Medindia Health News

Vitamin C may Benefit People With Dementia
General info About PICA
Simple Eye Test may Help Diagnose Alzheimer's Disease
Potency of Anticancer Drug Increased by Carboranes
Legionnaire's Disease Outbreak Kills 12 in Canada
Routine Ovarian Cancer Screening is Ineffective: Study
Scientists Explain the Cause of Phantom Ringing Syndrome
Her Vision is Perfect, She Can't Make Sense of What She Sees
Bengal - Over 1,200 Now Down With Dengue
Human Excrement Discovered in Cigarettes in Britain
Is Pleurisy a Symptom or Condition?
George Michael's Opera Rocks Paris at AIDS Fundraiser
Genes Associated With Genomic Expansions That Cause Disease Identified
Violin Made from Wood Treated With Fungi Sounds Like Stradiavarius: Study
A Voyage to Explore Link Between Sea Saltiness and Climate: NASA
'Sick Joke' Cigarette Packs Slammed
Link Between Smoking and Ovarian Cancer Explored
Key Breast Milk Ingredient Synthesized
Genes or Environment may Trigger Obesity
Weight-loss Procedures Lack Standardization and Proficiency, Say Experts
Fatty Food Intake During Pregnancy Increases Breast Cancer Risk
Hayfever Vaccine Raises Hope for New Allergy Treatment
Obese Women Have Difficulty Getting Pregnant from IVF
Study Says Omega-3 Fatty Acids Don't Reduce Stroke
Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Patients' Results may Not Improve With Tight Blood Sugar Control
Gene Linking Cataracts and Alzheimer's Disease Identified
Fasting Improves Effectiveness of Radiation Therapy in Cancer Treatment
Cost of US Health Insurance Rises Only 4% in Past Year Partly Due to Health Care Reform
Study Finds Asthma Patients may Not Need Daily Doses of Inhaled Steroids
Your Career Could Be Adversely Affected By Bad Grammar
Record Arctic Ice Melt 'Like Doubling CO2 Emissions': Scientist
Gene Expression Affected By Chemical Used for Making Plastics
Study: Bragging may Help You Get Ahead at Work
Fat, Not Sugar, Contributes to Type-2 Diabetes: Scientist

Vitamin C may Benefit People With Dementia

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Serum concentrations of vitamin C and beta carotene are lower in dementia patients and help protect against neurodegeneration, states study. It might thus be possible to influence the pathogenesis of Alzheimer;s Disease (AD) by a person's diet or dietary antioxidants. 74 AD-patients and 158 healthy controls were examined for the study. AD is a neurodegenerative disease - alterations in the brain caused by amyloid-beta-plaques, degeneration of fibrillae ...

General info About PICA

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Pica is a complex behavior and refers to excessive / abnormal craving for normal food or for other substances not commonly regarded as food such as earth, charcoal, raw rice, ice etc.

Simple Eye Test may Help Diagnose Alzheimer's Disease

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A simple eye test may be an early indicator of Alzheimer's disease, say scientists. This follows previous findings that a toxic protein, that builds up in the brains of dementia patients causing confusion and memory loss also accumulates in the eyes, the Daily Express reported. Now they have found that not only are dementia and cataracts linked, but that Alzheimer's may be triggered from outside the brain. The revolutionary findings by the Boston University ...

Potency of Anticancer Drug Increased by Carboranes

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iResearchers at the University of Missouri (MU) have created a new drug that is ten times more potent than the current cancer -treating drugs./i In a new effort, MU medicinal chemists added a special structure to an anticancer drug and developed a more potent medicine to treat the serious disease. According to Mark W. Lee Jr., assistant professor of chemistry in College of Arts and Science, there has been an increasing interest in using ...

Legionnaire's Disease Outbreak Kills 12 in Canada

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Health authorities in the Canadian city said that the death toll from an outbreak of Legionnaire's disease in Quebec City has risen to 12 since late July. Officials said that 176 people have so far been diagnosed with the disease, which poses a risk for people with weak immune systems but can be treated with antibiotics. Officials suspect improper maintenance of air conditioning systems as the cause of the outbreak. Legionella bacteria grow ...

