Dark chocolate 'good for the heart,' study suggests

Nutritionists have long said that eating dark chocolate in moderation can be good for our health. Now, researchers have discovered why. It may reduce the risk of atherosclerosis - thickening and hardening of the arteries - by restoring flexibility of the arteries and preventing white blood cells from sticking to the blood vessel walls.

The research team, including Prof. Diederik Esser of the Top Institute Food and Nutrition and the Division of Human Nutrition at Wageningen University, both in the Netherlands, published the study in The FASEB Journal.

To reach their findings, the investigators analyzed 44 overweight men aged between 45 and 70 years.

Over two periods of 4 weeks, the men were required to eat either 70 g of regular dark chocolate each day or 70 g of specially produced dark chocolate with high levels of flavanol - a naturally occurring antioxidant found in some plants, including the cocoa plant. Both chocolates were similar in their cocoa content.

Subjects were asked not to eat other foods high in calories during the study period, in order to prevent them from gaining weight.

The researchers assessed how both the chocolate high in flavanols and the regular chocolate stimulated the participants' senses over the study duration. In other words, they looked at whether flavanol content motivated the subjects to eat the chocolate.

The vascular health of the participants was assessed both at the baseline and end of the study period.

Improved heart health 'not down to flavanols'

Viruses in 700-year-old human feces have antibiotic resistance genes

Though digging through a latrine from the 14th century is not the most glamorous of tasks, scientists have found viruses that contain genes for antibiotic resistance in fossilized human feces from ancient Belgium.

The feces are from a time long before antibiotics were used, and the investigators say it provides evidence that the human gut has remained unchanged after centuries.

They publish the results of their study in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

But how does one find fecal samples from 700 years ago? The scientists say their research began when an urban renewal project in Belgium uncovered latrines from the 1300s beneath a square.

In 1996, the specimen was excavated and collected from inside a closed barrel, which was frequently used as a toilet in that era. The team notes that the barrel was still intact when it was found, which suggests the sample was protected from contamination for centuries.

Additionally, the team took "extensive precautions" to avoid contamination of the sample both at the site and in the lab.

After analyzing the ancient feces, the team found phages, which are viruses that infect bacteria, rather than eukaryotic organisms - such as plants, animals and fungi.

They compared the fossilized sample's DNA virome with the viromes of 21 modern human stool specimens and found that many of the viral sequences were related to viruses known today to infect bacteria in stools.

The researchers say this includes both bacteria that live harmlessly - and sometimes helpfully - in the human gut and human pathogens.

'Ancient reservoir of resistance genes'

Could Google Glass be used to predict disease outbreaks?

Experts at the University of California, Los Angeles, have developed a Google Glass app that they claim could help stop emerging public health threats around the world.

Glass is a pioneering "wearable computer" designed by the software and computing corporation Google. It takes the form of a pair of eyeglasses with a small transparent computer screen in the right eye and a touchpad built into the right arm of the frame.

Recently launched to consumers, Google Glass has already received a large amount of hype from tech optimists, as well as criticism on privacy issues caused by the headset's mounted video camera.

Only today, the first "Google Glass hate crime" was reported when a technology journalist was assaulted in a San Francisco bar, allegedly over her use of the device.

Meanwhile, health care professionals are exploring the medical applications of Google Glass.

Recently, Medical News Today reported on surgeons using Google Glass while operating. The surgeons involved think that Google Glass is useful for live-streaming procedures - which could provide better training for students - and communicating directly from the operating room with a patient's loved ones.

They also think that being able to view MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) and X-ray results on the Glass screen will be beneficial to surgeons while operating.

An Australian technology company has also developed a Google Glass app to help mothers breastfeed.

New app uses QR codes to relay diagnostic data

New report highlights growing drug and alcohol problems for older people

DrugScope, the UK's leading membership charity for the drug and alcohol field, today launches a report on behalf of the Recovery Partnership - It's about time: tackling substance misuse in older people - revealing the extent to which problems among older people remain hidden. Drawing on the results of recent studies and government figures, together with DrugScope's own consultations with academics and health professionals and site visits to specialist services, the report highlights some disturbing trends: It has been estimated that 1.

Coordinating care for persons with dementia and their carers improves outcomes

A care coordination programme for patients with Alzheimer's and their carers resulted in improvements in psychosocial function of patients with dementia. The programme, a partnership between community and health organisations, also showed positive results for carers. The work is published in the journal Alzheimer's Research and Therapy and shows that non-pharmacological programs and interventions can play a role in improving care for people with dementia and their family caregivers. Alzheimer's is the most common form of dementia.

Early atherosclerotic plaques in the vessel wall regress completely when cholesterol levels are lowered

Early but not advanced forms of atherosclerotic plaques in the vessel wall disappear when the levels of 'bad' cholesterol are lowered, according to a study in mice from Karolinska Institutet, Sweden. The findings, published in PLoS Genetics, indicate that preventative cholesterol-lowering treatment could prevent more advanced, clinically relevant plaque to develop.Almost half of all deaths worldwide are caused by strokes and heart attacks. The main underlying cause is atherosclerosis, where fat accumulates in the blood vessel walls in the so-called plaques.

Better survival after lung cancer diagnosis in women linked to hormone therapy

Survival among people with lung cancer has been better for women than men, and the findings of a recent study indicate that female hormones may be a factor in this difference. The combination of estrogen plus progesterone and the use of long-term hormone therapy were associated with the most significant improvements in survival.The study was designed to explore the influence of several reproductive and hormonal factors on overall survival of women with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Technology to detect explosives from greater distances may signal the beginning of the end for full-body scanners

Standing in a full-body scanner at an airport isn't fun, and the process adds time and stress to a journey. It also raises privacy concerns. Researchers now report in ACS' The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters a more precise and direct method for using that "terahertz" (THz) technology to detect explosives from greater distances. The advance could ultimately lead to detectors that survey a wider area of an airport without the need for full-body scanners.R. Kosloff and colleagues explain that using THz spectroscopy by itself is challenging for sensing far-away explosives.

Bio-inspired actuated material developed that mimics the complex motion of the heart muscle and could lead to better implantable medical devices

In the heart, as in the movies, 3D action beats the 2D experience hands down.In 3D, healthy hearts do their own version of the twist. Rather than a simple pumping action, they circulate blood as if they were wringing a towel. The bottom of the heart twists as it contracts in a counterclockwise direction while the top twists clockwise. Scientists call this the left ventricular twist - and it can be used as an indicator of heart health.The heart is not alone. The human body is replete with examples of soft muscular systems that bend, twist, extend, and flex in complex ways.

Getting a head start on Apert syndrome

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

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

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

Addressing the high failure rate of lung transplants

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

Physicians' stethoscopes more contaminated than palms of their hands

Although healthcare workers' hands are the main source of bacterial transmission in hospitals, physicians' stethoscopes appear to play a role. To explore this question, investigators at the University of Geneva Hospitals assessed the level of bacterial contamination on physicians' hands and stethoscopes following a single physical examination. The study appears in Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

Oral immunotherapy with antibody-based medication could be used to treat multiple food allergies

By combining standard desensitization of up to five food allergies with antibody-based medication omalizumab, it may be possible to treat multiple food allergies in a shorter timeframe. This is according to a Phase 1 trial, with 25 patients, published in open access journal Allergy, Asthma & Clinical Immunology. Food allergies affect up to 8% of children in the US, and 30% of those affected have more than one allergy. It has been estimated that food allergies cost US$25 billion each year, with approximately US$20 million borne by patients' families.

C-section babies have higher odds of being overweight adults

Researchers from Imperial College London in the UK have found that babies born by Caesarean section are more likely to be overweight or obese in adulthood than those born by vaginal delivery. Publishing their results in the journal PLOS ONE, the team says mothers should be aware of these potential long-term consequences for their children.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the total US Caesarean (C-section) delivery rate in 2011 was at 32.8%, which means a total of nearly 1.3 million babies were delivered this way.

During this procedure, doctors take the baby out of the mother through her abdomen. Most C-sections are performed when unexpected problems occur, such as the position of the baby or signs of distress, but some women choose to deliver this way even in the absence of problems.

