Medindia Health News

First Gene Therapy Against Aging-associated Decline Successfully Tested

Scientists have proved that mouse lifespan can be boosted by gene therapy. The therapy has been found to be safe and effective in mice. The results are published today in the journal iEMBO Molecular Medicine/i. The CNIO team, in collaboration with Eduard Ayuso and Fatima Bosch of the Centre of Animal Biotechnology and Gene Therapy at the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (UAB), treated adult (one-year-old) and aged (two-year-old) mice, with the gene therapy ...

Potential Malarial Vaccine from Algae

Biologists produce potential candidates for malarial vaccine from algae. Malaria is a mosquito-borne disease caused by infection with protozoan parasites from the genus Plasmodium. It affects more than 225 million people worldwide in tropical and subtropical regions, resulting in fever, headaches and in severe cases coma and death. While a variety of often costly antimalarial medications are available to travelers in those regions to protect against infections, ...

Link Between Meat Consumption and Masculinity

Men find vegetables unmanly and stick to meat, shows study. In a number of experiments that looked at metaphors and certain foods, like meat and milk, the authors found that people rated meat as more masculine than vegetables. They also found that meat generated more masculine words when people discussed it, and that people viewed male meat eaters as being more masculine than non-meat eaters. Most of the studies took place in the United States ...

Girl Child Marriages Decline in South Asia

Study says that girl child marriages have significantly declined since 1991. Writing in the May 16, 2012 issue of IJournal of the American Medical Association,/I Anita Raj, PhD, professor of medicine in the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, and colleagues, report that marriage rates for girls under the age of 14 in India, Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh - the South Asian countries with the highest historical rates - have significantly ...

US, Brit Kids Share Many Risk Factors for Behavioral Problems

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Study Says 'Good' Cholesterol Doctrine may be Flawed

No evidence to back the belief that higher levels of good cholesterol boost cardiovascular health, says study published in Lancet. High concentrations of HDL are one of the big markers for blood tests. They are monitored as much as low levels of "bad" cholesterol (low-density lipoprotein, or LDL) as a yardstick of dangerously clogged arteries. The paper used a method called mendelian randomisation to compare heart-attack risk among people ...

Effect of Gender on Kidney Cancer Procedures

Women do better than men after surgical removal of part or all of a cancerous kidney, but need more blood after kidney cancer surgery, reveals study. But Henry Ford Hospital researchers who documented these gender differences can't say why they exist. The results of the new study, based on population samples from throughout the U.S., will be presented this week at the American Urological Association's Annual Meeting in Atlanta. "This ...

Study Links Air Pollution Level Changes in Beijing With Cardiovascular Disease Biomarkers

A study in the May 16 issue of IJAMA,/I a theme issue on Global Health, found that during the 2008 Beijing Olympics, changes in air pollution were associated with changes in biomarkers of systemic inflammation and thrombosis (formation of blood clot) as well as measures of cardiovascular physiology in healthy young persons. "Air pollution is a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases (CVD), but the mechanisms by which air pollution leads to CVD is not well understood. ...

Experimental Drug may Help Older Chronic Leukemia Patients

The experimental drug ibrutinib can be used as a first-line therapy for older people with chronic leukemia, reveal clinical trials. Ibrutinib (PCI-32765) shows great promise for the treatment of elderly patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), according to interim findings from a clinical trial. The phase I/II trial, co-led by researchers at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard ...

US FDA Ahead Of Canada, Europe In Drug-approval Race

The drug approval process is faster in the US says a new study that found U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) generally approves drug therapies faster and earlier than its counterparts in Canada and Europe. The new study by Yale School of Medicine researchers counters perceptions that the drug approval process in the United States is especially slow. Led by second-year medical student Nicholas Downing and senior author Joseph S. Ross, M.D., assistant professor ...

HIV Epidemic may Afflict Nearly Half of Asia-Pacific Transgender People: UN

With poor healthcare and high-risk lifestyles pushing infection rates to 'critical levels' almost half of transgender people in the Asia-Pacific region could have HIV, a UN report said Thursday. The region's estimated 9-9.5 million transgender population is "bearing the brunt of the HIV epidemic", the UN Development Programme study said, adding that figures suggest 49 percent of the community could be infected. The figure is drawn from anecdotal evidence ...

