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Asthma may actually be prevented by Dust and Dirt

National Jewish Medical and Research Center researchers in USA say that a little dust and dirt in the home may help prevent asthma later in life. Environmental endotoxin may have an allergy-protective effect in some infants whose homes have high levels of the bacteria by-product. "Endotoxin seems to drive the immune system to produce cytokines that inhibit certain processes in the body th...

Nearly all asthma deaths preventable

A new survey says nearly all deaths due to asthma can be prevented if the patients and their doctors had better understanding of the disease. According to WHO, around 150 million people suffer from asthma worldwide and nearly 2 lakh people die due to the disease every year. Asthma is a chronic respiratory disease, often linked with allergies, that is characterized by sudden recurring atta...

Breast Feeding prevents obesity later on in life

A new research suggests that breast-feeding in infancy reduces the risk of becoming obese in life later on. According to Dr. William H. Dietz of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, who led the research team, effects of breast milk significantly lowered the odds of being overweight by the early teen years, but showed less effect on weight during early childho...

Lose stomach for Life....Preventive removal of stomach saves the risk of cancer

This is a story about five gentlemen with a rare genetic mutation that confers a very high risk of stomach cancer. Yes! Dr. David G. Huntsman of the British Columbia Cancer Agency in Vancouver, Canada and colleagues report on five members of two families with a rare form of hereditary gastric cancer caused by a mutation of the E-cadherin gene. These people had a very bad family histo...

Regular exercise prevents hip fractures

According to a report in the recent issue of the American Journal of Epidemology, moderate levels of physical activity can help protect against a hip fracture. According to Dr. Susanne Hoidrup from Glostrup University Hospital, Glostrup, Denmark, and colleagues, when people undergo the aging process, regular physical activity should become an essential part of everyone's life, in order to...

Prevention is better than cure

Common cold is the most 'common'illness during the change of weather from winter to summer. People can catch cold from the coughs and sneezes of...

Prevention of cataracts

A new study provides further evidence that nutrient antioxidants play a role in the prevention of cataracts. Researchers from Tufts University studied more than 575 women ages 53 to 77 from the Nurses' Health Study. The women did not have diabetes nor did they have previously diagnosed cataracts. During a 15-year period, the women answered questionnaires about their food intake.// The...

Gel prevents pregnancy

Women will soon get access to a new gel, which works in a similar way to the contraceptive pill. The gel, which is rubbed onto the stomach each day, is being tested in four countries world-wide.For many women, protecting against pregnancy means the daily ritual of popping the contraceptive pill. But now there's a new option under trial.// Dr Edith Weisberg from the Family Planning Asso...

Mother’s Diet Could Prevent Cancer In Their Unborn Children

A new study shows women who consume more fruits, vegetables and proteins before becoming pregnant are less likely to have a child who develops leukemia. Researchers believe that glutathione // is the nutrient in protein that lowers the cancer risk. Researchers studied more than 130 women who had a child diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. They compared the women’s diets to those...

One Third Of All Cancers Preventable!

Prevention is better than cure remains a golden statement that has withstood the test of time. It has been proved yet another time with a global survey revealing that nearly one-third of all cancers // can be prevented if nine major culprits are properly taken care of. The study was part of an overall Initiative for Global Health. Amongst, the modifiable risk factors, tobacco leads the m...

Tooth decay can be prevented by using straw for drinking fizzy drinks

Drinking fizzy drinks (Soft drinks) increases the risk of tooth decay as it damages the tooth enamel due to the high content of acid, sugar and starch which increases risk of tooth decay which cannot be repaired if affected//. The Mayo clinic has reported ways by which tooth decay due to fizzy drinks can be reduced. Using a straw can reduce the risk of enamel damage, make sure the straw...

High Prevalence of AIDS among Indian Truck drivers

New Delhi: A startling study indicates that almost 40 percent of India's truck drivers and their helpers are infected with AIDS virus and there is an urgent need to create awareness// among this community to check the spread of the fatal disease. India currently has over 5.1 million AIDS patients and truckers are possibly one of the largest groups carrying the disease.. There are ove...

Prevention better than fire-fighting. Hong Kong Beefs Up Precaution Against Bird-Flu

HONG KONG: Hong Kong is taking all precautionary measures against bird-flu, having fully understood the ramifications of the bird-flu crisis on the economic health. After bouncing back with an envious economic health, // a bird-flu crisis is the last thing needed so authorities are leaving no stone unturned to ensure that the flu never enters, even by fluke! A new central poultry sla...

