Category Archives: Health

Mystery Solved: How Nerve Impulse Generators Get Where They Need to Go

Study identifies essential molecule for transport of protein from neuron cell body to axon

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Scientists have solved a longstanding mystery of the central nervous system, showing how a key protein gets to the right spot to launch electrical impulses that enable communication of nerve signals to and from the brain.
 
Nerve impulses are critical because they are required for neurons to send information about senses, movement, thinking and feeling to other cell types in the neural circuitry. And an impulse is not fired up just once; it is initiated and then must be repeatedly transmitted along axons – long, slender extensions of nerve cell bodies – to keep the nervous system’s messages stable during their rapid travel. (more…)

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Trial to test using ultrasound to move kidney stones

Almost one in 10 people will someday experience a kidney stone, which creates what is described as the most intense pain imaginable. This increasingly common condition leads to hundreds of thousands of surgeries in the United States each year.

A new device developed at the University of Washington would let doctors use ultrasound to move kidney stones inside the body and help them pass by natural means. (more…)

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Minorities and poor have more advanced thyroid cancers when diagnosed, UCLA study shows

Black patients fare worst; Asians, Hispanics survive longest with disease

UCLA researchers have found that minority patients and those of lower socioeconomic status are far more likely to have advanced thyroid cancer when they are diagnosed with the disease than white patients and those in higher economic brackets.  

In one of the most comprehensive studies of its kind, the UCLA team looked at nearly 26,000 patients with well-differentiated thyroid cancer and analyzed the impact of race and socioeconomic factors on the stage of presentation, as well as patient survival rates.   (more…)

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Racism May Accelerate Aging in African American Men

UMD-led study is first to link racism-related factors and cellular age

COLLEGE PARK, Md. – A new University of Maryland-led study reveals that racism may impact aging at the cellular level. Researchers found signs of accelerated aging in African American men who reported high levels of racial discrimination and who had internalized anti-Black attitudes. Findings from the study, which is the first to link racism-related factors and biological aging, are published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Racial disparities in health are well-documented, with African Americans having shorter life expectancy, and a greater likelihood of suffering from aging-related illnesses at younger ages compared to whites. Accelerated aging at the biological level may be one mechanism linking racism and disease risk. (more…)

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8 million lives saved since surgeon general’s tobacco warning 50 years ago

A Yale study estimates that 8 million lives have been saved in the United States as a result of anti-smoking measures that began 50 years ago this month with the groundbreaking report from the Surgeon General outlining the deadly consequences of tobacco use. The Yale School of Public Health-led analysis is published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The study used mathematical models to calculate the long-term effect of the seminal report, and subsequent anti-smoking measures, over the past half-century. These cumulative efforts have significantly reshaped public attitudes and behaviors concerning cigarettes and other forms of tobacco, note the researchers. (more…)

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UA Study’s Findings Key to Understanding Immunity as We Age

UA researchers have discovered that two separate defects combine to contribute to reduced T cell responses with aging.

Researchers at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson have found a key to understanding the aging immune system’s decreased response to infectious diseases, which remain among the leading causes of death in older adults. (more…)

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Green spaces deliver lasting mental health benefits

Green space in towns and cities could lead to significant and sustained improvements in mental health, finds a new study published in the journal of Environmental Science & Technology.

Analysing data that followed people over a five year period, the research has found that moving to a greener area not only improves people’s mental health, but that the effect continues long after they have moved.

The findings add to evidence that suggests increasing green spaces in cities – such as parks and gardens – could deliver substantial benefits to public health. (more…)

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