factors | Common News Update

Feb62019 by adminNo Comments

Dementia risk factors not known by half of population

Health

Half of UK adults cannot identify any key risk factors for dementia, according to a study by Alzheimer's Research UK.The charity surveyed 2,361 people and found that only 1% were able to name the seven known risk or protective factors for dementia.The six risk factors are heavy drinking, genetics, smoking, high blood pressure, depression and diabetes. Physical exercise is a protective factor against the disease. The study, entitled Dementia Attitudes Monitor, found that more than half of UK adults now know someone with dementia. But only half recognised that dementia is a cause of death, and they found that a fifth incorrectly believe it is an inevitable part of getting older. Although a third of cases of dementia are thought to be influenced by factors w...

Dozens of genetic risk factors found for depression

Technology

A major new study which has identified 44 genetic risk factors for depression has the "potential to revitalise treatment", scientists have said. The international study, co-led by King's College London, is the largest carried out into a genetic basis for depression and involved more than 200 scientists.Seven data sets were combined, covering 130,000 sufferers.Among the 44 genetic variants identified, 30 are newly discovered.Previous studies have struggled to identify more than a handful. A significant number were linked to the targets of current antidepressant medications.Researchers said that all humans carry some of the 44 risk factors, and that the genetic basis for depression is shared with other psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia.A higher body mass index is also linked to an ...

Genetic risk factors for disease can be affected by environment

Health

Aug. 16 (UPI) -- A study out Wednesday by a team of U.S. and German researchers has found that genetic variants affect how much gene expression changes in response to disease.The study, published in Nature Communications, involved researchers analyzing blood from 134 volunteers, and treated monocytes, or white blood cells, in the laboratory with three components to simulate infection with bacteria or virus."Our defense mechanisms against microbial pathogens rely on white blood cells that are specialized to detect infection. Upon encounter of microbes, these cells trigger cellular defense programs via activating and repressing the expression of hundreds of genes," said Dr. Veit Hornung of the Ludwig-Maxmilians-Universität in Munich, formerly from the University of Bonn.Researchers analyzed ...