Uranium Poisoning In 2008, a spike in birth defects and other abnormalities led to the discovery that hundreds of children in India suffered from uranium poisoning — the amount of the heavy metal in one child’s body was 60 times the maximum safe limit. A decade later, researchers found that the nation’s ground water still contained unsafe levels of uranium. India’s citizens...
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Moments of clarity in dementia patients at end of life: Glimmers of hope?
by University of Michigan It happens unexpectedly: a person long thought lost to the ravages of dementia, unable to recall the events of their lives or even recognize those closest to them, will suddenly wake up and exhibit surprisingly normal behavior, only to pass away shortly thereafter. This phenomenon, which experts refer to as terminal or...
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How childhood viral infections may later drive multiple sclerosis
By Maria Cohut Fact checked by Paula Field Childhood viral infections that reach the brain may prime it for the development of autoimmune conditions, such as multiple sclerosis, later in life — this is what a recent study that scientists conducted in mice seems to suggest. Recent research has shown that multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most...
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MS patients at a greater risk of cancer, new study suggests
New results of a 65-year follow-up study of nearly 7,000 Norwegian patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) suggest that patients may have a greater overall risk of developing cancer than the general population SPINK HEALTH (Oslo, Saturday, 29 June, 2019) New results of a 65-year follow-up study of nearly 7,000 Norwegian patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) suggest that patients may have a greater overall risk of developing cancer than the general population, with an especially high risk of cancer in respiratory organs, urinary organs and the central...
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Smart glasses follow our eyes, focus automatically
STANFORD UNIVERSITY Though it may not have the sting of death and taxes, presbyopia is another of life’s guarantees. This vision defect plagues most of us starting about age 45, as the lenses in our eyes lose the elasticity needed to focus on nearby objects. For some people reading glasses suffice to overcome the difficulty, but for many people the only fix,...
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A new target for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
by Experimental Biology and Medicine An article published in Experimental Biology and Medicine identifies a new target for the treatment of idiopathicpulmonary fibrosis. The study, led by Dr. Huaping Dai in the Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine and the Center of Respiratory Medicine at China-Japan Friendship Hospital and the National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease in Beijing, China, reports that interleukin-25, an inflammatory...
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Early warning signs of eating disorder revealed
by Swansea University Early warning signs that someone may have an eating disorder have been revealed in a large-scale data study conducted by Swansea University researchers. The results, published in the British Journal of Psychiatry by the Royal College of Psychiatrists, showed that people diagnosed with a disorder had higher rates of other conditions and of prescriptions in the years before their diagnosis. The findings may give GPs...
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How to foster your child’s imagination
by Len Canter, Healthday Reporter (HealthDay)—With school, sports and assorted activities, many kids have little or no free time. That fast-paced lifestyle can actually stifle their development, making them less likely to be self-starters. It could also limit their imagination, an important ingredient in creativity and problem-solving. University of Colorado-Boulder researchers found that kids who...
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One step closer to chronic pain relief
Posted Today While effective drugs against chronic pain are not just around the corner, researchers from Aarhus University have succeeded in identifying a protein as a future potential target for medicinal drugs. Basic research shows that blocking a protein named sortilin prevents pain – initially in laboratory mice. Chronic pain can occur all over the body, and the patients have in...
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Is Cancer a Metabolic Disorder?
By Samuel Mckenzie, BSc Reviewed by Dr. Jennifer Logan, MD, MPH Errors with the metabolism of cells can cause a multitude of different cancers. The metabolic mechanisms in cancerous cells can be forcibly hijacked to further support the cancerous phenotype of these cells. Fortunately, the metabolism of cancerous cells can be manipulated to provide therapeutic treatment for these cancers....