Editor's Pick
WHO issues its first guidelines on reducing dementia risk
May 15th, 2019 The World Health Organisation has launched its first ever guidelines on how people can help avoid getting dementia. People can reduce their risk of dementia by getting regular exercise, not smoking, avoiding harmful use of alcohol, controlling...
Poor sense of smell in older adults linked to 50% increased mortality risk
May 8th, 2019 A new Michigan State University study suggests that older adults with poor sense of smell may see an almost 50% increase in their risk of dying within 10 years – surprisingly in healthier individuals. “Poor sense of smell becomes more common...
Perseverance to fend off depression, anxiety and panic —18-year study
May 8th, 2019 "Perseverance cultivates a sense of purposefulness that can create resilience against or decrease current levels of major depressive disorder, generalised anxiety disorder and panic disorder," said Dr Nur Hani Zainal, MS, from The Pennsylvania State...
Late dinner and not eating breakfast raises heart attack risk
May 8th, 2019 People who skip breakfast and eat dinner near bedtime have a four to five times higher likelihood of death, another heart attack, or angina within 30 days after hospital discharge for heart attack, found a Brazilian study. This was the first...
Walnuts may help lower blood pressure for those at risk of heart disease
May 8th, 2019 In a randomised, controlled trial, researchers examined the effects of replacing some of the saturated fats in participants' diets with walnuts. They found that when participants ate whole walnuts daily in combination with lower overall amounts of...
Meat eating even at guideline levels linked to 20% higher cancer risk
May 1st, 2019 People who eat red and processed meat within department of health guidelines are still at increased risk of bowel cancer, according to a study by Cancer Research UK and Oxford University. Scientists have shown that people eating around 76g of red...
A better way to treat prolonged epileptic seizures in children
May 1st, 2019 A New Zealand-Australian study has delivered "robust" evidence for emergency medicine doctors to manage children with prolonged seizures without reverting to intubation and intensive care. Prolonged epileptic seizures are the most common...
Critical errors in inhaler technique in almost 50% of children with asthma
May 1st, 2019 In the first study to evaluate inhaler technique in children hospitalised for asthma – the group at highest risk for complications and death from asthma – researchers found that nearly half of participants demonstrated improper inhaler use,...
Now a reference library of DNA mutation 'fingerprints'
April 24th, 2019 Scientists from King College London and Cambridge University have developed a comprehensive catalogue of DNA mutation ‘fingerprints’ that could help doctors pinpoint the environmental culprit responsible for a patient’s tumour – including...
South Africa's black population also faces significant melanoma risk
April 24th, 2019 Melanoma, an aggressive form of skin cancer previously thought to affect mainly white people, has been found to pose a significant threat also to black people, found a Stellenbosch University study. City Press reports that this is according to...
Replacing red meat with plant proteins protects against CVD — first meta-analysis
April 24th, 2019 Diets that replaced red meat with healthy plant proteins led to decreases in risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD), according to a study from Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health and Purdue University. The study is the first meta-analysis...
Restaurant claims of 'gluten-free' are often incorrect — US study
April 17th, 2019 Even tiny amounts of gluten in foods are troublesome for people with coeliac disease, and restaurants may be the hardest places to avoid the protein, finds a study by Dr Benjamin Lebwohl, Celiac Disease Centre at NY-Presbyterian Hospital and...
Dogs detect malignant lung cancer with 97% accuracy
April 17th, 2019 A study has shown that dogs can use their highly evolved sense of smell to pick out blood samples from people with cancer with almost 97% accuracy. The results could lead to new cancer-screening approaches that are inexpensive and accurate without...
Diet rich in red meat link to 23% greater risk of death in Finnish men
April 17th, 2019 A diet rich in animal protein and meat in particular is not good for the health, a study from the University of Eastern Finland finds, providing further backing for earlier research evidence. Men who favoured animal protein over plant-based protein...
Pregnant women not sleeping on their backs lowers stillbirth risk — NHS
April 17th, 2019 Pregnant women can lower the risk of stillbirth by sleeping on their side and NOT on their back, according to an international meta-analysis. The finding has been taken up as part of official National Health Service (NHS) guidance. Dr...