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MONDAY, Oct. 26, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Scientists say they have spotted the gene responsible for telling you when it's time to pee. The gene, called PIEZO2, may help at least two different types of cells sense when the bladder is full and needs to be emptied. "Urination is essential for our health. It's one of the primary ways our bodies dispose of waste. We show how specific genes and cells may play critical roles in initiating this process," said study senior author Ardem Patapoutian, a professor at the Scripps Research Institute, in La Jolla, Calif. "We hope that these results provide a more detailed understanding of how urination works under healthy and disease conditions." The study, which was funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) and included NIH...

MONDAY, Oct. 26, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- The most common form of epilepsy is a risk factor for car crashes, yet it can have such subtle symptoms that it often goes undiagnosed for an extended period of time, even years. Researchers said the failure to recognize symptoms of subtle seizures is the main reason for a delay in the diagnosis of focal epilepsy. The condition, which affects only one part of the brain, is often not diagnosed until it progresses to motor seizures, or whole-body spasms. "Our study highlights how common the early and subtle signs of focal epilepsy are," said study senior investigator Dr. Jaqueline French, a director of translational research and clinical trials for epilepsy at NYU Langone Health. "We must do a much better job of recognizing them before people...

MONDAY, Oct. 26, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- When scientists finish developing a COVID-19 vaccine, will people be willing to take it? An international research team analyzed data from 19 countries hit hard by the new coronavirus and found that when confidence in government was low, hesitancy to accept a COVID-19 vaccine was higher. Based on a previous survey of more than 13,400 people, researchers found that about 72% were likely to take a vaccine. About 14% would refuse and a similar percentage would hesitate, the survey showed. "The problem of vaccine hesitancy is strongly related with a lack of trust in government. Vaccine confidence was invariably higher in countries where trust was higher," said study co-leader Jeffrey Lazarus, of the Barcelona Institute for Global Health...

By Michael Merschel American Heart Association News MONDAY, Oct. 26, 2020 (American Heart Association News) -- Erin Wegener was a tiny baby facing enormous challenges. Born at 29 weeks' gestation, she weighed only 1 pound, 14 ounces. Her first three months were lived in the neonatal intensive care unit. Family photos show her covered in gauze, sustained by too many tubes to count. Her entire hand just about fit inside her father's wedding ring. Her parents were warned she could face a lifetime of mental and physical challenges. But today, she's working as a music therapist in the same hospital system in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where she was born. The doctors' most dire warnings didn't come true, and her premature birth has never been much of a factor in her adult life. "I feel very...