Exercise may help pregnant women stop smoking
Physical exertion may help pregnant women stop smoking, researchers said on Tuesday, after two small studies showed a quarter of women who exercised regularly while expecting a baby quit smoking. The British scientists said the quitting rate was about the same as for people who use nicotine replacement.
Gene linked to melanoma
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A variation of the gene for the vitamin D receptor appears to increase the risk of melanoma, a serious and sometimes fatal skin cancer, Italian researchers report. The authors believe that the altered form of the receptor is less able to bind to vitamin D, a vitamin that can be produced in sun-exposed skin. Prior research has suggested that this binding helps protect against melanoma.
Three more blind patients helped by gene therapy
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Three more patients treated with an experimental gene therapy approach have reported better vision, U.S. researchers reported on Monday in a study that lends further support to the approach. The patients, all in their early 20s, reported markedly better vision after getting the treatment, Artur Cideciyan and James Wilson of the University of Pennsylvania and colleagues reported.
Body pain may be due to chronic sinus trouble
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Ongoing sinus inflammation, also called chronic sinusitis, may be at least partly to blame for the aches and pains in older adults, according to research reported today at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery Foundation in Chicago. The research also shows that endoscopic sinus surgery to clear clogged sinuses can bring significant pain relief.
Heavy children may have more headaches
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Overweight children and teenagers may be at elevated risk of developing chronic headaches, a new study suggests. The good news, researchers found, is that weight loss may, in turn, cut headache frequency.
Secondhand smoke tied to artery disease in women
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Exposure to secondhand smoke is an important risk factor for peripheral arterial disease, which affects arteries in the legs and may lead to amputation if severe, according to a study among Chinese women. As shown in prior studies, passive smoking was also linked to heart disease and stroke.
Calorie restriction diet not linked to bone loss
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A calorie restriction diet does not cause bone loss in young, overweight adults, provided adequate amounts of calcium and other nutrients are maintained, according to a report in the Archives of Internal Medicine. The aim of a calorie restriction diet is to reduce daily calories by 20 to 40 percent compared with the average intake, while still maintaining optimal nutrition. As such, it is sometime referred to as CRON, for "calorie restriction with optimal nutrition."
Delays in heart attack care are longer poor areas
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Residents of lower-income neighborhoods, as well as Medicaid recipients, who suffer a heart attack are less likely to get timely treatment than people living in wealthier communities, according to new research published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. "Prolonged prehospital delay among patients from low-income areas and among Medicaid recipients suggests a need for increased recognition of and rapid response" to heart attack symptoms in these communities, Randi E. Foraker of the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and her colleagues report.
Ex-smokers lower their cardiovascular risk
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Quitting smoking decreases the risk of stroke and heart attack, but the benefits of just cutting down are less clearcut, according to study results published in the medical journal Stroke. Dr. Hong-Jun Cho, of the Asian Medical Center, Seoul, Korea, and colleagues assessed the effects of smoking reduction and cessation on the risk of fatal and nonfatal stroke and heart attack in 475,734 Korean men between the ages of 30 and 58 years who were enrolled in the Korean National Health Insurance System.
Passive smoking raises artery disease risk in women
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Breathing second-hand tobacco smoke significantly increases the risk of women developing peripheral artery disease (PAD), heart disease and stroke, a study in China has found. Previous studies have drawn strong links between passive smoking and stroke and heart disease, but this is the first time that an association between second-hand smoke and PAD has been found.