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Always take this to a gun fight.

News from the world of medicine:

Manuka honey could be an efficient way to clear chronically infected wounds and could even help reverse bacterial resistance to antibiotics, according to research.

Researchers testing raw turkey, pork, beef, and chicken purchased at grocery stores in five different cities across the U.S. say that roughly one in four of those samples tested positive for a multidrug antibiotic-resistant “superbug” bacterium.

A new study by researchers at the University of Alberta shows that for best results in stable patients after a heart attack, early exercise as well as prolonged exercise is the key to the best outcomes.

A survey of more than 1,600 U.S. parents showed that that 74% of children between the ages of 5 and 10 do not get enough exercise daily, based on the 60 minutes of daily physical activity recommended in the government’s Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans.

A serendipitous discovery has shown that a simple illusion can significantly reduce -- and in some cases even temporarily eradicate -- arthritic pain in the hand.

Treating high blood pressure and other so-called vascular risk factors in people who have mild cognitive impairment may reduce their risk of progressing to Alzheimer's disease, according to a new study.

What's up, Doc?

Will live forever.

Middle-aged men and women may be able to lower their blood pressure readings by laughing more and listening to music they enjoy, new research indicates.

Prescribing antibiotics for patients with discoloured phlegm caused by acute cough has little or no effect on alleviating symptoms and recovery, a Cardiff University study has found.

Itching, like yawning, may be contagious, causing people to feel an urge to scratch after they see another person scratching. That’s according to a new study published in the British Journal of Dermatology.

Researchers have found that people living at higher altitudes have a lower chance of dying from ischemic heart disease and tend to live longer than others.

Cocoa, used throughout history as a folk medicine, may actually have significant health benefits, according to a new study by Harvard researchers. Their analysis of 21 studies with 2,575 participants shows that cocoa consumption is associated with decreased blood pressure, improved blood vessel health, and improvement in cholesterol levels, among other benefits.

A lesser known side effect of sleep deprivation is short-term euphoria, which can potentially lead to poor judgment and addictive behavior, according to new research

Regular exercise and a low-sodium diet are two lifestyle changes that are often recommended to lower high blood pressure. Now a new study shows that physical activity appears to help keep blood pressure from climbing after people eat eye-popping amounts of salt -- 18,000 milligrams a day to be exact.

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Bad idea, pops.

News from the world of medicine:

Researchers have demonstrated that listening to loud music through earphones for extended periods in noisy surroundings can cause neurophysiological changes related to clear discrimination of sounds, even if the hearing threshold is normal. This auditory abnormality concerns "the vividness of sounds" and cannot be recognized by the usual hearing test.

Closely contested major sporting events are followed by a significant increase in traffic fatalities for fans of the winning team, according to new research from North Carolina State University.

In a major breakthrough in the battle against Parkinson's disease, researchers at the University of Colorado School of Medicine have discovered a drug that stops the progression of the degenerative illness in mice and is now being tested in humans.

Higher levels of HDL “good” cholesterol just may protect against colon cancer, findings from a large European study suggest.

The Mediterranean diet is known to help prevent heart disease. Now new research extends these benefits to metabolic syndrome, a cluster of risk factors that includes high blood pressure, abdominal obesity, high cholesterol levels, and insulin resistance that increase risk for diabetes and heart disease.

Fever may be beneficial when it comes to fighting infection, according to new advice from pediatricians. New guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics urge parents to recognize fever as a sign that the body is working to fight infection and not something to be feared.

A research team from J Thomas Jefferson University has been able to quantify a relationship between physicians' empathy and their patients' positive clinical outcomes, suggesting that a physician's empathy is an important factor associated with clinical competence.

News roundup: echinacea, diabetes, cancer

News from the world of medicine:


Researchers have demonstrated that an antibiotic called "monensin" prevents the growth of prostate cancer cells. Evidenceemerged in a project investigating the effects of nearly 5,000 drugs and micromolecules on the growth of prostate cancer cells. Researchers found that small amounts of compounds -- disulfiram (Antabus), thiram, tricostatin A, and monensin -- can prevent the growth of prostate cancer cells without significant effects on the growth of the normal human prostate epithelial cells.

