New approach to defeating flu shows promise – New research on mice has shown that pulmonary administration of granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) significantly reduces flu symptoms and prevents death after a lethal dose influenza virus.
Severe obesity not seen to increase risk of depression in teens — Study does find possibly greater vulnerability among white adolescents – According to a new study, severely obese adolescents are no more likely to be depressed than normal weight peers. The study, which has been released in the Journal of Adolescent Health, did find that white adolescents may be somewhat more vulnerable to psychological effects of obesity.
Prenatal exposure to common insecticide linked to decreases in cognitive functioning at age 7 — Deficits in IQ and working memory suggest longer-term educational implications – Researchers from the Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health at the Mailman School of Public Health report evidence of a link between prenatal exposure to the insecticide chlorpyrifos and deficits in IQ and working memory at age seven.
Vitamin D levels associated with age-related macular degeneration – Women under the age of 75 with high vitamin D status were less likely to have early age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of irreversible vision loss in adults, a University at Buffalo study has shown.
New treatment may desensitize kids with milk allergies, say researchers at Stanford and Boston – Milk allergy is the most common, affecting 2.5 percent of children under age 3. In a small clinical study, researchers report effectively desensitizing milk-allergic patients by increasing their exposure to milk in tandem with an allergy drug called omalizumab, allowing children to build up resistance quickly with limited allergic reactions.
New study adds weight to diabetes drug link to heart problems — Research: Comparative cardiovascular effects of thiazolidinediones: Systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies – A new study published on bmj adds to mounting evidence that rosiglitazone – a drug used to treat type 2 diabetes – is associated with an increased risk of major heart problems.
Coffee drinking linked to reduced stroke risk in women — American Heart Association rapid access journal report – Drinking more than a cup of coffee a day was associated with a 22 percent to 25 percent lower risk of stroke, compared with those who drank less, in a study reported in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.
Advanced degrees add up to lower blood pressure – Freshmen on the eve of finals and graduate students staring down a thesis committee may not feel this way, but the privilege of obtaining an advanced education correlates with decades of lower blood pressure, according to a study led by a public health researcher at Brown University. The benefit appears to be greater for women than for men.
Eating berries may lower risk of Parkinson’s – New research shows men and women who regularly eat berries may have a lower risk of developing Parkinson’s disease, while men may also further lower their risk by regularly eating apples, oranges and other sources rich in dietary components called flavonoids.
Psychotic Illness Appears to Begin at Younger Age Among Those Who Use Cannabis – Cannabis use appears to be associated with an earlier onset of psychotic illness, according to a meta-analysis of previously published studies published in Archives of General Psychiatry.
Huge decline in HIV rates in Zimbabwe driven by fear of infection, says study – The big drop in the numbers of people infected with HIV in Zimbabwe is because of mass social change, driven by fear of infection, according to an international study reported in the journal PLoS Medicine.
Researchers identify molecular predictor of metastatic prostate cancer — Finding lays the groundwork for gene-based test – Researchers conducted an elaborate series of experiments to identify the genes most closely linked to the aggressive biology of prostate cancer. They found about 300 genes that distinguished the two groups – indolent versus aggressive prostate cancers.
