Medindia Health News

Survival of Young Dialysis Patients in Poor Neighborhoods Influenced Significantly by Racial Background
Bird Populations Could Give Rise to Spanish Flu-Like Virus With Pandemic Potential
Immediate Health Declines Among Mexicans Due to Migrating North
Common Heart Drug's Link to Diabetes Uncovered
Pressure Among Peers is Weaker for Kids to Quit Smoking
Lupus is Exacerbated by Interplay Between Genetic Factors and Surface Proteins
Rafi - Girl Who Gets Blisters When Touched
Some of Gut's 'Good' Microbes Boosted With White Bread
Cellular Complexity of Brain Tumors Mapped by Broad Institute, MGH Researchers
Acquired Epileptiform Aphasia
'AB Arogyadaan' - is a New Health Insurance Scheme Initiated by Andhra Bank
Type 1 Diabetes and Infant Nutrition
Forced Sterilization for Sex Change Ends in Denmark
The Last Bite Makes The Difference!
Regulation Process of Protein Linked to Bipolar Disorder Identified
Processed Red Meat Ups Heart Failure Risk
UN Report Says Malnutrition Kills Over 3 Million Toddlers a Year
Indian American Rajen Kathi Amongst White House Recipe Contest Winners
Knowledge and Confidence Low Among Canadian Physicians About Breastfeeding
World Blood Donor Day 2014: Give Blood for Those Who Give Life
Euthanasia Debate Revived in Frances With Trial of Mercy Killing Doctor
How and When to Stop Immunosuppressants in Lupus Patients
Alaska's Health Care Analysis Completed by DHSS
Optimal Dosing of Adalimumab Not Received by One in Three Psoriatic Arthritis Patients

Survival of Young Dialysis Patients in Poor Neighborhoods Influenced Significantly by Racial Background

Posted:

New research has suggested that blacks have a significantly higher risk of dying young compared with whites among young adult dialysis patients living in poor neighborhoods. The findings, which come from a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the iJournal of the American Society of Nephrology/i (iJASN/i), suggest that more work is needed to understand social factors that could worsen outcomes among young black adults with kidney failure. Among ...

Bird Populations Could Give Rise to Spanish Flu-Like Virus With Pandemic Potential

Posted:

The need for better ways to predict potential outbreaks has risen as emerging bird flu viruses continually threaten to cause pandemics. A study published by Cell Press on June 11 in iCell Host (and) Microbe/i shows that circulating bird flu viruses are very similar to the flu virus that caused the 1918 pandemic-the most devastating disease outbreak ever recorded. Only a few amino acids separate viral proteins currently found in bird populations from proteins in the 1918 virus, ...

Immediate Health Declines Among Mexicans Due to Migrating North

Posted:

Barriers like poorly paying jobs, crowded housing and family separation are often faced by Mexican immigrants who relocate to the United States. Such obstacles - including the migration process itself - may be detrimental to the health of Mexican immigrants, especially those who have recently moved. A study led by Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs finds that Mexican immigrants who relocate to the United States are more ...

Common Heart Drug's Link to Diabetes Uncovered

Posted:

A novel way to suppress the devastating side effects of statins, a widely used drug to lower cholesterol and prevent heart disease, has been found by McMaster University researchers. The research team-led by Jonathan Schertzer, assistant professor of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences and Canadian Diabetes Association Scholar-discovered one of the pathways that link statins to diabetes. Their findings could lead to the next generation of statins by informing ...

Pressure Among Peers is Weaker for Kids to Quit Smoking

Posted:

Influencing friends to start smoking is more powerful among adolescents than in helping them to quit, suggest sociologists. In a study of adolescent friendship networks and smoking use over time, the researchers found that friends exert influence on their peers to both start and quit smoking, but the influence to start is stronger."What we found is that social influence matters, it leads nonsmoking friends into smoking and nonsmoking friends can turn smoking friends ...

