Almost 1.3 million people will die of cancer in the European Union this year, but death rates from the disease are on a steady decline, according to new research released on Wednesday.
A study of all types of cancer across the 27-country EU bloc found that more men than women are likely to die from the disease, and that “substantial reductions” in the number of deaths from breast cancer would lower death rates for women.
Cold air is bad for heart patients, especially when they are undertaking physical activity, because they are unable to cope with the higher oxygen demanded by the body.
“This study can help us understand why cold air is such a trigger for coronary events,” said Lawrence I. Sinoway, professor of medicine and director of the Heart and Vascular Institute, Penn State College of Medicine.
Lifestyle factors, not exposure to chemicals in food and consumer products, are the most significant causes of cancer, according to the latest evidence.
Bernard Stewart, professor of oncology at the University of New South Wales, said: “Measures known to prevent cancer include smoking cessation, reducing alcohol intake, curbing obesity and avoiding deliberate sun exposure.”
Treating stable heart patients with a handful of pills works just as well as propping open blocked heart arteries with a stent, US researchers said on Monday, adding to evidence that less-invasive, less-costly drug treatment works as well as implanting a medical device in such patients.
Stents, made by companies such as Boston Scientific Corp, Abbott Laboratories and Medtronic Inc, are still the preferred treatment for opening up blocked heart arteries in patients rushed to the hospital with an acute heart attack.
Health regulators are adding warnings to the labels of widely used cholesterol lowering drugs, such as Lipitor, to say they may raise levels of blood sugar and could cause memory loss.
The Food and Drug Administration announced on Tuesday the changes to the safety information on the labels of statins such as Pfizer Inc`s Lipitor, AstraZeneca`s Crestor and Merck & Co`s Zocor that are taken by tens of millions of people.
A recent research has affirmed the benefit of omega-3 fatty acids which are found is fish oil. While it is known that omega-3 fatty acids are a must for mental fitness, it has been claimed that lack of the desired level of omega-3 fatty acids could instigate poor scores for visual memory, problem solving, multi-tasking and abstract thinking.
Patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) who have not responded to interferon treatments, experience long-term benefits when they switch to the targeted drug imatinib, according to a new study.
The finding indicates that imatinib is the treatment of choice for these patients.
Imatinib, a drug that blocks the protein made by a particular cancer-causing gene, has revolutionized the treatment and prognosis of patients with CML.
Sleeping pills commonly prescribed in the UK may increase the risk of death more than four-fold, according to new research.
The higher the dose, the greater the risk of dying, while people on higher doses also had an increased risk of cancer, experts found.
A wide range of drugs was analysed for the study of more than 10,500 people taking sleeping pills. They included drugs used in the UK, such as benzodiazepines (including temazepam and diazepam), non-benzodiazepines (including zolpidem, zopiclone and zaleplon), barbiturates and sedative antihistamines.
Researchers have described a promising new technique that potentially could turn immune system killer T cells into more effective weapons against infections and possibly cancer.
The technique involves delivering DNA into the immune system’s instructor cells. The DNA directs these cells to overproduce a specific protein that jumpstarts important killer T cells.
Reduced lung function and obstructive airway diseases can strongly and independently increase risk of heart failure, scientists including one of an Indian origin have said.
Importantly, say the investigators, this association was even evident in never-smokers and was still evident after adjustment for smoking status and number of years smoking. This, they add, indicates “that our results are not primarily confounded by smoking”.
Admitting that the healthcare system was “overwhelmed” by inequities, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on Monday said the government would provide universal healthcare in the 12th Plan and take steps to ensure free generic drugs at all public health facilities so as to reduce out of pocket expenditure of patients.
Hydrogen sulphide, the gas famed for generating the stench in stink bombs, flatulence and bad breath, has been harnessed by stem cell researchers in Japan.
Their study, in the Journal of Breath Research, investigated using it to help convert stem cells from human teeth into liver cells.
The scientists claimed the gas increased the purity of the stem cells.
Small amounts of hydrogen sulphide are made by the body.
It is also produced by bacteria and is toxic in large quantities.
Therapy
London, February 27: British scientists claim to have developed a machine which could keep donor livers “alive” outside human body.
A team at Oxford University says the machine, known as METRA which would keep livers healthy during transportation from donor to the operating table, could help save the lives of many people who need liver transplants every year.
Livers taken from organ donors are currently packed in ice for up to 12 hours to prevent them from decay while they are transported, but this technique can affect the blood vessels and cause excess fat on the organ to solidify.
Re-heating cooking medium such as sunflower oil could release toxic compounds, which could be linked with brain diseases and some types of cancer.
