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A constitutional right to health care

By Guest PostJuly 29, 2013Health, Politicsaccountability, adele cassolab, affordable care act, amy raub, canada, canada foundation, congress, constitutional right, global public health, global recognition, half empty, half full, health care, health protection, innovation, jody heymann, latvia, lipi mishrab, mcgill university, medical care, moral right, senegal, transparency, ucla, united nations, united states, uruguay, us supreme court

UCLA-led study shows that many countries have it, but not the U.S.

Uruguay has it. So does Latvia, and Senegal. In fact, more than half of the world’s countries have some degree of a guaranteed, specific right to public health and medical care for their citizens written into their national constitutions.

The United States is one of 86 countries whose constitutions do not guarantee their citizens any kind of health protection. That’s the finding of a new study from the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health that examined the level and scope of constitutional protection of specific rights to public health and medical care, as well as the broad right to health. (more…)

Among Indian immigrants, religious practice and obesity may be linked, study shows

By Guest PostJuly 26, 2013Culture, Healthasian indians, body weight, california, dataset, diabetes, ethnic groups, heart disease, hinduism, hindus, independent factor, indian ancestry, indian immigrants, insulin resistance, islam, marjorie kagawa singer, martin f shapiro, mitchell d wong, muslims, nazleen bharmal, obesity, racial, ramadan, religious practice, sikhism, sikhs, united states

Asian Indians are one of the fastest growing ethnic groups in the United States, and roughly half a million people of Indian ancestry live in California — more than any other state. Individuals from this group are strongly predisposed to obesity-related conditions such as diabetes and heart disease, due in large part to physical inactivity, diets low in fruit and vegetables, and insulin resistance.

Among other racial and ethnic groups, research has shown that religious practices and religiosity have been associated with obesity and greater body weight, but no one had studied this potential link among Indians. (more…)

IRCM scientists find a novel research model for the study of auto-immune diseases

By Guest PostJuly 26, 2013Healthaffinity maturation, antibodies are proteins, auto immune diseases, class switching, diversity of antibodies, genetic diversity, immune system, viral infection

A team of researchers at the IRCM, led by Dr. Javier M. Di Noia in the Immunity and Viral Infections research division, discovered a novel research model for the study of auto-immune diseases. The Montréal scientists are the first to find a way to separate two important mechanisms that improve the quality of antibodies. This study was featured in a recent issue of The Journal of Immunology. (more…)

Link between low vitamin D blood levels and heart disease varies by race

By Guest PostJuly 25, 2013Health25 hydroxyvitamin, blacks, blood levels, by race, cardiovascular events, cassianne robinson cohen, chinese, coronary heart disease, gene variations, genetic variation, heart disease, hispanics, ian deboer, jama, kidney disease, kidney research institute, leila gray, low vitamin d, mesa, metabolism, michael lauer, multi ethnic, risk factors, study group, united states, university of washington, vitamin d activation, vitamin d levels, whites

Low vitamin D blood levels are linked to greater risk of heart disease in whites and Chinese, but not in blacks and Hispanics, according to a study appearing this week in JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Growing evidence has suggested that low blood levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin are associated with higher risk of developing coronary heart disease among whites. Few of these studies included substantial numbers of people from other races. (more…)

Dr. Mark Michalski is ready to print a 3-D brain (maybe yours)

By Guest PostJuly 22, 2013Health3d anatomical printouts, 3d printer, model anatomical organs, print 3d brain, theoretical cancer patients

In a year’s time, the 3-D printers at Yale’s Center for Engineering Innovation and Design (CEID) have churned out countless parts, prototypes, and curiosity-driven experiments in plastic — rotorheads and racecar uprights, cardiac pump pieces and thermostats, snowmen, keychains, and fantastical geometric shapes. (more…)

Berkeley Lab Confirms Thirdhand Smoke Causes DNA Damage

By Guest PostJuly 20, 2013Healthgenetic damage, human cells, mutagenic, oxidative dna damage, residual nicotine, secondhand smoke, thirdhand smoke

A study led by researchers from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has found for the first time that thirdhand smoke—the noxious residue that clings to virtually all surfaces long after the secondhand smoke from a cigarette has cleared out—causes significant genetic damage in human cells. (more…)

Good Vibrations: Mediating Mood Through Brain Ultrasound

By Guest PostJuly 19, 2013Health, Scienceairport code, analog, anatomical structures, anesthesiology, anxiety, blood vessels, brain stimulation, brain ultrasound, clinical trial, depression, good vibrations, high frequency vibrations, human brains, jamie tyler, jay sanguinetti, john allen, mediating mood, megahertz frequencies, microtubules, mood scale, neurotrek, organs, placebo, protein structure, psychiatric disorders, psychological, silicon valley, stuart hameroff, tms, transcranial magnetic stimulation, tucson, ultrasound machine, ultrasound vibrations, university of arizona, vams, virginia polytechnic institute, visual, womb

Ultrasound vibrations applied to the brain may affect mood, UA researchers have discovered. The finding potentially could lead to new treatments for psychological and psychiatric disorders.

University of Arizona researchers have found in a recent study that ultrasound waves applied to specific areas of the brain appear able to alter patients’ moods. The discovery has led the scientists to conduct further investigations with the hope that this technique could one day be used to treat conditions such as depression and anxiety.

Dr. Stuart Hameroff, professor emeritus of the UA’s departments of anesthesiology and psychology and director of the UA’s Center for Consciousness Studies, is lead author on the first clinical study of brain ultrasound, which was published in the journal Brain Stimulation. (more…)

Sugar makes cancer light-up in MRI scanners

By Guest PostJuly 14, 2013Healthcabi, cancer, dose of radiation, glucocest, human cancer, image tumour, magnetic resonance imaging, mark lythgoe, mri, mri scanners, new technique, radioactive material, radiologist, scans of mice, simon walker samuel, standard radioactive techniques, sugar, ucl scientists, university college london, xavier golay

A new technique for detecting cancer by imaging the consumption of sugar with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been unveiled by UCL scientists. The breakthrough could provide a safer and simpler alternative to standard radioactive techniques and enable radiologists to image tumours in greater detail.

The new technique, called ‘glucose chemical exchange saturation transfer’ (glucoCEST), is based on the fact that tumours consume much more glucose (a type of sugar) than normal, healthy tissues in order to sustain their growth. (more…)

Category Archives: Health