Category Archives: health

The Pill can lead to hair loss

Hormones in the Pill are causing hair loss in a number of young women, a leading expert has said.

David Salinger, director of International Association of Trichologists, said he everyday treats one young woman for hair thinning, reports the Sydney Morning Herald.

Contraceptive pills such as Yasmin and Diane 35 ED can promote hair growth, while [...]

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Sleep deprivation linked to drug use in teens’ social networks

Poor sleep patterns are likely to drive adolescents at the centre of social networks to use drugs, thereby increasing their vulnerability, says a study.

Principal researcher Sara C. Mednick, assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and the VA San Diego Healthcare System, pointed out the spread of [...]

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Higher doses of statin may lead to fatal kidney failure

Higher doses of cholesterol lowering drug Zocor, sold generically as simvastatin, may increase risk of a condition which can lead to fatal kidney failure, a drug watchdog has warned.

According to an analysis of clinical trial data in America, large doses of simvastatin, which is taken in order to lower cholesterol and reduce the risk [...]

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Parents putting babies at risk by using slings incorrectly, say experts

Experts have raised concerns about the safety of babies in the way parents carry them in slings.

Experts have warned that babies can suffocate within two minutes if the sling is pushed against their face or if they are carried in a curled position that is popular with many [...]

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Acne drug may help prevent HIV breakout

A cheap acne drug that’s been used for decades effectively targets infected immune cells in which HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, lies dormant and prevents them from reactivating and replicating, claim Johns Hopkins researchers.

The drug, minocycline, likely will improve on the current treatment regimens of HIV-infected patients if used in combination with a [...]

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Pesticide chlorpyrifos associated with childhood developmental delays

Exposure to the pesticide chlorpyrifos is associated with early childhood developmental delays, according to a study by researchers at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health.

Findings of the study, “Chlorpyrifos Exposure and Urban Residential Environment Characteristics as Determinants of Early Childhood Neurodevelopment,” are online in the American Journal of Public Health.

The study examined the [...]

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Cough medicine ingredient noscapine may help fight prostate cancer

Cough medicine ingredient noscapine could be used as a prophylactic treatment for prostate cancer, according to a new study.

The study shows that noscapine inhibited tumor growth in mice and also limited the spread of tumors without causing any side effects.

The collaborative pre-clinical laboratory research was conducted by Dr. Israel Barken, of the Prostate Cancer [...]

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Bone Stem Cells can be used to mend damaged hips

Bone stem cells could in future be used instead of bone from donors as part of an innovative new hip replacement treatment, according to scientists at the University of Southampton.

A team from the University’s School of Medicine believe that introducing a patient’s own skeletal stem cells into the hip joint during bone grafting would [...]

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Bone Stem Cells can be used to mend damaged hips

Bone stem cells could in future be used instead of bone from donors as part of an innovative new hip replacement treatment, according to scientists at the University of Southampton.

A team from the University’s School of Medicine believe that introducing a patient’s own skeletal stem cells into the hip joint during bone grafting would [...]

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Reality TV shows on fat people turn kids off junk food

A Kiwi study has found that kids are getting put off by junk food after watching reality TV shows that feature overweight people.

Marketing researcher at Massey University’s Auckland campus Jacinta Hawkins looked at the influence of television content on the health of children aged between 7 and 13.

She found TV shows like ‘The [...]

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Acupuncture ‘can spread HIV, hepatitis B and C’

Acupuncture treatment may lead to transmission of bacterial infections, hepatitis B and C, and even HIV, health experts have warned.

Microbiologists at the University of Hong Kong insist that use of contaminated needles can have devastating results, reports The China Daily.

The researchers, led by Patrick Woo, microbiology professor at the University of Hong Kong, wrote: [...]

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Stress during pregnancy ‘ups offspring’s asthma risk’

Stress during pregnancy may increase offspring’s risk of asthma, say researchers.

Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston investigated differences in immune function markers in cord blood between infants born to mothers in high stress environments and those born to mothers with lower stress and found marked differences in patterns [...]

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Women with swine flu more likely to suffer critical illness if pregnant

Pregnant women with swine flu are 13 times more likely to become critically ill than non-pregnant women infected with H1N1, concludes a new study.

The research, published on bmj.com, included pregnant women in Australia and New Zealand.

Boffins concluded that 11 percent of mothers and 12 percent of babies died as a result of being admitted [...]

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Shift workers at increased irritable bowel syndrome risk

Shift workers face a significantly increased risk of developing Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and abdominal pain compared to those working a standard day-time schedule, says a new study.

The study has been published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology.

“We know that people participating in shift work often complain of gastrointestinal symptoms such as abdominal pain, [...]

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Calls for melancholia to be listed as ‘mental illness’

Psychiatrists are urging authorities to list melancholia as a distinct disease of the mind in the 2013 edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

Gordon Parker, a professor of psychiatry at the University of NSW and director of the Black Dog [...]