Routine Ovarian Cancer Screening is Ineffective: Study

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Routine screening for ovarian cancer is a failure and at times can do more harm than good, concludes study. "There is no existing method of screening for ovarian cancer that is effective in reducing deaths," said US Preventive Services Task Force member and chair Dr Virginia Moyer. "In fact, a high percentage of women who undergo screening experience false-positive test results and consequently may be subjected to unnecessary harms, such as major ...

Scientists Explain the Cause of Phantom Ringing Syndrome

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The cause of so-called phantom ringing syndrome the feeling of your phone ringing or buzzing away in your pocket has been discovered by researchers. Alex Blaszczynski, chairman of the School of Psychology at the University of Sydney, believes the sensation is actually triggered by electrical activity. "I expect it's related to some of the electrical signals coming through in a transmission, touching on the surrounding nerves, giving a feeling of ...

Her Vision is Perfect, She Can't Make Sense of What She Sees

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68-year-old woman from a suburb of Chicago, awakened from a nap to the realization that something was terribly wrong. Thus begins a Loyola University Medical Center paper on a rare and baffling neurological disorder called Balint's syndrome, which badly impairs a patient's ability to make sense of what he or she sees. The article describes, in novelistic detail, the difficult adjustments two patients have had to make in their lives. The article is ...

Bengal - Over 1,200 Now Down With Dengue

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According to state health department data the dengue outbreak in West Bengal has now affected over 1,200 people though the number of deaths remains at five. The total number of people afflicted with the mosquito-borne disease has mounted to 1,224, of whom 766 are from the worst-hit c. All the five deaths have been reported from the metropolis. The neighboring North 24 Parganas district has recorded 188 dengue cases. Seventeen of the ...

Human Excrement Discovered in Cigarettes in Britain

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Human excrement, asbestos, mould and dead flies have been discovered in cigarettes being smoked regularly in Britain, the Daily Mail reported. Investigators working for the tobacco industry spent weeks rummaging through litter bins for cigarette packets to assess the scale of the black market. They found that about one-third of packets contained fakes or cigarettes brought in by smugglers. The survey in Birmingham by MS Intelligence, ...

Is Pleurisy a Symptom or Condition?

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Inflammation of the parietal pleura-outer, epithelial lining of the lungs is known as pleurisy (or pleuritis). The fast moving pain signals in the parietal pleura cause severe and local pain in the chest. Pleurisy leads to inadequate exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide. A pleural rub, that is friction between the parietal and visceral pleurae, is a frequent symptom of pleurisy. The sharp pain worsens with any chest movement including ...

George Michael's Opera Rocks Paris at AIDS Fundraiser

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George Michael became the first ever pop singer to play a gig at the Paris Opera, with a special gala concert backed by a symphony orchestra for the AIDS related charity Sidaction. The British star, on top form and fully recovered from a bout of pneumonia which forced him to postpone his Symphonica tour of the UK and Europe last year, filled the majestic 2,000-seat Palais Garnier, management said. He performed a selection of his biggest hits and American ...

Genes Associated With Genomic Expansions That Cause Disease Identified

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A new study of more than 6,000 genes in a common species of yeast has identified the pathways that govern the instability of GAA/TTC repeats. In humans, the expansions of these repeats is known to inactivate a gene - FXN - which leads to Friedreich's ataxia, a neurodegenerative disease that is currently incurable. In yeast, long repeats also destabilize the genome, manifested by the breakage of chromosomes. Working with collaborators at Tufts University, ...

Violin Made from Wood Treated With Fungi Sounds Like Stradiavarius: Study

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A Swiss wood researcher successfully modifies the wood for a violin through treatment with special fungi. This treatment alters the acoustic properties of the instrument, making it sound indistinguishably similar to a Stradivarius. Low density, high speed of sound and a high modulus of elasticity - these qualities are essential for ideal violin tone wood. In the late 17th and early 18th century the famous violin maker Antonio Stradivari used a special ...

A Voyage to Explore Link Between Sea Saltiness and Climate: NASA

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A NASA sponsored expedition to sail to the North Atlantic's saltiest spot to get detailed and 3d picture of salt content fluctuates in the ocean's upper layer and how rainfall pattern affects them. The research voyage is part of a multi-year mission, dubbed the Salinity Processes in the Upper Ocean Regional Study (SPURS), which will deploy multiple instruments in different regions of the ocean. The new data also will help calibrate the salinity ...

