Diseases and Conditions News

August 20, 2016

'Healthy Obesity' May Be a Myth

Twins, Especially Identical Twins, Live Longer

Recording Analog Memories in Human Cells

Neural Stem Cells Control Their Own Fate

Latest Headlines

updated 11:21am EDT

Researchers Find Herpes Strain in the Nervous System

Aug. 19, 2016 — There are a couple strains of herpes so common that researchers estimate 90% of the human population have them. These strains, human herpes 6 and human herpes 7, usually do ... read more

Refining Optogenetic Methods to Map Synaptic Connections in the Brain

Aug. 19, 2016 — A fundamental question in neuroscience is how neuronal circuits give rise to brain function, as disruptions in these connections can lead to brain disorders. Translating the ... read more

New Study Challenges Assumption of Asbestos' Ability to Move in Soil

Aug. 19, 2016 — A new study challenges the long-held belief that asbestos fibers cannot move through soil. The findings have important implications for current remediation strategies aimed at capping asbestos-laden ... read more

Increased Eye Cancer Risk Linked to Pigmentation Genes That Dictate Eye Color

Aug. 19, 2016 — New research links specific inherited genetic differences to an increased risk for eye (uveal) melanoma, a rare form of melanoma that arises from ... read more

Electrical Synapses in the Brain Offer New Avenue for Epilepsy Research and Possible Treatment

Aug. 19, 2016 — A child with absence epilepsy may be in the middle of doing something—she could be dancing, studying, talking—when all of a sudden she stares off ... read more

Vertebroplasty Helps Reduce Acute Pain Among Patients With Spinal Fractures

Aug. 19, 2016 — Vertebroplasty is a safe and effective procedure to reduce acute pain and disability in patients who have experienced spinal fractures within a 6-week period, according to a new study. In this ... read more

From Pollution to Caffeine Intake: Researcher Reveals Dementia Risks

Aug. 19, 2016 — Dementia strikes 47 million people worldwide. Yet scientists are still urgently trying to find why the disease affects some but not others. Among the findings from the latest research are that eating ... read more

Swimming Is an Effective Part of the Treatment for Fibromyalgia, Study Suggests

Aug. 19, 2016 — Swimming is as effective as walking to relieve pain and improve quality of life for patients with fibromyalgia, that experience chronic diffuse ... read more

First 3-D Map of Cell-Building Protein Linked to Cancer

Aug. 19, 2016 — Researchers have revealed, for the first time, the three-dimensional molecular 'map' of a protein that has been pinpointed as a driver of many types ... read more

Vaping May Lead to Fewer Respiratory Infections for Ex-Smokers

Aug. 19, 2016 — The majority of smokers who successfully switch to vaping say they have fewer respiratory infections, according to a study. The researchers say that this is because smoking increases susceptibility ... read more

Blind Viewers Can Now Feel a Part of Olympics

This Common Pain Reliever Could Cause Behavioral Issues In Children

Viruses Might Be More Likely To Get You Sick In The Morning

High-Tech Limbs on Display in Russia’s Cybathlon Competition

Study Finds Better Definition of Homelessness May Help Minimize HIV Risk

Aug. 19, 2016 — Being homeless puts people at greater risk of HIV infection than those with stable housing, but targeting services to reduce risk behaviors is often complicated by fuzzy definitions of homelessness, ... read more

MRI Technology Quantifies Liver Response in Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis Patients

Aug. 19, 2016 — Researchers have found that a form of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) that non-invasively measures fat density in the liver corresponds with histological (microscopic tissue analyses) responses in ... read more

Flesh-Eating Infections in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients Spur New Discovery

Aug. 19, 2016 — Rheumatoid arthritis patients taking medications that inhibit interleukin-1beta, a molecule that stimulates the immune system, are 300 times more likely to experience invasive Group A Streptococcal ... read more

How Safe Are Our Tattoos and Permanent Makeup?

