Category Archives: Health

Bisphenol A Affects Sex-Specific Reproductive Behaviors in a Monogamous Animal Species, Says MU Researcher

By Guest PostFebruary 13, 2013Environment, Health, Scienceaggression, american public, anxiety, assess, beer, behavioral effects, behaviors of males, bisphenol a, boys versus girls, bpa, california mouse, canned goods, chemical exposure, cheryl rosenfeld, david geary, denise warzak, eldin jasarevic, female hormones, females, gregory vandas, human body, human societies, mark ellersieck, monogamous rodent, nutritional support, offspring, paper receipts, peromyscus californicus, plastic containers, post natal exposure, pre, r michael roberts, reproductive associated behaviors, researchers, risk to children, rodents, rosenfelds lab, scott williams, sex specific, soda cans, species, university of missouri

Animal Findings Suggest That Gender May Also Influence Chemical Exposure Risks for Humans

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Parents, teachers and psychologists know boys and girls behave differently. However, that difference isn’t taken into account by most methods used to assess the risk to children from chemical exposure, according to Cheryl Rosenfeld, associate professor of biomedical sciences in the University of Missouri’s Bond Life Sciences Center. A series of experiments by Rosenfeld studied the effects of prenatal exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) on later reproductive-associated behaviors using a socially and genetically monogamous rodent, the California mouse, which may better mirror most human societies than other rodents. (more…)

Vitamin D, Omega-3 May Help Clear Amyloid Plaques Found in Alzheimer’s

By Guest PostFebruary 12, 2013Healthalzheimer, amyloid beta, amyloid beta absorption, amyloid plaques, avi siani, blood samples, brain, cell death, critical immune cells, dihydroxyvitamin d3, docosahexaenoic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid, fatty acid dha, fatty acid epa, fatty acids, guanghao liu, immune system, improve plaque clearance, inflammation, inflammatory genes, james sayre, larry magpantay, macrophages, mathew mizwicki, milan fiala, nutrition molecule, omega 3 dha, omega-3, oxidation, vitamin D, vitamin d3

A team of academic researchers has pinpointed how vitamin D3 and omega-3 fatty acids may enhance the immune system’s ability to clear the brain of amyloid plaques, one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease.

In a small pilot study published in the Feb. 5 issue of the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, the scientists identified key genes and signaling networks regulated by vitamin D3 and the omega-3 fatty acid DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) that may help control inflammation and improve plaque clearance. (more…)

Samoan Obesity Epidemic Starts at Birth

By Guest PostFebruary 12, 2013Healthamerican samoa, birth, breastfeeding, brown university, early infancy, epidemiology, gain weight, macrosomia, nicola hawley, obesity, pacific island, pediatric obesity, polynesian populations, population, risk factor, samoan epidemic, samoan obesity epidemic, stephen mcgarvey, united states, us mainland, westernized

Born slightly heavy on average, a sample of hundreds of infants in American Samoa continued to gain weight quickly after birth, achieving high rates of obesity within 15 months. Breastfeeding slowed weight gain in boys. Findings may presage infant obesity in other populations where obesity is increasing population wide.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — As some Pacific island cultures have “westernized” over the last several decades, among the changes has been a dramatic increase in obesity. Researchers don’t understand all the reasons why, but even a decade ago in American Samoa 59 percent of men and 71 percent of women were obese. A new Brown University study finds that the Samoan epidemic of obesity may start with rapid weight gain in early infancy. (more…)

UCLA Findings Buck Conventional Wisdom about How Stress-Response Protein Works

By Guest PostFebruary 11, 2013Health, Scienceage related, biomarker, cell stress, cell types, chaperones, class of molecules, clouding, conventional wisdom, environmental conditions, epithelial cells, eye institute, eye lens, fibroblast cells, gene, heart muscle degeneration, heat shock factor, heat shock factor4, heat shock protein, hsf1, hsf4, infection, inflammation, jules stein, macular degeneration, monitor for diseases, multiple sclerosis, stress response protein, toxins, transcription factors, ucla researchers, zhe jing, αb crystallin

UCLA researchers, in a finding that runs counter to conventional wisdom, have discovered for the first time that a gene thought to express a stress-response protein in all cells that come under stress instead expresses the protein only in specific cell types.

