeons Clifford Buckley, M.D., and Ruth
Bush, M.D., performed one of the nation's first implants of a Next Generation Conformable
GORE TAG Thoracic Endoprosthesis device for the treatment of a traumatic aortic
transection as part of a national clinical trial. The goal of the trial is to gain insight
into using thoracic endografts for patients with traumatic aortic transection (tear) as a
less invasive alternative to major surgery. "This is the first time this procedure
has been performed on a human as part of a landmark study and is the first device being
studied for traumatic aortic transection specifically," said Dr. Buckley, a professor
of surgery at Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine. "Because Scott
& White Memorial Hospital is the only designated Level I trauma center between Dallas
and Austin, TX, we're able to provide such cutting-edge care for patients with these
traumatic injuries." Traumatic thoracic aortic transections often result in death and
injury to the thoracic aorta from motor vehicle accidents which account for up to 15
percent of all deaths. Patients who survive usually have small tears or partial thickness
tears of the aortic wall and the aorta is at greatest risk in front or side impacts. Most
blunt aortic injuries occur in the proximal thoracic aorta, although any portion of the
aorta is at risk. The proximal descending aorta is at greatest risk from the shearing
forces of sudden deceleration.
Selective brain damage modulates
human spirituality
New research provides fascinating insight into brain changes that might underlie
alterations in spiritual and religious attitudes. The study, published by Cell Press in
the February 11 issue of the journal Neuron, explores the neural basis of spirituality by
studying patients before and after surgery to remove a brain tumor. Although it is well
established that all behaviors and experiences, spiritual or otherwise, must originate in
the brain, true empirical exploration of the neural underpinnings of spirituality has been
challenging. However, recent advances in neuroscience have started to make the complex
mental processes associated with religion and spirituality more accessible.
"Neuroimaging studies have linked activity within a large network in the brain that
connects the frontal, parietal, and temporal cortexes with spiritual experiences, but
information on the causative link between such a network and spirituality is
lacking," explains lead study author, Dr. Cosimo Urgesi from the University of Udine
in Italy. Dr. Urgesi and colleagues were interested in making a direct link between brain
activity and spirituality. They focused specifically on the personality trait called
self-transcendence (ST), which is thought to be a measure of spiritual feeling, thinking,
and behaviors in humans. ST reflects a decreased sense of self and an ability to identify
one's self as an integral part of the universe as a whole.
Sex is not bad for pregnant women
Dr. Vincent Karuhanga of Friends Polyclinic at Uganda House explains that the reason why
most women find sex even more desirable during pregnancy is because of the increased
supply of blood to the genitals, which makes them warmer and heightens sensation; this in
addition to increased sensitivity of the breasts and other erogenous zones.
Soft drink consumption may increase
risk of pancreatic cancer
Consuming two or more soft drinks per week increased the risk of developing pancreatic
cancer by nearly twofold compared to individuals who did not consume soft drinks,
according to a report in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of
the American Association for Cancer Research. Although relatively rare, pancreatic cancer
remains one of the most deadly, and only 5 percent of people who are diagnosed are alive
five years later. Mark Pereira, Ph.D., senior author on the study and associate professor
in the School of Public Health at the University of Minnesota, said people who consume
soft drinks on a regular basis, defined as primarily carbonated sugar-sweetened beverages,
tend to have a poor behavioral profile overall. However, the effect of these drinks on
pancreatic cancer may be unique.
Soil contributes to climate warming
more than expected - Finnish research shows a flaw in climate models
The climatic warming will increase the carbon dioxide emissions from soil more than
previously estimated. This is a mechanism that will significantly accelerate the climate
change. Already now the carbon dioxide emissions from soil are ten times higher than the
emissions of fossil carbon. A Finnish research group has proved that the present standard
measurements underestimate the effect of climate warming on emissions from the soil. The
error is serious enough to require revisions in climate change estimates. In all climate
models, the estimates of emissions from soil are based on measurements made using this
erroneous method. Climate models must be revised so that the largest carbon storage of the
land ecosystems will be estimated correctly. The sensitivity of the soil carbon storage to
climatic warming will endanger the carbon sink capacity of forests in the future Research
on the effect of climate change on the carbon dioxide release from soil is seriously
studied by many research groups around the world. It is known that emissions from soil
have a significant influence on the carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere and
thereby on the future climate. However, these studies are usually based on short-term
measurements of the carbon dioxide production of soil. According to the results of the
Finnish research group, such a method gives systematically biased estimates on the effects
of climate change on the emissions.