Lupus is Exacerbated by Interplay Between Genetic Factors and Surface Proteins

Posted:

The interplay between genetic and environmental factors makes systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) a complicated multifactorial autoimmune disease. The hallmark of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is the presence of high levels of anti-double-stranded DNA autoantibody (anti-dsDNA) in sera. In addition, greater infection rates are found in SLE patients and higher morbidity and mortality usually come from bacterial infections. Deciphering interactions between the ...

Rafi - Girl Who Gets Blisters When Touched

Posted:

Six-year-old Rafaella (Rafi) Kopelan, a resident of Manhattan, suffers from a rare genetic skin disorder, Epidermolysis Bullosa, which causes her to have a very delicate skin that blisters and tears even with the slightest touch. 'Imagine most of your body as an open wound - We have to hurt our daughter in order to keep her clean and safe,' her parents say. Her parents prepare her for the day ahead by bathing her and applying special creams and expensive ...

Some of Gut's 'Good' Microbes Boosted With White Bread

Posted:

The much-maligned food, white-bread, seems to encourage the growth of some of our most helpful inhabitants, the beneficial gut bacteria, report scientists. In addition to this surprising find, their study in ACS' emJournal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry/em also revealed that when looking at effects of food on our "microbiomes," considering the whole diet, not just individual ingredients, is critical. Sonia Gonzalez and colleagues note that the bacteria ...

Cellular Complexity of Brain Tumors Mapped by Broad Institute, MGH Researchers

Posted:

A maiden study that characterizes the cellular diversity within brain tumors from patients has been conducted by scientists from the Broad Institute and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). The study, which looked at the expression of thousands of genes in individual cells from patient tumors, revealed that the cellular makeup of each tumor is more heterogeneous than previously suspected. The findings, which appear online in iScience/i Express, will help guide ...

Acquired Epileptiform Aphasia

Posted:

Acquired Epileptiform Aphasia or Landau-Kleffner Syndrome (LKS) is a rare childhood disorder in which children have language and behavioral problems.

'AB Arogyadaan' - is a New Health Insurance Scheme Initiated by Andhra Bank

Posted:

Andhra Bank has launched a new health insurance scheme - AB Arogyadaan. This will provide improved health services to their customers, which can take care of the entire family of the account holder. Mr.D Surendra Rao who is the Deputy General Manager of the bank said that this plan would offer lower premium rates for maximum coverage - for medical facilities up to Rs. 20 lakh. He also stated that this plan had additional benefits. This plan could cover ...

Type 1 Diabetes and Infant Nutrition

Posted:

In predisposed children, early exposure to complex foreign proteins, such as cow's milk proteins, increases the risk of type 1 diabetes, indicate previous studies. "Therefore, In 2002, we embarked on a large-scale study on more than 2100 infants with a family member affected by type 1 diabetes and with genetic disease susceptibility to find an answer to the question whether delaying the exposure to complex foreign proteins will decrease the risk of diabetes", tells ...

Forced Sterilization for Sex Change Ends in Denmark

Posted:

A law requiring people to be sterilized as part of sex change procedure before they could be legally recognized as another gender was dropped by Danish parliament on Wednesday. As of September 1, all Danes over 18 will be able to apply for a legal gender change simply by stating that they belong to the other sex, after which they must complete a six-month "reflection period," the Danish government said. They would no longer have to undergo the physical ...

The Last Bite Makes The Difference!

Posted:

Have you ever pondered over what makes you crave for a particular food or drink? It is the last bite or sip that makes a significant difference in your food preferences, declares a new study. "Research has told us a lot about factors that influence what foods people want to consume, but less is known about factors that influence when they want to consume a particular food again," explained Emily Garbinsky from Stanford University's graduate school of business. ...

Regulation Process of Protein Linked to Bipolar Disorder Identified

Posted:

A protein associated with bipolar disorder has now been better understood by researchers from Tufts. The study, published in the June 3 issue of emScience Signaling/em, reveals that calcium channels in resting neurons activate the breakdown of Sp4, which belongs to a class of proteins called transcription factors that regulate gene expression. This study, led by Grace Gill, identifies a molecular mechanism regulating Sp4 activity. Her previous research had ...

