Chemical peels are a common treatment for acne scars, but a Rutgers study finds that microneedling is significantly more effective for patients with dark skin. Babar Rao, a professor of dermatology and pathology at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, and fellow researchers randomly assigned 60 patients with acne scars and dark skin -- Fitzpatrick Skin Phototype IV to VI -- … [Read more...]
NIH Experts Review Monkeypox Challenges
Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), and H. Clifford Lane, M.D., NIAID deputy director for clinical research and special projects, discuss a published case series (JP Thornhill et al.) detailing the symptoms and outcomes of 528 people with monkeypox from 16 countries in five continents. The authors note that … [Read more...]
Benefits of Statin Therapy Highlighted
Stopping statin treatment early could substantially reduce lifetime protection against heart disease since a large share of the benefit occurs later in life. That's the finding of a modelling study presented at ESC Congress 2022.1 Lead author Dr. Runguo Wu of Queen Mary University of London, UK said: "The study indicates that people in their 40s with a high likelihood of … [Read more...]
Diet Modifications – More Wine and Cheese – Help Reduce Cognitive Decline
The foods we eat may have a direct impact on our cognitive acuity in our later years. This is the key finding of an Iowa State University research study spotlighted in an article published in the November 2020 issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. The study was spearheaded by principal investigator, Auriel Willette, an assistant professor in Food Science and Human … [Read more...]
Increased global mortality linked to arsenic exposure in rice-based diets
Rice is the most widely consumed staple food source for a large part of the world's population. It has now been confirmed that rice can contribute to prolonged low-level arsenic exposure leading to thousands of avoidable premature deaths per year. Arsenic is well known acute poison, but it can also contribute to health problems, including cancers and cardiovascular diseases, … [Read more...]
UK’s vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 is safe and induces an immune reaction, according to preliminary results
Promising early stage results from a phase 1/2 clinical trial of the UK's vaccine candidate against SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) are published today in The Lancet. The early stage trial finds that the vaccine is safe, causes few side effects, and induces strong immune responses in both parts of the immune system -- provoking a T cell response within 14 days of … [Read more...]
Urine Test Reveals Quality of Your Diet — and Whether it’s the Best Fit for Your Body
Scientists have completed large-scale tests on a new type of five-minute urine test that measures the health of a person's diet, and produces an individual's unique urine 'fingerprint'. Scientists at Imperial College London in collaboration with colleagues at Northwestern University, University of Illinois, and Murdoch University, analysed levels of 46 different so-called … [Read more...]
Study confirms ‘classic’ symptoms of COVID-19
A persistent cough and fever have been confirmed as the most prevalent symptoms associated with COVID-19, according to a major review of the scientific literature. Other major symptoms include fatigue, losing the ability to smell and difficulty in breathing. The study ratifies the list of symptoms listed by the World Health Organisation at the start of the … [Read more...]
Mild Thyroid Dysfunction Affects one in five women with a History of Miscarriage or Subfertility
Mild thyroid abnormalities affect up to one in five women with a history of miscarriage or subfertility which is a prolonged time span of trying to become pregnant, according to a new study published in the Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. Thyroid disorders are common in women of reproductive age. Although the prevalence of thyroid … [Read more...]
Physical activity prevents almost 4 million early deaths worldwide each year
At least 3.9 million early deaths are being averted worldwide every year by people being physically active, according to a new study published in The Lancet Global Health today by researchers at the Universities of Cambridge and Edinburgh. The team behind the study argue that too often we focus on the negative health consequences of poor levels of physical activity when we … [Read more...]
Individual response to COVID-19 ‘as important’ as government action
How individuals respond to government advice on preventing the spread of COVID-19 will be at least as important, if not more important, than government action, according to a new commentary from researchers at the University of Oxford and Imperial College London in the UK, and Utrecht University and the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment in the … [Read more...]
Being a ‘morning person’ linked to lower risk of breast cancer
Being a morning person (popularly known as larks) is associated with a lower risk of developing breast cancer than being an evening person (popularly known as owls). Sleeping longer than the recommended 7-8 hours a night may also carry an increased risk, the results suggest. The authors have previously posted a non-peer reviewed, unedited version of this research … [Read more...]
Meditation needs more research: Study finds 25 percent suffer unpleasant experiences
More than a quarter of people who regularly meditate have had a 'particularly unpleasant' psychological experience related to the practice, including feelings of fear and distorted emotions, a UCL-led study has found. The research, published in PLOS ONE, also found those who had attended a meditation retreat, those who only practiced deconstructive types of meditation, … [Read more...]
Drug reduces risk of kidney failure in people with diabetes
A new landmark clinical trial shows that a drug lowers the risk of kidney failure by a third in people with Type 2 diabetes and kidney disease. "For the first time in 18 years, we have a therapy for patients with Type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease that decreases kidney failure," said Kenneth Mahaffey, MD, professor of medicine at the Stanford University School of … [Read more...]
Cancers ‘change spots’ to avoid immunotherapy
Cancers can make themselves harder for new immunotherapies to see by 'changing their spots' -- and switching off a key molecule on the surface of cells that is otherwise recognised by treatment. Researchers found that they could test samples from patients with bowel cancer to identify which were most likely to respond to immunotherapy by assessing molecular changes … [Read more...]
