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Scientists Identify Prostate Cancer Metastasis Switch

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Switch that regulates the production of the protein E-Cadherin, the loss of which is a prerequisite for prostate cancer metastasis has been discovered by scientists. The transcription factor SPDEF turns on and off production, leading to metastasis or stopping it cold in models of prostate cancer. "When E-Cadherin is lost, cells become 'rouge' - they can detach from their surrounding tissues, move effortlessly through the circulatory system, grow ...

'Endgame' Strategy Aims to Eradicate Polio Worldwide

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Global health authorities said that a new strategy for ending polio worldwide aims to boost security for violence-plagued vaccine workers and halt all polio outbreaks by the end of next year. The new plan, endorsed by the World Health Organization, is designed to capitalize on momentum against the crippling disease and formally declare all parts of the world polio-free by 2018. But key hurdles include overcoming threats against vaccine workers in Nigeria ...

Air Pollution Led to 1.2 Million Deaths in China in 2010, Says Report

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In China, nearly 1.2 million people died due to air pollution in 2010, report sources. The study, led by researchers at the University of Washington, said air pollution posed the fourth largest threat to the health of Chinese people, behind dietary risks, high blood pressure and smoking, the Independent reports. Air pollution is a fact of life in cities such as Beijing, where many people wear breathing masks when travelling outdoors to guard ...

Mexican Soccer Launches Campaign Against Obesity

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Mexico's soccer club has launched the nation's first campaign to fight against obesity. The Liga Mx soccer league, the federal health department and other institutions launched Tuesday their 2013 Measure Yourself and Get Active campaign to promote physical exercise in a country that is the world's worst for child obesity and second-worst for obesity in adults. "Soccer has a responsibility because we are the image and example, and we must ...

Phantom Vibration Syndrome: Is My Cell Phone Ringing?

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'Thought I was going crazy I feel my phone in my pocket vibrating all the time and go to answer it and it isn't ringing', says Chris. Chris is not the only one who feels so. Many mobile phone users keep checking their mobile phones thinking it has vibrated, only to find no one has called. This sensory hallucination has a name - Phantom Vibration Syndrome (PVS) and it is a common phenomenon with people carrying pagers or cell phones kept on 'vibrate' ...

Tonsillectomy may Benefit Some Adult Patients

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According to a randomized trial published in iCMAJ/i (iCanadian Medical Association Journal/i), tonsillectomy may result in fewer severe sore throats and could benefit some adult patients. Recurrent severe sore throats result in lost work or school days and frequent use of antibiotics. Researchers from Finland conducted a randomized open trial to determine whether tonsillectomy reduced episodes of severe sore throats (pharyngitis). The trial ...

Advantage of Vitamin P as a Potential Approach for the Treatment of Damaged Motor Neurons

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Biologists from the Ruhr-Universitat Bochum have reported findings after they explored how to protect neurons that control movements from dying off. In the journal "iMolecular and Cellular Neuroscience/i" they report that the molecule 7,8-Dihydroxyflavone, also known as vitamin P, ensures the survival of motor neurons in culture. It sends the survival signal on another path than the molecule Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF), which was previously considered ...

Simple Tips to Ward Off Insomnia

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Occasional sleeplessness is a common occurrence, simple tips given by experts help beat insomnia. But you can take charge of your sleep by eliminating some of the bad habits that may be keeping you awake and restless. First of all if you're having difficulty falling asleep, don't stay under the covers in hopes of somehow becoming drowsy, Nitun Verma, M.D., an Indian-origin sleep specialist and the medical director of the Washington Township Center ...

To 'fortify' Adult Stem Cells, Researchers Use Common Virus

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Researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center's Institute for Regenerative Medicine have modified adult stem cells to increase their survival. They have used the same strategy that a common virus employs to evade the human immune system and with the goal of giving the cells time to exert their natural healing abilities. "Basically, we've helped the cells be 'invisible' to the body's natural killer cells, T cells and other aspects of the immune system, ...

Minors Banned from Buying Electronic Cigarettes

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Italy government announces plans to raise the legal limit for buying electronic cigarettes to 18 years from a previous 16. The new rules will go into effect on April 23 and follow a study ordered by the health ministry which found that the level of nicotine consumed -- even through moderate use -- of so-called e-cigarettes exceeds the recommended level established by the European Food Safety Authority. The decision comes as the product, used by many trying ...

