New route to smoking addiction for adolescents: electronic cigarettes

E-cigarettes have been widely promoted as a way for people to quit smoking conventional cigarettes. Now, in the first study of its kind, UC San Francisco researchers are reporting that, at the point in time they studied, youth using e-cigarettes were more likely to be trying to quit, but also were less likely to have stopped smoking and were smoking more, not less."We are witnessing the beginning of a new phase of the nicotine epidemic and a new route to nicotine addiction for kids," according to senior author Stanton A.

When the living and the deceased don't agree on organ donation

All 50 states and the District of Columbia have adopted the 2006 Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act (UAGA) or enacted similar legislation giving individuals the "First Person Authorization" (FPA) to consent to organ donation after death via a signed donor card or driver's license, or by enrollment in a donor registry. While such laws give hospitals legal authority to proceed with organ procurement without consent of the registered donor's family, a new study shows that organ procurement organizations' implementation of FPA has been inconsistent and incomplete.

Misfolded proteins are capable of forming tree-like aggregates in Alzheimer's disease

A method by Rice University researchers to model the way proteins fold - and sometimes misfold - has revealed branching behavior that may have implications for Alzheimer's and other aggregation diseases.Results from the research appear online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.In an earlier study of the muscle protein titin, Rice chemist Peter Wolynes and his colleagues analyzed the likelihood of misfolding in proteins, in which domains - discrete sections of a protein with independent folding characteristics - become entangled with like sequences on nearby chains.

High-fat diets in puberty linked to breast cancer

Young women approaching puberty could reduce their risk of breast cancer if they avoid high-fat diets, researchers from Michigan State University claim.

The research, published in the current online issue of Breast Cancer Research, suggests that eating a diet high in saturated animal fats not only speeds up the development of breast cancer, but also may increase the risk of developing the disease.

Experimenting on mice, the researchers from the Breast Cancer and the Environment Research Program at Michigan State University (MSU) found that just 3 weeks after embarking on the high-fat diet, mice showed changes in the breast, including increased cell growth and alterations in the immune cells.

They note that these changes are permanent and may lead to the rapid development of precancerous lesions, and ultimately, breast cancer.

Basal-type breast cancers

Report: infant HIV decreases, but teen AIDS-related deaths increase

A new report from children's charity UNICEF has revealed that more than 850,000 infants have been saved from contracting HIV since 2005 in low- and middle-income countries, and that new adolescent infections could be halved by 2020 with more focus on interventions.

The 2013 Stocktaking Report on Children and AIDS analyzed the prevalence of HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) and AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) worldwide, what impact past inventions have had, and whether increased investment in these is likely to reduce prevalence of the infection going forward.

In detail, the report revealed that the number of infants who had been infected with HIV reduced from 540,000 in 2005 to 260,000 in 2012 - leading experts to calculate that over 850,000 infants had been saved from the burden of HIV.

"This report reminds us that an AIDS-free generation is one in which all children are born free of HIV and remain so - from birth and throughout their lives - and it means access to treatment for all children living with HIV," says Michel Sidibe, executive director of UNAIDS.

"It also reminds us that women's health and well-being should be at the center of the AIDS response. I have no doubt that we will achieve these goals."

There is more opportunity than ever to treat women with HIV effectively and prevent transmission to infants, according to the report - through a new long-life antiretroviral treatment known as option B+. This involves the HIV-infected mother having treatment, which is in the form of a pill, once a day.

"These days, even if a pregnant woman is living with HIV, it doesn't mean her baby must have the same fate, and it doesn't mean she can't lead a healthy life," says Anthony Lake, executive director at UNICEF.

The report also notes some significant successes in combatting the HIV burden in sub-saharan Africa. New infections among infants declined by 76% between 2009 and 2012 in Ghana, 58% in Namibia, 55% in Zimbabwe, 52% in Malawi and Botswana, and 50% in Zambia and Ethiopia.

AIDS-related deaths increased in adolescents

However, the report revealed that among adolescents aged between 10 and 19, AIDS-related deaths increased by 50% from 71,000 in 2005 to 110,000 in 2012.

The authors of the report state that this statistic suggests there needs to be additional funding and focus on "high-impact interventions" to reduce AIDS-related death among teenagers.

The report refers to high-impact interventions as condoms, antiretroviral treatment, prevention of mother-to-child transmission, voluntary medical circumcision, communications for behavior change, and approaches targeted for marginalized and at-risk populations.

Investments in education, social protection and welfare, and strengthening health systems are also deemed as high-impact mediations.

In the report, it is estimated that if $5.5 billion was invested in high-impact interventions by 2014, around 2 million teenagers could avoid infection by 2020.

Investments in these high-impact interventions in 2010 stood at $3.8 billion, according to the report.

Lake comments:

"If high-impact interventions are scaled up using an integrated approach, we can halve the number of new infections among adolescents by 2020. It's a matter of reaching the most vulnerable adolescents with effective programs - urgently."

AIDS-free generation 'needs to become a reality'

The authors of the report emphasize that more children with HIV should receive antiretroviral treatment, after statistics showed that only 34% of children with HIV in low- and middle-income countries had the treatment in 2012, compared with 64% of adults.

From this, it is estimated that 210,000 children died from AIDS-related illness in 2012 as a result.

The report states that antiretroviral treatment in these countries needs to be more accessible, and that one way of doing this would be to introduce the use of mobile phones in Zambia and Malawi, which will allow HIV test results to be delivered faster.

"The world now has the experience and the tools to achieve an AIDS-free generation. Children should be the first to benefit from our successes in defeating HIV, and the last to suffer when we fall short," says Lake.

Medical News Today recently reported on a study suggesting that taking multivitamins alongside selenium may delay HIV progression in patients with early stages of the disease.

Written by Honor Whiteman

Tongue piercing-controlled wheelchair performs 'three times better'

A new device shows that tongue piercings can be more than just an expression of one's style. They can also help those who have lost the use of their arms and legs move. In a recent clinical trial, the device, called the Tongue Drive System, performed much better than the most widely used system.

The study, which was led by Associate Professor Maysam Ghovanloo, from the Georgia Institute of Technology, was recently published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

The most popular assistive technology for individuals with quadriplegia - also known as tetraplegia - to control a wheelchair is known as the sip-and-puff. With this method, users sip or puff air into a straw that is installed on their wheelchair.

This helps them send four basic instructions that drive the chair.

However, the Tongue Drive System is controlled by the placement of the user's tongue. A magnetic tongue piercing allows them to use their tongue like a joystick, and sensors in the piercing send the tongue's position to a wireless headset, which can then send six different commands to the wheelchair.

The idea for placing a magnet tongue piercing in the mouth of individuals with quadriplegia was created by Dr. Anne Laumann, from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

"Tongue piercing put to medical use - who would have thought it?" says Dr. Laumann. "It is needed and it works!"

A brief video below from Georgia Tech explains how the Tongue Drive System works.

Tongue Drive 'outperforms' sip-and-puff

To test the effectiveness of the new system, researchers asked both able-bodied participants and individuals with tetraplegia to complete certain tasks used in similar clinical trials.

For the able-bodied subjects, the researchers compared how they were able to place commands with the Tongue Drive System and with a keypad and mouse.

In one task, targets randomly appeared on the computer screen and the participants were instructed to move the cursor to click on the target.

From this, the researchers were able to analyze how much data is transferred from a person's brain to the computer as they execute a point-and-click task. The team says that as the trial progressed, the performance gap between the keypad and mouse and the Tongue Drive System narrowed.

Individuals with tetraplegia who drove the wheelchair with their tongue piercings - 11 in total - performed on average three times faster than their performance with the sip-and-puff system, the researchers observed.

Additionally, they drove the chairs with the same level of accuracy as they did with the sip-and-puff system, which over half of the patients had been using for years.

"That was a very exciting finding," says Ghovanloo. "It attests to how quickly and accurately you can move your tongue."

Tongue Drive System to hit the road

These experiments were repeated in the able-bodied participants over the course of 5 weeks, the researchers say, and in the tetraplegic group over 6 weeks.

Although experiments with the Tongue Drive System have so far only been done in the lab or hospital, the investigators say they will soon test how it works in patients' homes and other environments.

