Health News

Pancreatic Cancer Risk May Be Reduced By High Dietary Antioxidant Intake

Date: Jul-23-2012
Individuals can significantly reduce their risk of developing pancreatic cancer by increasing their dietary intake of the antioxidant vitamins C, E, and selenium, say researchers who are leading the Norfolk arm of the European Prospective Investigation of Cancer (EPIC) study. The study, published in the journal Gut, states that 1 in 12 of these cancers might be prevented if the association turns out to be casual. More than a 250,000 people die each year around the world due to pancreatic cancer. In the UK, 7,500 people are diagnosed with the disease each year...

Premature Birth Survival Rates Have Improved

Date: Jul-23-2012
Premature babies born in high-level neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) have a better chance of survival than those born in hospitals without such facilities. A new study, published in the journal Pediatrics, has shown that this benefit is significantly larger than research had previously reported. Experts already knew that an extremely premature baby born in a hi-tech, high-volume hospital unit has a much better chance of survival. This study, the largest to date, showed that survival benefits were even greater than previously thought...

New Drug Target Found For Treatment Of Malaria

Date: Jul-23-2012
Each year, more than 1.2 million people die from tropical malaria, now researchers have identified inhibitors of a key enzyme that helps the parasite responsible for the disease survive. The study, conducted by researchers from the Department of Pediatrics at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, is published online in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry. The teams findings may help in the development of anti-malarial drugs...

Smokers' Lung Function May Be Protected By Vitamin D Intake

Date: Jul-23-2012
Boston researchers have discovered that vitamin D may protect against the effects of smoking on lung cancer function. The study, published in advance of the print version of the American Thoracic Society's American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.Vitamin D is linked to worse lung function and over time, in a more rapid decline in lung function. Leading researcher Nancy E...

Hypertension Tests For Teens Not Used Effectively

Date: Jul-23-2012
According to a study of teenagers with hypertension participating in the Michigan Medicaid program, guideline-recommended diagnostic tests - echocardiograms and renal ultrasonography - were not used effectively. The study is published in Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. High blood pressure is an increasing problem for adolescents given that the condition is associated with obesity...

Depression Is A World-Wide Problem

Date: Jul-23-2012
Old theories stating that Westerners are the only people who suffer from depression have been proven false, due to the fact that depression and anxiety exist in every society in the world today. This finding, published by researchers at The University of Queensland, came from the world's most comprehensive study of depression and anxiety research to date. Two separate studies of clinical depression and anxiety disorders were conducted. People across 91 countries, more than 480,000 people, were surveyed regarding their clinical anxiety and/or major depressive disorder...

ECGs Administered By Paramedics Can Speed Treatment For Severe Heart Attacks

Date: Jul-23-2012
Two studies featured in the current issue of the Canadian Journal of Cardiology have shown that a new training program for reading electrocardiograms and designed for emergency medical service technicians (EMS) to evaluate patients with chest pain and accelerate treatment for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), a serious form of heart attack, has provided excellent results and should become standard of care. Leading researcher, Robin A...

MRSA Bug Found On One Third Of Nurses' Bags

Date: Jul-23-2012
Dr. David Swann from Huddersfield University discovered that 55% of nurses' medical bags that have been used to deliver community care in the UK for the past 150 years are never cleaned and only 6% are cleaned once a week. Swann's study revealed that around one third of medical bags carry the MRSA bug, which prompted him to design a new medical bag that is set to change medical bags around the globe...

Does Your Skin Have A Biological Clock? Researchers Say Yes

Date: Jul-23-2012
The skin is one of the body's vital organs and possible one of the most versatile organ. Aside form its sensory, communicative and representative role, the skin acts as an active and passive barrier, protecting the body against germs, but also safeguarding inner organs and vital body systems from environmental conditions, such as heat, frost, moisture and sunlight, by ensuring a constant condition. Environmental factors expose the skin to numerous challenges, all with different effects depending on the time of the day.   Prof. Achim Kramer from the Charité in Berlin and Dr...

Nursing Homes Can Be Avoided If Sleeping Patterns Are Regular

Date: Jul-23-2012
There are many benefits of having a good night of restful, uninterrupted sleep. However, in a new study researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have now discovered another potential benefit for having a good night sleep. The research, published in the July edition of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society reveals that fragmented or interrupted sleep could predict future placement in a nursing home or assisted living facility. The study describes the link between objectively measured sleep and future institutionalization amongst older women...