Wednesday 31 October 2012

Cartilage Engineered From Pluripotent Stem Cells

A team of Duke Medicine researchers has engineered cartilage from induced pluripotent stem cells that were successfully grown and sorted for use in tissue repair and studies into cartilage injury and osteoarthritis. The finding is reported online in the journal the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and suggests that induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPSCs, may be a viable source of patient-specific articular cartilage tissue... via Health News from Medical News Today Read More Here..

Health Costs For Seniors In Canada Rising Slowly: Points Way To Medicare Solvency

A study published in Archives of Internal Medicine finds that per capita Medicare spending on the elderly has grown nearly three times faster in the United States than in Canada since 1980. (Canada's program, which covers all Canadians, not just the elderly, is also called Medicare.) Cost grew more slowly in Canada despite a 1984 law banning co-payments and deductibles. In the first study of its kind, Dr. David U. Himmelstein and Dr... via Health News from Medical News Today Read More Here..

In Middle-Aged People With Increased Cardiovascular Risk, Cognitive Functions Improved Significantly By High-Intensity Interval Training

High-intensity interval training makes middle-aged people not only healthier but smarter, showed a Montreal Heart Institute (MHI) study led by Dr. Anil Nigam of the MHI and University of Montreal, in collaboration with the Montreal Geriatric University Institute. The participants all had a body-mass index (BMI) between 28 and 31 (overweight) in addition to one or more other cardiovascular risk factors. Body-mass index is calculated as a person's weight divided by their height squared (kg/m2) - 25 to 30 is considered overweight, over 30 is obese... via Health News from Medical News Today Read More Here..

News From The Annals Of Internal Medicine: Oct. 30, 2012

Policy Paper: American College of Physicians Offers Performance Measurement Recommendations to Help Physicians Practice High Value Care Health care expenditures are projected to reach almost 20 percent of the United States' GDP by 2020. Many economists consider this spending rate unsustainable. Up to 30 percent, or $765 billion, of health care costs were identified as potentially avoidable - with many of these costs attributed to inappropriate or unnecessary services... via Health News from Medical News Today Read More Here..

Radiation-Related Mouth Pain In Head, Neck Cancer Eased By Antidepressant

An oral rinse of the antidepressant doxepin significantly eased pain associated with oral mucositis in patients receiving radiation therapy for cancers of the head and neck, a study led by Mayo Clinic found. The findings were presented at the American Society for Radiation Oncology annual meeting in Boston. "Oral mucositis or mouth sores is a painful and debilitating side effect of radiation therapy," says principal investigator Robert Miller, M.D., a radiation oncologist at Mayo Clinic. "Our findings represent a new standard of care for treating this condition... via Health News from Medical News Today Read More Here..

Research Dispels Myth That Sudden Cardiac Arrests Happens Mainly During Sports

It's a tragic news story that often makes headlines - a young, healthy, fit athlete suddenly collapses and dies of cardiac arrest while playing sports. Dr. Andrew Krahn of the University of British Columbia, presenting a study at the 2012 Canadian Cardiovascular Congress about sudden cardiac death in Ontario, suggests this is a problem that warrants attention, but says don't blame the sports. Reviewing coroners' reports, Dr. Krahn and a team of researchers found there were 174 cases of presumed sudden death in Ontario in 2008 in people aged two to 40 years... via Health News from Medical News Today Read More Here..

Bariatric Surgery Prior To Pregnancy Results In Heart Healthier Kids

Kids born to moms who have lost a substantial amount of weight after undergoing bariatric surgery have fewer cardiovascular risk factors than their siblings who were born before the weight loss surgery. This is because the metabolic changes and weight loss that occur after the surgery have a positive effect on inflammatory disease-related genes in the offspring, according to a new study presented at the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress, co-hosted by the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Canadian Cardiovascular Society... via Health News from Medical News Today Read More Here..

