Health

Researchers at the University of Adelaide have found that middle-aged women are more likely to suffer depression from a common medical problem that they find too embarrassing to talk about – urinary incontinence.

However, help is available for women if they seek medical advice, researchers said.

In a study of the experiences of women with urinary incontinence, researcher Jodie Avery found that middle-aged women with incontinence (aged 43-65) were more likely to be depressed than older women (aged 65-89).

A team of researchers have recommended guidelines that may decrease the infection rate by 71 percent for staph bacteria.

The first of the three steps that have been recommended are that a patients nose should be swabbed for two strains of staph Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus ( MSSA) before surgery.

Secondly, for the 30 percent patients who have staph naturally in their noses, a anti-bacterial nose ointment should be applied in the days before surgery.

A unique odour signature from human skin cells can be used for identifying melanoma – the deadliest form of cancer, a new research has claimed.

The researchers also showed that a nanotechnology-based sensor could reliably differentiate melanoma cells from normal skin cells.

Melanoma is a tumour that affects melanocytes, skin cells that produce the dark pigment that gives skin its colour.

The disease is responsible for approximately 75 percent of skin cancer deaths, with chances of survival directly related to how early the cancer is detected.

A researcher at the George Washington University (GW) found that men who used the medication finasteride (Propecia) and developed persistent sexual side effects, are also drinking less alcohol than before.

While robust literature exists on the interaction between finasteride and alcohol in rodents, this is the first study to examine the role of finasteride in alcohol consumption in humans with male pattern hair loss.

The findings from this research are consistent with the findings from research in rodents, identifying that finasteride has the ability to modulate alcohol intake.

Many people use night creams, day creams, sunscreens, and exfoliating scrubs to keep their faces looking dewy-fresh, but overlook the biggest age indicator of all – hands.

Dawn Davis, beauty editor at TotalBeauty.com, have offered some handcare tips to keep your hands looking as young as you feel, according to Huffington Post.

Sun damage is the biggest culprit for aging hands, according to Davis.

So, she said the best way to help keep your hands from aging is to keep them out of the sun and to use sunscreen.

Taking Vitamin C may substantially reduce bronchoconstriction caused by exercise, suggested a researcher from the University of Helsinki, Finland.

Exercise-induced bronchoconstriction means the transient narrowing of the airways that occurs during or after exercise. It can cause symptoms such as cough, wheezing and the shortness of breath.

Formerly, this condition was called exercise-induced asthma. Usually, the diagnosis of exercise-induced bronchoconstriction is based on a 10 percent or greater decline in forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) caused by exercise.

A new study has revealed that more than half of middle-aged women who still have regular cycles have hot flashes.

According to a survey of some 1,500 women, Asian and Hispanic women are less likely to have them than white women, but compared with previous studies, the figures are surprisingly high.

A new study from Victoria University in Melbourne has found that men are more shy around other men than they are with their own sexual partners.

Doctorate of Clinical Psychology graduate Dr Annabel Chan Feng Yi surveyed 738 men online and found insecurity about weight, body image and penis size was a common trend, Stuff.co.nz reported.

“Men’s pre-occupation with size was rarely to do with pleasing sexual partners or even appearing as a better sexual partner,” Dr Chan said.

While the overall number of blood donors in India has grown over the years, women constitute only a tiny 10 percent share owing to health problems like pernicious anaemia and low haemoglobin levels or being underweight.

Researchers have shed light on how an amputated fingertip of mammals can regenerate.

NYU Langone Medical Center researchers used genetically engineered mice to document for the first time the biochemical chain of events that unfolds in the wake of a fingertip amputation.

The findings hold promise for amputees who may one day be able to benefit from therapies that help the body regenerate lost limbs.

A new study has found that a major ingredient in those green coffee bean dietary supplements – often touted as “miracle” weight-loss products – doesn`t prevent weight gain in obese laboratory mice fed a high-fat diet when given at higher doses.

The first-of-its-kind study also linked the ingredient to an unhealthy build-up of fat in the liver.

Every 10 tobacco ad sightings may increase teens` risk of starting to smoke by almost 40 per cent and their chances of daily smoking by 30 percent, a new study has warned.

The researchers based their findings on over 1,300 ten- to 15-year-old non-smokers whose exposure to tobacco advertising and subsequent behaviour were monitored over a period of 2.5 years.

In 2008, the children, who were pupils at 21 public schools in three different regions of Germany, were asked how often they had seen particular ads.

Men, who experience restless legs syndrome -RLS- may have a higher risk of dying earlier, according to a new research.

