Category Health/Medical

Canine electrode locations and data segments. (A) For the canine subjects, bilateral pairs of 4-contact strips were implanted oriented along the anterior-posterior direction. Electrode wires were tunnelled through the neck and connected to an implanted telemetry device secured beneath the latissimus dorsi muscle. (B) An hour of data with a 5-min offset before each lead seizure was extracted and split into 10-min segments for analysis. (C) The expanded view illustrates a ∼35-s long seizure.

It might sound like a riddle: What do you get when you combine 1 online contest, 2 patients, 5 five dogs and 654 data scientists? The answer: Hope for patients with epilepsy that their seizures can be reliably predicted, and perhaps prevented...

Risks associated with low-sodium intake — less than three grams per day — are consistent regardless of a patient’s hypertension status. Credit: © Sebastian Studio / Fotolia

Salt reduction only important in some people with high blood pressure. A large worldwide study has found that, contrary to popular thought, low-salt diets may not be beneficial and may actually increase the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and death compared to average salt consumption. The only people who need to worry about reducing sodium in their diet are those with hypertension and have high salt consumption.

The study, involving more than 130,000 people from 49 countries, was led by investigators of the Population Health Research Institute (PHRI) of McMaster University and Hamilton Health Sciences...

DNA methylations occur when methyl groups bind to the DNA. These can either activate or inactivate genes. Epigenetic factors modify histone tails by e.g. transferring methyl or acetyl groups on lysine side chains. This can complicate or facilitate the activation of a gene. The direct methylation of the DNA changes the gene expression permanently if it takes place in the control regions of genes (so-called CpG islands), that have been made accessible by the modification of the histones. Credit: Copyright: DIfE

Scientists have shown in a mouse model that the epigenetic* modification of the Igfbp2** gene observed in the young animal precedes a fatty liver in the adult animal later in life...

On-body test configuration. (a) A photograph of Chem–Phys hybrid patch. (b) Location of the Chem–Phys patch for mounting on the human body—the fourth intercostal space of the chest. (c) Cycling resistance profile for on-body tests. (d) Effect of amperometric measurement on the electrocardiogram signal before cycling (no sweat state) and during cycling (sweating state).

Engineers at the UC San Deigo have developed the first flexible wearable device capable of monitoring both biochemical and electric signals in the human body. The Chem-Phys patch records electrocardiogram (EKG) heart signals and tracks levels of lactate, a biochemical that is a marker of physical effort, in real time...