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High-fat diet can alter your muscle metabolism, new study finds

You might think that you can get away with eating fatty foods for a few days without it making any significant changes to your body. Think again. After just five days of eating a high-fat diet, the way in which the body's muscle processes nutrients changes, which could lead to long-term problems such as weight gain, obesity, and other health issues, a new study has found.

16 Apr 2015

UW researchers use Activa PC+S DBS system to treat essential tremor

Essential tremor, a nervous system disorder that causes a rhythmic shaking in the hands, affects an estimated 10 million Americans and millions more worldwide. Deep brain stimulation, essentially a pacemaker for the brain, has been approved to treat essential tremor. But there is not an existing system that automatically provides electrical stimulation only when needed.

16 Apr 2015

Researchers examine how probiotics can help improve health, prevent disease

In recent years, research into the benefits of gut bacteria has exploded. Scientists across the globe are examining how these microbes can help improve health and prevent disease.

16 Apr 2015

New study shows nicotine exposure promotes alcohol dependence

Why do smokers have a five to ten times greater risk of developing alcohol dependence than nonsmokers? Do smokers have a greater tendency toward addiction in general or does nicotine somehow reinforce alcohol consumption? Now, a study led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute helps provide insight into these questions, showing that, in rat models, nicotine exposure actually promotes alcohol dependence.

16 Apr 2015

Heroin-assisted treatments benefit some drug users

Drug users who do not benefit from conventional treatments for heroin addiction should be able to access the drug through the health system, urges a Canadian expert in The BMJ today.

16 Apr 2015

Health-related tweets may help predict hospital emergency room visits

Twitter users who post information about their personal health online might be considered by some to be "over-sharers," but new research led by the University of Arizona suggests that health-related tweets may have the potential to be helpful for hospitals.

16 Apr 2015

Lack of fish oil fatty acids can limit brain growth during fetal development and early in life

While recent reports question whether fish oil supplements support heart health, UC Irvine scientists have found that the fatty acids they contain are vitally important to the developing brain.

16 Apr 2015

Itraconazole drug shows potential in cancer treatment

A common anti-fungal treatment has joined the ranks of drugs that may be suitable for use in treating cancer, according to research from the Repurposing Drugs in Oncology (ReDO) project published in ecancermedicalscience.

16 Apr 2015

MIT chemists develop portable sensor to detect spoiled meat

MIT chemists have devised an inexpensive, portable sensor that can detect gases emitted by rotting meat, allowing consumers to determine whether the meat in their grocery store or refrigerator is safe to eat.

16 Apr 2015

Most people visit health care settings before attempting suicide, study finds

Most people who attempt suicide make some type of healthcare visit in the weeks or months before the attempt, reports a study in the May issue of Medical Care, published by Wolters Kluwer.

16 Apr 2015

Autophagy: A new approach to fighting tuberculosis

A new approach to combatting tuberculosis would take advantage of a complex, natural process called autophagy that the human body uses to recycle nutrients, remove damaged cell components, eliminate invading bacteria, and respond to inflammation.

16 Apr 2015

New research links megalin protein with malignant melanomas

Today it is not possible to predict spreading from malignant melanomas. Melanoma metastases are furthermore extremely difficult to eliminate as traditional treatment such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy is mostly ineffective. Only ten per cent of the patients survive once they reach an advanced stage with distant metastases.

16 Apr 2015

Women with ovarian cancer need to be tested for BRCA genes

The genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 play a significant role in hereditary breast and ovarian cancers. Recent media attention has focused on American actress Angelina Jolie's decision to have her ovaries and fallopian tubes surgically removed after genetic testing for such cancers.

16 Apr 2015

New set of molecules could carry medicines into cells

Just as a scientist dressed in a lab coat and goggles might get stuck behind the velvet rope at a trendy bar, many otherwise good drugs can't get inside cells if they don't look the part. In a report published this week in ACS Central Science, researchers report a new set of molecules that could ferry medicines into cells by taking on the right charge and shape, easily sliding past lipid membranes.

16 Apr 2015

OSU study finds that injury prevention programs are not being used in high schools

Injury prevention programs can help reduce ankle, knee and other lower extremity injuries in sports, but the programs are not being widely used in high schools, a new study from Oregon State University has found.

16 Apr 2015

SGK1 enzyme protects brain cells in animal models of Parkinson's disease

Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have found how a widely known but little-studied enzyme protects brain cells in models of Parkinson's disease.

16 Apr 2015

Scientists identify way to potentially predict progression in patients with early form of breast cancer

Scientists in Manchester have identified a way to potentially predict which patients with an early form of breast cancer will experience disease progression.

16 Apr 2015

New metabolic blood profile method could help predict breast cancer

According to the World Health Organization, breast cancer is the most common cancer in women both in the developed and less developed world, and in the long term the scientists hope that the new method will lead to better prevention and early treatment of the disease.

16 Apr 2015

NIST researchers develop new 2D NMR fingerprinting method to measure monoclonal antibodies

National Institute of Standards and Technology researchers at the Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research have demonstrated the most precise method yet to measure the structural configuration of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), an important factor in determining the safety and efficacy of these biomolecules as medicines.

16 Apr 2015

Oxycodone-related deaths drop 25% after implementation of Prescription Drug Monitoring Program

Oxycodone-related deaths dropped 25 percent after Florida implemented its Prescription Drug Monitoring Program in late 2011 as part of its response to the state's prescription drug abuse epidemic, according to a team of UF Health researchers. The drop in fatalities could stem from the number of health care providers who used the program's database to monitor controlled substance prescriptions.

16 Apr 2015