Aug. 19, 2016 — Tattoos are becoming ever more popular. In the EU, the number of people with tattoos has increased from 5% in 2003 to 12% in 2016 (60 million people in the EU-28), with at least half of them having ... read more

'Missing Evolutionary Link' of a Widely Used Natural Drug Source Found

Aug. 19, 2016 — A well-known family of natural compounds, called “terpenoids,” have a curious evolutionary origin. In particular, one question relevant to future drug discovery has puzzled scientists: exactly ... read more

'Born to Be Bad' or 'Born to Be Benign:' Testing Cells for Esophageal Cancer Risk

Aug. 19, 2016 — Genetically analyzing lesions in the food pipe could provide an early and accurate test for esophageal cancer, according to research. Barrett's Esophagus is a common condition that affects ... read more

Majority of Parents Support HPV Vaccination Requirements for School, but With Opt-Outs

Aug. 19, 2016 — Parents were more likely to agree that laws requiring students to be vaccinated against HPV for school entry are a 'good idea' when there is an opt-out clause, new research indicates. ... read more

Researcher Provides Recommendations to Stop Violence Against Clinicians in China

Aug. 19, 2016 — Responding to the number of violent attacks on physicians in China, researchers organized an initiative to rebuild patient-physician trust with recommendations published in a new ... read more

New Oral Diabetes Drugs May Also Protect Patients' Kidney Health

Aug. 18, 2016 — In a clinical trial of patients with type 2 diabetes, canagliflozin (a sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitor) slowed kidney function decline to a greater extent than glimepiride (a sulfonylurea), ... read more

Ethnicity of Women Undergoing Fertility Treatment Can Affect Outcomes, Study Finds

Aug. 18, 2016 — The ethnicity of women undergoing fertility treatments like IVF can affect the rate of successful live births, according to new research. After adjusting for certain factors including age of patient ... read more

Why Russian Tuberculosis Is the Most Infectious

Aug. 18, 2016 — Scientists conducted a large-scale analysis of the proteins and genomes of mycobacterium tuberculosis strains that are common in Russia and countries of the former Soviet Union and found features ... read more

Smoking Marijuana Provides More Pain Relief for Men Than Women

Aug. 18, 2016 — Men had greater pain relief than women after smoking marijuana, a new study has found. Despite differences in pain relief, men and women did not report differences in how intoxicated they felt or how ... read more

In Cells, Some Oxidants Are Needed

Aug. 18, 2016 — Some studies are showing that reactive oxygen species (ROS) molecules sometimes can aid in maintaining health -- findings now boosted by a surprising discovery from the ... read more

Study Confirms Long-Term Effects of 'Chemobrain' in Mice

Aug. 18, 2016 — Women undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer have long complained of lingering cognitive impairments after treatment. These effects are referred to as 'chemobrain,' a feeling of mental ... read more

Fruit Flies Could Be Key to Fighting Cervical Cancer Caused by Human Papillomavirus

Aug. 18, 2016 — HPV is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections in the US and has been identified as a cause of cancer in women. A team of researchers has completed studies on fruit flies with a ... read more

Gallstone Disease May Increase Heart Disease Risk

Aug. 18, 2016 — A history of gallstone disease was linked to a 23 percent increased risk of developing coronary heart disease. Preventing gallstone disease may also benefit heart health, say ... read more

Study Supports New Strategy to Fight Cocaine Addiction

Aug. 18, 2016 — Strong evidence supporting a new strategy against drug addiction has been revealed by research. The researchers showed that a compound that inhibits the activity of certain brain-cell receptors can ... read more

Genes Responsible for Cardiometabolic Disease Risk Identified

Aug. 18, 2016 — A profound new level of complexity and interaction among genes within specific tissues responsible for mediating the inherited risk for cardiometabolic diseases have been identified by researchers, ... read more

How Norovirus Gets Inside Cells: New Clues

Aug. 18, 2016 — Researchers have identified the protein that norovirus uses to invade cells. Norovirus is the most common viral cause of diarrhea worldwide, but scientists still know little about how it infects ... read more

New Flu Strains and Old Antibodies: How Sinful Is 'Original Antigenic Sin'?

Aug. 18, 2016 — Immune memory ensures a quick, specific response to previously encountered pathogens. However, for rapidly evolving pathogens like influenza virus, there is concern that recalled ('old') ... read more

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