Lake forest health and fitness: February 2014

Friday, 28 February 2014

Women With Ovarian Cancer Should Have Surgery by Age of 35

For women who carry a notorious cancer gene and need to remove healthy ovaries through surgery, may benefit most from having the operation as young as 35, suggests a new research. Women who inherit either of two faulty BRCA genes were at much higher risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer than other women, and at younger ages. Actress Angelina Jolie generated headlines last year when she had her healthy breasts removed to reduce her cancer risk. ...

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Obesity and birth control pills may increase risk of multiple sclerosis

Diet high in calories and carbs could slow ALS progression

Study questions wisdom of extracting infected teeth before heart surgery

Getting a head start on Apert syndrome

Scientists have gained insights into skull development in the rare disease Apert syndrome by showing that mice with this disease have consistent prenatal growth patterns. The findings will be published in the open access journal BMC Developmental Biology to coincide with Rare Diseases Day on the 28th February. Skull formation is normally a complex interplay of different signals from various tissues. Babies are born with sutures - gaps in the skull, which close up later on in development, allowing the skull to adapt to the rate of growth. via Health News from Medical News Today Read More Here..

Medicaid Managed Care Congress, May 19-21, Baltimore - Keynote speakers revealed

MMCC 2014 Reveals Keynote SpeakersThe Medicaid Managed Care Congress (MMCC 2014) is proud to announce that this year's conference will feature keynote speakers from CMS and ABC News.The 2014 Medicaid Managed Care Congress taking place May 19-21 in Baltimore, MD is designed to provide you and your company with what you need to implement changes brought about by the ACA implementation. Attend Medicaid Managed Care Congress to get inspired by our visionary keynote speakers:CMS Shares Insights into the Future of U.S. via Health News from Medical News Today Read More Here..

Addressing the high failure rate of lung transplants

Organ transplant patients routinely receive drugs that stop their immune systems from attacking newly implanted hearts, livers, kidneys or lungs, which the body sees as foreign.But new research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggests that broadly dampening the immune response, long considered crucial to transplant success, may encourage lung transplant rejection. via Health News from Medical News Today Read More Here..

Obesity and birth control pills may increase risk of multiple sclerosis

Approximately 2.5 million people worldwide are living with multiple sclerosis and 200 people are diagnosed with the disease every day. Now, two new studies suggest that the "obesity hormone" leptin and hormones used in birth control pills may increase the risk of multiple sclerosis.The findings will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 66th Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, PA, in April.Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disease of the central nervous system. Onset of the condition is most common between the ages of 20 and 40. via Health News from Medical News Today Read More Here..

Head lice eggs removed with ordinary conditioner

Eggs from head lice, also called nits, are incredibly difficult to remove. Female lice lay eggs directly onto strands of hair, and they cement them in place with a glue-like substance, making them hard to get rid of. In fact, the eggs are glued down so strongly that they will stay in place even after hair has been treated with pediculicides -- substances used to kill lice.Some shampoos and conditioners that contain chemicals or special oils are marketed as nit-removal products. via Health News from Medical News Today Read More Here..

Stem cells and cancer cells kept in place by nuclear stiffness

Adult stem cells and cancer cells have many things in common, including an ability to migrate through tiny gaps in tissue. Both types of cells also experience a trade-off when it comes to this ability; having a flexible nucleus makes migration easier but is worse at protecting the nucleus' DNA compared to a stiffer nucleus. Nuclear proteins that regulate nuclear stiffness are therefore thought to control processes as diverse as tissue repair and tumor growth. via Health News from Medical News Today Read More Here..

Study may provide future insights into causes and mechanisms of demyelinating diseases

Using the surface forces apparatus and an atomic force microscope, researchers at UC Santa Barbara have taken a molecular approach to myelin membrane interactions, leading to insights into demyelinating diseases, such as multiple sclerosis. Their research is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of the Sciences.For a healthy nervous system, axons - the long projections of our nerve cells that run throughout our bodies - must be properly insulated. via Health News from Medical News Today Read More Here..

Difference in interarm blood pressure linked to greater risk of future cardiovascular events

As heart disease continues to be one of the leading causes of death in the United States, practitioners and patients alike are looking for ways to cut risk factors and identify new clues to assist with early detection. New research published in the March issue of The American Journal of Medicine suggests that there is an association between a difference in interarm systolic blood pressure and a significant increased risk for future cardiovascular events, leading researchers to recommend expanded clinical use of interarm blood pressure measurement. via Health News from Medical News Today Read More Here..

Fructose not responsible for increase in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is the most common chronic liver disease in developed countries, affecting up to 30 per cent of their populations.Since the disease is closely linked to obesity and Type 2 diabetes, there's a growing debate in the medical community about whether diet plays a role in its development, specifically the consumption of fructose. via Health News from Medical News Today Read More Here..

Personalized treatment approach may be best for second-most common breast cancer subtype

The second-most common type of breast cancer is a very different disease than the most common and appears to be a good candidate for a personalized approach to treatment, according to a multidisciplinary team led by University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI) scientists.Invasive lobular carcinoma, which is characterized by a unique growth pattern in breast tissue that fails to form a lump, has distinct genetic markers that indicate there may be benefits from drug therapies beyond those typically prescribed for the more common invasive ductal carcinoma. via Health News from Medical News Today Read More Here..

Diet high in calories and carbs could slow ALS progression

If you want to lose weight, then adopting a diet high in carbohydrates and calories is probably not the best way to go about it. But for individuals with motor neuron disease, such a diet could slow progression of the condition. This is according to a study recently published in The Lancet.Motor neuron disease, also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or Lou Gehrig's disease, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that attacks the upper motor neurons in the brain and lower motor neurons in the spinal cord. via Health News from Medical News Today Read More Here..

