Give antibiotics within hour before first incision Giving children preventive antibiotics within one hour before they undergo spinal surgery greatly reduces the risk for serious infections after the surgery, suggests a Johns Hopkins study would be reported in the recent issue of Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal (also available online ahead of print). Children who received antibiotics outside of the golden one-hour window were three and half times more likely to develop serious infections at the surgery site, scientists report, pointing out that something as simple as ensuring that a child gets timely prophylaxis can prevent serious complications and reduce the length of hospital stay........

Genetic variation increases HIV risk in Africans A genetic variation which evolved to protect people of African descent against malaria has now been shown to increase their susceptibility to HIV infection by up to 40 per cent, as per new research. On the other hand, the same variation also appears to prolong survival of those infected with HIV by approximately two years........

Psychological and social issues associated with tooth loss Are feelings of depression overwhelming you? Is your self-esteem an issue? Having problems advancing in life or your career? Maybe you feel nervous or self conscious in social settings? Do you avoid social settings all together? Check your smile; tooth loss could be the culprit and you're not alone. Nearly 20 million teeth are extracted each year leaving scores of people to deal with the psychological affects of a less than perfect smile. However, during the Academy of General Dentistry's (AGD) 56th Annual Meeting and Exhibits in Orlando, Fla., July 16-20, H. Asuman Kiyak, PhD, will address the psychological issues affecting people who must deal with the loss of a tooth, as well as explain how this loss can affect the quality of life........

Genetic contribution to autism Some parents of children with autism evaluate facial expressions differently than the rest of us--and in a way that is strikingly similar to autistic patients themselves, as per new research by neuroscientist Ralph Adolphs of the California Institute of Technology and psychiatry expert Joe Piven at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill........

Middle Eastern families yield intriguing clues to autism Research involving large Middle Eastern families, sophisticated genetic analysis and groundbreaking neuroscience has implicated a half-dozen new genes in autism. More importantly, it strongly supports the emerging idea that autism stems from disruptions in the brain's ability to form new connections in response to experience consistent with autism's onset during the first year of life, when a number of of these connections are normally made........

Frequent dialysis may benefit but at what cost? More frequent hemodialysis sessions might improve the health of patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD), but under reasonable assumptions of expected benefit, the overall costs are likely to increase, as per a research studyappearing in the September 2008 issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN). The findings indicate that strategies are needed to reduce the costs of delivering hemodialysis if patients receive hemodialysis more than three times a week........

Protein marker for schizophrenia risk A protein found in immune cells may be a reliable marker for schizophrenia risk, report scientists in a new proteomics study appearing in the recent issue of Molecular and Cellular proteomics. Schizophrenia is a severe and complex psychiatric illness that affects about 1% of the population. Diagnosis currently relies on subjective clinical interviews and the assessment of ambiguous symptoms, which frequently leads to delayed diagnosis and therapy. As such, biomarkers that would indicate schizophrenia risk or onset would be extremely useful........

Recommends increased adolescent immunization Vaccinating infants and toddlers is an almost universal practice in the United States. Vaccines to prevent flu are a regular part of medical care for senior citizens and at-risk patients. But, as per a research studyreported in the August 2008 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, the US healthcare system is not very effective in getting vaccines to the adolescent population........

Relationship violence among college students Violence between partners, friends and acquaintances appears prevalent both during and before college, as per results of a survey of students at three urban college campuses reported in the recent issue of Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. The transition from living at home to attending college may increase adolescents' vulnerability to relationship violence, as per background information in the article. Factors linked to this risk include less parental monitoring and support, isolation in an unknown environment and a strong desire for peer acceptance that can change behaviors toward others........

Early-life nutrition and adult intellectual functioning Adults who had improved nutrition in early childhood may score better on intellectual tests, regardless of the number of years they attended school, as per a report in the recent issue of Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. "Schooling is a key component of the development of literacy, reading comprehension and cognitive functioning, and thus of human capital," the authors write as background information in the article. Research also suggests that poor nutrition in early life is linked to poor performance on cognitive (thinking, learning and memory) tests in adulthood. "Therefore, both nutrition and early-childhood intellectual enrichment are likely to be important determinants of intellectual functioning in adulthood"........

