Body

When it comes to fending off disease and helping prevent people from falling ill, the body's immune system -- armed with T-cells that help eliminate cancer cells, virus-infected cells and more -- is second to none. But exactly how the immune system works remains, in many ways, a mystery, as there are numerous cell types whose functions and interactions with our immune systems have not been well understood.

The current issue of Neurodegenerative Disease Management explores evolving viewpoints on the role of mild cognitive impairment in Parkinson's Disease (PD-MCI), a medical issue which currently lacks consensus. Neurodegenerative Disease Management is published by Future Science Group.

New research shows that the ice sheet on Greenland contains the nutrient phosphorus, which was carried by the atmosphere across the country, where it fell with precipitation. Studies of the ice core drilling through the kilometers-thick ice sheet shows that there are differences in the amount of phosphorus in warm and cold climate periods. This new knowledge is important for understanding how many nutrients can be expected to flow into the Arctic Ocean when the climate warms and the ice melts and flows into the sea, where nutrients give rise to increased algae growth.

(PHILADELPHIA) - Amid continued pressures to minimize errors and cut costs, hospitals are continuing to scramble to find solutions to problems plaguing health systems nationwide.

November 4, 2015 -- A study led by Louise Kuhn, PhD, professor of Epidemiology at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, evaluated whether HIV-infected children in South Africa who had achieved viral suppression with one antiretroviral treatment could transition to efavirenz-based therapy, the recommended drug for children older than 3 years, without risk of viral failure. Dr. Kuhn and colleagues reported that the treatment program resulted in excellent sustained virological control. Findings are published in the November 3 issue of JAMA.

By "crumpling" to increase the surface area of graphene-gold nanostructures, researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have improved the sensitivity of these materials, opening the door to novel opportunities in electronics and optical sensing applications.

COLUMBUS, Ohio - More than 40 percent of older patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) can remain in long-term cancer remission through a modified, less aggressive approach to donor stem cell transplantation, according to the results of a phase 2 study led by oncologists at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center -- Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC -- James).

Cell-free (cf) DNA analysis of maternal blood for trisomies 21, 18 and 13 is superior to other methods of screening, but it's expensive. One strategy to maximize cfDNA testing at reduced cost is to offer it contingent on the results of the currently used first-trimester test.

A new review argues that premature ejaculation--which has become the center of a multimillion dollar business--should not be classified as a male sexual dysfunction. By pointing to false assumptions about premature ejaculation, as well as female sexual dysfunction, the review's authors question whether it has become an illness constructed by sexual medicine experts under the influence of drug companies.

In a study of European men, hypersexuality--a preoccupation with sexual fantasy or an excessive indulgence in sexual activity--correlated with proneness to sexual boredom and problems with erectile function.

The study, which included 911 Croatian and 210 German men who were currently in a relationship, contributes to existing knowledge on hypersexuality. The findings indicate that therapies for hypersexual men should include sex therapy principals that may enhance erectile functioning and address sexual boredom.

It's a question of major importance to parents, health policy makers and health care professionals -- and a focus of national health care quality improvement initiatives. What keeps children from being readmitted to hospitals in the weeks after they're discharged?

Previous research on the subject has focused on the role that hospitals play in the equation. But a new study by doctors at UCLA looked at five factors revolving around the primary physician's office.

PITTSBURGH, Nov. 4, 2015 - In the three years following bariatric surgery, the majority of patients experience an improvement in pain and walking ability, according to the preliminary results of a University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health-led analysis presented today in Los Angeles at ObesityWeek, the annual international conference of the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery and The Obesity Society.

According to researchers from Mississippi State University, rice seeds that are pre-treated with neonicotinoid pesticides yield better than untreated crops and suffer less damage from rice water weevil, the most widely distributed and destructive early-season insect pest of rice in the United States. However, the economic benefits of investing in pre-treated seed depend on the level of insect pressure.

Wintry weather means hats and scarves for some mammals, and hibernation for others. Hibernation dramatically lowers body temperatures, heart rates and oxygen consumption -- things that would be fatal to other animals. A team reports in ACS' Journal of Proteome Research a study of the proteins and genes that allow squirrels' hearts to stay healthy during the winter. A better understanding of this phenomenon could help researchers develop better treatments for people with cardiac disease.

An international study led by University of Queensland (UQ) researchers has tracked the re-emergence of a childhood disease which had largely disappeared over the past 100 years.

Researchers at UQ's Australian Infectious Diseases Centre have used genome sequencing techniques to investigate a rise in the incidence of scarlet fever-causing bacteria and an increasing resistance to antibiotics.

UQ School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences researcher Professor Mark Walker said the disease had re-emerged in parts of Asia and the United Kingdom.