Large Populations at a Risk of Household Air Pollution

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Every year almost four million people die from household air pollution (HAP) caused by exposure to the combustion of biomass fuels (wood, charcoal, crop residues, and dung), coal or kerosene. These individuals are among the tens of millions who rely on such products to cook their meals, heat their rooms, and light their homes. Those in lower and middle income countries are among the hardest hit by the effects of HAP exposure, which also causes childhood respiratory ...

Study Shows How Antibodies Neutralize Chikungunya Virus

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Recent research conducted by researchers shows the precise structure of the mosquito-transmitted chikungunya virus pathogen while it is bound to antibodies, revealing how the infection is likely neutralized. The findings could help researchers develop effective vaccines against the infection, which causes symptoms similar to dengue fever, followed by a prolonged disease that affects the joints and causes severe arthritis. In recent outbreaks, some cases progressed ...

Anti-depressant Drug Duloxetine Helps Reduce Pain From Chemotherapy

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Patients with painful chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy who were given anti-depressant drug duloxetine for 5 weeks experienced a greater reduction in pain compared with placebo according to a study in the April 3 issue of iJAMA/i. "Approximately 20 percent to 40 percent of patients with cancer who receive neurotoxic chemotherapy (e.g., taxanes, platinums, vinca alkaloids, bortezomib) will develop painful chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy. ...

Research Reveals Mechanism of Mutant Histone Protein in Childhood Brain Cancer

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Most of the cancer treatments are blunt. Oncologists often turn to radiation or chemotherapy, in an attempt to eradicate tumors which can damage healthy tissue along with the cancerous growths. New research from C. David Allis' laboratory at Rockefeller University may bring scientists closer to designing cancer therapeutics that can target tumors with pinpoint accuracy. Their findings, published last week in iScience/i Express, follow a recent series ...

First Airline to Charge Passengers by Weight

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Samoa Air is the first airline in the world to charge passengers by weight, say sources. The Samoa Air homepage reads 'We at Samoa Air are keeping airfares fair, by charging our passengers only for what they weigh.' The page added that 'You are the master of your Air'fair', you decide how much (or little) your ticket will cost. No more exorbitant excess baggage fee's [sic], or being charged for baggage you may not carry. Your weight plus your baggage ...

Unique Group Supports Single Fathers Affected by Cancer

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The male population who have dependent children and whose spouses or partners died from cancer are an overlooked population. These fathers face unique challenges not addressed by traditional grief support groups that often attract an older, female population. Faculty in the UNC Department of Psychiatry report on a successful pilot peer support program called "Single Fathers Due to Cancer" they created to help these men. The program is the first of ...

Czech Pharmacies Begin Legal Sale of Medical Marijuana

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Pharmacies across the Czech Republic began selling medical marijuana legally on Tuesday for patients suffering from cancer, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis or psoriasis. The new law does not foresee health insurance coverage for marijuana, touted by some as a medical miracle drug. The prescription-only drug formally became legal on Monday, but was virtually unavailable as most pharmacies across the ex-communist European Union state of 10.5 million ...

Adult Lifestyle Choices Influence How Much We Shrink With Age

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Economists from the University of Southern California, Harvard University and Peking University reveals that even if you didn't eat your veggies or drink your milk as a child, your height is still in your hands. Using unique data from a new massive longitudinal survey of 17,708 adults beginning at age 45, the researchers show for the first time that lifestyle choices we make in adulthood - and not just the hand we're dealt as children - influence how tall we stand ...

Low Sleep Hormone Melatonin Levels Can Trigger Diabetes Risk: Study

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A study published Tuesday links a decrease in levels of the sleep hormone melatonin to an increased risk of adult onset diabetes. Research in the Journal of the American Medical Association reported that 370 women with diabetes were compared with 370 women of the same race and age without the disease. Researchers found participants with diabetes produced low levels of melatonin at night compared to the control group without diabetes. Melatonin ...

Teaching Asian Language in Australian Schools Declines

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In Australian schools, teaching Asian language has declined to the extent that students aged 12 years and less are studying Latin than Chinese. Despite China's growing importance and the government's goal of creating an 'Asia literate' society by 2025, the students who will leave school by that year are now entering primary school programmes, which are so inadequate as to be 'destructive', the Sydney Morning Herald reports. The director of the Chinese ...

Omega 3 Fatty Acids Show Promise Against Cancer

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Fish oils help combat cancer by cutting off the supply of oxygen and nutrients that fuel tumor growth and spread of the disease, say researchers. The groundbreaking study was a collaboration among multiple UC Davis laboratories and Harvard University. The metabolite is epoxy docosapentaenoic acid (EDP), an endogenous compound produced by the human body from the omega-3 fatty acid named docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), which is found in fish oil and breast ...