Brain noise is a good thing Toronto, Canada Canadian researchers have shown that a noisy brain is a healthy brain. "Brain noise" is a term that has been used by neuroresearchers to describe random brain activity that is not important to mental function. Intuitive notions of brain-behaviour relationships would suggest that this brain noise quiets down as children mature into adults and become more efficient and consistent in their cognitive processing........

When Children Begin to Simulate Other Minds of the world that represented Maxi''s experience - they weren''t capable of a theory of mind. From about 4 to 5-years-old the situation changed dramatically. Suddenly the children tended to point to the cupboard where Maxi thought the chocolate was, rather than where they knew it was. However in some variations of the experiment children up to 5-years-old still had problems understanding someone else''s false belief. Finally, at 6-years-old, the children did consistently understand that another person can hold a false belief about the world. End of innocenceThis .........

Making more bone and less fat A small protein may have a big role in helping you make more bone and less fat, scientists say. "The pathways are parallel, and the idea is if you can somehow disrupt the fat production pathway, you will get more bone," says Dr. Xingming Shi, bone biologist at the Medical College of Georgia Institute of Molecular Medicine and Genetics........

HIV death rate has decreased In industrialized countries, persons infected sexually with HIV now appear to experience mortality rates similar to those of the general population in the first 5 years following infection, though a higher risk of death remains as the duration of HIV infection lengthens, as per a research studyin the July 2 issue of JAMA.......

Newborns in ICUs often undergo painful procedures An examination of newborn intensive care finds that newborns undergo numerous procedures that are linked to pain and stress, and that a number of of these procedures are performed without medicine or treatment to relieve pain, as per a research studyin the July 2 issue of JAMA "Repeated invasive procedures occur routinely in neonates [a baby, from birth to four weeks] who require intensive care, causing pain at a time when it is developmentally unexpected. Neonates are more sensitive to pain than older infants, children, and adults, and this hypersensitivity is exacerbated in preterm neonates. Multiple lines of evidence suggest that repeated and prolonged pain exposure alters their subsequent pain processing, long-term development, and behavior. It is essential, therefore, to prevent or treat pain in neonates," the authors write. "Effective strategies to improve pain management in neonates require a better understanding of the epidemiology and management of procedural pain.".......

Fish-based fatty acids in preventing asthma Asthma and allergic reactions have observed that a molecule produced by the body from omega-3 fatty acids helps resolve and prevent respiratory distress in laboratory mice. The research, supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, was led by a research team at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School........

Allergy expert has advice for flood victims As if the emotional and financial impact of flood damage isn't bad enough, floodwaters can also bring health problems. H. James Wedner, M.D., professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Allergy and Immunology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, says after the water recedes, damp homes and businesses are fertile grounds for mold growth, which can cause allergic reactions and asthmatic symptoms in sensitive people........

Save Precious Minutes In Deploying Ambulances Every extra second it takes an ambulance to get to its destination can mean life or death. But how, besides driving faster, can ambulances get emergency services to people in need as efficiently as possible, every day? It's a classic operations research question that three Cornell scientists are tackling in groundbreaking ways........

Hypertension Treatment To Reversing Vascular Damage A high blood pressure medicine called olmesartan medoxomil is effective in reversing the narrowing of the arteries that occurs in patients with high blood pressure, as per a new study. Carlos M. Ferrario, M.D., one of the study's lead researchers and director of the High blood pressure and Vascular Research Center at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, said, "We believe the data add to the growing evidence for the role of angiotensin receptor blockers in preventing or reversing vascular damage at a number of stages during this disease process." ........

People with lower incomes, lower education levels have higher death rates Scientists have long suspected that socioeconomic factors like education level and income also might affect survival rates following heart attack. In the recent issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings, Mayo Clinic scientists present new data suggesting that people with lower incomes and education levels are more likely to die after heart attack than more affluent, educated people. Over the past several decades, medical research has helped identify a list of factors that increase a person's risk for myocardial infarction, the disruption of blood flow to the heart usually known as heart attack. These factors include behaviors such as smoking or inactivity, and a variety of physical characteristics, including high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol and obesity. Today, better awareness of heart attack signs and symptoms and improved therapys help a number of survive that first heart attack........