http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. The number of US girls with the sexually transmitted disease HPV has dropped by about half even though relatively few youths are getting the vaccine, research showed on Wednesday. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-sexually-transmitted-hpv-declines-teens.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:30:06 EST news290872161 (Medical Xpress)—Neurophysiologist like to think of neurons as communicating with spikes. If that were the whole story, it might be possible to imagine spike codes which could then be used to estimate the flow of information, and perhaps energy, in the brain. The reality as most in the field know, is that neurons do their bidding with transmitter-charged vesicles. The principles of vesicle operation, and by implication any codes that might be involved, are entirely different from those of spikes. While much of neuroscience has concerned itself with the interaction of these two phenomena, they have yet to be satisfactorily reconciled. A recent review appearing in Trends in Neuroscience suggests that sensory systems might offer the best clues towards divining the form of what we might call, an electric potential to vesicle fusion "transfer function." In particular, the researchers examine the ribbon synapses that are tend to be found wherever fast, sustained and reliable transmission may be required. By making the case that spikes and graded potentials have complementary roles in transducing sensory information into vesicle fusion, they seek to better define the costs of synaptic transmission. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-efficient-transmission-sensory-synapses.html Neuroscience Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:30:01 EST news290872391 A team of researchers at the University of Pittsburgh has developed antibacterial compounds, derived from the outer coating of HIV, that could be potential treatments for drug-resistant bacterial infections and appear to avoid generating resistance. These new agents are quite small, making them inexpensive and easy to manufacture. The research was published in the June 2013 issue of the journal Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-hiv-derived-antibacterial-drug-resistant-bacteria.html Medical research Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:20:03 EST news290871996 (HealthDay)—Following the deaths of two patients three to four days after receiving a dose of Zyprexa Relprevv (olanzapine pamoate) via intramuscular injection, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is conducting an investigation into the possible cause. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-fda-deaths-patients-antipsychotic-drug.html Medications Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:20:01 EST news290872547 A new understanding of the genetic process that can lead to cervical cancer may help improve diagnosis of potentially dangerous lesions for some women, and also raises a warning flag about the use of anti-viral therapies in certain cases – suggesting they could actually trigger the cancer they are trying to cure. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-genetics-cervical-cancer-antiviral-therapy.html Cancer Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:10:05 EST news290871946 (HealthDay)—Implementation of electronic health records (EHRs) is a first step toward quality improvement and should be accompanied by use of new payment models to allow physicians to see a return on their investments, according to Farzad Mostashari, M.D., of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, who was recently interviewed by the American Academy of Family Physicians. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-ehr-quality.html Health Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:04:41 EST news290873071 The role of dietary fructose in the development of obesity and fatty liver diseases remains controversial, with previous studies indicating that the problems resulted from fructose and a diet too high in calories. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-dietary-fructose-liver-animal.html Health Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:02:34 EST news290872942 Much like physical exercise can re-chisel the body, researchers hope targeted mental workouts can sharpen the memory, focus and function of adults with schizophrenia. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-brain-re-training-memory-focus-schizophrenia.html Neuroscience Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:00:02 EST news290871697 (HealthDay)—Could screening for colon cancer someday be as easy as having a blood test? Researchers say just such a test is showing early promise in trials. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-gene-based-blood-colon-cancer.html Cancer Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:56:18 EST news290872572 New research out of the University of Minnesota identifies significant risk factors for suicidal behavior in youth being bullied, but also identifies protective factors for the same group of children. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-factors-youth-involved-bullying.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:48:34 EST news290872108 Osteomyelitis – a debilitating bone infection most frequently caused by Staphylococcus aureus ("staph") bacteria – is particularly challenging to treat. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-modeland-treatmentfor-staph-bone-infections.html Medical research Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:47:57 EST news290872066 Nearly 70 percent of Americans are on at least one prescription drug, and more than half take two, Mayo Clinic researchers say. Antibiotics, antidepressants and painkilling opioids are most commonly prescribed, their study found. Twenty percent of patients are on five or more prescription medications, according to the findings, published online in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-americans-prescription-drugs.html Medications Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:43:31 EST news290871804 A study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism is the first report of an oral probiotic supplement significantly increasing circulating vitamin D levels in the blood. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-probiotic-lactobacillus-reuteri-ncimb-significantly.html Health Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:41:21 EST news290871670 In the cover story for the journal Genetics this month, neurobiologist Dan Chase and colleagues at the University of Massachusetts Amherst describe a new experimental technique they developed that will allow scientists to study the function of individual proteins in individual cell types in a living organism. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-powerful-technique-protein-function.html Genetics Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:40:48 EST news290871639 A University of Iowa study reveals significant disparities between minority and white clients in success rates for completing substance abuse treatment programs. Moreover, these disparities vary widely from state to state. