Tuesday, May 27, 2008
smoking revisited
clipped from http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/31864.phpIQ lowered with long-term smoking
The association between long-term smoking and diminished mental proficiency in 172 alcoholic and non-alcoholic men was a surprising finding from a study that set out to examine alcoholism's long-term effect on the brain and thinking skills.
Coffee is good
Coffee, tea 'safe beverages'
27/05/2008 13:10 - (SA)
New York - Results from a decades-long study may enable women to drink coffee or tea without worry that doing so will increase their risk for breast cancer, study findings suggest.
"In this large cohort of women, with 22 years of follow-up, we observed no association between coffee (caffeinated or decaffeinated) and tea consumption and the risk of breast cancer," Dr Davaasambuu Ganmaa told Reuters Health.
"Coffee and tea are remarkably safe beverages when used in moderation," said Ganmaa, of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts.
Allopathy v homeopathy - one system kills another
clipped from http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,166947,00.htmlStudy: Homeopathy Drugs Don't Work
The widely touted benefits of homeopathic drugs are merely placebo effects, a new study suggests.
Clinical trials almost always show that patients given inactive sugar pills — placebos — do better than untreated patients. It's called the placebo effect.
Clinical trials of homeopathic remedies sometimes show that these treatments work better than placebos. But a new analysis — comparing published studies of homeopathic drugs to matched, randomly selected studies of medical drugs — suggests that these apparent homeopathic drug effects are merely placebo effects.
Love in Japan
Love hotel employees see it all
"About six months ago," the front desk clerk at a suburban Kanto love hotel tells Shukan Taishu (June 2), "the desk phone rings, and a man, obviously very upset, gasps, 'Come quick, there's trouble.' 'What's wrong?' I asked. No answer. I ran to the room and saw a woman lying unconscious on the bed. I had no idea what to do. I got my cell phone out and called my supervisor."
As he was talking, the woman regained consciousness. "She looked around and mumbled, 'Eh? Where am I?' Suddenly she seemed to realize—and let out a piercing scream."
The oddest things happen in love hotels, and who has a better view than the men and women who staff them? Shukan Taishu presents some eye-witness reports.
"I figured it was because she saw a strange man in the room," the clerk continues. "I don't know who was more surprised, her or me."
placebo obecalp
Jennifer Buettner was taking care of her young niece when the idea struck her. The child had a nagging case of hypochondria, and Ms. Buettner's mother-in-law, a nurse, instructed her to give the girl a Motrin tablet.
"She told me it was the most benign thing I could give," Ms. Buettner said. "I thought, why give her any drug? Why not give her a placebo?"
Obesity in children
clipped from living.health.comChildhood Obesity May Be Leveling Off
TUESDAY, May 27 (HealthDay News) — In what may be the first good news in the battle against obesity among America's children, federal researchers report that the latest data suggest that the number of overweight kids may be leveling off.
However, experts caution there's still much to be done to improve the health of American children because the number of youngsters who are overweight today is still triple what it was in the 1960s and 1970s.
"The rates are still very high. But this study suggests there may be some cause for optimism as the rate appears fairly level over eight years," said study author Cynthia Ogden, an epidemiologist at the National Center for Health Statistics, whose findings are published in the May 28 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
anti-oxi-cancer
clipped from living.health.comCancer Patients Should Steer Clear of Antioxidants
TUESDAY, May 27 (HealthDay News) — A new review of existing research suggests that cancer patients undergoing radiation or chemotherapy avoid supplements with high levels of antioxidants.
Although multivitamins may be all right in some cases, even green tea and vitamin A or E supplements can spell trouble, said review author Dr. Brian Lawenda, clinical director of radiation oncology at Naval Medical Center in San Diego.
The supplements "may decrease the effectiveness of radiation or chemotherapy or even make the toxicities of these treatments worse," Lawenda said. "I would recommend that you do not take these agents during chemo or radiation."
