Month: July 2013

A new study has found that long-term cannabis users tend to produce less dopamine, a chemical in the brain linked to motivation.

Researchers found that dopamine levels in a part of the brain called the striatum were lower in people who smoke more cannabis and those who began taking the drug at a younger age.

They suggest this finding could explain why some cannabis users appear to lack motivation to work or pursue their normal interests.

A new study has revealed that long-term hearing loss from loud explosions, such as blasts from roadside bombs, may not be irreparable as previously thought.

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have found using a mouse model that loud blasts actually cause hair-cell and nerve-cell damage, rather than structural damage, to the cochlea, which is the auditory portion of the inner ear, as believed earlier.

“It means we could potentially try to reduce this damage,” said John Oghalai, MD, associate professor of otolaryngology and senior author of the study.

Researchers from the University of Maryland School of Medicine have found that acupuncture, when used as a complementary or adjuvant therapy for in vitro fertilization (IVF), may be beneficial depending on the baseline pregnancy rates of a fertility clinic.

“Our systematic review of current acupuncture/IVF research found that for IVF clinics with baseline pregnancy rates higher than average (32 percent or greater) adding acupuncture had no benefit,” Eric Manheimer, lead author and research associate at the University of Maryland Center for Integrative Medicine, said.

People consuming four cups of tea or coffee a day have lower blood pressure as compared to those who don`t, a new study has revealed.

However, this recent study contradicts previous findings that has linked caffeine intake to high BP or hypertension , the Daily Express reported.

The French research, conducted over a decade, discovered that heavy tea drinkers had lower BP, pulse pressure and heart rate than lighter drinkers.

Scientists also proved in the study that heavy coffee drinkers had slightly higher BP than normal but non-drinkers had the highest readings.

Moderate paternal exposures, like smoking, can raise the number of mutations passed on to the coming generations, a new research has suggested.

Gene mutations caused by a father`s lifestyle can be inherited by his children, even if those mutations occurred before conception.

The findings also show that mutations in the germ-line are present in all cells of the children, including their own germ cells. This means that a father`s lifestyle has the potential to affect the DNA of multiple generations and not just his immediate offspring.

Controlling your high blood pressure and high cholesterol simultaneously could decrease your risk of attaining heart disease by half or more, a new research has claimed.

Brent M. Egan, M.D., lead study author and a professor of medicine and pharmacology at Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, S.C, said that undertreated high blood pressure and cholesterol affect millions of Americans – posing a major public health threat.

Researchers have developed a vaccine using blood-stage malaria parasites, which were attenuated with a chemical agent that keeps the parasite from multiplying.

Research has focused on the development of a vaccine to prevent the disease. However, many malaria vaccines targeting parasite antigens have failed because the antigen targets are highly variable.

Based on the observation that low-density infections can induce antibody-independent immunity to different malaria strains, Michael Good and colleagues at Griffith University in Australia created the vaccine.

A new study has found that cancer cells can get activated and spread by infection-fighting white blood cells.

“We are the first to identify this entirely new way that cancer spreads,” senior author Dr. Lorenzo Ferri, MUHC director of the Division of Thoracic Surgery and the Upper Gastrointestinal (GI) Cancer Program said.

“What`s equally exciting is medications already exist that are being used for other non-cancer diseases, which may prevent this mechanism of cancer spread or metastasis,” he explained.

The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF) has welcomed the World Health Organization (WHO)`s new HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention guidelines. For the first time, the 2013 guidelines would combine recommendations across the continuum of HIV care and prevention programs, including expanding treatment eligibility for HIV-positive pregnant women, mothers, and children. These recommendations signify a major step forward in the global effort to achieve an AIDS-free generation, but will require a significant shift in current implementation efforts.

Controlling your high blood pressure and high cholesterol simultaneously could decrease your risk of attaining heart disease by half or more, a new research has claimed.

Brent M. Egan, M.D., lead study author and a professor of medicine and pharmacology at Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, S.C, said that undertreated high blood pressure and cholesterol affect millions of Americans — posing a major public health threat.

People rarely discover that the secret to their happiness is simple is just about finding their time doing things that make them happy.

Peter Jones, who is the author of the bestselling book ‘How To Do Everything And Be Happy,’ said that there are three main reasons that a person is unhappy. Firstly there is lousy work/life balance. Secondly, there is lack of control. Thirdly, a person encounters people or situations that seem intent on crushing their smiley mood, the Daily Express reported.