April Flowers for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

A research team from the University of Colorado School of Medicine and The Obesity and Metabolism Laboratory at Tufts University has discovered that deleting a specific gene in mice prevents them from becoming obese, even if they are fed a high fat diet. The team believes this finding has the potential to be replicated in humans.

“When fed a diet that induces obesity these mice don’t get fat,” said James McManaman, Ph.D., vice-chairman of research for Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. “It may be possible to duplicate this in humans using existing technology that targets this specific gene.”

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the US Department of Agriculture funded the study, which lasted two years. The findings were published in a recent issue of the Journal of Lipid Research.

The researchers created a strain of mice missing the Plin2 gene. Plin2 produces a protein that regulates fat storage and metabolism. It was immediately apparent that the mice were resistant to obesity.

Normal mice that are fed a high fat diet will usually eat voraciously, taking in as many calories as they can. The mice that were missing the Plin2 gene, however, showed an unusual restraint and ate considerably less. The researchers found that they were also more physically active.

The researchers found that the fat cells in these mice were 20 percent smaller than the average mouse as well. The cells also did not show the kind of inflammation of tissue typically associated with obesity. The mice missing the Plin2 gene also displayed a lack of obesity-associated fatty liver disease, common in obese humans and rodents.

“The mice were healthier,” McManaman said. “They had lower triglyceride levels, they were more insulin-sensitive, they had no incidents of fatty liver disease and there was less inflammation in the fat cells.” He also suggested that the absence of the gene may cause fat to be metabolized faster.

“Now we want to know why this works physiologically,” McManaman said. “We want to better understand how this affects food consumption.”

The researchers believe that understanding Plin2’s involvement in the control of energy balance will provide new insights into “the mechanisms by which nutrition overload is detected, and how individuals adapt to, or fail to adapt to, dietary challenges.”

Humans also have the Plin2 gene, making these findings potentially significant for us as well.

“It could mean that we have finally discovered a way to disrupt obesity in humans,” he said. “That would be a major breakthrough.”

redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports – Your Universe Online

A coalition of 18 different research organizations has identified seven new genetic regions associated with an eye disorder that is a common cause of blindness in older individuals, according to a study published online Sunday in the journal Nature Genetics.

The AMD Gene Consortium study also confirmed that 12 regions of the human genome (also known as loci) previously identified by scientists were also associated with age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

According to the National Eye Institute (NEI), the research — which was led by experts from the University of Michigan, Boston University, Vanderbilt University, and the University of Regensburg in Germany — “represents the most comprehensive genome-wide analysis of genetic variations associated with AMD.”

Officials with Vanderbilt University Medical Center said that the research “could point to new biological pathways and therapeutic targets for AMD.” In addition, Jonathan Haines, Ph.D., director of the Nashville, Tennessee-based university´s Center for Human Genetics Research, said that their efforts have made it possible to explain nearly two-thirds of the genetics associated with the development of this degenerative eye condition.

The NEI, which is a part of the US National Institutes of Health and supported the AMD Gene Consortium´s efforts, explained that the condition target´s a person´s macula, or the part of the retina responsible for central vision. The macula typically helps people in tasks that require sharp vision, including reading and driving. However, AMD makes those tasks more difficult and eventually impossible as it progresses, and there is no known cure.

In their research, the consortium looked at data for more than 17,000 of the estimated two million Americans currently suffering from AMD. The test subjects each had more advanced, severe forms of the condition, and their genetic information was compared to that of over 60,000 people not suffering from the condition.

“The 19 loci that were found to be associated with AMD implicate a variety of biological functions, including regulation of the immune system, maintenance of cellular structure, growth and permeability of blood vessels, lipid metabolism and atherosclerosis,” researchers from Boston University Medical Center explained in a statement.

“Further comprehensive DNA analysis of the areas around the 19 loci identified by the AMD Gene Consortium could turn up undiscovered rare genetic variants with a disproportionately large effect on AMD risk,” they added. “Discovery of such genes could greatly advance scientists’ understanding of AMD pathogenesis and their quest for more effective treatments.”

redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports – Your Universe Online

Nearly one-fourth of all women who have recently been diagnosed with breast cancer reported experiencing symptoms consistent with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) soon after hearing the news, according to a new study published online by the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI).