Though the surgery is relatively safe, it does carry risks for both the mother and baby. For example, previous studies have suggested babies born by Caesarean are more likely to develop asthma or type 1 diabetes during childhood.

Prof. Neena Modi, senior author from the Department of Medicine at Imperial College London, says:

"There are good reasons why C-section may be the best option for many mothers and their babies, and C-sections can on occasion be life-saving. However, we need to understand the long-term outcomes in order to provide the best advice to women who are considering Caesarean delivery."

Odds of being overweight adults are 26% higher for C-section babies

Proposed changes to nutrition labels and marketing food to children

The nutrition labels on packaged food and beverages may be due a makeover, thanks to proposals from the Food and Drug Administration.

The agency is accepting public comment on the proposed changes for 90 days. If passed, the proposed changes will mark the first major overhaul for nutrition labels since the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) made them compulsory 20 years ago.

FDA officials say that the redesign has been prompted by a shift in shoppers' priorities. They claim that nutrition is now better understood by consumers, and paying attention to what it says on the label plays an important role in that understanding.

Last month, the US Department of Agriculture reported that 42% of adults between 29 and 68 - and 57% of Americans over 68 - take nutrition labeling into account most or all of the time when shopping.

In 2007, a similar survey found that only 34% of working-age Americans and 51% of seniors took labeling into consideration when purchasing food.

By comparison, in 2012 Medical News Today reported on a study finding that, in Europe, nutritional labeling is largely being ignored by consumers.

Introduced to food packaging in the 1960s - primarily for people with special dietary needs - nutrition labeling was voluntary until 1990, when the FDA began to request labels for prepared and packaged food. This followed a trend that saw fewer Americans preparing meals at home, compared with previous decades.

Renewed focus on calories and added sugars

The proposed changes are designed to make finding healthier foods easier. The new labels will focus more on calories, added sugars and certain nutrients.

"By revamping the Nutrition Facts label, FDA wants to make it easier than ever for consumers to make better informed food choices that will support a healthy diet," says Michael R. Taylor, the FDA's deputy commissioner for foods and veterinary medicine. "To help address obesity, one of the most important public health problems facing our country, the proposed label would drive attention to calories and serving sizes."

Instead of including the current "calories from fat" information displayed on labels, the redesigned information will now focus on the total calories found in each serving.

Mailing free test kits improves colon cancer screening rates

Making defibrillators as common as fire extinguishers could save lives

Despite several campaigns to increase numbers of defibrillators in public places - and the English government's acknowledgement of their life-saving role - public access to them is low, as is understanding of their use, says a new UK study. The findings imply it would be a different story if defibrillators were as accessible and as well understood as fire extinguishers.

Estimates from the British Heart Foundation (BHF) suggest around 60,000 out of hospital cardiac arrests or heart attacks occur in the UK every year.

A defibrillator - also called an automated external defibrillator or AED - is a device that delivers an electric shock to the heart of someone who is having a cardiac arrest or heart attack. Prompt use of an AED can shock the heart back into rhythm.

Acting quickly when someone is in cardiac arrest before the ambulance arrives can save their life. Every minute without CPR and defibrillation reduces their chance of survival by 10%.

The aim of the new UK study was to find out how available AEDs were, given the effort that has been put in over the last 10 years to promote and deploy them in public places, such as shopping centers and train stations.

The study was conducted by researchers from the University of Southamptom, working with the South Central Ambulance Service, and it is published in the journal Heart.

Survival rates of people who have heart attacks outside hospital 'disappointingly poor'

One of the study leaders, Charles Deakin, a professor with the University of Southampton, medical director of South Central Ambulance Service and a consultant at Southampton General Hospital, explains:

"Survival from the 30,000 annual cardiac arrests where resuscitation is attempted remains disappointingly poor, with survival rates of only 7%. Bystander CPR and early defibrillation with public access defibrillators (PADs) have the potential to increase survival three-fold and we were therefore interested to see how often this intervention was available to patients prior to ambulance arrival."

He says despite efforts by health authorities and charities like the British Heart Foundation to promote, distribute and make public access defibrillators more available to community groups, they found many key places had none.

Places like GP surgeries, railway stations and gyms were devoid of public access defibrillators, he says, with the result that a "PAD was available in only 4% of confirmed cardiac arrests," and adds, "even then, only half of these patients had a PAD successfully attached."

Public access to and understanding how to use AEDs strengthens 'chain of survival'

He and his colleagues conclude that more needs to be done to increase public access to, plus confidence and understanding of how to use defibrillators.

The successful resuscitation of patients who have heart attacks outside of the hospital is an important early link in their "chain of survival" and this needs to be strengthened, they urge.

For the study, the researchers focused on the county of Hampshire in England because it has a typical mix of rural and urban communities. The county covers 1,400 square miles and has a population of about 1.76 million, including 12% over the age of 70.

The team looked at all the calls that were made to the South Central Ambulance Service over a period of 12 months following a heart attack.

When the ambulance service receives such a call, if it is not from a person's home, they always ask if the caller has access to a defibrillator. If they do, then they are given instructions on how to use it.

Over the study period, 1,035 calls were made following later-confirmed heart attacks that occurred out of the hospital.

In 44 of cases (4.25%) in 34 different public places, the caller was able to access an AED. But in only 18 incidents (41%, less than half of cases) was the caller able to attach the device to the victim before the ambulance arrived.

The authors calculated that this meant the overall deployment rate of AEDs for heart attacks in public places was only 1.74%, which they describe as "disappointingly low."

Across Hampshire, as of October 2012, there were 673 external defibrillators located in 278 places, including all large shopping centers. But on average, there was only just over 1 defibrillator for every 10 nursing homes, about 1 per 20 train stations, and similar numbers in other places like community centers and village halls.

While the findings apply to only one county, Prof. Deakin believes they are probably typical of the rest of the country.

In a paper published in Circulation in April 2013, researchers in Canada calculated that over a 5-year period in Toronto, only 23% of cardiac arrests occurred within 100 meters of an AED.

In a 1.5 minute walk to fetch an AED and use it to help a heart attack victim, 100 meters is about the distance a bystander covers. This time span is the maximum recommended by the American Heart Association.

Written by Catharine Paddock PhD



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"SuperMum" campaign results in startling improvements in people's handwashing behaviour

An analysis of a unique "SuperMum" handwashing campaign shows for the first time that using emotional motivators, such as feelings of disgust and nurture, rather than health messages, can result in significant, long-lasting improvements in people's handwashing behaviour, and could in turn help to reduce the risk of infectious diseases.

Virginia Tech researchers work with new wireless technologies to improve hospitals

Medical mistakes happen every day, even with the best doctors and nurses. One way to reduce medical errors is to adopt new wireless technologies that improve health care and reduce costs, according to researchers with Virginia Tech's Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science.Hospitals are dense electromagnetic environments with multiple wireless devices working in one room. The problem is these devices do not work well together and often interfere with each other.

FDA approves Myalept to treat rare metabolic disease

On Feb. 24, 2014, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Myalept (metreleptin for injection) as replacement therapy to treat the complications of leptin deficiency, in addition to diet, in patients with congenital generalized or acquired generalized lipodystrophy. Generalized lipodystrophy is a condition associated with a lack of fat tissue. Patients with congenital generalized lipodystrophy are born with little or no fat tissue. Patients with acquired generalized lipodystrophy generally lose fat tissue over time.

Why almost winning is just as good for some gamblers

A new study led by the University of Exeter and Swansea University has pinpointed the changes in the brain that lead gamblers to react in the same way to near-misses as they do to winning.The research shows that near-misses are underpinned by increases in the brain's electrical activity, particularly in the theta frequency range - known to be involved in processing win and loss outcomes.They found that these increases in theta are linked to both how severe someone's gambling history is and how susceptible they might be to developing a future gambling problem.

Stigma is the main barrier to accessing mental health care

Mental health stigma is a key factor preventing people from accessing the care they need, according to new research from King's College London.The new study, published in Psychological Medicine, brings together data from 144 studies, including over 90,000 participants worldwide.Approximately 1 in 4 people have a mental health problem, yet in Europe and the US, up to 75 percent of people with mental health disorders do not receive treatment.

