Page 350 - Health Medical Pharma
Brain's immune cells influence sexual behaviour development: Study
Immune cells in the brain, that are usually ignored by neuroscientists, play a powerful role in influencing an animal's sexual behaviour towards male or female, according to a research.
Cabbage, broccoli could help prevent colon cancer: Study
Eating green leafy vegetables such as kale, cabbage as well as broccoli could help maintain a healthy gut and prevent colon cancer, says a new study.
3 scientists share USD 500,000 prize for work on cancer therapy
Tumors once considered untreatable have disappeared and people previously given months to live are surviving for decades thanks to new therapies emerging from the work of three scientists chosen to receive a USD 500,000 medical prize. The recipients of the annual Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research, announced today, are being recognized for their studies of the immune system that have led to innovative treatments for cancer, HIV and other diseases. They are James Allison of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center; Dr Carl June of the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania; and Dr Steven Rosenberg of the National Cancer Institute. They'll receive the award at a ceremony Sept 26 in Albany, New York. "Their research has given hope to many who otherwise faced a certain death sentence, and has inspired the work of hundreds of other researchers to investigate new pathways for treatment," said Dr Vincent Verdile, dean of Albany Medical .
Mixing energy drinks, alcohol could up risky behaviour
Mixing alcohol with energy drinks could be exacerbate the negative effects of binge drinking, such as impairing judgement and increasing risky behaviour, a study has found. Many people mix energy drinks with alcohol to counteract the sedative nature of alcohol, tricking users into feeling more awake and less drunk than they really are. Researchers from the University of Portsmouth in the UK and the Federal University of Santa Maria in Brazil tested the effects of taurine, a key ingredient of many energy drinks, and alcohol on social and fear responses in zebrafish. They found that taurine seemed to increase the fear-reducing properties of alcohol, but also affected social communication. "This study is the first to show that the two together may be exacerbating some of the negative effects of binge drinking; that is reduction of fear and problems in social communication while intoxicated, which collectively increase the risk of fighting, violence and participation in risky behaviours,"
Marital spats can affect health
Married people who have nasty fights are more likely to suffer from leaky guts - a problem that unleashes bacteria into the blood and can drive up disease-causing inflammation, a study has found. It's the first study to illuminate this particular pathway between bad marriages and poor health, said Janice Kiecolt-Glaser, from The Ohio State University in the US. "We think that this everyday marital distress - at least for some people - is causing changes in the gut that lead to inflammation and, potentially, illness," said Kiecolt-Glaser, lead author of the study published in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology Researchers at Ohio State recruited 43 healthy married couples, surveyed them about their relationships and then encouraged them to discuss and try to resolve a conflict likely to provoke strong disagreement. Touchy topics included money and in-laws. The researchers left the couples alone for these discussions, videotaped the 20-minute interactions and later watched how the ...
Artificial placenta 3D printed in lab
Scientists have 3D printed an artificial placenta model that very closely resembles the natural organ, an advance that may help better understand how it affects babies' growth. The placenta ensures the exchange of important substances between the mother and her unborn child, whilst simultaneously blocking other substances from passing through. Until now, it has not been fully understood what the permeability of the placenta depends on. It is incredibly difficult to investigate its function in humans directly. Researchers from Vienna University of Technology (TU Vienna) in Austria used a specially developed femtosecond laser-based 3D printing process to produce an artificial placenta model that very closely resembles the natural organ. The process makes it possible to produce customised hydrogel membranes directly within microfluidic chips, which are then populated with placenta cells. This means it is now possible to provide clarity in some vital research issues, such as the exchange .
Announcement of Ayushman Bharat Healthcare scheme welcomed by organisations
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's announcement of the launch of the ambitious Ayushman Bharat scheme was lauded by various organisations which called it a much-awaited gift to the nation as it would ease healthcare woes of the poor in India. The scheme, touted as the world's largest healthcare scheme, aims to provide a coverage of Rs five lakh per family annually, benefiting more than 10 crore poor families. The PwC India and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) said the scheme is one of the major policy initiatives of the government for the vulnerable section of the Indian population which, if implemented effectively, will help the nation move closer to the sustainable development goal of 'Universal Health Coverage'. "It is extremely worrying that nearly 5560 million Indians are pushed into poverty every year because they are unfortunately compelled to shell out half of their annual household expenditure to meet medical needs, especially for hospitalisation. "It is expected that the .
Focus: Express Scripts staking out million-dollar gene therapies
(Reuters) - Express Scripts Holding Co built a multi-billion enterprise pressuring drug companies to lower their prices for U.S. patients. Now it is quietly building a side business: getting paid to help drug companies dispense a new generation of high-priced drugs.
Artificial placenta created in lab using 3D printing
Using a high-resolution 3D printing process, Austrian researchers have succeeded in creating an artificial placental barrier on a chip, a development that can be used to investigate important aspects of nutrient transport from the mother to the foetus.