Some skin-lightening creams conceal
dark side
Some skin-lightening products have dangerous side effects for those who misuse them or buy
counterfeit brands, dermatologists say.
Stronger radiation from the Sun
'will cause sat-navs to fail', scientists warn
Britain’s satellite navigation networks could soon experience problems and
disruptions caused by higher levels of radiation coming from the Sun, scientists warn.
Studies unclear on role of
pre-surgery beta blockers
In a commentary appearing in this week's Journal of the American Medical Association,
heart specialists at the University of Michigan Health System make a plea for clarity on
the best approach for prescribing beta blockers before surgery. It's not unusual for
patients to suffer a cardiac event during surgery, and in theory, beta blockers will
reduce the risk by slowing the heartbeat, reducing blood vessel constriction, lowering
demand of the heart muscle for oxygen, and generally relieving stress on the heart.
However, a one-size-fits-all approach for prescribing beta blockers can harm patients at
low-risk for having a heart attack. Future clinical studies using clear models of dose,
duration and implementation could provide answers for doctors about the role of
pre-surgery beta blockers, according to the U-M commentary. Because of important design,
treatment and analytical variations, previous clinical trials are hard to interpret.
Study fails to link saturated fat,
heart disease
The saturated fat found mainly in meat and dairy products has a bad reputation, but a new
analysis of published studies finds no clear link between people's intake of saturated fat
and their risk of developing heart disease.
Study finds higher risk of
stillbirth in women with fibroids
In a study to be presented today at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's (SMFM)
annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting ™, in Chicago, researchers will unveil findings
that show that there is an increased risk of intrauterine fetal death (IUFD), commonly
known as stillbirth, in women who have fibroids. IUFD, or still birth, is rare and affects
only six to seven out of every thousand births. The study, conducted by researchers at
Washington University in St. Louis, Mo., identified women who had fibroids detected during
their routine second trimester ultrasound for anatomic survey at 16-22 weeks.
"Fibroids are very common," said Dr. Molly J. Stout, one of the study's authors.
"We think they occur in 5% to 20% of all women, but most women are asymptomatic and
don't even know they have them." The study was a retrospective cohort study of 64,047
women. Data were extracted on maternal sociodemographics, medical history, and obstetric
outcomes. Pregnancies with any fetal anomalies were excluded. Women with at least one
fibroid detected at the time of fetal anatomic survey were compared to women without
fibroids. The primary outcome was IUFD after 20 weeks gestation. Univariate and multiple
logistic regression analyses were used to estimate the risk of IUFD in women with
fibroids, and subgroup was conducted by presence or absence of fetal growth restriction
(IUGR).
Study Identifies Factors Associated
With Growth of Fetus in First Trimester and Subsequent Outcomes
Factors such as maternal high blood pressure and high hematocrit levels (the proportion of
blood that consists of red blood cells) are associated with a greater likelihood of
restricted fetal growth during the first trimester, with restricted growth linked to an
increased risk of preterm birth and low birth weight, according to a study in the February
10 issue of JAMA.
Study Reveals Potential
Evolutionary Role for Same-Sex Attraction
Male homosexuality doesn’t make complete sense from an evolutionary point of view. It
appears that the trait is heritable, but because homosexual men are much less likely to
produce offspring than heterosexual men, shouldn’t the genes for this trait have been
extinguished long ago? What value could this sexual orientation have, that it has
persisted for eons even without any discernible reproductive advantage? One possible
explanation is what evolutionary psychologists call the “kin selection
hypothesis.” What that means is that homosexuality may convey an indirect benefit by
enhancing the survival prospects of close relatives. Specifically, the theory holds that
homosexual men might enhance their own genetic prospects by being “helpers in the
nest.” By acting altruistically toward nieces and nephews, homosexual men would
perpetuate the family genes, including some of their own. Two evolutionary psychologists,
Paul Vasey and Doug VanderLaan of the University of Lethbridge, Canada tested this idea
for the past several years on the Pacific island of Samoa. They chose Samoa because males
who prefer men as sexual partners are widely recognized and accepted there as a distinct
gender category—called fa’afafine—neither man nor woman. The
fa’afafine tend to be effeminate, and exclusively attracted to adult men as sexual
partners. This clear demarcation makes it easier to identify a sample for study.
Sugary soft drinks fuel tumour?
