http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Researchers in Sweden have discovered that neurotensin, a satiation hormone produced in the human brain and intestine that circulates in the blood, could raise the risk of heart attack, breast cancer and diabetes in women. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-satiation-hormone-neurotensin-linked-disease.html Medical research Fri, 19 Oct 2012 08:50:06 EST news269851556 Adelaide scientists have found that mice with gum disease develop worse arthritis. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-relationship-gum-disease-arthritis.html Arthritis & Rheumatism Tue, 16 Oct 2012 07:57:52 EST news269593062 Welfare rights advice has been shown to help patients with cancer and their carers receive millions in unclaimed benefits to help cope with the disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-extra-cash-patients-cope-cancer.html Cancer Mon, 15 Oct 2012 07:21:48 EST news269504499 A free source of evidence-based information for health care professionals and for researchers studying liver injury associated with prescription and over-the-counter drugs, herbals, and dietary supplements is now available from the National Institutes of Health. Researchers and health care professionals can use the LiverTox database to identify basic and clinical research questions to be answered and to chart optimal ways to diagnose and control drug-induced liver injury. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-nih-free-database-drugs-liver.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Fri, 12 Oct 2012 17:03:40 EST news269280214 (Medical Xpress)—European researchers have discovered that five genes play a key role in determining human facial shapes. Presented in the journal PLoS Genetics, the genome-wide association study on facial phenotype can help scientists identify more genes for other complex human phenotypes, including height. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-scientists-genes-facial.html Genetics Thu, 11 Oct 2012 07:20:36 EST news269158673 The high rate of non-diabetic kidney disease in African-Americans is strongly associated with variations in a particular gene. Yet, not everyone who inherits these variations develops the disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-non-genetic-factors-role-non-diabetic-kidney.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 09 Oct 2012 11:42:49 EST news269001759 If a mother exercises during her pregnancy, will that benefit her children? Researchers at the University of Kentucky have initiated studies to look into the idea: a group from the UK Graduate Center for Nutritional Sciences has received a $100,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health to study whether maternal exercise during pregnancy can lead to a reduced risk of cancer in offspring. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-pregnancy-offspring-cancer.html Cancer Sat, 29 Sep 2012 05:18:27 EST news268114701 The majority of observational studies have shown that alcohol intake, especially heavy drinking, increases a number of upper-aero-digestive tract (UADT) and other cancers, and even moderate drinking is associated with a slight increase in the risk of breast cancer. A meta analysis published in the Annals of Oncology compares the effects between light drinkers (an average reported intake of up to 1 typical drink/day) versus "non-drinkers" in terms of relative risks for a number of types of cancer. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-cancers.html Cancer Tue, 18 Sep 2012 11:11:31 EST news267185483 BGI Tech Solutions announced today that they have achieved whole exome sequencing analysis of total degraded DNA as low as 200 ng from formalin fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) samples. This advancement enables researchers to efficiently uncover the genetic information from FFPE disease samples such as cancers and infectious diseases, with the advantages of high reliability, accuracy and fast turnaround time. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-bgi-exome-sequencing-analysis-ffpe.html Genetics Tue, 18 Sep 2012 09:51:55 EST news267180706 Genetic testing and screening is increasingly becoming a presence in our lives. Daily news reports discuss new associations between genes and common conditions. And these associations are used to calculate risks for individuals who have the genes for the conditions, but don't display any symptoms. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-genetic-population.html Health Mon, 17 Sep 2012 07:54:21 EST news267087250 People with a family history of certain diseases, including heart disease and diabetes, often underestimate their risk for developing them, even after completing a risk assessment and receiving personalized prevention messages, finds a new study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-personalized-underestimate-disease.html Health Wed, 12 Sep 2012 09:20:01 EST news266658851 Researchers at the University of Washington have determined that the majority of genetic changes associated with more than 400 common diseases and clinical traits affect the genome's regulatory circuitry. These are the regions of DNA that contain instructions dictating when and where genes are switched on or off. Most of these changes affect circuits that are active during early human development, when body tissues are most vulnerable. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-encode-disease-hidden-genome-circuitry.html Genetics Wed, 05 Sep 2012 13:00:01 EST news266059353 An international team of researchers from King's College, Oxford University, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and Faculty of Medicine of University of Geneva, has discovered several thousands new genetic variants impacting gene expression some of which are responsible for predisposition to common diseases, bringing closer to the biological interpretation of personal genomes. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-genetic-role-predisposition-common-diseases.html Genetics Sun, 02 Sep 2012 13:00:19 EST news265786724 Increasing blood levels of particular proteins may act as warning signs for patients with one of the most common diseases of the kidney, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN). The findings could lead to better diagnosis and management of patients with the disease, called IgA nephropathy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-blood-markers-reveal-severity-common.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 16 Aug 2012 17:00:04 EST news264345347 A population-based case-control study of the rare but devastating neurological disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) has shown that the risk of such disease is increased among smokers, as has been shown previously. However, surprisingly, the risk of ALS was found to be markedly lower among consumers of alcohol than among abstainers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-alcohol-consumption-decrease-als.