'Sick Joke' Cigarette Packs Slammed

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Australia slams sick joke cigarette packs. Tobacco products in Australia will have to be sold in drab, uniform khaki packaging with graphic health warnings from December 1 under a new anti-smoking policy upheld last month by the nation's highest court. In order to meet the shelf deadline products must be manufactured in plain packets from October 1 and Imperial Tobacco rolled out one last branded packet Wednesday which attracted the ire of Health Minister Tanya ...

Link Between Smoking and Ovarian Cancer Explored

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Researchers for the first time have linked smoking with ovarian cancer. Ovarian cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed gynaecological cancer in Australia. Andy Lee and Colin Binns, both professors from the Curtin University's School of Public Health, took part as members of the Collaborative Group on Epidemiological Studies of Ovarian Cancer based at Oxford University and funded by UK Cancer research. Their work involved the completion ...

Key Breast Milk Ingredient Synthesized

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A sugar molecule in human milk that is thought to protect infants from pathogens has been synthesized by a microbial engineer. That's important because 2FL, the shorthand scientists use to describe this human milk oligosaccharide (HMO), has not been added to infant formula because HMOs are incredibly expensive. "We know these oligosaccharides play a vital role in developing a breast-fed baby's gut microbiota and in strengthening their immunity. 2FL (2-fucosyllactose) ...

Genes or Environment may Trigger Obesity

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Recent studies have shown that genetic and environmental factors are the key drivers for the obesity epidemic. Timothy Frayling, Professor of Human Genetics at the University of Exeter thinks that genetic factors are the main driver for obesity in today's environment. Twin and adoption studies show consistently that variation in body mass index has a strong genetic component, with estimated effects of up to 70 percent, he says. Studies ...

Weight-loss Procedures Lack Standardization and Proficiency, Say Experts

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Experts at the National Conference on Tackling Nutritional Challenges Among the diabetic Young say that none of the weight loss solutions currently available are functioning on any reliable logical science and lead to several linked complications. "Lately, centres selling weight-loss in kilos and companies offering weight loss pills and drinks have cropped up as quick-fix solution. Most of them lack a holistic and customized approach, leading to various ...

Fatty Food Intake During Pregnancy Increases Breast Cancer Risk

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Prenatal exposure to high-fat diet or excess estrogen boosts chances of daughters, grand daughters developing breast cancer, finds study. This study, published online today in iNature Communications/i, shows for the first time that the risk of some "familial" breast cancers originate from biological alterations caused by maternal diet during pregnancy that not only affect the directly exposed fetus but also the fetal germ cells, transmitting the increased ...

Hayfever Vaccine Raises Hope for New Allergy Treatment

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New vaccine for hayfever which could be more effective offers hope for millions. Scientists at Imperial College London and King's College London have carried out a study which showed a significant reduction in skin sensitivity to grass pollen that was associated with an increase in 'blocking antibodies' in the bloodstream. The results are so encouraging that King's has today launched a clinical trial in collaboration with Guy's Hospital, working together ...

Obese Women Have Difficulty Getting Pregnant from IVF

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Obesity hinders pregnancy, the more obese you are, the harder it is to get pregnant, states study published in Human Reproduction. Racowsky and her colleagues examined 276 mature human eggs that failed to fertilize from women who were undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures. Of these, 105 eggs were from severely obese women, defined as having a body mass index (BMI) between 35.0 and 50.1 kg/m2, and 171 eggs were from women with a normal BMI, ...

Study Says Omega-3 Fatty Acids Don't Reduce Stroke

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Omega-3 fatty acids were found to have no effect in reducing stroke risk, finds study. The study, which followed nearly 70,000 patients at a hospital in Greece who were given supplements of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, is published in the September 12 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Researchers said patients at the University Hospital of Ioannina did not show a statistically significant reduction in death ...

Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Patients' Results may Not Improve With Tight Blood Sugar Control

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New research has highlighted the effectiveness of standard care over tight blood sugar control in the intensive care unit for pediatric cardiac surgery patients, which did precious little to improve patients' outcomes. "Tight glycemic control using insulin was shown, in some studies, to improve outcomes in adult cardiac surgery patients, but we didn't know whether children would experience similar benefits," says Michael G. Gaies, M.D., M.P.H., senior author of the ...

Gene Linking Cataracts and Alzheimer's Disease Identified

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A gene linking age-related cataracts and Alzheimer's disease has been identified in a recent study by researchers at Boston University Schools of Medicine (BUSM) and Public Health (BUSPH). The findings, published online in iPLoS ONE/i, contribute to the growing body of evidence showing that these two diseases, both associated with increasing age, may share common etiologic factors. Gyungah Jun, PhD, from the departments of medicine, ophthalmology ...

Fasting Improves Effectiveness of Radiation Therapy in Cancer Treatment

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For the first a new study from USC researchers showed controlled fasting improves the effectiveness of radiation therapy in cancer treatments, extending life expectancy in mice with aggressive brain tumors. Prior work by USC professor of gerontology and biological sciences Valter Longo, corresponding author on the study and director of the Longevity Institute at the USC Davis School of Gerontology, has shown that short-term fasting protects healthy cells while leaving ...

Cost of US Health Insurance Rises Only 4% in Past Year Partly Due to Health Care Reform

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A report published Tuesday showed the cost of health insurance in the United States rose only moderately over the past year, partly because of President Barack Obama's health care reform. The cost increase was four percent, higher than the 2.3 percent inflation rate, but considerably slower than in recent years. "Rates of increase in total health spending have been holding at four to six percent per year recently, and per capita spending -- which is ...

Study Finds Asthma Patients may Not Need Daily Doses of Inhaled Steroids

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A study that could change treatment for millions suffering from asthma observed that patients suffering from the respiratory ailment may not need daily doses of inhaled steroids. Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston found that people who use corticosteroids every day to control mild asthma do no better than those who use them only when they have symptoms. "The discovery that these two courses of treatment do not differ significantly ...

Your Career Could Be Adversely Affected By Bad Grammar

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It has been revealed that poor spelling and grammar can affect your career, business and how you're perceived as a professional. The lack of basic literacy skills among some younger employees and recent graduates has become such a problem for businesses that some are introducing language and grammar lessons. Anna Underhill, a consultant at HR firm Maxumise, said that poor spelling and grammar use by employees has become a serious issue for employers. ...

Record Arctic Ice Melt 'Like Doubling CO2 Emissions': Scientist

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An ice scientist has claimed that the loss of Arctic ice is effectively doubling mankind's contribution to global warming. According to Professor Peter Wadhams, white ice reflects more sunlight than open water thus acting like a parasol. Melting of white Arctic ice, currently at its lowest level in recent history, is causing more absorption. Wadhams calculates that this increased absorption of the sun's rays is "the equivalent of about 20 ...

Gene Expression Affected By Chemical Used for Making Plastics

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Researchers in a new study have shown that exposure to the chemical bisphenol A (BPA) early in life results in high levels of anxiety by causing significant gene expression changes in a specific region of the brain called the amygdala. The researchers from North Carolina State University also found that a soy-rich diet can mitigate these effects. "We knew that BPA could cause anxiety in a variety of species, and wanted to begin to understand why and ...

Study: Bragging may Help You Get Ahead at Work

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According to a new research, those who brag about their ability may be more likely to get promoted at work. And it revealed that women's tendency to downplay their successes could be holding them back at work. The research focused on how leaders were chosen in a group. It took MBA students, divided them into groups and examined how leaders were chosen from those groups. The researchers hoped to have leaders chosen based on experience from ...

Fat, Not Sugar, Contributes to Type-2 Diabetes: Scientist

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A leading scientist of the Visva Bharati University has said that fat, not sugar, contributes to the more common Type-2 diabetes. "Diabetes exists in two forms, Type-1 and Type-2. Ninety-six to ninety-seven percent of patients exhibit the latter type," explained Samir Bhattacharya, while speaking at the Frontiers of Science conference organised by the Centre for Natural Sciences and Philosophy and the Critical Issues Forum, Kolkata. In the first type, ...