Category: Health

Sun Protection to patients with rare genetic disease

Tom Patriot

Skin cells taken from patients with a rare genetic disorder are up to ten times more sensitive to damage from ultraviolet A (AVA) radiation in laboratory tests, than those from a healthy population, according to new research from the University of Bath. It is hoped that the work, which has involved designing a brand new molecule with potential to be added to sun cream, could benefit those with Friedrich’s Ataxia (FA), as well as those with other disorders characterised by mitochondrial iron overload, notably Wolfram Syndrome and Parkinson’s disease, where…

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Why environmental cues make drug addiction extra hard to beat

Tom Patriot

It’s known environmental cues can be strong triggers for those trying to kick a drug habit because those cues activate the brain’s emotional and stimulus-response systems. A new study by University of Guelph researchers reveals for the first time that there’s more going on in the brain when someone walks past a customary lighting-up spot or sees drug-taking paraphernalia that makes quitting the habit even harder. Besides triggering the brain’s emotional and stimulus-response systems (“see smoking area, smoke, feel good”), environmental cues activate brain areas where memories are processed. Prompting…

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Is the most effective weight-loss strategy really that hard?

Tom Patriot

If you want lose weight, research shows, the single best predictor of success is monitoring and recording calorie and fat intake throughout the day — to “write it when you bite it.” But dietary self-monitoring is widely viewed as so unpleasant and time-consuming, many would-be weight-losers can’t muster the will power to do it. New research to be published in the March issue of Obesitysuggests that the reality of dietary self-monitoring may be far less disagreeable than the perception. After six months of monitoring their dietary intake, the most successful participants…

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Mobile bedside bioprinter can heal wounds

Tom Patriot

Imagine a day when a bioprinter filled with a patient’s own cells can be wheeled right to the bedside to treat large wounds or burns by printing skin, layer by layer, to begin the healing process. That day is not far off. Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM) scientists have created such a mobile skin bioprinting system — the first of its kind — that allows bi-layered skin to be printed directly into a wound. “The unique aspect of this technology is the mobility of the system and the…

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Brain response to mom’s voice differs in kids with autism

Tom Patriot

For most children, the sound of their mother’s voice triggers brain activity patterns distinct from those triggered by an unfamiliar voice. But the unique brain response to mom’s voice is greatly diminished in children with autism, according to a new study from the Stanford University School of Medicine. The diminished response was seen on fMRI brain scans in face-processing regions and learning and memory centers, as well as in brain networks that process rewards and prioritize different stimuli as important. The findings will be published Feb. 26 in eLife. “Kids with…

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