US Study Finds Common Antibiotic Boosts Death Risk

A US study said Wednesday that a popular antibiotic used for treating bronchitis, pneumonia, ear infections and sexually transmitted diseases may boost the risk of death. Azithromycin has been on the worldwide market since the 1980s, but the study in the New England Journal of Medicine is the first to document serious heart risks -- up to a 2.5-fold higher chance of cardiovascular fatalities -- in the first five days of treatment compared to another or no antibiotic. ...

Study Shows Delays in Siblings of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders

In a new study it was found that one in three children who have an older sibling with an Autism Related Disorder (ASD) fall into a group characterized by higher levels of autism-related behaviors or lower levels of developmental progress. UM's College of Arts and Sciences professor Dr. Daniel Messinger, presenting author of the study, says, "It is clear that the younger siblings of a child with an ASD may face challenges even if they are not themselves identified ...

Study Links Modest Alcohol Intake With Less Inflammation in Patients With Common Liver Disease

A well-done study shows modest intake of alcohol is associated with less evidence of inflammation of the liver, a condition that increases cirrhosis risk. NAFLD (non-alcoholic fatty liver disease) is the most common type of liver disease in the developed world, affecting up to one-third of the US population. NAFLD is often associated with obesity and other parameters of the so-called "metabolic syndrome," which is a major risk factor for the development of cardiovascular ...

First Study to Explore the Benefits of Fish Oils at the Cellular Level

For the first time, scientists at the University of California, San Diego have looked deep into a living mouse cell and mapped the processes that power the celebrated health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids. More profoundly, they say their findings suggest it may be possible to manipulate these processes to short-circuit inflammation before it begins, or at least help to resolve inflammation before it becomes detrimental. The work is published in the May 14, 2012 ...

Minimum 20 Percent 'Fat Tax' Needed to Cut Obesity, Heart Disease Risk

A minimum food tax of 20% needs to be levied on unhealthy food and drinks to have a significant effect on diet-related conditions such as obesity and heart disease, say experts on bmj.com today. Ideally, this should be combined with subsidies on healthy foods such as fruit and vegetables, they add. Their views come ahead of the 65th World Health Assembly taking place in Geneva on 21-26 May 2012 where prevention and control of non-communicable diseases will be a ...

School-based Screening Program for Diabetes

Union health ministry has initiated a school-based screening program for diabetes in six districts, says Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad. In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, Azad said that several studies have contributed to overwhelming evidence that indicates the increase in diabetes among children and adolescents. The health ministry has initiated a school-based screening programme for diabetes on pilot basis in six districts - Nainital (Uttarakhand), ...

WHO Says High Blood Pressure Affects 1 in 3

One in three adults suffers from high blood pressure, show WHO figures. Canada and the United States have the fewest patients, at less than 20 percent of adults, but in poorer countries like Niger the estimated figure is closer to 50 percent, the UN body said. While wealthier countries have seen their cases drop thanks to effective, low-cost treatment, in Africa many remain people undiagnosed and are not getting help, according to the WHO. Its ...

Delhi High Court Ruling Gives Hope to People Awaiting Organ Transplantation

A ruling of the Delhi High Court on Tuesday 15, May 2012 allowed a kidney donation to a 58-year-old woman Parveen Begum by her distant niece, Israt, recognizing that love and affection between two distant relatives could be reason enough for the donation. Parveen's husband and close relatives were not willing to donate their kidney. The high court pointed out that, "The Act (regulating organ transplant) recognizes two of the greatest human virtues ...

Colonoscopy Could Help Predict Parkinson's Disease

Colonoscopy or flexible sigmoidoscopy can be used to predict Parkinson's disease, say scientists. Currently, Parkinson's disease afflicts almost 5 million people worldwide. It is projected that by 2030, Parkinson's disease will affect over 10 million individuals. A protein called alpha-synuclein is deposited in cells of the brain of patients with Parkinson's disease and is considered a pathologic hallmark of the disorder. These protein aggregates ...

Battle Against Childhood Obesity With Sports: US

Olympic authorities and sports organisations in the United States are inducting participation of about 1.7 million children in Olympic sports, in an attempt to fight childhood obesity. US First Lady Michelle Obama made the announcement Monday with two dozen Olympic and Paralympic athletes. She brought about the new plan through her "Let's Move" initiative, partnering with the US Olympic Committee, the Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA), US Paralympics and ...