Women reveal the reasons they reject a preventive drug for breast cancer
Only around a fifth of women at higher risk of developing breast cancer think they need to take a drug proven to help prevent the disease, according to new research funded by Cancer Research UK and published today (Monday) in Clinical Breast Cancer. Around 72% said they were worried about the long-term effects of tamoxifen and 57% believed that the drug would give them … [Read more...]
Omega-3 fatty acids reduce the risk of premature birth
A new Cochrane Review published today has found that increasing the intake of omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA) during pregnancy reduces the risk of premature births. Premature birth is the leading cause of death for children under 5 years old worldwide, accounting for close to one million deaths annually. Premature babies are at higher risk of a … [Read more...]
High fruit and vegetable consumption may reduce risk of breast cancer
Women who eat a high amount of fruits and vegetables each day may have a lower risk of breast cancer, especially of aggressive tumors, than those who eat fewer fruits and vegetables, according to a new study led by researchers from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. In their findings, cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, and yellow and orange vegetables, had a … [Read more...]
Top Sports Leagues Heavily Promote Unhealthy Food And Beverages, New Study Finds
The majority of food and beverages marketed through multi-million-dollar television and online sports sponsorships are unhealthy -- and may be contributing to the escalating obesity epidemic among children and adolescents in the U.S., warn social scientists from NYU School of Medicine and other national academic health institutions. The descriptive study publishes online in the … [Read more...]
A need for bananas? Dietary potassium regulates calcification of arteries
Bananas and avocados -- foods that are rich in potassium -- may help protect against pathogenic vascular calcification, also known as hardening of the arteries. University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers have shown, for the first time, that reduced dietary potassium promotes elevated aortic stiffness in a mouse model, as compared with normal-potassium-fed mice. Such … [Read more...]
Athletes and health aficionados: The lupine protein beverage
With its intensive colors and many blossoms, the lupine looks like an ornamental plant. Yet, the tall lupine is far too good to be used decoratively as the plant's seeds contain nutritious proteins. However, it is rather complicated to make lupines edible for humans. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV have now developed a … [Read more...]
Low serum calcium may increase risk of sudden cardiac arrest
Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is fatal for over 90% of patients, and more than half of men and close to 70% of women who die of SCA have no clinical history of heart disease prior to this cardiac event. It is one of the leading causes of death in the United States and kills more people than any single cancer. Many patients who suffer SCA would not be considered high risk under … [Read more...]
Abdominal fat a key cancer driver for postmenopausal women
Body fat distribution in the trunk is more important than body weight when it comes to cancer risk in postmenopausal women, according to a study presented at the ESMO 2017 Congress in Madrid. The findings put a new spin on weight management priorities for women in this this age-group, who are prone to abdominal weight gain, said study investigator Line Mærsk Staunstrup, … [Read more...]
New Treatment for Osteoporosis Protects Patients
A new treatment for osteoporosis provides major improvements in bone density and more effective protection against fractures than the current standard treatment. These are the findings of a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). The study is the first that compares the effect of two osteoporosis medicines on fractures. "With the new treatment, we … [Read more...]
Using antidepressants during pregnancy may affect your child’s mental health
The use of antidepressants has been on the rise for many years. Between 2 and 8% of pregnant women are on antidepressants. Now researchers from the National Centre for Register-based Research at Aarhus BSS show that there is an increased risk involved in using antidepressants during pregnancy. The researchers, headed by Xiaoqin Liu, have applied register-based research … [Read more...]
Use of cognitive abilities to care for grandkids may have driven evolution of menopause
Instead of having more children, a grandmother may pass on her genes more successfully by using her cognitive abilities to directly or indirectly aid her existing children and grandchildren. Such an advantage could have driven the evolution of menopause in humans, according to new research published in PLOS Computational Biology. Women go through menopause long before … [Read more...]
Women won’t be told to give birth naturally
Midwives have dropped their campaign encouraging women to give birth naturally, according to a report. The Royal College of Midwives' campaign had run since 2005, promoting birth without medical intervention, such as an emergency caesarean. But they will no longer be told they should have babies without this intervention. Professor Cathy Warwick, chief executive of … [Read more...]
Targeted radiotherapy limits side effects of breast cancer treatment
Breast cancer patients who have radiotherapy targeted at the original tumour site experience fewer side effects five years after treatment than those who have whole breast radiotherapy, and their cancer is just as unlikely to return, according to trial results published in The Lancet. The Cancer Research UK-funded IMPORT LOW trial revealed that five years after … [Read more...]
In assessing risk of hormone therapy for menopause, dose, not form, matters
When it comes to assessing the risk of estrogen therapy for menopause, how the therapy is delivered -- taking a pill versus wearing a patch on one's skin -- doesn't affect risk or benefit, researchers at UCLA and elsewhere have found. But with the commonly used conjugated equine estrogen, plus progestogen, the dosage does. Higher doses, especially over time, are associated with … [Read more...]
Impact of surgical modality on breast-specific sensuality
Does the type of surgery used to treat breast cancer impact a woman's sensuality and sexual function in survivorship? New research from Women & Infants Hospital analyzed the association of surgical modality with sexual function and found that breast-specific sensuality and appearance satisfaction are better with lumpectomy and may correlate with improved sexual function … [Read more...]