The Time (5/23, Lemonick) “Healthland” blog reports that researchers may have finally discovered the
science behind itchiness. “Writing in Science, molecular biologists working at the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research [NIDCR] report that a molecule known as neuropeptide natriuretic polypeptide b (Nppb) that is released by nerve cells far from the actual itch site triggers an electrochemical cascade that ultimately tells the brain it’s time to get scratching.” The blog adds that
“it was...says the report’s senior author, Mark Hoon, ‘really fun work. It was like a roller coaster of discovery.’” 
The NPR (5/24) “Shots” blog reports that “the researchers also found a small group of nerves in skin that produce and use this molecule to send an itch message to the spinal cord.” While “the research hasn’t been replicated in humans,” which means “it doesn’t prove that human itch works the same way,” the investigators “are confident that the molecule is a key clue in defining the long-elusive itch pathway.” 

HealthDay (5/24) reports that Hoon, a scientist at the NIDCR, said in a news release, “Our work shows that itch, once thought to be a low-level form of pain, is a distinct sensation that is uniquely hardwired into the nervous system with the biochemical equivalent of its own dedicated landline to the brain.” These “findings might someday help scientists develop treatments for chronic itch conditions, such eczema and
psoriasis, the researchers suggested.” 

The Daily Mail (UK) (5/24) quotes Hoon as saying, “The challenge is to find similar biocircuitry in people,
evaluate what’s there and identify molecules that can be targeted to turn off chronic itch without causing unwanted side-effects.” Hoon added, “So this is a start, not a finish.”

HealthDay (5/10, Thompson) reports that, according to research published in BioEssays, red hair pigment, known as pheomelanin, may be linked to an "increased risk of...melanoma," regardless of the amount of time spent in the sun. Researchers suggest that "pheomelanin could increase skin cancer risk by leaving skin cells more vulnerable to DNA damage."

A study in which researchers scanned mummies to look for signs of heart disease garnered a significant amount of coverage in print and online. The researchers say the findings suggest that heart disease may not simply be a result of modern living. USA Today (3/11, Szabo, 1.71M) reports, "Researchers have found clogged arteries, or what's left of the arteries, in mummies from nearly 4,000 years ago." These "findings - from humans who lived thousands of years before the invention of Twinkies
and curly fries - are leading some doctors to reconsider their notions about the causes of heart disease." The "authors of the new paper, published Sunday in The Lancet and presented at a meeting of the American College of Cardiology in San Francisco, say they were shocked by their discovery."

The Wall Street Journal (3/11, Winslow, Subscription Publication, 2.29M) reports that for the
study, investigators performed CT scans on 137 mummies.

The New York Times (3/11, Bakalar, Subscription Publication, 1.68M) reports, "The scans were read by
seven imaging experts who judged atherosclerosis by the presence of calcification in the walls
of clearly discernible arteries or along the expected route of an artery no longer visible." Prior "research has found evidence of atherosclerosis in Egyptian mummies, but mummification in Egypt
was practiced among the elite, whose diet and lifestyle probably differed substantially from that of the rest of the population."

The Washington Post (3/11, Brown, 489K) reports, "The condition was common in four groups - ancient
Egyptians, pre-Columbian people in Peru and Utah, and 19th-century Alaska natives - with different diets and ways of life." The researchers found "'probable or definite' atherosclerosis...in 34 percent of the mummies." Just "4 percent, however, had atherosclerosis in the coronary arteries, where it can cause heart attacks."

The AP (3/11) reports that the "researchers say" the finding "suggests heart disease may be more a
natural part of human aging rather than being directly tied to contemporary risk factors like
smoking, eating fatty foods and not exercising."

The Kansas City (MO) Star (3/10, 197K) reports on its front page, "The researchers' findings are the
most thorough evidence to date using mummies that atherosclerosis was a common occurrence in antiquity."

In Forbes (3/11, 928K), Larry Husten writes, "Although the populations from which the mummies came
did not smoke cigarettes, the authors point out that 'the need for fire and thus smoke inhalation could have played a part in the development of atherosclerosis.'" Additionally, "they...speculate that high levels of infections might have contributed to the development of atherosclerosis in this population." Also
covering the story are theMilwaukee Journal Sentinel (3/11, Fauber, 221K), Bloomberg News (3/11,
Lopatto), Reuters (3/11, Steenhuysen), the NBC News (3/11, Fox), the CNN (3/10) "The Chart"
blog, MedPage Today (3/11, Fiore), Heartwire (3/11, O'Riordan), and HealthDay (3/11, Mundell)

CNN (3/11, Landau) in its "The Chart" blog reports that in a study of "nearly 60,000 women," ages 50 to 79, Stanford University researchers found that on average, individuals who took aspirin frequently had a "21% lower risk of melanoma" than did their peers who did not take aspirin at all . Although this correlation "is not proof" that aspirin "is directly responsible for lowering the risk," the study authors "believe inflammation plays a big role in cancer development, and aspirin is an anti-inflammatory drug." Moreover, there are previous studies that also "support the idea that in certain kinds of cancers, aspirin may be preventative." The
blog did not indicate which medical journal published the study.