740,000 Lives Rescued With US AIDS Relief Program: Study

A US aid program with the goal of helping foreign countries to fight the AIDS epidemic saved 740,000 lives from 2004-2008, states a US study published on Tuesday. The US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, was started by former president George W. Bush in 2003 with a five-year, (Dollar) 15 billion investment in global AIDS in 15 countries. The analysis by scientists at Stanford University School of Medicine in California examined health and ...

Hand Function Restored With Surgery In US Patient

US surgeons have employed a novel form of medical procedure called nerve transfer to restore hand function in a person who was paralyzed by a neck injury, said a study published on Tuesday. The breakthrough surgery worked by taking a non-functional nerve that controls pinching the forefinger and thumb and plugging it into a functioning nerve in the man's upper arm which had been used for bending his elbow. After many months of intensive physical therapy, ...

Higher Resiliency can Protect Against Later Alcohol/Drug Use

Resiliency during early teen years can be protective against later alcohol/drug use, reveals study. Results will be published in the August 2012 issue of iAlcoholism: Clinical (and) Experimental Research/i and are currently available at Early View. "Research in the1980's found that lower resiliency in children between three to four years old was related to subsequent adolescent drug usage," said Barbara J. Weiland, a researcher at The University ...

'First Gay President' on Newsweek Cover Stirs Buzz

On Monday, Newsweek declared Barack Obama 'the first gay president' on its cover week with no apologies, equalling its rival Time in the likes of online buzz. It depicted Obama with an angelic rainbow halo just days after Obama became the first sitting president of the United States ever to come out in favor of same-sex marriage. "Obama's earned every stripe in this haloed rainbow," said Tina Brown, editor of Newsweek and its online counterpart The Daily ...

Children's Brain Tumors Diversity Excels Compared to Former Notion

Paediatric brain tumours protect definite characteristics of the normal cells from which they initiate, a formerly obscure circumstance with complexities for how tumour cells respond to treatment. This has been shown by Uppsala researcher Fredrik Swartling together with colleagues in the U.S., Canada and England in a study that was published today in the distinguished journal iCancer Cell/i. Every year, 80-90 children in Sweden are afflicted with brain tumours, ...

Back Pain Picks Up In Initial 6 Weeks But Effects Prolong Over a Year

People getting health care for acute and persistent low-back pain, the symptoms will improve notably in the initial six weeks, but pain and disability could remain even after one year, states a large study published in iCMAJ/i (iCanadian Medical Association Journal/i). Low-back pain is a common condition that results in significant health care costs, disability and absenteeism in workplaces. However, there are differing views on how quickly and completely ...

Include Behavioural Strategies in HIV Prevention Measures To Function: APA

A drug that demonstrated prevention of HIV infection in a major number of cases must be fused with behavioural approaches if the U.S. health care establishment is to succeed in lessening the spread of the virus, states the American Psychological Association. "Exclusive reliance on a drug to prevent HIV or any sexually transmitted disease could actually result in a worse outcome if those at risk don't understand how their own behavior affects treatment," said Perry ...

Right Temperature To Savour Full Flavour

Is it possible that food's temperature we consume to affect the intensity of its taste? It certainly depends on the taste, opines a new study by Dr. Gary Pickering and colleagues from Brock University in Canada. Their work shows that changes in the temperature of foods and drinks have an effect on the intensity of sour, bitter and astringent (e.g. cranberry juice) tastes but not sweetness. Their work is published online in Springer's iChemosensory Perception/i journal. ...

Colombia Forests Nurture Powerful Drug Transforming Folks to 'Zombies'

A dangerous drug extracted from a specific kind of tree quite common in Colombia can do away with free will and can erase the memory of its victims. The drug, which is currently being dealt on the streets of the country, is called scopolamine, but is colloquially known as 'The Devil's Breath,' and is often blown into faces of victims or added to drinks. Within minutes, victims are like 'zombies' - coherent, but with no free will. Some victims ...

New Device to Control Acute Inflammation

A groundbreaking biohybrid device developed by researchers helps control acute inflammation to prevent sepsis and other related life-threatening complications. The body's natural inflammatory response is an essential reaction to injury and infection. When acute inflammation escalates out of control, such as in sepsis, it causes nearly 10% of deaths in the U.S. and more than (Dollar) 17 billion in healthcare costs each year. "A device like this has the promise to be ...

