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Low Cholesterol Linked to Severe Depression and Violent Behavior in Men

It is not high levels of cholesterol but low levels that are making news. Recent reports are indicating that Low levels of Cholesterol maybe linked to depression and violent behavior. A new study shows that men with relatively low cholesterol levels were up to seven times more likely to report symptoms of severe depression. Edward Suarez, PhD from Duke University Medical Center in Durha...

El Ni?o cycles linked to cholera outbreaks

About 11 months after the start of an El Ni?o event in the equatorial Pacific, hospitals thousands of miles away in Bangladesh can expect a surge of cholera cases, according to the first mathematical model to link climatic cycles with subsequent cholera outbreaks. Details of the climate-disease model are reported in the latest issue of the journal Science by ecologists at C...

Cough Syrup Ingredient Linked to Stroke

Phenylpropanolamine (PPA),is a common ingredient found in many non-prescription cough and cold medications. Use of PPA-containing cough and cold remedies increased the risk of stroke by 23 percent. Dr.Ralph I. Horwitz, from Yale University's School of Medicine, says, "Case reports have linked exposure to PPA to the occurrence of hemorrhagic stroke." A hemorrhagic stroke results when...

Evidence Links Protein Damage to Neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's

Neurodegenerative diseases - including Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, Diffuse Lewy body disease, and Multiple System Arophy - are collectively called synucleinopathies. Most commonly they become symptomatic due to a deficiency of a specific neurotransmitter - in the case of Parkinson's it is dopamine. When the neurons that produce these chemicals die or become impaired, which occurs with oxida...

Cancers of Colon & Rectum linked to Cigarette Smoking

The risks of smoking are well known. Besides causing 160,000 deaths annually from lung, mouth, bladder and other cancers, smoking also increases the risk of death from cancer of the colon or rectum, according to results of a large new study from the American Cancer Society. As many as 12% of all colorectal cancer deaths in the US may be caused by tobacco smoking. "Colorecta...

Gene linked to early puberty in girls

A study conducted in the United States of America has zeroed in on the culprit behind the falling age of attaining puberty. A gene has been isolated which is said to be the cause for girls attaining puberty as early as 8- 10 years. However the most widely held explanation for this is growing childhood obesity, intake of rich foods and lack of physical activity.Also scientists were keen on...

Maternal alcohol consumption linked to behavioral problems in children

Even small amounts of alcohol consumption is linked with deliquent behaviour of the chilren later in life,according to the new study. Dr. Virginia Delaney-Black, of Children's Hospital of Michigan, the co author of the study,has come out with the finding that in comparison to the teetotallers ,women who drank the equivalent of one cocktail a week during pregnancy were three times more...

Gene HPA-2 Met linked to cardiac arrest

Men who die early from heart disease are more likely to have a specific variant of a blood clotting gene.Researchers in Finland carried out tests on 500 men who had died suddenly, many of whom had had a cardiac arrest. They found that, in men younger than 55, a gene variant known as HPA-2 Met was 2.2 times more common than in the general population.// The gene is one of...

Early puberty linked to nutrition

According to a research done by the school of Medicine from Harvard,after studying the eating behavior and the growing indexes of 67 girls, concluded that the inclusion of more animal fats and less vegetables in the diet between the 6th and 8th year of age took some of the participants of the research to an early puberty. The results of the research is of great importance to modify c...

Link between Constipation and Parkinson's Disease

Researhers have found from a long-term study that men who suffer from constipation are nearly three times more likely to eventually develop Parkinson's disease. According to Robert Frank, Professor of Biostatistics and Statistics at the University of Texas School of Medicine, the connection between constipation and Parkinson's was noted almost 2 centuries back from a clinical study.<...

Alcohol linked to brain activity

A largest study on how alcohol affects the brain in elderly people was carried out by researchers in the USA. Nearly two thousand senior citizens were investigated to discover the link between drinking and the health of their brains. The results show that alcohol is really a double-edged sword.// It has been found that any level of drinking caused brain shrinkage, which ultimately has...

Elevated homocysteine levels linked to congestive heart failure risk

Researchers of the long-running Framingham Heart Study have now found a link between elevated homocysteine and heart failure. Elevated levels of homocysteine, an amino acid whose build-up has already been linked with increased risk of heart disease and dementia, increases the risk of developing congestive heart failure in women. The study involved 2,491 adults, average age 72 years, who w...

Liver cancers which spread are linked to a particular gene

Live cancer is one of the most aggressive cancers worldwide and its incidence is high in the Asian and African countries due to hepatitis infection and aflatoxin contamination of foodstuffs. The cancer is also becoming prevalent in the United States. Researchers in the US and China have been studying gene activity in liver tumors using the new 'gene chip' technology and found a way of det...