Peer Pressure Can Be Used To Promote Physical Activity At School

Using peer mentors to enhance school-day physical activity in elementary aged students has been given an A+ from Nova Scotia researchers. And the increased physical activity levels got top grades for significantly improving both academic test scores and cardiovascular fitness levels. Funded principally by the Nova Scotia Research Foundation and supported by community partners including the Heart and Stroke Foundation, research by principal investigator Dr... via Health News from Medical News Today Read More Here..

Study Offers Potential To Slow Neuron Breakdown In Patients With Neurodegenerative Diseases

A study in The Journal of Cell Biology shows how a transcription factor called STAT3 remains in the axon of nerve cells to help prevent neurodegeneration. The findings could pave the way for future drug therapies to slow nerve damage in patients with neurodegenerative diseases. In Lou Gehrig's Disease (ALS) and other neurodegenerative diseases, nerve cells usually die in stages, with axons deteriorating first and the cells themselves perishing later. Axon degeneration may represent a turning point for patients, after which so much nerve damage has accumulated that treatments won't work... via Health News from Medical News Today Read More Here..

Quality Of Life For Men With Prostate Cancer Preserved By Proton Therapy Treatment

Two studies led by The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have found that proton therapy preserves the quality of life, specifically urinary and bowel function, in men treated with this targeted radiation modality for prostate cancer. Both studies, led by Andrew K. Lee, M.D., M.P.H., associate professor in MD Anderson's Department of Radiation Oncology, were presented in a poster session at the 54th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO)... via Health News from Medical News Today Read More Here..

Clues To Possible Drug Targets For Lou Gehrig's Disease Offered By Yeast Model

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also called Lou Gehrig's disease, is a devastatingly cruel neurodegenerative disorder that robs sufferers of the ability to move, speak and, finally, breathe. Now researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine and San Francisco's Gladstone Institutes have used baker's yeast - a tiny, one-celled organism - to identify a chink in the armor of the currently incurable disease that may eventually lead to new therapies for human patients... via Health News from Medical News Today Read More Here..

Mechanism Found For Destruction Of Key Allergy-Inducing Complexes

Researchers have learned how a man-made molecule destroys complexes that induce allergic responses - a discovery that could lead to the development of highly potent, rapidly acting interventions for a host of acute allergic reactions. The study, which was published online Nature, was led by scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine and the University of Bern, Switzerland. The new inhibitor disarms IgE antibodies, pivotal players in acute allergies, by detaching the antibody from its partner in crime, a molecule called FcR... via Health News from Medical News Today Read More Here..

New Anti-Thrombotic Treatments In Atrial Fibrillation Patients Can Reduce The Stroke Risk

Atrial fibrillation, whose prevalence continues to rise, was described last year as the "new epidemic" in cardiovascular disease, even though AF can be successfully controlled by the detection and management of risk factors, by rhythm control treatments, and by the use of antithrombotic therapies.(1) These therapies have been improved in the past few years by the introduction of new anticoagulant drugs, such that AF - like high blood pressure or smoking - may now be considered a "modifiable" risk factor for stroke, whose treatment can reduce the degree of risk... via Health News from Medical News Today Read More Here..

Alzheimer's Research May Benefit From Finding That Primates' Brains Make Visual Maps Using Triangular Grids

Primates' brains see the world through triangular grids, according to a new study published online in the journal Nature. Scientists at Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, have identified grid cells, neurons that fire in repeating triangular patterns as the eyes explore visual scenes, in the brains of rhesus monkeys. The finding has implications for understanding how humans form and remember mental maps of the world, as well as how neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's erode those abilities... via Health News from Medical News Today Read More Here..

ACR Supports Best Practices For Ultrasonography Use In Rheumatology

More rheumatologists are embracing musculoskeletal ultrasound (MSUS) to diagnose and manage rheumatic diseases. In response, the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) assembled a task force to investigate and determine best practices for use of MSUS in rheumatology practice. The resulting scenario-based recommendations, which aim to help clinicians understand when it is reasonable to integrate MSUS into their rheumatology practices, now appear online in Arthritis Care & Research... via Health News from Medical News Today Read More Here..

