Sickle cell anemia treated with stem cells

Using a new type of stem cells made from ordinary skin cells, US researchers said they treated mice with sickle cell anemia.
– MIT researchers have successfully treated mice with sickle-cell anemia in a process that begins by directly reprogramming the mice’s own cells to an embryonic-stem-cell-like state, without the use of eggs.

Ebola virus outbreak in Uganda worsens, says WHO

The number of suspected cases of Ebola haemorrhagic fever in western Uganda has almost doubled in the past 10 days, and four health-care workers are now among the fatalities, the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) reported.
– The number of suspected cases of Ebola haemorrhagic fever in the Bundibugyo District of western Uganda has now risen to 93, including 22 fatalities. Laboratory analysis has confirmed the presence of a new species of the virus in 9 of these cases.

Middle aged more anxious and depressed than elderly

Elderly people (those aged 65 and above) may have a lower prevalence of psychiatric and anxiety disorders and lower levels of psychological distress than middle-aged people.
– Research from the University of New South Wales has found that middle-aged Australians are more anxious and depressed than their elderly counterparts, turning on its head a prevailing myth about old age.

High protein diet better for weight loss in obese

A new CSIRO study has found that overweight and obese men can lose weight effectively and safely on a high protein diet.
– Presenting the results of the study at the Nutrition Society Conference in Auckland, NZ, CSIRO dietitian Dr Manny Noakes said that the study suggests it is easier than previously thought for men to take action to lose weight.

Kids eat more fruits, vegetables

One of the major contributing factors to the high rate of overweight children in the United States is that they do not consume the daily recommended servings of fruits and vegetables.
– A new UCLA study has found that elementary schools can significantly increase the frequency of fruit and vegetable consumption among low-income students by providing a lunch salad bar.

White matter disease affects treatment in Alzheimer’s disease patients

There may be a difference in response to treatment in Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) patients with and without white matter disease in selective areas of the brain.
– Researchers at Sunnybrook have shown that there may be a difference in response to treatment in Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) patients with and without white matter disease in selective areas of the brain.

Diesel exhaust fumes affect people with asthma

This is the first study to investigate in a real-life setting, outside of the laboratory, if traffic fumes make symptoms worse for people with asthma. Two thirds of people with asthma believe this to be the case.
– Diesel exhaust fumes on polluted streets have a measurable effect on people with asthma, according to the first study looking at exhausts and asthma in a real-life setting, published on 6 December in the New England Journal of Medicine.

India to share experience in controlling avian flu

India is committed to share the experience of control and containment of the outbreak of influenza in poultry.
– The Indian Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh has said that India is committed to share the experience of control and containment of the outbreak of influenza in poultry. He was speaking at a three-day International Ministerial Conference on Avian and Pandemic Influenza, here.

Living embryonic heart cells prevent cardiac arrhythmias

Researchers implant embryonic cells into damaged hearts and prevent life-threatening heart arrhythmias.
– When researchers at Cornell, the University of Bonn and the University of Pittsburgh transplanted living embryonic heart cells into cardiac tissue of mice that had suffered heart attacks, the mice became resistant to cardiac arrhythmias, thereby avoiding one of the most dangerous and fatal consequences of heart attacks.

Aging brain failures to communicate

Cognitive decline in aging may be linked to disruption of communication between different regions of the brain.
– A team of Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers has shown that normal aging disrupts communication between different regions of the brain. The new research, which used advanced medical imaging techniques to look at the brain function of 93 healthy individuals from 18 to 93 years old, shows that this decline happens even in the absence of serious pathologies like Alzheimer’s disease.