Health News

Can Artificial Sweeteners Aid Weight Loss? Yes, But Don't Compensate!

Date: Jul-10-2012
Artificial sweeteners, also known as non-nutritive sweeteners, may help people reach their body weight goal, and also maintain a healthy body weight, researchers reported in two journals, Circulation and Diabetes Care. However, users have to make sure they do not "compensate" by eating high-calorie foods. An example of "compensating" might be ordering a diet coke and also a large slice of chocolate cake. Non-nutritive sweeteners are also known as low-calorie sweeteners, artificial sweeteners, non-caloric sweetners, and intense sweeteners...

Better End Of Life Quality Of Life For Cancer Patients

Date: Jul-10-2012
In many cases, when cancer patients are left with no further options to treat their disease, the focus shifts from prolonging life to promoting the quality of life (QOL) at the end of life (EOL). Now, researchers have identified factors that influence better QOL at EOL. According to the researchers: "The aim of this study was to identify the best set of predictors of QOL of patients in their final week of life. By doing so, we identify promising targets for health care interventions to improve QOL of dying patients." The study, conducted by Baohui Zhang, M.S...

Pancreatic Cancer Risk Lowered By Exposure To Sun

Date: Jul-10-2012
According to a study presented by Rachel Neale, Ph.D. at the American Association for Cancer Research's Pancreatic Cancer: Progress and Challenges conference in June, the risk of pancreatic cancer is decreased in individuals with a history of skin cancer, as well as in those born in a location with high levels of ultraviolet radiation and in people whose skin is sensitive to sun. Rachel Neale, Ph.D...

Weekend Stroke Patients Fare Worse Than Weekday Ones

Date: Jul-10-2012
Stroke patients who are admitted to hospital during weekends tend to have worst outcomes and are less likely to receive proper emergency treatment compared to those admitted during a weekday, researchers from Imperial College, London, England, reported in Archives of Neurology. The authors added that prior studies from several different countries had identified higher mortality rates in patients admitted to hospital at weekends for various different medical conditions...

Vaccine Breakthrough Could Help Fight Obesity

Date: Jul-10-2012
Around the world obesity and obesity-related diseases is on the rise. Now, researchers have found that two somatostatin vaccinations, JH17 and JH18, can effectively keep the body slim. The study is published in the Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology. According to Keith Haffer from Braasch Biotech LLC, both growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) increase metabolism and result in weight loss. However, a peptide hormone called somatostatin inhibits the action of GH and IGF-1...

Bullying Doesn't Stop In The Summer

Date: Jul-10-2012
Although summer vacation is here, children are still at risk of being bullied, according to a new study. Dr. Jennifer Caudle of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-School of Osteopathic Medicine states that children get bullied not only at school, but also in summer camp and via portable devices, such as smart phones and tablet computers. Dr. Caudle explained: "Bullying can happen wherever kids gather - in school, at summer camp or in cyberspace. Bullying isn't just limited to the classroom...

Brain Tumors Traced To Stem Cells In Developing Brain

Date: Jul-10-2012
Stem cells that come from a specific part of the developing brain help fuel the growth of brain tumors caused by an inherited condition, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report. Scientists showed in mice that disabling a gene linked to a common pediatric tumor disorder, neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), made stem cells from one part of the brain proliferate rapidly. But the same genetic deficit had no effect on stem cells from another brain region...

Facebook Use Feeds Anxiety And Inadequacy Says Small Study

Date: Jul-10-2012
Use of social media like Facebook and Twitter may be feeding anxiety and increasing feelings of inadequacy, according to a small UK study reported in The Telegraph on Monday. For the study, commissioned by the charity Anxiety UK, researchers at Salford University Business School surveyed 298 people about their use of social media and how it affected them. The charity also conducted some smaller in-depth research of its own...

Pharmacists Clarify The Anti-Inflammatory Impact Of Frankincense

Date: Jul-10-2012
It was one of the gifts of the Magi - in addition to myrrh and gold they offered frankincense to the newly born baby Jesus. Since the ancient world the aromatic fragrance of burning Boswellia resin has been part of many religious ceremonies and is still used as a means to indicate special festive atmosphere in the church today. But frankincense can do much more: "The resin from the trunk of Boswellia trees contains anti-inflammatory substances," Professor Dr. Oliver Werz of the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (Germany) says...

Firm Conclusions On Wound Care

Date: Jul-10-2012
Robust evidence exists for some wound care interventions, but there are still gaps in current knowledge requiring international consensus and further high-level clinical evidence, according to a paper published online by BJS, the British Journal of Surgery. Researchers analysed the findings of 44 Cochrane Systematic Reviews (CSRs) published by the Cochrane Wounds and Peripheral Vascular Disease Groups up to June 2011. The reviews covered CSRs on acute wounds and chronic wounds such as venous, pressure, diabetic and arterial ulcers...