Alternative Health News

Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute have discovered that high levels of the protein p62 in human liver samples are strongly associated with cancer recurrence and reduced patient survival. In mice, they also found that p62 is required for liver cancer to form. The study in Cancer Cell, … [Read more...]

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is the most common chronic liver disease in developed countries, affecting up to 30 per cent of their populations. Since the disease is closely linked to obesity and Type 2 diabetes, there's a growing debate in the medical community about whether diet plays a role in its development, specifically the consumption of fructose. The possible … [Read more...]

Two years ago, the parents of Chloe Olivarez watched painfully as their daughter experienced epileptic seizures hundreds of times a day. The seizures, caused by a rare metabolic disease that depleted her brain of needed glucose, left Chloe nearly unresponsive, and slow to develop. Within hours, treatment with an edible oil dramatically reduced the number of seizures for … [Read more...]

The scales of the zebrafish are very suitable for identifying potential new drugs for treating bone diseases. This is good news because it means fewer mice and rats will be needed for that work. What's more, zebrafish are not killed when the scales are removed; they simply grow back. On 13 March, medical biologist Erik de Vrieze will receive his doctorate from Radboud … [Read more...]

Psilocybin -- a hallucinogenic compound derived from magic mushrooms -- may offer a possible new avenue for antidepressant research, according to a new study published in The Lancet Psychiatry today. The small feasibility trial, which involved 12 people with treatment-resistant depression, found that psilocybin was safe and well-tolerated and that, when given alongside … [Read more...]

Sauces and marinades are an easy way for consumers cooking at home to infuse distinctive flavors into all kinds of different foods. In the February issue of Food Technology magazine published by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), Contributing Writer David Despain writes about new consumer trends and the growing interest in international/ethnic flavor preferences … [Read more...]

In an editorial published in the current issue of Cardiology, professors from the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine at Florida Atlantic University have evaluated the totality of evidence and conclude that regular physical activity bears the closest resemblance to a "magic bullet" to combat the worldwide epidemic of obesity and cardiovascular disease. The statistics on … [Read more...]

Remember that slim kid in school -- the one with the cook-from-scratch mom? He's likely one of the fittest dudes at your high school reunion, according to new research from Cornell University, published online in the journal PLOS ONE. "One of the best safeguards against your children becoming overweight as adults is how involved you are with their lives," says Cornell's … [Read more...]

Incorporating omega-3, vitamins and mineral supplements into the diets of children with extreme aggression can reduce this problem behavior in the short term, especially its more impulsive, emotional form, according to University of Pennsylvania researchers who published their findings in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. Adrian Raine, the Richard Perry … [Read more...]

A study published in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry indicates that middle-aged adults with a history of problem drinking are more than twice as likely to suffer from severe memory impairment in later life. The study highlights the hitherto largely unknown link between harmful patterns of alcohol consumption and problems with memory later in life -- problems … [Read more...]

New research published in Global Heart (the journal of the World Heart Federation) shows that there are no significant differences in the incidence or severity of atherosclerotic disease (narrowing of the arteries with fatty deposits) between ancient and modern Egyptians, showing that atherosclerosis is not just a disease of modern times. The research is by Dr Adel Allam, … [Read more...]

Going to the dentist isn't fun for anyone, but for those with periodontal disease related to type 2 diabetes, a new research discovery may have them smiling. In a report appearing in the August 2014 issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology, one of the most important blood cells involved in the human immune response, B cells, are shown to promote inflammation and bone loss in … [Read more...]

Researchers from Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, have discovered a new factor in the escalation of seizures: the synthesis, or generation, of estrogens in the brain. Their study in rats, published in the journal eLife, also suggests that using a drug that inhibits estrogen synthesis, called an aromatase inhibitor, may be an effective approach to controlling … [Read more...]

For highly trained Paralympic athletes with cerebral palsy (CP), bone mineral density and other measures of body composition are similar to those of able-bodied adults of similar age, reports a study in the American Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, the official journal of the Association of Academic Physiatrists. The journal is published by Wolters … [Read more...]

As many as one million Americans live with Parkinson’s disease, but with no cure, living with it can be helped by re-learning some simple things, like speaking up. As a marine, 37-year-old Jason Arwine trained to fight a variety of enemies … but Parkinson’s disease wasn’t one of them. The biological sneak attack first left a tremor in his hand, a slight limp … and then … [Read more...]

