Healthblognews.com : Health News

In a study of cancer patients and survivors, three-quarters report having insomnia or sleep problems following chemotherapy.

Scientists have crystallized a protein that may help gut bacteria bind to the gastrointestinal tract. The protein could be used by probiotic producers to identify strains that are likely to be of real benefit to people.

Influenza, particularly H1N1, has understandably captured the public spotlight. However, a new analysis shows that another virus — respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) — takes a substantially greater disease toll among young children than does seasonal flu. Children infected with RSV had more than twice as many emergency department visits and six times more hospitalizations than those with seasonal flu.

When cells are confronted with an invading virus or bacteria or exposed to an irritating chemical, they protect themselves by going off their DNA recipe and inserting the wrong amino acid into new proteins to defend them against damage, scientists have discovered. These “regulated errors” comprise a novel non-genetic mechanism by which cells can rapidly make important proteins more resistant to attack when stressed, said one of the researchers.

Medical students are commonly stuck by needles — putting them at risk of contracting potentially dangerous blood-borne diseases — and many of them fail to report the injuries to hospital authorities, according to a new study.

Scientists have discovered how the bacterial immune system works, and the finding could lead to new classes of targeted antibiotics, new tools to study gene function in microorganisms and more stable bacterial cultures used by food and biotechnology industries to make products such as yogurt and cheese.

An innovative treatment for HIV patients has passed its first clinical trial with flying colors. The new approach is an immunotherapy customized for each individual patient.

One feature of the “new influenza” is a sudden rise in temperature. Up to now it was not exactly understood how this reaction occurs. Scientists in Germany have been able to shed light into the dark. They have identified a new signaling pathway via which certain viruses can trigger inflammatory reactions and fever.

Scientists have discovered unusual liver proteins, found only in males, that may help explain the long-standing mystery of why the hepatitis B virus sexually discriminates — hitting men harder than women.

A string of recent discoveries about the multiple health benefits of vitamin D has renewed interest in this multi-purpose nutrient, increased awareness of the huge numbers of people who are deficient in it, spurred research and even led to an appreciation of it as “nature’s antibiotic.”

The decreased risk of HIV infection in circumcised men cannot be explained by a reduction in sores from conditions such as herpes, according to new research.

Researchers have determined that only 663,000 of the approximately 3.9 million Americans with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection received antiviral therapy between 2002 and 2007. If this disturbing trend continues, by 2030 less than 15 percent of liver-related deaths from HCV will be prevented by antiviral therapy.

New research suggests that a common oral bacterium may exacerbate autoimmune disease. Multiple sclerosis (MS), a disease where the immune system attacks the brain and spinal cord, affects nearly 1 in 700 people in the United States. Patients with multiple sclerosis have a variety of neurological symptoms, including muscle weakness, difficulty in moving, and difficulty in speech.

Trials of a screen-based malaria prevention programme in 500 homes in The Gambia, Africa, have led to a 50 per cent reduction in malaria transmission and anaemia in children. A child dies from malaria in Africa every 30 seconds and infection can lead to an increased risk of anaemia, which can also prove fatal. Yet to date, screens have often been ignored in favour of using drugs and insecticides.

Giving insecticide-treated bed nets to nearly 18,000 mothers at prenatal clinics in the Democratic Republic of Congo prevented an estimated 414 infant deaths from malaria, researchers conclude.

Research into Alzheimer’s disease seems an unlikely approach to yield a better way to fight urinary tract infections, but that’s what scientists recently reported.

The community-associated strain of the deadly superbug MRSA — an infection-causing bacteria resistant to most common antibiotics — poses a far greater health threat than previously known and is making its way into hospitals, according to a new study.

Do stressful situations make your blood pressure rise? If so, your phosducin gene could be to blame according to new research that indicates a role for the protein generated by the phosducin gene in modulating blood pressure in response to stress in both mice and humans.

Animal studies suggest that adding flaxseed oil to the diet could reduce the risk of osteoporosis in post-menopausal women and women with diabetes.

Ghrelin, a hormone produced in the stomach, may be used to boost resistance to, or slow, the development of Parkinson’s disease, researchers report.

The decreased risk of HIV infection in circumcised men cannot be explained by a reduction in sores from conditions such as herpes, according to new research.

Heart rate variability, a sign of a healthy heart, has been shown to be higher in yoga practitioners than in non-practitioners, according to new research.

Women who store fat on their waist in middle age are more than twice as likely to develop dementia when they get older, reveals a new study.

Over the course of a lifetime, the heart pumps some 250 million liters of blood through the body. In the order to do this, the muscle fibers of the heart have to be extremely durable. Scientists have now discovered a protein that is responsible for the stability of the smallest muscular unit, the sarcomere.

Dentists can help to identify patients who are in danger of dying of a heart attack or stroke, reveals a new study. Thanks to the study, six men who thought they were completely healthy were able to start preventive treatment in time.