Gamers’ world reveals secrets of the next pandemic
A “plague” carried around the world by travelers, pets and curious teen-agers may show that experts have not taken everything into account when planning for an outbreak of disease, researchers said on Monday.
Luckily, the world involved is an Internet game.
Too fat? Common virus may be to blame: study
A common virus causes human adult stem cells to turn into fat cells and could explain why some people become obese, U.S. researchers said on Monday.
The research builds on prior studies of adenovirus-36, a common cause of respiratory and eye infections, and it may lead to an obesity vaccine, they said.
New intestinal bacteria linked to Crohn’s disease
An increase in the intestinal levels of a new type of infectious Escherichia coli bacteria, along with a depletion of Clostridium bacteria, appears to be involved in the development of Crohn’s disease, according to a report in The ISME Journal: Multidisciplinary Journal of Microbial Ecology.
Dr. Kenneth W. Simpson, from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, and colleagues used DNA analysis to compare the intestinal microbial flora in patients with Crohn’s disease and in healthy subjects.
Preventive migraine therapy raises quality of life
The results of a study published in the medical journal Cephalalgia indicate that preventive migraine therapy with nadolol or topiramate significantly improves the quality of life of patients with migraine, although their quality of life still remains below the average level.
Nadolol, sold in the U.S. under the trade name Corgard, is a beta-blocker that is used to treat high blood pressure and angina (chest pain). The drug works by slowing the heart rate and relaxing the blood vessels. Topiramate, sold under the trade name Topamax, is used to treat seizures in patients with epilepsy.
Obesity predicts prostate cancer recurrence
Obese men have an increased risk of prostate cancer recurrence and death after they have completed radiation therapy, according to results of a study published in the medical journal BJU International.
Obesity is known to predict prostate cancer progression in men who undergo radical prostatectomy, or complete surgical removal of the prostate gland, Dr. David Palma and colleagues from the British Columbia Cancer Agency, Vancouver, Canada, pointed out.
SIDS linked to early atherosclerosis
Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) appears to be associated with the early stages of arterial plaque build-up seen in atherosclerosis, sometimes referred to as “hardening of the arteries, according to a study presented on Sunday at the Argentine Congress of Cardiology. However, the mechanism of this association is unclear, the researchers said.
Dr. Jose Milei and colleagues, at the University of Buenos Aires Cardiological Research Institute, analyzed autopsy samples of 52 SIDS victims and 16 babies who had died of unrelated causes, such as meningitis or trauma.