Sleep disruption in Alzheimer's disease

Being awake at night and dozing during the day can be a distressing early symptom of Alzheimer's disease, but how the disease disrupts our biological clocks to cause these symptoms has remained elusive.Now, scientists from Cambridge have discovered that in fruit flies with Alzheimer's the biological clock is still ticking but has become uncoupled from the sleep-wake cycle it usually regulates. The findings - published in Disease Models & Mechanisms - could help develop more effective ways to improve sleep patterns in people with the disease. via Health News from Medical News Today Read More Here..

Study helps explain chronic inflammation in autoimmunity and cancer

Activation of beta-catenin, the primary mediator of the ubiquitous Wnt signaling pathway, alters the immune system in lasting and harmful ways, a team of Chicago-based researchers demonstrate in the journal Science Translational Medicine.An increase in beta-catenin in certain types of T cells - a class of white blood cells - causes chronic inflammation in the intestine and colon, eventually leading to cancer. The same mechanism is used by colon cancer to propagate itself. via Health News from Medical News Today Read More Here..

Improved understanding of influenza evolution

Researchers at Columbia University and the University of Cologne have created a new model to successfully predict the evolution of the influenza virus from one year to the next. This advance in our understanding of influenza suggests a new, systematic way to select influenza vaccine strains. The findings appear in the journal Nature.The flu is one of the major infectious diseases in humans. Seasonal strains of the influenza A virus account for about half a million deaths per year. via Health News from Medical News Today Read More Here..

Recovery from traumatic brain injury influenced by one gene

Researchers report that one change in the sequence of the BDNF gene causes some people to be more impaired by traumatic brain injury (TBI) than others with comparable wounds.The study, described in the journal PLOS ONE, measured general intelligence in a group of 156 Vietnam War veterans who suffered penetrating head wounds during the war. All of the study subjects had damage to the prefrontal cortex, a brain region behind the forehead that is important to cognitive tasks such as planning, problem-solving, self-restraint and complex thought. via Health News from Medical News Today Read More Here..

Spread of breast cancer cells less likely when one gene is turned off

New research suggests that a protein only recently linked to cancer has a significant effect on the risk that breast cancer will spread, and that lowering the protein's level in cell cultures and mice reduces chances for the disease to extend beyond the initial tumor.The team of medical and engineering researchers at The Ohio State University previously determined that modifying a single gene to reduce this protein's level in breast cancer cells lowered the cells' ability to migrate away from the tumor site. via Health News from Medical News Today Read More Here..

In Tanzania febrile illnesses in children most often due to viral infections

Most children ill with fever in Tanzania suffer from a viral infection, a new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine shows. A research team led by Dr. Valérie D'Acremont from the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute in Basel and the Policlinique Médicale Universitaire in Lausanne systematically assessed the causes of febrile illnesses in Tanzanian children. According to the results, in most cases a treatment with antimalarials or antibiotics is not required. via Health News from Medical News Today Read More Here..

Two micro mechanisms uncovered that regulate the immune system

A Keck Medicine of USC-led team of microbiologists has identified previously unknown interactions between critical proteins in the human immune response system, uncovering two independent regulatory mechanisms that keep the body's immune response in check. Their findings appear in the February 2014 edition of Cell Host & Microbe, the top peer-reviewed scientific journal that focuses on the study of cell-pathogen interaction."The body's response to infection consists of a complex network of biological processes set off by the intrusion of disease-causing microbes," said Qiming Liang, Ph.D. via Health News from Medical News Today Read More Here..

Study questions wisdom of extracting infected teeth before heart surgery

A new study, published in The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, warns that removing an infected tooth before heart surgery could increase the risk of major complications, including the risk of death prior to surgery.Abscessed or infected teeth are often removed before heart surgery, as this decreases the risk of infection during surgery and decreases the risk of an inflammation of the inner layer of the heart - called endocarditis - following surgery. via Health News from Medical News Today Read More Here..

U.S. expands healthy food assistance to women, infants and children

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Some 9 million poor women and young children who receive federal food assistance under the U.S. government's so-called WIC program will have greater access to fruits, vegetables and whole grains under an overhaul of the program unveiled on Friday.

via Reuters: Health News Read More Here..

U.S. expands healthy food assistance to women, infants and children

Some 9 million poor women and young children who receive federal food assistance under the U.S. government's so-called WIC program will have greater access to fruits, vegetables and whole grains under an overhaul of the program unveiled on Friday. The U.S. Department of Agriculture hailed the revamping of its Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children as the first comprehensive revisions to WIC food voucher allowances since 1980. The list of foods that recipients could pay for with WIC vouchers was long limited to such basics as milk, infant formula, cheese, eggs, cereals, bread and tuna fish. In its final form, the overhaul will boost by 30 percent, or $2 per month, the allowance for each child's fruit and vegetable purchases, and permit fresh produce in lieu of jarred infant food for babies, if their parents prefer. via Health News Headlines - Yahoo News Read More Here..

Elderly, young to leave area near Australian mine fire burning for 3 weeks

Children, the elderly and pregnant women have been urged to leave a small Australian town because of health concerns from a fire that has been burning at a nearby coal mine for almost three weeks. Particulate pollution, which can damage the lungs and respiratory system, has been measured at more than 10 times the recommended daily threshold in the area around the fire near South Morwell, about 150 km (95 miles) east of the Victoria state capital of Melbourne. The fire at the nearby Hazelwood coal mine, co-owned by GDF SUEZ Australian Energy and Mitsui & Co Ltd, has been burning since February 9. State officials said on Friday that the elderly, young, pregnant women and those with respiratory problems should consider leaving the area because of the threat posed by smoke and ash. via Health News Headlines - Yahoo News Read More Here..