New Hope for Antibiotic Resistance
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A surprising new theory developed at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) in Omaha, Nebraska, suggests that some bacterial cells act as “suicide bombers” in cell communities, with the altruistic intention of dying for the common good – and in the process, strengthening other cells that then become resistant to antibiotic drugs.
The finding could aid future research into developing drugs that can skirt the potentially catastrophic problem of bacterial resistance to antibiotics.
Are Higher Doses of Cholesterol Drugs Worth the Extra Money?
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When it comes to cholesterol-lowering drugs, more is better. At least, that’s what heart doctors and heart patients have been hearing in recent years. And as a result, more patients are taking higher doses of drugs called statins – leading to lower heart and stroke risk, but higher prescription drug costs and more frequent side effects.
Now, a new study looks at whether those higher doses, and higher costs, are really going to pay off for some patients. For those with a recent heart attack or what doctors call ‘acute coronary syndrome’, the answer is yes, the researchers say.
Low Vitamin D Levels Linked to Poor Physical Performance
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Older adults who don’t get enough vitamin D – either from their diets or exposure to the sun – may be at increased risk for poor physical performance and disability, according to new research from Wake Forest University School of Medicine and colleagues.
“With a growing older population, we need to identify better ways to reduce the risk of disability,” said lead author Denise Houston, Ph.D. “Our study showed a significant relationship between low vitamin D levels in older adults and poorer physical performance.”
Jefferson researchers want to learn if heart defect ‘at heart’ of some migraines
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Researchers of the heart and headaches at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital are combining efforts to determine if a common heart defect may be the cause of some forms of migraine headaches.
Investigators from the Jefferson Heart Institute and the Jefferson Headache Center are enrolling participants in a blinded study to determine if closing a Patent Foramen Ovale (PFO), a small hole or flap that can allow blood to flow between the right and left sides of the heart, can stop migraines. In newborns, the PFO closes at or shortly after birth, but in 20 percent of adults the gap remains open to some degree.
High selenium levels linked to diabetes risk
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Contrary to researchers’ expectations, high blood levels of selenium are positively associated with diabetes in adults, according to findings published in the medical journal Diabetes Care.
The results of some animal studies have suggested that oxidative stress reduces insulin secretion and increases insulin resistance, Dr. Joachim Bleys and colleagues from Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, point out. They therefore hypothesized that because selenium has antioxidant properties, high levels of selenium in the body may prevent diabetes.
Early heart attacks often treated aggressively
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Patients who come to the emergency department with symptoms suggestive of an impending or “evolving” heart attack are often treated as aggressively as if they had a confirmed one.
The finding comes from the international SYNERGY trial published in a recent release by the European Heart Journal.
Fruity cocktails count as health food, study finds
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A fruity cocktail may not only be fun to drink but may count as health food, U.S. and Thai researchers said on Thursday.
Adding ethanol—the type of alcohol found in rum, vodka, tequila and other spirits—boosted the antioxidant nutrients in strawberries and blackberries, the researchers found.
Low blood pressure in elderly linked to mortality
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Aggressive treatment of high blood pressure (hypertension) in patients who are 80 years or older is associated with lower five-year survival rates than their counterparts with blood pressure levels at or higher than treatment target levels, researchers report.
Physicians should therefore “use caution in their approach to blood pressure-lowering in this age group,” they advise in the Journal of the American Geriatric Society.
Shooting shows gaps in mental health safety net
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Mental health professionals complain their hands are tied in two ways when they try to help people like Virginia Tech gunman Cho Seung-Hui—a lack of funding for mental health services in general and laws that make it tough to treat people against their will.
They say the 23-year-old student’s shooting rampage sheds new light on flaws in the U.S. mental health system.
Race differences in breast cancer due to biology
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Differences in how many Hispanic and Caucasian women are diagnosed with breast cancer may be the result of biological factors rather than differences in access to healthcare services, according to finding published in the journal Cancer.
Previous research has shown that the average Hispanic woman who is diagnosed with breast cancer has different characteristics that the average non-Hispanic white women, Dr. Tim Byers, of the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver, and colleagues write.
Women undergoing HRT face increased risk of getting cancer
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It was once described as the last frontier in the emancipation of women, a pill that would ease the transition through the menopause and allow those who took it to slip into a contented middle age. Now the world’s largest study of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) has shown that it may have caused 1,000 deaths from ovarian cancer between 1991 and 2005.
The new finding strengthens the evidence that HRT poses a serious danger to women. Previous results from the same study have shown that the risk of breast cancer and endometrial cancer (of the lining of the womb) is also increased by the treatment.
Difficult births in obese women due to uterus failure
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Liverpool scientists have uncovered the reason why overweight women have more Caesarean sections; they are at significant risk of their uterus contracting poorly in childbirth
In a study of 4,000 pregnant women, researchers found that almost 1 in 5 overweight women had to undergo an emergency Caesarean Section birth because the muscles in their uterus failed. The research suggests obesity impairs the ability of the uterus to contract sufficiently in order to dilate the cervix and deliver the baby.
The team from the University of Liverpool’s Physiology department found that obese women were 3.5 times more likely to require a Caesarean for slow labour than normal weight women.
World first test potential to identify breast cancer patients who will react badly to radiotherapy
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Medical scientists at the University of Leicester have announced a potentially unique advance in breast cancer research by identifying two genes associated with adverse reaction to cancer treatment.
The research could mean people who might react badly to radiotherapy could be warned in advance or alternative treatments be sought. There is no test at present for an abnormal reaction to radiotherapy. No-one in the past has proposed such a test.
Patients with Psoriasis Prone to Diabetes and Serious Cardiovascular Condition
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Psoriasis is a chronic skin condition characterized by thick, red, scaly plaques that itch and sometimes bleed, causing considerable discomfort and emotional stress for patients. In addition to the daily chore of dealing with the physical symptoms of this condition, new research suggests an association between psoriasis and two potentially serious medical conditions – diabetes and atherosclerosis, also known as hardening of the arteries.
For the 2 percent to 4 percent of the worldwide population affected by psoriasis, these findings could have a significant impact on their overall health, including the estimated 5.8 to 7.5 million Americans affected by the condition.
Social workers can help older smokers
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Getting older smokers to quit can be a tough order, but enlisting social workers in the battle could help, a new study suggests.
Even in old age, quitting smoking can have health benefits, but elderly smokers are less likely to receive smoking cessation counseling than their younger counterparts. One of the obstacles is simply reaching older adults who smoke, according to the authors of the new study.
