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Lack of adequate sleep can interfere with fundamental cellular process

Lack of adequate sleep can do more than just make you tired. It can short-circuit your system and interfere with a fundamental cellular process that drives physical growth, physiological adaptation and even brain activity, according to a new study from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

30 Oct 2015

University of Kansas professor recognized with MERIT Award

Emily Scott, professor of medicinal chemistry at the University of Kansas, has been recognized with a MERIT Award from the National Institutes of Health's National Institute of General Medical Sciences. It's a rare and important recognition -- researchers can receive them only once in a career.

30 Oct 2015

Diet missing soluble fiber promotes inflammation in the intestines, leading to weight gain

Eating too much high-fat, high-calorie food is considered the primary cause of obesity and obesity-related disease, including diabetes. While the excess calories consumed are a direct cause of the fat accumulation, scientists suspect that low-grade inflammation due to an altered gut microbiome may also be involved.

30 Oct 2015

Discovery may allow physicians to warn patients years before onset of diabetes

A panel of markers have been discovered that helps identify if a person is pre-diabetic by measuring the fatty acids in their blood. This discovery by University of Hawai'i Cancer Center researchers may allow physicians to warn patients years before the onset of diabetes, therefore allowing them to change their lifestyle patterns potentially avoiding the diagnosis of a chronic disease.

30 Oct 2015

Incidence of breast cancer among African American women is increasing

Breast cancer statistics published this week indicate a continuing upward trend for rates of breast cancer among African American women in the United States. The incidence of breast cancer in this population of women who have historically had low rates of breast cancer is now approaching that seen among white women.

30 Oct 2015

Physicians leave severe acne patients on ineffective antibiotics for too long before prescribing more potent drug

A medical records analysis by researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center concludes that physicians who treat severe acne leave too many patients on ineffective antibiotics for far too long before prescribing more potent needed therapy with the medication isotretinoin, sometimes known by its former brand name Accutane.

30 Oct 2015

Fast food TV ads pose threat to childrens' health

Fast food companies advertise children's meals on TV with ads that feature toy premiums, and it has been suggested that the use of these toy premiums may prompt children to request eating at fast food restaurants. In a new study scheduled for publication in The Journal of Pediatrics, researchers found that the more children watched television channels that aired ads for children's fast food meals, the more frequently their families visited those fast food restaurants.

30 Oct 2015

Specialized type of immunotherapy can boost survival from pancreatic cancer

A new study in mice by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has found that a specialized type of immunotherapy — even when used without chemotherapy or radiation — can boost survival from pancreatic cancer, a nearly almost-lethal disease, by more than 75 percent. The findings are so promising, human clinical trials are planned within the next year.

30 Oct 2015

Vertical jump could predict lower body bone strength in adolescents

Every year at least 250,000 older Americans are hospitalized for hip fractures. It is hard to recover from a hip fracture, and many people lose their independence afterward. Low bone strength during the growing the years can lead to a greater chance of having a hip fracture as an older adult.

30 Oct 2015

Research abstracts on obesity, weight loss to be presented at ObesityWeek 2015

Nearly 1,000 research abstracts will be presented on new and emerging obesity treatments, the science of weight loss, new prevention strategies, metabolic surgery, digital health technology and public policy when thousands of leading researchers, policymakers and health professionals gather for ObesityWeek 2015 at the Los Angeles Convention Center in California from November 2 - 7, 2015.

30 Oct 2015

New online tool may allow researchers explore formation of hair follicles

A new online database will empower researchers exploring how hair follicles and the surrounding skin develop, according to an article published recently in the journal Developmental Cell. The work is central to understanding the interactions between stem cells and their environment - or "niche cells" - during fetal development, and will specifically facilitate future attempts to make skin grafts with functional hair follicles or to regenerate lost hair in patients.

30 Oct 2015

Patients with achilles tendon disorders fare better with conservative treatment

Achilles tendon disorders are common and often misdiagnosed, with about 25 percent of ruptures missed during initial examination, but the prognosis is favorable for the vast majority of patients, according to researchers from Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine and the Rothman Institute of Jefferson Medical College.

30 Oct 2015

ESRD patients with multiple myeloma living longer than before, shows study

The risk of kidney failure caused by multiple myeloma appears to be declining, and survival is lengthening for patients who do develop kidney failure due to this cancer.

30 Oct 2015

Findings could lead to new treatment for ALS, dementia

University of Toronto (U of T) researchers are proposing a new way of understanding Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), the devastating and incurable neurological disease. Their findings, published today in the journal Neuron, could be a major milestone on the path to a treatment for both ALS and dementia.

30 Oct 2015

Despite reduced HIV/AIDS deaths, disease still persists in South Africa

After peaking in 2007, AIDS mortality in South Africa has decreased with the widespread introduction of effective antiretroviral therapy, according to updated estimates published in AIDS, official journal of the International AIDS Society. AIDS is published by Wolters Kluwer.

30 Oct 2015

Reptile food causes allergic reactions

Reptiles are often chosen as pets when an allergy risk exists within a family and the choice is made to avoid potentially allergenic pets such as dogs, cats or guinea pigs.

30 Oct 2015

Study sheds light on mechanism of neuronal activity

Neurons communicate by passing electrical messages, known as action potentials, between each other. Each neuron has a highly specialized structural region, the axon initial segment (AIS), whose primary role is in the generation and sending of these messages.

30 Oct 2015

Antibiotics have no adverse outcome on child's physical development, shows study

The four out of ten women who use antibiotics during pregnancy can breathe easy, as a comprehensive new study shows that the two most often prescribed drugs have no adverse outcome on the child's physical development.

30 Oct 2015

Study suggests a neural pathway through which early life stress may contribute to depression

Early life stress is a major risk factor for later episodes of depression. In fact, adults who are abused or neglected as children are almost twice as likely to experience depression.

30 Oct 2015

Study finds no major difference in hippocampal size between men and women

A research study at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science has debunked the widely-held belief that the hippocampus, a crucial part of the brain that consolidates new memories and helps connect emotions to the senses, is larger in females than in males.

30 Oct 2015