Medications to Prevent Relapse to Cocaine Use

Treatment of cocaine addiction has always been hampered by high rates of relapse, even after prolonged drug abstinence. Research teams from the Drug Abuse Program of the VU Medical Center in the Netherlands and the intramural laboratories of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) have identified a process in the brain that may lead to a new generation of medications to prevent relaps...

Estrogen Does Not Prevent Recurrent Strokes

Despite some past evidence that hormone replacement might lower stroke risk in older women, new research shows that estrogen therapy does not protect women from recurrent strokes and may instead carry some risks. The findings add to growing evidence that hormone replacement therapy does not have the cardiovascular benefits doctors once believed. // Many doctors have long thought hormo...

Over-The-Counter Drugs May Prevent Alzheimer's

Certain over-the-counter pain relievers commonly used to counter the pain and inflammation of rheumatoid arthritis also may cut the risk of getting Alzheimer's disease. In addition to their anti-inflammatory properties, the drugs seem to selectively reduce levels of a harmful protein linked to the neurodegenerative disease. The study developed from research suggesting that people taking c...

Aspirin and Warfarin Are Equally Effective for Stroke Prevention

A study aimed at settling a long-standing question among doctors has found that aspirin works just as well as Warfarin, in helping most patients avoid recurrent strokes. Many doctors suspected that Warfarin was more effective but that aspirin was safer. This study challenges both views, showing the two drugs are equals in both respects. Both drugs slow clotting of the blood, and blood...

Arterial stiffness prevented by light drinking

People who have one or two drinks a day have more flexible arteries than non-drinkers and heavy drinkers. Researchers at the National Institute on Ageing Gerontology have found another of those U-shaped relationships for alcohol consumption and health. In the U-shaped relationship, light to moderate drinkers enjoy more health benefits than either abstainers or heavy drinkers. Arterial sti...

How to prevent wrinkles?

Researchers made a study on a group of older people in order to show- how eating patterns can stop you getting wrinkles.They have been looking at a group of 300 people aged 60 or over living in many countries . They have found that whether they were fair or dark-skinned, those who ate lots of green leafy vegetables, beans, olive oil, nuts and multigrain bread, were less susceptible to wr...

Re-blockage of heart arteries prevented by vitamins

Vitamins are a bonus to everyone of us. The first ever study of the effect of B vitamins on heart disease shows a clear benefit. Angioplasty is a very widely used procedure for unblocking coronary arteries and so preventing heart attacks. It involves inserting a small balloon into the blood vessel and then inflating it to push the walls of the vessel apart. The problem is that in 20 per c...

Early delivery can prevent cancer

Scientists have found out why women who have a baby when they are relatively young have a lower risk of developing breast cancer. They have identified a substance produced naturally in the body that protects against the disease. Hormones released during pregnancy trigger the changes in the breast tissue of young women. The research raises the possibility of one day developing a pill that...

Alcoholism Drug Fails To Prevent Drinking Relapses

The Food and Drug Administration approved naltrexone for the treatment of alcoholism in 1994. At that time, the only other drug therapy available was disulfiram, or Antabuse, which provokes a sickening reaction to alcohol.// A new study casts sobering doubts on earlier claims that an alcoholism drug can truly treat the addiction. The government is sponsoring a large trial comparing na...

Hobbies prevent dementia

Reading, socialising, the arts and sport all reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease, according to a new study.High education and career attainment has already been associated with reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease. Now it seems that leisure activities, too, protect against cognitive decline as we age.//Researchers at Cleavland University, have been studying 1,000 people aged 60 or older...

Immunisation to prevent cot deaths

A scientific study has suggested that immunisation can protect against cot deaths in babies.Sudden infant death syndrome is still the leading cause of death in children over one month old,//even though advice given to mothers about babies'sleeping position has dramatically reduced the numbers of deaths. Scientists from Bristol University looked at more than 470,000 cot death cases fro...

Vaccination to prevent strokes

A group of French researchers have found that people who have been vaccinated for flu are less likely to suffer a stroke.Researcher Dr Pierre Amarenco, from// Bichat Hospital in Paris, said if the results were confirmed it would mark a "major advance in stroke prevention". The theory suggest that they destabilise fatty deposits on the walls of arteries, helping to form clots. Strokes...

Staying mentally energitic prevents Alzheimer's

A new study shows there is some truth in the 'use it or lose it' advice when it comes keeping the brain active. It is long been believed that mental stimulation can protect the brain from Alzheimer's disease.// Researchers at the Rush Alzheimer's Disease Centre in the US now reveal new evidence for this. The report is part of the ongoing Religious Orders Study, involving the cognitive hea...

Awakening call for fall prevention

According to Orthopaedic researchers, it is important that older people escape falls, because fracture treatment may be slow and complex. As people age, they are more likely to have a fall because// of decreased agility and an overall decline in general health. And since an older person's bones are often thinner, treatment is difficult and healing slow. American Academy of Orthopaedic...

