Health

Scientists have unveiled two classes of drug compounds, which could help combat Alzheimer’s disease.

Their research suggests that these compounds target the disease-causing peptides with high precision and with minimal side-effects.

At the same time, the scientists offer a molecular explanation for early-onset hereditary forms of Alzheimer’s, which can strike as early as thirty years of age.

The conclusions of their research are very encouraging regarding the future of therapeutic means that could keep Alzheimer’s disease in check.

Burning incense generates indoor air pollutants that may cause inflammation in human lung cells, a new study has found.

Previous studies, some by co-author Karin B. Yeatts, research assistant professor of epidemiology and other University of North Carolina (UNC) colleagues, have associated incense smoke with a number of health problems, including eye, nose, throat and skin irritation; respiratory symptoms, including asthma; headaches; exacerbation of cardiovascular disease; and changes in lung-cell structure.

Breastfeeding is the most effective and inexpensive “life-safer” for newborns as well as their first immunisation and it supports the child’s ability to learn while helping prevent obesity and chronic diseases later in life, according to experts.

Stress is often seen as a culprit when you are unable to get a good night’s sleep. But your diet also plays a role in it. Check your nutrient intake to sleep well.

The following vitamins and minerals are required to solve sleep problems, reports huffingtonpost.com.

Did you know that your child`s recurring throat infection could be because of acidity? For reasons that are lifestyle-related and, therefore, well within our control, occurrence of acidity among youngsters is rising steadily and should be addressed with a visit to the doctor if it hampers daily life to avoid its long-term implications.

Blocking dietary sugar and its activity in tumor cells may reduce cancer risk and progression in obese and diabetic people , a new study has found.

The study, by researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine, conducted in fruit flies, provides insight as to why metabolism-related diseases such as diabetes or obesity are associated with certain types of cancer, including pancreatic, breast, liver, and colon cancers.

Stress might have harmed your health even before you were born, a new study suggests.

Harvard researchers have found that epigenetic disruptions, which are associated with chronic disease later in life, are already common at birth.

Possibly, these aberrations result from stressors in the intrauterine environment (e.g. maternal smoking, maternal diet, or high levels of endocrine-disrupting chemicals).

This finding supports the belief that seeds of disease are sown before birth, increasing the importance of optimal prenatal care.

Anaemia, or low levels of red blood cells, may increase the risk of dementia in elderly people, a US study has said.

“Anaemia is common in the elderly and occurs in up to 23 percent of adults aged 65 and older,” Xinhua quoted study author Kristine Yaffe of the University of California San Francisco as saying.

“The condition has also been linked in studies to an increased risk of early death.”

In the study, researchers examined 2,552 older adults between the ages of 70 and 79 for over 11 years.

One in five high schoolers has permanent ringing in the ears, and few take measures to protect their ears from loud music, according to a new study.

Those numbers are surprisingly similar to results of a study of college-aged adults, said lead author Annick Gilles, a clinical audiologist at Antwerp University Hospital in Edegem, Belgium.

She and her coauthors had expected the numbers to be higher for college-aged people, who “go out a lot,” she told Reuters Health.

Public health expenditure in India has dropped from 1.3 percent of the GDP in 1990 to 0.9 percent in 2012 and there is need to increase public funding in the health sector, said Indian Medical Association (IMA) Wednesday.

The IMA in a white paper on Healthcare Reforms said the presence of public health care was not only weak but also underutilised and inefficient.

Meanwhile, private sector is quite dominant in the healthcare sector, with over 70 percent of healthcare delivery being provided by the private sector.

A simple injection of a naturally occurring hormone could one day ease the pain of rheumatoid arthritis, a new study has revealed.

Inflammatory joint diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis are the result of cartilage damage and loss.

Chondrocytes are the only cells that are found in cartilage and their death is linked to decreased cartilage health.

Carmen Clapp and colleagues at the National University of Mexico identify prolactin as a potential treatment for inflammatory joint disease.

Prolactin treatment prevented chondrocyte death and associated cartilage degradation.

With rampant malnutrition among children in the Sunderbans, the world`s largest mangrove forests, experts have called for a change in the health system strategy and zoomed in on the gaps in the public healthcare system.

The Sunderbans Health Watch (SHW) report, How Healthy are the Children of the Indian Sunderban, the first in a series launched here Thursday, addresses the problems in child healthcare.

Omega-3 fatty acids, contained in oily fish such as salmon and trout, selectively inhibit growth and induce cell death in early and late-stage oral and skin cancers, a new study suggests.

In vitro tests showed omega-3 fatty acids induced cell death in malignant and pre-malignant cells at doses which did not affect normal cells, suggesting they have the potential to be used in both the treatment and prevention of certain skin and oral cancers.

Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids cannot be made by humans in large quantities and so we must acquire them from our diet.

Women who gave birth following fertility treatment had no long-term increased risk of death or major cardiovascular events compared to women who gave birth without fertility therapy, a new study has found.

The findings, by the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) and Women’s College Hospital, are the first to show fertility medications, which can cause short-term pregnancy complications, are not associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease later in life.

Even though exercise has proven health benefits, easing hot flashes isn’t one of them, a new study suggests.

After participating in a 12-week aerobic exercise program, sedentary women with frequent hot flashes had no fewer or less bothersome hot flashes than a control group.

The 248 women in the trial, from the MsFLASH Research Network, were either approaching menopause or were postmenopausal; 142 of them continued to go about their usual activities, and 106 participated in aerobic exercise training three times a week for 12 weeks at a fitness center.

Research on the genetics of diabetes could help women get to know their risk of developing gestational diabetes before getting pregnant – and lead to measures being taken to protect the health of the offspring.

Gestational diabetes affects 18 percent of pregnancies but usually disappears when a pregnancy is over. Babies born to women with gestational diabetes are typically larger at birth, which can lead to complications during delivery.

They are at an increased risk of developing metabolic diseases, like diabetes, in childhood and adulthood.

Higher variability in blood pressure readings, could be related to impaired cognitive function in old age in those already at high risk of cardiovascular disease, a new study suggests.

There is increasing evidence that vascular factors contribute in development and progression of dementia.

This is of special interest as cardiovascular factors may be amendable and thus potential targets to reduce cognitive decline and the incidence of dementia.

Breast reduction surgery produces measurable improvements in several important areas of health and quality of life, a new study has revealed.

The study used the BREAST-Q questionnaire, a well-validated survey instrument, to document the physical and psychosocial health benefits of breast reduction surgery.

“The improvement in physical well-being is important for justification of insurance coverage,” according to the paper by Dr. Michelle Coriddi and colleagues of Wexner Medical Center at the Ohio State University, Columbus.

A new has found that exercise may improve cognitive function in those at risk for Alzheimer’s by improving the efficiency of brain activity associated with memory.

Memory loss leading to Alzheimer’s disease is one of the greatest fears among older Americans.

While some memory loss is normal and to be expected as we age, a diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment, or MCI, signals more substantial memory loss and a greater risk for Alzheimer’s, for which there currently is no cure.

A new study has revealed that children with disabilities receive harsher punishment across the developing world.

According to the study conducted by researchers at the Duke University Center for Child and Family Policy found that disabled children were more likely to be severely punished by being hit on the head or beaten with an object such as a stick or belt.

A research professor, Jennifer Lansford said that attitudes toward disabilities can vary between cultures adding that while disabilities are often stigmatized, the opposite can also be true.

Offsprings of expecting mothers, who experience stress during pregnancy, can become obese, if the children cope with stress passively, a new study has suggested.

The research shows that passively coping offspring of mothers stressed during their pregnancy were at risk to develop obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Previous research in rodents suggested that both prenatal stress exposure and passive stress coping style might predispose offspring to develop type 2 diabetes later in life.

A new study led by an Indian researcher has found that a mutation in a gene crucial to normal heart development plays a role in some types of congenital heart disease.

The finding, from a team in The Research Institute at Nationwide Children`s Hospital, could help narrow the search for genes that contribute to this defect, which affects as many as 40,000 newborns a year.

Several hundred genes have been implicated in the formation of the heart, and a mutation in any of them could potentially contribute to a cardiac defect.

Stem cells obtained from urine could one day allow humans to regrow lost teeth, scientists claim.

Chinese scientists used stem cells from urine to create tiny `tooth buds` that when transplanted into mice grew into tooth-like structures.
Stem cells – cells which can grow into any type of tissue – are popular among researchers looking for ways to grow new teeth to replace those lost with age and poor dental hygiene.

The group at the Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health used urine as the starting point, `BBC News` reported.

Excessive use of mobile phone can lead to oxidative stress in cells that is linked to cellular and genetic mutations which cause development of tumours, says a study.

Oxidative stress is a process that damages all aspects of a human cell, including DNA, through the development of toxic peroxide and free radicals.

Scientists have linked breastfeeding with better receptive language at 3 years of age and verbal and nonverbal intelligence at age 7 years.

Evidence supports the relationship between breastfeeding and health benefits in infancy, but the extent to which breastfeeding leads to better cognitive development is less certain, according to the study background.

Mandy B. Belfort, M.D., M.P.H., of Boston Children`s Hospital, and colleagues examined the relationships of breastfeeding duration and exclusivity with child cognition at ages 3 and 7 years.