Here's how stress hormone prevents Leukemia
A human stress hormone called cortisol has been identified by scientists as a key factor behind when and why the immune system fails to prevent leukemia from taking hold.The team led by Dr. Vadim Sumbayev, of the University's Medway School of Pharmacy, found for the first time that blood or bone marrow cancer - acute myeloid leukemia (AML) - cells evade the anti-cancer activity of the human immune system by employing the human hormone cortisol.The study of the causes of AML - the most severe blood or bone marrow cancer, demonstrated that AML cells employ a unique pathway for the disease to progress, using functional systems of the human body to both support their survival and also reduce the anticancer activities of immune cells.They do this by using cortisol to force the release of a protein, latrophilin 1. This, in turn, causes the secretion of another protein, galectin-9, which suppresses the body's natural anti-cancer immune mechanism.Dr. Sumbayev's team, working with researchers .
How marital spats can affect your health
Couples, please take note. Fighting with your spouse may deteriorate your health, a new study has found.
Alcohol with energy drinks may worsen violence, risky behaviour
Do you consume alcohol with energy drinks just to counteract its sedative nature? If so, it can exacerbate the negative effects of binge drinking such as increasing violence and risky behaviour, finds a study.
How elephants are protected from cancer?
Researchers have identified a "zombie" gene that protects elephants from cancer, a finding that may also pave way for a new treatment for humans.
Even 8-year-olds experience body image issues
Children as young as eight may be vulnerable to poor body image as hormone levels rise with the onset of puberty, a study has found. The study based on data from more than 1,100 eight- to nine-year-olds indicates a need for strategies in schools and at home to help children maintain a positive body image prior to the onset of puberty. The research explored a link between hormones and body satisfaction in young pre-pubescent children for the first time, said Elizabeth Hughes, from University of Melbourne in Australia. Published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, the study clearly indicated that there was a need for strategies in schools and at home to help children maintain a positive body image prior to the onset of puberty. Researchers found that girls tended to be more dissatisfied with their bodies than boys, but boys with higher hormone levels also felt unhappy with their physical shape. "What we have learnt is that pre-pubescent children, as young as eight and nine, are ...
Tonga PM challenges Pacific leaders to weight-loss competition
The prime minister of Tonga has challenged fellow Pacific leaders to a year-long weight-loss competition to combat soaring obesity levels in the region. The Pacific has the highest obesity rates in the world and Tonga leader Akilisi Pohiva said politicians needed to lead from the front to help curb the problem. "We should all get together for a weight-loss competition, for an entire year," he told the Samoa Observer in an interview published this week. "So when we meet the following year we will weigh in again and see who has lost the most. "It is not about who loses the most kilos but in order to shake off the weight, you must eat light and having that healthy mentality will go a long way." While Pohiva's proposal was light-hearted, he said the issue of obesity was a serious problem for the region that led to non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and heart disease. According to World Health Organisation data released in 2015, nine of the 10 most obese nations in the world are in
Poor sleep triggers loneliness, social rejection
Poor sleep can hamper your social life, say scientists who found that sleep-deprived people feel lonelier and less inclined to engage with others, avoiding close contact in much the same way as people with social anxiety. Researchers at the University of California (UC) Berkeley in the US, have found that alienating vibe makes sleep-deprived individuals more socially unattractive to others. Moreover, well-rested people feel lonely after just a brief encounter with a sleep-deprived person, potentially triggering a viral contagion of social isolation. The findings, published in the journal Nature Communications, are the first to show a two-way relationship between sleep loss and becoming socially isolated, shedding new light on a global loneliness epidemic. Researchers found that brain scans of sleep-deprived people as they viewed video clips of strangers walking toward them showed powerful social repulsion activity in neural networks that are typically activated when humans feel their .
'3-in-1' hypertension pill offers better success: Study
With over a billion people struggling to control their high blood pressure globally, an Australian study suggests a "three-in-one" pill for better results.
Eating cabbage, broccoli may help prevent colon cancer
Chemicals produced by vegetables such as kale, cabbage and broccoli could help to maintain a healthy gut and prevent colon cancer, a study has found. The research, published in the journal Immunity, shows that mice fed on a diet rich in indole-3-carbinol - which is produced when we digest vegetables from the Brassica genus - were protected from gut inflammation and colon cancer. While the health benefits of vegetables are well-established, many of the mechanisms behind them remain unknown. This study offers the first concrete evidence of how I3C in the diet can prevent colon inflammation and cancer, by activating a protein called the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR). AhR acts as an environmental sensor, passing signals to immune cells and epithelial cells in the gut lining to protect us from inflammatory responses to the trillions of bacteria that live in the gut. "We studied genetically modified mice that cannot produce or activate AhR in their guts, and found that they readily ...
Focus: Express Scripts staking out million dollar gene therapies
(Reuters) - Express Scripts Holding Co built a multi-billion enterprise pressuring drug companies to lower their prices for U.S. patients. Now it is quietly building a side business: getting paid to help drug companies dispense a new generation of high-priced drugs.
Modi's major healthcare scheme from Sep 25
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said a major healthcare initiative to give medical insurance cover to 50 crore Indians will roll out from September 25 -- the 102nd birth anniversary of Bharatiya Jana Sangh founder Deendayal Upadhyay.