ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News
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- Scientists discover mutations associated with skin disorder (DSAP)
- Flu antibody’s 'one-handed grab' may boost effort toward universal vaccine, new therapies
- Breath analysis could help diagnose pulmonary nodules, study shows
- Symptoms of alcohol abuse, not dependence, may better reflect family risk for alcohol use disorders
- Abstinence from alcohol plus physical exercise can help reclaim bone loss due to alcoholism
- Maternal drinking during pregnancy can damage the earliest fetal learning
Posted: 16 Sep 2012 01:09 PM PDT
Scientists
have found strong genetic evidence of a link between mutations of the
mevalonate kinase gene (MVK) and disseminated superficial actinic
porokeratosis (DSAP). It is a major step toward discovering the genetic
pathogenesis of DSAP, and sheds light on its further molecular diagnosis
and treatment.
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Posted: 16 Sep 2012 01:08 PM PDT
Scientists
have solved the co-crystal structure of a human antibody that can
neutralize influenza viruses in a unique way. The antibody recognizes
the crucial structure that flu viruses use to attach to host cells, even
though previously this structure had been thought too small for an
antibody to grab effectively. The immune protein manages to hit this
precise spot by using just a small part of its target-grabbing
apparatus. In so doing, it can neutralize a broad range of dangerous flu
viruses.
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Posted: 16 Sep 2012 08:44 AM PDT
A
pilot study showed that breath testing could be used to discriminate
between benign and malignant pulmonary nodules. The study looked at 74
patients who were under investigation for pulmonary nodules and attended
a referral clinic in Colorado between March 2009 and May 2010.
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Posted: 14 Sep 2012 04:16 PM PDT
Individuals
with alcohol use disorders (AUDs) vary widely in their age of onset of
use, patterns of drinking, and symptom profiles. AUDs are often
'divided' into two categories: alcohol abuse (AA) and alcohol dependence
(AD), with AA perceived as a milder syndrome that might develop into AD
over time. A recent study of the clinical features of AUDs, with a
focus on family liability, has found that –- contrary to expectations –-
AA symptoms better reflect familial risk for AUDs than AD symptoms.
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Posted: 14 Sep 2012 04:16 PM PDT
Alcoholism
is known to cause osteoporosis, or reduced bone mineral density (BMD).
New findings indicate that as little as eight weeks of abstinence can
initiate correction of an imbalance between bone formation and
resorption due to alcohol's toxic effects. Physical activity can also
serve as a protective factor against reduced BMD.
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Posted: 14 Sep 2012 04:16 PM PDT
Habituation
refers to the ability of an organism to stop responding to repeated
stimulation. A new study has examined the impact of maternal drinking on
fetal habituation or learning abilities while still residing in the
mother's womb. Results showed that those fetuses exposed to heavy binge
drinking required significantly more trials to habituate, and also
exhibited a greater variability in test performance.
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