A genetic abnormality can make children more likely to relapse after treatment for a certain type of leukaemia. The discovery could change how doctors treat these patients. The background Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia is the most common childhood cancer, making up about 23% of cancers diagnosed in children under 15. Children with an abnormality in a […]
Read moreStudies show that sleeping too little or too much is bad for the heart. Researchers have also noticed that diabetes and high blood pressure may be affected by how long people sleep. One study included 58,044 men and women aged 45 or over who didn't have heart disease when they joined. Those who slept less […]
Read moreThis winter, a strain of flu resistant to Tamiflu (oseltamivir), the most commonly used flu drug, is spreading in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) describes the situation as serious, and has asked doctors to rely on older drugs and avoid prescribing Tamiflu when it isn't necessary. Flu samples were […]
Read moreSome older people may want to take an interest in their grandchildren's video games: research shows these games benefit the brain in older adults. In a study of 40 people in their sixties and seventies, those who learned a strategy video game scored higher in mental tests. After about a month of training, they did […]
Read moreA new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found that supplements of folic acid with vitamins B6 and B12 didn't change the overall risk of cancer, including breast cancer, in women at high risk of heart disease. The study included 5,442 women aged 42 and over who had heart disease […]
Read moreA larger belly is a serious warning sign for diseases such as heart attacks, strokes and diabetes. Based on recent research, doctors now pay more attention to waist size than to weight and height. The risk rises for women with a waist over about 88 cm (35 inches) and for men over about 102 cm […]
Read moreThe increase in autism in California since the 1990s is real, and not just the result of changes in how children are diagnosed, new research suggests. Many doctors had argued that earlier diagnosis and the inclusion of milder cases were the main reasons for the rising numbers. But when Dr Irva Hertz-Picciotto of the University […]
Read moreA new study suggests that regular exercise and a diet rich in calcium reduce the chance of developing metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is a group of problems that raise the risk of diabetes and heart disease: high blood pressure, high blood sugar, high blood fats and low "good" cholesterol. In a study of 5,000 people […]
Read moreNausea and vomiting early in pregnancy, and how severe they are, can harm a woman's health and quality of life, a study shows. So a pregnant woman should tell her doctor about them, and doctors should treat these early symptoms, Dr Nick Bérard told Reuters Health. Dr Bérard of the University of Montreal in Quebec, […]
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Scientists have discovered a gene that controls the production of a type of haemoglobin that can make sickle cell anaemia and thalassaemia much less severe. The discovery could change the treatment of thalassaemia and sickle cell anaemia and ease the suffering they cause: severe pain, damage to the eyes and other organs, infections and strokes. […]
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Some people have wounds that won't heal, and doctors have been looking for something to help heal everything from diabetic ulcers to burns. Josh Benton, 63, mows lawns for a living. During his daily work he hit his foot on a rock, and the wound wouldn't heal. It was deep enough to reach the bone, […]
Read moreMajor drug companies are delaying or blocking cheaper generic medicines, raising bills for taxpayers and reducing incentives to innovate, the European Union said. EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said competition in the pharmaceutical sector was not working as it should: multiple patent filings, lawsuits and court settlements cost governments billions of euros that they shouldn't […]
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