http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Widely-used fish oil supplements modestly increase amounts of a hormone that is associated with lower risk of diabetes and heart disease, according to a study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-fish-oil-supplements-diabetes.html Diabetes Wed, 22 May 2013 13:38:20 EST news288448691 Why is fish oil good for the heart? A new study suggests that this omega 3 fatty acid-rich nutrient could blunt some cardiovascular effects of mental stress. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-fish-oil-heart-mental-stress.html Health Wed, 22 May 2013 13:30:30 EST news288448215 Top AIDS scientists were optimistic Wednesday of finding a cure for the disease that has claimed 30 million lives—but said it might not work for all people. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-aids-scientists-optimistic.html HIV & AIDS Wed, 22 May 2013 13:19:39 EST news288447572 The human gut is loaded with commensal bacteria – "good" microbes that, among other functions, help the body digest food. The gastrointestinal tract contains literally trillions of such cells, and yet the immune system seemingly turns a blind eye. However, in several chronic human diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), HIV/AIDS, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes, the immune system attacks these normally beneficial bacteria, resulting in chronic inflammation and contributing to disease progression. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-immune-peacefully-co-exists-good-bacteria.html Medical research Wed, 22 May 2013 13:03:21 EST news288446557 Swiss scientists reveal the mechanism responsible for aging hidden deep within mitochondria—and dramatically slow it down in worms by administering antibiotics to the young. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-aging-processonly-antibiotics.html Medical research Wed, 22 May 2013 13:00:11 EST news288446394 Researchers from Queen Mary, University of London have led the largest sequencing study of human disease to date, investigating the genetic basis of six autoimmune diseases. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-largest-genetic-sequencing-human-disease.html Genetics Wed, 22 May 2013 13:00:08 EST news288446235 Scientists have reversed behavioral and brain abnormalities in adult mice that resemble some features of schizophrenia by restoring normal expression to a suspect gene that is over-expressed in humans with the illness. Targeting expression of the gene Neuregulin1, which makes a protein important for brain development, may hold promise for treating at least some patients with the brain disorder, say researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-gene-reverses-schizophrenia-like-abnormalities-mice.html Neuroscience Wed, 22 May 2013 12:00:05 EST news288435164 Researchers at Johns Hopkins have unraveled the molecular foundations of cocaine's effects on the brain, and identified a compound that blocks cravings for the drug in cocaine-addicted mice. The compound, already proven safe for humans, is undergoing further animal testing in preparation for possible clinical trials in cocaine addicts, the researchers say. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-scientists-uncover-molecular-roots-cocaine.html Neuroscience Wed, 22 May 2013 12:00:02 EST news288435228 Costs to treat stroke are projected to more than double and the number of people having strokes may increase 20 percent by 2030, according to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-america.html Cardiology Wed, 22 May 2013 12:00:01 EST news288435573 University of Granada scientists have patented a new treatment for acne that is based on completely natural substances and is much more effective than artificial formulas because it does not create resistance to bacteria and has no secondary effects. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-acne-treatment-natural-substance-based-formula.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 22 May 2013 11:52:58 EST news288442366 The new 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) appears to be as safe as the previous version used prior to 2010, the 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7), according to a Kaiser Permanente study published today in Vaccine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-pneumococcal-vaccine-safe-previously.html Medications Wed, 22 May 2013 11:00:01 EST news288435605 New research shows that craving drugs such as nicotine can be visualized in specific regions of the brain that are implicated in determining the value of actions, in planning actions and in motivation. Dr. Alain Dagher, from McGill University, suggests abnormal interactions between these decision-making brain regions could underlie addiction. 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-addiction-disorder-decision-making.html Neuroscience Wed, 22 May 2013 09:51:13 EST news288435064 On May 22, JoVE will publish details of a technique to measure the health of human genetic material in relation to a patient's age. The method is demonstrated by the laboratory of Dr. Gil Atzmon at New York's Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Dr. Atzmon hopes that the dissemination of this technique will lead to the development of a "genetic thermometer" to assess a patient's health in relation to other individuals of the same age. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-healthy-age.html Medical research Wed, 22 May 2013 09:50:48 EST news288435037 Research presented today shows that high-fructose corn syrup can cause behavioural reactions in rats similar to those produced by drugs of abuse such as cocaine. These results, presented by addiction expert Francesco Leri, Associate Professor of Neuroscience and Applied Cognitive Science at the University of Guelph, suggest food addiction could explain, at least partly, the current global obesity epidemic. 