Curated News: Top Hit Stories

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Recently revised guidelines have set a new optimal range for triglycerides. For most patients with higher than optimal levels, lifestyle changes, not medications, are recommended as the primary means to lower triglycerides and achieve better cardiovascular health, according to a special article in the November issue of Clinical Nutrition Insight. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

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University of Michigan Health System researchers will use a $3.5 million federal grant to study a new approach in halting the downward spiral of diabetes. Rather than simply too much glucose, reseearchers believe diabetes disrupts metabolic pathways in complication-prone tissue that leads to poor vision, kidney failure and nerve damage.

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Researchers from Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah have discovered a way to model human breast cancer that could lead to new tools for predicting which breast cancers will spread.

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1) One out of 20,000 newborns has autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease, and 30% die shortly after birth. 2) The gene that’s implicated in the disease produces a protein that’s important for signaling in the kidneys 3) New urine tests might help diagnose the disease.

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Addressing the earliest stages of Alzheimer’s disease, before a patient shows outward signs of cognitive problems, has sometimes been a challenge for physicians and researchers, in part because they have not been using common and specific terms to describe the disease’s initial phases.

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Bank of America’s plan to begin charging customers $5 a month for using its debit card has been met with resistance from citizens and members of Congress alike. In fact, there is some reputational capital at risk as a result of this kind of charge, says a banking expert at Washington University in St. Louis.

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Researchers at Johns Hopkins have modified HIV in a way that makes it no longer able to suppress the immune system. Their work, they say in a report published online September 19 in the journal Blood, could remove a major hurdle in HIV vaccine development and lead to new treatments.

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Prostate cancer survivors and their partners experience improved sexual satisfaction and function after couples counseling, according to research at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. The article, published in the September issue of Cancer, a journal of the American Cancer Society, revealed both Internet-based sexual counseling and traditional sex therapy are equally effective in improving sexual outcomes. Couples on a waiting list for counseling did not improve.

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Taking probiotics seems to provide both children and adults with a mild degree of protection against many upper respiratory tract infections (URTI) including the common cold, according to a new systematic review.

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The estimates of the population without health insurance in the U.S. remained unchanged in 2010, as compared to 2009, reflecting the counteracting effects of not only the sluggish economic recovery but also the preliminary benefits of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), says Timothy McBride, PhD, leading health economist and associate dean of public health at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis.

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Study suggests improved screening for suicidal tendencies by primary care providers is needed.

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UAB study released today reports that fifth-graders with ADHD are nearly twice as likely to sustain injuries requiring medical attention.

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Significant new data just published in the New England Journal of Medicine (Sept. 8) lead by Dr. Julie Palmer, shows that black women are equally at risk.

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People with high cholesterol may have a higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, according to a study published in the September 13, 2011, issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

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After analyzing more than 3 million tweets, gigabytes of YouTube content and thousands of blog posts, a new study finds that social media played a central role in shaping political debates in the Arab Spring.

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Gene therapy delivered directly to a particularly stubborn type of breast cancer cell causes the cells to self-destruct, lowers chance of recurrence and helps increase the effectiveness of some types of chemotherapy, researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center reported in the Sept. 13 edition of Cancer Cell.

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Men who maintain a healthy body throughout life are often better able to fight off diseases like cancer. That’s why experts at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have created a guide with cancer prevention tips to help men at every stage of life.

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Make headway, Max Headroom! Meant to be Cornell classroom demonstration, a robot avatar conversation quickly turned into the spat chat heard around the world.

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Research on Mt. Everest climbers is adding to the evidence that an amino acid called leucine — found in foods, dietary supplements, energy bars and other products — may help people burn fat during periods of food restriction, such as climbing at high altitude, while keeping their muscle tissue.

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The first nuclear power plant being considered for production of electricity for manned or unmanned bases on the Moon, Mars and other planets may really look like it came from outer space.

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With “sustainability” on the minds and lips of more and more people — determined to use resources today in ways that do not jeopardize the needs of future generations — the American Chemical Society (ACS) today began one of the largest-ever sessions devoted to sustainability and green chemistry.

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Robert S. Langer, Sc.D., the David H. Koch Institute Professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has been named winner of the 2012 Priestley Medal by the American Chemical Society (ACS).

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Applying lessons from emergency planning and response after Hurricane Katrina, in which the Burton Blatt Institute (BBI) at Syracuse University was involved, BBI is providing resources for the protection and safety of people with disabilities who live in the path of Hurricane Irene.

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Here are tips on how to use social media during natural disasters.

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These experts are available for media interviews regarding Hurricane Irene.

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Worries that first responders will shirk duties in a disaster are overblown, but they do need assistance with family matters, University of Delaware study shows.

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Biz Stone, co-founder of Twitter, will share his experiences as a serial entrepreneur with the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley as the school’s fourth executive fellow. Stone kicked off his appointment to the Haas School with a keynote to incoming full-time Berkeley MBA students at their MBA Orientation today (8/16/11).

