August 22, 2014 – For patients who need surgery for facial pain caused by trigeminal neuralgia, the most cost-effective procedure is the least often used, reports a study in the September issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health. Percutaneous stereotaxic rhizotomy (PSR) provides good pain relief at much lower cost than other types of surgical treatments for trigeminal neuralgia, according to the report by Dr. Siviero Agazzi and colleagues ...

The first comprehensive study of captive black rhino reproduction in Europe highlights how hormone analysis could improve the success of breeding programmes. Researchers from Chester Zoo, The University of Manchester and the University of Liverpool carried out a six-year study which encompassed 90% of European population of black rhino. Dr Katie Edwards led the research as part of her PhD at the University of Liverpool. She says: "Although some black rhinoceros breed well in captivity, not all do therefore reducing the vital genetic reserve that these populations represent. ...

Boston, MA – Although the Centers for Disease and Prevention (CDC) reports no known cases of Ebola transmission in the United States, a Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH)/SSRS poll released today (August 21, 2014) shows that four in ten (39%) adults in the U.S. are concerned that there will be a large outbreak in the U.S., and a quarter (26%) are concerned that they or someone in their immediate family may get sick with Ebola over the next year. The nationally representative poll of 1,025 adults was conducted August 13-17, 2014 by researchers at HSPH and SSRS, an ...

Children's social skills may be declining as they have less time for face-to-face interaction due to their increased use of digital media, according to a UCLA psychology study. UCLA scientists found that sixth-graders who went five days without even glancing at a smartphone, television or other digital screen did substantially better at reading human emotions than sixth-graders from the same school who continued to spend hours each day looking at their electronic devices. "Many people are looking at the benefits of digital media in education, and not many are looking ...

Green tea polyphenols are strong antioxidants and can reduce free radical damage. Can they protect spinal cord neurons against oxidative stress? Jianbo Zhao and co-workers from the First Affiliated Hospital of Liaoning Medical University, China discovered that green tea polyphenol effectively alleviated oxidative stress and inhibit neuronal apoptosis, indicating green tea polyphenols play a protective role in spinal cord neurons under oxidative stress. The relevant study has been published in the Neural Regeneration Research (Vol. 9, No. 14, 2014). INFORMATION: Article: ...

3β-Hydroxysteroid-Δ24 reductase (DHCR24) is a multifunctional enzyme that localizes to the endoplasmic reticulum and has neuroprotective and cholesterol-synthesizing activities. DHCR24 overexpression confers neuroprotection against apoptosis caused by amyloid β deposition. Dr. Xiuli Lu and colleagues from Liaoning University in China constructed two recombinant adenoviruses (Ad-rSYN1-DHCR24-myc and Ad-hSYN1-DHCR24-myc) that drive DHCR24 expression specifically in neuronal cells. They also found that adenovirus transfection inhibits apoptosis through scavenging ...

Cigarettes with very low levels of nicotine may reduce addiction without increasing exposure to toxic chemicals, according to a new study from the University of Waterloo. The study published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology monitored the smoking behaviours of 72 adults as they switched to three types of cigarettes with markedly reduced nicotine levels. Unlike when smokers switch between conventional cigarette brands—all of which have very similar levels of nicotine content—the study found no change in participants' puffing behaviour, number of cigarettes consumed ...

New research by a team of UK and European-based astronomers is helping to solve the mystery of what caused a spectacular supernova in a galaxy 11 million light years away, seen earlier this year. The supernova, a giant explosion of a star and the closest one to the Earth in decades, was discovered earlier this year by chance at the University of London Observatory. These phenomena are extremely important to study because they provide key information about our universe, including how it is expanding and how galaxies evolve. The new research into its cause, published ...

Citizen scientists are saving the lives of people living in the shadow of deadly volcanoes according to new research from the University of East Anglia. A new report published today reveals the success of a volunteer group set up to safeguard communities around the 'Throat of Fire' Tungurahua volcano in the Ecuadorian Andes. More than 600 million people live close to active volcanoes worldwide. The research shows that living safely in these dangerous areas can depend on effective communication and collaboration between volcanologists, risk managers and vulnerable communities. It ...

In 2015, American consumers will finally be able to purchase fuel cell cars from Toyota and other manufacturers. Although touted as zero-emissions vehicles, most of the cars will run on hydrogen made from natural gas, a fossil fuel that contributes to global warming. Now scientists at Stanford University have developed a low-cost, emissions-free device that uses an ordinary AAA battery to produce hydrogen by water electrolysis. The battery sends an electric current through two electrodes that split liquid water into hydrogen and oxygen gas. Unlike other water splitters ...

In a new study published in Nature Communications, research scientists from Uppsala University present for the first time a large-scale study of the significance of genetic, clinical and lifestyle factors for protein levels in the bloodstream. The results of the study show that genetics and lifestyle are determining factors for protein levels, a discovery which greatly influences the possibilities for using more biomarkers to identify disease. Biomarkers used for diagnosing disease should preferably indicate variations in protein levels only for those individuals who ...

Stanford, CA—Everyone's heard of the birds and the bees. But that old expression leaves out the flowers that are being fertilized. The fertilization process for flowering plants is particularly complex and requires extensive communication between the male and female reproductive cells. New research from an international team from Stanford, Regensburg, Heidelberg, and Munich, and including Carnegie's Wolf Frommer, David Ehrhardt, and Guido Grossmann reports discoveries in the chemical signaling process that guides flowering plant fertilization. It is published in Nature ...