Diabetic foot ulcers healed, amputation prevented by tissue repair drug

Patients were twice as likely to have a diabetic foot ulcer heal within eight weeks when they were treated with a tissue repair drug versus a placebo, according to new research accepted for publication in the Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).Foot ulcers are a common complication from diabetes than can lead to hospitalization and lower limb amputation. In 2006, about 65,700 non-traumatic lower-limb amputations were performed in people with diabetes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Passive smoking 'increases risk of miscarriage, stillbirth and ectopic pregnancy'

Past research has linked passive smoking to an increased risk of obesity, diabetes and even hearing loss. Now, a new study suggests that exposure to secondhand smoke may increase a woman's risk of miscarriage, stillbirth and ectopic pregnancy.

The study findings were recently published online in the journal Tobacco Control - a journal of the BMJ.

In their background information of the study, the researchers note that smoking during pregnancy can increase the risk of miscarriage and birth complications. But they point out that it is unclear as to whether passive smoking can have a similar impact.

To find out, the investigators analyzed data from 80,762 women who were a part of the Women's Health Initiative Observation Study.

All women had been pregnant at least once and had gone through menopause.

Of these women, 5,082 (6.3%) were current smokers, 34,830 were former smokers (smoked more than 100 cigarettes in their lifetime) and 40,850 were never-smokers (had not smoked more than 100 cigarettes in their lifetime).

The women who were never-smokers were split into groups dependent on the levels of secondhand smoke they were exposed to as a child, as an adult at home and as an adult at work.

The longer the exposure to secondhand smoke, the greater the risk

Of all the women in the study, 26,307 (32.6%) reported having a miscarriage at least once, while 3,552 (4.4%) had a stillbirth and 2,033 (2.5%) experienced a tubal ectopic pregnancy.

Women who had ever smoked during their reproductive years were 44% more likely to have a stillborn child, 43% more likely to have an ectopic pregnancy and 16% more likely to miscarry, compared with never-smokers.

However, the researchers found that never-smokers who had been exposed to secondhand smoke also had a significantly higher risk of stillbirth, miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy, compared with never-smokers who had not been exposed to secondhand smoke.

Furthermore, the investigators found that the longer these never-smokers had been exposed to secondhand smoke, the greater their risk.

Women with the highest exposure levels to secondhand smoke included those with more than 10 years exposure as a child, more than 10 years exposure as an adult at home, or more than 10 years exposure as an adult in the workplace.

These women were 61% more likely to have an ectopic pregnancy, 55% more likely to have a stillbirth and 17% more likely to miscarry, compared with never-smokers who had low exposure to secondhand smoke.

Commenting on these findings, the researchers say:

"These data and results in this study provide new evidence that suggests that secondhand smoke can have previously unstudied effects on pregnancy outcomes, including spontaneous abortion, stillbirth and tubal ectopic pregnancy.

This information significantly expands the scope of populations that are potentially impacted by secondhand smoke. Continuing evolution of policies to eliminate secondhand smoke would be expected to protect women and their future children."

Medical News Today recently reported on a study suggesting that children who have asthma are much more likely to be readmitted to the hospital within 1 year if exposed to secondhand smoke at home or in the car.

Written by Honor Whiteman



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Mental health of most UK troops serving in Afghanistan and Iraq is "resilient"

Despite prolonged combat missions to Iraq and Afghanistan, there has been no overall increase in mental health problems among UK soldiers, finds a review of the available evidence, published online in the Journal of the Royal Army Medical Corps.But certain groups of soldiers do seem to be more vulnerable to mental ill health on their return home, while alcohol problems continue to give cause for concern among regulars, say the researchers from King's College London.

Unique imaging system using scorpion venom protein and a laser 'lights up' tumors

Researchers at the Cedars-Sinai Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute and Department of Neurosurgery have developed a unique, compact, relatively inexpensive imaging device to "light up" malignant brain tumors and other cancers.The experimental system consists of a special camera designed and developed at Cedars-Sinai and a new, targeted imaging agent based on a synthetic version of a small protein - a peptide - found in the venom of the deathstalker scorpion. The imaging agent, Tumor Paint BLZ-100, a product of Blaze Bioscience Inc., homes to brain tumor cells.

NEJM study shows that noninvasive prenatal DNA tests more accurate than current tests

A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine potentially has significant implications for prenatal testing for major fetal chromosome abnormalities. The study found that in a head-to-head comparison of noninvasive prenatal testing using cell free DNA (cfDNA) to standard screening methods, cfDNA testing (verifi® prenatal test, Illumina, Inc.) significantly reduced the rate of false positive results and had significantly higher positive predictive values for the detection of fetal trisomies 21 and 18.A team of scientists, led by Diana W.

Indoor tanning common among high-schoolers, linked to other risky behavior

A national survey of high school students finds that indoor tanning is a common practice, particularly among female, older and non-Hispanic white students, and is associated with several other risky health-related behaviors, according to a study by Gery P. Guy Jr., Ph.D., M.P.H., of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, and colleagues. The incidence of skin cancers, both nonmelanoma and melanoma, is increasing in the United States.

New APA autism guidelines 'reduce diagnosis by more than 30%'

Last year, the American Psychiatric Association issued new guidelines for the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. But new research from Columbia University School of Nursing in New York, NY, suggests that these guidelines could leave thousands of children who have developmental delays without autism diagnosis, meaning they will miss out on social services, educational support and medical benefits.

The study findings were recently published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 1 in 88 children in the US have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

For the diagnosis of psychiatric conditions, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) provide a tool called the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).

Until last year, health care professionals had been using the fourth edition of a manual called the DSM-IV-TR to diagnose ASD.

This manual included three specific subgroups that were under the definition of ASD. These were autistic disorder (AD), Asperger's disorder and pervasive development disorder-not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS).

However, the APA introduced a revised fifth manual for ASD diagnosis in May 2013 called DSM-5. This manual has limited the range of criteria for ASD diagnosis and completely eliminated the three subgroups included in the old manual.

A new category has also been added to the the DSM-5 manual - social communication disorder (SCD). This category aims to diagnose individuals with impairments in verbal and nonverbal communication who do not have any other characteristics linked to autism.

The APA state that some individuals who would have been diagnosed with PDD-NOS under the old manual would fall under the SCD category using the new manual.

Decrease in ASD diagnosis under new guidelines

To determine how the new guidelines impact ASD diagnosis compared with the old guidelines, Kristine M. Kulage, director of the Office of Scholarship and Research Development at Columbia Nursing, and colleagues reviewed 418 studies looking at autism diagnosis, of which 14 met inclusion criteria.

Benefits of breast-feeding 'overstated,' says sibling study

When it comes to nutrition for infants, the medical community largely agrees that "breast is best." But a new study in siblings seeking to uncover potential biases suggests breast-feeding may be no more beneficial than bottle-feeding for many long-term health outcomes.

The research, led by Cynthia Colen, assistant professor of sociology at Ohio State University, was recently published in the journal Social Science & Medicine.

Colen says that previous studies on the topic fall prey to selection bias, in that they "either do not or cannot statistically control for factors such as race, age, family income, mother's employment - things we know that can affect both breast-feeding and health outcomes."

In the latest study, the team included an analysis of outcomes from families of different races and socioeconomic backgrounds for comparison and found that their results matched those of other studies advocating that the benefits of breast-feeding outweigh those of bottle-feeding.

The researchers also assessed health and education benefits of the different feeding approaches for children between the ages of 4 and 14 years old, which extends beyond the typical immediate benefits studied in past studies.

Colen says the declaration from federal officials that breast-feeding for the first 6 months of an infant's life is a national priority could stigmatize women who are not able to breast-feed their babies. She adds:

"I'm not saying breast-feeding is not beneficial, especially for boosting nutrition and immunity in newborns. But if we really want to improve maternal and child health in this country, let's also focus on things that can really do that in the long term - like subsidized day care, better maternity leave policies and more employment opportunities for low-income mothers that pay a living wage, for example."

Colen notes that typically, more advantaged moms are able to select into breast-feeding, which makes it difficult to understand what affects certain outcomes, such as obesity. "Is it breast-feeding itself," she questions, "or those other background characteristics?"