The system is not ready for commercialization yet, Ghovanloo says, but his startup company, Bionic Sciences, is working in collaboration with Georgia Tech to move toward that stage.

Based on the reactions of the users in the trial, the device will achieve success. Joy Bruce co-author of the study, says:

"By the end of the trials, everybody preferred the Tongue Drive System over their current assistive technology. It allows them to engage their environment in a way that is otherwise not possible for them."

Medical News Today recently reported on a finding published in Neurology that demonstrated how breathing low oxygen levels in short bursts could help improve the mobility of people with spinal cord injuries.

Written by Marie Ellis

Aggressive new HIV strain leads to AIDS more quickly

New research from Lund University in Sweden suggests that a new aggressive strain of HIV develops more rapidly into AIDS than other current strains.

From first infection with HIV to developing AIDS can be as short as 5 years - the shortest known for HIV-1 types - say the researchers.

The new strain is a "recombinant" virus - a cross of two viruses that meet in an infected person.

The two viruses, known as 02AG and A3, are the two most common strains in Guinea-Bissau, West Africa. The recombinant strain is called A3/02 and so far has only been seen in the region.

There are over 60 different epidemic strains of HIV-1 in the world. But usually different regions are dominated by only one or two of them.

However, if two strains infect the same person, they can combine to form a cross between the two - known as a recombinant.

The researchers report their findings in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, and first author Angelica Palm, who is working toward a doctorate at Lund, says:

"Recombinants seem to be more vigorous and more aggressive than the strains from which they developed."

The new strain, A3/02, has previously been described by one of the other authors, Dr. Joakim Esbjörnsson.

Recombinant strains of HIV are spreading rapidly around the world

Although it has so far only been seen in West Africa, other studies have shown recombinants are spreading more rapidly around the world.

Parts of the world, such as the US and Europe where there are high levels of immigration, are seeing increasingly mixed and complex variants of HIV. This is quite different to the early years of the HIV epidemic, when there were few dominant strains and no recombinants.

The researchers suggest we need to be wary of the rise in recombinants, as senior author Patrik Medstrand, professor of Clinical Virology at Lund University, explains:

"HIV is an extremely dynamic and variable virus. New subtypes and recombinant forms of HIV-1 have been introduced to our part of the world, and it is highly likely that there are a large number of circulating recombinants of which we know little or nothing. We therefore need to be aware of how the HIV-1 epidemic changes over time."

The researchers drew their conclusions after looking at data gleaned in a Lund University project that carried out a long-term follow-up of HIV-infected people in Guinea-Bissau.

The team is now planning to spend more time looking at recombinant viruses and their occurrence among HIV-infected people in Europe.

In 2012, scientists at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), reported finding a clue as to why some people infected with HIV appear to remain healthy for 20 years or more, while others progress to AIDS much faster.

They found that "slow progressors" were more likely to carry a gene variant that causes the immune system to attack a particular section of the HIV protein.

Written by Catharine Paddock PhD

Bone grafts may be better with new sea coral material

Bone grafts could one day incorporate sea coral more extensively, thanks to a small clinical study that found refining its properties makes it more compatible and degradable than a currently used derivative.

Dr. Zhidao Xia, a specialist in regenerative medicine at Swansea University in the UK, and colleagues from the UK and China describe their findings in the latest online issue of the journal Biomedical Materials.

By partially converting calcium carbonate found in sea coral, they made a biodegradable composite material called coralline hydroxyapatite/calcium carbonate (CHACC) - comprising "a coral calcium carbonate scaffold enveloped by a thin layer of hydroxyapatite."

In a small trial, they found this material showed promising results in bone grafts in 16 patients.

They observed bone healing in each of the patients after 4 months, and after 2 years, the CHACC had fully biodegraded.

The researchers say the new material is superior to coralline hydroxyapatite (CHA), from which it is derived. CHA, which is commercially available, is already used in bone grafts, but its use is limited to specific bones because it does not fully biodegrade.

Dr. Xia comments:

"Our methods have considerably improved the outcome of bone grafts by using the partial conversion technique, in which the biodegradable composition from natural coral is reserved. It works in a very similar way to commercially available CHA for conductive bone regeneration, but the better biodegradation properties are compatible with the host tissue's natural bone turnover process."

Partial conversion technique offers improvement

Dr. Xia explains that when biomaterials do not fully biodegrade, they stay in the bone tissue and can cause problems. In some extreme cases this can lead to a new fracture or bacterial infection.

The team also suggests CHACC could be a promising alternative to autografts, where pieces of bone from another part of the body are used to grow new bone. Autografts are not ideal because there is a limited supply of source material, and the bone removal can be painful and cause long-term impairment.

For their study, the team used coral from the sea around South China and partially refined the calcium carbonate found in its exoskeleton into CHA to make CHACC.

The CHACC they made contained 15% CHA in a thin layer around the calcium carbonate. This provides a strong and porous structure, which is what makes CHA a successful bone grafting material, but it also offers a more biodegradable, bone-compatible overall product.

After testing the new material's physical and chemical properties, the team populated pieces of it with human mesenchymal stem cells and implanted them under the skin of lab mice.

After 10 weeks, they could see new bone had formed on the surface of the implanted CHACC.

The researchers then tested the CHACC in a small trial of 11 male and 5 female patients, who between them had four different kinds of bone defects.

The results showed not only that within 4 months bone healing took place around the implant sites, but also the CHACC implants themselves degraded after 18 to 24 months.

'Promising results,' but still more work to do

The timing of biodegrading is an important factor in bone grafts. After a fracture, it can take up to 5 years for bone remodelling (where old bone is totally replaced with new tissue) to complete.

So an ideal biomaterial is one that degrades within the natural bone remodelling cycle, but not too early so as to deny the regeneration a structure to model around.

The researchers point out this is still early days, and there is a lot of work to do before the biomaterial is up to the standard of an autograft, as Dr. Xia explains:

"Although our study has provided promising results, the CHACC material does not contain a bone organic matrix, living cells and the ability to induce, rather than conduct, new bone formation.

Therefore, our future work is to combine controlled growth factor delivery and stem cell technology in order to develop an even better solution for bone graft materials."

In September 2012, US researchers reported finding that the odds of successful grafts improved by resurfacing bone in a new way.

Written by Catharine Paddock PhD

Childhood exercise 'may reduce effects of maternal obesity'

A new animal study suggests that children of obese mothers could reduce their risk of developing negative health effects linked to obesity by exercising during childhood. This is according to a study published in the American Journal of Physiology - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology.

Obesity during pregnancy can lead to many health problems for a mother, including gestational diabetes, preeclampsia and thrombosis. It also increases the risk of the child developing obesity-related conditions as an adult, such as heart disease or diabetes.

Medical News Today recently reported on a study suggesting that excessive weight gain during pregnancy increases the risk of having overweight or obese children.

With these risks in mind, researchers from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, led by Kellie L. K. Tamashiro, conducted a study on overweight rat mothers and their pups to determine the impact of exercise on the rats' appetite, and whether it would have any effect on their health.

Exercise 'may improve leptin sensitivity'

The investigators fed pregnant rats a high-fat diet throughout their pregnancy and while they were nursing their pups.

The rat pups were fed a healthy, standard low-fat diet. At 4 weeks of age - the equivalent to rodent early adolescence - some of the pups were able to use running wheels in their cages while the others were not. The running wheels were removed after 3 weeks.

At 14 weeks of age, the rat pups had their brains injected with leptin - an appetite-suppressing hormone.

Fat cells naturally secrete leptin, which helps many people maintain a healthy weight, the researchers explain. Although obese individuals have more leptin circulating in their bloodstream because they have more fat, the body appears to stop responding to the hormone.

But when it came to the study results, the researchers found that although the exercising rat pups weighed the same as the pups who did not exercise, they had fewer fat deposits and better brain responses to leptin weeks after exercise ceased.

"There was something about the exercise that improved their leptin sensitivity, even the equivalent in humans of years later," says Tamashiro.

Results could apply to humans

The researchers say that since many mammals - including rats and humans - have similar biology, their findings suggest that exercise during early childhood could reduce some of the health risks associated with children of obese parents.

