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467 news posts in Health

Health

15 Nov 2016

Building bridges in medical research

By Emily Barker, Frontiers Science Writer Dr. Michel Goldman, Field Chief Editor of Frontiers in Medicine, recently founded at the Université libre de Bruxelles the Institute for Interdisciplinary Innovation in healthcare (I3h). Thanks to the Fund Baillet-Latour, the I3h Institute will launch in February 2017 an innovative educational project in translational medicine for students enrolled in different master programs related to healthcare including medicine, pharmacy, public health, but also economics, engineering, and law. The program includes lectures on the different aspects of the future of healthcare given by internationally recognized speakers, as well as case studies with active participation of students. “I think there have been exciting advances in the last few years, but people don’t realize that in order to bring new medicines to the patients you need more than scientific research,” explains Dr. Goldman. “It is not only about drugs. It’s also about medical devices and it’s about using big data, so it means that you have really to bring together different disciplines, and different expertises to translate the progress of research into new therapies for patients.” “The students themselves will have to work together across different disciplines to solve problems in healthcare;” he continues. The course will take […]

Health

11 Nov 2016

Weethinking the role of bacteria in incontinence

By Simon Watt, Science Writer We all know that feeling of suddenly needing to pee, and the agonizing worry that we might not find a toilet in time or make it that far. Sadly, for many people this is a regular occurrence and wetting themselves uncontrollably is an inevitable consequence. Almost 1 in 5 women over the age of 44 suffer from what is known as Urgency Urinary Incontinence (UUI): experiencing a strong sensation of an urgent need to pee, followed by immediate leakage of a large volume of urine. It can severely adversely affect someone’s life, contributing to anxiety, depression and social isolation. In spite of its impact, the causes of the complaint are still relatively unknown. The condition is often attributed to abnormal signalling prompting the bladder muscles to contract involuntarily, but this seems to account for only about three fifths of cases. Scientists are searching for other possible causes of the condition. Some think that understanding the bacteria that live within us may hold the key. The urinary tract has long been thought to be a sterile environment: a place where no bacteria can grow. A new study from Oregon Health and Science University that was published […]

Health

10 Nov 2016

Probiotics improve cognition in Alzheimer’s patients

In a randomized double-blind trial, scientists show for the first time that dietary supplementation with daily dose of probiotic bacteria over a period of just 12 weeks is sufficient to yield a small but significant improvement in the cognitive performance of Alzheimer’s patients. For the first time, scientists have shown that probiotics — beneficial live bacteria and yeasts taken as dietary supplements — can improve cognitive function in humans. In a new clinical trial, scientists show that a daily dose of probiotic Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium bacteria taken over a period of just 12 weeks is enough to yield a moderate but significant improvement in the score of elderly Alzheimer’s patients on the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scale, a standard measure of cognitive impairment. Probiotics are known to give partial protection against certain infectious diarrheas, irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, eczema, allergies, colds, tooth decay, and periodontal disease. But scientists have long hypothesized that probiotics might also boost cognition, as there is continuous two-way communication between the intestinal microflora, the gastrointestinal tract, and the brain through the nervous system, the immune system, and hormones (along the so-called “microbiota-gut-brain axis”). In mice, probiotics have indeed been shown to improve learning and […]

Health

08 Nov 2016

Clinical trial planned for stem-cell transplantation in fetuses

By Freya Wilson, Frontiers Science Writer Medical breakthrough could save babies before birth A recent breakthrough has been made that could help to save babies lives from a syndrome that threatens their survival even before they are born. Alpha Thalassemia Major is a blood disorder inherited from both parents and often results in the death of babies. However, a new possibility for treatment has been found that ensures not only their survival to birth but also curing the syndrome while still in the womb. “One therapy that we’re developing right now is stem-cell transplantation for fetuses that have congenital disorders that affect the blood cells,” said Dr. Tippi Mackenzie, an Associate Professor of Surgery at the University of California, San Francisco. Mackenzie lab’s recent research looks at a hereditary disease that affects the blood cells known as Alpha Thalassemia Major. This disorder is often incompatible with life and consequently must be identified in utero. “When fetuses have this disorder, they inherit it from both of their parents. The fetus becomes  anaemic and can die,” MacKenzie explained. “Alpha Thalassemia major can be fatal to fetuses if they don’t get blood transfusions before birth. And in many cases, the only way to […]