Reuters (1/31, Pittman) reports that, according to a study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, yoga may be beneficial for individuals with atrial fibrillation (AF).

In a Forbes (1/30, 928K) blog, Larry Husten writes that for the study, "Dhanunjaya Lakkireddy and colleagues studied 52 consecutive patients with persistent paroxysmal AF and stable medical therapy
at the University of Kansas Medical Center." Following "an initial three month control period patients received three months of yoga training." The researchers found that, "compared to the end of the control period, at the end of the yoga period there was a significant reduction in the number of symptomatic AF
episodes, symptomatic non-AF episodes, and asymptomatic AF episodes."
       
The Kansas City (MO) Star (1/31, Bavley, 197K) reports, "These patients also cut their blood pressure and lowered their levels of anxiety and depression." These "results...are so promising, two similar yoga studies at KU Hospital are enrolling patients with other disorders that cause faulty heart rhythms." Lakkireddy "hopes to persuade the National  Institutes of Health to fund large-scale research to determine with more certainty what yoga may do."

HealthDay (1/31, Norton) reports that "yoga is no replacement for medication, said Lakkireddy." He added, however, that this research "suggests that yoga can be a fantastic adjunct."

Bloomberg News  (1/31, Gerlin) reports that vegetarians may be "32 percent less likely to be
hospitalized or die from heart disease than people who ate meat and fish," according to a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Investigators "followed almost 45,000 adults, one-third of them vegetarians, for an average of 11 1/2 years."

The Huffington Post  (1/30) reports participants "had their blood pressure taken and blood samples drawn to measure cholesterol levels for the study." The investigators found, "after taking into account outside factors like age, exercise, socioeconomic background, smoking status, alcohol consumption and education level...that vegetarians had a 32 percent lower risk of being hospitalized or dying from
heart disease over the study period." Even after "taking body mass index into account, they still had a 28 percent lower risk of developing heart disease than their meat-eating peers, the researchers found."


The BBC News  (1/31, Gallagher) website reports, "The results showed the vegetarians had lower blood
pressure, lower levels of 'bad' cholesterol and were more likely to have a healthy weight."


AFP-Relaxnews (1/31) says researchers also found that "vegetarians in the study typically had a lower
weight-to-height ratio and a reduced risk of developing diabetes."

The AP (2/8, Marchione) reports, "Deep-fried foods may be causing trouble in the Deep South. People whose diets are heavy on them and sugary drinks like sweet tea and soda were more likely to suffer a stroke," according to a study presented yesterday at the American Stroke Association's conference in Honolulu. "It's the first big look at diet and strokes, and researchers say it might help explain why blacks in the Southeast - the nation's 'stroke belt' - suffer more of them."

The Los Angeles Times (2/8, MacVean, 692K) "Booster Shots" blog reports that in a statement, lead researcher, Suzanne Judd, a nutritional epidemiologist at the University of Alabama, explained, "Fatty foods are high in cholesterol, sugary drinks are linked to diabetes and salty foods lead to high blood pressure." These "are all factors in the risk of cardiovascular disease."

ABC News (2/8, Wasson) reports on its website that investigators "looked at more than 20,000 black and white study participants who were over 45 years old as part of the study, termed the Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke - or REGARDS for short. They asked subjects to detail their weekly diet habits, focusing on 56 different types of food." The "researchers found that people who regularly ate foods traditionally found in the southern diet had a whopping 41 percent increased risk of stroke - and in African-Americans, it was 63 percent higher risk."

On its website, CBS News (2/8, Jaslow) points out that "the so-called 'Stroke Belt' of the U.S. consists of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute," 10 of which are Southern states. Also covering the story are the NPR (2/8, Shute) "The Salt" blog, Alabama Live (2/8, Oliver), HealthDay (2/8, Storrs),and the Augusta (GA) Chronicle (2/7, Corwin, 57K).

The Philadelphia Daily News (1/31, Ransom) reports, "To make indoor tanning aficionados aware of the risks, Councilman Bill Greenlee will introduce a bill Thursday that would place restrictions on the use of tanning salons by minors by requiring that they be accompanied by a parent." Under the bill, minors under 14 "are prohibited from indoor tanning unless they have a doctor's note. Operators must provide customers with information detailing health risks." The bill tasks the city's health department with enforcement.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune (1/31, Walsh) reports that "the incidence of melanoma, a serious form of skin cancer, has risen sharply in Minnesota since 2005, and state health officials are urging caution about exposure to the sun - winter and summer - and tanning beds." According to the article, "melanoma rates rose 38 percent for females and 35 percent for males between 2005 and 2009, the Health Department said Thursday." The article explains that "in raw numbers, that meant 6,204 cases in the second half of the past decade, compared with 4,521 during the first half."