Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is an infectious disease of birds and mammals caused by an RNA virus of the family Orthomyxoviridae, the influenza viruses. In people, common symptoms of influenza are fever, sore throat, muscle pains, severe headache, coughing, and weakness and fatigue.
Chemical suppressing hunger hormone yields result as good as bariatric surgery to reduce obesity. – Johns Hopkins scientists report success in significantly suppressing levels of the “hunger hormone” ghrelin in pigs using a minimally invasive means of chemically vaporizing the main vessel carrying blood to the top section, or fundus, of the stomach.
Increased risk of obesity owing to genetic susceptibility by FTO variants can be blunted through physical activity, exercise. These findings emphasize the important role of physical activity in public health efforts to combat obesity, particularly in genetically susceptible individuals. – Individuals who have a genetic mutation associated with high body mass index (BMI) may be able to offset their increased risk for obesity through physical activity, according to a report in the September 8 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Genetic variation can be used to predict an individual’s pair-bonding behavior; Gene associated with pair-bonding in animals has similar effects in human males. – Variation in the gene for one of the receptors for the hormone vasopressin appears to be associated with how human males bond with their partners, according to an international team of researchers.
Contraceptive pills may cause change in women’s natural ability to choose a right partner, result in difficulties when trying to conceive, an increased risk of miscarriage and long intervals between pregnancies. – The contraceptive pill may disrupt women’s natural ability to choose a partner genetically dissimilar to themselves, research at the Universities of Liverpool and Newcastle has found.
Some aspects of poorer neurological function like physical control and coordination in childhood associated with adult obesity. – Poor physical control and coordination in childhood are linked to an increased risk of obesity in later life, suggests a study published on BMJ.com today.
Some obese individuals do not appear to have an increased risk for heart disease, while some normal-weight individuals experience a cluster of heart risks. – Some obese individuals do not appear to have an increased risk for heart disease, while some normal-weight individuals experience a cluster of heart risks, according to two reports in the August 11/25 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Positron emission tomography (PET) scanning useful in a non-invasive assessment of the formation of Alzheimer’s disease?related plaques in the brain. – A type of positron emission tomography (PET) scanning may be useful in a non-invasive assessment of the formation of Alzheimer’s disease?related plaques in the brain, according to small study posted online today that will appear in the October 2008 print issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
If your first cigarette gave you a buzz and you now smoke, a gene may be to blame; Link between initial smoking pleasure, lifetime smoking habits and variation in nicotine receptor gene found by U-M-led team. – Anyone who has ever tried smoking probably remembers that first cigarette vividly. For some, it brought a wave of nausea or a nasty coughing fit. For others, those first puffs also came with a rush of pleasure or “buzz.”
High-dose injections of vitamin C may reduce tumor weight and growth rate by about 50 percent of brain, ovarian, and pancreatic cancers, – High-dose injections of vitamin C, also known as ascorbate or ascorbic acid, reduced tumor weight and growth rate by about 50 percent in mouse models of brain, ovarian, and pancreatic cancers, researchers from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) report in the August 5, 2008, issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The availability of new antiretroviral drugs and formulations, including drugs in new classes, and recent data on treatment choices for antiretroviral-naive and -experienced patients warrant an update of the International AIDS Society?USA guidelines for the use of antiretroviral therapy in adult human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. – An evaluation of recent data has led to an update in the guidelines and recommendations for antiretroviral treatment of adult human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, according to an article in the August 6 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on HIV/AIDS.
People living with a partner in mid-life are less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of age-related dementia. – Living with a spouse or a partner decreases the risk of developing Alzheimer’s and other dementia diseases. This according to a study by Krister H?kansson, researcher in psychology at V?xj? University and Karolinska Institutet, Sweden. The results were presented for the first time yesterday at the world’s largest dementia conference.
A variant of a gene found only in people of African ancestry increases the odds of becoming infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) by 40 percent. – A genetic variation which evolved to protect people of African descent against malaria has now been shown to increase their susceptibility to HIV infection by up to 40 per cent, according to new research. Conversely, the same variation also appears to prolong survival of those infected with HIV by approximately two years.