Health

31 Oct 2016

How your diet can influence your environmental impact

By Hedwig Ens, Frontiers   The impact of our dietary choices on the global phosphorus footprint shouldn’t be neglected, recent research in Frontiers in Nutrition shows.  A shift towards a plant-based diet may be an undervalued solution toward decreasing our environmental impact and attaining phosphorus sustainability. Phosphorus is an element essential for all living beings and is thus critical in food production. Mined phosphate rock is a non-renewable global resource that is nowadays becoming increasingly scarce which poses a severe problem to the farming industry: it needs phosphorus in the form of fertilizers to sustain crop productivity. Crops have two entries into the human food chain: direct consumption or indirect consumption by rearing animals which can be converted to human food. Different food types therefore require different amounts of phosphorus in their production. One kg of phosphorus can for example be used to either produce 3333 kg of starch roots (e.g. potatoes) or 16 kg of beef. The loss of phosphorus to waterways, whether from agricultural fields through runoff or urban sewage through human excreta, can cause severe water quality degradation. This leads to eutrophication, harmful algal blooms, and impairment of our drinking water, recreational areas, and fisheries. As the […]

Health

28 Oct 2016

Frontiers in Pediatrics welcomes Prof Barbara Ludwikowski as Specialty Chief Editor

  Frontiers in Pediatrics is thrilled to announce Professor Barbara Ludwikowski (Auf Der Bult Children’Hospital, Hannover) as the new Specialty Chief Editor of the Pediatric Surgery section. In her career as clinical scientist, she has made important scientific contributions to the understanding of urological diseases and genital anomalies in children and infants. As Prof. Ludwikowski emphasizes: “One of the challenges in Pediatric Surgery is the inevitable development of ever more narrow subspecialty areas. While specialization is essential given the constant addition of new knowledge, new diagnostic, treatment modalities and surgical techniques, we should remember what Owen H Wangensteen wrote in his book about the state of general surgery after World War II.” “With the extension of surgery into many new areas since World War II and consequent fragmentation, a more important query confronting surgery today is, can we survive as a unified body? The answer would appear to be free communication between its many disciplines. Tight compartmentalization breeds sterility, the only hope is transpollination, the catalyst of life.” – Wangensteen O, Wangensteen S (1978). The Rise of Surgery. From Empiric Craft to Scientific Discipline. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press Describing her objective for the specialty section, Prof. Ludwikowski aims to […]

Health

07 Oct 2016

Mental illness genetically linked to drug use and misuse

By Tania Fitzgeorge-Balfour, Frontiers Science Writer A person’s genetic risk for psychiatric disorders is related to his or her vulnerability to substance use and misuse There are many reports of drug use leading to mental health problems, and we all know of someone having a few too many drinks to cope with a bad day. Many people who are diagnosed with a mental health disorder indulge in drugs, and vice versa. As severity of both increase, problems arise and they become more difficult to treat. But why substance involvement and psychiatric disorders often co-occur is not well understood. In addition to environmental factors, such as stress and social relationships, a person’s genetic make-up can also contribute to their vulnerability to drug use and misuse as well as mental health problems. So could genetic risk for mental illness be linked to a person’s liability to use drugs? This question has been addressed in a new study, published in the open-access journal Frontiers in Genetics. “Our research shows that if someone is genetically predisposed towards having mental illness, they are also prone to use licit and illicit substances and develop problematic usage patterns,” says Caitlin E. Carey, a PhD student in the […]

Health

07 Oct 2016

Safe Work Under the Sun

European outdoor workers are at great risk of developing non-melanoma skin cancer – so great that statistically speaking, in long-term outdoor workers, some 75-90% will develop the disease over their life time. While the numbers are startling, so is the lack of awareness of the situation. Ironically this lack of awareness is especially prevalent among outdoor workers, i.e. the people most at risk of developing non-melanoma skin cancer as a result of their occupational sun exposure. Given that skin cancer is in fact preventable, it seems an opportunity missed by not adequately informing individuals and adopting better workplace practices. Protecting workers from overexposure to UV makes total sense when we think about the savings in subsequent healthcare cost burden and even more importantly, avoidance of individual suffering and familial stress caused by skin cancer. At this year’s European Academy of Dermatology and Venerology (EADV) Congress, Prof. Swen Malte John (Professor and Chairman at the Department of Dermatology, Environmental Medicine, Health Theory, University of Osnabrueck, Germany), explained the situation: “Solar UV irradiation is now classified as a group 1 carcinogen by the WHO, being in the same category as cigarette smoking, asbestos and plutonium, yet there is no legislation in place […]

Health

30 Sep 2016

Pharmaceutical Innovation after World War II: from rational drug discovery to biopharmaceuticals

“The twentieth century has witnessed an unprecedented advancement of biomedical sciences, especially in drug discovery and design. After World War II, life-saving pharmaceutical innovation has materialised primarily through systematic research, and has consisted of a series of thematic developments that have been tightly-linked not only to the contemporary technological advances, but also particularly to the contemporary understanding of human physiology and pathophysiology.” By organising the Frontiers Research Topic “Pharmaceutical innovation after World War II: from rational drug discovery to biopharmaceuticals” in Frontiers in Pharmacology, Professor Tilli Tansey OBE and Dr Apostolos Zarros aim to explore, delineate, and conceptualise pharmaceutical innovation in the post-World War II era with contributions covering a broad spectrum of paradigm shifting factors and achievements that have shaped the pharmaceutical landscape. We asked them to share with us the inspiration behind the project. What inspired you to organize a Research Topic on pharmaceutical innovation after World War II? We are members of the History of Modern Biomedicine Research Group, which is funded by the Wellcome Trust and committed to open-access publishing. We study the history of recent biomedicine, principally by employing oral history methodology, and generate a variety of resources by collecting, transcribing, editing and undertaking research […]

