Health & WellnessS


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New Mechanism Explains How the Body Prevents Formation of Blood Vessels


ScienceDaily
Wed, 11 Nov 2009 10:00 UTC
Researchers at Uppsala University, in collaboration with colleagues in Sweden and abroad, have identified an entirely new mechanism by which a specific protein in the body inhibits formation of new blood vessels. Inhibiting the formation of new blood vessels is an important aspect of, for example, cancer treatment. The study is published in the November issue of the journal Molecular Cancer Research.

Angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels, is strictly regulated by a number of molecules that serve to either promote or inhibit the process. Certain diseases are characterised by excessive or insufficient angiogenesis. The rapid growth of tumors, for example, is conditioned on the formation of new blood vessels to supply oxygen and nutrients, which explains why angiogenesis is accelerated in cancer patients.

"At present, there are five approved drugs for inhibiting formation of new blood vessels," says research fellow Anna-Karin Olsson of the Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology at Uppsala University, who headed the study. "All of these medications work in a similar way, by influencing the function of one of the agents that promotes angiogenesis. A problem with the medications is that the body develops resistance to them as treatment progresses. Improved knowledge about which molecules promote or inhibit the formation of blood vessels in the body, and the mechanisms by which they operate, is accordingly a research goal."
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Survey reveals big gap in understanding of depression


Medical News Today
Wed, 11 Nov 2009 04:00 UTC
Americans do not believe they know much about depression, but are highly aware of the risks of not receiving care, according to a survey released today by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).

See full survey results here.

The survey provides a "three dimensional" measurement of responses from members of the general public who do not know anyone with depression, caregivers of adults diagnosed with depression and adults actually living with the illness.

- Seventy-one percent of the public sample said they are not familiar with depression, but 68 percent or more know specific consequences that can come from not receiving treatment-including suicide (84 percent).

- Sixty-two percent believe they know some symptoms of depression, but 39 percent said they do not know many or any at all.
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Forgetting Traumatic Memories

Steve Pogonowski
Medical News Today
Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:00 UTC
It is well known that fear memories are permanent. However, a recent paper in Science, evaluated by three Faculty Members for F1000, reports an extraordinary finding that supports the use of a drug to control recollections of traumatic incidents.

The researchers demonstrated that, in mice, proteins known as extracellular matrix chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans form 'neural nets' in the brain that protect against the erasure of memory. They also reported that, when these mice were given a drug called chondroitinase ABC, fear memories were more likely to disappear than for those mice in the control group.

This finding has important therapeutic implications for sufferers of anxiety disorders, as it could allow doctors to erase the memories of patients who have had extremely traumatic experiences, such as survivors of war.

In his review for F1000 Medicine, David P. Wolfer said, "The identification of cellular mechanisms that ... control the stability of fear memories is extremely important for the development of new and better therapies for anxiety disorders."
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Snoring Sounds May Hold the Key to a Good Night's Sleep


PhysOrg
Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:00 UTC
Hours of analysing snoring sounds have paid off for a group of researchers from The University of Queensland and Brisbane's Princess Alexandra Hospital.

Led by Dr Udantha Abeyratne from the School of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering, the team has developed a non-invasive way of diagnosing Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA).

Caused by the collapse of the upper air passage during sleep, OSA is Australia's most common sleep disorder, affecting approximately 800,000 people.

Common symptoms include snoring, waking suddenly and daytime sleepiness and, if left untreated, it can lead to stroke, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

"OSA has snoring as the earliest symptom; almost all patients snore," Dr Abeyratne said.

"We have developed several techniques to diagnose OSA using snoring sounds alone.
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Probiotics Found to Reduce Eczema and Skin Allergies

Paul Louis
NaturalNews
Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:00 UTC
Most health conscious people know of the positive effects on digestion from using probiotic supplements. Many take probiotic supplements after using antibiotics to replace the good intestinal flora bacteria indiscriminately killed during antibiotic use.

This practice is so well known that MD's have begun recommending probiotics during and after antibiotics.

But there is new evidence that probiotic benefits go beyond that. One area of investigative research is building the immune system's resistance to allergies that affect the skin. An obvious example of a skin's allergic reaction is eczema, which tends occur often with infants.

A recent Dutch study gathered over 150 pregnant women with allergic disease histories in their families. During the last six weeks of pregnancy, they were given either three strains of probiotics or an inactive placebo pill. Neither they nor the doctors knew which was which.
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High Fructose Corn Syrup: a Recipe for Hypertension, Study Finds


ScienceDaily
Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:00 UTC
Soda
© iStockphoto/Travis ManleyA diet high in fructose increases the risk of developing high blood pressure (hypertension), according to new research.
A diet high in fructose increases the risk of developing high blood pressure (hypertension), according to a paper being presented at the American Society of Nephrology's 42nd Annual Meeting and Scientific Exposition in San Diego, California. The findings suggest that cutting back on processed foods and beverages that contain high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) may help prevent hypertension.

Over the last 200 years, the rate of fructose intake has directly paralleled the increasing rate of obesity, which has increased sharply in the last 20 years since the introduction of HFCS. Today, Americans consume 30% more fructose than 20 years ago and up to four times more than 100 years ago, when obesity rates were less than 5%. While this increase mirrors the dramatic rise in the prevalence of hypertension, studies have been inconsistent in linking excess fructose in the diet to hypertension.