Abundant Food Preservative May Slow Or Eliminate Tumor Growth

A common food preservative, known as Nisin, may decrease or eliminate the growth of squamous cell head or neck cancers, according to a new University of Michigan study. Years ago, the Food and Drug Administration, as well as the World Health Organization approved nisin as safe for human intake. This implies that testing nisin in a clinical setting to examine its cancer-battling properties could be a quick and easy process. Antibacterial agents, like nisin, change cell properties in bacteria, making it harmless... via Health News from Medical News Today Read More Here..

IVF Treatments Can Cause Sex Lives To Suffer

Women who are undergoing IVF (in-vitro fertilization) procedures often feel less sexually satisfied and their sexual relationships with partners may suffer due to the stress of the treatments and other factors, according to researchers from Indiana University. Until now, not much focus has been given to these couples as they try to make it through the emotionally and physically taxing process of in-vitro fertilization, even though sex is a major part of a couple's conceiving aim to conceive a baby... via Health News from Medical News Today Read More Here..

Omega-3 Intake Improves Memory In Young Adults

Healthy young adults can improve their working memory by increasing their Omega-3 fatty acids intake. The finding came from a study, the first of its kind, from a team at the University of Pittsburgh and was published in PLOS One. There have been several studies indicating that omega-3 essential fatty acids, found in foods such as grass-fed livestock and wild fish, are critical for the human body to function. One report indicated omega-3 fatty acids can lower a person's chance of developing colon cancer. Another study indicated that they can protect men against heart failure... via Health News from Medical News Today Read More Here..

Babyhood is too fleeting to worry about fashion

With British infants owning an average of 56 outfits, Celia Walden in LA questions the need to dress them up at all via Women's Health, Diet and Fitness, Medicine, Health Advice Read More Here..

Abundant Food Preservative May Slow Or Eliminate Tumor Growth

A common food preservative, known as Nisin, may decrease or eliminate the growth of squamous cell head or neck cancers, according to a new University of Michigan study. Years ago, the Food and Drug Administration, as well as the World Health Organization approved nisin as safe for human intake... via Featured Health News from Medical News Today Read More Here..

IVF Treatments Can Cause Sex Lives To Suffer

Women who are undergoing IVF (in-vitro fertilization) procedures often feel less sexually satisfied and their sexual relationships with partners may suffer due to the stress of the treatments and other factors, according to researchers from Indiana University... via Featured Health News from Medical News Today Read More Here..

Omega-3 Intake Improves Memory In Young Adults

Healthy young adults can improve their working memory by increasing their Omega-3 fatty acids intake. The finding came from a study, the first of its kind, from a team at the University of Pittsburgh and was published in PLOS One... via Featured Health News from Medical News Today Read More Here..

Drug-resistant Malaria Spreading in Asia

Next to Africa, Asia is the second region to have been mutilated by drug-resistant malaria, warn experts. Resistance to the drug used everywhere to cure the life-threatening disease has emerged in Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar, said Richard Feachem, director of global health at the University of California, San Francisco. "In the Mekong Basin there is a growing and spreading problem of resistance... to the drug artemisinin which is the frontline ...

via Medindia Health News More READ

Coconut Oil - How Healthy is it?

Coconut oil is a healthy addition to the diet. The oil has good fatty acids are readily burned in the body and dissipated as energy.

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Novo Nordisk raises year view after Q3 beats fcasts

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Denmark's Novo Nordisk lifted third-quarter core profit by 40 percent and above expectations on the back of strong sales of diabetes drug Victoza and modern insulins.

via Reuters: Health News Read More Here..

Hurricane Sandy: Year's No.2 Topic on Facebook

Hurricane Sandy is the year's second most talked about topic on Facebook. Using laptops, tablets and smartphones and juicing up their battery powered devices wherever they could, people are turning to Facebook to let their family and friends know that they survived the storm. As of 10 a.m. Tuesday, the most-shared term by US users was "We are OK". Other top shared words and phrases included references to electrical power, damage and trees, and ...

via Medindia Health News More READ