Health News

A Non-Antibiotic Approach For Treating Urinary Tract Infections

Date: Aug-16-2012
The latest episode in the American Chemical Society's (ACS') award-winning Global Challenges/Chemistry Solutions podcast series describes a potential new approach for treating urinary tract infections (UTIs) - which affect millions of people annually - without traditional antibiotics. Because it involves non-antibiotic compounds, the approach would not contribute to the growing problem of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, or "superbugs." Based on a report by Beat Ernst, Ph.D., and colleagues in ACS' Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, the podcast is available without charge at iTunes and here...

For Adults With Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis, One Treatment Stands Above Others

Date: Aug-16-2012
A study by a Baylor College of Medicine physician-researcher has shed light on the most effective treatment for adults with Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) in bones. LCH is a disease that can affect the skin, mouth, ears, bones, brain, gastrointestinal system, liver, spleen, or bone marrow. In the study, appearing in the current issue of PLOS ONE, researchers reviewed health records for 58 adults with the disease and compared the effectiveness of three chemotherapy treatments - vinblastine/prednisone, 2-Chlorodeoxyadenosine, and cytosine arabinoside...

Blood Type May Affect Heart Disease Risk

Date: Aug-16-2012
A person's blood type may affect their risk for heart disease, according to a new study that finds people with blood type A, B or AB were more likely to develop the disease than those with type O. However, the researchers said following a healthy lifestyle can still make a difference to protect people with the higher risk blood types. The senior author of the study is Lu Qi, an assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston...

Oral Drug Shows Clinical Response And Remission In Some Patients With Ulcerative Colitis

Date: Aug-16-2012
An investigational drug currently under FDA review for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis has now shown positive results in patients with moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis, according to researchers at the University of California San Diego, School of Medicine. The study will appear in the August 16, 2012 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM)...

Eating 2.5 Ounces Of Walnuts Per Day Improves Semen Quality In Healthy Young Men

Date: Aug-16-2012
A paper published 15 August 2012 in Biology of Reproduction's Papers-in-Press reveals that eating 75 grams of walnuts a day improves the vitality, motility, and morphology of sperm in healthy men aged 21 to 35. Approximately 70 million couples experience subfertility or infertility worldwide, with 30 to 50 percent of these cases attributable to the male partner. Some studies have suggested that human semen quality has declined in industrialized nations, possibly due to pollution, poor lifestyle habits, and/or an increasingly Western-style diet. Dr...

Groundbreaking Technology Looks Deep Inside The Body

Date: Aug-16-2012
Tiny space age probes - those that can see inside single living cells - are increasingly being used to diagnose illness in hard-to-reach areas of the body. NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center's Dr. Michel Kahaleh often threads a tiny microscope into the narrow bile ducts that connect the liver to the small intestine to hunt for cancer. He also uses the device to minutely explore the pancreatic duct as one of a few doctors in the country to use such technology in this way. But because these devices are comparatively new, Dr...

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Reduces Loneliness, Benefits Immune System

Date: Aug-16-2012
Many elderly people spend their last years alone. Spouses pass and children scatter. But being lonely is much more than a silent house and a lack of companionship. Over time, loneliness not only takes a toll on the psyche but can have a serious physical impact as well. Feeling lonely has been linked to an increased risk of heart disease, Alzheimer's disease, depression and even premature death. Developing effective treatments to reduce loneliness in older adults is essential, but previous treatment efforts have had limited success...

Precise Calculation Of The Increase In The Prevalence Of Overweight Children In Germany

Date: Aug-16-2012
Scientists working with Professor Dr. Dr. Perikles Simon, head of the Sports Medicine Division of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) in Germany, suggest in the light of recent analyses that German children gain weight soon after entering elementary school. From birth up to the age of five years, today's children's weight development is nearly identical to those from twenty years ago. Then as now there are about 10 percent of the children in this age range who are classified as being overweight...

Home Testing Kits Increase Colorectal Cancer Screening Rates

Date: Aug-16-2012
Screening for colorectal cancer (CRC) is cost-effective and saves lives by early detection. The ability to screen large numbers of individuals is especially important for states with tight health insurance budgets dealing with aging populations. However, in 2010 only 65 percent of U.S. adults between ages 50 and 75 got the recommended screening. A University of Colorado Cancer Center study recently published in the American Journal of Managed Care demonstrates a systematic approach to improve screening rates...

Sedentary Lifestyles Have A Negative Effect On Motor Coordination Skills In Children

Date: Aug-16-2012
Children who spend more than three-quarters of their time engaging in sedentary behaviour, such as watching TV and sitting at computers, have up to nine times poorer motor coordination than their more active peers, reveals a study published in the American Journal of Human Biology. The study, involving Portuguese children, found that physical activity alone was not enough to overcome the negative effect of sedentary behaviour on basic motor coordination skills such as walking, throwing or catching, which are considered the building blocks of more complex movements...