Breast-feeding's effects 'not statistically significant'

The researchers analyzed data from the 1979 cohort of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) - a national sample of young men and women between the ages of 14 and 22 in 1979 - as well as results from NLSY surveys between 1986 and 2010 of children born to women in the 1979 cohort.

How should policy makers react to the e-cigarette boom?

California was the state that, in 1998, pioneered a public smoking ban that caught on not only in other states across the US, but also around the world. Today, Californian policy makers have weighed in on what is rapidly becoming the next great controversy in the tobacco industry: electronic cigarettes.

A committee on the Los Angeles City Council today announced that they are preparing groundwork for legislation banning the use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) in public places, such as farmers markets, parks, recreational areas, beaches, bars, nightclubs and outdoor dining areas.

Though, in true Hollywood style, film production sets are exempt from the ban, as are dedicated "vaping lounges" - "vaping" being the colloquial term for smoking the vaporized nicotine and other chemicals provided by e-cigarettes.

Los Angeles is not the first major city to consider this course of action.

In January, the Chicago City Council approved a ban on e-cigarettes in indoor public areas, such as offices. A month before that, New York approved an amendment to the city's public smoking ban to include e-cigarettes.

But the fact that LA lawmakers are now taking this measure seriously will no doubt add further fuel to an already-heated debate on the health risks posed by e-cigarettes.

Nicotine but no tar

US Obesity rates down in preschoolers, up in older women

New statistics show encouraging developments in obesity rates among younger children, say US authorities. Figures for the last 10 years show they fell by 43% among the nation's preschoolers.

A new study by researchers at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, JAMA, shows that although overall obesity rates for the last 10 years have stayed at the same, high level, they fell significantly for children aged 2 to 5 years, and rose significantly among women aged 60 and over.

For the study, the researchers analyzed data from the CDC's own National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), which samples 9,000 Americans of all ages.

This found that among American children aged between 2 and 5, obesity rates fell from nearly 13.9% in 2003-2004 to 8.4% in 2011-2012, a drop of 43%.

While the analysis did not compare the rates for 2009-2010 with those for 2011-2012, the survey data itself shows obesity rates in that age group fell during that period from just over 12% to just over 8%.

CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden says:

"We continue to see signs that, for some children in this country, the scales are tipping."

The report follows another recently released CDC figure that showed a significant fall in obesity rates among 2 to 4 year olds from low-income families taking part in federal nutrition programs, he adds, noting that:

"We've also seen signs from communities around the country with obesity prevention programs including Anchorage, Alaska, Philadelphia, New York City and King County, Washington. This confirms that at least for kids, we can turn the tide and begin to reverse the obesity epidemic."

Precise reasons for fall in preschoolers' obesity rates not clear

Although the exact reasons for the sharp fall in obesity in preschoolers are not clear, the CDC note in a press release that over recent years, standards for nutrition and physical activity have been improving in the nation's child care centers.

Mailing free tests to patients' homes boosts colon cancer screening rates in underserved populations

Colon cancer screening rates increased by nearly 40 percent when free stool tests were mailed to patients' homes, according to results of a pilot study published in the journal BMC Cancer.The study, funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), included 869 patients who received their health care from community health centers in the Portland, Ore. metropolitan area. The clinics serve many Latino patients who live below the poverty level. About half of them have no health insurance.

Brain switch that says 'it is time to sleep' found

Researchers at the University of Oxford in the UK have discovered the molecular switch in the brain that sends us to sleep.

Although the researchers worked on fruit flies for their study, they believe a similar mechanism exists in human brains.

The discovery took place in the laboratory of senior author Prof. Gero Miesenböck at Oxford's Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour (CNCB).

Two mechanisms regulate our sleep: one takes into account the external environment, and the other monitors the internal environment.

The mechanism that links to the external environment is the body clock, which attunes humans and other animals to the 24-hour day-night cycle.

Researchers studied the internal homeostat that monitors sleep deficit

This new study investigates a "homeostat" mechanism that is attuned to the internal environment and monitors what is happening in the brain. This keeps track of waking hours and tells us when it is time to sleep and reset. It is as though sleep deficit builds up, reaches a point that turns the switch on, and we then start to nod off.

Prof. Miesenböck says:

"What makes us go to sleep at night is probably a combination of the two mechanisms. The body clock says it's the right time, and the sleep switch has built up pressure during a long waking day."

He and his colleagues found the switch works by controlling a handful of sleep-promoting neurons that are active when we are tired and need to sleep, and quieten down when we are fully rested.

One of the lead authors, Dr. Jeffrey Donlea - who specializes in testing new scientific ideas in flies at the CNCB - explains that although they made this new discovery in flies:

"There is a similar group of neurons in a region of the human brain. These neurons are also electrically active during sleep and, like the flies' cells, are the targets of general anesthetics that put us to sleep. It's therefore likely that a molecular mechanism similar to the one we have discovered in flies also operates in humans."

The researchers worked with mutant flies to find the critical part of the sleep switch. They discovered that when certain genes were silenced, the mutant flies could not catch up on lost sleep after they were kept awake all night.

Mutant flies helped researchers discover key mechanism in the sleep homeostat

Prof. Miesenböck likens the sleep homeostat to the thermostat that controls central heating in the home:

"A thermostat measures temperature and switches on the heating if it's too cold. The sleep homeostat measures how long a fly has been awake and switches on a small group of specialized cells in the brain if necessary. It's the electrical output of these nerve cells that puts the fly to sleep."

The researchers found a key molecular component was disabled in the electrical circuit of the mutant flies that kept the sleep-inducing neurons permanently switched off.

The study is important because it may help identify new targets to improve treatments for sleep disorders like insomnia.

However, as the researchers point out, there is still a way to go before any solutions can move from the lab into the clinic.

They also hope that exploring this mechanism and its role further could help answer the big question: "What is the purpose of sleep?"

As a next step, the researchers plan to investigate what internal signal triggers the switch in the first place. They also want to answer questions such as, "What are the sleep-promoting cells monitoring while we are awake?"

Research at the CNBC is funded by the Wellcome Trust and the Gatsby Charitable Foundation, while additional funds from the UK Medical Research Council, the US National Institutes of Health and the Human Frontier Science Program helped finance this particular study, which is published in the journal Neuron.

Medical News Today recently reported on a study suggesting that a good night's sleep may be essential to brain health. Swedish researchers found that depriving healthy young men of a night's sleep increased blood concentrations of brain molecules to levels seen in brain damage.

Written by Catharine Paddock PhD



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Medicaid Managed Care Congress, May 19-21st 2014, Baltimore

2014 Medicaid Managed Care Congress Brochure Now AvailableAccording to the CBO, Medicaid Expansion will extend coverage to up to 17 million new low-income adults and children. The 22nd Annual Medicaid Managed Care Congress provides you with information on how to capitalize on new opportunities, including Medicaid Expansion, Health Insurance Marketplaces and payment reform. 

Download the brochure to view the full agenda for the Medicaid Managed Care Congress, taking place on May 19-21st in Baltimore.

White matter disease exacts heavy toll

Researchers have found further troubling evidence that cognitive damage from white matter disease is more widespread than first thought. A comprehensive meta-analysis of twenty seven published studies comparing healthy older adults to those who have cognitive impairment due to white matter disease has revealed that the disease can sabotage several cognitive areas.

Culture influences young people's self-esteem

Regardless of our personal values, we base most of our self-esteem on the fulfilment of the dominant values of our culture, reveals a global survey supervised by Maja Becker, a social psychologist at the CLLE (Laboratoire Cognition, Langue, Langages, Ergonomie, CNRS / Université de Toulouse II-Le Mirail). The results of the study, involving more than 5,000 teenagers and young adults in 19 countries, were recently published online in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.

Obesity prevalence remains high in U.S.; no significant change in recent years

The prevalence of obesity remains high in the U.S., with about one-third of adults and 17 percent of children and teens obese in 2011-2012, according to a national survey study in JAMA. Obesity and childhood obesity, in particular, are the focus of many preventive health efforts in the United States, including new regulations implemented by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for food packages; funding by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of state- and community-level interventions; and numerous reports and recommendations issued by the Institute of Medicine, the U.S.

