Curated News: Featured: MedWire

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Atlantic Health System Cancer Care will continue its tradition of world-class medical education with its 2020 Annual Review in Oncology Virtual Symposium. The symposium, held virtually this year with free registration, will take place Saturday, June 27, 2020, from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. ET. Distinguished faculty from some of the Northeast’s leading cancer centers will summarize the latest advances in oncology, which have recently been presented at international conferences. The diverse range of topics should be of interest to surgeons, medical and radiation oncologists and other physicians, nurses and allied health professionals.

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In a new Science Immunology study, published on June 12, 2020, scientists at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) offer a clue to why non-allergic people don’t have a strong reaction to house dust mites. They’ve uncovered a previously unknown subset of T cells that may control allergic immune reactions and asthma from ever developing in response to house dust mites—and other possible allergens.

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A new analysis co-led by The Johns Hopkins University identified 25 United States counties that are most likely to experience measles outbreaks in 2019. The analysis combined international air travel volume, non-medical exemptions from childhood vaccinations, population data and reported measles outbreak information.

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In experiments in mice, Johns Hopkins researchers say they have developed a technique that facilitates the precise placement of cancer drugs at their intended targets in the brain. This approach pairs a technique that guides a catheter through the brain’s arteries with positron emission technology (PET) scans to precisely place cancer drugs at their intended targets in the brain. If future studies show this image-guided drug delivery method is safe and effective in humans, the researchers say it could improve outcomes for historically difficult-to-treat and often lethal brain cancers, such as glioblastoma.

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Researchers examined the daily diets of more than 16,000 people to compare the climate impact and nutritional value of what America eats in a day. They found that diets that were more climate-friendly were also healthier.

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Could microbes in our guts be sending out the wrong message? Queen’s University researchers have, for the first time, found a specific microbe in the gut that pumps out protein molecules that mimic a human protein, causing the human defence system to turn on its own cells by mistake.

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Ever wonder why some people seem to feel less pain than others? A study conducted at Wake Forest School of Medicine may have found one of the answers – mindfulness.

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A study examined anxiety, depression, social withdrawal, and submissiveness to predict the end of teen friendships. Do friendships end because of one child’s mental health problems or do they end because of differences between friends on the degree to which each friend suffers from these problems? A key finding shows that children’s personal struggles need not adversely impact their social relationships, and mental health issues do not necessarily ruin their chances of making and maintaining worthwhile friendships.

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Postmenopausal factors may have an impact on the heart-protective qualities of high-density lipoproteins (HDL) – also known as ‘good cholesterol.’ The findings bring into question the current use of total HDL cholesterol to predict heart disease risk.

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Mental health and substance abuse issues in adolescents have become major societal problems, forcing parents and health providers to look for innovative treatment options that may better suit some teens. However, some proven therapy programs, like Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare (OBH), can be challenging to access because many are not covered by insurance companies – creating an enormous cost burden for parents. Now, a landmark study by researchers at the University of New Hampshire has found that parents of youth who went through an outdoor behavioral program report that their children showed almost three times the improvement after one year than youth who remained in their communities for more traditional treatment.

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New research links outdoor air pollution — even at levels deemed safe — to an increased risk of diabetes globally, according to a study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the Veterans Affairs (VA) St. Louis Health Care System. The findings raise the possibility that reducing pollution may lead to a drop in diabetes cases in heavily polluted countries such as India and less polluted ones such as the United States.

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Exercise may be just as crucial to a depression patient’s good health as finding an effective antidepressant.

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A 21-gene test could enable most patients with the most common type of early breast cancer to safely forgo chemotherapy, according to a landmark study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Loyola Medicine oncologist Kathy Albain, MD, is among the main co-authors.

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Scientists report they have uncovered a previously overlooked connection between neurons in two distinct areas of the mammalian brain. The neurons, they say, control the sense of touch, and their experiments in mice offer insights into mapping brain circuitry that is responsible for normal and abnormal perception and movements linked to touch.

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People with mild asthma are often prescribed a daily treatment regimen, but up to 80 per cent do not follow the routine, using inhalers only when they have an asthma attack. Now the researchers have found an as-needed combined-drug inhaler is a viable treatment option.

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The researchers examined 17 years of transplantation records and found no significant change in the recipients’ chance of survival when the organ donation came from victims of drug intoxication. The study publishes online on May 17 in the New England Journal of Medicine.

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The annual meeting of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM). The SAEM 2018 meeting will bring together more than 3,000 physicians, researchers, residents and medical students from around the world.

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Mechanical engineering researchers have developed a method that could extend the life of an artificial hip by adding an array of microscopic indentations that increase the thickness of a lubricating film on its surface.

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New research from the Keck School of Medicine of USC reveals how traumatic noise damages hearing and identifies a potential way to preserve it

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Sympathetic nerve activity to skeletal muscle blood vessels—a function of the nervous system that helps regulate blood pressure—increases during physiological and mental stress in people with chronic anxiety, a new study finds.

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A new poll busts stereotypes about the sex lives of older Americans – and reveals gender and health-related divides on key aspects of sexual health, while highlighting the need for more people to talk with their health providers about sexual issues.

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Some bacteria not only escape being killed by bacteria, they turn it into food. Until now, scientists have understood little about how bacteria manage to consume antibiotics safely, but new research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis illuminates key steps in the process. The findings, published April 30 in Nature Chemical Biology, could lead to new ways to eliminate antibiotics from land and water, the researchers said. Environmental antibiotic contamination promotes drug resistance and undermines our ability to treat bacterial infections.

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U.S. Autism Rates Rise 15 Percent; New Jersey Rates Remain Highest

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In a student-led study, one hour of mindfulness meditation shown to reduce anxiety and some cardiovascular risk markers.