People who drink two or more sweetened soft drinks a week have a much higher risk of
pancreatic cancer, an unusual but deadly cancer, researchers reported on Monday.
Sweet! -- sugar plays key role in
cell division
Using an elaborate sleuthing system they developed to probe how cells manage their own
division, Johns Hopkins scientists have discovered that common but hard-to-see sugar
switches are partly in control. Because these previously unrecognized sugar switches are
so abundant and potential targets of manipulation by drugs, the discovery of their role
has implications for new treatments for a number of diseases, including ancer, the
scientists say. In the January 12 edition of Science Signaling, the team reported that it
focused efforts on the apparatus that enables a human cell to split into two, a
complicated biochemical machine involving hundreds of proteins. Conventional wisdom was
that the job of turning these proteins on and off — thus determining if, how and when
a cell divides — fell to phosphates, chemical compounds containing the element
phosphorus, which fasten to and unfasten from proteins in a process called
phosphorylation. Instead, the Johns Hopkins scientists say, there is another layer of
regulation by a process of sugar-based protein modification called O-GlcNAcylation
(pronounced O-glick-NAC-alation). "This sugar-based system seems as influential and
ubiquitous a cell-division signaling pathway as its phosphate counterpart and, indeed,
even plays a role in regulating phosphorylation itself," says Chad Slawson, Ph.D., an
author of the paper and research associate in the Department of Biological Chemistry,
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Tanning bed bill not based on
reliable science
Tanning salon operators say proposed federal legislation that would warn consumers of the
cancer risks of tanning is political grandstanding and they are instead calling on the
provinces to help regulate operating standards in the industry.
Terminally ill patients 'being
penalised by Nice for having rare conditions'
Terminally ill patients are being “penalised” for having rare conditions
charities have warned after a kidney cancer medication was ruled too expensive for the
NHS.
The Dark Side of Nitrogen - Is
America Fertilizing Disaster?
In their fervor to increase yields, farmers often dose their crops with more nitrogen than
the plants can absorb. The excess is now causing serious air and water pollution and
threatening human health. Ironically, all that fertilizer may even be ruining the very
soil it was meant to enrich.
The Effect of Ambient Air Pollution
on Sperm Quality
Exposures to O3 or PM2.5 at levels below the current National Ambient Air Quality
Standards were not associated with statistically significant decrements in sperm outcomes
in this cohort of fertile men. However, some results suggested effects on sperm
concentration, count, and morphology.
The total antioxidant content of
more than 3100 foods, beverages, spices, herbs and supplements used worldwide
This database is to our best knowledge the most comprehensive Antioxidant Food Database
published and it shows that plant-based foods introduce significantly more antioxidants
into human diet than non-plant foods. Because of the large variations observed between
otherwise comparable food samples the study emphasizes the importance of using a
comprehensive database combined with a detailed system for food registration in clinical
and epidemiological studies. The present antioxidant database is therefore an essential
research tool to further elucidate the potential health effects of phytochemical
antioxidants in diet.
Tiny constraints in heart blood
flow - a better sign of blood vessel narrowing and early coronary artery disease
Cardiologists and heart imaging specialists at 15 medical centers in eight countries, and
led by researchers at Johns Hopkins, have enrolled the first dozen patients in a year-long
investigation to learn whether the subtle squeezing of blood flow through the inner layers
of the heart is better than traditional SPECT nuclear imaging tests and other diagnostic
radiology procedures for accurately tracking the earliest signs of coronary artery clogs.
Each year, nearly 800,000 American men and women with coronary artery disease suffer a
heart attack, resulting in more than 150,000 deaths.
Top brands of tuna found high in
mercury
A new study in the Feb 2010 issue of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry found that
mercury in tuna is higher than expected.
Top Ten Autism Research Findings of
2009
Autism Speaks, the world's largest autism science and advocacy organization, has released
its annual list of the 10 most significant research achievements to have impacted autism
during the previous year. Every year, Autism Speaks documents the progress made toward its
mission to discover the causes and treatment for autism spectrum disorders, and compiles a
list of the 10 most significant research achievements to have impacted autism during the
previous year. The 2009 list contains important results from clinical and epidemiological
research together with advances in gene discovery and effective treatments which will
combine to shape the future of autism research for 2010 and beyond.
TV Drama Can be More Persuasive
Than News Program, Study Finds
A fictional television drama may be more effective in persuading young women to use birth
control than a news-format program on the same issue, according to a new study.