The disorder is characterized by an irresistible urge to move the legs and often causes leg sensations of burning, creeping, and tugging, which are usually worse at night.

The study conducted by Xiang Gao, MD, PhD, with Harvard School of Public Health, Harvard Medical School and the Channing division of network medicine, Brigham and Women`s Hospital in Boston highlights the importance of recognizing this common but under diagnosed disease.

Researchers have claimed that people who were born with a low birth weight could be likelier to develop age-related vision loss.

Medical researchers at the University of Alberta recently published their findings that rats with restricted growth in the womb, causing low birth weights when born, were most susceptible to developing age-related vision loss, compared to their normal weight counterparts.

A new study has revealed that a few cups of hot cocoa may not only fight off the chill of a winter`s day, but they could also help obese people better control inflammation-related diseases, such as diabetes.

Mice that were fed cocoa with a high-fat diet experienced less obesity-related inflammation than mice fed the same high-fat diet without the supplement, Joshua Lambert, associate professor of food science, said.

The mice ate the human equivalent of 10 tablespoons of cocoa powder-about four or five cups of hot cocoa-during a 10-week period.

A study on human saliva provides new insights into why older people were better able to fight off the new strains of “bird” flu and “swine” flu than younger people.

Zheng Li and colleagues explain that saliva does more than start the process of digesting certain foods.

Saliva also contains germ-fighting proteins that are a first-line defense against infections.

Scientists already knew that levels of certain glycoproteins – proteins with a sugar coating that combat disease-causing microbes – differ with age.

Using hands-free devices to talk, text or send e-mail while driving is distracting and risky, contrary to what many people believe, a new study has revealed.

A research conducted by the University of Utah has found that hands-free is not risk-free and the new, speech-based technologies in the car can overload the driver”s attention and impair their ability to drive safely.

A new study suggests that every 10 tobacco ad sightings encourages teens to start smoking by almost 40 percent.

The researchers base their findings on over 1300 ten to 15 year old non-smokers whose exposure to tobacco advertising and subsequent behaviour were monitored over a period of 2.5 years.

In 2008, the children, who were pupils at 21 public schools in three different regions of Germany, were asked how often they had seen particular ads.

A fifteen minute walk after each meal may help older people regulate blood sugar levels and could reduce their risk of developing type 2 diabetes, a new study has claimed.

The study by researchers at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services (SPHHS), found that three short post-meal walks were as effective at reducing blood sugar over 24 hours as a 45-minute walk of the same easy-to-moderate pace.

Moreover, post-meal walking was significantly more effective than a sustained walk at lowering blood sugar for up to three hours following the evening meal.

A life science company is perfecting a possible miracle cure for cancer from a fruit from the north Queensland rainforest.

QBiotics based in Queensland believes that a compound extracted from the same fruit of the native blushwood may also help cure chronic wounds, the Courier Mail reported.

The company’s chief executive Dr Victoria Gordon said that the anti-cancer drug found in the 130 million year old rainforest was unique.

A new study has revealed that scheduled exercise, regular meals and the periodic warming and cooling of joints could relieve the symptoms of osteoarthritis in older people.

The research, by scientists at the University of Manchester, may also help explain why older people are more prone to developing this common joint disorder.

The team in the Faculty of Life Sciences has established for the first time that cartilage cells have a functioning body clock that switches on and off genes controlling tissue function.

Scientists from NYU have revealed that stress is the real culprit behind grey hairs.

The study, carried out on lab mice, suggest that constant worrying affects melanocyte stem cells, which produce the melanin pigment that is responsible for the colour of hair and skin, the Daily Express reported.

The examination explains that when the skin is damaged, these cells travel from their usual position, in a bulge at the base of the hair follicle, to carry out whatever repairs have to be done.

Women who are overweight or obese are more likely to have preterm delivery, according to a new Swedish study.

Those with the highest Body Mass Index (BMI) also had the highest statistical risk of giving preterm birth – and especially extremely preterm birth.

A new study has found that babies born with very low birth weight result in poor academic achievement in future.

An analysis of recent data from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of 97 adolescents who were part of study begun with very low birth weight babies born in 1982-1986 in a Cleveland neonatal intensive care unit has tied smaller brain volumes to poor academic achievement.

Can’t see your baby crying because of the harsh and painful skin rashes? Change nappy regularly, avoid lovely smelling wipes and also give your child some nappy free time.

Femalefirst.co.uk shares tips to protect baby’s skin from painful rashes.

1. Regular changes: Changing nappies before and after feeding help prevent painful nappy rash.

2. Go nappy free: Give your tiny tot plenty of ‘nappy-free’ time. Let the skin breathe.