A new study has discovered the first link between sugary soda drinks and the risk of diabetes.
According to a study found in Diabetes Care, women who drink more than five ounces of sugar-sweetened cola a week before becoming pregnant significantly increase their risk of developing the disease during a pregnancy.
The study found that women who consumed five soda servings a week were likely to develop gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), or a glucose intolerance that begins during pregnancy. Read the rest of this entry »
This October marks the 25th annual National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. In addition to raising awareness and educating the public about the disease itself as well as its treatments and advances, scientists have released a study that has found many breast cancer patients suffer from a vitamin D deficiency.
Researchers with the University of Rochester Medical Center followed 166 women undergoing treatment for breast cancer and found that nearly 70 percent had low levels of vitamin D in their blood. The insufficient levels could contribute to decreased bone mass and increased risk of bone fractures. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by admin | Posted in Cancer | Posted on 27-11-2009
A new study reveals that middle-aged women with high levels of homocysteine are twice as likely to suffer from Alzheimer’s disease later on in life.
While homocysteine is needed for the metabolism, too much of it can lead to a higher risk of heart disease, stroke and peripheral vascular disease.
Previous studies have looked at the link between homocysteine levels and dementia but have only had a follow-up of eight years. The newest study has a 35-year follow-up that may offer more definitive answers. Read the rest of this entry »
Scientists have identified a drug which may offer hope to patients with a particularly lethal form of lung cancer.
The drug eliminated small cell lung cancer tumours in 50% of mice, and blocked the cells’ ability to resist standard chemotherapy treatment.
The Imperial College London team now hope to test it in patients with an inoperable form of the disease.
Their study appears in the journal Cancer Research. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by admin | Posted in Cancer | Posted on 12-11-2009
A new study published in the journal BMC Medicine has linked prolonged stress with stroke.
Researchers in Sweden surveyed 600 recent stroke victims on their perceptions of their stress levels prior to being admitted to the hospital. The patients were asked to choose between six different alternatives to indicate how stressed they had felt before their stroke, from “never been stressed” to “constantly stressed over the past five years”. Their responses were compared with a healthy control group who were asked the same question. Read the rest of this entry »
Carol Johnson, an otherwise healthy woman in her 60s, was at her wits’ end. Despite a good diet and regular exercise, she was gaining weight — 20-plus pounds. Her blood pressure was too high, even though she was taking three drugs for it. And she didn’t feel well.
Since 2005, two doctors had told her she had a high blood level of creatinine, a product of muscle breakdown that can suggest abnormal kidney function. Yet neither doctor could figure out why. Even repeated kidney infections failed to alert her current doctor to the real problem.
Then, in March 2008, Mrs. Johnson, a retired special-education teacher living in Independence, Mo., noticed an advertisement for a free screening test offered by the National Kidney Foundation. Read the rest of this entry »