Researchers found that college-age women who viewed a televised drama about a teen
pregnancy felt more vulnerable two weeks after watching the show, and this led to more
support for using birth control. However, those who watched a news program detailing the
difficulties caused by teen pregnancies were unmoved, and had no change in their
intentions to use birth control. The results show the power that narratives like TV shows
can have in influencing people, said Emily Moyer-Gusé, co-author of the study and
assistant professor of communication at Ohio State University.
Tylenol Linked to Increased Risk of
Autism
At least one study published in the May 2008 issue of the journal Autism has associated
the use of Tylenol in tandem with the administration of the MMR vaccine drastically
increased risk of autism.
UAB research warns of risks of low
potassium in heart failure patients with chronic kidney disease
New research from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) says low potassium levels
produce an increased risk of death or hospitalization in patients with heart failure and
chronic kidney disease (CKD). In findings reported in January in Circulation: Heart
Failure, a journal of the American Heart Association, the researchers say that even a mild
decrease in serum potassium level increased the risk of death in this patient group.
"Hypokalemia, or low potassium, is common in heart-failure patients and is associated
with poor outcomes, as is chronic kidney disease," said C. Barrett Bowling, M.D., a
fellow in the UAB Division of Gerontology, Geriatrics and Palliative Care. "But
little is known about the prevalence and effect of hypokalemia in heart-failure patients
who also have CKD." Bowling, a graduate of the UAB Internal Medicine residency
program, said these findings indicate that in patients with heart failure and CKD the
serum potassium levels should be monitored routinely and carefully maintained within a
safe range.
UC Davis study confirms link
between advanced maternal age and autism
Advanced maternal age is linked to a significantly elevated risk of having a child with
autism, regardless of the father's age, according to an exhaustive study of all births in
California during the 1990s by UC Davis Health System researchers. Advanced paternal age
is associated with elevated autism risk only when the father is older and the mother is
under 30, the study found. Published online today in the February issue of the journal
Autism Research, the study, "Independent and Dependent Contributions of Advanced
Maternal and Paternal Ages to Autism Risk," is one of the largest population-based
studies to quantify how each parent's age — separately and together — affects
the risk of having a child with autism. The study found that the incremental risk of
having a child with autism increased by 18 percent — nearly one fifth — for
every five-year increase in the mother's age. A 40-year-old woman's risk of having a child
later diagnosed with autism was 50 percent greater than that of a woman between 25 and 29
years old. Advanced parental age is a known risk factor for having a child with autism.
However, previous research has shown contradictory results regarding whether it is the
mother, the father or both who contribute most to the increased risk of autism. For
example, one study reported that fathers over 40 were six times more likely than fathers
under 30 to have a child with autism. "This study challenges a current theory in
autism epidemiology that identifies the father's age as a key factor in increasing the
risk of having a child with autism," said Janie Shelton, the study's lead author and
a doctoral student in the UC Davis Department of Public Health Sciences. "It shows
that while maternal age consistently increases the risk of autism, the father's age only
contributes an increased risk when the father is older and the mother is under 30 years
old. Among mothers over 30, increases in the father's age do not appear to further
increase the risk of autism."
UH Case Medical Center researchers
publish promising findings for advanced cervical cancer
Researchers at the Ireland Cancer Center of University Hospitals (UH) Case Medical Center,
have published new findings that may lead to a new standard of care for patients with
locally advanced cervical cancer. Published in the February issue of Clinical Cancer
Research, the phase one study found that a new chemotherapy medicine, Triapine, was well
tolerated in combination with standard-of-care cisplatin chemotherapy and radiation
treatment in women with cervical cancer. This regimen provided both significant reduction
in cancer disease and cancer control. "This new drug, which suppresses tumor growth,
shows a great deal of promise for cervical cancer patients who are at high risk for
relapse and cancer-related death," says Charles Kunos, MD, Primary Investigator of
the study, Director of Gynecologic Radiation Oncology at UH Case Medical Center and
Assistant Professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. "In this
ten-patient study, a 100% complete response rate was observed and no disease progression
was documented through 18 months of median follow-up."
Underdogs Have More Motivation? Not
So Fast, Study Says
Members of a group or team will work harder when they’re competing against a group
with lower status than when pitted against a more highly ranked group, according to a new
study. The results run contrary to the common belief that underdogs have more motivation
because they have the chance to “knock the higher-status group down a peg,” said
Robert Lount, co-author of the study and assistant professor of management and human
resources at Ohio State University’s Fisher College of Business. “We found over
and over again across multiple studies that people worked about 30 percent harder when
their group was competing against a lower-status group,” Lount said.
