http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress provides the latest news from University of Iowa There is no cure for age-related macular degeneration, an eye disease that is the leading cause of vision loss and blindness in older Americans. Last year, the National Institutes of Health reported that two drugs injected into the eyes, Avastin and Lucentis, eased symptoms for sufferers, especially those in the advanced, "wet" stage of the disease, when blood vessels in the eye become swollen and leak fluids in the eye. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-drug-amd.html Ophthalmology Tue, 18 Jun 2013 13:55:03 EST news290782458 Staph infections in hospitals are a serious concern, so much so that the term Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is as commonly known as MRI. Far less known is that in many of these cases, patients are infecting themselves. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-team-comprehensive-guidelines-staph-bacteria.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 13 Jun 2013 19:00:01 EST news290361426 What started as an experiment to probe brain circuits involved in compulsive behavior has revealed a surprising connection with obesity. The University of Iowa-led researchers bred mice missing a gene known to cause obesity, and suspected to also be involved in compulsive behavior, with a genetic mouse model of compulsive grooming. The unexpected result was offspring that were neither compulsive groomers nor obese. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-brain-circuits-link-obsessive-compulsive-behavior.html Neuroscience Mon, 10 Jun 2013 15:00:23 EST news290095209 There may be a way for older people to prevent natural aging of their minds, and it could be as simple as playing a video game. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-mental-agility-game-cognitive-decline.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 01 May 2013 17:00:09 EST news286644795 (Medical Xpress)—Obesity, heart disease, and high blood pressure (hypertension) are all related, but understanding the molecular pathways that underlie cause and effect is complicated. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-molecular-hub-links-obesity-heart.html Medical research Thu, 11 Apr 2013 16:11:45 EST news284915498 In 2010, almost 2 million American children had at least one parent in active military duty. A new University of Iowa study suggests that deployment of a parent puts these children at an increased risk for drinking alcohol and using drugs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-children-deployed-parents-higher-alcohol.html Addiction Thu, 28 Mar 2013 12:13:04 EST news283691578 Research from the University of Iowa suggests that cancer care is more accessible in rural areas than thought, and this increased accessibility should be considered as changes are made in the health care system under the Affordable Care Act. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-rural-cancer-closer.html Health Tue, 26 Mar 2013 16:48:51 EST news283535325 Pity the poor maxillary sinuses. Those bulbous pouches on either side of the human nose are known more for trapping mucus and causing sinus infections than anything else. They were thought to be an evolutionary relic of our distant past, with little known present value. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-nose-unheralded-neighbor.html Other Tue, 12 Mar 2013 12:04:51 EST news282308685 A new University of Iowa study confirms what many women have long suspected – that pregnancy permanently changes the size and shape of a woman's feet. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-pregnancy-permanently-foot-size.html Health Fri, 01 Mar 2013 11:20:02 EST news281358629 Low birth weights are more prevalent among Brazilians with African ancestry and may be attributed to less use of prenatal care facilities and where those ethnic groups live, according to a new study. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-african-ancestry-babies-prenatal-brazil.html Health Tue, 26 Feb 2013 16:20:28 EST news281118022 Having diabetes doubles a person's risk of dying after a heart attack, but the reason for the increased risk is not clear. A new University of Iowa study suggests the link may lie in the over-activation of an important heart enzyme, which leads to death of pacemaker cells in the heart, abnormal heart rhythm, and increased risk of sudden death in diabetic mice following a heart attack. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-link-diabetes-heart-death.html Cardiology Fri, 15 Feb 2013 13:30:01 EST news280156983 "Sit up straight in your chair!" That command given by countless parents to their children may one day be delivered by vehicle designers to a robot that is actually a computerized model of a long-distance truck driver or other heavy equipment operator, thanks to a University of Iowa research program. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-virtual-vehicle-vibrations.html Cancer Mon, 11 Feb 2013 16:20:02 EST news279821595 Mild traumatic brain injury (TBI), including concussion, is one of the most common types of neurological disorder, affecting approximately 1.3 million Americans annually. It has received more attention recently because of its frequency and impact among two groups of patients: professional athletes, especially football players; and soldiers returning from mid-east conflicts with blast-related TBI. An estimated 10 to 20 percent of the more than 2 million U.S. soldiers deployed in Iraq or Afghanistan have experienced TBI. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-veterans-mild-traumatic-brain-injury.html Psychology & Psychiatry Thu, 07 Feb 2013 10:54:07 EST news279456840 Chances are the only thing you remember about your first swig of alcohol is how bad the stuff tasted. What you didn't know is the person who gave you that first drink and when you had it says a lot about your predisposition to imbibe later in life. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-friends-teenagers.html Pediatrics Mon, 28 Jan 2013 12:40:27 EST news278599214 Scientists from the University of Iowa and Brigham Young University (BYU) have identified a gene that may be a target for overcoming drug resistance in cancer. The finding could not only improve prognostic and diagnostic tools for evaluating cancer and monitoring patients' response to treatment but also could lead to new therapies directed at eradicating drug-resistant cancer cells. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-team-gene-drug-resistance-cancer.html Cancer Mon, 14 Jan 2013 12:00:01 EST news277386993