Researchers from the University of the Basque Country (the region comprising three provinces of northern Spain on the Bay of Biscay bordering france in the north-east) have been the first to discover the presence of certain aldehydes in food, which may be linked with neurodegenerative diseases and some cancers.
The Bangladeshi government has been urged to tighten tobacco control measures to prevent deaths and disabilities from related diseases.
Nearly 57,000 people die from tobacco use annually in Bangladesh, while 382,000 people suffer from various disabilities, the news portal bdnews24.com reported.
A seminar organised by the United Forum Against Tobacco, a platform of doctors and other professionals, here Saturday has called for “stricter” measures against tobacco use.
A compound that gives the mouth its bad breadth or halitosis, can also help tweak stem cells from human dental pulp into liver cells, a study reveals.
Researchers from Nippon Dental University, Japan, showed that hydrogen sulphide (H2S) (which smells like rotten eggs) boosted the ability of adult stem cells to differentiate into hepatic (liver) cells, furthering their reputation as a reliable source for future liver-cell therapy.
India has a reason to smile on the polio front, as it was taken off the list of polio endemic countries by the World Health Organisation (WHO), Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad announced at the Polio Summit 2012 here Saturday. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was also present.
“WHO has taken India’s name off the list of polio endemic countries in view of the remarkable progress that we have made during the past one year,” Azad said.
The prime minister lauded the health volunteers, saying the real credit goes to them.
India, which has been polio-free for over a year now, was on Saturday taken off the list of polio endemic countries by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
This announcement was made by Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad at the polio summit 2012 here in the presence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Azad said he has received a letter this morning stating that the “WHO has taken India’s name off the list of polio endemic countries in view of the remarkable progress that we have made during the past one year.”
China, which has a third of the world’s total smoking population, witnesses over one million deaths from smoking-related diseases annually.
According to Gu Xiulian, director of the Working Committee for Better Care for the Next Generation of China, the country has 300 million smokers.
About 1.2 million Chinese die due to smoke-related diseases each year.
—IAns
Bird flu may be far less lethal to people than the World Health Organization`s assessment of a death rate topping 50 percent, scientists said on Thursday in a finding that adds fuel to the heated controversy over publication of bird flu research.
Scientists led by virologist Peter Palese of Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York argue in an analysis published in the online edition of the journal Science that the WHO, a UN agency, is calculating the death rate using an estimate of human bird flu cases that is simply too low.
Women who use nicotine gum, patches or inhalers while pregnant are 60 percent more likely to have a child with colic than moms who stayed away from nicotine, according to a new study.
That`s in contrast to earlier studies that suggested the widely used nicotine products are harmless during pregnancy.
“There was a general feeling that nicotine replacement therapy was safe,” said Alison Holloway, a professor at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, who was not involved in the new work.
Scientists claim to have finally found how muscles waste away in aged people it`s due to the permanent disconnection between nerves and muscles.
An international team says the discovery of the reason behind progressive loss of muscle mass and function in elderly people may open up opportunities for new interventions to slow down muscle loss and improve health and quality of life.
“If your nerves are letting go of muscles, then that is a one-way trip to loss of muscle function,” the scientists explained, based on their published observations in aged mice in the `PLoS One` journal.
After hearing the news that abortions due to wrong sex are being taking place in Britain, Health Secretary Andrew Lansley has ordered an immediate inquiry into the matter. Abortion on the ground of sex of the fetus is illegal under the 1967 Act.
Not only the private clinics but the NHS doctors are also found to be agreeing to conduct abortions purely on the basis that parents do not want the unborn child due to his gender. It is immoral and illegal, said Lansley. He is quite concerned to hear the news and has asked his officials to investigate the matter.
Drinking coffee, tea or eating chocolate while breastfeeding may lead to caffeine accumulation and symptoms such as wakefulness and irritability in babies, an expert has warned.
This is because babies cannot metabolize or excrete caffeine very well, said Dr. Ruth Lawrence, Department of Pediatrics, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry.
Caffeine is found in a wide range of products in addition to coffee, tea, and chocolate, including soft drinks, sports drinks, and some over-the-counter medications.
Millions of people have endured a colonoscopy, believing the dreaded exam may help keep them from dying of colon cancer. For the first time, a major study offers clear evidence that it does.
Removing precancerous growths spotted during the test can cut the risk of dying from colon cancer in half, the study suggests. Doctors have long assumed a benefit, but research hasn`t shown before that removing polyps would improve survival – the key measure of any cancer screening`s worth.
Some people skip the test because of the unpleasant steps need to get ready for it.