"Just 3 weeks of exercise early in life had a persistent effect on the satiety centers of the brains of these rat pups.

If we can find a way to take advantage of that phenomenon in humans that would be great, because preventing obesity is probably going to be much easier to do than reversing it."

Tamashiro says that modern-day children do not have as many opportunities to carry out physical activity in school, and they are spending an increasing amount of time playing video games or engaging in other activities that require no exercise.

"Our research suggests that efforts to increase activity in kids could have positive long-term effects, regardless of whether they continue to exercise into adulthood," she adds.

Earlier this year, Medical News Today reported on a study suggesting that current recommendations for children to exercise 1 hour are day are not enough.

Written by Honor Whiteman

Violent video games reduce teens' self-control, study shows

Gone are the days of teenagers being content with climbing trees and playing basketball in their free time. Nowadays, they are more likely to be found playing video games. But new research suggests that teenagers who play violent video games are more likely to cheat, experience increased aggression and have reduced self-control.

This is according to a study published in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science.

A team of researchers from the US, Italy and the Netherlands analyzed 172 Italian high school students aged between 13 and 19, who were required to take part in a series of experiments to determine how violent video games affected their personalities.

For the first experiment, participants were required to play either a non-violent video game (Pinball 3D or MiniGolf 3D), or a violent video game (Grand Theft Auto III or Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas).

While they were playing the games, a bowl containing 100g of chocolate was placed next to the computer.

The researchers told the participants they could freely eat the chocolate, but warned them that it was unhealthy to consume high amounts of candy in a short space of time.

Evidence that violent video games affect teens

Results revealed that participants who played violent video games ate more than three times as much chocolate, compared with those who played the non-violent video games.

The teenagers were then asked to solve a 10-item logic test. For each question they answered correctly, they were rewarded with one raffle ticket that they could exchange for prizes.

The investigators told the participants how many questions they answered correctly and asked them to take the correct amount of raffle tickets from an envelope. However, the researchers knew how many tickets were in each envelope so they would know if any of the participants had taken more tickets than they had earned.

Results from this experiment revealed that the teenagers who played violent video games cheated more than eight times more, compared with those who played non-violent video games.

Another test involved the monitoring of the participants' aggression after they played the video game against an unseen "partner," who actually did not exist. The player who won could "blast" the losing player with a loud sound through headphones.

Teenagers who played the violent video games blasted the unseen partners with louder and longer noises, compared with those who played the non-violent games.

Commenting on the findings, Brad Bushman, professor of communication and psychology at Ohio State University and co-author of the study, says:

"We have consistently found in a number of studies that those who play violent games act more aggressively, and this is just more evidence."

Moral disengagement 'causes less self-restraint'

The investigators also used a Moral Disengagement Scale as part of the study.

This scale measures the extent to which people hold themselves to high moral standards in a variety of situations. For example, a statement presented to the participants was: "Compared to the illegal things people do, taking some things from a store without paying for them is not very serious."

The higher the participants scored, the more they were morally disengaged.

The results revealed that of the participants who played the violent video games, those who scored higher on the Moral Disengagement Scale were more likely to act aggressively, cheat and eat more chocolate.

Bushman says this finding helps to identify the teenagers who are most likely to be affected by violent video games:

"Very few teens were unaffected by violent video games, but this study helps us address the question of who is most likely to be affected. Those who are most morally disengaged are likely to be the ones who show less self-restraint after playing."

The researchers say it was interesting to find that both males and females were affected in a negative way by violent video games, noting that a major risk factor for anti-social behavior is "simply being male."

"But even girls were more likely to eat extra chocolate and to cheat and to act aggressively when they played Grand Theft Auto versus the mini golf or pinball game," Bushman adds. "They didn't reach the level of the boys in the study, but their behavior did change."

Earlier this year, Medical News Today reported on a study suggesting that taking away children's video games may not improve their fitness levels.

Written by Honor Whiteman

EORTC Cancer in the Elderly Task Force: appropriate treatment for elderly patients with cancer

As we age, we experience a progressive decline in many of our bodily functions. This decline can vary greatly from individual to individual. One 75 year old might still be very active and participate in strenuous physical activities, while another might require considerable assistance just to perform simple everyday tasks. Aging is variable. It is a highly individualized process that is influenced by a number of genetic, developmental, and environmental factors.

Quantitative approaches provide new perspective on development of antibiotic resistance

Using quantitative models of bacterial growth, a team of UC San Diego biophysicists has discovered the bizarre way by which antibiotic resistance allows bacteria to multiply in the presence of antibiotics, a growing health problem in hospitals and nursing homes across the United States.Two months ago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a sobering report estimating that antibiotic-resistant bacteria last year caused more than two million illnesses and approximately 23,000 deaths in the United States.

'Higher risk of stillbirths and infant deaths' with pre-existing diabetes

New research suggests that pregnant women who have pre-existing diabetes are significantly more likely to experience stillbirths or death of their infant after birth. This is according to a study published in the journal Diabetologia.

Investigators from Newcastle University in the UK, the South Tees NHS Trust and Public Health England say that previous research has analyzed the association between women with pre-existing diabetes and deaths of unborn fetuses and young infants.

But they point out that their study excludes diseases already existing from birth (congenital anomalies).

To reach their findings, the researchers analyzed data from the Northern Diabetes in Pregnancy Survey.

The data included pregnant women with pre-existing diabetes and all their normally formed singleton infants. Type 1 diabetes was present in 1,206 women, while 342 had type 2 diabetes.

By comparing population data from the Northern Perinatal Morbidity and Mortality Survey, the investigators estimated the relative risk of stillbirth - defined as death of a fetus at or after 20 weeks' gestation - and infant death - defined as death in the first year of an infant's life.

Reduced hemoglobin levels 'may have reduced prevalence'

From their analysis, the researchers found that women who had pre-existing diabetes were 4.56 times more likely to suffer stillbirth and 1.86 times more likely to have their infants die after birth, compared with women who did not have pre-existing diabetes.

Women with glycated hemoglobin (a measure of blood sugar) above 6.6%, pre-pregnancy diabetic retinopathy and low folic acid supplementation were at higher risk of suffering fetal or infant death.

Excessive alcohol consumption triggered by gene mutation

In a study involving mice, researchers have found a gene that regulates alcohol consumption. When this gene is faulty, the mice are prompted to drink excessive amounts of alcohol, suggesting a potential genetic component at play in human alcohol consumption.

The research was undertaken by researchers from five universities in the UK and was funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC), Wellcome Trust and the European Foundation for Alcohol Research (ERAB).

Results of the findings were published in the journal Nature Communications.

Researchers observed that normal mice showed no interest in alcohol presented to them, choosing a bottle of water over a bottle of diluted alcohol.

But when mice with a mutated Gabrb1 gene were offered alcohol, they consistently opted for alcohol over water, consuming nearly 85% of their daily fluid intake as alcohol.

"It's amazing to think that a small change in the code for just one gene can have such profound effects on complex behaviors like alcohol consumption," says Dr. Quentin Anstee, consultant hepatologist at Newcastle University and joint lead author.

He notes their work is ongoing, as they want to establish whether the gene has a similar effect in humans, though he says they "know that in people alcoholism is much more complicated, as environmental factors come into play."

Gabrb1 gene mutation affects alcohol consumption

Weight loss surgery: do the benefits really outweigh the risks?

Obesity prevalence is the highest it has ever been. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that more that one-third of American adults are affected. And with the increase in obesity comes an increase in the number of weight loss surgery procedures. But how safe are the procedures, and do the benefits outweigh the risks?

There is no doubt that obesity is a major cause of a number of serious and potentially life-threatening diseases.

The condition can lead to type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and it has also been linked to some cancers, including breast cancer and colon cancer. A recent study reported by Medical News Today even suggested a link between obesity and pancreatic cancer.

Furthermore, the condition can severely damage a person's quality of life, leaving them immobile and often triggering depression.

Based on these factors, it is not difficult to understand why excessively overweight individuals look to various weight loss interventions in order to combat their obesity.