Researchers at Harvard have identified a substance found primarily in dairy fat that appears to lower the risk of type 2 diabetes. Known as trans-palmitoleic acid, it is present in the fat of ruminant animals such as cows, sheep, and goats. In the Harvard study, people with the highest levels of the fatty acid in their blood had a threefold lower risk of developing diabetes over time than people with the lowest levels. They also had healthier HDL, or good, cholesterol levels, lower body fat, and less insulin resistance.

The vitamin D levels of newborn babies appear to predict their risk of respiratory infections during infancy and the occurrence of wheezing during early childhood, but not the risk of developing asthma. The results support the theory that widespread vitamin D deficiency contributes to risk of infections.

Despite its popularity as a natural remedy for treating the common cold, a new study suggests echinacea does not substantially reduce the severity or duration of the common cold.

Women with breast cancer who take multivitamins with minerals appear to face lower odds of having their cancer come back or dying. "Multivitamins appears to especially benefit women undergoin gradiation treatment," says researcher Heather Greenlee, ND, PhD, of Columbia University's Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center in New York City. The study doesn't prove cause and effect. The association could be explained by other factors.

News roundup: estrogen, statins, chocolate

News from the world of medicine:

People who exercise regularly not only can reduce their odds of becoming obese, but also cut their risk of developing about two dozen physical and mental health problems, a new review of more than 40 studies indicates. Exercise reduces the risk of some cancers, dementia, sexual problems like erectile dysfunction, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, depression, and hypertension, among many other diseases, according to the review.

Estrogen is an elixir for the brain, sharpening mental performance in humans and animals and showing promise as a treatment for disorders of the brain such as Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia. But long-term estrogen therapy, once prescribed routinely for menopausal women, now is quite controversial because of research showing it increases the risk of cancer, heart disease and stroke. Northwestern Medicine researchers have discovered how to reap the benefits of estrogen without the risk.

An experimental drug, anacetrapib, which boosts levels of "good" HDL cholesterol has cleared a major safety hurdle, renewing hopes of fighting heart disease in a new way. "Our jaws dropped when we saw the 138% increase in HDL [over placebo]. And our jaws dropped even more when LDL went down by 40%," compared with placebo, says study leader Christopher P. Cannon, MD, of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

For parents who grow frustrated with their children's seeming inability to understand others who have different points of view, here's hope from the scientists: As children mature, the regions in a specific brain network known as the default-mode network or DMN begin to work together, and parents are likely to notice a difference in the children's ability to look outside themselves, according to new research.

Good news for women who love chocolate: Frequently eating chocolate was associated with a lower risk for atherosclerosis, as well as for hospitalization and premature death from heart disease or heart failure.

Widely prescribed for their cholesterol-lowering properties, recent clinical research indicates that statins can produce a second, significant health benefit: lowering the risk of severe bacterial infections such as pneumonia and sepsis.

News roundup: aspirin, fish oil, statin, naps

News from the world of medicine:

Aspirin, already linked in some studies to a lower risk of developing colon cancer, may also cut the risk of dying of prostate cancer by more than half, a large study suggests.

Researchers from Harvard found that dietary intake of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) like fish oil, known to have anti-inflammatory properties, shows promise for the effective treatment and prevention of periodontitis.

Following a healthy lifestyle, which means exercising, eating healthfully, keeping the waistline trim, limiting alcohol intake, and avoiding smoking, could reduce the risk of colorectal cancer by 23%, according to a study from Denmark.

A systematic review of the medical literature supports the hypothesis that statins, cholesterol‐lowering drugs used to prevent cardiac problems, are associated with reduced risk of colon and rectal cancers.

Drinking about a half cup or more of coffee or tea per day is associated with a 34% reduction in the risk for glioma, a type of brain tumor, researchers report.

Men with heart disease die sooner if their testosterone levels are low, a U.K. study shows.

New research shows that an occasional nap can make older people more able to lead a fully active life by giving them enough energy to take part in recreational and social activities.

News roundup: watermelon, CPR, walking

News from the world of medicine:

For years, people with egg allergy were told to avoid the flu vaccine because it contains egg protein and could trigger a reaction, but this advice no longer stands. People with egg allergies can -- and should -- get the flu shot this year, according to a new report by the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.