“We analyzed interview responses from more than 1,100 women,” lead author Dr. Alfred I. Neugut of the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center (HICCC) at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) said Thursday in a statement.

“During the first two to three months after diagnosis, nearly a quarter of them met the criteria for PTSD, although the symptoms declined over the next three months,” Dr. Neugut, who is also a professor at Columbia University, added. “Younger women were more likely to develop symptoms of PTSD, and data suggest Asian and black women are at a more than 50 percent higher risk than white women.”

In all, Dr. Neugut and his colleagues analyzed 1,139 women who participated in the Breast Cancer Quality of Care Study (BQUAL). They discovered that 23 percent of the women who were newly diagnosed with breast cancer between 2006 and 2010 experienced PTSD, an anxiety disorder that can result following any event capable of causing psychological trauma to an individual.

The women in the study were diagnosed with stage I through III cancer, were all at least 20 years of age, and were recruited from medical facilities in New York City, Detroit, and Northern California. Each study participant took part in a trio of telephone interviews: one eight to 12 weeks following the diagnosis and prior to the start of their third chemotherapy cycle (if applicable), one four months after diagnosis, and one sixth months afterwards.

“The ultimate outcome of this research is to find ways to improve the quality of patients’ lives,” Dr. Neugut explained. “If we can identify potential risk factors for PTSD, when women are diagnosed with breast cancer, we could provide early prevention and intervention to minimize PTSD symptoms. This approach might also have an indirect impact on the observed racial disparity in breast cancer survival.”

The research team — which also includes contributors from the University of Pittsburgh, Oakland-based nonprofit health insurance company Kaiser-Permanente, the Henry Ford Health System, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Mount Sinai Medical Center and the University of Georgetown — went on to say that their findings could be applied to patients suffering from other types of cancer as well. In previous studies, Dr. Neugut reported a link between PTSD symptoms and recent diagnoses for lymphoma and prostate cancer.

Michael Harper for redOrbit.com — Your Universe Online

A new study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows electronic cigarettes (or e-cigarettes) are becoming more popular with adults. According to the new figures, one in five American adults have tried an electronic cigarette, a number that represents a steady increase over the past three years. This study was followed up with a statement from an anti-smoking advocacy group urging the FDA to begin regulating e-cigarettes along with all other tobacco products.

The CDC report claims 21 percent of American adult smokers had tried e-cigarettes in 2011, more than double the 10 percent reported a year earlier. In 2011, six percent of all adults, not just smokers, had tried an electronic cigarette, a number that once again doubles the figures found in 2010.

The CDC also found this e-cigarette usage is up amongst white men and women between the ages of 45 and 54. These adults are either current or former smokers and most often live in the South. Though more adults are trying e-cigarettes, it seems current smokers are more likely to stick with it. Yet, as more adults are trying these cigarettes, more people are becoming aware. The CDC study found six in 10 American adults had become aware of e-cigarettes, up tom four in 10 in 2010. This is particularly dangerous, says CDC director Ton Frieden, MD, MPH, because there are still many unknowns about the long-term effects of using these products.

“E-cigarette use is growing rapidly,” said Dr. Frieden in a statement.

“There is still a lot we don´t know about these products, including whether they will decrease or increase use of traditional cigarettes.”

Early studies have shown there are fewer toxins in an e-cigarette than a traditional paper cigarette. However, Dr. Frieden and many others worry about the long-term effects of smoking these e-cigarettes.

It is for this reason and others that Matthew L Meyers, president of Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids is now urging the FDA to begin regulating these cigarettes along with all other tobacco products.

“The growing use of e-cigarettes and the unproven health claims being made about them underscore the need for the Food and Drug Administration to quickly assert authority over all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes,´ writes Myers in a statement.