Initial findings of study of Hispanic/Latino health

One in every six people in the U.S. is Hispanic/Latino and as a group they live longer than non-Hispanic whites (81.4 years vs. 78.8 years). Yet, despite their strong representation and relative longevity, little is understood about this group's health conditions and behaviors.The Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL), the landmark research study of Hispanic/Latino health funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has released initial findings that show significant variations in disease prevalence and health behaviors among groups with different backgrounds.

Older parents' mental health affected by their attitudes towards helping their grown children

Older parents frequently give help to their middle-aged offspring, and their perceptions about giving this help may affect their mental health, according to a team of researchers."We usually view the elderly as needy, but our research shows that parents ages 60 and over are giving help to their children, and this support is often associated with lower rates of depression among the older adults," said Lauren Bangerter, Ph.D. student in human development and family studies, Penn State.

Promising foundation for engineered tissues offered by new biological scaffold

Our cells don't live in a vacuum. They are surrounded by a complex, nurturing matrix that is essential for many biological functions, including growth and healing.In all multicellular organisms, including people, cells make their own extracellular matrix. But in the lab, scientists attempting to grow tissue must provide a scaffold for cells to latch onto as they grow and proliferate. This engineered tissue has potential to repair or replace virtually any part of our bodies.Typically, researchers construct scaffolds from synthetic materials or natural animal or human substances.

New scanning technique makes the invisible visible

As the first in the world, researchers from Aarhus have shown that a new scanning technique can see changes in metabolism that have until now remained invisible, while they are taking place.The 2003 development of the so-called hyperpolarization technique by a Danish research was a groundbreaking moment that made it possible to see all the body's cells with the help of a new contrast agent for MRI scans.

The secrets of cellular memory revealed by new technology

Cells in our body are constantly dividing to maintain our body functions. At each division, our DNA code and a whole machinery of supporting components has to be faithfully duplicated to maintain the cell's memory of its own identity. Researchers at BRIC, University of Copenhagen, have developed a new technology that has revealed the dynamic events of this duplication process and the secrets of cellular memory.

Unsaturated fat prevents abdominal fat accumulation increases muscle mass

New research from Uppsala University shows that saturated fat builds more fat and less muscle than polyunsaturated fat. This is the first study in humans to show that the fat composition of food not only influences cholesterol levels in the blood and the risk of cardiovascular disease but also determines where the fat will be stored in the body. The findings have recently been published in the American journal Diabetes.The study involved 39 young adult men and women of normal weight, who ate 750 extra calories per day for seven weeks.

Eating grilled meat 'increases risk of Alzheimer's and diabetes'

There is no denying that Americans are big fans of barbecues. In fact, figures state that 62% of us use our grills all year round. But new research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests that consuming heat-processed animal products, such as grilled or broiled meats, may increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease and diabetes.

Researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, NY, say that heat-processed meats contain high levels of advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs). These compounds have been associated with the worsening of many degenerative diseases, including diabetes and Alzheimer's disease.

AGEs already naturally exist in the body at low levels. But in their study, the researchers found that consuming foods with high levels of AGEs increases the body's levels of AGEs, therefore raising the risk of associated diseases.

To reach their findings, the investigators monitored the cognitive health of mice that consumed foods with high levels of AGEs - foods that are commonly found in the Western diet. This diet is high is saturated fats, red meats and "empty" carbohydrates, and low in seafood, poultry, whole grains and fresh fruit and vegetables.

Western diet led to Alzheimer's and metabolic syndrome in mice

Mice that consumed foods with high levels of AGEs demonstrated high levels of AGEs in their brains, compared with mice that ate a diet low in AGEs.

Young women with BRCA1 mutation 'should remove ovaries earlier'

It is widely known that having a BRCA1 gene mutation increases risk of female breast and ovarian cancers. And now, findings from a large international study suggest that women with these mutations should have preventive surgery to remove the ovaries by the age of 35, rather than waiting until a later age when the risk of ovarian cancer greatly increases.

According to the National Cancer Institute, about 1.4% of women in the general population will develop ovarian cancer at some point in their lives. However, for women who inherit a BRCA1 mutation, 39% will develop ovarian cancer.

Because of these risks, researchers - led by Amy Finch and Dr. Steven Narod of Women's College Hospital in Canada - wanted to estimate the reduction in risk of death due to ovarian, fallopian tube or peritoneal cancer in women with a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation after oophorectomy (removal of the ovaries).

They published the results of their study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

The team notes that as many as 70% of women in the US who are aware they have BRCA mutations opt for removal of the ovaries, and many doctors suggest these women have the surgery by age 35 or when they no longer wish to bear children.

But until now, the best age for having the surgery - or its effects on overall mortality risk - had not been studied.

Finch, a researcher at Women's College Research Institute, says:

"Scientific evidence clearly shows removal of a woman's ovaries and fallopian tubes is very effective in preventing both breast and ovarian cancer in women with a BRCA mutation. But the real question has been at what age these women should have the surgery to best diminish their chance of developing cancer."

To find out, researchers from Canada, the US, Poland, Norway, Austria, France and Italy pinpointed women in an international registry who had BRCA mutations. In total, 5,787 completed questionnaires about reproductive and surgical history - including preventive ovary removal and mastectomy - and hormone use.

Preventive oophorectomy reduces death risk by 77%

Beginning in 1995, the study followed the women through 2011, and researchers looked at the relationship between preventive ovary surgery and the overall death rate by age 70.

Stand-alone organ donor facility is more efficient than a hospital

Transplant surgeons at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO, claim that performing organ retrievals at a stand-alone facility, rather than a hospital, is more efficient and lowers costs considerably.

Currently, crowded operating room schedules cause delays that make retrieving organs from brain-dead donors in hospitals logistically challenging and time consuming.

Transplant teams travel to donors' hospitals to perform surgery - usually at night, when operating rooms are more likely to be free. As the surgery is time-sensitive, being able to access operating rooms without delay is critical.

"Organ donors often are given low priority in hospitals because of scheduled surgeries or emergency cases," explains the study's senior author, Dr. William C. Chapman, the Eugene M. Bricker Chair of Surgery and surgical director of the Washington University transplant center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital.

Additionally, the transplant team will usually only have assistance from local staff, who may be unfamiliar with organ donation procedures.

But in a study published in the American Journal of Transplantation, the Washington University surgeons report successful results in moving donors from hospitals to a regional stand-alone facility specializing in organ donation.

How do stand-alone organ donation facilities work?

"The magnitude of these changes has been transformative, with no negative effects on the organ donation process," says the study's first author, Dr. M.B. Majella Doyle, a Washington University liver transplant surgeon at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, who also directs the adult liver transplant program.

Practice-based learning improves end of life care confidence in community nurses

District and community nurses who completed a practice-based educational pathway reported greater confidence in delivering palliative and end of life care to patients.Nurses working in these roles said communication was their main area of concern in relation to end of life care but this increased significantly during the project, due to interaction with colleagues experienced in this area.The pathway involved assigning community nurses from one NHS foundation trust in the north of England a mentor from a specialist palliative care team.

Salt imbalance occurs in nearly a third of hospitalised patients

Simple guidelines for diagnosing and treating a salt imbalance occurring in up to 30% of hospitalised patients are published in the European Journal of Endocrinology. The guidelines recommend that any hospital-based clinician must be able to correctly diagnose, classify and treat hyponatraemia, which is associated with morbidity, mortality and length of hospital stay in a wide range of conditions.

In multiple sclerosis, antibodies detected years before symptoms

Results of a small study suggest it may be possible, by detecting the presence of a blood biomarker, to predict whether a person is going to develop multiple sclerosis long before symptoms of the disease emerge.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disease where the body's own immune system gradually disrupts the blood brain barrier and attacks the myelin sheath that insulates the nerves, stopping the electrical signals they convey from leaking out.

As the disease progresses, symptoms develop - such as mild numbness in the arms and legs - eventually leading to paralysis and blindness.

According to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, MS affects around 2.3 million people worldwide, 400,000 of them in the US, where - with the exception of trauma - it is considered the most frequent cause of neurological disability that starts before old age.

In this new study, the researchers found that antibodies against a potassium channel protein called KIR4.1 appeared years before clinical onset of multiple sclerosis (MS).