Processed Red Meat Ups Heart Failure Risk

Posted:

Men who eat processed meats like hot dogs, salami, sausages, bacon face an increased risk of death from heart failure, reveals study. Processed meats are preserved by smoking, curing, salting or adding preservatives. Examples include cold cuts (ham, salami), sausage, bacon and hot dogs. "Processed red meat commonly contains sodium, nitrates, phosphates and other food additives, and smoked and grilled meats also contain polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, ...

UN Report Says Malnutrition Kills Over 3 Million Toddlers a Year

Posted:

The UN food agency and World Health Organisation say malnutrition is responsible for about half of all child deaths under five years of age, causing over three million deaths every year. Some 162 million children are left stunted by chronic malnutrition and 99 million children are underweight across the world, it added. Since the first international conference on nutrition in 1992, "important advances in the fight against hunger and malnutrition have ...

Indian American Rajen Kathi Amongst White House Recipe Contest Winners

Posted:

Rajen Dev, an 11-year-old American of Indian origin emerged one of the winners of the 'Healthy Lunchtime Challenge', a recipe contest conducted as part of Michelle Obama's Let's Move! Initiative to encourage healthy eating among America's youth. The Indian American, a resident of North Carolina, has been chosen for his "Yummy and Healthy Kati Roll" and will take part, along with 53 other winners, in the Kids' "State Dinner" at the White House to be hosted by ...

Knowledge and Confidence Low Among Canadian Physicians About Breastfeeding

Posted:

Published today in the iJournal of Human Lactation/i is the results of a national project to assess breastfeeding knowledge, confidence, beliefs and attitudes of Canadian physicians. "Physicians' attitudes and recommendations are known to directly impact the duration that a mom breastfeeds," said Dr. Catherine Pound, pediatrician and lead author of the study at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO). "Worldwide healthcare organizations readily promote ...

World Blood Donor Day 2014: Give Blood for Those Who Give Life

Posted:

The World Blood Donor Day is observed by the World Health Organization every year on the 14supth/sup of June. The day has been selected as it is the birthdate of Karl Landsteiner, who has made an important contribution towards discovering blood groups. The theme for this year's event focusses on the need of donor blood by women during a href="http:www.medindia.net/patients/patientinfo/pregnancy.htm" target="_blank" class="vcontentshlink"pregnancy/a ...

Euthanasia Debate Revived in Frances With Trial of Mercy Killing Doctor

Posted:

The debate on euthanasia has been revived in France, where the practice is illegal, with the opening of trial of a doctor of having poisoned seven terminally-ill patients. Nicolas Bonnemaison faces life in prison if found guilty of "poisoning particularly vulnerable people" -- five women and two men who died between March 2010 and July 2011 soon after being admitted to a hospital in the southwestern city of Bayonne where he worked. The case came to light ...

How and When to Stop Immunosuppressants in Lupus Patients

Posted:

Immunosuppressant therapy can be successfully stopped for majority of lupus patients who are in remission, without triggering a flare of their disease, shows a new study presented today at the European League Against Rheumatism Annual Congress (EULAR 2014). Within two years, it was possible to stop the immunosuppressant in about 70% of clinically stable patients. Half were successful within three years, and this proportion remained stable for up to five years. Lupus ...

Alaska's Health Care Analysis Completed by DHSS

Posted:

A report analyzing Alaska's health care safety net was completed and handed over to Gov. Sean Parnell. The report by The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services - DHSS, identified gaps where Alaskans were between eligibility for Medicaid and subsidized insurance in the federal healthcare exchange. The report gives a brief description of the funding available to identified population as the services are available online.The Governor wanted to have the analysis ...

Optimal Dosing of Adalimumab Not Received by One in Three Psoriatic Arthritis Patients

Posted:

A significant number of patients with psoriatic arthritis were not receiving optimal doses of the tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF (and) #945;) inhibitor adalimumab, reveals data presented today at the European League Against Rheumatism Annual Congress (EULAR 2014). One further data revealed that, in the case of the TNF (and) #945; inhibitor infliximab, nearly three-quarters of PsA patients were on doses lower than recommended in international guidelines. In the first study, ...