Periodontal disease and oral cancer may be linked

The Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey has now uncovered a link between Periodontal disease and oral cancer. Periodontal disease is a form of gum disease that causes infection and inflammation of the tissue surrounding and supporting the teeth. The participants of the study where divided into two groups, depending on the measure of gum detachment from the teeth, an ind...

The Link Between Hepatitis B Vaccine And Multiple Sclerosis Questioned

A recent study by Harvard researchers suggests a link between the hepatitis B vaccination and multiple sclerosis. In their study, people who received the vaccine were three-times more likely to develop MS // over the next three years than those who were not vaccinated. While this finding is disturbing, the investigators emphasize the overall effect of the vaccine on the development of MS...

The Link Between Pregnancy and Restless Legs Syndrome

New research shows that pregnant women are at a higher risk of developing restless legs syndrome. Restless legs syndrome is marked by // an urge to move the legs and is generally accompanied by unpleasant numbness, tingling or burning sensations. Patients also report an increase in symptoms during rest, a partial, temporary relief from symptoms through activity, and a worsening of symptom...

The Link Between Pregnancy and Restless Legs Syndrome

New research shows that pregnant women are at a higher risk of developing restless legs syndrome. Restless legs syndrome is marked by // an urge to move the legs and is generally accompanied by unpleasant numbness, tingling or burning sensations. Patients also report an increase in symptoms during rest, a partial, temporary relief from symptoms through activity, and a worsening of symptom...

Link Between High Blood Sugar And Behavioral Changes

Low blood sugar levels are known to cause cognitive and behavioral changes in diabetics, but results of a recent study show that high blood sugar // has a similar effect. The study showed that type 2 diabetics have impaired cognitive functioning and experience deterioration in mood when their blood sugar is high. Diabetics' bodies have difficulty controlling blood sugar levels due to in...

The Link Between Obesity And Breast Cancer

A new study shows women who are obese when they are diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer are at greater risk of dying from it than women of normal weight.// Studies in the past have shown that obesity is a risk factor for breast cancer's development, and has also shown to have contradictory results about the influence of bodyweight on survival rates. According to a latest study rese...

Irregular Heartbeat Linked To Alcohol

New research shows consuming large quantities of alcohol may increase the risk of developing an irregular heartbeat.// Researchers studied more than 47,000 men and women. Participants were given questionnaires that assessed how often they drank and what type of alcohol they consumed. It was found that men consumed an average of about 28 grams of alcohol each day, while the women consume...

Study Finds Low Socio-Economic Status Linked to Poor Dental Health

An article appearing in the American Journal of Public Health says that low income groups and those with little education are more prone to suffer from severe dental diseases//. The study arrived at these conclusions after analyzing data from 15,000 people residing in North Carolina, Mississippi, Minnesota and Maryland. The researchers say that a person's income was intimately tied to t...

Is there a link between bones and memory?

In a large study of elderly people, researchers have uncovered a strong link between thin bones and poor verbal memory. To investigate, Zhang and colleagues analyzed the relationship between bone mineral density (BMD) and verbal memory impairment among more than 4,300 elderly people included in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. // The researchers found tha...

Cement injections linked to osteoporosis

Spinal injections of an acrylic cement mend fractures linked to osteoporosis without the need for surgery. Researchers at the University of California have been looking at the effect of a new treatment for vertebral fractures in 90 elderly patients with osteoporosis. They injected an acrylic cement into the affected area - a procedure formerly done during surgery. Two weeks later//, many...

Asthma linked to obesity

A US study has suggested that the increase in childhood asthma may be explained by the rise in obesity, rates of both have shot up dramatically in recent decades in the West. Over 6million people are currently being treated for asthma, compared to 3.4m in 1999. The researchers found the fattest children were 77% more likely to have asthma symptoms.They suggest increased weight might...

Miscarriage linked to late embryos

The later a fertilised egg implants in a woman's uterus, the more likely she is to have a miscarriage, new research has found.The report in the latest New England Journal of Medicine details the most precise information the timing of implantation - the true start of pregnancy - influences its success or failure. Fertilised eggs can attach themselves to the lining of the womb anywhere f...

Cirrhosis linked to genes

A group of UK doctors suggest that genetic factors may determine those at increased risk of developing liver disease from drinking alcohol.Researchers at the University of Newcastle believe that certain genes trigger a strong immune reaction in response to alcohol which then damages the liver. Dr Vander West, who is leading the research, says the work suggests directions for the devel...