Electronic cigarettes are often marketed as a way to quit smoking, a claim that has proven difficult to prove scientifically. A recent report found e-cigarettes do not offer a safer substitution to cigarettes, nor do they help smokers kick the habit.

That the cigarettes are being advertised as a safe alternative worries people like Myers, who are concerned children will start smoking these cigarettes and eventually become hooked on the real thing. As there has yet to be any conclusive evidence about the long-term effects of smoking e-cigarettes, these young smokers could be playing a potentially deadly game.

“If they want to claim that e-cigarettes are a healthier alternative to other tobacco products, they should follow the process established by the 2009 law for doing so,” Myers said.

“The law establishes safeguards to ensure that such claims are supported by science and don´t do more harm than good by encouraging kids to start using tobacco or discouraging current tobacco users from quitting.”

redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports – Your Universe Online

A new study is warning that sleepwalking could have serious impact on an adult´s health and quality of life, potentially leading to sleep disruption, fatigue, psychological distress, and other ailments.

Principal investigator Yves Dauvilliers, MD, PhD — a professor of physiology and neurology and director of the sleep lab at Gui-de-Chauliac Hospital in Montpellier, France — and colleagues showed that 58 percent of the sleepwalkers that they studied had a confirmed history of violent sleep-related behavior.

Of those, 17 percent had experienced one or more episodes in which they had either injured themselves or their bed partner to the point which they had required medical care. Among the injuries suffered during those incidents were bruises, bone fractures, nose bleeds and even one case of severe head trauma that resulted following an incident in which a sleepwalker leapt from a third-floor window, the researchers said.

“We found a higher frequency of daytime sleepiness, fatigue, insomnia, depressive and anxiety symptoms and altered quality of life in patients with sleepwalking compared to the control group,” Dauvilliers said Thursday in a statement.

“What would usually be considered a benign condition, adult sleepwalking is a potentially serious condition and the consequences of sleepwalking episodes should not be ignored,” he added.

Writing in the March issue of the journal Sleep, Dauvilliers and his colleagues conducted a case-controlled study of 100 adult patients who had been diagnosed with primary sleepwalking between June 2007 and January 2011.

Subjects who took part in the study were between 18 and 58 years of age with a median age of 30, the researchers said. One hundred healthy control subjects were also utilized for the research.

Factors that triggered increases in both the frequency and severity of sleepwalking episodes were observed in nearly six out of every 10 study participants, according to the study.

Among the factors believed to be responsible for those changes were stressful events, powerful positive emotions, intense physical activity late in the day, and sleep deprivation. Each of those factors is known to promote increased deep or slow wave sleep (SWS) and non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep instability, Dauvilliers´ team reports.

“Sleepwalking is an underdiagnosed condition that may be clearly associated with daytime consequences and mood disturbances leading to a major impact on quality of life,” said Dauvilliers. “The burden of sleepwalking in adults needs to be highlighted and emphasized.”

redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports – Your Universe Online

The discovery of a neural pathway in the brain of an insect that has been linked to pleasure eating could shed new light on the impulsive consumption of food by men and women, claim researchers from one US university.

As part of their study, University of Georgia (UGA) associate professor of cellular biology Ping Shen and colleagues presented fruit fly larvae that had already been fed with appetizing smells. In turn, those fragrances led to the flies impulsively feeding on sugar-rich foods.

“We know when insects are hungry, they eat more, become aggressive and are willing to do more work to get the food,” Shen, who also is a member of the Biomedical and Health Sciences Institute, said in a statement. “Little is known about the other half-the reward-driven feeding behavior-when the animal is not so hungry but they still get excited about food when they smell something great.”

He added that he and his colleagues were “surprised” that a creature like a fly will eat impulsively based upon a reward cue. Their findings, the university explained, suggest that pleasure-based food consumption is a long-ingrained behavior, and that its presence in fly larvae could mean that they could be used to study the neurobiological processes and evolution behind olfactory-driven reward-seeking impulsive behavior.

“To test reward-driven behaviors in flies, Shen introduced appetizing odors to groups of well-fed larvae. In every case, the fed larvae consumed about 30 percent more food when surrounded by the attractive odors,” said April Reese Sorrow, a research writer with the Athens-based university. “But when the insects were offered a substandard meal, they refused to eat it.”