The findings are due to be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 66th Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, PA, at the end of April.

Study author Dr. Viola Biberacher, of the Technical University in Munich, Germany, says:

"If our results can be replicated in larger populations, our findings may help to detect MS earlier in a subgroup of patients. Finding the disease before symptoms appear means we can better prepare to treat and possibly even prevent those symptoms."

Some patients with MS have antibodies against KIR4.1, but it is not clear whether this precedes the disease or follows it.

Researchers found KIR4.1 antibodies in pre-clinical MS patients years before first attack

For their study, the researchers compared blood from 16 blood donors who later developed MS with 16 matched healthy donors who did not develop the disease. The researchers examined the blood samples for signs of a specific antibody to KIR4.1.

The blood samples for this stage were collected between 2 and 9 months before the symptoms of MS started to emerge.

None of the healthy controls showed signs of the KIR4.1 antibody. Of the participants who later developed MS, seven tested positive, two showed borderline activity and seven tested negative for the antibody.

The researchers also tested samples of blood that had been donated up to 6 years before onset and samples donated after disease onset in those MS patients who tested positive for KIR4.1.

They found KIR4.1 antibodies in pre-clinical MS patients several years before the first clinical attack, and levels of the antibodies were different at different time points for individual pre-clinical MS patients.

Dr. Biberacher says these findings now need to be confirmed with larger groups to establish how many years before disease onset the antibody response is first present.

Funds from the German Education and Research Ministry and the German Competence Network for Multiple Sclerosis helped finance the study.

Meanwhile, Medical News Today recently learned of a study that suggests a food bug toxin may trigger MS. The researchers behind that study found that epsilon toxin - which is produced by certain strains of the foodborne bacterium Clostridium perfringens - targets myelin-producing cells and may cause the blood brain barrier to become permeable.

Written by Catharine Paddock PhD



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Air Force aircraft returned from Vietnam identified as postwar source of Agent Orange contamination

From 1971-1982 Air Force reservists, who flew in about 34 dioxin-contaminated aircraft used to spray Agent Orange and returned to the US following discontinuation of the herbicide spraying operations in the Vietnam War, were exposed greater levels of dioxin than previously acknowledged, according to a study published in Environmental Research."These findings are important because they describe a previously unrecognized source of exposure to dioxin that has health significance to those who engaged in the transport work using these aircraft," says lead investigator Peter A.

New study, harnessing ground-breaking science, offers hope to British mesothelioma patients

Pleural mesothelioma, is an aggressive form of lung cancer strongly linked to asbestos exposure, which has very limited treatment options and is associated with poor patient survival, with most having less than a year left to live once diagnosed.1 Eight leading UK cancer research centres are participating in a ground-breaking new study to evaluate a potential new treatment targeting cancer stem cells, and measure if the life expectancy of these patients could be prolonged.

UK launch of once-daily tablet from Janssen provides new option to improve blood glucose control for thousands of people with Type 2 diabetes

Janssen has announced the launch of INVOKANA® (canagliflozin) in the UK, a new Type 2 diabetes treatment shown to reduce blood sugar levels in people for whom diet and lifestyle measures or treatment with other blood sugar-lowering medicines, do not provide adequate control.1In parallel with today's launch, canagliflozin has also received a preliminary positive recommendation from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), as a treatment option for adults with Type 2 diabetes.

High carb diet may increase your risk of dementia

Even small increases in blood sugar caused by a diet high in carbohydrates can be detrimental to brain health. Recent reports in medical literature link carbohydrate calorie-rich diets to a greater risk for brain shrinkage, dementia and Alzheimer's disease, impaired cognition, and other disorders. David Perlmutter, MD, best-selling author of Grain Brain, explores this important topic in a provocative interview in Alternative and Complementary Therapies from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Alternative and Complementary Therapies website.Dr.

Lung-damaging molecule identified in higher concentrations in cystic fibrosis patients during symptom flare-ups

A molecule previously linked to lung injuries in factory workers producing microwave popcorn might play an important role in microbial infections of the lung suffered by people with cystic fibrosis (CF), according to a recent study led by San Diego State University postdoctoral researcher Katrine Whiteson. The molecule, known as 2,3-butanedione or diacetyl, can be detected in higher concentrations in CF patients than in healthy ones.

Study offers hope for patients with advanced cervical cancer

Research on cervical cancer performed by a physician at the University of Arizona Cancer Center at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center has been published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The multi-site research project by Bradley J. Monk, MD, is expected to change the standard of care for women with advanced cervical cancer.The featured research revealed that women with advanced cervical cancer live about four months longer with the combined use of bevacizumab (Avastin®) and chemotherapy compared to chemotherapy alone.

Centers used solely for recovering organs from deceased donors may improve efficiency and costs of transplantation

Free-standing organ recovery centers could markedly improve efficiency and reduce costs associated with deceased organ donation, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Transplantation. The study's findings have major implications for cost containment and national policies related to organ transplantation.Transplant surgeons have historically traveled to donor hospitals, where they perform complex, time-sensitive procedures with unfamiliar hospital staff. This often involves air travel and significant delays. In 2001, Mid-America Transplant Services in St.

Mosquitoes resistant to DDT are also resistant to mosquito net insecticide

A single genetic mutation causes resistance to DDT and pyrethroids (an insecticide class used in mosquito nets), according to new research in the journal Genome Biology. As resistance to pyrethroids and DDT is already spreading in mosquito populations, scientists say that this knowledge could help improve malaria control strategies. The scientists used a wide range of methods to narrow down how the resistance works, finding a single mutation in the GSTe2 gene, which makes insects break down DDT so it's no longer toxic.

Study of cell behaviour in low oxygen conditions has important implications for tumours

Research at the University of Liverpool has explained how cells behave when placed in a low oxygen environment, a development that could have implications for cancer patients and other serious illnesses.The research opens up the possibility of controlling the signals that keep cells alive, preventing the damages caused by ischemia - a restriction of blood supply to tissues. It could also work to help destroy cancer cells.When the body is deprived of adequate oxygen supply it is known as hypoxia and can cause the death of cells.

U.S. Preventive Services Task Force publishes final recommendation statement on multivitamins to prevent cardiovascular disease and cancer

The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends against the use of beta-carotene or vitamin E supplements for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease or cancer, according to a recommendation statement being published in Annals of Internal Medicine. Researchers conducted a systematic review of the evidence to assess the benefits and harms of using vitamin, mineral, and multivitamin supplements for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease and cancer.

Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute sets prioritized research agenda for managing two diverse conditions

Two articles being published in Annals of Internal Medicine seek to set prioritized research agendas to fill the evidence gaps about two diverse conditions - bipolar disorder in young people and ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) in women. Both conditions present similar challenges to physicians and patients because the diagnosis is often not clear-cut and typical treatments come with a trade-off of benefits and serious side effects.

Guideline: People with irregular heartbeat should take blood thinners to prevent stroke

An updated guideline from the American Academy of Neurology recommends that people with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation, or irregular heartbeat, take oral anticoagulants, a type of blood thinner pill, to prevent stroke. The guideline is published in Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The World Stroke Organization has endorsed the updated guideline. Taking anticoagulants is especially important for people who have already had a stroke or a transient ischemic attack, which is a threatened stroke.

Drinking age of 21: review confirms it saves lives

According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, approximately 5,000 US youths under the age of 21 die from unintentional injuries, homicides and suicides related to alcohol consumption every year. But a new review states that if the age-21 drinking law was not in place, these numbers would be even higher.

The review was recently published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.

Under the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984, also known as the Federal Uniform Drinking Age Act, all US states are required to prohibit individuals under the age of 21 from purchasing or publicly possessing alcoholic beverages. By 1988, all US states had adopted this minimum drinking age.

But in 2006, this federal law was challenged. A nonprofit organization called Choose Responsibility began campaigning for a reduction in the legal drinking age, stating that young adults between 18 and 20 years old should have the ability to make mature decisions regarding the place of alcohol in their lives.

In 2008, presidents of universities and colleges over the US created the Amethyst Initiative. This group called for a re-evaluation of the legal drinking age.

According to Prof. William DeJong, of Boston University School of Public Health in Massachusetts, these campaigns received a lot of media attention.

