Health News

Arsenic in rice poses health risks when rice consumption high

Date: Jul-24-2013
High levels of arsenic in rice have been shown to be associated with elevated genetic damage in humans, a new study has found. Over the last few years, researchers have reported high concentrations of arsenic in several rice-growing regions around the world. Now, University of Manchester scientists, working in collaboration with scientists at CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology in Kolkata, have proven a link between rice containing high levels of arsenic and chromosomal damage, as measured by micronuclei* in urothelial cells, in humans consuming rice as a staple...

When to order vascular laboratory tests: New report helps clinicians decide

Date: Jul-24-2013
A new report issued by the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and developed in collaboration with 10 other leading professional societies provides detailed criteria to help clinicians optimize the appropriate use of certain noninvasive vascular tests when caring for patients with known or suspected disorders of the venous (veins) system. Also included are first-time recommendations for when and how to use these tests to plan for or evaluate dialysis access placement...

US rural life more dangerous than city-living

Date: Jul-24-2013
City-dwellers considering an escape to the country may not find the rural life so idyllic after all. A study published online today reveals that US rural counties are not as safe as urban ones, with a 22% higher risk of death. The study, published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine, was conducted by researchers from the American College of Emergency Physicians. They analyzed all 3,141 of the counties in the US during a 7-year period, yielding data on nearly 1.3 million "injury deaths...

Food fungi in developing countries linked to worse HIV infection

Date: Jul-24-2013
Two common fungi found on food in developing countries could be worsening the effects of HIV, say researchers from the University of Alabama, Birmingham. Their study, published in the World Mycotoxin Journal, found that types of fungus on stored foods such as rice, wheat, nuts and corn, are linked to higher HIV viral loads (higher concentrations of the virus in infected people's blood). The researchers say: "Higher viral load translates into higher rates of HIV transmission and the potential for earlier progression to the opportunistic infections of AIDS...

Rare immune cells promote food-induced allergic inflammation in the esophagus

Date: Jul-24-2013
Food is an integral part of life; but, for some, it can be harmful. Allergic inflammation caused by inappropriate immune responses to some types of food has become a major public health issue. Over the past ten years, the prevalence of food allergies has increased by nearly 20 percent, affecting an estimated six million people in the U.S. Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is a food allergy-associated disease that affects children and adults and is caused by inflammation in response to such trigger foods as eggs, nuts, milk, wheat, and soy...

CPPs coordinate lung and heart co-development

Date: Jul-24-2013
The evolution of adaptations for life on land have long puzzled biologists - are feathers descendents of dinosaur scales, how did arms and legs evolve from fins, and from what ancient fish organ did the lung evolve? Biologists have known that the co-development of the cardiovascular and pulmonary systems is a recent evolutionary adaption to life outside of water, coupling the function of the heart with the gas exchange function of the lung. And, the lung is one of the most recent organs to have evolved in mammals and is arguably the most vital for terrestrial life...

What is metabolic syndrome? What causes metabolic syndrome?

Date: Jul-23-2013
Metabolic Syndrome, also known as Syndrome X, refers to a number of conditions that occur simultaneously and increase the risk of diabetes, stroke and heart disease. People with metabolic syndrome have high blood sugar levels, hypertension (high blood pressure), too much fat around their belly, and unhealthy cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Although on its own, each condition can raise the risk of heart attack or stroke, people with just one or two of them do not have metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is a preventable and reversible condition...

People with diabetes have at least 50% increased risk of physical disability

Date: Jul-23-2013
Older adults with diabetes are at least 50% more likely to have a physical disability than those without diabetes, according to the results of a new systematic review and meta-analysis published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology. Previous studies examining the risk of disability associated with diabetes have produced varying results, ranging from no association, to a doubling of risk. The new study is the first meta-analysis to pool estimates taken from earlier studies, providing a more reliable estimate of the likely risk of disability associated with diabetes...

Tranexamic acid treatment for trauma being ignored by global health bodies, argue experts

Date: Jul-23-2013
A cheap treatment for a disease that kills more people each year than HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis combined is being largely ignored by global health organisations, argue researchers on bmj.com. Professor Ian Roberts from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and colleagues say the response from the World Health Organization, United Nations, World Bank, and Unicef "has been limp or absent." A study published in 2010 (known as the CRASH-2 trial) found tranexamic acid safely reduces death in patients with life-threatening traumatic bleeding by one third...

Physical inactivity, poor diet and smoking linked to disability in older population

Date: Jul-23-2013
An unhealthy lifestyle is associated with a greater likelihood of developing disability over the age of 65, with the risk increasing progressively with the number of unhealthy behaviours, suggests a paper published on bmj.com today. Disability is commonly defined as "difficulty or dependency in carrying out activities essential to independent living". With the number of disabled people expected to increase in coming years, researchers feel there is a need to define preventive strategies and slow this progression...