“They have expectations,” explained Shen, who along with co-authors Yonghua Wang and Yuhan Pu detailed their findings in Thursday´s edition of the journal Cell Reports.  “If we reduce the concentration of sugar below a threshold, they do not respond anymore. Similar to what you see in humans, if you approach a beautiful piece of cake and you taste it and determine it is old and horrible, you are no longer interested.”

In order to learn more about the flies´ reaction to the attractive odors, Shen and his team timed how long the insects´ excitement about the potential reward would last. They presented the larvae with a brief smell, and found that the subjects were only willing to wait about 15 minutes to act on their impulses. Beyond that time limit, he explained, their excitement levels would dissipate thanks to a biological mechanism.

Their findings also suggested that the neuropeptides, or the specific brain chemicals responsible for signaling the molecules that trigger impulsive eating, of flies were similar to those found in people. Neurons receive stimuli, convert them into thoughts, and then relay them to other mechanisms which compel creatures to act.

Those molecules are essential for these impulses, the researchers said, demonstrating that the molecular details of such functions are somehow evolutionarily linked between humans and insects.

“There are hyper-rewarding cues that humans and flies have evolved to perceive, and they connect this perception with behavior performance,” Shen said. “As long as this is activated, the animal will eat food. In this way, the brain is stupid: It does not know how it gets activated. In this case, the fly says ℠I smell something, I want to do this.’”

“This kind of connection has been established very early on, probably before the divergence of fly and human. That is why we both have it,” he added. “A particular function in the brain of mammals may require a large cluster of neurons. In flies, it may be only one or four. They are simpler in number but not principle.”

Michael Harper for redOrbit.com — Your Universe Online

Animals and humans have long enjoyed an amicable relationship with one another. For whatever reason, it seems as if we generally enjoy one another´s company. Various animals have been found to bring comfort to the sick and even lower blood pressure. Now, a new study has found that animals can have yet another positive influence on humans, particularly children with autism. According to research conducted by psychology researcher Marguerite E. O´Haire of the University of Queensland, children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) become happier and more well behaved when animals are present.

O´Haire and her colleagues studied the effects of animals on 5 to 13-year-old children with ASD and found that these children were not only better behaved with animals around but were also more receptive to adult interaction. The researchers used guinea pigs in this study and observed the children´s social behavior when in the presence of these animals. The researchers then replaced the guinea pigs with small toys and observed the reaction.

The difference, they report in the online journal PLOS ONE, was remarkable. When the guinea pigs were nearby, the children with ASD were more talkative and willing to interact with adults and their peers. These children were also much more expressive, looking into each other´s faces and even reaching out to touch them. The researchers stated that the guinea pigs “increased instances of smiling and laughing, and reduced frowning, whining and crying behaviors.” The children were even more likely to let other adults and peers approach them when the animals were nearby. The researchers did not note the same behaviors when the children were given small toys.

O´Haire and her team observed a total of 99 children from 15 classrooms in four schools. These children were split into groups of three: One child with ASD along with two “typically-developing peers.” These groups were observed for ten minutes while playing with small toys, and then again while playing with the two guinea pigs. Two of the observers were blindfolded to ensure the most accurate results and coded the children´s behavior during each of the ten-minute sessions.

The researchers say they were not entirely surprised by these results. It´s a commonly observed trait of human behavior: When someone is in the presence of an animal, their mood changes and they become more likely to talk to strangers. There´s no better place to observe this behavior than at a park or zoo. Dog walkers in particular are notorious for striking up conversations with strangers about their pets. Numerous studies have shown that all kinds of animals, not only dogs, are generally a good “social lubricant.” Even humans carrying around rabbits and turtles were found to receive more gestures of familiarity and friendship than when walking alone.

O´Haire suggests it´s this kind of warmth towards animals that is responsible for the improved behaviors of children with ASD. With this knowledge, parents, teachers and therapists may be able to reduce the stress of particularly troublesome situations for these children by simply introducing a small animal. By making these situations easier, parents, therapists and educators will have a better opportunity to work and connect with these children.