Diana Jalal, MD (University of Colorado Denver Health Sciences Center), and her colleagues studied the issue in a large representative population of US adults. They examined 4,528 adults 18 years of age or older with no prior history of hypertension. Fructose intake was calculated based on a dietary questionnaire, and foods such as fruit juices, soft drinks, bakery products, and candy were included. Dr. Jalal's team found that people who ate or drank more than 74 grams per day of fructose (2.5 sugary soft drinks per day) increased their risk of developing hypertension. Specifically, a diet of more than 74 grams per day of fructose led to a 28%, 36%, and 87% higher risk for blood pressure levels of 135/85, 140/90, and 160/100 mmHg, respectively. (A normal blood pressure reading is below 120/80 mmHg.)
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Avatars Can Surreptitiously and Negatively Affect User in Video Games, Virtual Worlds


ScienceDaily
Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:00 UTC
Although often seen as an inconsequential feature of digital technologies, one's self-representation, or avatar, in a virtual environment can affect the user's thoughts, according to research by a University of Texas at Austin communication professor.

In the first study to use avatars to prime negative responses in a desktop virtual setting, Jorge Peña, assistant professor in the College of Communication, demonstrated that the subtext of an avatar's appearance can simultaneously prime negative (or anti-social) thoughts and inhibit positive (or pro-social) thoughts inconsistent with the avatar's appearance. All of this while study participants remained unaware they had been primed. The study, co-written with Cornell University Professor Jeffrey T. Hancock and University of Texas at Austin graduate student Nicholas A. Merola, appears in the December 2009 issue of Communication Research.

In two separate experiments, research participants were randomly assigned a dark- or white-cloaked avatar, or to avatars wearing physician or Ku Klux Klan-like uniforms or a transparent avatar. The participants were assigned tasks including writing a story about a picture, or playing a video game on a virtual team and then coming to consensus on how to deal with infractions.
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Survey Raises Concern about Parent Perceptions of Children's Stress


Medical News Today
Tue, 10 Nov 2009 02:00 UTC
Stress related to school pressure and family finances has a greater impact on young people than parents believe, according to a new national survey released by the American Psychological Association (APA). Building on past research indicating that stress is a top health concern for U.S. teens between 9th and 12th grade, psychologists say that if they don't learn healthy ways to manage that stress now, it could have serious long-term health implications.

Teens and tweens were more likely than parents to say that their stress had increased in the last year. Nearly half (45 percent) of teens ages 13-17 said that they worried more this year, but only 28 percent of parents think their teen's stress increased, and while a quarter (26 percent) of tweens ages 8-12 said they worried more this year, only 17 percent of parents believed their tween's stress had increased. Similarly, only 2-5 percent of parents rate their child's stress as extreme (an 8, 9 or 10 on a 10-point scale) when 14 percent of tweens and 28 percent of teens say they worry a lot or a great deal.

"It's clear that parents do not fully appreciate the impact that stress is having on their kids," says psychologist Katherine C. Nordal, Ph.D., APA's executive director for professional practice. "What we're seeing with stress is in line with existing research about parents' perception of their kids' engagement in risky behaviors. Parents often under report drug use, depression and sexual activity in their children. Now it appears the same may be true for stress."
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2012 Prophecies Sparking Real Fears, Suicide Warnings

Brian Handwerk
National Geographic News
Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:00 UTC
2012
© Columbia Tristar Marketing GroupActor John Cusak runs for his life in a scene from the movie 2012, to be released on November 13, 2009.
It's almost the end of the world, according to purported Maya predictions, and the 2012 apocalypse business is booming.

Survival kits, documentaries, and nearly 200 books presenting the "real" 2012 story are all on offer. And you could probably surf the Web from now until Armaggedon - tentatively slated for December 21, 2012 - and still see just a fraction of the Web sites and products devoted to the topic.

But amid all the hype - including a viral marketing campaign for 2012, the disaster movie opening Friday - some people are developing honest "end times" anxiety that has experts seriously concerned.

NASA's Ask an Astrobiologist Web site, for example, has received thousands of questions regarding the 2012 doomsday predictions - some of them disturbing, according to David Morrison, a senior scientist with the NASA Astrobiology Institute.

"A lot of [the submitters] are people who are genuinely frightened," said Morrison, who thinks movie marketers, authors, and others out to make a buck are feeding some of the fears.

"I've had two teenagers who were considering killing themselves, because they didn't want to be around when the world ends," he said. "Two women in the last two weeks said they were contemplating killing their children and themselves so they wouldn't have to suffer through the end of the world."
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Conflicts of Interest? Dr. Mehmet Oz Owns 150,000 Option Shares in Vaccine Technology Company

Mike Adams
NaturalNews
Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:00 UTC
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© Charlie Rose
Dr. Mehmet Oz is a huge promoter of vaccines. He's been on television reinforcing fear about H1N1 swine flu and telling everyone to get vaccinated. But what he didn't tell his viewing audience is that he holds 150,000 option shares in a vaccine company that could earn him millions of dollars in profits as the stock price rises. It is in Dr. Oz's own financial interest, in other words, to hype up vaccines and get more people taking them so that his own financial investments rise in value.

Evidence describing these facts was delivered to NaturalNews by a private investigator named Joseph Culligan. That evidence includes an SEC document detailing how Dr. Oz. bought options on stocks for SIGA Technologies in 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2009. SIGA Technologies (stock symbol SIGA) is a vaccine technology company with many advanced developments whose success depends on the widespread adoption of vaccines. According to SEC documents, Dr. Mehmet Oz. currently holds 150,000 option shares on SIGA Technologies, purchased for as little as $1.35 back in 2005.

At the time of this writing, SIGA Technologies is trading at $7.10, making those options bought in 2005 worth $5.75 in profits today. If all the 150,000 options purchased by Dr. Oz. were exercised today, they would be worth roughly $180,000 in profits (they were bought at different prices, not all at $1.35). This is all revealed in what the SEC website calls an "insider transaction" document (link below).
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