Health News

Dietary Advice On Added Sugar Is Damaging Our Health, Warns Heart Expert

Date: May-22-2013
Cardiologist questions whether current guideline daily amounts are fit for purpose Dietary advice on added sugar is damaging our health, warns a cardiologist on bmj.com today. Dr Aseem Malhotra believes that "not only has this advice been manipulated by the food industry for profit but it is actually a risk factor for obesity and diet related disease." He calls on the UK's Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition and the Department of Health "to act swiftly" to tackle the rising obesity crisis and increasing prevalence of type 2 diabetes...

Small Cancer Risk Following CT Scans In Childhood And Adolescence Confirmed

Date: May-22-2013
But the absolute excess for all cancers combined is low Young people who undergo CT scans are 24% more likely to develop cancer compared with those who do not, a study published today on bmj.com suggests. However the absolute excess for all cancers combined was low, at 9.38 for every 100,000 person years of follow-up. The researchers say that in a group of 10,000 young people, they would expect 39 cancers to occur during the next 10 years, but if they all had one CT scan, up to six extra cancers would occur...

Should We Sequence Everyone's Genome?

Date: May-22-2013
Should we all have our genomes sequenced? Two experts debate the issue on bmj.com today. Professor John Burn from the Institute of Genetic Medicine at Newcastle University says sequencing everyone's genome would give us unparalleled knowledge to prevent, diagnose, and treat disease. "Genetic predisposition plays a central role in most common diseases," he writes. "Clinically relevant discoveries are entering practice at a rate of more than 30 a month...

Failure To Use Linked Health Records May Lead To Biased Disease Estimates

Date: May-22-2013
Up to half of all heart attack cases are missed using just one data source Failure to use linked electronic health records may lead to biased estimates of heart attack incidence and outcome, warn researchers in a paper published on bmj.com today. They show that up to 50% of all heart attack cases are missed using just one data source. These findings may be relevant to other common conditions, such as stroke, and support the wider use of linked multiple record sources by clinicians, policy makers and researchers, say the authors...

Blood Thinners Cause 7 Percent Of Medication Errors

Date: May-22-2013
New research published in the Annals of Pharmacotherapy has revealed that blood thinners account for around 7 percent of medication errors in hospitalized patients. Blood thinners reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke by preventing the development of blood clots in the arteries and veins. There are two main types of blood thinners: Anticoagulants - which work on chemical reactions in the body to prolong the time it takes for a blood clot to form. Antiplatelet drugs - these prevent blood cells called platelets from grouping together which could cause a clot...

"Friendly Viruses" Shield Us From Infection

Date: May-22-2013
We have heard of friendly gut bacteria that help us digest food and are thought to be essential for gut development, but now, in a new breakthrough study, scientists in the US suggest we also carry friendly viruses that shield us from infection by dangerous bacteria like E. coli. First author Jeremy Barr, a biology post-doctoral Fellow at San Diego State University, and colleagues, write about this previously undocumented "immune system" in a paper published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences this week...

Parents Think 1 In 100 Teens Using "Study Drugs" But Actual Figure Is More Like 1 In 10

Date: May-22-2013
As high schoolers prepare for final exams, teens nationwide may be tempted to use a "study drug" ­- a prescription stimulant or amphetamine - to gain an academic edge. But a new University of Michigan poll shows only one in 100 parents of teens 13-17 years old believes that their teen has used a study drug. Study drugs refer to stimulant medications typically prescribed for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); commonly prescribed medicines in this category include Adderall, Concerta, Ritalin, and Vyvanse...

Physician/Drug Company Breakup Could Improve Health Care, Cut Costs

Date: May-22-2013
A new report* suggests that improved health care and significant reductions in drug costs might be attained by breaking up the age-old relationship between physicians and drug company representatives who promote the newest, more costly and often unnecessary prescription drugs. This system, which has been in place for decades, at one time benefitted doctors by keeping them up to date on new medications, and always provided generous amounts of "free" samples to get patients started on the newest drugs, as well as other supplies and gifts...

Blind People May Be Able To Locate Their 'Inner Bat'

Date: May-22-2013
New research from the University of Southampton has shown that blind and visually impaired people have the potential to use echolocation, similar to that used by bats and dolphins, to determine the location of an object. The study, which is published in the journal Hearing Research, examined how hearing, and particularly the hearing of echoes, could help blind people with spatial awareness and navigation...

The Risk To Light-Skinned People Of Sun Exposure Highlighted By Study Of Young Israelis

Date: May-22-2013
A new study conducted using extensive medical records of over one million Israeli adolescents before military service shows clearly how exposure to the Israeli sun of young, light-skinned children increases substantially the risk of cutaneous melanoma (a serious form of skin cancer). The incidence of cutaneous melanoma is on the rise in all parts of the world where light-skinned people live. Rates have tripled over the last decades in the United States, and the rise was even steeper in Europe. What about in Israel? What segments of the population are more at risk and at what stage? Dr...