Watch the video “Chemotherapy Drugs Getting Better at Targeting Cancer Cells“

redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports – Your Universe Online

Changing the shape of chemotherapy drug nanoparticles to make them rod-shaped rather than spherical can enhance their effectiveness in targeting and treating breast cancer cells by as much as 10,000-fold, according to new research from bioengineers at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB).

As part of the research, a team led by Samir Mitragotri, a professor of chemical engineering and director of the UCSB´s Center for Bioengineering, discovered that their nanoparticle shape-changing method could make chemotherapy more efficient and effective. By simply making the drugs rod-shaped, they were more likely to correctly target cancer cells and less likely to accumulate in a person´s liver, lungs and spleen.

“What we have done here is to take the antibodies and combine them with chemotherapy drugs and show that they can be very effective,” explained Mitragotri. “Now when people make nanoparticles, they usually talk about spheres. They make a nice spherical, round particle, and that´s good. But what we found out, and what we hypothesize, is that if you make the particles into a different shape — in our case, rod — they work much better.”

In order to create these enhanced chemotherapy drugs, Mitragotri, post-doctoral researchers Sutapa Barua and Jin-Wook Yoo, and former graduate student Poornima Kolhar (all of whom are affiliated with UCSB) took a standard chemotherapy drug and reworked it in a laboratory to create rod-shaped nanoparticles. They then coated those nanoparticles with trastuzumab, an antibody that interferes with a specific type of protein receptor and is used to treat breast cancer.

According to Barua, tratsuzumab binds to the surface of a cancer cell with those receptor proteins, which she identifies as Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2 (HER2). When the antibody bonds to those receptors, it stops the activity of the HER2 proteins, which in turn stops the growth of the cancer cell. Normally, tratsuzumab´s efficiency level is low, but using rod-shaped nanoparticles can increase its efficiency by up to 50 percent when using just one microgram per milliliter of the antibody´s solution.

“This unique approach of engineering shapes of anti-cancer drugs and combining them with antibodies represents new direction in chemotherapy,” Mitragotri said Wednesday in a statement. “We were inspired to look at the shape as a key parameter by natural objects. In nature, all key particles such as viruses, bacteria, red blood cells, platelets are non-spherical. Their shape plays a key role in their function.”

The team´s findings have been published in a recent edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), and their work was supported by Genentech, the UC Discovery Program, and the Daryl and Marguerite Errett Discovery Award in Biomedical Research.

Lawrence LeBlond for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

Alcohol consumption in the UK may be much higher than previously thought, with as many as 75 percent of Britons drinking more than the recommended daily limit. And many of these people are likely consuming dangerous levels of alcohol, with the drinking habits of women easily matching those of men, according to researchers from University College London [UCL].

Publishing the findings of a new study in the European Journal of Public Health, the UCL team said previous official surveys of drinking patterns in the UK seriously underestimate the true intake because they rely on participants´ own assessments of how much they drink, which account for only 60 percent of the total amount actually consumed.

The researchers said that if the other 40 percent of “missing” alcohol is included in the previous surveys´ findings, the actual number of people consuming more than the recommended daily safe limit rises significantly.

The new study, led by Sadie Boniface from the University´s Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, is the first to investigate the potential public health implications related to under-reporting of alcohol consumption.

“Currently we don’t know who consumes almost half of all the alcohol sold in England. This study was conducted to show what alcohol consumption would look like when all of what is sold is accounted for, if everyone under-reported equally,” Boniface said in a statement. “The results are putative, but they show that this gap between what is seen in the surveys and sales potentially has enormous implications for public health in England.”

For the study, Boniface and colleagues looked at data from the General Lifestyle Survey (GLS) 2008 to analyze self-reported average weekly alcohol consumption levels in nearly 13,000 adults in Great Britain. The team also used data from the Health Survey for England (HSE) 2008 to analyze self-reported alcohol consumption on the heaviest drinking day in the last week in nearly 10,000 adults in England.

