Women Health

As cigarette smoking rates fall, more people are smoking tobacco from hookahs--communal pipes that enable users to draw tobacco smoke through water. A new meta-analysis led by the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine shows that hookah smokers are inhaling a large load of toxicants. The findings, published online and scheduled for the January/February print issue of … [Read more...]

A review of medical literature suggests that exercise, alone or in combination with education, may reduce the risk of low back pain, according to an article published online by JAMA Internal Medicine. Daniel Steffens, Ph.D., of the University of Sydney, Australia, and coauthors identified 23 published reports (on 21 different randomized clinical trials including 30,850 … [Read more...]

Osteoporosis is one of the chief reasons why the elderly often suffer broken bones from relatively minor injuries. Postmenopausal women in particular experience a relatively rapid loss in bone mass due to a reduced concentration of oestrogen, which is responsible for strong bone growth during youth. Maintaining bone mass requires physical exercise and vitamin D, which is mainly … [Read more...]

A new Cochrane Review published today shows that targeting exercises to muscles that support and control the spine offers another strategy to reduce pain and disability caused by lower back pain. Lower back pain is one of the most common health conditions worldwide. It can have substantial health and economic costs as people experience disability and general ill health, … [Read more...]

Scientists at The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research have discovered a new, personalized approach to diagnosing low back pain. The findings from a clinical study show that serum levels of the proinflammatory cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6) vary in individuals with lumbar intervertebral disc disease and that biochemical profiling of circulating cytokines may assist in … [Read more...]

Glaucoma patients may experience increased eye pressure as the result of performing several different head-down positions while practicing yoga, according to a new study published by researchers at New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai (NYEE) in the journal PLOS ONE. Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness in the United States and can dramatically … [Read more...]

Using fitness DVDs to work out at home may seem like a good way to get started on new exercise goals this year, but those DVDs may also include negative imagery and demotivating language. A study of 10 popular commercial exercise DVDs showed that the imagery in the fitness videos may be perpetuating and reinforcing hyper-sexualized and unrealistic body images, said Brad … [Read more...]

A disruption of circadian rhythms, when combined with a high-fat, high-sugar diet, may contribute to inflammatory bowel disease and other harmful conditions, according to a recent study conducted by researchers at Rush University Medical Center. The study is online at the peer-reviewed, open-access journal, PLOS ONE. "Circadian rhythms, which impose a 24-hour cycle on our … [Read more...]

Patients with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) typically have widespread chronic pain and fatigue. For those with low vitamin D levels, vitamin D supplements can reduce pain and may be a cost-effective alternative or adjunct to other treatment, say researchers in the current issue of PAIN®. In addition to pain and fatigue, individuals diagnosed with FMS may experience sleep … [Read more...]

Exposing skin to sunlight may help to reduce blood pressure and thus cut the risk of heart attack and stroke, a study published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology suggests. Research carried out at the Universities of Southampton and Edinburgh shows that sunlight alters levels of the small messenger molecule, nitric oxide (NO) in the skin and blood, reducing blood … [Read more...]

Scientists at the University of Saskatchewan College of Medicine, Department of Physiology, Saskatoon, Canada, led by Dr. Joseph Fomusi Ndisang have determined that upregulating heme-oxygenase with hemin improves pericardial adipocyte morphology and function. It does so by enhancing the expression of proteins of repair and regeneration such as beta-catenin, Oct3/4, Pax2 as well … [Read more...]

Researchers at INRA have just uncovered one of the major genes responsible for female differentiation: FOXL2. Studying sex reversals for answers During normal development, the formation of testes or ovaries in a fetus depends on the presence or absence of the SRYgene, carried by the Y chromosome. However, instances of sex reversal have been observed, where fetuses … [Read more...]

A new study may alleviate concerns that the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine leads to either the initiation of sex or unsafe sexual behaviors among teenage girls and young women. The Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center study shows that teen girls' and young women's beliefs regarding the HPV vaccine, whether accurate or inaccurate, are not linked to subsequent … [Read more...]

A study is only as good as the tools used to analyze it. One of those tools is statistics, and while biologists and chemists set up and run the experiments, statisticians are at work tinkering with the math that makes sense of all the data. Researchers at The Rockefeller University have recently developed a novel statistical method for genetic screens, which takes advantage of … [Read more...]

Elderly people with high serum vitamin E levels are less likely to suffer from memory disorders than their peers with lower levels, according to a study published recently in Experimental Gerontology. According to the researchers, various forms of vitamin E seem to play a role in memory processes. The study was carried out in cooperation between the University of Eastern … [Read more...]

