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Among children and adolescents with chronic migraine, the use of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) resulted in greater reductions in headache frequency and migraine-related disability compared with headache education, according to a study appearing in the December 25 issue of JAMA.

A survey of opioid treatment programs finds that the proportion offering on-site testing for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) declined substantially between 2000 and 2011, despite guidelines recommending routine opt-out HIV testing in all health care settings, according to a study appearing in the December 25 issue of JAMA.

Published in the Journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, senior author, Associate Professor Katherine Kedzierska from the Department of Microbiology and Immunology said that being able to predict which patients will be more susceptible to the emerging influenza strain, will allow clinicians to better manage an early intervention strategy.

1. Unprecedented but Justified. Princeton meningitis outbreak calls for "compassionate use" of unlicenced vaccine

Working in mice, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report developing a gene delivery method long sought in the field of gene therapy: a deactivated virus carrying a gene of interest that can be injected into the bloodstream and make its way to the right cells.

In this early proof-of-concept study, the scientists have shown that they can target tumor blood vessels in mice without affecting healthy tissues.

Researchers have developed a method to create a comprehensive library of mutations across all genes in the mouse genome. This library can be used to examine the role of every gene in different cell types.

CRISPR technology uses the DNA-cutting enzyme Cas9, with the help of a guide RNA sequence, to find and modify genetic targets. Scientists can easily engineer multiple new guide RNAs using standard molecular biology techniques. This makes for a much faster and efficient method to modify the genome of any cell type in any species.

Those who fly to tropical shores this Christmas in search of sea and sun may be unaware that an exotic shell picked from the beach could potentially bring relief to many thousands of people suffering life-threatening illnesses.

But cone snails, as they are known from their shape, are unprotected and under increasing threat of extinction according to a pioneering new study by researchers at the University of York, UK. Their loss could rob future generations of an, as yet, undiscovered reservoir of pharmaceuticals.

Children appear to be less at risk for developing peanut or tree nut (P/TN) allergies if their mothers are not allergic and ate more nuts during pregnancy, according to a study published by JAMA Pediatrics, a JAMA Network publication.

In the United States, the prevalence of childhood peanut allergy has more than tripled from 0.4 percent in 1997 to 1.4 percent in 2010. The onset of these allergies is usually in childhood and most often occurs with the first known exposure. Peanut or tree nut allergies typically overlap, according to the study background.

Preoperative consultations before cataract surgery became more common for Medicare patients despite no clear guidelines about when to require such a service, hinting at unnecessary use of health care resources, according to a study published by JAMA Internal Medicine, a JAMA Network publication.

BOSTON (Dec. 23, 2013)—Women need not fear that eating peanuts during pregnancy could cause their child to develop a peanut allergy, according to a new study from Boston Children's Hospital published online Dec. 23 in JAMA Pediatrics.

(PHILADELPHIA) – The elimination of extensive routine preoperative tests and consultations represents an area of potentially large health care savings across many disciplines, particularly for low-risk patients being evaluated for cataract surgery. It is also a major theme of the Choosing Wisely campaign from the American Board of Internal Medicine.

A mathematical pattern of movement called a Lévy walk describes the foraging behavior of animals from sharks to honey bees, and now for the first time has been shown to describe human hunter-gatherer movement as well. The study, led by University of Arizona anthropologist David Raichlen, was published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The Lévy walk pattern appears to be ubiquitous in animals, similar to the golden ratio, phi, a mathematical ratio that has been found to describe proportions in plants and animals throughout nature.

STANFORD, Calif. — Scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine have linked high testosterone levels in men to a poor immune response to an influenza vaccine.

In a study to be published online Dec. 23 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the investigators show that men with relatively high amounts of circulating testosterone benefit less, as measured by a boost in protective antibodies after vaccination against influenza, than do men with lower testosterone levels and women.

Some mammals may have evolved to synchronise births as a way of evading the threat of infanticide, according to a study led by the University of Exeter.

To ensure groups remain productive, some social animals 'police' selfish reproduction by subordinate animals by killing any offspring they produce. For example, in honeybees and other social insects some workers lay their own eggs, but these are identified and killed by the rest of the workforce.

WHAT:

A new study has identified a link between certain genes affected by testosterone and antibody responses to an influenza vaccine. The findings, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggest that testosterone levels may partially explain why men often have weaker responses to vaccines than women. The study, led by researchers at Stanford University, was supported in part by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a component of the National Institutes of Health.