Health News

Asthma Risk In Kids Lowered By Having Pets

Date: Jun-21-2012
According to a new study, conducted by researchers at the University of California at San Francisco and presented by the 2012 General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology, children who live with dogs may have less of a risk of developing asthma. The researchers state that dust found in households with dogs may protect against the infection associated with a respiratory virus which has been linked to asthma in kids...

How Stomach Ulcer Bacterium Avoids Acid

Date: Jun-21-2012
By studying its crystal structure, scientists have discovered how the stomach bacterium Helicobacter pylori manages to navigate away from high levels of stomach acid. The discovery should lead to new ways to treat H. pylori infection, which is linked to stomach ulcers and cancer. Current treatments for H. pylori infection generally rely on broad-spectrum antibiotics, but the bacterium is becoming resistant and treatment fails in about 30% of cases. In the new study, biologists and physicists at the University of Oregon (UO) in the US reveal how a protein in H...

Job Factors Linked To 8,000 Cancer Deaths A Year In Britain

Date: Jun-21-2012
A new study that examines how the jobs of British workers affects their risk of cancer, concludes that over 8,000 cancer deaths a year in Britain, that is 5% of all cancer deaths, are linked to occupations, especially those involving shift work or exposure to carcinogens like asbestos and diesel engine fumes. Over half of the work-related cancer deaths are in male construction workers, say the researchers...

HIV-Positive Young Men At Risk Of Low Bone Mass

Date: Jun-21-2012
Young men being treated for HIV are more likely to experience low bone mass than are other men their age, according to results from a research network supported by the National Institutes of Health. The findings indicate that physicians who care for these patients should monitor them regularly for signs of bone thinning, which could foretell a risk for fractures. The young men in the study did not have HIV at birth and had been diagnosed with HIV an average of two years earlier...

Tobacco Use Overlooked By Most Cancer Trials, Study Finds

Date: Jun-21-2012
Tobacco use can negatively impact cancer treatment, but few studies incorporate assessment or cessation support While tobacco use can significantly hamper cancer treatment, few cancer researchers are incorporating tobacco assessment into their clinical studies. That's the conclusion a group of investigators led by Graham Warren, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Radiation Medicine at Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI), drew from a recent survey of cancer clinical trials...

A New Study Of Sardinian Men Finds Height Is A Factor In Longevity

Date: Jun-21-2012
This new study supports over 12 previous longevity and over 20 mortality studies that have found that shorter height promotes greater longevity. Sardinia is known as a blue zone because it has a remarkably high percentage of long-lived people. Sardinians are shorter than people in the rest of Europe and tend to live longer. Within Sardinia, there is a group of 14 municipalities that exhibit higher longevity compared to the rest of the island...

Lack Of Time, Training Among Top Barriers To Physical Activity Counseling In The Primary Care Setting

Date: Jun-21-2012
Lack of time, knowledge and training in health promotion and lack of success with changing patient behavior were among the top barriers to including effective physical activity counseling in the primary care setting, according to research by The University of Texas School of Public Health, part of The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth). "Individual and organization barriers must be addressed in order to incorporate counseling effectively," said Emily Hebert, M.P.H...

New Metastatic Breast Cancer Drug Enters CINJ Trial

Date: Jun-21-2012
Researchers at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ) are enrolling patients for a clinical trial, which aims to evaluate a new drug for breast cancer that has spread (metastatic) in combination with two chemotherapy agents called doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide. CINJ is a Center of Excellence of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School...

Allergies Become Epidemic: Food Allergy Sufferers Double In The Last 10 Years

Date: Jun-21-2012
This week the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) launched its Food Allergy Campaign. The purpose of the campaign is to raise awareness of the sharp increase of anaphylaxis in children, an allergic reaction that is severe and potentially life-threatening. It aims at educating the public to recognise the symptoms and its triggers, and to teach methods of how to react in case of emergency, e.g. by using an adrenaline pen...

Understanding The Biological Basis Of Violent Outbursts In Mice Could Lead To Treatments For Antisocial And Aggressive Behavior

Date: Jun-21-2012
Pathological rage can be blocked in mice, researchers have found, suggesting potential new treatments for severe aggression, a widespread trait characterized by sudden violence, explosive outbursts and hostile overreactions to stress. In a study appearing in the Journal of Neuroscience, researchers from the University of Southern California and Italy identify a critical neurological factor in aggression: a brain receptor that malfunctions in overly hostile mice. When the researchers shut down the brain receptor, which also exists in humans, the excess aggression completely disappeared...