This led public health experts to carry out new studies in order to analyze the impact of the age-21 drinking law.

Age-21 law 'reduces alcohol consumption and drunk-driving accidents'

Prof. DeJong and colleagues conducted a review of research that had been conducted since 2006.

Nanoparticles used to target inflammation-causing immune cells

A system for precisely targeting "out-of-control" immune cells - without interfering with correctly functioning immune cells - has been developed using nanoparticles.

Nanoparticle research is currently described as being the most studied branch of science.

Nanoparticles - tiny objects that behave as a whole unit in terms of their transport and properties - have applications in all kinds of medical fields.

They have been used as delivery systems for drugs and genes, for detecting disease or proteins, in tissue engineering and for destroying tumors, among other things.

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have now made nanoparticles from tiny pieces of protein that bind to a type of immune cell responsible for acute and chronic inflammatory responses.

'Pile-ups' of neutrophils contribute to inflammation

These cells - called neutrophils - should normally accumulate at an injury in a damaged blood vessel to prevent bacteria or bits of injured tissue from causing infection. But in chronic inflammation, these neutrophils pile up at the location of the injury, sticking to the walls of the blood vessel and damaging tissue.

Acupuncture 'could treat inflammation and save lives'

In Western medicine, the jury is still out on whether acupuncture delivers health benefits. But now, a new study adds further evidence of its worthiness, as scientists have shown a direct connection between acupuncture and physical mechanisms that heal sepsis, a common condition in hospital intensive care units that springs from infection and inflammation.

The researchers, from Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, published their results in the journal Nature Medicine.

They note that sepsis causes around 250,000 deaths in the US each year, making it a major cause of death.

"But in many cases patients don't die because of the infection," says lead author Luis Ulloa, an immunologist at Rutgers. "They die because of the inflammatory disorder they develop after the infection. So we hoped to study how to control the inflammatory disorder."

Although acupuncture has been practiced for thousands of years in Eastern countries, it is relatively new to Western medicine. The technique works by stimulating specific points on the body with tiny needles that penetrate the skin.

Researchers from this latest study say they already knew that stimulating the vagus nerve - a major nerve in the body - activates mechanisms in the body that reduce inflammation.

As such, they tested whether electroacupuncture - a form of acupuncture that involves sending a small electric current through the nerves - reduces inflammation and organ injury in mice with sepsis. This type of electrification has been approved by the FDA for treating pain in humans.

Half of septic mice who received electroacupuncture survived

By increasing the electrical current, Ulloa explains that it heightens the effect of needle placement. As predicted, when they performed the electroacupuncture on septic mice, the researchers found that cytokines - molecules that help reduce inflammation - were stimulated.

Rare polio-like disease strikes five kids in California

Researchers have identified a polio-like disease that has caused severe weakness or rapid paralysis in one or more arms and legs in five children from California since 2012. They are presenting their findings at the 66th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology in Philadelphia, PA, at the end of April.

One of the researchers, Dr. Keith Van Haren, of Stanford University, says:

"Although poliovirus has been eradicated from most of the globe, other viruses can also injure the spine, leading to a polio-like syndrome."

He explains that in the last 10 years, researchers have identified strains of enterovirus linked to polio-like outbreaks among children in Asia and Australia, and adds:

"These five new cases highlight the possibility of an emerging infectious polio-like syndrome in California."

Polio, or poliomyelitis, is an infectious viral disease that can strike at any age and cause paralysis. From the late 1940s to the early 1950s, polio crippled more than 35,000 Americans a year, but thanks to an effective vaccine, the US has been polio-free since 1979, say the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

In 1988, polio was endemic in more than 125 countries, but through a series of immunization efforts, the incidence has fallen by more than 99% since then. In April 2013, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced they aim to eradicate polio by 2018.

Dr. Van Haren and his colleagues had noticed cases of this new polio-like disease at their medical centers and decided to find out how many there might be altogether in California.

Researchers counted cases over 12 months, excluding illnesses with similar symptoms

The team looked for all polio-like cases among children whose samples were sent to the Neurologic and Surveillance Testing program in California between August 2012 and July 2013.

They counted only cases where the illness caused paralysis in one or more limbs, accompanied by spinal cord MRI scans that explained the paralysis.

Additionally, they excluded cases due to illnesses that can cause similar symptoms, such as Guillain-Barré syndrome and botulism.

The cases involve five children whose illness had left them paralyzed in one or more limbs, and had come on suddenly, reaching peak severity within 2 days of onset. All of the children had received polio vaccinations beforehand, and three of them had a respiratory illness before their symptoms started.

The children's symptoms did not improve with treatment, and their limb function was still poor 6 months later.

While no cause was identified in three of the children, the other two tested positive for a rare virus - enterovirus-68 - that has previously been associated with polio-like symptoms.

Dr. Van Haren says their findings will help efforts to monitor, test and treat the mysterious disease. Although he says the syndrome appears to be very rare, he also urges:

"Any time a parent sees symptoms of paralysis in a child, the child should be seen by a doctor right away."

The McHugh/Sprague Award from the Lucile Packard Foundation funded the case investigation.

Written by Catharine Paddock PhD



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Mature, functioning liver cells made from skin cells

There have been several reports in recent years of scientists reprogramming skin cells so they transform into cells that are similar to cells from other organs, such as the heart, the pancreas and even brain cells. However, these have fallen short of producing mature, fully functioning versions of organ cells - essential if they are to be of any use in life-saving regenerative medicine.

Vitamin D and calcium disparities found among American subpopulations

Many Americans do not meet recommended intakes of calcium and vitamin D, despite the important role these vital nutrients play in bone health during all stages of the lifecycle. Researchers set out to determine calcium and vitamin D intakes among specific subpopulations of Americans in order to identify those most in need of fortification/enrichment and supplementation. Their findings are now available in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, the Official Publication of the American College of Nutrition and a publication from Routledge.

Robot 'REX' helping wheelchair patients walk

A world first wearable robot known as REX that helps wheelchair users stand and walk will be available in Australia within three months. The forty kilogram device known as REX comprises more than 8000 components and 29 custom onboard computers. It allows users to stand, walk on flat surfaces and turn in any direction. Unlike any other exoskeleton, REX does not require crutches or a walking frame, leaving the hands free to do other things and eliminating the risk of shoulder injury. The robot is simple and easy to use, with users manoeuvering it via a user friendly keypad and joystick.

New breakthrough for women with advanced cervical cancer, Avastin (bevacizumab) can extend lives

New data showing cancer treatment Avastin® (bevacizumab) can extend the lives of women with advanced cervical cancer compared to chemotherapy alone has been published in the New England Journal of Medicine. In the last decade the incidence of cervical cancer has risen by approximately 15% in the UK with 2,900 women diagnosed in 2010.2 Until now there have been limited clinical advances with patients only having a choice of traditional chemotherapies.

Limiting radiation to major salivary glands in head and neck cancer patients

Avoiding the contralateral submandibular gland during radiation therapy is feasible and safe with advanced stage, node positive head and neck cancers and base of tongue lesions, according to research presented at the 2014 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Symposium.Researchers conducted a retrospective analysis of 71 patients from two facilities - the University of Colorado Cancer Center and the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. The median patient age was 55, and about 50 percent of the patients were current or former smokers.

HPV-positive SCCOP patients' recurrence differs from HPV-negative patients

Patients with HPV-positive squamous cell carcinoma of the oropharynx (SCCOP) had a longer time to development of distant metastasis (DM) after initial treatment, and had more metastatic sites in more atypical locations compared to HPV-negative patients, according to research presented at the 2014 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Symposium.Culled from records of an IRB-approved registry, the study reviewed 285 patients with stage III-IV SCCOP (originally thought to be a smoking-related head and neck cancer) treated with chemotherapy and radiation from 2002 to 2013.

Effective markers of improved patient outcome: MATH, HPV status in HNSCC

Evaluating next-generation sequencing (NGS) data and associated clinical records of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients from several institutions, made available through The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), showed that combining Mutant-Allele Tumor Heterogeneity (MATH) as a biomarker with the patient's HPV status provides an effective indicator of improved patient outcome, according to research presented at the 2014 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Symposium.The TCGA data available for HNSCC patients included 302 patients, with 35 HPV-positive patients.