After correcting data for under-reporting in these two surveys, the team found that the prevalence of drinking more than the weekly recommended limit increases by 15 percent for men and 11 percent for women, meaning 44 percent of men and 31 percent of women exceed the guidelines.

Furthermore, the team found that daily limit increases by 19 percent for men and 26 percent for women. In this daily data correction, the results show 75 percent of men and 80 percent of women exceed daily limit guidelines.

The Royal College of Physicians recommends weekly alcohol limits of 21 units for men and 14 units for women. As far as daily limits, the UK Chief Medical Officers recommend four units max per day for men and three units max per day for women.

The study also showed that when taking under-reporting into account, about half of the population could be classed as ℠binge drinkers.´ Binge drinking is defined by the Dept. of Health as consuming more than eight units of alcohol in a single session for men and more than six units for women. According to the data, binge drinking increases most in women, those with higher incomes, and those living in the south of England.

“What’s needed now is a detailed understanding of whether some people under-report their consumption more than others: to what extent does this vary between men and women for example, by how much someone drinks, or by what types of drink they prefer,” said Boniface.

This study “contradicts the claims of the alcohol industry that only a small minority drink too much, and is yet more evidence of the need for strong government action, including a minimum unit price for alcohol,” Sir Richard Thompson, president of the Royal College of Physicians, said in a statement.

The charity Alcohol Concern said that irregular and chaotic drinking may play a role in under-reporting.

“When we’re totting up our drinks total we don’t always count some occasions as proper drinking,” the charity said in a statement to BBC News. “We may underestimate drink sizes and their alcoholic content, and not count holidays and special occasions like weddings, birthdays and Christmas when we often drink a great deal more than usual.”

The UCL researchers suggest that drinking guidelines need to reflect actual consumption rather than relying on self-reported drinking, especially when ascertaining what levels are associated with the most harm.

The Dept. of Health said it would take the evidence from the new study into account under their upcoming review of alcohol consumption in the UK.

“We already know people underestimate what they drink and many drink too much. That’s why we work to help people make healthier decisions, including the recent Change For Life campaign to help them track consumption and understand the impact on their health,” the agency said.

“We’re also tackling excessive drinking through our proposed minimum unit price at 45p per unit, tougher licensing laws, more GP risk assessments, better access to specialist nurses and more specialized treatment.”

Still, more needs to be done to tackle a national health crisis that costs the country $32 billion US, shadow public health minister Diane Abbott, told The Guardian. “We need to see huge change in our hospitals and high streets: nothing short of a political and cultural earthquake,” she said.

Brett Smith for redOrbit.com — Your Universe Online

For years, doctors have been recommending post-menopausal women take vitamin D and calcium supplements–but a federal panel of experts are now saying these supplements may not prevent fractures or broken bones.

According to recommendations from the US Preventive Services Task Force recently published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, daily vitamin D doses of 400 international units (IU) or lower and calcium doses of 1,000 milligrams or lower may not be necessary for postmenopausal women who are not vitamin D deficient or do not have osteoporosis. They added there is not enough evidence to suggest the supplements would help men or higher doses of the supplements would benefit either men or women.

However, the task force also pointed out not only don´t these recommendations apply to people who already have osteoporosis or vitamin D deficiency–the advice also doesn’t apply to people over 65 who are at risk of falls.

“We’re not saying don’t use it,” says Linda Baumann, a member of the task force and a medical professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “But think about it, because we’re not sure it has the benefit you think it has.”

A 2011 Institute of Medicine report said 1,200 milligrams of calcium is the recommended intake for post-menopausal women, yet, according to the task force, any supplemental calcium may not result in any benefit.

“Vitamin D and calcium are critical to bone health,” Baumann told Boston.com. “But the evidence doesn´t show that supplementation leads to less fracture.”

Task force member Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition, food studies, and public health at New York University, wrote an editorial that accompanied the recommendations in the journal. In it, she discussed the research review process by which the panel arrived at the series of recommendations.