Coffee may help prevent cavities

A new research study indicates that coffee might help prevent cavities. The finding is reported in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.// Coffee made from roasted beans has antibacterial activities against certain microorganisms, including Streptococcus mutans, a major cause of dental caries. Scientists at two Italian universities conducted laboratory tests that showed coffee m...

Women need to exercise more to prevent obesity

Researchers think that women should more than double their daily exercise time in order to control their weight. Presently, we are advised to aim for 35 minutes a day// of moderate exercise for health and weight control. But scientists at the University of Alabama at Birmingham now warn that this may not be enough. They have studied a group of women who reported a tendency to gain wei...

Tea can prevent aging

Tea derived from the plants Camellia sinensis contains polyphenols in the form of flavonoids and its sub group flavanols, which gives the tea its antioxidant properties. Polyphenols protect the cells from damaging// physiological process known as oxidative stress. Oxidation produces free radicals these are unstable molecules which occur naturally in the body and an increased amou...

New methods to prevent injury of patients

According to researchers at the Hopkins University, Dallas, new ways should be adopted for patients' safety in hospitals. You can get injured in hospital, just as you can on the road and it may be that some of the more recent approaches to road safety can help people in hospital too.// Doctors at the Hopkins University suggest that what's needed is an approach which concentrates on the co...

Preventing mental decline in the aged

According to a new study, it has been found that there are ways to keep your mental abilities sharp as you age. Mental decline is not a specific part of life. The older population is growing rapidly and people// are typically living longer. The ability to know, think, learn and judge, known as cognitive ability, is essential to quality of life and survival in older ages. Researchers from...

Preventing 'white coat' hypertension

Researchers at the University of Southampton say that docotors are not the best people to assess blood pressure. White coat hypertension is a well-known problem - it means that your blood pressure //may go up when it's measured by a doctor (the 'white coat') but be lower if a practice nurse measures it, or if you measure it yourself. Researchers in, England, have been looking at the whit...

Balanced diet important in cancer prevention

Researchers say that diet is second only to tobacco in causing cancer. Dietary influences are thought to account for 40 per cent of cancers in the developed world, and 25 per cent in the developing world.// Ongoing studies may provide detailed information on what to eat and what to avoid. Dr Tim Key, a scientist with Cancer Research you should concentrate on eating fruits, vegetables and...

Consuming fish prevents dementia risk

Old people who eat fish or seafood at least once a week have a reduced risk of dementia. Researchers from the University of Texas studied a group of 1205 people aged over 65 //and without dementia at the beginning. They asked them about the frequency of consuming meat, fish and seafood, then followed them up to, five and seven years afterwards. Those who ate fish or seafood at least o...

Less exercise doesn't help prevent osteoporosis

A recent study reveals that everyday activities such as walking and housework may be good for the heart, but don't do much for the bones. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University have studied a group of people aged// 50 to 60 who had higher than average blood pressure, but were otherwise healthy. They measured their aerobic fitness, muscle strength and abdominal fat, to see how these were...

Research on causes for falling helps develop preventive strategies

All of us would have had a fall at least once in our life. But how many of us wonder as to why we fall? Not many, in fact, not even a few of us. But researchers at the Locomotion Research Laboratory at Virginia Tech believe that finding the cause of a fall// will help prevent them better. The researchers, who claim that around 50 per cent of aged people (over 75yrs) are institutionalized...

Green tea beneficial in preventing osteoarthritis

Green tea, first discovered in China nearly 5000 years ago, has been linked to many health benefits including preventing coronary heart disease, stroke and certain types of cancer. Researchers in the University of Sheffield have now discovered that two compounds found in green tea, EGCG (epigallocatchin gallate) and ECG (epicatechin gallate) can help prevent osteoarthritis by blocking the...

WHO Travel Advice to prevent spread of "Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)

WHO on 5th April reported a cumulative total of 2416 cases of SARS with 89 deaths from 18 countries. Recent deaths have occurred in Hong Kong SARS (3), Malaysia (1), and Singapore (1).New cases that were reported reported in Canada (5), Hong Kong SARS (39), Taiwan, China (2), Singapore (1), the United Kingdom (1), and the United States of America. The SARS outbreak in Hong Kong has d...

Guangdong health official says SARS can be prevented and treated

Health officials in China's southern Guangdong province said the SARS virus could be stopped and could be treated. In a report from the director of Guangdong's health department, said the average daily new cases had dropped by more than 50% in the first week of April. He gave this assurance as he was treating three foreigners, two from canada and one from America, in Guangdong who were in...