Health

29 Sep 2016

Open for submissions: New Specialty Section Obesity

by Victor Kouassi, Frontiers Under the leadership of Prof. Katherine Samaras  of St Vincent’s Hospital and the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Sydney, the journals; Frontiers in Endocrinology, Frontiers in Public Health and Frontiers in Nutrition have launched a new specialty section on Obesity. The section is now open for submissions. The Obesity Specialty Section is intended to reflect the multidisciplinary research and strategies developed in this subject from “champions from every paradigm of science, clinical practice, public health, economics and policy” states Specialty Chief Editor Prof. Samaras. With figures from the WHO showing a doubling worldwide of obese individuals since 1980, obesity has rapidly become an issue deserving of immense attention in countries of all levels of income. The need for faster and widespread dissemination of research findings to mitigate and tackle this issue are increasingly in demand. In her recently published Specialty Grand Challenge article, this threat is described as an “Obesity Armageddon” which can be dodged by encouraging “innovative science in obesity, to integrate scientific effort between the disciplines”. Asked on what attracted her to launch this section in Frontiers, Dr. Samaras said, “The Frontiers series of journals are at the cutting edge. The process of Peer Review is innovative, […]

Health

26 Sep 2016

Why do more men commit suicide than women?

by Simon Watt, Frontiers Science Writer Why do more men die when they attempt suicide than women? The answer could lie in four traits, find scientists. More than 6,000 British lives are lost to suicide each year, and nearly 75 per cent of those are male. However, research has found women are more likely to suffer from depression, and to attempt to take their own life. Scientists interested in this sex difference looked into why men’s attempts at suicide were more likely to be fatal, in a study published in open-access journal Frontiers in Psychiatry. Although men tend to choose more lethal methods than women do, the study found that even when men and women try to kill themselves using the same method, men are still more likely to die. 4 traits for suicide Prof. Gopikrishna Deshpande and his team from Auburn University in USA found there are four traits defined as “the acquired capability for suicide” which men are more likely to have than women. The traits are fearlessness of death, pain tolerance, emotional stoicism and sensation seeking. People experiencing a desire to commit suicide will not do so without first losing their fear of dying and developing the […]

Health

20 Sep 2016

Searching for answers in Hernia surgery

by Emily Barker, Frontiersin.org  Hernia surgery is one of the largest fields in general surgery – worldwide there are more than 30 million operations performed each year. Hernias are a common aliment, which if left untreated can turn into a strangulated hernia – a very painful and potentially lethal condition. However, despite large numbers of hernia cases across the world, Ferdinand Köckerling, Field Chief Editor for Frontiers in Surgery, explained there is still a number of unsolved questions when it comes to treating them. Over the past six years he and a network of surgeons have collected data from over 330,000 hernia cases for their Herniamed registry. There are many different procedures including an open or minimally invasive approach. He explained: “For the hundreds of different procedures, there is still an ongoing discussion what the best approach is for the patients.” Herniamed, a non-profit organisation, is attempting to answer those questions and they have already made some discoveries. “We found there is a clear correlation between the case volume of the surgeons and the outcome – that means when you want to have optimal outcome for the patients then you need more specialized surgeons in the field of hernia surgery;” explained […]

Health

12 Sep 2016

Eating your greens could enhance sport performance

By Fabienne Eckert, Frontiers Science Writer Nitrate supplementation in conjunction with Sprint Interval Training in low oxygen conditions could enhance sport performance a study has found. Researchers from the University of Leuven in Belgium carried out a study with twenty-seven moderately trained participants. These were given nitrate supplements ahead of Sprint Interval Training (SIT), which took the form of short but intense cycling sessions three times a week. Nitrate is commonly found in diets rich in leafy green foods, like spinach and is important for the functioning of the human body, especially during exercising. To assess differences in performance in different conditions, the study included workouts in normal oxygen conditions and in hypoxia conditions, which are low oxygen levels such as those found in high altitudes. The observations published in Frontiers in Physiology were unexpected: after only five weeks, the muscle fiber composition changed with the enhanced nitrate intake when training in low oxygen conditions. “This is probably the first study to demonstrate that a simple nutritional supplementation strategy, i.e. oral nitrate intake, can impact on training-induced changes in muscle fiber composition;” stated Professor Peter Hespel from the Athletic Performance Center at the University of Leuven. For athletes participating in […]