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-addiction-unhealthy-foods-global-obesity.html Overweight and Obesity Wed, 22 May 2013 09:49:35 EST news288434969 Indian doctors said Wednesday they have successfully carried out a first round of reconstructive surgery on the skull of a baby suffering from a rare disorder that caused her head to nearly double in size. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-indian-medics-reconstruct-baby-swollen.html Surgery Wed, 22 May 2013 09:26:49 EST news288433603 Study leader, Professor John Mathews from the University of Melbourne said this small increase in cancer risk must be weighed against the undoubted benefits from CT scans in diagnosing and monitoring disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-small-cancer-ct-scans-childhood_1.html Cancer Wed, 22 May 2013 09:22:50 EST news288433364 Blood thinners are the preferred treatment option to prevent heart attacks, blood clots and stroke, but they are not without risk, and not just because of their side effects. These high-risk drugs, known as anticoagulants, account for nearly 7 percent of medication errors in hospitalized patients. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-blood-thinner-medication-errors.html Cardiology Wed, 22 May 2013 09:22:34 EST news288433347 Results from a large observational study reported at EuroPCR 2013 today question whether bivalirudin is superior to heparin in the absence of GPIIb/IIIa blockade, showing similar 30-day mortality in patients with non-ST segment elevation acute coronary syndromes (NSTE-ACS) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-registry-superiority-bivalirudin-heparin.html Cardiology Wed, 22 May 2013 09:20:00 EST news288433194 More than 40 percent of patients being treated for COPD at a federally funded clinic did not have the disease, researchers found after evaluating the patients with spirometry, the diagnostic "gold standard" for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-copd-over-diagnosed-uninsured-patients.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 22 May 2013 09:19:42 EST news288433175 The DESolve bioresorbable coronary scaffold system achieves good efficacy and safety with low rates of late lumen loss and major coronary adverse events at six months, show first results from the pivotal DESolve Nx trial reported at EuroPCR 2013 today. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-late-lumen-loss-bioresorbable-desolve.html Cardiology Wed, 22 May 2013 09:18:15 EST news288433088 (Medical Xpress)—Health care spending is much higher for older Americans than for younger adults and children, on average, and analysts have said that increasing spending leads to longer life expectancy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-health-yield.html Health Wed, 22 May 2013 09:00:05 EST news288429838 (Medical Xpress)—High blood pressure is something that has traditionally been a problem in Scotland, but might there be a link to our climate? http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-chill-blood-pressure.html Health Wed, 22 May 2013 08:50:01 EST news288429803 (Medical Xpress)—A report published today shows a 2.6% decrease in the amount of alcohol sold per adult in Scotland in the year following the introduction of the Alcohol etc. (Scotland) Act in October 2011. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-alcohol-sales-fall-due-multi-buy.html Health Wed, 22 May 2013 08:40:02 EST news288429765 The University of Gothenburg Vaccine Research Institute (GUVAX) announces successful results in a placebo controlled phase I study of an oral, inactivated Escherichia coli diarrhea vaccine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-succesful-results-oral-vaccine-diarrhea.html Medications Wed, 22 May 2013 08:20:02 EST news288427521 (Medical Xpress)—Preschoolers universally recognize that one's choices are not always free – that our decisions may be constrained by social obligations to be nice to others or follow rules set by parents or elders, even when wanting to do otherwise. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-american-nepalese-kids-world-social.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 22 May 2013 08:10:06 EST news288427315 (Medical Xpress)—Scientists supported by the National Institutes of Health have a new theory as to why a woman's fertility declines after her mid-30s. They also suggest an approach that might help slow the process, enhancing and prolonging fertility. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-molecular-explanation-age-related-fertility-decline.html Medical research Wed, 22 May 2013 08:10:03 EST news288427276 (AP)—Doctors in Poland say they have performed an urgent total face transplant on a 33-year-old man whose face was torn off in an accident which also crushed his jaws. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-life-saving-transplant-poland.html Surgery Wed, 22 May 2013 08:00:48 EST news288428441 (Medical Xpress)—Do ethicists engage in better moral behavior than other professors? The answer is no. Nor are they more likely than nonethicists to act according to values they espouse, according to researchers from the University of California, Riverside and Stetson University in Florida. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-ethicists-behavior-moral.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 22 May 2013 07:50:49 EST news288427838 Cancer survivors are no more likely to stop smoking, cut down on alcohol, or exercise more often than the general population, according to new research published in the British Journal of Cancer today (Wednesday) http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-cancer-survivors.html Cancer Wed, 22 May 2013 07:50:04 EST news288426370 Researchers at the University of Alberta have discovered a new drug target, developed a new drug and identified a new way to design drugs—all of which could be a winning combination in the battle against viruses. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-medical-ways-drugs-viral-infection.html Medical research Wed, 22 May 2013 07:50:01 EST news288427071