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-states-vary-widely-success-minorities.html Addiction Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:39:54 EST news290871587 In a study published in the June 19 online edition of the journal Nature, a scientific team led by researchers from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine visually monitored the dynamic cellular events that take place when cardiac regeneration occurs in zebrafish after cardiac ventricular injury. Their findings provide evidence that various cell lines in the heart are more plastic, or capable of transformation into new cell types, than previously thought. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-fate-heart-track-cellular-events.html Cardiology Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:38:29 EST news290871501 In early April, senior leaders from medical, law enforcement, military, and fire/rescue agencies met in Hartford, Connecticut, to discuss one question: how can first responders improve survival after a mass casualty event? http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-hartford-consensus-aims-survival-mass.html Other Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:35:44 EST news290871337 Casual, no-strings sexual encounters are increasingly common on college campuses, but are some students more likely than others to "hook up"? A new study by researchers with The Miriam Hospital's Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine, published online by the Archives of Sexual Behavior, suggests there are certain factors and behaviors associated with sexual hookups, particularly among first-year college women. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-college-students.html Health Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:35:18 EST news290871310 The results of three important studies have been published in the June issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-neurosurgery-publishes-important-june-issue.html Surgery Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:35:00 EST news290871292 Patients at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center are being exposed to significantly less radiation during CT scans because of new technology that allows doctors to more tightly control radiation doses. The first-of-its-kind imaging software reduced overall radiation exposure from CT scans by 37 percent, according to two new studies published online today in the journal Radiology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-technology-ct-exposure-children.html Other Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:00:06 EST news290857798 Slipping bacteria some silver could give old antibiotics new life, scientists at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University reported June 19 in Science Translational Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-shot-arm-antibiotics-silver-boosts.html Medications Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:00:01 EST news290865328 Risk of heart and blood vessel disease may increase when a particular gene is switched off, according to preliminary research presented at the American Heart Association's Emerging Science Series Webinar. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-genetic-linked-factors-heart-disease.html Cardiology Wed, 19 Jun 2013 13:00:07 EST news290865203 A higher strength of cholesterol-lowering drugs, or statins, did not increase the risk of kidney injury among heart attack survivors, according to preliminary research presented at the American Heart Association's Emerging Science Series Webinar. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-higher-strength-statins-kidney-injury.html Cardiology Wed, 19 Jun 2013 13:00:01 EST news290865233 Children had half as many emergency department visits if their primary care office had evening office hours on five or more days a week, according to new research from child health experts at C.S. Mott Children's Hospital and Johns Hopkins University. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-primary-office-hours-kids-emergency.html Pediatrics Wed, 19 Jun 2013 12:47:01 EST news290864815 A decade-long JDRF-funded study led by the Institute of Diabetes Research in Helmholtz Zentrum München, Germany, is providing a deeper understanding of the link between autoantibodies and the risk of developing type 1 diabetes (T1D), highlighting the importance of pre-diabetes research into possible preventions for the disease. The study, "Seroconversion to Multiple Islet Autoantibodies and Risk of Progression to Diabetes in Children," was published today in The Journal of the American Medical Association. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-islet-autoantibodies-young-children-early.html Diabetes Wed, 19 Jun 2013 12:09:05 EST news290862537 Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center and colleagues at Louisiana State University have developed a method for identifying aggressive prostate cancers that require immediate therapy. It relies on understanding the genetic interaction between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). The goal is to better predict a prostate cancer's aggressiveness to avoid unnecessary radical treatment. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-genetic-variants-aggressive-prostate-cancers.html Cancer Wed, 19 Jun 2013 12:08:44 EST news290862517 Insulin is the most potent physiological anabolic agent for tissue-building and energy storage, promoting the storage and synthesis of lipids, protein and carbohydrates, and inhibiting their breakdown and release into the circulatory system. It also plays a major role in stimulating glucose entry into muscle tissue, where the glucose is metabolized and removed from the blood following meals. But gaps exist in understanding the precise molecular mechanisms by which insulin regulates glucose uptake in fat and muscle cells. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-breakthrough-essential-molecule-reveals-important.html Medical research Wed, 19 Jun 2013 12:08:15 EST news290862489 Oscar Wilde called memory "the diary that we all carry about with us." Now a team of scientists has developed a way to see where and how that diary is written. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-scientists-memories-brain.html Neuroscience Wed, 19 Jun 2013 12:00:08 EST news290855746 Kick back and shut your eyes. Now stop thinking. You have just put your brain into what neuroscientists call its resting state. What the brain is doing when an individual is not focused on the outside world has become the focus of considerable research in recent years. One of the potential benefits of these studies could be definitive diagnoses of mental health disorders ranging from bipolar to post-traumatic stress disorders. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-validating-brain-resting-state.html Neuroscience Wed, 19 Jun 2013 12:00:04 EST news290855785 In fall 2012, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) approved the modified adeno-associated virus AAV-LPL S447X as the first ever gene therapy for clinical use in the Western world. uniQure, a Dutch biotech company, had developed AAV-LPL S447X for the treatment of a rare inherited metabolic disease called lipoprotein lipase deficiency (LPLD) which affects approximately one or two out of one million people. The disease causes severe, life-threatening inflammations of the pancreas. Afflicted individuals carry a defect in the gene coding for the lipoprotein lipase enzyme which is necessary for breakdown of fatty acids. AAV-LPLS447X shall be used as a viral vector to deliver an intact gene copy to affected cells. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-danger-cancer-gene-therapy-virus.html Genetics Wed, 19 Jun 2013 11:24:26 EST news290859857