And weight loss surgery, also known as bariatric surgery, is now one of the most common interventions to which obese individuals turn.

According to the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS), the number of surgical weight loss procedures carried out in the US has increased from 13,000 in 1998 to more than 200,000 in 2008.

What is bariatric surgery?

Bariatric surgery refers to a series of weight loss procedures that an obese individual can have in order to reduce their food intake, therefore causing them to lose weight.

A person is classed as obese if their body mass index (BMI) is over 30. If their BMI is over 40, they are deemed severely obese.

Tentative molecular link between head injury and Alzheimer's

Using a powerful laser imaging technique, a study led by the University of Cambridge in the UK shows how tiny pieces of a protein linked with Alzheimer's Disease could be the start of a process that leads to the onset and spread of the disease.

The researchers also cautiously suggest the finding offers a plausible explanation as to why head injuries are linked to Alzheimer's.

For their study, the researchers used a model cell culture, which shows how the disease may take root and develop in the brain.

But they emphasize the limitations of such an approach and warn that the reality is likely far more complicated. Their findings should be treated as just a piece of the puzzle, as lead investigator Clemens Kaminski, professor of chemical physics at the University of Cambridge, explains:

"These are molecular-level glimpses of what may be going on. We are just beginning to see the molecular steps that may provide an explanation for what we see in the brains of patients who have died of Alzheimer's."

Prof. Kaminski and colleagues report their findings in a recent online issue of the Journal Of Biological Chemistry.

Chain reaction leads to clumping inside cells

Their study focuses on a protein called tau, which is normally found in healthy cells. But in brains of people who have died of Alzheimer's, there are clumps of abnormal tau, which are thought to play a key role in stopping brain cells from functioning.

For their study, they used what they describe as a model culture, which contains cells that behave like neurons and whose basic chemical processes can be observed with laser-based imaging techniques.

They added small amounts of tau to the outside of these cells and were surprised to find they immediately started ingesting the protein.

The uptake of the protein - a mechanism known as endocytosis - appeared also to trigger the process through which the protein begins to form clumps. This led to a chain reaction that affected the "healthy" tau already in the cells - they too started to form clumps.

Study may show how Alzheimer's begins

The researchers say while the model they used has limitations and is likely to be much simpler than real life, they think it offers a plausible explanation about how Alzheimer's begins.

If true, then the implication is: anything that causes tau to escape from inside cells to the outside could be a trigger - head injuries being a prime candidate.

There are also other possible ways that tau can escape from inside brain cells, and these could be linked to other neurodegenerative diseases, such as brain cancer and Parkinson's.

The team plans to take their investigations further and identify, for example, how and where a molecule of tau entering a brain cell meets the tau already inside it, and how this leads to clusters of tau. This could reveal targets for treatment.

Most research into treatments for Alzheimer's and other diseases involving tau clumps have focused on how to remove the clumps once they have formed. This study suggests that finding ways to stop them forming in the first place might be just as important.

More studies needed on head injury as a trigger

Dr. Simon Ridley, head of research at Alzheimer's Research UK, says:

"Investigating how the tau protein spreads between nerve cells can help researchers better understand what causes the disease and offer new approaches for treatments. It is unclear from this study whether head injury could trigger this molecular process, but it is a risk factor for dementia that needs to be investigated further."

Funds from the Wellcome Trust, the Medical Research Council and Alzheimer's Research UK helped finance the study.

In September 2012, a study published in the journal Neurology suggested that professional football players are much more likely to die from Alzheimer's disease and ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease).

In that study, researchers from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health in Cincinnati, OH, found that professional football players had triple the risk of death caused by diseases that destroy or damage brain cells, compared with other people.

Written by Catharine Paddock PhD

Deaths in '09 swine flu pandemic 10 times higher than thought

A new study by over 60 researchers from 26 countries suggests that the number of people who died in the 2009 global H1N1 "swine flu" outbreak is much higher than official figures show.

Writing in PLOS Medicine, they estimate the total respiratory deaths worldwide to be up to 203,000, some 10 times higher than the World Health Organization (WHO) official total, which is based on lab-confirmed cases.

When they added deaths by other causes exacerbated by H1N1, the figure was nearly double this amount, or over 20 times higher than the WHO lab-confirmed cases.

Commenting on the WHO-funded study, lead author Lone Simonsen, a research professor in the Department of Global Health at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services in the US, says:

"We also found that the mortality burden of this pandemic fell most heavily on younger people and those living in certain parts of the Americas."

Based only on lab-confirmed cases, the WHO official figures report that just under 18,500 people died in the 2009 flu pandemic.

This total was already considered to be much lower than actual numbers because not all cases are lab-confirmed in a flu outbreak.

The new study's findings are important because they help us to consider whether the public health response to the outbreak was excessive or not. Based on the official figures, some might suggest it was, but based on these new estimates, that may no longer be the case.

Although nowhere near as devastating as the 1918 Spanish flu, which killed tens of millions of people, a death count in the hundreds of thousands still represents a formidable foe.

Study used respiratory deaths data from 21 countries

For the study, the team used weekly virology data kept by the WHO and information on actual deaths directly from 21 countries, representing aprroximately 35% of the world's population.

From this, they could estimate numbers of respiratory deaths in those countries (H1N1 causes respiratory death when it gets into the lungs and causes pneumonia).

They used the estimates from the 21 countries with a new statistical method to arrive at a global figure, yielding a global death count of 203,000 respiratory deaths due to the 2009 H1N1 outbreak.

However, when they took into account the fact that H1N1 can also cause deaths by making existing conditions - such as heart disease - worse, the team discovered the 2009 death toll could be as high as 400,000.

The researchers also estimate that between 62-85% of deaths in the 2009 H1N1 swine flu pandemic were among people under 65 years of age - in marked contrast to seasonal flu epidemics where the highest proportion of deaths occurs mainly among seniors.

Regional variations differ from previous estimate

In terms of individual countries, there were also some stark contrasts. For instance in the Americas, countries including Mexico, Argentina and Brazil suffered a swine flu casualty rate some 20 times higher than other countries - the highest respiratory death rates in the world.

Parts of Europe, plus Australia and New Zealand, in contrast, had much lower rates of deaths.

The regional variation that this study suggests is quite different from the 2009 pattern of swine flu deaths reported by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2012.

The CDC estimated that the death count was very heavy in Africa and Southeast Asia and lower in the Americas and Europe.

The researchers in this new study could not find figures to substantiate the CDC estimates in Africa and Southeast Asia, but Prof. Simonsen says it is not easy to investigate these regions because there is insufficient data to make reliable estimates of what really happened.

She calls for further studies to look more closely at how the virus spread in the poorer nations. Plus, she says it is important to continue studying the pandemic to find out why some countries suffered much worse than others.

Written by Catharine Paddock PhD

Improved safety measures by mental health service providers help to reduce suicide rates, UK

Mental health service providers looking after patients at risk of suicide need to reduce absconding on in-patient wards and boost specialist community services like crisis resolution to reduce deaths, a report by The University of Manchester out today (28 November) shows.Improved treatments are also needed for patients who have mental health illness and drug or alcohol misuse (dual diagnosis) as well as for those with depression.

Treatment target identified for a public health risk parasite

In the developing world, Cryptosporidium parvum has long been the scourge of freshwater. A decade ago, it announced its presence in the United States, infecting over 400,000 people - the largest waterborne-disease outbreak in the county's history. Its rapid ability to spread, combined with an incredible resilience to water decontamination techniques, such as chlorination, led the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the United Sates to add C. parvum to its list of public bioterrorism agents. Currently, there are no reliable treatments for cryptosporidiosis, the disease caused by C.

Untreated cancer pain a 'scandal of global proportions,' survey shows

A ground-breaking international collaborative survey, published in Annals of Oncology, shows that more than half of the world's population live in countries where regulations that aim to stem drug misuse leave cancer patients without access to opioid medicines for managing cancer pain.The results from the Global Opioid Policy Initiative (GOPI) [1] project show that more than 4 billion people live in countries where regulations leave cancer patients suffering excruciating pain.