Prevent Disturbing Results Of Diabetes in 15 Key Steps

Adopting a string of simple health steps could be a key to evading potentially grave consequences of diabetes, aver experts. The fresh advice came as part of a damning report warning that the country has drifted into a "state of crisis" in which fewer than half of sufferers get the minimum care they need. The state of the nation 2012 report by Diabetes UK has highlighted 15 key checks, essential to staving off devastating and sometimes deadly consequences ...

Harmless Viruses Source of Electricity

A way to make tiny devices harvest electrical energy from the vibrations of everyday tasks such as shutting a door or climbing stairs cracked by scientists including one of an Indian origin. The team from the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have developed a way to generate power using harmless viruses that convert mechanical energy into electricity. They tested their approach by creating a generator that ...

Acupuncture and Progress In People With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Appear To Be Linked

Acupuncture seems to be linked with progress of dyspnoea (laboured breathing) on exertion, in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), as per results from a small clinical trial reported by investigators from Japan. The study is published Online First by iArchives of Internal Medicine/i, a JAMA Network publication. The management of dyspnea is an important target in the treatment of COPD, a common respiratory disease characterized by irreversible ...

Influence of Diet and Toxins in Autism Epidemic

Autism is a disorder of the neural development that is characterized by the disturbed social communication and interaction. There is a repetitive and restricted behavior. Diet plays a role in autism and care should be taken to make food choices. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 out of every 88 children has autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This is a serious concern. Renee Dufault et al conducted a study to ...

Large City Hospitals: Breeding Grounds for MRSA

Superbug MRSA spreads from hospitals in large cities to regional health centers, suggests study. Researchers found evidence that shows for the first time how the superbug spreads between different hospitals throughout the country. The University of Edinburgh study involved looking at the genetic make-up of more than 80 variants of a major clone of MRSA found in hospitals. Scientists were able to determine the entire genetic code of ...

Dietary Supplements Boost Cancer Risk

Higher levels of beta-carotene, selenium and folic acid supplements increase the risk of developing a host of cancers, reveals study. "It's not that these nutrients are toxic - they're essential and we need them, but we need them in a certain balance," says Tim Byers, MD, MPH, professor of epidemiology at the Colorado School of Public Health and associate director for prevention and control at the University of Colorado Cancer Center. Byers is ...

Study Shows Anti-HIV Drug Tenofovir is Safe to Take During Pregnancy

A study by a team of international researchers published in this week's iPLoS Medicine/i shows pre-birth exposure to the anti-HIV drug tenofovir does not adversely affect pregnancy outcomes and does not increase birth defects, growth abnormalities, or kidney problems in infants born to African women who are HIV positive, supporting the use of this drug during pregnancy. The researchers led by Diana Gibb from the MRC Clinical Trials Unit in London, UK, analyzed ...

Monster Drug Reduces Food Cravings

A drug from Gila monster saliva effectively reduces cravings for food, say researchers. Researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, found that rats treated with the drug ceased their cravings for both food and chocolate. An increasing number of patients suffering from type 2 diabetes are offered a pharmaceutical preparation called Exenatide, which helps them to control their blood sugar. The drug is a synthetic ...

Scientists Discover Unexpected Source of Diabetic Neuropathy Pain, Clue to New Therapy

Scientists have come closer to finding new therapeutic strategy for diabetic neuropathy pain that continues to mysteriously agonize those suffering from diabetes. Nearly half of all diabetics suffer from neuropathic pain, an intractable, agonizing and still mysterious companion of the disease. Now Yale researchers have identified an unexpected source of the pain and a potential target to alleviate it. A team of researchers from Yale and the West Haven ...

Burden of Malaria, STIs Exists Among Pregnant Women in Sub-Saharan Africa: Study

A recent study examines the prevalence of malaria, sexually transmitted infections among pregnant women in Sub-Saharan Africa. "There are 880,000 stillbirths and 1.2 million neonatal deaths each year in sub-Saharan Africa. Low birth weight ( 2.5 kg [5.5 lbs.]), attributable to intrauterine growth retardation, preterm delivery, or both, is the leading risk factor for neonatal mortality. Intrauterine infection is implicated in stillbirth and is associated with ...

Gene Variants That Speed Progression of Parkinson's Disease Identified

Scientists have discovered the specific variants of a gene that speed the progression of Parkinson's disease. In a study published May 15 in the peer-reviewed online journal iPLoS ONE/i, the researchers found that Parkinson's sufferers who possess two specific variants of a gene known to be a risk factor for the disease had a significantly speedier progression toward motor decline than patients without these variants. "This is a relatively ...

