Health News

Causal Relationship Between Adiposity And Heart Failure, And Elevated Liver Enzymes

Date: Jun-25-2013
New evidence supports a causal relationship between adiposity and heart failure, and between adiposity and increased liver enzymes, according to a study published this week in PLOS Medicine. The study, conducted by Inga Prokopenko, Erik Ingelsson, and colleagues from the ENGAGE (European Network for Genetic and Genomic Epidemiology) Consortium, also provides additional support for several previously shown causal associations such as those between adiposity and type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, dyslipidemia, and hypertension...

Gene Mutation May Have Effect On Benefit Of Aspirin Use For Colorectal Cancer

Date: Jun-25-2013
In 2 large studies, the association between aspirin use and risk of colorectal cancer was affected by mutation of the gene BRAF, with regular aspirin use associated with a lower risk of BRAFwildtype colorectal cancer but not with risk of BRAFmutated cancer, findings that suggest that BRAFmutant colon tumor cells may be less sensitive to the effect of aspirin, according to a study in the June 26 issue of JAMA. Colorectal cancer is a leading cause of cancerrelated death worldwide...

Increase Seen In Use Of Advanced Treatment Technologies For Prostate Cancer Among Men With Low Risk Disease

Date: Jun-25-2013
Use of advanced treatment technologies for prostate cancer, such as intensitymodulated radiotherapy and robotic prostatectomy, has increased among men with lowrisk disease, high risk of noncancer mortality, or both, a population of patients who are unlikely to benefit from these treatments, according to a study in the June 26 issue of JAMA. "Prostate cancer is a common and expensive disease in the United States. In part because of the untoward morbidity of traditional radiation and surgical therapies, advances in the treatment of localized disease have evolved over the last decade...

Study Examines Prevalence, Characteristics Of Traumatic Brain Injuries Among Adolescents

Date: Jun-25-2013
"Traumatic brain injury (TBI) among adolescents has been identified as an important health priority. However, studies of TBI among adolescents in large representative samples are lacking. This information is important to the planning and evaluation of injury prevention efforts, particularly because even minor TBI may have important adverse consequences," write Gabriela Ilie, Ph.D., of St...

Two Small Mutations Led To Huge Leap In Hormone Evolution

Date: Jun-25-2013
Sometimes, evolution takes huge leaps instead of tiny steps. An example came to light this week in a paper published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) where US researchers describe how they resurrected ancient proteins in the lab, replicated the gene changes that took place in them 500 million years ago, and found two key mutations triggered a leap in protein evolution that set the stage for hormones like estrogen, testosterone and cortisol to take on their vital present-day roles...

Talk To Teens About Healthy Eating, Not Weight Loss

Date: Jun-25-2013
When parents talk to their teens about losing weight or being thin, the kids are more likely to use unhealthy methods of weight loss to control their weight, new research by the University of Minnesota suggests. The finding, published in JAMA Pediatrics, also revealed that family conversations about healthy eating that did not include the topic of weight loss were associated with fewer unhealthy weight loss methods, like skipping meals and using laxatives - among overweight teenagers. Jerica M. Berge, Ph.D., M.P.H., L.M.F.T...

Does Coffee Reduce Appetite?

Date: Jun-25-2013
Millions of us cannot start the day without our coffee. Is that such a bad thing? According to several studies, regular coffee reduces our risk of developing diabetes, mental illness, many cancers, and overall mortality. However, no scientific studies have looked at whether coffee might affect appetite. Matt Schubert, a Ph.D. candidate, and Associate Professor Ben Desbrow, both from the Centre for Health Practice Innovation, Griffith University, Australia, set out to determine what effect coffee might have on appetite...

Dogs Are Similar To Young Kids, Study Shows

Date: Jun-25-2013
The relationship between dogs and their owners is very similar to the bond between young kids and their parents, a new study revealed. For approximately 15,000 years, pet dogs have been closely associated with people, the research, published in PLoS One explained. "The animals are so well adapted to living with human beings that in many cases the owner replaces conspecifics and assumes the role of the dog's main social partner," according to the experts. Dogs and children seem to share what is known as the "secure base effect"...

How Safe Is Splenda (Sucralose)?

Date: Jun-25-2013
Splenda (sucralose) is being downgraded from "safe" to "caution" after an Italian animal study linked sucralose to a higher risk of developing leukemia. The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) says it awaits the Italian study's review before deciding what long-term safety grade to assign to Splenda in its Chemical Cuisine guide to food additives. Hundreds of millions of people globally use artificial sweeteners, which are commonly found in a wide range of food and drinks, including food for diabetes, cakes, milkshakes, soft drinks, and even medications...

Patient Suicide And Homicide Risk Often Missed Say Researchers

Date: Jun-25-2013
The assessment of risk in patients who go on to die by suicide or commit homicide is often poor, a new study has found. A report by The University of Manchester's National Confidential Inquiry (NCI) into Suicide and Homicide by People with Mental Illness out today has raised concerns about the way that risk is assessed and led to criticism of the tickbox approach to clinical practice...