Evidence from a pilot study led by food scientists at The Florida State University suggests that watermelon can be an effective natural weapon against prehypertension, a precursor to cardiovascular disease.

Women with fibromyalgia can reduce symptoms of the disease and improve their function by practicing the mind-body techniques of yoga, a new study says.

Heart attack patients whose hearts have stopped beating and who receive cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) from bystanders fare better if their resuscitators skip the rescue breaths and do only chest compression, according to a study led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Walking 6 miles or so every week is not only good for the heart, but for the brain, preventing shrinkage and possibly dementia down the road, new research indicates.

Higher levels of vitamin D in newborns are linked with better insulin sensitivity at age 3, perhaps reducing their obesity risk, according to a new study.

Scientists have demonstrated that a biomarker called TCF21 may be used to develop a potential screening test for early-stage lung cancer.

News roundup: black rice, breastfeeding, fluoride and more

News from the world of medicine:

Inexpensive black rice contains health-promoting anthocyanin antioxidants, similar to those found in blackberries and blueberries, new research from Louisiana State University indicates. "Just a spoonful of black rice bran contains more health promoting anthocyanin antioxidants than are found in a spoonful or blueberries, but with less sugar and more fiber and vitamin E antioxidants," Zhimin Xu, PhD, of Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, says.

Breastfeeding for a month or longer appears to reduce a woman's risk of getting diabetes later in life, according to a new study.

The eight unexplained symptoms most closely linked to cancer have been highlighted by researchers at Keele University. They are blood in urine, anaemia, rectal blood, coughing up blood, breast lump or mass, difficulty swallowing, post-menopausal bleeding and abnormal prostate tests.

Children drinking water with added fluoride helps dental health in adulthood decades later, a new study finds. "Your fluoridation exposure at birth is affecting your tooth loss in your 40s and 50s, regardless of what your fluoridation exposure was like when you were 20 and 30 years old," said Neidell, a health policy professor at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University.

Murine leukemia viruses (MLV), a family of retroviruses known to cause cancer in mice, may be linked to chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), a study shows.

Naringenin, an antioxidant derived from the bitter flavor of grapefruits and other citrus fruits, may cause the liver to break down fat while increasing insulin sensitivity, a process that naturally occurs during long periods of fasting. If the results of this study extend to human patients, this dietary supplement could become a staple in the treatment of hyperlipidemia, type-2 diabetes, and perhaps metabolic syndrome.

Health news roundup: berries, narcotics, Parkinson's, vitamin D

Scientists have reported the first evidence that eating blueberries, strawberries, and acai berries may help the aging brain stay healthy in a crucial but previously unrecognized way. Berries, and possibly walnuts, activate the brain's natural "housekeeper" mechanism, which cleans up and recycles toxic proteins linked to age-related memory loss and other mental decline.

A virus called XMRC may be linked to chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), a study shows. The new study shows that 86.5% of 37 people with CFS had evidence of this virus in their blood, as did 6.8% healthy blood donors. "There is a dramatic association with CFS, [but] we have not determined causality for this agent," said Harvey Alter, MD,  at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Center.

There is now biologic evidence to back up the belief that vitamin D may protect against autoimmune diseases and certain cancers. A new genetic analysis lends support to the idea that the vitamin interacts with genes specific for colorectal cancer, multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes, and other diseases, says Oxford University genetic researcher Sreeram Ramagopalan.

A government study found that the share of substance abuse treatment admissions involving prescription narcotics increased more than fourfold between 1998 and 2008, from 2.2 to 9.8 percent.  A second study found that emergency room visits involving nonmedical use of these drugs jumped 111 percent over the same period, to 305,885. Nearly everyone, it seems, is at equal risk.

Researchers has discovered new evidence that Parkinson's disease may have an infectious or autoimmune origin. Researchers detected a new association with the HLA (human leukocyte antigen) region, which contains a large number of genes related to immune system function in humans. Researchers will now be encouraged to take a fresh look at the possible role of infections, inflammation and autoimmunity in Parkinson's disease.

A study suggests that a water soluble extract of cinnamon, which contains antioxidative compounds, could help reduce risk factors associated with diabetes and heart disease.