Health News
Date: Jun-04-2012
New research funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) has shown that vitamin D3 supplements could provide more benefit than the close relative vitamin D2. The findings published in the June edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition could potentially lead to changes in the food industry when it comes to fortification. Vitamin D is important for bone and muscle health and there is concern that we don't get enough of the 'sunshine' vitamin through exposure to sunlight or through diet. As a result, some foods are fortified with vitamin D...
Date: Jun-03-2012
Inspired by the traditional dietary patterns of Spain, Southern France, Italy, Greece, and parts of the Middle East, the Mediterranean diet is associated with a lower mortality rate, and reduced chance of developing chronic illness. Now, researchers state that is its also beneficial for mental and physical health too. The diet is characterized by the consumption of fish, olive oil, nuts, pulses, vegetables, and fruit. In order to determine how much the Mediterranean diet impacts quality of life, researchers examined over 11,000 university students over a period of four years...
Date: Jun-03-2012
Patients with type 2 diabetes who take medication pioglitazone have a higher risk of incident bladder cancer than diabetes patients who do not, researchers from McGill University, Canada, reported in the BMJ. The authors added that bladder cancer risk was also linked to pioglitazone usage duration and dosage. The team set out to find out whether pioglitazone usage might raise the risk of incident bladder cancer among type 2 diabetes patients. They conducted a retrospective cohort study and used a nested case-control analysis...
Date: Jun-03-2012
Stainless steel is the icon of cleanliness for home and commercial kitchens, restaurants, hospitals and other settings, but it can collect disease-causing bacteria like other surfaces if not cleaned often. Scientists now are reporting discovery, in the ACS journal Langmuir, of a practical way to make stainless steel that disinfects itself. Christophe Detrembleur and colleagues explain that while stainless steel is prized for its durability, resistance to corrosion and ease of cleaning, it readily collects bacteria over time...
Date: Jun-03-2012
Many pharmaceutical companies in a new survey are making progress in embracing the guiding principles of green chemistry, which seek to minimize the use of potentially hazardous substances in producing medications, reduce the generation of waste and operate in other environmentally friendly ways. That's the conclusion of the cover story in the current edition of Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the world's largest scientific society. In the article, C&EN Senior Correspondent Ann M...
Date: Jun-03-2012
New research has found that a brand of baby wipes is just as safe and hydrating as using water alone on newborn skin, suggesting official guidance may need updating. The University of Manchester study, published in BioMed Central's open-access journal BMC Paediatrics, compared Johnson's Baby Extra Sensitive Wipes against cotton wool and water on 280 newborn babies split into two groups over a three-year period...
Date: Jun-03-2012
Maternal smoking can lead to lung disease in babies, including asthma. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Respiratory Research shows that maternal smoking-related defects within the alveoli inside the lungs of offspring are associated with a disruption in retinoic acid signaling. It is known that the effects of smoking on the developing lung have long term consequences for the child's health. Children of mothers who smoke have an increased risk of asthma and lung infections and have a more rapid decline of lung function if they begin to smoke as adults...
Date: Jun-03-2012
Many boys say they would prefer a male befriender according to early findings, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). Yet, less than a quarter of UK volunteer child befrienders are men. "The shortage means many boys in need of a strong male presence in their lives are missing out on the adult male companionship they would like," states researcher Dr Sue Milne of the Centre for Research on Families and Relationships (CRFR) at the University of Edinburgh. Many of the children referred to befriending services face difficulties at home or in school...
Date: Jun-03-2012
Hepatitis C affects more than 170 million people worldwide, but current combination treatment is only effective against a limited range of this naturally highly variable virus. However, according to new research by the University of Warwick, the newly discovered SL9266 'switch' is very highly conserved and present in all Hepatitis C viruses, meaning this offers a good starting point for further research into an across-the-board treatment...
Date: Jun-03-2012
New data from an Internet-based study show that patients with head and neck cancers (HNC) may be at risk for significant late effects after their treatment, but they're unlikely to discuss these and other survivorship care issues with their doctors. The findings, from researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, will be presented Monday, June 4, at the 2012 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting in Chicago...