BreakThrough Digest Medical News

Recent Posts

• Human unconscious is transferred to virtual characters
• Head start for migraine sufferers
• Team discovers new type of anti-malarial compound
• Hair provides proof of the link between chronic stress and heart attack
• Cholesterol Levels Linked to Depression in Elderly
• ‘Basal-like’ breast cancer does not originate from basal stem cells
• Study finds that cancer-causing gene crucial in stem cell development
• Why fish oils work swimmingly against diabetes

Human unconscious is transferred to virtual characters

Virtual characters can behave according to actions carried out unconsciously by humans. Researchers at the University of Barcelona have created a system which measures human physiological parameters, such as respiration or heart rate, and introduces them into computer designed characters in real time.

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Head start for migraine sufferers

Psychological migraine treatment gives sufferers a confidence boost in their ability to self-manage their symptoms

For severe migraine sufferers, psychological treatments build on the benefits of drug therapy, according to a new study1 by Elizabeth Seng and Dr. Kenneth Holroyd from Ohio University in the US. Their comparison of the effects of various treatment combinations for severe migraine – drug therapy with or without behavioral management – shows that those patients receiving the behavioral management program alongside drug therapy are significantly more confident in their ability to use behavioral skills to effectively self-manage migraines. And surprisingly, the increase in confidence in self-management abilities is greatest among those who feel that they have very little control over their condition before treatment starts. Seng’s and Holroyd’s findings are published online in Springer’s journal Annals of Behavioral Medicine.

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Team discovers new type of anti-malarial compound

Clinical trials for promising new drug candidate are planned

LA JOLLA, CA – August 30, 2010 –– An international team led by scientists from The Scripps Research Institute, the Swiss Tropical Institute, the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation and the Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases has discovered a promising new drug candidate that represents a new class of drug to treat malaria. Clinical trials for the compound are planned for later this year.

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Hair provides proof of the link between chronic stress and heart attack

Researchers at The University of Western Ontario have provided the first direct evidence using a biological marker, to show chronic stress plays an important role in heart attacks. Stressors such as job, marital and financial problems have been linked to the increased risk for developing cardiovascular disease including heart attack. But there hasn’t been a biological marker to measure chronic stress. Drs. Gideon Koren and Stan Van Uum developed a method to measure cortisol levels in hair providing an accurate assessment of stress levels in the months prior to an acute event such as a heart attack. The research is published on-line in the journal Stress.

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Cholesterol Levels Linked to Depression in Elderly

School of Montpellier analysts show us how depression is linked to cholesterol and gender

Did you know the Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM) and University of Montpellier financed professionals indicated that regulating ‘good’ and ‘bad’ levels of cholesterol can help stop mental problems among seniors?

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‘Basal-like’ breast cancer does not originate from basal stem cells

New research uncovers a case of mistaken identity that may have a significant impact on future breast cancer prevention and treatment strategies. The study, published by Cell Press in the September 3rd issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell, suggests that despite their “stem cell-like” characteristics, most aggressive breast tumors are not derived from normal mammary gland stem cells.

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