The research team, from the Jules Stein Eye Institute at UCLA and the UCLA Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, focused on αB-Crystallin, one of a class of molecules known as heat shock proteins, which are involved in the folding and unfolding of other proteins, helping them recover from stress so they can do their job. (more…)

MU Scientists Build Harness for Powerful Radiation Cancer Therapy

By Guest PostFebruary 11, 2013Healthactinium, alpha emitter, alpha particles, beta particles, bone cancer, cancer cells, cancer patients, cancer site, cannon balls, david robertson, gold nanoparticle, gold plated nanoparticle, groundbreaking work, healthy organs, human clinical trials, knoxville, low energy, mark mclaughlin, national laboratory, oak ridge, radiation cancer therapy, radioactive particles, radiopharmaceuticals, radium 223 chloride, tissues, treatments for cancer, tumors for treatment, university of missouri, university of tennessee

Scientists at MU, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee at Knoxville created a gold nanoparticle that can transport powerful radioactive particles directly to tumors for treatment.

We’ve all heard that “it’s not wise to use a cannon to kill a mosquito.” But what if you could focus the cannon’s power to concentrate power into a tiny space? In a new study, University of Missouri researchers have demonstrated the ability to harness powerful radioactive particles and direct them toward small cancer tumors while doing negligible damage to healthy organs and tissues. The study is being published this week in PLOS ONE, an international, peer-reviewed and open-access publication. (more…)

Where Cultural Traditions Meet Cutting-Edge Care

By Guest PostFebruary 9, 2013Culture, General, Healthamerican indian communities, band, band of ottawa, chippewa indians, college, core curriculum, cultural traditions, cutting edge care, emily proctor, flint, grand rapids, grand traverse, human medicine, little traverse bay, lynn swan, marquette, medical research, michigan state university, msu extension, northern michigan, odawa indians, pharmacists, relationship, social workers, traverse city, tribal community, tribal elders, tribal liaison, tribal police, tribe

American Indian communities in northern Michigan are improving health care for tribal elders with help from a Michigan State University program that blends their cultural traditions with the latest medical research.

It’s part of the Geriatric Education Center of Michigan, a federally funded, MSU-led consortium of universities, hospitals and government agencies established in 1987 to train health professionals and others to deliver better care to older adults, particularly in underserved communities. (more…)

Economics of Public Health: Study Finds Price for Reducing HIV Risk

By Guest PostFebruary 7, 2013General, Healthbeneficial behaviors, bill, brown university, cash transfer program, cesar infante, condoms, education in mexico, gay men, hiv infection, hiv prevention education, hiv risk behaviors, hiv testing, hiv therapy, increase safe sex, insp, malawi, male sex workers, melinda gates foundation, Mexico City, omar galarraga, policymakers, prediction, reduce infection, sandra sosa rubi, sexually transmitted infections, stefano m bertozzi, sti testing, Tanzania, western nations

With a goal to reduce HIV risk behaviors, researchers investigated whether gay men and male sex workers in Mexico City would participate in a conditional cash transfer program that encourages HIV prevention education and regular testing. A new study in the European Journal of Health Economics reports the price that would get more than 75-percent participation: $288 a year.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Studies have found that conditional cash transfer programs, in which governments pay citizens if they consistently practice societally beneficial behaviors, have improved pediatric health care and education in Mexico, increased HIV testing in Malawi, and reduced sexually transmitted infections in Tanzania. Public health researchers therefore investigated whether the idea could be applied to HIV risk behaviors among gay men and male sex workers in Mexico City. A new study reports not only that some members of those populations would change behavior for conditional cash payments, but the exact prices they would accept. (more…)

‘Cool’ Kids In Middle School Bully More, UCLA Psychologists Report

By Guest PostFebruary 7, 2013General, Healthanti bullying programs, bullied by classmates, cool kids, eighth grade, female typed, forms of aggression, harmless name calling, innocent punch, jaana juvonen, los angeles, male typed, middle school bully, middle school students, non human primates, physical aggression, popularity, social status, spreading rumors, ucla psychologists

Study of seventh and eighth graders finds no difference between boys, girls

Bullying, whether it’s physical aggression or spreading rumors, boosts the social status and popularity of middle school students, according to a new UCLA psychology study that has implications for programs aimed at combatting school bullying. In addition, students already considered popular engage in these forms of bullying, the researchers found.

The psychologists studied 1,895 ethnically diverse students from 99 classes at 11 Los Angeles middle schools. They conducted surveys at three points: during the spring of seventh grade, the fall of eighth grade and the spring of eighth grade. Each time, students were asked to name the students who were considered the “coolest,” the students who “start fights or push other kids around” and the ones who “spread nasty rumors about other kids.” (more…)