Health

The Brain Gets the Big Picture

When you look at a picture, your brain has to put together lines, patterns and shapes to make a meaningful scene. New research by neuroscientists at the University of California, Davis and the University of Minnesota shows that higher regions of the brain can quickly recognize patterns and shapes and tell lower areas of the brain to stop processing the information. The finding confirms predictions from computer models and helps explain how the human brain makes sense of what the eyes see.

Math rivals ultrasound for predicting birth weight

Many low birth-weight babies face serious health problems, but there are also risks of injury during delivery for large infants — and their moms. A new study confirms that a mathematical equation using standard health data obtained from every woman during pregnancy can predict birth weight within eight percent of actual birth weight, which is just as accurate as ultrasound.

Progesterone Causes Less Bleeding than Most Hormone Replacement Therapies

Excessive bleeding, a troublesome side-effect that causes many women to stop taking hormone replacement therapies (HRT), is less likely with progesterone than with more commonly used synthetic versions. Results from a national clinical trial published in the November issue of the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, show that a combination of estrogen and micronized progesterone (MP) causes fewer days and less intense bleeding than the most commonly used combination. Previous studies have shown that unacceptable bleeding is the reason that most women discontinue HRT during the first year of therapy.

Nearness of markets boosts people’s intake of nutritious fruits and vegetables

Black Americans’ fruit and vegetable intake increased by 32 percent for each additional supermarket in the neighborhoods where they lived, according to a new University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Public Health study. White Americans’ fruit and vegetable consumption increased by 11 percent with the presence of one or more supermarket in their neighborhoods, the study showed. “We don’t know why we saw a larger influence of supermarkets on the diets of black Americans compared to white Americans,” said Dr. Kimberly Morland of the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine. “Based on our previous research showing a lack of private transportation in predominately black neighborhoods, we suspect that white Americans may have a larger geographic area in which to select places to patronize.

Feds approve nicotine lozenges

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a nicotine throat lozenge meant to help smokers kick the habit. The sweets will be sold in stores alongside similar gums and patches. Maker GlaxoSmithKilne says the over-the-counter lozenges will come in two strengths to provide smokers with a source of nicotine that helps them avoid cigarette cravings and withdrawal symptoms while they try to quit.

Fat, not mild aerobics, helps osteoporosis

While day-to-day physical activities such as walking, housework and shopping may be good for your heart, they don’t do much for your bones, according to a Johns Hopkins study. The new report, published in the November issue of the Journal of Internal Medicine, found that neither light-intensity activities nor aerobic fitness level contributed to bone health, contrasting previous studies suggesting that aerobics could play a role. Having a few extra pounds, however, was a help. Among a group of older adults studied, those with greater muscle strength and higher body fat, especially in the abdomen, had higher bone mineral densities.

20 years laters, no significant cancer increase in Three Mile Island residents

In a 20-year follow-up study of mortality data on residents living within a five-mile radius of Three Mile Island (TMI), researchers at the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public Health (GSPH) found no significant increase overall in deaths from cancer. “This survey of data, which covers the normal latency period for most cancers, confirms our earlier analysis that radioactivity released during the nuclear accident at TMI does not appear to have caused an overall increase in cancer deaths among residents of that area over the follow-up period, l979 to l998,” said Evelyn Talbott, Dr.P.H., professor of epidemiology at GSPH and principal investigator on the study.

Anti-microbial peptide may improve cancer vaccines

Researchers have discovered that a molecule best known for its anti-microbial properties also has the ability to activate key cells in the immune response. This newly discovered function suggests the molecule, a peptide called ?-defensin 2, may be useful in the development of more effective cancer vaccines.

Health of Native Americans on decline before Columbus’ arrival

The health of indigenous people in the Western Hemisphere was on a downward trajectory long before Columbus set foot in the Americas, Ohio researchers say. The rise of agriculture is partly to blame as the demands of tending domestic crops encouraged people to settle in larger communities, where disease was more easily spread. The current research suggests that the overall health of the average person declined with the development of agriculture, government and urbanization.

Insect infestation models may shed light on bug, disease outbreaks

Models of Larch budmoth outbreaks in the European Alps may eventually show scientists how to model a variety of disease and insect eruptions that rely on a combination of enemy, host and spatial movement to decimate populations, according to a team of ecologists. The Larch budmoth feeds on larch trees, a common evergreen variety, consuming the needles and defoliating the branches. In the European Alps, the infestation moves as predictable waves from west to east completely defoliating forests beginning in the French and Italian Alps and moving across the continent through Switzerland and into Austria.

Study: ER could be front line for stroke prevention

The emergency room may be a prime location for stroke prevention, as well as stroke treatment, a new study finds. That’s because patients with a high stroke risk due to heart rhythm problems are likely to turn up at the ER for symptoms of their irregular heartbeat, giving doctors a chance to make sure they’re on the best drugs to prevent a stroke.

Gene linked to depression in women

Researchers in Pittsburgh have made significant progress in identifying the first susceptibility gene for clinical depression, the second leading cause of disability worldwide, providing an important step toward changing the way doctors diagnose and treat major depression that affects nearly 10 percent of the population. Research results show significant evidence for linkage of unipolar mood disorders to a specific region of chromosome 2q33-35 in women.

Gov’t to establish national schizophrenia brain image database

Brain images from hundreds of people with schizophrenia at 10 research sites nationwide will be shared in a first-of-its-kind research project funded by the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), a branch of the National Institutes of Health. The project will create an extensive database of brain information that it is hoped will expand understanding of disabling brain illnesses such as schizophrenia and speed the development of new treatments.