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A study of 416,175 Taiwanese shows that moderate exercise adds three years to life expectancy compared to inactivity.

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Could a mint-flavored additive to cigarettes have a negative impact on smoking cessation efforts? New research from investigators at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey and UMDNJ-School of Public Health shines a light on this topic. It finds that menthol cigarettes are associated with decreased quitting in the United States, and that this effect is more pronounced for blacks and Puerto Ricans.

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Research conducted by a new member of the bioengineering faculty at the University of California, San Diego has demonstrated that a thin flexible, skin-like device, mounted with tiny electronic components, is capable of acquiring electrical signals from the brain and skeletal muscles and potentially transmitting the information wirelessly to an external computer. The development, published Aug. 12 in the journal Science, means that in the future, patients struggling with reduced motor or brain function, or research subjects, could be monitored in their natural environment outside the lab. For example, a person who struggles with epilepsy could wear the device to monitor for signs of oncoming seizures.

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UVA Health System researchers have made a pivotal discovery in understanding the complicated process of neurogenesis, and their findings could one day help scientists devise novel therapies to promote neurogenesis in the adult brain and re-establish its function in patients suffering from depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other mental disorders, in which adult neurogenesis is impaired.

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Cancer patients may benefit from sessions with trained music therapists or from listening to music. Using music can reduce anxiety in cancer patients, and may also have positive effects on mood, pain and quality of life, according to a new Cochrane systematic review led by Dr. Joke Bradt, an associate professor at Drexel University.

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A new review finds little reliable research to support treating premature ejaculation by teaching men how to control their bodies with their minds.

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American University’s Matthew Nisbet featured in American Journal of Public Health.

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We accept that some people are born with a talent for music or art or athletics. But what about mathematics? Do some of us just arrive in the world with better math skills than others?

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Washington and Lee University has signed an agreement with Secure Futures L.L.C., a solar-energy developer based in Staunton, Va., to install two solar photovoltaic arrays, totaling approximately 450 kilowatts, at two separate locations on the W&L campus.

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Social media present risks and benefits to children but parents who try to secretly monitor their kids’ activities online are wasting their time, according to a presentation at the 119th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association.

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Dieters may not need as much willpower as they think, if they make simple changes in their surroundings that can result in eating healthier without a second thought, said a consumer psychologist at the American Psychological Association’s 119th Annual Convention.

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Scientists from Durin Technologies and the UMDNJ-School of Osteopathic Medicine have developed a blood test that detects specific antibodies in the blood that can be used to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease with unprecedented accuracy. The test has a sensitivity of 96 percent and a specificity of 92.5 percent.

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A recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM) found that the greater an individual’s total muscle mass, the lower the person’s risk of having insulin resistance, the major precursor of type 2 diabetes.

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A recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM) found that adults who consumed high fructose corn syrup for two weeks as 25 percent of their daily calorie requirement had increased blood levels of cholesterol and triglycerides, which have been shown to be indicators of increased risk for heart disease.

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Social media tools like Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare may be an important key to improving the public health system’s ability to prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters, according to a New England Journal of Medicine “Perspective” article from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania to be published this week.

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Blueberries are among the nutrient-rich foods being studied by UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center investigators exploring the link between disease and nutrition. Dieticians there say as little as a cup a day can help prevent cell damage linked to cancer.

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Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, the most common type of bariatric surgery in the United States, is currently considered the most effective therapy for morbid obesity. A team of researchers has found that Roux-en-Y appears to lead patients to significantly reduce their intake of dietary fat.

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Washington University doctors have found that high-dose vitamin D helps relieve joint and muscle pain in breast cancer patients taking estrogen-lowering drugs. Known as aromatase inhibitors, the drugs are prescribed to treat breast tumors fueled by the hormone estrogen. They are less toxic than chemotherapy, but many patients experience severe musculoskeletal discomfort, including pain and stiffness in the hands, knees, hips, lower back, shoulders and feet.

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Children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are at increased risk of being hit by a vehicle when crossing a street compared to their normal-developing peers, according to new research from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

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A GWAS found two genetic variations that predict which patients with Hodgkin's lymphoma are likely to develop radiation-induced second cancers years after treatment. This could help physicians reduce the risks for susceptible patients. Younger patients and those who receive more radiation are most at risk.

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The National Association For Continence (NAFC) announces its launch a new website in support of its Bladder Health Awareness campaign.

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Infection with E. coli bacteria can wreak havoc in children, leading to bloody diarrhea, fever and kidney failure. But giving children intravenous fluids early in the course of an E. coli O157:H7 infection appears to lower the odds of developing severe kidney failure, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and other institutions.

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A grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) will enable RENCI (Renaissance Computing Institute at UNC Chapel Hill) and Duke University to develop a system that aggregates and visualizes historical medical data so doctors can use it to help them make the best possible treatment decisions for their patients.