Urinary Concentrations of
Metabolites of Pyrethroid Insecticides in the General U.S. Population
We detected 3-phenoxybenzoic acid (3PBA), a metabolite common to many pyrethroid
insecticides, in more than 70% of the samples. The least squares geometric mean (LSGM)
concentration (corrected for covariates) of 3PBA and the frequency of detection increased
from 1999-2000 (0.292 ng/mL) to 2001-2002 (0.318 ng/mL), but not significantly.
Non-Hispanic blacks had significantly higher LSGM 3PBA concentrations than non-Hispanic
whites and Mexican Americans of a common pyrethroid metabolite (3PBA) in the 2001-2002
survey period and in the combined four-year survey periods but not in the 1999-2000 survey
period. Children had significantly higher LSGM concentrations of 3PBA than did adolescents
in both NHANES survey periods and than adults in NHANES 1999-2000. Cis- and
trans-(2,2-dichlorovinyl)-2,2-dimethylcyclopr?opane-1-carboxylic acid were highly
correlated with each other and with 3PBA suggesting that urinary 3PBA was primarily
derived from exposure to permethrin, cypermethrin or their degradates.
Use of acetaminophen in pregnancy
associated with increased asthma symptoms in children
Children who were exposed to acetaminophen prenatally were more likely to have asthma
symptoms at age five in a study of 300 African-American and Dominican Republic children
living in New York City. Building on prior research showing an association between both
prenatal and postnatal acetaminophen and asthma, this is the first study to demonstrate a
direct link between asthma and an ability to detoxify foreign substances in the body. The
findings were published this week in the journal Thorax. The study, conducted by the
Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health at Columbia University's Mailman
School of Public Health, found that the relationship was stronger in children with a
variant of a gene, glutathione S transferase, involved in detoxification of foreign
substances. The variant is common among African-American and Hispanic populations. The
results suggest that less efficient detoxification is a mechanism in the association
between acetaminophen and asthma. The researchers assessed the use of analgesics during
pregnancy and found that 34 percent of mothers reported acetaminophen use during
pregnancy, and 27 percent of children had wheeze, an asthma-related symptom. The children
whose mothers had taken acetaminophen were more likely to wheeze, visit the emergency room
for respiratory problems, and develop allergy symptoms, compared to those children whose
mothers did not take acetaminophen. The risk increased with increasing number of days of
prenatal acetaminophen use. The children in this study live in neighborhoods of New York
City that have been the hardest hit by the asthma epidemic: Northern Manhattan and the
South Bronx.
Vegetative state doesn't mean brain
death
The study led by researchers in England and Belgium found four of 23 vegetative patients
had signs of consciousness on brain-imaging tests.
Vein narrowing link to MS probed
More than half of patients with multiple sclerosis and a quarter of healthy people showed
narrowing in their neck veins that may be a risk factor in the neurological disorder, a
preliminary study has found.
Waking the dead
Scientists at the University of Copenhagen have become the first to reconstruct the
nuclear genome of an extinct human being. It is the first time an ancient genome has been
reconstructed in detail. The innovative technique can be applied to museum materials and
ancient remains found in nature and can help reconstructing human phenotypic traits of
extinct cultures from where only limited remains have been recovered. It also allows for
finding those contemporary populations most closely related to extinct cultures revealing
ancient human expansions and migrations. Finally, the discovery improves our understanding
of heredity and the disease risk passed down from our ancestors. The spectacular results
of the research are being published in the upcoming issue of Nature. Professor Eske
Willerslev and his PhD student Morten Rasmussen, from Centre of Excellence in GeoGenetics
at the Natural History Museum, University of Copenhagen, Denmark, led the international
team of scientists responsible for the findings.
Warning for heart patients about
supplements and vitamins
Doctors at the Mayo Clinic have a stern warning for heart patients who take herbal
supplements and megavitamins.
What's really causing Himalayan
glaciers to melt?
A new study by scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, NASA's Goddard
Institute for Space Studies, and NCAR, finds that human-emitted aerosols are the single
major contributor to glacial melt in the Himalayas.
Whistleblower who criticised NHS
cost-cutting wins damages
A consultant urologist who was suspended after speaking out against cost-cutting at an NHS
hospital has won damages at an employment tribunal in a landmark case.