New treatment 'could help spine injury patients walk'

Scientists say they have discovered that breathing low oxygen levels in short bursts could help improve the mobility of people with spinal cord injuries. This is according to a study published in the journal Neurology.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is defined as disruption to the nerves attached to the spinal cord in the back. When the nerves are damaged, this can lead to reduced feeling in the body and loss of mobility, such as the inability to walk.

According to the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center (NSCISC), there are approximately 12,000 new cases of spinal cord injury in the US every year.

Randy D. Trumbower, of Emory University in Atlanta, GA, and a study author of this most recent research, says that around 59% of all spinal injuries are incomplete. This means damage to the spinal cord is not absolute, so there is potential for the spinal cord to recover.

"Unfortunately, usually a person affected by this type of spinal injury seldom recovers the ability to walk normally," Trumbower adds.

But the investigators believe their new research may give promise to those who have lost mobility as a result of spinal cord injuries.

Patients exposed to hypoxia treatment

To reach their findings, the investigators analyzed 19 individuals who suffered spine injuries between levels C2 (in the neck) and T12 (in the thoracic vertebrae) of the spine.

Participants had no joint shortening, some controlled ankle, knee and hip movements, and they had the ability to walk a minimum of one step without human help.

The subjects were split into two groups. In the first group, nine people were exposed to either hypoxia - short periods of breathing low oxygen levels - or a sham treatment (control treatment) in which they received only normal oxygen levels. After 2 weeks, they received the other treatment.

The hypoxia treatment involved subjects breathing low oxygen levels through a mask for 90 seconds, followed by 60 seconds of normal oxygen levels, and they were required to do this for 40 minutes a day for 5 days.

The second group received either the hypoxia or sham treatment, then they were asked to walk as fast as they could for 30 minutes within 1 hour of the treatment. They were also switched to the other treatment 2 weeks later.

The researchers monitored the participants' walking speed and endurance before the study began, on the first and fifth days of treatment, and 1 and 2 weeks after treatment ceased.

Endurance 'increased by 250%'

The findings revealed that on a 10-meter walking test, participants who received the hypoxia treatment walked an average of 3.8 seconds faster, compared with when they breathed only normal oxygen levels.

On a test of how far subjects could walk in 6 minutes, those who received the hypoxia treatment plus walking increased their endurance by an average of 100 meters - a 250% increase, compared with those who received sham treatment plus walking.

Overall, it was found that all participants showed improved walking ability. In detail, over 30% increased their walking speed by a minimum of 1/10 of a meter per second, and 70% increased their endurance by at least 50 meters.

In an editorial linked to the study, Michael G. Fehlings, of the University of Toronto in Canada, hypothesizes how the hypoxia treatment may work:

"One question this research brings to light is how a treatment that requires people to take in low levels of oxygen can help movement, let alone in those with compromised lung function and motor abilities.

A possible answer is that spinal serotonin, a neurotransmitter, sets off a cascade of changes in proteins that help restore connections in the spine."

The investigators warn that chronic or sustained hypoxia should only be carried out by trained individuals within a supervised medical environment, or it could cause serious injury.

Medical News Today recently reported on a study detailing the creation of a prosthetic bladder that could help urine control for individuals with spinal cord injury.

Written by Honor Whiteman

Materialism makes bad events even worse

In addition to its already well-documented negative direct effects on a person's well-being, materialism also wields an indirect negative effect by making bad events even worse, according to a paper co-written by a University of Illinois expert in consumption values.Business professor Aric Rindfleisch says not only is materialism antithetical to individual welfare, it also has a secondary effect of amplifying traumatic events - everything ranging from terrorism to car accidents and life-threatening illness - to make them seem that much worse.

When symptoms become strengths in autism

A novel approach to treating children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder could help them navigate their world by teaching them to turn their symptoms into strengths.In the article "Symptoms as Solutions: Hypnosis and Biofeedback for Autonomic Regulation in Autism Spectrum Disorders," published in the winter edition of the American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, Dr.

Study examines delivery of outpatient mental health treatment

Visits to physicians that resulted in a mental health diagnosis increased at a faster rate for young people than adults in a study examining the outpatient delivery of mental health treatment by Mark Olfson, M.D., M.P.H., of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University, New York, and colleagues. The use of psychotropic medications to manage mental health diagnoses is increasing but little is known about changes in the delivery of mental health treatment, according to the study.

BRCA-negative results may not reduce cancer risk

Breast cancer will likely affect one in eight women at some point during their lifetime, and the risks increase with age. However, the risk is not the same for all women in any given age group.

Genetic changes, including BRCA1 and BRCA2, are known to carry a higher risk, but now scientists say that even family members who test negative for the genetic differences are still at an increased risk of developing the disease.

The discovery of mutations on the BRCA genes has prompted many women to take drastic preventative measures, including Angelina Jolie and Sharon Osbourne, who sought double mastectomies when it was confirmed they had the breast cancer gene.

Now, a new study, published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, challenges the belief that a woman from a BRCA family who tests negative for her family-specific BRCA mutation has the same chances of contracting the disease as someone in the general population.

Lead author of the research Dr. Gareth R Evans, honorary professor at the Manchester Academic Health Centre at the University of Manchester, UK, explains:

"We found that women who test negative for family-specific BRCA2 mutations have more than four times the risk for developing breast cancer than the general population. We also found that any increased risk for breast cancer is largely limited to BRCA2 families with strong family history and other genetic factors."

He believes there are other genetic factors that may increase the risk of breast cancer.

"It is likely that these women inherit genetic factors other than BRCA-related genes that increase their breast cancer risk," Dr. Evans continues.

"About 77 single nucleotide polymorphisms [SNPs - genetic variations that can help track the inheritance of disease genes within families] are linked to breast cancer risk. Identification of additional SNPs is necessary to understand why some of the BRCA-negative women from BRCA families are at higher risk."

Twice as many cases as expected

Amino acid asparagine essential for brain development

Researchers from the University of Montreal have discovered that the amino acid asparagine is essential for healthy brain development in children. They have also discovered that while other organs in the body can draw asparagine from dietary sources, the brain needs the local synthesis of the amino acid to function properly.

Senior co-author of the study Dr. Jacques Michaud explains:

"The cells of the body can do without it because they use asparagine provided through diet. Asparagine, however, is not well transported to the brain via the blood-brain barrier."

Dr. Michaud and his colleagues linked a specific gene variant with a deficiency of the enzyme, asparagine synthetase, which is responsible for synthesizing the amino acid asparagine.

This extremely rare genetic disease causes a variety of symptoms, including intellectual disability, refractory seizures and cerebral atrophy, which can lead to death.

Dr. Michaud continues:

"In healthy subjects, it seems that the level of asparagine synthetase in the brain is sufficient to supply neurons. In individuals with the disability, the enzyme is not produced in sufficient quantity, and the resulting asparagine depletion affects the proliferation and survival of cells during brain development."

Understanding how the brain develops

However, children who are carriers of this mutation suffer to varying degrees. One family in Quebec has lost three infants below the age of 1 year to the disease, while two other siblings are alive and healthy.

Aging cells could be to blame for late-life cancers

Not all cancers are due to genetic damage, say researchers in the UK. Some forms of the disease may be caused by older cells circumventing the switch that directs them to stop growing, which suggests cancers later in life may be due to the way our cells age.

The researchers, from the Cancer Research UK Beatson Institute in Glasgow, Scotland, published their results in the journal Nature Cell Biology.

They came to their conclusion when they discovered that human cells growing in their lab that were approaching the end of their lifecycle started to lose control over methylation - the process of "chemically tagging" DNA.

Patterns of this same process were observed in cancer cells, the team says.

Explaining that aging cells go through a process of senescence - when the cells stop multiplying and enter a more dormant state - the researchers say that changes in chemical tagging could prompt cells to become cancerous if they bypass the senescence process and "wake up."

Prof. Peter Adams, study author and Cancer Research UK scientist, says:

"While aging is the biggest single risk factor for most cancers, we have a very poor understanding as to why this is. In this study we have shown that aging cells differ greatly in their behavior from normal cells."