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Marathon training ’causes heart damage in healthy people’

Training for marathons can cause formerly healthy people to develop cardiovascular problems like increased blood pressure and stiffness in the aorta, says a new study.

“The cardiovascular system is like a sports car engine,” said lead researcher Despina Kardara of the Athens Medical [...]

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Bleach-based products the best bet to beat norovirus

All commercial disinfectants may not be effective in cleansing noroviruses, a group of viruses that are behind half of all foodborne gastroenteritis diseases, say researchers.

They suggest that only bleach-based disinfectants can fight the concentration of these viruses.

Universiti Laval researchers claim some [...]

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Selenium may help fight diabetes in men

For men, high plasma selenium concentrations are associated with a lower occurrence of dysglycemia, says a new study.

Dysglycemia is any disorder of blood sugar metabolism.

The research has been published in BioMed Central’s open access journal Nutrition and Metabolism.

Tasnime Akbaraly, from the University of Montpellier, worked with a team of researchers to follow 1162 healthy [...]

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Hypnotherapy effective for easing irritable bowel syndrome symptoms

Hypnotherapy may help ease the distressing symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), say experts.

During a wide ranging discussion of the condition in a Frontline Gastroenterology podcast, experts revealed that in a goodly proportion of cases, hypnotherapy clears up symptoms altogether.

Excluding certain foodstuffs may help alleviate symptoms, but usually only for a while, says Professor [...]

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Fish may help fight bowel cancer

In people whose genetic make-up predisposes them to bowel cancer, a purified form of an omega 3 cuts the number and size of precancerous bowel growths (polyps), says a new study.

The study has been published in the journal Gut.

Furthermore, this particular omega 3 (eicosapentaenoic acid or EPA) seems to be as effective as the [...]

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Diabetics who have difficulty reaching out to others face early death risk

If a new research is to be believed, then being overly cautious or dismissive in relating to people could shorten the lives of people with diabetes.

The five-year study showed that diabetes patients who have a lower propensity to reach out to others have a higher mortality rate than those who feel comfortable seeking support. [...]

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Loneliness linked to high BP in elderly

Loneliness may adversely affect blood pressure in older adults, a new study reveals.

The new study at the University of Chicago shows, for the first time, a direct relation between loneliness and larger increases in blood pressure four years later-a link that is independent of age and other factors that could cause blood pressure to [...]

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Low vitamin D levels associated with higher rates of asthma among kids

African American children with asthma in metropolitan Washington, DC, are significantly more likely to have low levels of vitamin D than healthy African American children, researchers have claimed.

The study by researchers at Children’s National Medical Center has been published in The Journal of Pediatrics.

Vitamin D deficiency has been recently linked to a variety of [...]

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Brain damage associated with prenatal meth exposure

Researchers have claimed that a developing fetus exposed to methamphetamine can cause far more damaging brain, cognitive and behavioral problems than prenatal exposure to alcohol.

Reporting in the March 17 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, UCLA professor of neurology Elizabeth Sowell and [...]

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Smokers who kick the butt gradually or cold turkey have similar success

Smokers who kick the habit gradually or cold turkey have similar success, according to a new research review.

The authors analysed 10 studies with 3,760 participants and studies had a minimum six-month follow-up period.

Lead reviewer Nicola Lindson, a researcher at the U.K. Centre for Tobacco Control Studies at [...]

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Older non-smokers gain most from smoking bans

A new study conducted in New Zealand suggests that older people who have never smoked gain most from tobacco ban.

The research demonstrated that, three years after a smoking ban on all workplaces was introduced, hospital admissions for heart attacks among men and women aged 55-74 came down [...]

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Common cold symptoms may not end after nose spray

Common cold symptoms are not reduced even if the nose is washed with a spray or salt water, says a new research review.

The three studies in the review included small numbers of patients and varied widely in their details, “which means small beneficial [...]

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Anti-obesity drugs unlikely to provide lasting health benefits

Anti-obesity drugs fall short of providing long lasting health benefits, researchers have pointed out.

Experts at the University of Liverpool debated the drugs handled the biological consequences of obesity since most developers focused primarily on weight loss as their end goal.

Dr Jason Halford, Reader in Appetite and Obesity at the University of Liverpool, and his [...]

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Heart abnormalities diagnosed in World Trade Center workers

The World Trade Center collapse has caused potentially dangerous heart problems in responders on-site, according to new research.

Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine conducted the analyses of 1,236 WTC workers.

Their study showed that responders have impaired diastolic function of both the right and left ventricle, meaning their hearts do not relax normally, which [...]

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Stomach wraps more effective approach to treat severe acid reflux

For treatment of severe acid reflux, stomach wrap operations could be a more effective option than acid suppression tablets, according to a new Cochrane Systematic Review.

The study shows a more pronounced improvement in symptoms shortly after surgery than with drug treatment.

Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) is a common chronic disease in which acid reflux [...]

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