Secondary thyroid cancer more deadly than primary malignancy in young individuals

A new analysis has found that adolescents and young adults who develop thyroid cancer as a secondary cancer have a significantly greater risk of dying than those with primary thyroid cancer. Published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the findings stress the importance of screening young cancer survivors to detect early signs of a potentially life-threatening thyroid malignancy.Thyroid cancer is one of the five most common malignancies in adolescent and young adult patients (ages 15 to 39 years).

Dishonesty and creativity: 2 sides of the same coin?

New research shows that lying about performance on one task may increase creativity on a subsequent task by making people feel less bound by conventional rules.The findings are published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science."The common saying that 'rules are meant to be broken' is at the root of both creative performance and dishonest behavior," says lead researcher Francesca Gino of Harvard Business School. "Both creativity and dishonesty, in fact, involve rule breaking.

Cognitive behavioral therapy plus hypnosis reduces fatigue in radiotherapy breast cancer patients

Breast cancer patients receiving radiotherapy showed decreased fatigue as a result of cognitive behavioral therapy plus hypnosis (CBTH), according to a study recently published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.The study, titled, "Randomized Controlled Trial of a Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Plus Hypnosis Intervention to Control Fatigue in Patients Undergoing Radiotherapy for Breast Cancer," was led by Guy Montgomery, PhD, Associate Professor and Director of the Integrative Behavioral Medicine Program in the Department of Oncological Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

What is H7N9 bird flu? What is the pandemic risk?

Infection with the flu virus H7N9 is normally confined to poultry birds - but it was first found to have infected a human in March 2013, going on to cause 132 infections in people during that spring, and leading to 44 deaths.^1,2

The H7N9 virus is an avian influenza. The bird flu does not usually cross to humans, and when zoonosis does occur, it is a rare event.³

Because humans have not developed immunity to these subtypes of flu virus - which are continually evolving - the infections they cause us can be severe and life-threatening.³

Another avian flu virus has crossed over from bird populations to spread among humans - it was the H5N1 bird flu that first broke out in 1997.³ It caused severe respiratory illness and death, and continues to circulate around poultry in parts of Asia and north-east Africa.⁴

Whenever a new type of bird flu infection is reported in a person, fears are soon raised that it could be deadly, too. The concerns come in three stages:

• Does the new virus subtype cross easily from birds to humans?


• How bad is the illness when the virus infects a person?


• Will the virus spread quickly and widely among human populations?

As soon as new reports emerge, researchers and governments swing into action to start identifying and tracking the new flu virus, the aim being to maximize the chances of containing any potential epidemic. An international body is at the center of this effort, called the Global Early Warning System (GLEWS), which coordinates disease surveillance work by bodies including the World Health Organization (WHO).

What are the symptoms of human infection with H7N9 flu?

Our best memories have usually been created by age 25

By the time most people are 25, they have made the most important memories of their lives, according to new research from the University of New Hampshire.Researchers at UNH have found that when older adults were asked to tell their life stories, they overwhelmingly highlighted the central influence of life transitions in their memories. Many of these transitions, such as marriage and having children, occurred early in life.

Listening to 'beautiful but sad' music may improve a low mood

New research from psychologists at the universities of Kent and Limerick has found that music that is felt to be 'beautiful but sad' can help people feel better when they're feeling blue.The research investigated the effects of what the researchers described as Self-Identified Sad Music (SISM) on people's moods, paying particular attention to their reasons for choosing a particular piece of music when they were experiencing sadness - and the effect it had on them.

Brain-training game improves vision and success of baseball players

In baseball, vision can play a key role in a player's success. If they have trouble seeing the ball, chances are they could be out after three strikes. But new research from the University of California, Riverside, suggests that a brain-training video game could help to improve the vision of baseball players and, in turn, help them win more games.

The study findings were recently published in the journal Current Biology.

The research team, including Prof. Aaron Seitz, a psychologist at the University of California, Riverside (UCR), assigned 19 players from the UCR baseball team to complete 30 sessions of a vision-training video game that Prof. Seitz created, while 18 other team members did not undergo the training.

Each game session lasted 25 minutes and was carried out prior to the start of the 2013 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) division 1 baseball season.

Visual sharpness improved

The investigators found that the players who carried out the video game training reported, on average, a 31% improvement in visual sharpness and became more sensitive to contrasts in light.

The researchers say they were surprised to see such strong improvements, particularly since baseball players tend to have very good vision.

According to the Snellen eye chart - used by health care professionals to measure visual activity - 20/20 is classed as normal vision.

After completing the vision-training video game, the researchers found that some players saw their vision improve to 20/7.5. This means that what the average person can read at a distance of 7.5 feet, these players are able to read at a distance of 20 feet.

When it came to skills on the baseball field, the researchers found that the players who completed the vision-training video game had a 4.4% reduction in strikeouts, and the UCR team scored 41 more runs than projected.

The results accounted for the usual expected skill improvements in players over a season.

"I didn't think we would see as much of an improvement as we did. Our guys stopped swinging at some pitches and started hitting at others," says Doug Smith, UCR Head Baseball Coach.

"Their average strikeout total went down and batting went up. There is such a high percentage of failure in our game. Even the best players fail to hit 70% of the time. Everyone is looking for an edge to be that little bit better. Our guys are more confident now when they come to the plate."

In the video below, the researchers explain how the study was conducted and the results they found:

Training could help non-athletes with low vision

Prof. Seitz says he believes the reason why the vision-training video game produced such good results is that it focuses on the brain rather than just the eye muscles. He explains:

"Our integrated training program is unique in that we focus on training the brain to better respond to the input it receives from the eyes and in that, we examined both standard measures of vision as well as real-world performance in elite players.

The improvements are substantial and significantly greater than that experienced by players in the rest of the league in the same year."

As well as athletes, the investigators say this approach to perceptual learning-based training could help people who have low vision that impacts their ability to carry out day-to-day tasks.

"We use vision for many daily tasks, including driving, watching TV, or reading," says Jenni Deveau, a recent PhD graduate of UCR and co-author of the study.

"This type of vision training can help improve not only sports performance, but many of these activities in non-athletes as well."

In other vision news, Medical News Today recently reported on a study suggesting that exercise could slow the progression of diseases that cause blindness.

Written by Honor Whiteman



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Monkey controls limb movements of 'avatar' using its mind

In the movie Avatar, humans operate the bodies of a human-hybrid species, called Na'vi, with their minds. Now, researchers from Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA, have carried out a similar technique in monkeys - using neural devices that allowed an alert monkey to control the mind of one that was temporarily paralyzed.

The research team, including Ziv Williams of the Department of Neurosurgery at Harvard Medical School, says the findings provide proof of concept that such strategies could be used in the rehabilitation of patients who are paralyzed.

The research was recently published in the journal Nature Communications.

According to the investigators, previous research has demonstrated that neurons in many parts of the brain are able to control external devices, such as a cursor on a computer screen. This direct communication is known as brain-machine interface ( BMI ).

The researchers say recent studies have even shown that using BMIs could potentially control robotic limbs.

In 2012, Medical News Today reported on a study detailing how a paralyzed woman was able to control a robotic prosthetic hand with her thoughts.

But the research team notes that although findings such as these are an important step forward in motor control, another important goal has been to determine how a paralyzed individual may be able to control the movement of their own limbs.

However, the study authors say there have been problems reaching this goal.

"Unlike the control of external devices, a distinct problem in attaining limb movement control is that the output of the motor system - for example, the corticospinal tract and its associated afferents - is generally not explicitly known," they explain.

"The exact combination of successive agonistic and antagonistic muscle contractions naturally used to produce limb movement to different targets in space is difficult to explicitly ascertain or reproduce."

But the researchers say they aimed to address these problems by focusing on the specific movement targets themselves, rather than intervening in movement trajectory.

Avatar monkey controlled through pre-recorded neural activity

For the study, the research team used two Rhesus macaque monkeys aged between 6 and 8 years old.

One monkey was sedated and used as the "avatar," while the other was used as the "master" monkey. Both monkeys took turns being either the avatar or the master throughout various sessions.