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Lack of ready financial resources in family affects overall health of children

The connection between a family's income and childhood health has been well-established, with lower income linked to poorer health and a greater likelihood of more chronic conditions. Now a new study by UCLA researchers shows that the size of the paycheck is not all that matters when it comes to children's health risks. So does the amount that a family has tucked away in savings.

30 Apr 2016

Scientists reprogram mature blood cells from mice into blood-forming HSCs

Researchers at Boston Children's Hospital have reprogrammed mature blood cells from mice into blood-forming hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), using a cocktail of eight genetic switches called transcription factors. The reprogrammed cells, which the researchers have dubbed induced HSCs (iHSCs), have the functional hallmarks of HSCs, are able to self-renew like HSCs, and can give rise to all of the cellular components of the blood like HSCs.

30 Apr 2016

NCCN publishes series of patient education materials for Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma

It is estimated that more than 72,000 people in the United States will be diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphomas (NHL) in 2016. The sixth leading cancer diagnosis in U.S. men and women, NHL has more than 30 sub-types, each featuring unique treatment choices and challenges.

30 Apr 2016

Elusive brain receptor may play vital role in death of neurons from neurological diseases

Strokes, seizures, traumatic brain injury and schizophrenia: these conditions can cause persistent, widespread acidity around neurons in the brain. But exactly how that acidity affects brain function isn't well understood.

30 Apr 2016

Exposure to fine particulate matter in air can increase risk of cancer-specific mortality

In 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) published a series of monographs on the evaluation of various carcinogenic risks. In a monograph on air pollution, the organization pointed out the difficulty of assessing the effects of pollution on multiple types of cancers, given their different etiologies, risk factors and variability in the composition of air pollutants in space and time. However, the IARC identified certain key components of air pollution, including particulates.

30 Apr 2016

Nuplazid (pimavanserin) tablets approved to treat hallucinations and delusions

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Nuplazid (pimavanserin) tablets, the first drug approved to treat hallucinations and delusions associated with psychosis experienced by some people with Parkinson's disease.

30 Apr 2016

New oral cancer drugs getting more expensive over time, study shows

New cancer drugs taken in pill form have become dramatically more expensive in their first year on the market compared with drugs launched 15 years ago, a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill study has found. The findings call into question the sustainability of a system that sets high prices at market entry in addition to rapidly increasing those prices over time.

30 Apr 2016

Female hormones may be responsible for decreased risk of kidney failure in women than men

Female hormones may play a role in women's decreased risk of developing kidney failure relative to men, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. The findings may be helpful for future attempts at safeguarding women's and men's kidney health in sex-specific ways.

29 Apr 2016

Researchers explore changes in Parkinson's-affected cells at different stages of the disease

It's an unsettling thought: You could be walking around for 20 years developing Parkinson's disease and not even know it.

29 Apr 2016

Outbreak of tropical parasitic infection observed for first time in the Arctic

An outbreak of an intestinal parasite common in the tropics, known as Cryptosporidium, has been identified for the first time in the Arctic. The discovery was made in Nunavik, Quebec, by a team from the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, in collaboration with the Nunavik Department of Public Health, Institut National de Santé Publique du Québec and Health Canada. The discovery, which was documented in the journal PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, could have long-term implications for the health of children in Nunavik and Nunavut's communities.

29 Apr 2016

Diabetic patients at risk for developing retinal diabetic neuropathy

A University of Iowa-led study of diabetes-related vision impairment holds good news -- and some bad news -- for patients with signs of these disorders.

28 Apr 2016

More neurological resources needed to manage Zika virus infections

WFN Zika-Info-Service: World Federation of Neurology establishes Work Group on Zika virus to support international efforts - Lack of neurological resources in countries most concerned by the virus.

28 Apr 2016

Musashi-2 protein regulates function, development of blood stem cells

Researchers at McMaster University's Stem Cell and Cancer Research Institute have made significant steps forward in understanding the stem cells of the human blood system after discovering how a key protein allows for better control and regeneration of these cells.

28 Apr 2016

$Multidisciplinary experts assess effects of osteoporosis drugs on fracture healing$

Multidisciplinary experts assess effects of osteoporosis drugs on fracture healing

In people with osteoporosis, one fracture often leads to more fractures, and potentially a future of pain, disability, and poor quality of life. While studies have shown that such high-risk patients benefit from appropriate medication to reduce future fracture risk, more research is needed on the effect of osteoporosis medications on fracture healing.

28 Apr 2016

British smokers told to start vaping by public health experts

A major British medical organization has urged Britain’s eight million smokers to switch to electronic cigarettes, as their best hope of managing to stop smoking.

28 Apr 2016

IPC PAS‘s chemical sensor can rapidly and effectively detect fungal infections

Fungal infections are a serious problem in modern health care. A critical factor in their successful treatment is time: the faster they are detected, the more effectively dangerous infections can be prevented.

28 Apr 2016

One-dose of dexamethasone can improve outcomes of asthmatic patients in ER

Adults with asthma who were treated with one-dose dexamethasone in the emergency department had only slightly higher relapse than patients who were treated with a 5-day course of prednisone.

28 Apr 2016

Nurse scientist asks health-care systems to set patients up for mortality cliff

Longer lifespans, due to advances in medicine and public health, mean people are living longer with multiple chronic conditions.

28 Apr 2016

Research highlights global economic burden of norovirus

While norovirus is often linked in the news to outbreaks on cruise ships, the highly contagious stomach bug sickens nearly 700 million around the world every year and results in roughly $4.2 billion in health care costs and $60.3 billion in societal costs annually, new Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health research suggests.

27 Apr 2016

Study reveals new function for CACNA1C gene in psychiatric diseases

A new study shows the death of newborn brain cells may be linked to a genetic risk factor for five major psychiatric diseases, and at the same time shows a compound currently being developed for use in humans may have therapeutic value for these diseases by preventing the cells from dying.

27 Apr 2016