Health News

Parental Communication Improves Students' Diet And Physical Activity

Date: May-20-2013
College students eat more fruits and vegetables and exercise more on days when they communicate more with their parents, according to researchers at Penn State. "Only a third of college students consumes a diet that is consistent with national recommendations," said Meg Small, research associate in the Prevention Research Center for the Promotion of Human Development. "In addition, college students' physical activity levels decline from the first semester to their seventh semester...

Yoga Can Help Lower Blood Pressure

Date: May-19-2013
According to a new study presented at the "28th Annual Scientific Meeting", yoga can help lower a person's blood pressure. Desirable or normal blood pressure is generally considered to be below 120/80 (one-twenty over eighty). Where 120 represents the systolic measurement and 80 represents the diastolic measurement. However, high blood pressure, also known as the "silent killer", affects approximately one billion people worldwide, with nearly 1 in three adults in the U.S suffering from the condition...

Hospital Use, Costs Not Increased By Massachusetts' Health Care Reform

Date: May-19-2013
Massachusetts' healthcare reform didn't result in substantially more hospital use or higher costs, according to data presented at the American Heart Association's Quality of Care and Outcomes Research Scientific Sessions 2013. The findings were true even among safety-net hospitals, which often have an open-door policy to accept patients regardless of the ability to pay. These hospitals are most likely to care for people who need free services, use Medicaid or must pay their own hospital bills...

In Patients With Kidney Disease, LDL Cholesterol Is A Poor Marker Of Heart Health

Date: May-19-2013
Other measures are needed to assess patients' cardiovascular risks   Among patients with chronic kidney disease, those with very low kidney function had a higher risk of having a heart attack than those with higher kidney function over a four-year period.   The link between higher LDL cholesterol and heart attack risk was weaker for patients with very low kidney function than for patients with higher kidney function.   60 million people globally have chronic kidney disease...

A Vicious Cycle That Helps Obesity Perpetuate Itself

Date: May-19-2013
With obesity reaching epidemic levels in some parts of the world, scientists have only begun to understand why it is such a persistent condition. A study in the Journal of Biological Chemistry adds substantially to the story by reporting the discovery of a molecular chain of events in the brains of obese rats that undermined their ability to suppress appetite and to increase calorie burning. It's a vicious cycle, involving a breakdown in how brain cells process key proteins, that allows obesity to beget further obesity...

Heart Health Monitored Using Paper-Thin Flexible 'Skin'

Date: May-19-2013
Most of us don't ponder our pulses outside of the gym. But doctors use the human pulse as a diagnostic tool to monitor heart health. Zhenan Bao, a professor of chemical engineering at Stanford, has developed a heart monitor thinner than a dollar bill and no wider than a postage stamp. The flexible skin-like monitor, worn under an adhesive bandage on the wrist, is sensitive enough to help doctors detect stiff arteries and cardiovascular problems...

In US, 20% Of Children Have A Mental Disorder

Date: May-19-2013
Nearly 20% of children in the United States suffer from a mental disorder, and the number has been increasing for over a decade, according to a new report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The report covered the topic of mental disorders among children aged 3 to 17 for the first time. The investigators found that childhood mental illnesses affect up to one in five children and cost close to $247 billion per year in medical expenses, juvenile justice, and special education...

Non-Surgical Treatments For Multiple Tumors Move One Step Closer

Date: May-19-2013
A study led by researchers from Plymouth University Peninsula Schools of Medicine and Dentistry has for the first time revealed how the loss of a particular tumour suppressing protein leads to the abnormal growth of tumours of the brain and nervous system. The study is published in Brain: A Journal of Neurology. Tumour suppressors exist in cells to prevent abnormal cell division in our bodies. The loss of a tumour suppressor called Merlin leads to tumours in many cell types within our nervous systems...

Scheduled Imaging Studies Provide Little Help Detecting Relapse Of Aggressive Lymphoma

Date: May-19-2013
Imaging scans following treatment for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma do little to help detect a relapse, a Mayo Clinic study has found. The overwhelming majority of patients with this aggressive lymphoma already have symptoms, an abnormal physical exam or an abnormal blood test at the time of relapse, the researchers say. The findings will be presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting May 31-June 4 in Chicago...

Job Stress, How Fatty Acids Are Metabolised In The Body And Associated Heart Disease Risk

Date: May-19-2013
Spanish researchers have studied how job stress affects cardiovascular health. The results, published in the Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, link this situation to dyslipidemia, a disorder that alters the levels of lipids and lipoproteins in the blood. Experts have been saying for years that emotional stress is linked to the risk of suffering cardiovascular disease as a result of unhealthy habits such as smoking, an unsuitable diet or leading a sedentary lifestyle, among other factors...