Daily Health News

Living Donor Liver Transplants May Drastically Decrease Mortality From Liver Failure

Patients with acute liver failure could be saved by a transplant from a living donor, according to a new study. The recent experience of US patients shows that recipient mortality rates and donor morbidity rates are

Nutritional Research Vindicates Diet Programs

Popular slimming programs do result in reduced energy intake while providing enough nutrients. A new scientific analysis provides comprehensive dietary data about Slim Fast, Atkins, Weight Watchers and Rosemary Conley's "Eat Yourself Slim" Diet & Fitness

Infant Abductions Increase In Private And Public Places

A new study, based on 23 years of data collection, showed that while the number of abductions in hospital settings dramatically declined, those from private homes and public places have increased in incidence. Among private home and public place abductions, there has also been an increase in violence and lower infant recovery

Massive Cancer Gene Search Finds Potential New Targets In Brain Tumors

An array of broken, missing and overactive genes have been identified in a genetic survey of glioblastoma, the most common and deadly form of adult brain cancer, report scientists. The large-scale combing of the brain cancer genome confirms the key roles of some previously known mutated genes and implicates a variety of other genetic changes that may be targets for future

How To Spot A Heart Attack Soon After It Occurs

The sooner an individual who has had a heart attack is treated, the better their chance of survival and the less permanent damage is done to their heart. A recent paper details a new method for early detection of a heart attack that researchers used to observe changes in the blood of individuals who had had a heart attack as soon as 10 minutes after the

Ebola Cell-invasion Strategy Uncovered

Researchers have discovered a key biochemical link in the process by which the Ebola Zaire virus infects cells -- a critical step to finding a way to treat the deadly disease produced by the

Link Between Obesity, Type 2 Diabetes And Neurodegeneration Found

Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus can contribute to mild neurodegeneration with features common with Alzheimer's disease -- the first study to show that obesity can cause

Low-birth-weight Children Should Have Their Blood Pressure Checked, Researchers Find

Blood pressure in low-birth-weight children younger than 3 years of age not only can be measured but should be, researchers have

Hallucinations In The Flash Of An Eye

Specific brain regions show increased activity during hallucinations. Researchers introduce a new experimental approach to studying hallucinations as they

Yale Researchers Find 'Junk DNA' May Have Triggered Key Evolutionary Changes In Human Thumb And Foot

Out of the 3 billion genetic letters that spell out the human genome, Yale scientists have found a handful that may have contributed to the evolutionary changes in human limbs that enabled us to manipulate tools and walk

Infectious, Test Tube-produced Prions Can Jump The 'Species Barrier'

Researchers have shown that they can create entirely new strains of infectious proteins known as prions in the laboratory by simply mixing infectious prions from one species with the normal prion proteins of another

How Salmonella Bacteria Contaminate Salad Leaves

How does Salmonella bacteria cause food poisoning by attaching to salad leaves? A new study shows how some Salmonella bacteria use the long stringy appendages they normally use to help them "swim" and move about to attach themselves to salad leaves and other vegetables, causing contamination and a health

Promising Method For Reducing MRSA Infections In Hospitals

Researchers report that switching between two antibiotics, linezolid and vancomycin, every three months in the surgical ICU decreased the MRSA infection rate from 1.9 to 1.4 patients per 100 admissions. In-hospital mortality from surgical ICU-acquired MRSA infections fell from 3.8 patients per year to

Thinking People Eat Too Much: Intellectual Work Found To Induce Excessive Calorie Intake

Scientists have demonstrated that intellectual work induces a substantial increase in calorie intake. The details of this discovery could go some way to explaining the current obesity

No Connection Between Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR) Vaccine And Autism, Study Suggests

In a case-control study, the presence of measles virus RNA was no more likely in children with autism and GI disturbances than in children with only GI disturbances. Furthermore, GI symptom and autism onset were unrelated to MMR vaccine

Innate Immune System Targets Asthma-linked Fungus For Destruction

A new study shows that the innate immune system of humans is capable of killing a fungus linked to airway inflammation, chronic rhinosinusitis and bronchial asthma. Researchers have revealed that eosinophils, a particular type of white blood cell, exert a strong immune response against the environmental fungus Alternaria

Age-related Memory Loss Tied To Slip In Filtering Information Quickly

Scientists have identified a way in which the brain's ability to process information diminishes with age, and shown that this break down contributes to the decreased ability to form memories that is associated with normal

New Drug Protects Against Second Heart Attack Or Stroke, Study Suggests

Data from a Phase II study of an investigational drug designed to block formation of blood clots show potential for added protection against a second heart attack or stroke among patients who are already taking state-of-the-art prevention therapy, according to

Asymptomatic Carotid Plaque Healing Mechanisms Observed

Researchers have observed a noninvasive MR imaging a healing mechanism for plaque rupture, a potentially life-threatening event in the cardiovascular system that can result in a fatal heart attack or debilitating stroke. The untimely death of well-known television journalist Tim Russert, was due to the sudden rupture of a vulnerable plaque in a critical location in a coronary

Spending Time In Intensive Care Unit Can Traumatize Kids

Scientists have developed the Children's Critical Illness Impact Scale to measure psychological distress in children following hospital discharge. This is the first self-report scale ever created to measure the psychological impact of intensive care unit hospitalization on

Toxic Plastics: Bisphenol A Linked To Metabolic Syndrome In Human Tissue

New research implicates the primary chemical used to produce hard plastics -- bisphenol A (BPA) -- as a risk factor for the metabolic syndrome and its

World Cancer Declaration Sets Ambitious Targets For 2020

A summit of more than 60 high-level policymakers, leaders and health experts have adopted a global plan aimed at tackling the growing cancer crisis in developing countries. The plan, contained in the World Cancer Declaration, recommends a set of 11 cancer-busting targets for 2020 and outlines priority steps that need to be taken in order to meet them. It was presented Sunday at the close of the World Cancer Congress in

Mom's Mood, Baby's Sleep: What's The Connection?

If there's one thing that everyone knows about newborn babies, it's that they don't sleep through the night, and neither do their parents. But in fact, those first six months of life are crucial to developing the regular sleeping and waking patterns, known as circadian rhythms, that a child will need for a healthy future. Some children may start life with the sleep odds stacked against them, though, say sleep experts who study the

Gene Is Likely Cause Of Stroke-inducing Vascular Malformations

Scientists have discovered that a gene controlling whether blood vessels differentiate into arteries or veins during embryonic development is linked to a vascular disorder in the brain that causes

College Freshmen: Pain Killers And Stimulants Less Risky Than Cocaine; More Risky Than Marijuana

A new study in Prevention Science, finds that college freshmen believe that nonmedical use of prescription drugs like pain killers and stimulants is less risky than cocaine, but more risky than marijuana. Study also describes types of students who are most likely to engage in nonmedical use of prescription

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