The panel found studies that varied widely on how much and when people took their supplements. They also found because most studies are focused on osteoporosis in white women, there’s no good data on men or minorities.

“What is invariably found in these studies is if people have a good diet and are physically active and go outside that they don´t need these additional supplements,” Nestle said.

“The other thing that’s really unclear is the appropriate dose and dosing regimen,” Baumann said.

Nestle added people should “prefer to err on the side of caution,” and stop taking the pills. “But for a lot of people who take them, it´ll be easier to just continue to take a supplement,” she said.

The panel´s recommendations received criticism from some organizations, including the Council for Responsible Nutrition, one of the dietary supplement industries leading trade associations.

“The USPSTF recommendations should be further reviewed and discussed within the scientific and medical communities before consumers jump to change their supplementation habits,” the group said in a public statement.

No matter what course of action people decide to take–most experts recommend people consult with their doctors before stopping, or starting, a supplement regimen.

Michael Harper for redOrbit.com — Your Universe Online

After compiling data from just the first six months of 2012, researchers have already noticed an uptick in the number of highway fatalities across America´s roadways. Most upsetting about these figures are the numbers of teenage fatalities.

According to a new study from the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), the teenage fatality increase was “dramatic” from January to June of 2012, jumping by 19 percent. It reported that 240 teenage drivers between the ages of 16 and 17 died on America´s highways during the six-month period, up from 202 the during the same time period in 2011.

The information was compiled by Dr. Allan Williams, in a first-of-its-kind study on teenage traffic accident deaths on a state-by-state basis. Dr. Williams found his data confirmed an earlier prediction by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) which expected all traffic deaths to increase by as much as 8 percent.

All told, 25 states (including Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky and Oregon) reported an increase in fatalities of 16- and 17-year olds while 17 states (including California, Florida, Idaho and Texas) reported a decrease in these deaths. Eight states, including the District of Columbia, reported flat numbers with no change.

“We are still at a much better place than we were 10 or even five years earlier,” explained Dr. Williams in a statement.  “However, the goal is to strive toward zero deaths, so our aim would be that these deaths should go down every year.”

Speaking to USA Today, Dr. Williams claims a recovering economy may be partially responsible for this rise in traffic deaths amongst the youngest drivers.

Teenagers famously have a disposable income, and when these drivers have more money in their pocket, they´re more likely to hit the road, said Dr. Williams. When we were in an economic downturn, these kids had less money and therefore were less likely to drive.

He also suspects state governments have become lax in their graduated driver licensing [GDL] laws, which give teen drivers more privileges as they earn more experience behind the wheel.

“We’ve gotten a lot of mileage out of GDL, but a lot of states still have programs that are somewhat weak,” said Dr. Williams. “We need to pay more attention to the things that we know work.”

Kendell Poole, the chairman of the GHSA, claims there may be another factor to consider in the rise of teenage traffic fatalities.

“In my state of Tennessee, we have worked extensively to keep teen drivers safe,” said Poole in the statement. “Despite our efforts, teens remain our most vulnerable population. With the advances in technology, we suspect distracted driving deaths among teen drivers are rising.”

It is important to note these conclusions are being drawn from preliminary data. Yet, other GHSA executives are already concerned this early data is but a precursor to an even more significant rise in teen deaths over last year.

Michael Harper for redOrbit.com — Your Universe Online

A new study has found specific diets, not just counting calories, can be just as effective when it comes to cutting the risk of stroke. The Mediterranean diet, specifically, was the object of this new research conducted by a Spanish team. Of the more than 7,000 participants in this study, those sticking to a Mediterranean diet had as much of a 46 percent lower chance of stroke. This 5-year study now challenges the belief that a low-fat diet is the best way to reduce the risk of stroke.

The Mediterranean diet isn´t shy with its fat. It´s composed of plenty of nuts, fresh fruits and vegetables with “moderate” amounts of fish and poultry. There´s almost no dairy in this diet, as well as little processed or red meats. Many of these meals are taken with wine, of course, and the Spanish researchers have found this combination, complete with good fats, is able to positively affect one´s health by lowering the risk of stroke.