If you are overweight and have osteoarthritis, you may want to bone up on your dairy products that have vitamin D. According to a University of Florida study, higher levels of vitamin D may decrease pain and improve function in obese individuals with osteoarthritis. Findings published in the January issue of The Clinical Journal of Pain indicate that obese individuals who … [Read more...]

Results revealed at The International Liver Congress™ 2015 show that vitamin E (d-alpha-tocopherol) is an effective treatment for non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). NASH occurs when the liver becomes inflamed due to the accumulation of fat. Over time, persistent inflammation can lead to the formation of fibrous scar tissue in the liver and around its blood vessels, which can … [Read more...]

A new study from King's College London and the University of Nottingham has found an association between the amount of vitamin E in the body, exposure to particulate pollution and lung function. The paper adds to growing evidence from previous studies suggesting that some vitamins may play a role in helping to protect the lungs from air pollution. Although the new study did not … [Read more...]

Adding to growing evidence on the possible health risks of electronic cigarettes, a lab team at the Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System tested two products and found they damaged cells in ways that could lead to cancer. The damage occurred even with nicotine-free versions of the products. "Our study strongly suggests that electronic cigarettes are not as safe as … [Read more...]

The human gut harbors a teeming menagerie of over 100 trillion microorganisms, and researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder have discovered that exercising early in life can alter that microbial community for the better, promoting healthier brain and metabolic activity over the course of a lifetime. The research, which was recently published in the journal … [Read more...]

Excessive alcohol consumption, as well as obesity leads to the accumulation of fat in the liver, a disease termed fatty liver disease (FLD) or steatosis. FLD is one of the most prevalent diseases in Western societies and affects about 30% of the adult population. Importantly, FLD increases the risk of liver failure, diabetes and cancer and no pharmacological therapies exist for … [Read more...]

Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have discovered what appears to be a potent stimulator of new bone growth. The finding could lead to new treatments for osteoporosis and other diseases that occur when the body doesn't make enough bone. Osteoporosis affects 55 percent of Americans age 50 and older. Of that age group, one in three women and … [Read more...]

Elderly people with high serum vitamin E levels are less likely to suffer from memory disorders than their peers with lower levels, according to a study published recently in Experimental Gerontology. According to the researchers, various forms of vitamin E seem to play a role in memory processes. The study was carried out in cooperation between the University of Eastern … [Read more...]

People are more likely to choose healthy options at the grocery store if they use the risk of losing their monthly healthy food discount as a motivational tool, according to new research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. The research adds to a body of work aimed at understanding which factors are most effective for … [Read more...]

A new study published in the Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics & Gynecology has found that women who suffer from pelvic pain caused by endometriosis may need psychological intervention in order to help improve their mental health and quality of life. The study, which assessed quality of life, anxiety and depression in 110 patients with surgically diagnosed … [Read more...]

A large proportion of people living with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) are vitamin D deficient, a new study has found. Researchers from the University of Sheffield discovered a significant association between a patient's vitamin D levels and the severity of their IBS symptoms, particularly the extent to which IBS affects their quality of life. The study, which is the … [Read more...]

Chronic overeating and stress are tied to an increased risk of depression and anxiety, and in a new study, Yale researchers explain why that happens and suggest a possible solution. The researchers report that the anesthetic ketamine reverses depression-like symptoms in rats fed a high-fat diet in a similar way it combats depression and synaptic damage of chronic stress in … [Read more...]

Researchers at the University of Michigan have identified how a promising drug in clinical trials for the treatment of obesity and related metabolic disorders improves the metabolism of sugar by generating a new signal between fat cells and the liver. In addition to illuminating how the drug, amlexanox, reverses obesity, diabetes and fatty liver disease, the findings suggest … [Read more...]

A few years from now millions of people around the world might be walking around with an unusual kind of glass in their mouth, and using it every time they eat. Engineers at Oregon State University have made some promising findings about the ability of "bioactive" glass to help reduce the ability of bacteria to attack composite tooth fillings -- and perhaps even provide some … [Read more...]

What drives you to Facebook? News? Games? Feedback on your posts? The chance to meet new friends? If any of these hit home, you might have a Facebook dependency. But that's not necessarily a bad thing, says Amber Ferris, an assistant professor of communication at The University of Akron's Wayne College. Ferris, who studies Facebook user trends, says the more people use … [Read more...]