Latest Medical Myths Explained
A new study suggests that the number ob/gyns should be looking at to gauge risk isn’t age, but a woman’s weight. In March, British researchers reported that being seriously overweight magnifies dangers for both the woman and her unborn child, but little is being done to help obese mothers-to-be.
A key to healthy cognitive function as you age is maintaining good blood sugar regulation, preserving your body’s ability to keep your blood sugar neither too high nor too low. The primary ways to do this are through exercise and diet. A healthy diet keeps you from overdosing on sugar, and regular aerobic exercise increases [...]
A 20-year study from Sweden suggests that screening for prostate cancer does not substantially reduce the risk of death from the disease. On the other hand, a good many men might receive false-positive results and overtreatment, adding an element of risk to widescale screening,
Diabetes is already linked to a number of complications, but emerging evidence suggests an increased risk of cancer can be added to that list. A new study found that women with diabetes had an 8 percent increased risk of developing cancer generally, while men with diabetes had a 9 percent higher risk when rates of [...]
There’s a significant link between smoking and breast cancer risk in postmenopausal women, but it depends on their body weight, researchers report. Breast cancer risk was higher than normal among female smokers who were not obese, but this strong association was not evident in obese female smokers, according to a new study.
Reducing cancer patients’ stress may benefit their health, a new study finds. Researchers investigated whether chronic stress associated with cancer diagnosis accelerated shortening of telomeres. These structures on the ends of chromosomes protect the chromosome from deteriorating, breaking apart or joining with other chromosomes, which can lead to mutations.
Teenagers who undergo gastric-bypass weight-loss surgery lose bone in the 2 years following the procedure, a new study shows. The good news is they started out with bones that were far heavier than normal. After that bone loss, they end up about normal for their age but the long-term effects of the bone loss – [...]
Smoking is damaging to everyone’s health, but the nicotine in cigarettes may be even more deadly for people who have diabetes. In lab experiments, researchers discovered that nicotine raised blood sugar levels, and the more nicotine that was present, the higher the blood sugar levels were. Higher blood sugar levels are linked to an increased [...]
A new drug has been approved to treat late-stage melanoma, the most deadly form of skin cancer. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration cleared Bristol-Myers Squibb’s injectable drug Yervoy on Friday, based on a study of 676 end-stage melanoma patients. Those who took Yervoy lived an average of 10 months–four months longer than those given [...]
British scientists have found that counting the number of lung cancer cells circulating in a patient’s blood could help determine how aggressive the cancer is and predict the best treatment to use. They found lung cancer patients with five or more CTCs had a significantly worse survival rates. The average overall survival was 4.3 months [...]