IIC Show, 14-15th February 2014, Manchester

With the North of England having the highest concentration of disabled people, it was no surprise the IIC Show has appeared on the scene. Due to take place the 14-15th February 2014 at Manchester Central, it is set to be one the largest disability healthcare shows to take place in the UK. It will provide a platform for disabled people to turn to for practical advice and resources. Adults and children with different types of disabilities can turn to the IIC Show for FREE resources and assistance to help aid them, their families and carers.

Target Meeting's 2nd World Clinical Diagnostics Online Conference, December 10-11, 2013 - Join for Free

A Free Virtual Clinical Diagnostics Conference at Targetmeeting.com featuring 40 live oral presentations from academic and industry experts around the world. The 8 sessions (40 oral presentations), which will be spread over two days will discuss Diagnostic Imaging, Genetic Diagnostics, Biochemical Diagnostics, General Diagnostics, and many more. Attendees can earn the free Certificates of Attendance. Computer and internet connection are required. Do not need any special equipment or software. It is a great opportunity to learn about recent advances without travel and money cost.

Protein that triggers immune response to viruses identified

A study led by Massachusetts General Hospital in the US has identified a protein that is vital for triggering the immune system's first response to viral infection. The researchers hope the discovery will lead to new treatments for viruses that have evolved ways of stunting the body's immune response.

Writing in the latest online issue of Nature Immunology, the scientists describe how they found the protein GEF-H1 plays a key role in helping macrophages - important cells in the innate immune system - react to viral infections like influenza.

Senior author Hans-Christian Reinecker, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School, says:

"The detection of viral genetic material inside an infected cell is critical to initiating the responses that signal the immune system to fight an infection and prevent its spread throughout the body."

Prof. Reinecker, who is also from the Center for the Study of Inflammatory Bowel Disease in the Massachusetts General Hospital Gastrointestinal Unit, explains that their findings suggest GEF-H1 may control the response of the immune system to a range of RNA and DNA viruses that threaten human health.

Innate immune system is the first line of defense

The innate immune system is the body's first line of defense against infection. It quickly detects pathogens and summons its foot soldiers to deal with the invasion: white blood cells, cytokines and antimicrobial peptides.

The first thing a virus tries to do when it enters a host cell is travel to the nucleus, because this is where it replicates - often merging its own genetic material with that of the host.

To reach the nucleus the virus travels along little tunnels called microtubules that cells use to transport proteins. But until now, it was not clear how virus movement in microtubules affected triggering of the immune system.

Scientists already knew that GEF-H1 binds to microtubules and that it helps the immune system recognize bacteria.

GEF-H1 is expressed in macrophages and is triggered by viral RNA

Prof. Reinecker's lab found the protein is expressed in macrophages - key components of the innate immune system that go around "eating" unwelcome material and pathogens. They also discovered that the nucleic acids that make up viral RNA trigger GEF-H1, which in turn controls the expression of cytokines, such as beta interferon.

They found mice that could not express GEF-H1 could not produce an effective immune response against two viruses: influenza A and encephalomyocarditis, a virus that causes various inflammatory diseases in animals.

Prof. Reinecker explains:

"The sensing of intracellular viral nucleic acids for induction of interferons is so important that many viruses, including influenza A, have evolved specific strategies to interfere with activation of the interferon defense system."

He adds that he and his colleagues hope the discovery will lead to new ways to foil the strategies viruses use to prevent the immune system responding to infections.

Funds from the National Institutes of Health helped finance the study.

In October 2013, another team of US researchers reported in Cell Host & Microbe that they had also identified a protein responsible for protection against viral infections. They found that the protein IFITM3 can disrupt communication between two other proteins that transport and regulate the cholesterol that many viruses need to survive.

Written by Catharine Paddock PhD

Two-way traffic enable proteins to get where needed, avoid disease

It turns out that your messenger RNA may catch more than one ride to get where it's going. Scientists have found that mRNA may travel one way down a cell, then board another, aptly named motor protein, and head in the opposite direction to get where it ultimately needs to be. It's a pretty important journey, because mRNA determines which proteins a cell expresses, differentiating a brain cell from, say, a muscle cell, said Dr. Graydon B. Gonsalvez, cell biologist at the Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Regents University.

"Rare" ApoE gene variant now believed to be common in Africans and African descendants worldwide

Researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College have found that a genetic variation that is linked to increased levels of triglycerides - fats in the blood associated with disorders such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity and stroke - is far more common than previously believed and disproportionally affects people of African ancestry. Investigators say their discovery, reported in the American Journal of Cardiology, reinforces the need to screen this population for high levels of triglycerides to stave off disease.

Eating sushi can increase risk of cardiovascular disease

A study published in the Journal of Risk Research suggests that regularly eating sushi can pose a significant risk to humans from increased mercury exposure. The study showed that tuna sashimi contains the highest levels of methylmercury in fish-sushi, based on samples taken from across the USA.The effects of methylmercury exposure in humans as a result of excessive fish consumption can include neurodevelopmental deficits, poorer cognitive performance and increased rates of cardiovascular disease.

Genetic mutation associated with steroid-resistant nephritic syndrome identified

Patients with nephritic syndrome exhibit an array of symptoms that are associated with loss of kidney function, including excess protein in urine, swelling, and albuminuria. Many nephritic syndrome patients respond well to treatment with steroids; however, subsets of patients are resistant to steroid treatment and are at high risk of kidney failure. Recent studies have identified single gene mutations that are associated with development of steroid-resistant nephritic syndrome; however, these mutations account for approximately half of all steroid-resistant cases.

Improved understanding of type 2B von Willebrand disease

In response to blood vessel damage, von Willebrand factor (vWF) binds to the exposed extra cellular matrix, recruits platelets to the site of injury, and activates platelets, which promotes thrombis formation. Patients with von Willebrand disease type 2B (vWD-type 2B) produce a vWF protein that has a high binding affinity for platelets; however, these patients exhibit a bleeding tendency that is thought to be due to loss of vWF multimers.

Our immune defenses are paralyzed by golden staph

When golden staph enters our skin it can identify the key immune cells and 'nuke' our body's immune response.Now we know how, thanks to an international research group led by dermatologists from the Centenary Institute and the University of Sydney.Using state-of-the art microscopy techniques, the team identified the key immune cells that orchestrate the body's defenders against invading golden staph, and also how the bacteria can target and destroy these cells, circumventing the body's immune response.

Effervescent medicines may contain harmful amounts of salt

Dietary sodium, raised blood pressure and increased cardiovascular risk have well-known links, but many effervescent or soluble medicines contain large amounts of sodium. Researchers say people should be aware of the potential hazards of high sodium consumption and that the packaging should be labeled in the same way as food.

The research, published on the website of the BMJ, notes that patients taking the maximum doses of some medicines would exceed their recommended daily salt intake before they had even eaten anything.

And while doctors and health care providers will happily advise people to reduce the amount of salt they add to food, they do not always point out the hidden salt lurking in the pills and potions they prescribe.

The researchers, from the University of Dundee and University College London in the UK, argue that the public "should be warned about the potential dangers of high sodium intake from prescribed medicines," suggesting that the sodium-containing mixtures "be prescribed with caution only if the perceived benefits outweigh the risks."

Sparkling or still

For the study, Dr. Jacob George, from the University of Dundee, compared the risk of cardiovascular events - non-fatal heart attacks, non-fatal strokes and vascular deaths - for patients taking fizzy, soluble or dispersible versions of medications with patients taking non-sodium versions of the same drugs.

Using figures from the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) database, the team analyzed the data of more than 1.2 million patients who were prescribed sodium-containing medications between January 1987 and December 2010.

On average, the patients were tracked for just over 7 years. During this time, more than 61,000 cardiovascular events occurred.

Even after factors that might affect the results - smoking, body mass index, alcohol consumption and a history of various chronic illnesses - were taken into account, patients taking the sodium-rich formulations had a 16% higher risk of a cardiovascular event than patients taking the non-sodium versions of the same medicines.

They also found that patients taking the high-sodium pills were seven times more likely to develop hypertension and experienced a 28% higher death rate than the other group.

The study authors acknowledge that there is still some controversy about the relationship between dietary salt and cardiovascular events, but they urge physicians to be more aware of the potential hazards of heavily salted medicines.

