Body | Page 2591 | Science Codex

Vitamin D and Calcium Supplements Recommended For Prevention of Fractures in Postmenopausal Women

The United States Preventive Services Task Force recommends against daily supplementation with doses of vitamin D ≤ 400 IU and calcium ≤ 1,000 mg for the primary prevention of fractures in postmenopausal women living in the community setting.

The Task Force found insufficient evidence to assess the benefits and harms of daily supplementation with higher doses in this population. Evidence also was insufficient to recommend for or against daily vitamin D and calcium supplementation to prevent fractures in premenopausal women or in men.

Small molecules in the blood might gauge radiation effects after exposure

Currently, doctors have no way to accurately measure damage to the body soon after a person is exposed to ionizing radiation.
It is therefore difficult to know whether a person is likely to suffer serious effects after an occupational or accidental exposure.
This animal study shows that radiation exposure alters the levels of certain small molecules in the blood, perhaps offering a reliable measure of damage to the body.

Pregnant mother's blood pressure may affect future health of children

Up to 10% of all women experience some form of elevated blood pressure during pregnancy. Researchers from the Centre for Social Evolution at the Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen show that mild maternal hypertension early in pregnancy actually benefits the fetus, but that late-pregnancy hypertension has negative health consequences for the child. The study is based on more than 750,000 births in Denmark, with follow-up data on children's hospital diagnoses for up to 27 years.

Researchers explore PKC role in lung disease

New research examines the role of PKC in airway smooth muscle contraction and raises the possibility that this enzyme could be a therapeutic target for treating asthma, COPD, and other lung diseases.

Targeting CPR education in high-risk neighborhoods could save more lives

Targeting CPR education in high-risk neighborhoods could increase the number of bystanders giving CPR and decrease deaths from cardiac arrest, according to a new American Heart Association scientific statement published in its journal Circulation.

Survival rates for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest vary widely in the United States, from 0.2 percent in Detroit, Mich., to 16 percent in Seattle, Wash. The variance is due in part to whether a bystander does CPR. For every 30 bystanders who do, one life is saved, researchers said.

Johns Hopkins study: Risk of pancreatitis doubles for those taking new class of diabetes drugs

People who take the newest class of diabetes drugs to control blood sugar are twice as likely as those on other forms of sugar-control medication to be hospitalized with pancreatitis, Johns Hopkins researchers report.

Clinical trial evaluates intervention to reduce pregnancy risk among adolescent girls

More consistent use of condoms, oral contraception or both was reported by a group of teenage girls who took part in a youth development intervention aimed at reducing pregnancy risk in high-risk adolescents, according to a report of a randomized controlled trial published Online First by JAMA Pediatrics, a JAMA Network publication.

Study reveals stem cells in a human parasite

CHAMPAIGN, lll. — From the point of view of its ultimate (human) host, the parasitic flatworm Schistosoma mansoni has a gruesome way of life. It hatches in feces-tainted water, grows into a larva in the body of a snail and then burrows through human skin to take up residence in the veins. Once there, it grows into an adult, mates and, if it's female, starts laying eggs. It can remain in the body for decades.

Scientists' findings disclose a new and much needed test for river blindness infection

LA JOLLA, CA – February 25, 2013 – Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have found a telltale molecular marker for Onchocerciasis or "river blindness," a parasitic infection that affects tens of millions of people in Africa, Latin America and other tropical regions. The newly discovered biomarker, detectable in patients' urine, is secreted by Onchocerca volvulus worms during an active infection. The biomarker could form the basis of a portable, field-ready test with significant advantages over current diagnostic methods.

Virus shows promise as prostate cancer treatment

A recombinant Newcastle disease virus kills all kinds of prostate cancer cells, including hormone resistant cells, but leaves normal cells unscathed, according to a paper published online ahead of print in the Journal of Virology. A treatment for prostate cancer based on this virus would avoid the adverse side effects typically associated with hormonal treatment for prostate cancer, as well as those associated with cancer chemotherapies generally, says corresponding author Subbiah Elankumaran of Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Blacksburg.

Hummingbirds: 2 vortex trails with 1 stroke

Wikipedia isn't right very often and their entry for the hummingbird is no exception. It says that the bird's flight generates in its wake a single trail of vortices that helps the bird hover but the hovering hummingbird instead produces two trails of vortices — one under each wing per stroke — that help generate the aerodynamic forces required for the bird to power and control its flight.

The results of a new study could find wide application in aerospace technology and the development of unmanned vehicles for medical surveillance after natural disasters.

Prenatal DHA reduces early preterm birth, low birth weight

LAWRENCE — University of Kansas researchers have found that the infants of mothers who were given 600 milligrams of the omega-3 fatty acid DHA during pregnancy weighed more at birth and were less likely to be very low birth weight and born before 34 weeks gestation than infants of mothers who were given a placebo. This result greatly strengthens the case for using the dietary supplement during pregnancy.

OHSU scientists first to grow liver stem cells in culture, demonstrate therapeutic benefit

PORTLAND, Ore. — For decades scientists around the world have attempted to regenerate primary liver cells known as hepatocytes because of their numerous biomedical applications, including hepatitis research, drug metabolism and toxicity studies, as well as transplantation for cirrhosis and other chronic liver conditions. But no lab in the world has been successful in identifying and growing liver stem cells in culture -- using any available technique – until now.

Tweaking gene expression to repair lungs

PHILADELPHIA — Lung diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are on the rise, according to the American Lung Association and the National Institutes of Health.

These ailments are chronic, affect the small airways of the lung, and are thought to involve an injury-repair cycle that leads to the breakdown of normal airway structure and function. For now, drugs for COPD treat only the symptoms.

WCS Adirondack Park study shows exurban residences impact bird communities up to 200 meters away

As part of the study, scientists sampled the presence of 20 species of birds both near and far from 30 rural residences in the Adirondack Park. Calculating their occurrence at increasing distances from the residences, they determined that "human-adapted" species are 36 percent more likely to occur near the homes than in the surrounding mixed hardwood-conifer forests, and that "human-sensitive" species were 26 percent less likely. Beyond 200 meters, occupancy rates were similar to the surrounding forest.