Other genes, environmental factors also likely to contribute to prevalent skin disorder
After a decade of searching, researchers have identified three genes linked to psoriasis, a potentially debilitating and disfiguring skin condition characterized by burning or itching patches of raised red skin.
The project’s leader, Anne Bowcock, Ph.D., professor of genetics, of medicine and of pediatrics at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, says the results cou
Workouts may result in increased blood flow to the brain, allow a person to be more mentally engaged
Exercise appears to allow for better blood vessel development in the brain and allow a person to be more mentally engaged. Those are the conclusions of a study partially conducted by Oregon Health & Science University researchers. The results will be presented Saturday Nov. 8 at the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in New Orleans.
“While we already know that exercise i
Survey of Public Awareness of Colorectal Cancer (CRC) shows limited awareness that this cancer is the most common cancer across Europe and is preventable.
Results of a new survey show that fewer than one in three Europeans recognise that colorectal cancer (CRC) is now the most common cancer among European men and women, ahead of both breast and lung cancer, demonstrating a severe lack of awareness and understanding of CRC.
The survey, Public Awareness of Colorectal Cancer i
The behavior of intermetallic superconductors, like the kind used in hospital MRI machines, is even more curious than recent Nobel Prize-winning physicist Alexei Abrikosov had theorized. In newly reported research,* scientists working at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Center for Neutron Research have determined that so-called type II superconductors have the equivalent of a multiple personality—at least three distinct physical states, each with its own superconducting beh
A new study funded largely by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) reveals that people diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus (lupus) — an autoimmune disease in which the body attacks its own tissues — have autoantibodies in their blood years before the symptoms of lupus appear. The early detection of autoantibodies — proteins that attach to the body’s healthy tissues by mistake — may help in recognizing those who will develop the disease and all
There’s sweet news about hot cocoa: Researchers at Cornell University have shown that the popular winter beverage contains more antioxidants per cup than a similar serving of red wine or tea and may be a healthier choice.
The study adds to growing evidence of the health benefits of cocoa and points to a tasty alternative in the quest to maintain a diet rich in healthy antioxidants, chemicals that have been shown to fight cancer, heart disease and aging, the researchers say.
New research published this month in the journal Endocrinology highlights a possible safe, future treatment for postmenopausal women. The research, which was conducted by doctors at Laval University in Quebec, Canada, found that EM-652, a selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM) given in association with an estrogen, may be effective at controlling hot flashes and preventing breast, uterine and ovarian cancer as well as osteoporosis in postmenopausal women.
Additionally, the combination
The latest research shows that some women at very high risk of having a preterm baby may benefit from treatment with a derivative of the hormone progesterone, according to an opinion issued by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) Committee on Obstetric Practice and published this month in ACOG’s official journal, Obstetrics & Gynecology.
However, the ACOG Committee said further studies are needed to evaluate the value of progesterone further and resolve issues
Young adults who received growth hormone treatment as children for deficiencies in producing that essential hormone likely will need continued treatment for years and at higher doses than doctors now prescribe, a new multi-center North American study concludes.
Higher doses of the hormone should help protect such patients from excessive and eventually crippling declines in the density of their bones and from higher blood levels of harmful fats that could promote heart disease, researchers sa
A new dissertation shows that relaxation in a flotation tank can serve as an alternative form of treatment to reduce stress or relieve persistent pain, and it has no side-effects whatsoever.
In times like these, we are surrounded by stress and troubled by burn-out. Stress seems to retain its place as the greatest enemy to good health, well-being, and self-esteem. A major international field of research is now focusing on neurogenesis, that is, the generation of new nerve cells. This i
New research suggests that lycopene — a carotenoid in tomatoes that has been linked to a lowered risk of prostate cancer — does not act alone. Scientists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Ohio State University say that lycopene’s punch is stronger in combination with other phytochemicals in the fruit.
Lycopene is an antioxidant and the pigment that provides the red color of tomatoes. Because of recent epidemiological studies suggestive of lycopene’s role against
Screening newborns for a rare but treatable genetic disease benefits families and society, according to a team of pediatricians and health care economists who analyzed patient records and data from mass screening programs in several states. The study appears in the November issue of Pediatrics.
The researchers, from The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and The University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, analyzed the cost-effectiveness of screening for medium-chain acyl-CoA-dehydr
Just in time for Halloween, a new study of the use of virtual reality to treat spider phobia indicates that touching the fuzzy creepy-crawlers can make the therapy twice as effective.
Researchers at the University of Washington’s Human Interface Technology (HIT) Lab measured aversion and anxiety responses of students, some of whom had a clinical phobia of spiders, before and after undergoing VR therapy. During the therapy, some of the subjects touched a realistic model of a large spide
Hospital patients isolated for infection control experience more preventable adverse incidents and report greater dissatisfaction with their treatment, says a new study by University of Toronto and Harvard University researchers.
“Isolated patients were twice as likely as control patients to experience adverse events during their hospitalization,” says Professor Donald Redelmeier of U of T’s Department of Medicine. “Our most significant finding showed that they did not receive adequate
The developing areas of South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa account for more than two million neonatal deaths annually, according to research from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Worldwide, there are an estimated five million deaths, with 98 percent of these deaths taking place in developing countries. South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa represent 40 percent of all neonatal deaths, which are infants who die in their first 28 days of life. The study, “The burden of disease from neonat
Imaging studies yield a potential core marker for reading problems, underscore neurological basis of difficulties
Researchers have additional evidence that reading problems are linked to abnormal sound processing, thanks to high-precision pictures of the brain at work. In a recent study, when children without reading problems tried to distinguish between similar spoken syllables, speech areas in the left brain worked much harder than corresponding areas in the right brain, whose funct
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