The researchers also call for "pharmaceutical innovation" to reduce the sodium content of drugs while preserving the effervescent, soluble or dispersible characteristics.

The study concludes:

"Sodium loaded effervescent, soluble, or dispersible tablets should be avoided in patients at risk of hypertension, and patients prescribed these drugs should be carefully monitored for the emergence of hypertension."

Written by Belinda Weber

Early embryo changes shape with its first hug

In research published in Nature Cell Biology, scientists from the EMBL Australia research team based at Monash University's Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute (ARMI) have revealed new insights into how cells organise and form an early mammalian embryo.In an early mammalian embryo, just 8-cells large, the roundish cells do something they had never done before - something that would determine whether the embryo survived or failed. They change their shape.

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma patient response to radiation therapy predicted

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) affects cells lining the nasopharynx. The majority of NPC cases can be cured by radiation therapy, however ~20% are resistant to radiation treatment.In this issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Yu-Sun Chang and colleagues at Chang Gung University sought to find a way to predict which individual cases of NPC would be sensitive to radiation therapy. The authors compared the levels of various serum factors between NPC patients that responded to radiation therapy and patients that were resistant to therapy.

Interaction of nurses, pharmacists, and other non-physician clinicians within pharmaceutical industry is common

Scrutiny of physician relationships with industry has culminated in passage of the US Physician Payments Sunshine Act (part of the Affordable Care Act), intended to bring greater transparency to such relationships.

Burden of 2009 influenza pandemic greatest in Central and South American countries

Between 123,000 and 203,000 pandemic influenza respiratory deaths occurred globally between 1 April and 31 December 2009, according to a study by international researchers from the GLaMOR project published in PLOS Medicine.

'Digital taste simulator' developed that tickles the tastebuds

Those who have seen the movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, will likely remember the lickable fruit wallpaper that supposedly tasted real. Now, scientists are not far off this concept after creating a "digital taste simulator" that can produce four main elements of taste - salty, sour, bitter and sweet.

Details of the device were presented at the 21st ACM International Conference on Multimedia in Spain last month.

Created by a team of researchers from the National University of Singapore and led by Nimesha Ranasinghe, the device - called the Tongue Mounted Digital Taste Interface - can transmit the taste elements through two silver electrodes once it touches the tip of the tongue.

The device does this by manipulating three properties of electric currents - magnitude, frequency and polarity. This causes the brain to think the user is tasting food.

The creators believe the device could lead to people one day being able to taste the food they see on cooking shows.

Commenting on the device's experimental results, presented at the 13th ACM International Conference on Ubiquitous Computing, the researchers say:

"The initial experiments reveal that the method is viable and deserves further developments. This requires further analyses of the properties of electric pulses (current, frequency and voltage) on tongue along with the stimulating material.

The experimental results suggested that sourness, bitterness and saltiness are the main sensations that could be evoked at present."

Potential health benefits

But more importantly, the researchers say the device could have health benefits. Ranasinghe told New Scientist that people with diabetes could use the device to stimulate sweet sensations without harming their blood sugar levels.

Furthermore, he says that cancer patients could use it to improve or regenerate their sense of taste - something that can be severely impaired by chemotherapy.

A video from the research team detailing how the digital simulator works can be viewed below:

At present, the researchers note that the device is quite large, but they are looking at reducing the size to a point that allows the electrodes to stimulate tastes when the user's mouth is closed.

Digital lollipop in the pipeline

The team is also in the process of creating a "Digital Sour Lollipop" on the back of the digital simulator, according to an article presented by the team in Wearable Computers.

Explaining early results of the device, the researchers say:

"Initial experimental results of this system show the controllability of sour taste up to three levels of intensities using the electrical stimulation on human tongue."

The creators note that it is early days for these devices, and they want to further enhance the systems to be able to transmit smell and texture to the user, as well as work on better stimulation of the fifth taste, umami - known as the "savory" taste.

Earlier this year, Medical News Today reported on a study suggesting that performing food rituals before we eat can change the taste and perception of food.

Written by Honor Whiteman

FDA analysis of cigarette warnings 'inadequate'

Canadian researchers claim that graphic images and warning labels on cigarette packaging do reduce smoking, suggesting the FDA has underestimated their significance.

The saying, "a picture is worth a thousand words" may sound like an advertising executive's mantra, but we often fall for the dream when sleek and glossy images allow us a glimpse of the "perfect world." But does the theory work in reverse?

A report, published in Tobacco Control, shows that when graphic warning labels were printed on cigarette packaging in Canada, smoking rates decreased between 12% and 20%.

The study authors say this challenges the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) June 2011 findings, claiming the analysis was "flawed."

In August 2012, the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit found that the FDA analysis "essentially concedes the agency lacks any evidence that the graphic warnings are likely to reduce smoking rates."

The researchers claim that the FDA significantly underestimated the impact of the warning labels and suggest that their use in the US could potentially lead to a decrease of between 5.3 and 8.6 million smokers.

Graphic warnings and falling numbers of smokers

Oxytocin: the monogamy hormone?

Oxytocin has long been deemed "the love hormone," after its important role in social bonding has been documented. But now, researchers have performed a new experiment that suggests oxytocin stimulates the reward center in the male brain, increasing partner attractiveness and strengthening monogamy.

The researchers, from Bonn University Medical Center in Germany, who published their results in the journal PNAS, are quick to point out that monogamy is not very widespread in mammals.

More the exception than the rule, humans frequently exhibit this trait.

As such, the researchers say science has long tried to uncover the forces that prompt loving couples to practice fidelity.

Dr. René Hurlemann, executive senior physician from the Bonn University Medical Center, notes that "an important role in partner bonding is played by the hormone oxytocin, which is secreted in the brain."

Familiarity 'not enough' to activate reward system

'Digital taste simulator' developed that tickles the tastebuds

Those who have seen the movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, will likely remember the lickable fruit wallpaper that supposedly tasted real. Now, scientists are not far off this concept after creating a "digital taste simulator" that can produce four main elements of taste - salty, sour, bitter and sweet.

Details of the device were presented at the 21st ACM International Conference on Multimedia in Spain last month.

Created by a team of researchers from the National University of Singapore and led by Nimesha Ranasinghe, the device - called the Tongue Mounted Digital Taste Interface - can transmit the taste elements through two silver electrodes once it touches the tip of the tongue.

The device does this by manipulating three properties of electric currents - magnitude, frequency and polarity. This causes the brain to think the user is tasting food.

The creators believe the device could lead to people one day being able to taste the food they see on cooking shows.

Commenting on the device's experimental results, presented at the 13th ACM International Conference on Ubiquitous Computing, the researchers say:

"The initial experiments reveal that the method is viable and deserves further developments. This requires further analyses of the properties of electric pulses (current, frequency and voltage) on tongue along with the stimulating material.

The experimental results suggested that sourness, bitterness and saltiness are the main sensations that could be evoked at present."

Potential health benefits

But more importantly, the researchers say the device could have health benefits. Ranasinghe told New Scientist that people with diabetes could use the device to stimulate sweet sensations without harming their blood sugar levels.

Furthermore, he says that cancer patients could use it to improve or regenerate their sense of taste - something that can be severely impaired by chemotherapy.

A video from the research team detailing how the digital simulator works can be viewed below:

At present, the researchers note that the device is quite large, but they are looking at reducing the size to a point that allows the electrodes to stimulate tastes when the user's mouth is closed.

Digital lollipop in the pipeline

The team is also in the process of creating a "Digital Sour Lollipop" on the back of the digital simulator, according to an article presented by the team in Wearable Computers.

Explaining early results of the device, the researchers say:

"Initial experimental results of this system show the controllability of sour taste up to three levels of intensities using the electrical stimulation on human tongue."

The creators note that it is early days for these devices, and they want to further enhance the systems to be able to transmit smell and texture to the user, as well as work on better stimulation of the fifth taste, umami - known as the "savory" taste.

Earlier this year, Medical News Today reported on a study suggesting that performing food rituals before we eat can change the taste and perception of food.

