http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Little is known about why asthma develops, how it constricts the airway or why response to treatments varies between patients. Now, a team of researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College, Columbia University Medical Center and SUNY Downstate Medical Center has revealed the roots of a common type of childhood asthma, showing that it is very different from other asthma cases. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-common-childhood-asthma-unconnected-allergens.html Inflammatory disorders Thu, 23 May 2013 13:34:48 EST news288534882 A new study determined that children and adolescents with seizures involving the temporal lobe are likely to have clinically significant behavioral problems and psychiatric illness, especially depression. Findings published in Epilepsia, a journal published by Wiley on behalf of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE), highlight the importance of routine psychiatric evaluation for pediatric epilepsy patients—particularly for those who do not respond to anti-seizure medications and require epilepsy surgery. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-depression-common-children-temporal-lobe.html Neuroscience Thu, 23 May 2013 13:32:51 EST news288534764 A new coronavirus has now claimed 22 lives worldwide out of 44 lab-confirmed cases, mostly in Saudi Arabia, World Health Organization officials said Thursday. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-deaths-worldwide-coronavirus.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 23 May 2013 12:16:03 EST news288530157 Gaucher disease causes debilitating and sometimes fatal neurodegeneration in early childhood. Recent studies have uncovered a link between the mutations responsible for Gaucher disease and an increased risk of developing Parkinson's disease later in life. New research published online on May 23 in the Cell Press journal Cell Metabolism indicates that the neurodegeneration found in Gaucher disease stems from defects in processes that break down and remove unwanted material from cells. This defective trash removal in cells can lead to the toxic build-up of proteins found to be responsible for neurodegeneration in Parkinson's disease, providing insight into the link between the two diseases. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-defective-cellular-gaucher-patients-parkinson.html Parkinson's & Movement disorders Thu, 23 May 2013 12:14:20 EST news288530028 Family caregivers of older adults with dementia are less stressed and their moods are improved on days when dementia patients receive adult day services (ADS), according to Penn State researchers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-adult-day-dementia-patients-stress.html Health Thu, 23 May 2013 12:10:58 EST news288529840 Treating pediatric leukemia patients with a liposomal formulation of anthracycline-based chemotherapy at a more intense-than-standard dose during initial treatment may result in high survival rates without causing any added heart toxicity, according to the results of a study published online today in Blood, the Journal of the American Society of Hematology (ASH). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-chemo-regimen-childhood-leukemia-high.html Cancer Thu, 23 May 2013 12:10:12 EST news288529804 Spanish researchers have discovered that the daily clearance of neutrophils from the body stimulates the release of hematopoietic stem cells from the bone marrow into the bloodstream, according to a report published today in the journal Cell. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-discarded-immune-cells-relocation-stem.html Medical research Thu, 23 May 2013 12:07:44 EST news288529649 A brief visual task can predict IQ, according to a new study. This surprisingly simple exercise measures the brain's unconscious ability to filter out visual movement. The study shows that individuals whose brains are better at automatically suppressing background motion perform better on standard measures of intelligence. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-motion-quotient-iq-ability-filter.html Psychology & Psychiatry Thu, 23 May 2013 12:02:02 EST news288529313 A discovery made in fish could aid research into motor neuron disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-hormone-motor-neuron-growth-fish.html Medical research Thu, 23 May 2013 12:00:39 EST news288529229 Scientists have uncovered a survival mechanism that occurs in breast cells that have just turned premalignant-cells on the cusp between normalcy and cancers-which may lead to new methods of stopping tumors. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-protein-preps-cells-survive-stress.html Cancer Thu, 23 May 2013 12:00:03 EST news288529037 Given the implications for the overall health, development, and academic success of children, schools should play a primary role in ensuring that all students have opportunities to engage in at least 60 minutes per day of vigorous or moderate-intensity physical activity, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine. Recent estimates suggest that only about half of school-age children meet this evidence-based guideline for promoting better health and development. The report recommends that most daily physical activity occur during regular school hours in physical education classes, recess or breaks, and classroom exercises, with additional opportunities available through active commutes to and from school, before- and after-school programs, and participation in intramural or varsity sports. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-schools-opportunities-minutes-daily-physical.html Health Thu, 23 May 2013 11:52:06 EST news288528720 Bochum's medics have succeeded in treating cerebral palsy with autologous cord blood. Following a cardiac arrest with severe brain damage, a 2.5 year old boy had been in a persistent vegetative state – with minimal chances of survival. Just two months after treatment with the cord blood containing stem cells, the symptoms improved significantly; over the following months, the child learned to speak simple sentences and to move. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-successful-treatment-pediatric-cerebral-palsy.html Medical research Thu, 23 May 2013 11:51:31 EST news288528685 As the human body fine-tunes its neurological wiring, nerve cells often must fix a faulty connection by amputating an axon—the "business end" of the neuron that sends electrical impulses to tissues or other neurons. It is a dance with death, however, because the molecular poison the neuron deploys to sever an axon could, if uncontained, kill the entire cell. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-secret-deaths-neurons.html Neuroscience Thu, 23 May 2013 11:50:43 EST news288528637 A study by researchers at Henry Ford Hospital found "substantial evidence" that a regenerative process involving damaged nerve fibers in the spinal cord could hold the key to better functional recovery by most stroke victims. