Health News

Visual Recognition Tasks Reveal Gender Differences

Date: Sep-20-2012
Women are better than men at recognizing living things and men are better than women at recognizing vehicles. That is the unanticipated result of an analysis Vanderbilt psychologists performed on data from a series of visual recognition tasks collected in the process of developing a new standard test for expertise in object recognition. "These results aren't definitive, but they are consistent with the following story," said Gauthier. "Everyone is born with a general ability to recognize objects and the capability to get really good at it...

Risk Of Premature Cardiovascular Death May Be Increased By Extreme Temperatures

Date: Sep-20-2012
Extreme temperatures during heat waves and cold spells may increase the risk of premature cardiovascular disease (CVD) death, according to new research in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, an American Heart Association journal. The study in Brisbane, Australia, is the first in which researchers examined the association between daily average temperature and "years of life lost" due to CVD. Years of life lost measures premature death by estimating years of life lost according to average life expectancy...

Obesity In Children Linked To BPA

Date: Sep-19-2012
Higher concentrations of urinary bisphenol A (BPA), a common product used in food packaging, have been linked to obesity in adolescents and children, according to a recent study published in the September 19 issue of JAMA. The researchers, from NYU School of Medicine, said that the synthetic chemical, which has been banned by the FDA from being used in children's bottles and sippy cups, is still being used as a coating inside of aluminum cans and food packaging. Plastic bottles that have the label containing the number 7 recycle logo also contain BPA...

Self-Harm Associated With Premature Death

Date: Sep-19-2012
People who have a history of self-harm have a three times higher chance to die prematurely than the general population, and not just from the obvious causes. Those who self-injure have a 2 times higher risk of dying due to natural causes than expected, according to a study in The Lancet. The investigation, led by Keith Hawton from the University of Oxford Centre for Suicide Research, also showed the risk is much higher for people living in socially deprived areas...

Home Births May Be A Better Option

Date: Sep-19-2012
New information suggests that home births are a realistic and safe option, with less complications and intervention than hospital births. A new Cochrane Library review revealed that all countries should think about setting up proper home birth services. Low-risk pregnant women should be provided accurate information to make an informed decision about which type of birth they prefer. In order to have home birth an appealing and safe option for all women, it should be organized as part of the healthcare system...

Gastric Bypass Cuts Diabetes, Cardiovascular, Health Risks

Date: Sep-19-2012
For an average of six years after undergoing gastric bypass surgery, severely obese patients not only lost a lot of weight, but also showed frequent remission and lower incidence of type 2 diabetes, plus lower rates of high blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol, and other cardiovascular risk factors, compared with a control group of similar patients who did not have the surgery. These were the findings of a JAMA study published on 19 September, that was led by researchers from the University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, in the US...

Painkillers Can Cause Headaches Warns UK Watchdog

Date: Sep-19-2012
Overuse of common painkillers could be the reason nearly a million people in the UK have headaches, according to the health watchdog. The warning comes from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), an "arms length" body funded by the government, as it releases its first guideline for doctors in England and Wales on diagnosing and managing headaches in young people and adults. The watchdog was given the task in 2009, since when it has been conducting a review and consultation...

Urgent Action Needed To Reduce Premature Mortality In Cardiovascular Disease

Date: Sep-19-2012
Agreement by governments, by the end of 2012, on a set of ambitious global targets to curb the growing scourge of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), which includes cardiovascular disease (CVD; heart disease and stroke), is critical to avoiding the millions of premature deaths worldwide. This, according to a new paper published by the Global Cardiovascular Disease Taskforce a group of eminent experts who represent five leading heart-health organizations...

Researchers Find Cause Of Chemotherapy Resistance In Melanoma

Date: Sep-19-2012
Researchers with UC Irvine's Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center have identified a major reason why melanoma is largely resistant to chemotherapy. UCI dermatologist Dr. Anand Ganesan and colleagues found a genetic pathway in melanoma cells that inhibits the cellular mechanism for detecting DNA damage wrought by chemotherapy, thereby building up tolerance to cancer-killing drugs. Targeting this pathway, comprising the genes RhoJ and Pak1, heralds a new approach to treating the deadly skin cancer, which claims nearly 10,000 U.S. lives each year...

Cognitive Training Helps To Significantly Reduce Coronary Bypass Postoperative Complications

Date: Sep-19-2012
'Brain training' may lessen cognitive impairments associated with coronary bypass surgery Each year in Quebec, nearly 6000 people undergo coronary bypass surgery. Recovery is long and quality of life is greatly affected, in particular because most patients experience cognitive deficits that affect attention and memory for weeks or even months after the surgery. However, cognitive training helps to significantly reduce these postoperative complications according to a study that will be presented by Dr...