Irregular Periods Linked to Diabetes

Women who have irregular or very long menstrual cycles have a higher risk of developing diabetes. Women with such menstrual abnormalities needn't panic because the risk can be reduced markedly by lifestyle measures, most notably regular exercise and weight control. // Menstrual cycles 40 days or longer or irregular cycles appear to be markers for some sort of underlying metabolic abno...

Hormones Linked To Migraines

Irregularities in hormones produced by the hypothalamus, the area of the brain that regulates such basic functions as hunger and body temperature, may underlie chronic migraines. The findings provide hope for the 2% to 3% of the general population who suffer from the debilitating headaches, since drugs that regulate these hormones could prevent or reduce the severity of the headaches, acc...

No vaccination - diabetes link

Common childhood vaccinations, including newer ones such as those for hepatitis B, do not cause children to develop diabetes. The conclusion came from a look at 768 diabetes-free children who were compared to 252 others who had juvenile diabetes. Those who had been vaccinated against hepatitis B, whooping cough, chickenpox and other diseases were no more likely to have developed diabetes...

Music in link with epilepsy

Music, particularly Mozart, could have a therapeutic effect on epilepsy, say scientists. Short bursts of Mozart's Sonata K448 have been found to decrease epileptic attacks.Professor John Jenkins, who has reviewed the international research on music therapy, said it was very probable that work by other musicians could also trigger the "Mozart Effect." Patients who had been exposed to 10...

Triglycerides Linked To Stroke Risk

Researchers have linked high levels of blood fats called triglycerides to an increased risk of stroke. The findings should encourage physicians to pay closer attention to triglyceride levels.// More effective screening and detection of high blood triglycerides and treatments to modify this stroke risk factor could further reduce the stroke burdens. Doctors have learned that drugs that...

No link between blood groups and prostate cancer

Men with blood group A are not likely to get prostate cancer than men with other blood groups, despite popular belief. According to some medical writers, your blood group affects your health.// In particular, men with blood group A are supposed to be more likely to develop prostate cancer and to get more aggressive forms of the disease. Hence it may be of big concern for men who have type...

Depression linked to mortality

Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States, after heart disease and cancer. About 600,000 Americans have a stroke every year, and 167,000 die from it. Men who suffer from depression and anxiety are more than three times as likely// to die from a stroke as other men. But depressed and anxious men are not much more likely to have non-fatal strokes. Researchers studie...

Infection linked with heart attack

Risk of heart deaths is increasing day by day. The number of infections a person has been exposed to is linked to artery thickening and risk of death from heart attack. It is long been suspected that infection plays a role in the development of heart disease.// This has been possible by promoting inflammation within the coronary arteries. However, the studies that have been produced, so f...

Link Between Infection And Heart Disease

Within the last few years, there has been a lot of research on the potential link between infection and heart disease. Now, a new study shows that the more infections you have throughout your life, the more likely// you are to die from heart disease. The researchers, from the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany, looked at more than 570 people with heart disease. They tested th...

Link between chlorine byproducts and pregnancy risks

Millions of Americans have been drinking tap water contaminated with chemical byproducts from chlorine. Chlorine is commonly used to disinfect drinking water.// When it is added to water that contains organic matter such as runoff from farms or lawns, however, it can form compounds such as chloroform that can cause illness. The study released by the Environmental Working Group and Pub...

Smoking Linked To Low Infant Birth Weight

Women who smoke during pregnancy are more likely to bear an underweight child, but some women may carry a higher risk than others because of genetic susceptibility.// The finding could help medicine better determine the causes of low birth weight, though the researchers said they were not recommending at this point that women be screened for presence of the genes involved. "Our data d...

Acne Drug linked to suicide attempts

One year ago the FDA issued a statement about the potential for depression and suicide in teens taking the acne drug, Accutane. And now, reports say that the 15-year-old pilot who crashed his plane into a skyscraper was prescribed the drug. At this point, investigators don't know whether or not the teen, Charles J. Bishop, was actually taking Accutane at the time of his death. Blood tests...

Lower surgical volume linked to higher death rate

Paediatric heart units that carry out a high number of operations have lower deaths rates than those with a low volume of cases. David Spiegelhalter, a scientist at the Institute of Public Health in Cambridge, analysed voluntary surgical returns and hospital episode statistics relating to 12 hospitals carrying// out heart surgery on children from 1991 to 1995. Dr Spiegelhalter found t...

Reduced POD linked to fatal asthma attacks

Asthmatic patients with reduced perception of dyspnoea (POD) may be at increased risk of experiencing a life-threatening exacerbation of their condition.// It was found that patients with low POD had significantly more emergency department visits, hospitalisations, fatal asthma attacks and deaths during a 2 year study period than those with normal dyspnoea perception. The patients wi...