Every year, hundreds of thousands of Americans have back surgery and for a growing number of patients, the operations require fusing bone, or bone grafts, and a large amount of hardware. With complex spine surgery comes a higher risk of complications, but a new approach may be fixing backs and saving lives. Seventy-nine year old Lee Elman thrives on a challenge. The bigger, … [Read more...]

A tiny bone that you’ve probably never heard of can make a huge difference in your quality of life. The talus is the part ankle that allows the foot to move in all different directions. High impact injuries like falls, or car crashes can cause the bone to fracture and die. Now, there is a new cutting-edge option for patients. On August 11th, 2014, Matt Bass drove home late … [Read more...]

Last year, 359 liver transplants were made possible by live liver donation. It’s a number that has grown over the past three years, and experts say it may be evidence that more people are learning about what can be, for some, the only life-saving option. Twenty-one-year-old Ashley Ray suffered from liver disease since age nine. When she was 19, her liver failed. Ray told … [Read more...]

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have identified neural pathways that increase understanding of how the brain regulates body weight, energy expenditure, and blood glucose levels -- a discovery that can lead to new therapies for treating Type 2 diabetes and obesity. The study, published in Nature Neuroscience, found that melanocortin 4 receptors (MC4Rs) expressed … [Read more...]

Trillions of bacteria live in each person's digestive tract. Scientists believe that some of these bacteria help digest food and stave off harmful infections, but their role in human health is not well understood. To help shed light on the role of these bacteria, a team of researchers led by MIT associate professor Eric Alm recently tracked fluctuations in the bacterial … [Read more...]

When migrants move, they often try to keep eating their native cuisine. But a new study from an MIT professor reveals an economic tension underneath this practice: Migrants who hang on to their old cuisines often pay more to eat, because they tend to move to places where their familiar foods are more expensive. In turn, poor migrants on tight budgets must reduce the amount of … [Read more...]

Among patients with possible common duct stones, removal of the gall bladder, compared with endoscopic assessment of the common duct followed by gall bladder removal, resulted in a shorter length of hospital stay without increased illness and fewer common duct examinations, according to a study in the July 9 issue of JAMA. Many common duct stones eventually pass into the … [Read more...]

  New research provides an intriguing glimpse into the processes that establish connections between nerve cells in the brain. These connections, or synapses, allow nerve cells to transmit and process information involved in thinking and moving the body. Reporting online in Neuron, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified a … [Read more...]

A healthy intake of vitamin D in the first year of life appears to set children up to have more muscle mass and less body fat as toddlers, according to a new study published in the journal Pediatric Obesity. The findings emerged from research initially aimed at confirming the importance of vitamin D for bone density. The additional benefit in terms of body composition came … [Read more...]

People living in cold, northern latitudes have bacteria in their guts that may predispose them to obesity, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Arizona, Tucson. The researchers' analysis of the gut microbes of more than a thousand people from around the world showed that those living in northern latitudes … [Read more...]

Electronic cigarettes have the potential to contribute to reducing death and disability caused by Britain's biggest killer, say experts in The BMJ. Reviewing a new report by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) on the role of e-cigarettes in tobacco harm reduction, Professor John Britton and colleagues argue that e-cigarettes and other non-tobacco nicotine products "offer … [Read more...]

Mount Sinai Heart at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai has been awarded a $3.8 million grant by the American Heart Association (AHA) to promote cardiovascular health among high-risk New York City children, and their parents, living in Harlem and the Bronx. With assistance from the NYC Administration for Children's Services (ACS), the research team's mission is to reduce … [Read more...]

Communication is vital to any successful relationship. Researchers from the Institute of Food Research and the University of East Anglia have discovered how the beneficial bacteria in our guts communicate with our own cells. This is a key step in understanding how our bodies maintain a close relationship with the population of gut bacteria that plays crucial roles in … [Read more...]

Everyday our cells take in nutrients from food and convert them into the building blocks that make life possible. However, it has been challenging to pinpoint exactly how a single nutrient or vitamin changes gene expression and physiology. Scientists at the University of Massachusetts Medical School have developed a novel interspecies model system that allows these questions to … [Read more...]