Researchers have discovered a good reason to not wear tight-fitting underwear – beyond the obvious aspect of fashion: According to new research led by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, men who frequently wear boxers have significantly higher sperm concentrations and total sperm counts when compared with their briefs-wearing counterparts. The findings of this study, conducted in the…
New research shows that for the vast majority of individuals, sodium consumption does not increase health risks except for those who eat more than five grams a day, the equivalent of 2.5 teaspoons of salt. Fewer than five per cent of individuals in developed countries exceed that level. The large, international study also shows that even for those individuals there is good news. However, the…
People who abstain from alcohol or consume more than 14 units a week during middle age (midlife) are at increased risk of developing dementia, finds a study in The BMJ today. However, the underlying mechanisms are likely to be different in the two groups. As people live longer, the number living with dementia is expected to triple by 2050. So understanding the impact of alcohol consumption on…
Scientists conducting the first comprehensive study of key immune system cells—collected from West African Ebola survivors— have made a surprising discovery that provides important clues to developing effective vaccines against the infection.
The electromagnetic radiation emitted from smartphones and similar devices may have negative effects on the memory of young people. Research conducted in Switzerland suggests that it might be a good idea to get rid of your smartphone from time to time.
Adopting new guidelines for high blood pressure (hypertension) would dramatically increase the number of people labeled as having the condition and being recommended for drug treatment, finds a study published by The BMJ today. The findings show that, if the guidelines were introduced in the US and China, more than half of those aged 45-75 years in both countries would be considered hypertensive.
Researchers at the Kennedy Institute and Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences, University of Oxford, working with clinicians at NHS Lothian, have found that injection of the anti-TNF drug adalimumab into Dupuytren's disease nodules results in the reduction of the cell characteristics responsible for progression of Dupuytren's disease.
Researchers at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix are cross-utilizing plant biology, medicine and engineering to create a novel platform. They have developed a revolutionary "lung on a leaf" to study pulmonary diseases.
Burn-out, depression, heavy drinking: Surgeon's seem to be in deep trouble, according to an editorial published in the Journal of ISAKOS (JISAKOS). It is high time for the profession to fix this problem itself before the government steps in, urges leading surgeon Professor Niek van Dijk of the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam, citing various published studies - and offers solutions on how to…
An anxious person will avoid risks whenever possible. This in itself is not exactly a surprise. However, researchers have found a way to visualize this process in the brain - with interesting implications for behaviour prediction. A team of psychologists from the German Friedrich Schiller University Jena, together with partners from Würzburg, Germany and Victoria, Canada they conducted an…
Two blood tests can predict which subset of men with advanced prostate cancer will likely not benefit from anti-androgen therapies, providing doctors and patient added clarity on treatment options, according to a study led by Duke Cancer Institute.
‘Scalp cooling successfully prevents alopecia in breast cancer patients undergoing anthracycline or taxane-based chemotherapy’, according to the latest clinical data published in The Breast. The paper, written by clinicians from the Berlin Oncology Center, Germany, revealed that 71% of women who took part on the study retained their hair as a result of using the Paxman Scalp Cooler. Scalp…
A test that analyzes free-floating DNA in the blood may be able to detect early-stage lung cancer, a preliminary report from the ongoing Circulating Cell-Free Genome Atlas (CCGA) study suggests. Lead study author Geoffrey R. Oxnard, MD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute: “There is an unmet need globally for early-detection tests for lung cancer that can be easily implemented by health-care…
Researchers have shown for the first time that a form of artificial intelligence or machine learning known as a deep learning convolutional neural network (CNN) is better than experienced dermatologists at detecting skin cancer. In a study published in the leading cancer journal Annals of Oncology, researchers in Germany, the USA and France trained a CNN to identify skin cancer by showing it more…
Clinical trial enrolment favours men, according to a study presented at Heart Failure 2018 and the World Congress on Acute Heart Failure, a European Society of Cardiology congress.1 The study found that fewer women meet eligibility criteria for trials of heart failure medication. Helena Norberg, author of the study, junior lecturer and PhD student, Umeå University, Sweden, said: “One of the…
Triggers of acute heart failure vary globally, according to late breaking results from the REPORT-HF registry presented at Heart Failure 2018 and the World Congress on Acute Heart Failure, a European Society of Cardiology congress. REPORT-HF is a global, prospective registry comparing regional differences in causes of acute heart failure, therapies, time to treatment, and outcomes. Professor Sean…
Aging is a major risk factor for physical frailty and the development of age-related diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, type II diabetes and Alzheimer's disease. Numerous studies have already shown that a calorie-restricted diet can significantly delay age-related conditions in several organisms like flies, worms, fish and mice, and that it even improves fitness at old age. But who…
People who consume an egg a day could significantly reduce their risk of cardiovascular diseases compared with eating no eggs, suggests a study carried out in China, published in the journal Heart. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death and disability worldwide, including China, mostly due to ischaemic heart disease and stroke (including both haemorrhagic and ischaemic…
What a difference a year or two can make: If you started smoking marijuana at the start of your teens, your risk of having a drug abuse problem by age 28 is 68 per cent, but if you started smoking between 15 and 17 your risk drops to 44 per cent, according to a new study by Université de Montréal researchers. All the more reason, they say, to educate kids early, in primary school, about the…
Could weight loss surgery before knee replacement improve outcomes or even eliminate the need for joint replacement in severely overweight patients? A study by researchers at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) aims to answer that question. Orthopedic surgeons often encourage obese patients considering knee replacement to try to lose weight before the procedure. The study, known as SWIFT (Surgical…
A small study of adults with the most common form of pancreatic cancer adds to evidence that patients with BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutations long linked to a high risk of breast cancer have poorer overall survival rates than those without the mutations. The same study also found that those with BRCA1 or BRCA2 had better survival rates with platinum-based chemotherapy, compared with similar patients…
In an international study, scientists of the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE) have discovered a new therapeutic option for a large group of stroke patients. The main results of the European WAKE-UP trial were presented at the European Stroke Organisation Conference (ESOC) in Gothenburg, Sweden. At the same time, the trial results were published in the New England Journal of…
Older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), often a precursor to Alzheimer’s, showed significant improvement with certain complex thinking and memory skills after exergaming, according to a new study. The results could encourage seniors, caregivers and health care providers to pursue or prescribe exergames (video games that also require physical exercise) in hopes of slowing the…
Pediatric researchers have found that children and adults treated with some oral antibiotics have a significantly higher risk of developing kidney stones. This is the first time that these medicines have been linked to this condition. The strongest risks appeared at younger ages and among patients most recently exposed to antibiotics. “The overall prevalence of kidney stones has risen by 70…
Anthrax, plague and tularemia are three potent agents terrorists would be likely to use in an attack, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Each is highly and quickly lethal to humans. But there are no licensed vaccines for tularemia and plague, and although there is an anthrax vaccine, it requires a burdensome immunization schedule and has severe side effects. Now, a…