A new species of carnivorous crustacean has been identified, which roamed the seas 435 million years ago, grasping its prey with spiny limbs before devouring it. The fossil is described and details of its lifestyle are published in the open access journal BMC Evolutionary Biology. The fossils were discovered near Waukesha, Wisconsin, with the new species, Thylacares brandonesis, named after the Brandon Bridge Formation where it was found. It is the oldest known example of the Thylacocephala group - shrimp-like creatures, mostly from the Jurassic period, known for their ...

Dengue fever could make headway in popular European holiday destinations if climate change continues on its predicted trajectory, according to research published in open access journal BMC Public Health. The University of East Anglia study used current data from Mexico, where dengue fever is present, and information about EU countries in order to model the likelihood of the disease spreading in Europe. They found that coastal regions in around the Mediterranean and Adriatic seas, the Po Valley and North East Italy were most at risk. Dengue fever is a tropical disease ...

This news release is available in French. NAIROBI (22 August 2014)—With the steady drain of essential nutrients from African soils looming as a major threat to food security across the continent, a new report released today finds that over the last five years, 1.7 million African farmers in 13 countries have embraced farming practices that have rejuvenated 1.6 million hectares and helped them double or even triple crop yields. The analysis from the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) focuses on intensive efforts initiated five years ago to move aggressively ...

Washington, DC (August 21, 2014) — Calcium buildup in the coronary arteries may be a better indicator of kidney disease patients' risk of heart disease than traditional risk factors used in the general population, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN). The findings provide valuable new information that could help safeguard the heart health of patients with kidney disease. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in individuals with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Some studies have found that conventional ...

Calcium buildup in the coronary arteries of chronic kidney disease patients may be a strong indicator of heart disease risk, according to a new study in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN). Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health assert that coronary calcium outperforms two other commonly used measures of subclinical atherosclerosis in predicting the risk of heart disease among individuals with kidney disease. Approximately 50 percent of all patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) die from cardiovascular disease, but ...

For many people, finding motivation to exercise is a challenge. Thankfully, there are Zombies chasing you. At least that's the approach of Zombies, Run!—one of more than 31,000 health and fitness apps on the market today, and one of the growing number of apps that use games to increase physical activity. Gamification is currently the popular trend for mobile fitness app makers looking to cash in to help people get fit. Whether or not it's the best way to exercise remains to be seen. "It's just been assumed that gamified apps will work, but there has been no research ...

Using telecommunications to connect stroke experts to stroke patients in rural areas continued to improve and sustain stroke care, according to new research in the American Heart Association's journal Stroke. This is the largest and longest evaluation of telemedicine for stroke and took place in rural Bavaria, Germany. With the tele-medical linked Stroke Units, patients in regional hospitals had around-the-clock access to consultations with vascular neurologists at stroke centers, including evaluation of brain imaging and patient examination via videoconferencing when ...

Researchers at the University of Surrey have discovered how the receptors responsible for contractions in the bladder, regulate the body's clock genes. The new study, published today in The FASEB Journal, has found that this clock activity in turn regulates the cycle of all cells in the body. The team of researchers also discovered that the local biological clock and its control are weakened in ageing bladders, demonstrating the importance of the clock in bladder physiology and ageing. While currently much is known about the central biological clock, little is known ...

Bottom Line: Vision loss can adversely affect the ability of older adults to perform instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), such as using the telephone, shopping and doing housework, which are all measures of an individual's ability to live independently, and that subsequently increases the risk for death. Author: Sharon L. Christ, Ph.D., of Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind., and colleagues. Background: Visual impairment (VI) can have negative effects on a person's physical and psychosocial health. VI is associated with a variety of functional and health ...

Bottom Line: Patients with advanced laryngeal cancer appear to have better survival if they are treated with surgery than nonsurgical chemoradiation. Author: Uchechukwu C. Megwalu, M.D., M.P.H., of the Ichan School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, and colleagues. Background: Approximately 11,000 to 13,000 cases of laryngeal cancer are diagnosed each year and squamous cell carcinoma accounts for the vast majority of these tumors. Prior to 1991, total surgical removal of the larynx with postoperative radiation was the standard of care for advanced cancer. Since then, ...

The first direct observations of how facets form and develop on platinum nanocubes point the way towards more sophisticated and effective nanocrystal design and reveal that a nearly 150 year-old scientific law describing crystal growth breaks down at the nanoscale. Researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) used highly sophisticated transmission electron microscopes and an advanced high-resolution, fast-detection camera to capture the physical mechanisms that control the evolution of facets – flat faces ...

DURHAM, NC -- Researchers have pinpointed the environmental source of fungal infections that have been sickening HIV/AIDS patients in Southern California for decades. It literally grows on trees. The discovery is based on the science project of a 13-year-old girl, who spent the summer gathering soil and tree samples from areas around Los Angeles hardest hit by infections of the fungus named Cryptococcus gattii (CRIP-to-cock-us GAT-ee-eye). Cryptococcus, which encompasses a number of species including C. gattii, causes life-threatening infections of the lungs and brain ...

(Boston) — African American women born at a low or very low birth weight may be at a higher risk for developing type 2 diabetes. The findings, which appear in Diabetes Care, may explain in part the higher occurrence of type 2 diabetes in African American populations, which has a high prevalence of low birth weight. Researchers from Boston University's Slone Epidemiology Center followed more than 21,000 women enrolled in the Black Women's Health Study over the course of 16 years, analyzing characteristics such as birth weight, current age, family history of diabetes, body ...