Bionic Eye Powered by Light Coming Soon to Help Visually Impaired to See

A retinal implant or bionic eye, which is powered by light and may help visually impaired to see has been developed by scientists. Implants presently used in patients are required to be powered by a battery. The new device invented by scientists at Stanford University in California uses a special pair of glasses to beam near infrared light into the eye. This powers the implant and sends the information, which could help a patient see, the ...

Use of Antioxidants to Stabilize Fanconi Anemia

Combination of lipoic acid and N-acetylcysteine can stabilize the DNA of blood cells from Fanconi anemia (FA) patients, says study published in Rare Diseases. 15 genes are known to be involved in FA. These genes are responsible for repairing DNA and because FA patients do not repair DNA efficiently they are more susceptible to diseases caused by DNA mutation, including cancer, especially leukemia. Mitochondria, the 'power houses' of the cell, are also affected ...

Most People Don't Brush Their Teeth Effectively to Prevent Tooth Decay

A Swedish study found almost all Swedes brush their teeth, but only one in ten brushes teeth in a way that effectively prevents tooth decay. Now researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, are eager to teach Swedes how to brush their teeth more effectively. Most Swedes regularly brush their teeth with fluoride toothpaste. But only few know the best brushing technique, how the toothpaste should be used and how fluoride prevents tooth decay. ...

Robot-assisted Surgery to Treat Kidney Cancer

Robot-assisted surgery replaced invasive operation as the primary treatment to treat kidney cancer, reveals research conducted by Henry Ford Hospital urologists. While the study shows that robot-assisted partial nephrectomy (RAPD), available only since 2004, may also offer fewer complications than laparoscopic partial nephrectomy (LPN), the researchers cautioned that available data did not allow them to consider such factors as surgical expertise and the complexity ...

Study Reveals A Walk in the Park can Give Mental Boost to People With Depression

A walk in the park may help people suffering from depression beat the blues, finds a study exploring the psychological benefits of nature walks on depression. This is the conclusion of one of the first studies to examine the effect of nature walks on cognition and mood in people with major depression conducted by researchers in Canada and the U.S. Marc Berman, a post-doctoral fellow at Baycrest's Rotman Research Institute in Toronto, led the study with ...

Way to Avoid Pain During Injection

Looking away during an injection can minimize injection pain, say researchers. "Throughout our lives, we repeatedly experience that needles cause pain when pricking our skin, but situational expectations, like information given by the clinician prior to an injection, may also influence how viewing needle pricks affects pain," says lead author Marion Hofle, a doctoral student in the research Multisensory Integration group led by Dr. Daniel Senkowski, at the ...

Gastric Feeding Tubes Up Pressure Ulcer Risk

Percutaneous endoscopic gastric feeding tubes raise pressure ulcer risk, reveals study. The analysis of thousands of nursing home patients with advanced dementia appears in the May 14 edition of the iArchives of Internal Medicine/i. "This study provides new information about the risks of feeding tube insertion in people with advanced cognitive impairment," said lead author Dr. Joan Teno, a gerontologist and professor of health services, policy, ...

US Panel Urges Quick In-home HIV Test Approval

An over-the-counter version of a test that could allow people to test themselves at home for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is in waiting, with a panel of experts on Tuesday urging US regulators to allow the test. The Blood Products Advisory Committee voted unanimously, 17-0, that the OraQuick In-Home Test was safe and effective and that any benefits outweighed the potential risks of use. The US Food and Drug Administration does not have to follow ...

Link Between Air Pollution and Cardiovascular Disease

Beijing Olympics study reveals biological association between air pollution and cardiovascular health. The results of their study appear this week in the iJournal of the American Medical Association/i, the most widely circulated medical journal in the world. "We believe this is the first major study to clearly demonstrate that changes in air pollution exposure affect cardiovascular disease mechanisms in healthy, young people," said Junfeng (Jim) ...

Eating Too Much Sugar can Affect Your Learning and Memory

Eating too much sugar can reduce your brainpower, warn US scientists who published a study Tuesday showing how a steady diet of high-fructose corn syrup sapped lab rats' memories. Researchers at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) fed two groups of rats a solution containing high-fructose corn syrup -- a common ingredient in processed foods -- as drinking water for six weeks. One group of rats was supplemented with brain-boosting omega-3 ...