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-regenerating-spinal-cord-fibers-treatment.html Neuroscience Thu, 23 May 2013 11:50:08 EST news288528379 Frequent heartburn was positively associated with cancers of the throat and vocal cord among nonsmokers and nondrinkers, and the use of antacids, but not prescription medications, had a protective effect, according to data published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-frequent-heartburn-cancers-throat-vocal.html Cancer Thu, 23 May 2013 11:33:02 EST news288527567 Researchers at Lund University have succeeded in preventing very early symptoms of Huntington's disease, depression and anxiety, by deactivating the mutated huntingtin protein in the brains of mice. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-breakthrough-huntington-disease.html Neuroscience Thu, 23 May 2013 11:32:40 EST news288527467 Nervous about that upcoming job interview? You might want to take steps to reduce your jitters, especially if you are a man. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-anxious-men-fare-worse-job.html Psychology & Psychiatry Thu, 23 May 2013 11:20:01 EST news288525787 A known difficulty in fighting influenza (flu) is the ability of the flu viruses to mutate and thus evade various medications that were previously found to be effective. Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have shown recently that another, more promising, approach is to focus on improving drugs that boost the body's natural flu killer system. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-boosting-body-natural-flu-killers.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 23 May 2013 11:06:47 EST news288525999 22 May 2013, Paris, France: The Lotus Valve, a second-generation transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) device, was successfully implanted in all of the first 60 patients in results from REPRISE II reported at EuroPCR 2013, which showed good device performance and low mortality at 30 days. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-second-generation-tavi-devicelotus-valveshows-good.html Cardiology Thu, 23 May 2013 11:04:25 EST news288525804 A potentially ground-breaking human drug trial is currently underway, which aims to discover whether blood pressure medication can slow or halt the progression of Alzheimer's Disease (AD). This is the latest in EU-funded studies, which are being made public to highlight the European Month of the Brain. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-major-human-drug-trial-underway.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Thu, 23 May 2013 10:56:02 EST news288525355 Studying the networks of connections in the brains of people affected by schizophrenia, bipolar disease or depression has allowed Dr. Peter Williamson, from Western University, to gain a better understanding of the biological basis of these important diseases. Dr. Williamson and colleagues have shown that different networks, found specifically in humans, are disrupted in different psychiatric diseases. These results were presented at the 2013 Canadian Neuroscience Meeting, the annual meeting of the Canadian Association for Neuroscience - Association Canadienne des Neurosciences (CAN-ACN). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-networks-neurons-brain-disrupted-psychiatric.html Neuroscience Thu, 23 May 2013 09:45:39 EST news288521134 Scientists at Newcastle University have shed new light on how the brain tunes in to relevant information. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-attention-focus.html Neuroscience Thu, 23 May 2013 09:45:15 EST news288521088 New techniques in imaging of brain activity developed by Jean Gotman, from McGill University's Montreal Neurological Institute, and his colleagues lead to improved treatment of patients suffering from epilepsy. The combination of electroencephalogram (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) leads to more precise localization of the areas generating epileptic seizures, giving neurosurgeons a better understanding of the optimal ways of intervention, if appropriate. These results were presented at the 2013 Canadian Neuroscience Meeting, the annual meeting of the Canadian Association for Neuroscience - Association Canadienne des Neurosciences (CAN-ACN). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-imaging-techniques-patients-epilepsy.html Neuroscience Thu, 23 May 2013 09:44:21 EST news288521045 Professor Michael Jennings, Deputy Director of the Institute for Glycomics at Griffith University, was part of an international team that discovered the previously unknown pathway of how the bacterium colonizes people. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-discovery-deadly-meningococcal-disease.html Medical research Thu, 23 May 2013 09:41:47 EST news288520878 (Medical Xpress)—Research by U of T Mississauga psychology professor Glenn Schellenberg reveals that two key personality traits – openness-to-experience and conscientiousness—predict better than IQ who will take music lessons and continue for longer periods. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-kids-music-lessons.html Psychology & Psychiatry Thu, 23 May 2013 09:20:01 EST news288517168 Over 70 per cent of people who hold a personal budget for social care said it led to greater independence and support according to the latest survey. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-survey-reveals-success-personal-social.html Health Thu, 23 May 2013 09:10:03 EST news288517368 Aggressive forms of bladder cancer involve the protein PODXL – a discovery that could hold the key to improved treatment, according to researchers at Lund University, Uppsala University and KTH in Sweden. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-key-early-bladder-cancer-treatment.html Cancer Thu, 23 May 2013 09:10:01 EST news288515573 Nanyang Technological University's (NTU) new medical school will be pioneering the use of plastinated bodies for medical education in Singapore. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-plastic-realistic-medical-students-plastinated.html Other Thu, 23 May 2013 09:00:03 EST news288515525 (Medical Xpress)—Scientists from the Joint Center for Structural Genomics (JCSG) at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have determined the 3-D structure of the chemically active part of an enzyme involved in stuttering. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-reveals-site-enzyme-linked-stuttering.html Medical research Thu, 23 May 2013 09:00:01 EST news288516535 Parents naturally are concerned for their children's safety, particularly when there is news of a child abduction that happens close to home. Finding the balance between emotions and the "teachable moment" as parents talk to their children is important, an Iowa State University Extension and Outreach specialist says. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-parents-preteens-abduction.html Psychology & Psychiatry Thu, 23 May 2013 08:50:01 EST news288516347