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In a multicenter database study of adults who had undergone surgery for spinal deformities, researchers say that those who had used narcotics daily on average had worse outcomes, such as longer intensive care unit stays and more severe postop disability, compared with those who did not use opioids preoperatively.

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Researchers have shown, in mice, that norovirus infects a rare type of intestinal cell called a tuft cell. Inside tuft cells, norovirus is effectively hidden from the immune system, which could explain why some people continue to shed virus long after they are no longer sick. These “healthy carriers” are thought to be the source of norovirus outbreaks, so understanding how the virus evades detection in such people could lead to better ways to prevent outbreaks.

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Sitting, like smoking, increases the risk of heart disease, diabetes and premature death. Researchers at UCLA wanted to see how sedentary behavior influences brain health, especially regions of the brain that are critical to memory formation.

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New data shows that all moderate or vigorous exercise can add up to reduce the risk of disease or death, even if you are exercising only in short bursts throughout the day.

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A new CU Boulder study shows that one hour of bright light at night nearly eliminates melatonin production in young children and keeps it suppressed an hour after light's out. Structural differences may make children's immature eyes more vulnerable to body clock disruption from light.

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In a national medical records analysis, researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine say there is evidence that the number of gender affirming surgeries performed in hospitals for transgender individuals is on the rise, along with increased access made possible by Medicare, Medicaid or private insurance coverage for the procedures.

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Atlantic health system cardiologist authors new review on value of non-invasive imaging techniques in valvular heart disease patients

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UNC and NC State scientists created an injectable gel-like scaffold that can hold combination chemo-immunotherapeutic drugs and deliver them locally to tumors in a sequential manner. The results in animal models suggest this approach could one day ramp up therapeutic benefits for cancer patients.

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African Americans with atrial fibrillation (AF) – a quivering or irregular heartbeat that can lead to a host of dangerous complications – have a significantly higher risk of stroke than Caucasians with the condition, according to new research published today in HeartRhythm by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. The new findings build on previous studies examining the impact of race on the risk of developing atrial fibrillation (AF), which is linked to blood clots, stroke, heart failure and other complications. It’s well reported that African Americans have a lower risk of developing AF as compared to Caucasians, but until now, there was little data on the additional risks that come with AF for each race.

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A team of researchers from the Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute have found that gradually depleting an enzyme called BACE1 completely reverses the formation of amyloid plaques in the brains of mice with Alzheimer’s disease, thereby improving the animals’ cognitive function. The study, which will be published February 14 in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, raises hopes that drugs targeting this enzyme will be able to successfully treat Alzheimer’s disease in humans.

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Scientists have identified a gene that may play a protective role in preventing heart disease. Their research revealed that the gene, called MeXis, acts within key cells inside clogged arteries to help remove excess cholesterol from blood vessels.

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A single protein building block commonly found in food may hold a key to preventing the spread of an often-deadly type of breast cancer, according to a new multicenter study published today in the medical journal Nature. Investigators found that by limiting an amino acid called asparagine in laboratory mice with triple-negative breast cancer, they could dramatically reduce the ability of the cancer to travel to distant sites in the body. Among other techniques, the team used dietary restrictions to limit asparagine.

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Conversant Bio™ has partnered with Streck to provide cancer researchers with customized clinical plasma samples that are research-ready, allowing researchers to focus on their studies and not their sample collection processing and logistics.

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Two viruses closely related to Zika – West Nile and Powassan – can spread from an infected pregnant mouse to her fetuses, causing brain damage and fetal death, according to a new study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The findings suggest that Zika may not be unique in its ability to cause miscarriages and birth defects.

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A pandemic flu outbreak could kill millions. Now, researchers have found features of the virus's genome that influence how well it multiplies. The findings could help target pandemic flu surveillance efforts to make it easier to find the next outbreak before it spreads widely.

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People with Alzheimer’s disease have disturbances in their internal body clocks that affect the sleep/wake cycle and may increase risk of developing the disorder. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that such circadian rhythm disruptions also occur much earlier in people whose memories are intact but whose brain scans show early, preclinical evidence of Alzheimer’s.

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Although the incidence of appendicitis in the United States has been in decline for many years, the condition still affects approximately seven percent of Americans annually.

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Published in Nature, research from the UNC School of Medicine and UCSF revealed the first-ever crystal structure of the dopamine 2 receptor bound to an antipsychotic drug – a much-needed discovery in the quest to create effective drugs with fewer side effects.

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New data analysis suggests that people born at the time of the 1957 H2N2 or Asian Flu pandemic were at a higher risk of dying during the 2009 H1N1 Swine Flu pandemic as well as the resurgent H1N1 outbreak in 2013-2014. And it is not the first time this has happened.

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While refining ways to grow arterial endothelial cells in the lab, a regenerative biology team at the Morgridge Institute for Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison unexpectedly unearthed a powerful new model for studying a hallmark of vascular disease.

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Exercise can reverse damage to sedentary, aging hearts and help prevent risk of future heart failure – if it’s enough exercise, and if it’s begun in time, according to a new study by cardiologists at UT Southwestern and Texas Health Resources.

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Researchers at Indiana University School of Medicine have successfully developed a method to grow hairy skin from mouse pluripotent stem cells—a discovery that could lead to new approaches to model disease and new therapies for the treatment of skin disorders and cancers.

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When the temperature dips below freezing, it’s critical to protect your skin from cold-weather health risks. Frostbite occurs when the skin – and sometimes the tissue beneath the skin – freezes due to prolonged exposure to cold temperatures. Depending on how long and how frozen the tissue, frostbite can result in severe, sometimes permanent, damage. To stay warm and prevent frostbite, follow these tips from the American Academy of Dermatology.

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