Germy mouths linked to heart attacks, study finds
People with the germiest mouths are the most likely to have heart attacks, U.S. researchers reported on Wednesday. A study that compared heart attack victims to healthy volunteers found the heart patients had higher numbers of bacteria in their mouths, the researchers said. Their findings add to a growing body of evidence linking oral hygiene with overall health. Oelisoa Andriankaja and colleagues... Read more
Rapid Infant Weight Gain Linked to Childhood Obesity
Babies who gain weight quickly during the first six months of life may be more prone to obesity as toddlers, Harvard researchers report. “We need to start our preventive methods when children are much younger,” said study author Dr. Elsie M. Taveras. “Even in the first couple of weeks of life, we can start guiding parents about how to prevent rapid weight gain in their infants.” While... Read more
Hormone relaxin helps treat heart failure: study
Relaxin — a naturally occurring hormone that helps women adapt to pregnancy — is showing promise as a treatment for acute heart failure, a new study has found. The research, conducted by scientists from the United States and Italy and presented here Sunday at an annual conference of the American College of Cardiology, said the hormone helped patients to breathe more easily. Given in addition... Read more
Combo Screening Doesn’t Spot Early Ovarian Cancer
A screening regimen that combines ultrasound and a blood test to detect CA125, a marker for ovarian cancer, fails to discover the cancer in its early stages and often results in unnecessary surgery, a new study shows. This finding contrasts with another recent study that found that these same two tests did find early cancer. Taken together, experts say these studies highlight the need to find an effective... Read more
Alzheimer’s Drug May Someday Help Head Trauma Victims
A new class of Alzheimer’s disease drugs may prevent long-term damage from traumatic brain injury, suggests a study of mice by Georgetown University Medical Center researchers. The drugs — gamma-secretase inhibitors — are designed to target amyloid plaque that accumulates in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease, according to background information in the study. “No... Read more
Stress May Raise Diabetes Risk for Obese Black Women
Stress may play a key role in the development of type 2 diabetes in obese black women, U.S. researchers say. “Much attention has been given to the role of obesity in the development of type 2 diabetes, but stress may be as important in this at-risk population,” study co-author Anastasia Georgiades, of Duke University in Durham, N.C., said in a news release. The study included 62 healthy,... Read more
Contact Lenses Boost Kids’ Self-Image
Compared to glasses, contact lenses improve how children feel about their appearance, their ability to play sports and their acceptance among friends, a study of 484 nearsighted children finds. “Many studies have examined the effect of spectacle wear on self-perception and the perception of others, but the majority of this research has been conducted on adults,” study leader Jeffrey J.... Read more
Low-carb? Low-fat? Study finds calories count more
Low-fat, low-carb or high-protein? The kind of diet doesn’t matter, scientists say. All that really counts is cutting calories and sticking with it, according to a federal study that followed people for two years. However, participants had trouble staying with a single approach that long and the weight loss was modest for most. As the world grapples with rising obesity, millions have turned to... Read more
Media Influences Cancer Care
Cancer patients who research their disease on the Internet and in other media are more likely to get the latest treatments from their doctors, a new study suggests. Although studies have found that about 40 percent of cancer patients look to the Internet for medical information, it hasn’t been clear just how that information influences their choice of treatments, the researchers noted. “We... Read more
Watching R-Rated Movies Boosts Kids’ Smoking Risk
Children who are allowed to watch R-rated movies are more likely to smoke, say researchers who analyzed data from a four-year study of more than 1,200 Massachusetts youngsters. “We don’t know why this is so. It may have to do with a parenting style that is permissive of activities that are not age-appropriate. Or it may be an outcome of all the smoking scenes in R-rated movies,” lead... Read more