Why Are Pfizer's Ghostwritten
Hormone Therapy Articles Not Retracted?
Plagiarism, "unethical research" and unreliable findings from "fabricated
data" are grounds for retraction of medical journal articles according to the
Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
Why can't I protect my baby from
chemicals?
Today, we follow up on one of those studied moms; she appeared today before a U.S. Senate
subcommittee to tell her story.
Why Small Organic Farming Is Indeed
Radical
The radical idea behind by organic agriculture is a change in focus. The new focus is on
the quality of the crops grown and their suitability for human nutrition.
Women with gout at greater risk of
heart attack than men
Women with gout are at greater risk of a heart attack than men with the disease, indicates
research published ahead of print in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. Gout is known
to boost the risk of a heart attack in men. But to date, little has been known about the
impact of gout on women's cardiovascular health. Gout is common and caused by inflammation
in the joints as a result of excess uric acid deposits. Uric acid is a by-product of
purines, which are abundant in a Western diet. Obesity, weight gain, high alcohol intake,
high blood pressure, poorly functioning kidneys and certain drugs can all precipitate its
development.
Yale Researchers say that Sludge
Isn't Heated High Enough to Kill Pathogens
Kyle Bibby GRD '12 and Chris Ziemba GRD '11 study pathogens in sewage sludge and ways to
effectively kill them. Professor Jordan Peccia, who advises the pair, said their research
could help the Environmental Protection Agency reevaluate regulations on the use of
treated sewage sludge.
Yale-developed test can help
predict and diagnose preeclampsia
Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have developed a simple urine test to rapidly
predict and diagnose preeclampsia, a common, but serious hypertensive complication of
pregnancy. Dubbed the "Congo Red Dot Test" by the research team, the test
accurately predicted preeclampsia in a study of 347 pregnant women, allowing health care
providers to offer better preventive care to pregnant women. The research will be
presented February 4 at the Annual Scientific Meeting of the Society for Maternal Fetal
Medicine (SMFM) in Chicago. The World Health Organization estimates that about 63,000
pregnant women die each year because of severe preeclampsia, as well as a related
condition called eclampsia, which can cause sudden, convulsive seizures. "There is a
critical need in the developing world for low-cost diagnostics for preeclampsia,"
said lead researcher Irina Buhimschi, M.D., associate professor in the Department of
Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences at Yale School of Medicine. "This
test will help identify high-risk patients that should be transported from remote settings
to facilities where there is access to specialized care for preeclampsia, such as
magnesium sulfate therapy."
York study maps the effects of
acupuncture on the brain
Important new research about the effects of acupuncture on the brain may provide an
understanding of the complex mechanisms of acupuncture and could lead to a wider
acceptability of the treatment. The study, by researchers at the University of York and
the Hull York Medical School published in Brain Research, indicates that acupuncture has a
significant effect on specific neural structures. When a patient receives acupuncture
treatment, a sensation called deqi can be obtained; scientific analysis shows that this
deactivates areas within the brain that are associated with the processing of pain. Dr
Hugh MacPherson, of the Complementary Medicine Research Group in the University's
Department of Health Sciences, says: "These results provide objective scientific
evidence that acupuncture has specific effects within the brain which hopefully will lead
to a better understanding of how acupuncture works."
You really can be bored to death,
study shows
It is really is possible to be bored to death, scientists have found, after research
showed those who live tedious lives are twice as likely to die young.
Young Patients with Chronic
Illnesses Find Relief in Acupuncture
Doctors at Rush University Medical Center are offering pediatric patients diagnosed with
chronic illnesses acupuncture therapy to help ease the pain and negative side effects like
nausea, fatigue, and vomiting caused by chronic health conditions and intensive
treatments. The confluence of Chinese and Western medicine at Rush Children’s
Hospital is part of a study to analyze and document how acupuncture might help in reducing
pain in children and increase quality of life. “Treating children with acupuncture is
a new frontier,” said Dr. Paul Kent, pediatric hematology and oncology expert, Rush
Children’s Hospital. “We are looking to see if there is an effective pain
management therapy we can offer that does not have the serious side effects that can be
caused by narcotics and other serious pain medications.” The lack of options for pain
management in children has been reported as one of the most difficult aspects of providing
care to pediatric patients. Research indicates that up to 70 percent of pediatric patients
experience pain and those with chronic illnesses often do not have adequate relief or
prevention of pain.
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