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 13 Aug 2012 13:18:08 EST news264082633 A new genetic analysis focusing on Jews from North Africa has provided an overall genetic map of the Jewish Diasporas. The findings support the historical record of Middle Eastern Jews settling in North Africa during Classical Antiquity, proselytizing and marrying local populations, and, in the process, forming distinct populations that stayed largely intact for more than 2,000 years. The study, led by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, was published online today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-genetic-jewish-diasporas.html Genetics Mon, 06 Aug 2012 15:00:17 EST news263479514 (Medical Xpress) -- The biological role of a gene variant implicated in multiple sclerosis (MS) has been determined by researchers at Oxford University. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-gene-link-multiple-sclerosis.html Genetics Wed, 11 Jul 2012 05:09:47 EST news261202178 Routine screening with echocardiogram can detect three times as many cases of rheumatic heart disease (RHD) as clinical examinations, offering a novel approach in preventing this common disease, according to a new study in Circulation. The study, conducted by cardiologists from Children's National Medical Center, is the largest single-population study in Africa. The August issue of Nature Reviews - Cardiology features a summary of the article in its Public Health feature. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-echocardiogram-screenings-effective-rheumatic-heart.html Cardiology Tue, 12 Jun 2012 00:20:01 EST news258658302 An international research group has identified four new gene loci predisposing people to the most common subtype of migraine, migraine without aura. About two-thirds of migraine sufferers belong to this group. The study will be published in Nature Genetics on June 10, 2012. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-gene-loci-predispose-people-common.html Genetics Sun, 10 Jun 2012 13:00:12 EST news258548619 One-letter switches in the DNA code occur much more frequently in human genomes than anticipated, but are often only found in one or a few individuals. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-abundance-rare-dna-population-explosion.html Pediatrics Thu, 17 May 2012 14:00:06 EST news256449677 Using gene transfer techniques pioneered by University of Florida faculty, Taiwanese doctors have restored some movement in four children bedridden with a rare, life-threatening neurological disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-children-rare-incurable-brain-disease.html Pediatrics Wed, 16 May 2012 14:00:05 EST news256390359 Scientists led by Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified the first gene directly linked to the most common form of psoriasis, a chronic skin condition. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-gene-linked-common-psoriasis.html Genetics Thu, 19 Apr 2012 13:10:04 EST news254058159 Gene scans for everyone? Not so fast. New research suggests that for the average person, decoding your own DNA may not turn out to be a really useful crystal ball for future health. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-gene-fast.html Genetics Mon, 02 Apr 2012 12:47:19 EST news252589619 With sharp declines in the cost of whole genome sequencing, the day of accurately deciphering disease risk based on an individual's genome may seem at hand. But a study involving data of thousands of identical twins by Johns Hopkins investigators finds that genomic fortune-telling fails to provide informative guidance to most people about their risk for most common diseases, and warns against complacency born of negative genome test results. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-genome-sequencing.html Genetics Mon, 02 Apr 2012 12:37:12 EST news252589010 Human geneticists have long debated whether the genetic risk of the most common medical conditions derive from many rare mutations, each conferring a high degree of risk in different people, or common differences throughout the genome that modestly influence risk. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-hidden-architecture-methods-uncover-gene.html Genetics Sun, 25 Mar 2012 13:58:06 EST news251902663 When the intestines are not able to properly process our diet, a variety of disorders can develop, with chronic diarrhea as a common symptom. Chronic diarrhea can also be inherited, most commonly through conditions with genetic components such as irritable bowel syndrome. Researchers in Norway, India, and at the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology have identified one heritable DNA mutation that leads to chronic diarrhea and bowel inflammation. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-genetic-mutation-familial-chronic-diarrhea.html Genetics Wed, 21 Mar 2012 17:00:12 EST news251566027 Researchers at King's College London and Hiroshima University, Japan, have identified a specific gene linked to throat cancer following a genetic study of a family with 10 members who have developed the condition. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-throat-cancer-gene-uncovered.html Cancer Thu, 08 Mar 2012 12:03:29 EST news250430583 Some of the most widely used prescription drugs, including those to treat cholesterol and high blood pressure, could be available over the counter under a new proposal being weighed by government regulators. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-fda-over-the-counter-key-drugs.html Medications Thu, 08 Mar 2012 04:30:02 EST news250401774 One of the most difficult things optometrists and ophthalmologists must tell a patient is that he or she has an eye disease that already has or could permanently rob them of their vision. Today, the most common diseases in the adult population that cause permanent vision loss are macular degeneration, glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy. Although treatments are available for each of these diseases that can either slow down or prevent further loss of sight, there are far too many individuals whose vision declines regardless of medical intervention. Losing vision as an adult affects every aspect of that person’s life: most importantly, the loss of independence and quality of life. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-medical-minute-vision-loss.html Ophthalmology Mon, 27 Feb 2012 08:31:20 EST news249553870 Vietnam says a large ongoing outbreak of a common childhood virus could worsen this year. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-big-outbreak-child-virus-vietnam.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 21 Feb 2012 10:45:29 EST news249043498