The results have now been published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

To conduct this research, 7,447 participants were asked to follow one of three diets: An olive oil-heavy Mediterranean-based diet, a nut-heavy Mediterranean diet, or a low-fat diet that included starches such as breads, potatoes and pasta. Each of these participants were aged between 55 and 80, and while each of these participants were at risk for contracting a cardiovascular disease, none of them had reported any heart conditions when the study began. Each of these participants was free to eat whatever they wanted from these diets and was not given any direction to exercise.

At the end of the five years of research, those who had eaten either style of the Mediterranean diet were found to have a lower risk of stroke than those who followed the typical, low-fat diet.

Specifically, those who took a diet with an emphasis on olive oil were 33 percent less likely to have a stroke, while those with a nut-heavy diet were 46 percent less likely to have a stroke. The researchers said this evidence has led them to believe there are clear advantages to a Mediterranean-based diet. The participants even enjoyed the nut and olive oil diets more than the low-fat diet. Those who were asked to stick to the Mediterranean diet were less likely to drop out of the study. The advantage of the Mediterranean diet was so strong over the other diet the researchers stopped the trials early. According to Walter Willet, the chair of the department of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, one of the reasons a low-fat diet has less success is because it´s much harder for patients to adopt.

“One of the advantages of the Mediterranean diet is that most people find it is easy to stay with for the long run, because it offers great variety, satiety and enjoyment,” said Willet, speaking to USA Today.

The study focused on the benefits of so-called “healthy fats,” such as those found in nuts and olive oil. These fats, rich with omega-3 fatty acids, are said to protect the heart, thereby reducing the risk of stroke.

“Fat in the diet continues to be demonized, even though the evidence is clear that some types of fat improve blood cholesterol,” said Willet.

“This study adds further proof that diets high in healthy fats can be superior to a low-fat diet.”

Some opponents to the study claim those in the low-fat category were less likely to see an improvement because they weren´t instructed to watch their calories or begin an exercise regimen. According to some, the only diets that were dramatically altered were those who began eating in a Mediterranean style and therefore, these participants were the only ones to see any change.

The researchers maintain, however, switching to a Mediterranean diet is not only easier to do, but has also shown to have positive benefits on one´s health.

redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports – Your Universe Online

Students at one UK university will be using cocaine in the name of science — specifically, they will be participating in a clinical study to better understand how the substance impacts the human body.

The research will be taking place at King´s College London, where hundreds of undergraduate students have received emails inviting them to participate in a study “involving nasal administration” of the Class A drug, London Evening Standard reporters Benjamin Russell and Maxine Frith wrote on Friday.

Participants in the study will be asked to provide biological samples, including blood, urine, hair, sweat, and saliva, on multiple occasions and will not be allowed to cut or die their hair for a four-month follow-up period, they explained. Those who take part will be rewarded with “reasonable financial compensation” for their time and expenses.

Those who are involved in recreational drug use are barred from taking part in the study, which has been approved by the London Westminster Research Ethics Committee and will be supervised by medical professionals at the Guy’s and St. Thomas´ Hospital clinical toxicology department, Russell and Frith added.

Furthermore, according to The Telegraph, medical and dental students are also barred from taking part in the study, which is only open to men between the ages of 25 and 40. The trial, the newspaper reports, will involve seven hospital visits over a 120 day period and will begin with a suitability screening during the first stage.

“This is an important scientific study to investigate how cocaine and its metabolites are spread through the human body,” a university spokesman told reporters. “All the relevant ethical approvals were received for this study. The study will be conducted under the highest level of medical supervision in a dedicated clinical research suite.”

“The email has already attracted online comments and jokes from students,” said Russell and Frith. “The university has a reputation for research into the use and effects of illegal drugs, including studies into the genetic causes of addiction and papers on whether certain substances should be legalized.”

They report that an estimated 700,000 UK residents used cocaine in 2012, making it the second most popular illegal drug behind only marijuana.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), there were approximately 1.9 million Americans who were current cocaine users in 2008, with most of them in the 18- to 25-year-old age group.