Health News

Healthy diet costs $550 more per year than unhealthy one

Date: Dec-06-2013
A new Harvard analysis of the best evidence available on the price differences between the healthiest and unhealthiest diets finds that on average, individuals need to spend about $1.50 more per day, or around $550 a year, to keep to the healthiest diets.Writing in the latest issue of BMJ Open, researchers from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), Boston, MA, say their findings highlight "the challenges and opportunities for reducing financial barriers to healthy eating.

American Academy of Ophthalmology and American Academy of Optometry to explore educational opportunities to advance quality eye care

Date: Dec-06-2013
The American Academy of Ophthalmology and the American Academy of Optometry have announced a joint initiative to work together to better prepare and support their members in delivering the highest quality eye care. The two organizations are continuing education leaders for ophthalmology and optometry, respectively. They are engaging with each other in an effort to foster a mutual approach to serving a growing population of patients in the United States who are expected to require eye health services in the near future.

Cigarette smoking after cancer diagnosis increases risk of death

Date: Dec-06-2013
Men who continued to smoke after a cancer diagnosis had an increased risk of death compared with those who quit smoking after diagnosis, according to a study published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.Compared with men who did not smoke after a cancer diagnosis, those who smoked after diagnosis had a 59 percent increase in risk of death from all causes, after adjusting for factors including age, cancer site, and treatment type.

Novel pump being trialled at the Royal Free is giving patients with liver disease a new lease of life

Date: Dec-06-2013
Patients being treated for liver disease at the Royal Free Hospital are having their lives transformed thanks to a simple pump that is implanted in the abdomen.A liver transplant is often the only option for patients with severe alcohol-related liver disease and around 4,000 people in the UK die of the condition every year.However, new technology being trialled at the Royal Free has given some patients with liver disease or cirrhosis a new lease on life.

One-third of patients who receive stents and have evidence of arterial dysfunction at high risk for major cardiovascular events, study finds

Date: Dec-06-2013
Data from a new study indicate that the results of an FDA-approved test for endothelial (arterial) function significantly correlated with near-future cardiovascular events, including revascularization, chest pain, heart attack, heart failure, stroke and even death in high-risk patients, of which the majority have had stents implanted. Early diagnosis of near-future cardiovascular events is critical for the physicians who manage these high-risk patients. The study was published in the December issue of the Journal of the American Heart Association.

How brain cancer cells hide from drugs

Date: Dec-06-2013
Researchers from UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center (JCCC) have discovered a biological mechanism that allows brain tumor cells to escape from the drugs designed to target them, resulting in drug resistance. The study was published in the December 5, 2013 online issue of Science.Glioblastoma is the most common and deadliest form of brain cancer. Drugs have been designed to find and kill glioblastoma cells by targeting telltale mutations on the cell surface that accelerate tumor growth.

Scientists find vast new freshwater sources under the sea

Date: Dec-06-2013
Scientists have discovered huge reserves of freshwater kilometres out to the sea, providing new opportunities to stave off a looming global water crisis.A new study, published in the international scientific journal Nature, reveals that an estimated half a million cubic kilometres of low-salinity water are buried beneath the seabed on continental shelves around the world.The water, which could perhaps be used to eke out supplies to the world's burgeoning coastal cities, has been located off Australia, China, North America and South Africa.

Breakthrough technologies and devices revealed at Congress of Neurological Surgeons Annual Meeting

Date: Dec-06-2013
The Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) hosted a groundbreaking Innovation and Technology Symposium at its recent Annual Meeting in San Francisco. In a first-of-its-kind gathering, neurosurgeons, lead engineers, inventors, researchers, CEOs and venture capitalists gathered to discuss breakthrough technologies and devices in cerebrovascular/endovascular, spine and brain tumor procedures.

Therapeutic benefits of carbon monoxide for prostate, lung cancer

Date: Dec-06-2013
In recent years, research has suggested that carbon monoxide, the highly toxic gas emitted from auto exhausts and faulty heating systems, can be used to treat certain inflammatory medical conditions. Now a study led by a research team at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) shows for the first time that carbon monoxide may also have a role to play in treating cancer.

Sleep linked to mood disturbance and poor quality of life in the obese

Date: Dec-06-2013
A new study shows that poor sleep quality is strongly associated with mood disturbance and lower quality of life among people with extreme obesity.Results show that 74.8 percent of participants were poor sleepers, and their mean self-reported sleep duration was only six hours and 20 minutes. Fifty-two percent of study subjects were anxious, and 43 percent were depressed. After controlling for age, sex, hypertension, diabetes, and obstructive sleep apnea, sleep quality and daytime sleepiness were significantly associated with mood disturbance and quality of life impairment.