Health News

When it comes to sex, what's love got to do with it?

Date: Feb-11-2014
A first-of-its-kind study by researchers at George Mason University's Department of Global and Community Health and Indiana University's Center for Sexual Health Promotion draws some conclusions to an age-old question: What does love have to do with sex? And, in particular, among gay and bisexual men in the United States?While most research about love has been conducted among heterosexual-identified individuals or opposite sex couples, the focus of this study on same sex couples suggests experiences of love are far more similar than different, regardless of sexual orientation.

Creatine safe in Huntington disease prevention trial, may slow progression of disease

Date: Feb-11-2014
The first clinical trial of a drug intended to delay the onset of symptoms of Huntington disease (HD) reveals that high-dose treatment with the nutritional supplement creatine was safe and well tolerated by most study participants. In addition, neuroimaging showed a treatment-associated slowing of regional brain atrophy, evidence that creatine might slow the progression of presymptomatic HD.

Combo therapy with lower intensity statin may be an alternative to higher-intensity monotherapy for some patients

Date: Feb-10-2014
The recent American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association cholesterol guidelines recommend initiating moderate or high-intensity statin monotherapy for patients with low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels of 4.91 mmol/L or greater to reduce their risk for atherosclerotic cardiovacualr disease (ASCVD), the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States. The challenge in clinical practice is that some patients do not respond to high-intensity statin monotherapy and adverse effects are common.

E-cigarettes: new evidence on thirdhand smoke risk

Date: Feb-10-2014
Scientists from the Roswell Cancer Park Institute in Buffalo, NY, have announced the findings of two studies respectively looking at evidence on "thirdhand" exposure to nicotine from e-cigarettes and the accuracy of e-cigarette product labels.Sales of e-cigarettes ("electronic cigarettes") - where nicotine and other cigarette-associated substances are inhaled in a vapor through a battery-operated device - have doubled each year since 2008 in the US. E-cigarettes are not currently regulated by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Preterm babies' language skills better when exposed to adult speech

Date: Feb-10-2014
The linguistic benefits of talking to babies has been well documented, as their brains rapidly develop, allowing them to make millions of new connections. Now, researchers looking at the effects of adult speech on preterm infants have found that increased adult speech during the early weeks of life is associated with better cognitive scores later.Results of the study are published in Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

CDC: kids' caffeine sources now coffee, energy drinks

Date: Feb-10-2014
New research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finds that although overall caffeine intake has not increased among children and adolescents in recent years, more children are consuming caffeine from diverse sources, including coffee and energy drinks.The research team, including Amy M. Branum of the Division of Vital Statistics and Reproductive Statistics Branch at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), recently published the study findings in the journal Pediatrics.

2nd Iraq Health Summit, March 10th and 11th 2014, Iraq

Date: Feb-10-2014
Minister of Health of Iraq welcomes international co-operation to boost sector growthGlobal healthcare community is praising the progress of healthcare in Iraq.Ministry of Health is endorsing the 2nd Iraq Health Summit in Sulaymaniyah."Iraqi health industry has witnessed a great revival and steady growth which has enabled country to improve in many sectors as testified by WHO report about efficiency in healthcare services delivery.

Vitamin C may boost chemotherapy

Date: Feb-10-2014
A new study suggests giving some cancer patients high doses of vitamin C intravenously - as opposed to orally - alongside conventional chemotherapy, may help kill cancer cells and also reduce some of its toxic side effects.Reporting their findings in Science Translational Medicine, researchers from the University of Kansas (KU) Medical Center describe how they tested the approach in cells, animals and humans.

Seven new genetic regions for type 2 diabetes found

Date: Feb-10-2014
The largest study ever to examine the genetic basis of type 2 diabetes has uncovered seven new regions of the genome linked to the disease. The study is also notable because it includes DNA from Asian and Hispanic groups.A large international consortium comprising researchers from 20 countries on four continents came together for the study and gathered data from over 48,000 patients and 139,000 healthy controls from four different ethnic groups: European, east Asian, south Asian and Mexican and Mexican American ancestry.

The fatality rate among heroin and cocaine users is 14 times higher than for the general population

Date: Feb-10-2014
A new study analyses the risk factors and excess mortality among heroin and cocaine consumers admitted to treatment in Spain. The results reveal that the fatality rate among consumers of both drugs is 14.3 times higher than for the general population, while among those only using cocaine, it is 5.1 times higher.In Spain the majority of deaths related to cocaine are not correctly certified and therefore up until now very few studies have been carried out that analyse the consequences of consuming these drugs in terms of mortality.