Written by Honor Whiteman

FDA analysis of cigarette warnings 'inadequate'

Canadian researchers claim that graphic images and warning labels on cigarette packaging do reduce smoking, suggesting the FDA has underestimated their significance.

The saying, "a picture is worth a thousand words" may sound like an advertising executive's mantra, but we often fall for the dream when sleek and glossy images allow us a glimpse of the "perfect world." But does the theory work in reverse?

A report, published in Tobacco Control, shows that when graphic warning labels were printed on cigarette packaging in Canada, smoking rates decreased between 12% and 20%.

The study authors say this challenges the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) June 2011 findings, claiming the analysis was "flawed."

In August 2012, the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit found that the FDA analysis "essentially concedes the agency lacks any evidence that the graphic warnings are likely to reduce smoking rates."

The researchers claim that the FDA significantly underestimated the impact of the warning labels and suggest that their use in the US could potentially lead to a decrease of between 5.3 and 8.6 million smokers.

Graphic warnings and falling numbers of smokers

Oxytocin: the monogamy hormone?

Oxytocin has long been deemed "the love hormone," after its important role in social bonding has been documented. But now, researchers have performed a new experiment that suggests oxytocin stimulates the reward center in the male brain, increasing partner attractiveness and strengthening monogamy.

The researchers, from Bonn University Medical Center in Germany, who published their results in the journal PNAS, are quick to point out that monogamy is not very widespread in mammals.

More the exception than the rule, humans frequently exhibit this trait.

As such, the researchers say science has long tried to uncover the forces that prompt loving couples to practice fidelity.

Dr. René Hurlemann, executive senior physician from the Bonn University Medical Center, notes that "an important role in partner bonding is played by the hormone oxytocin, which is secreted in the brain."

Familiarity 'not enough' to activate reward system

Never too late to start exercising for health

A new study published recently in the British Journal of Sports Medicine finds a direct link between the likelihood of healthy aging and the amount of exercise older people take - even if they only started being physically active around retirement age, they enjoyed significantly better health than their inactive peers.

Doireann Maddock, Senior Cardiac Nurse with the British Health Foundation, which helped fund the study, says:

"This research shows us that, even if you don't become active until later in life, your health will still benefit."

However, she also urges people not to wait until retirement to become active, something the study appears to confirm since it found those who were already active seemed the most likely to be enjoying the best health in their later years.

Link between healthy aging and physical activity

For the study, Dr. Mark Hamer, of the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at University College London, and colleagues tracked the health of nearly 3,500 people in England aged between their mid-50s and early 70s for over 8 years.

At the end of the study, they ranked the participants according to overall health and found the top 19% fell into the "healthy agers" category.

The researchers defined healthy agers as "those participants who survived without developing major chronic disease, depressive symptoms, physical or cognitive impairment."

Their analysis showed a direct link between participants' chances of being in the healthy aging group and their physical activity - those who exercised regularly every week were around three times more likely to have the best mental and physical health than those who did not exercise.

This link was strong even after adjusting for factors such as age, sex, smoking, alcohol intake, marital status and wealth.

Late-life exercisers had better health than elderly non-exercisers

When they looked at the split between becoming active and remaining active, they found those who only took up exercise later in life were still three times more likely to be among the healthy agers over the period of the study than non-active participants.

For those who remained active over the period of study, the chance of being a healthy ager was over seven times that of non-active participants.

Doireann Maddock explains:

"It's well worth getting into the habit of keeping active, as we know it can help reduce the risk of heart disease along with many other conditions.

Every 10 minutes counts, so even hopping off the bus a couple of stops early or taking a brisk walk on your lunch break will help."

She says adults should try to do some exercise every day and aim for a total of 150 minutes a week. The activity should be demanding enough to make you breathe harder and feel warmer.

Earlier this year, researchers in France wrote in the BMJ how they found exercise may prevent fall-related injuries in older adults.

Written by Catharine Paddock PhD

Regular physical activity in later life boosts likelihood of "healthy ageing" up to sevenfold

It's never too late to get physically active, with even those starting relatively late in life reaping significant health benefits, finds research published online in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.Four years of sustained regular physical activity boosted the likelihood of healthy ageing sevenfold compared with consistent inactivity, the findings show.The researchers tracked the health of almost 3500 people, whose average age was 64, for more than eight years.

C-section rate for private patients double that of publicly funded patients

The rate of scheduled caesarean sections among private patients is around double that of publicly funded patients, indicates a study of more than 30,000 women in Ireland, published in the online journal BMJ Open.Differences in the medical and obstetric risks between the two groups don't fully explain this disparity, say the researchers, who looked at the impact of social, medical and obstetric factors on mode of delivery among women booked for privately or publicly funded care in the same hospital.

Clinical and biological implications of driver mutations in myelodysplastic syndromes

Myelodysplastic syndromes are a heterogeneous group of stem cell disorders that have been associated with a variety of mutations in genes involved in RNA splicing, chromatin modulation, and cell signaling pathways. In this week's issue of Blood, Papaemmanuil and colleagues provide new insights into the clonal evolution of these mutations and their role in the evolution of MDS. In the manuscript investigators detail results of their efforts to sequence 111 genes in 738 patients, demonstrating the sequential occurrence of mutations that dictate prognosis and risk of acute leukemia.

HIV testing in young adolescents

Having high knowledge about HIV and engaging in risky sexual activity do not make high-school-aged teens more likely to get tested for HIV. Those are the findings of a new study by researchers at Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. The study of nearly 1,000 Bronx, NY teens found those most likely to be tested for HIV had strong partner communication about HIV and were in committed relationships.

4 years after the public alarm caused by the influenza A virus - from a pediatric perspective

With autumn just around the corner and a new flu strain lying in wait for us, the presentation of a study analysing the management of the 2009 influenza A crisis could not, if anything, be better timed. The paediatrician Eider Oñate has just read her thesis in which she analyses how the H1N1 virus affected the paediatric population in Gipuzkoa during that period: what was done well, what was done badly, and whether the health services allowed themselves to be led by the public alarm rather than by exclusively clinical criteria when deciding hospital admissions.

Patients choose a bariatric surgical procedure based primarily on their own preferences and behaviors

A new study investigating why obese patients choose one type of weight loss operation over another reveals that the main factors influencing decision making are whether patients have type 2 diabetes, how much weight they want to lose, and their tolerance for surgical risk to achieve their ideal weight. Unlike findings from previous studies the patient's body mass index (BMI), or measure of obesity, does not play a significant role in the decision-making process according to study results published in the December issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.

Autism study zeroes in on when and where disrupted genes exert effects

A team led by UC San Francisco scientists has identified the disruption of a single type of cell - in a particular brain region and at a particular time in brain development - as a significant factor in the emergence of autism.The finding, reported in the journal Cell, was made with techniques developed only within the last few years, and marks a turning point in autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) research.

A hallmark for the development of testicular tumors found in the aberrant regulation of small non-coding RNA

Researchers from the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) in Barcelona, Spain, have studied the role of a peculiar class of small non-coding RNAs that are mainly expressed in the human male germline. Whereas messenger RNAs transmit the genetic information required for protein synthesis, non-coding RNAs are functional molecules that are never translated into proteins and have important roles in diverse cellular processes.

In a new study, mice who were overweight had fewer taste cells capable of detecting sweetness

Obesity may alter the way we taste at the most fundamental level: by changing how our tongues react to different foods.In a study in the journal PLOS ONE, University at Buffalo biologists report that being severely overweight impaired the ability of mice to detect sweets.Compared with slimmer counterparts, the plump mice had fewer taste cells that responded to sweet stimuli. What's more, the cells that did respond to sweetness reacted relatively weakly.The findings peel back a new layer of the mystery of how obesity alters our relationship to food.

Task Force updates oral cancer screening recommendations

The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) found insufficient evidence to recommend for or against screening for oral cancer by primary care physicians in asymptomatic adults, according to an article published in Annals of Internal Medicine. Oral cancer and pharyngeal cancer include cancer of the lip, oral cavity, and pharynx. Up to 75 percent of oral cancers are attributable to tobacco and alcohol use, but sexually transmitted oral HPV infection has recently been recognized as an increasingly important risk factor for oropharyngeal cancer.