Difficulty Swallowing / Dysphagia

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Difficulty with swallowing or dysphagia is a problem, which if left untreated, could cause malnutrition and seriously affect the patient. Treatment of dysphagia depends on the underlying cause.

Low Birth Weight Impacts Mortality Rates: Study

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Increasing numbers of premature and other low birth weight infants are the leading cause for the leveling off of infant mortality and neonatal mortality rates in the United States. This study was published in the journal iPediatrics/i by the researchers of University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). Infant mortality rate is defined as the number of infants who die before their first birthday. Neonatal mortality rate is defined as the number of infants ...

Easy Guide to Lose Weight and Lower Blood Sugar

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Diabetes and obesity are interrelated, and making diet changes alone is not sufficient to improve the condition. Exercises too, form an important part in keeping the body healthy and fit. Aerobic exercises are a great way to drop the kilos and lower blood sugar, but a new study called the 'Diabetic aerobic and resistance exercise' (DARE) suggests that a combination of both aerobic and strength exercises are much more effective in reducing ...

Brain Mapping Initiative Launched

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Barack Obama announced a (Dollar) 100 million project to map the complex mysteries of the human brain. "The most powerful computer in the world isn't nearly as intuitive as the one we're born with," Obama said at the White House. "There's this enormous mystery waiting to be unlocked. And the BRAIN initiative will change that by giving scientists the tools they need to get a dynamic picture of the brain in action," Obama said. The research initiative, ...

Answers to Readers Queries About Obamacare Penalties

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According to a recent Kaiser Family tracking poll 67% of the uninsured did not understand The Health Care Act and how it would affect them. One question topmost on most Americans mind is "How does one avoid paying penalty?" The basic answer is to buy health insurance - though this is not all. According to the parameters of The Affordable Care Act, one just cannot buy cover for a single trip a year to the hospital. The ...

Study Reveals Organ Donation Shortfall at Large General Hospitals in Ontario

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Lower frequency of organ donation at large general hospitals in Ontario than at hospitals with clinical programs for transplant recipients, points to missed opportunities to optimize organ donation, reveals a study published in iCMAJ/i (iCanadian Medical Association Journal/i). To understand whether organ donation rates differed between hospitals that treat transplant recipients and those that do not, researchers looked at all patients (adults and children) ...

Sexual Activity Among Young Adolescents is Very Less

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Researchers from Guttmacher Institute report that pre-teens are sexually less active than thought to be. Experts investigated the data from the 2006 - 2010 National Survey of Family Growth conducted by the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics and found that the average age of having sex for the first time has not fallen below 17 years. The findings reveal that only 0.6 percent of 10-year-olds, 1.1 percent of 11-year-olds and 2.4 percent of 12-year-olds ...

Coughing into Elbow Can Prevent the Spreading of Flu

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According to Professor Guy Eslick of the University of Sydney, covering with hands while coughing or sneezing could actually spread the germs than prevent others from infection. Professor Eslick had written a letter to the Medical Journal of Australia after seeing New South Wales Health posters, which indicated that covering cough or sneeze with hands was acceptable. However, NSW Health defended that the poster from 2012 showed a person coughing and ...

Immune System May be Enhanced With Fish Oils

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A recent research suggests that fish oils rich in DHA and EPA could boost up the immune system. It is well established that oils rich in DHA and EPA reduce inflammation in many chronic disorder like cancer, heart diseases and autoimmune diseases. However, it was assumed previously that these oils reduce the body immunity, which contradicts the findings of this study. Researchers from the Michigan State University experimented with mice to determine ...

Group Based Approach With Incentive Helps Workers in Losing Weight

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The results of a recent study indicate that employees reduce weight effectively when they participate in groups and when the groups are offered incentives. Jeffrey T. Kullgren, MD, from the Veterans Affairs Ann Arbor Healthcare System, Michigan, and team recruited 105 employees of Children's Hospital of Philadelphia who were obese with body mass index between 30 and 40 and were eager to lose weight. The participants aged between 18 and 70 years old. The ...

New White Blood Cell Counter Prototype Produces Remarkable Results With Very Small Blood Sample

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Researchers from LeukoDx, a company that develops cell based diagnostic technology, have developed a prototype model of white blood cell counter, which requires minimal quantity of blood. Currently available WBC counters are huge in size and require large blood samples. As most often, differential counts are done manually it takes longer time to get the results. The new model, which is the size of briefcase, requires only 5L of blood and the results ...