Risks of hormone replacement not surprising: report
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The risks of Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) have made headlines only in recent years, but there had long been warning signs that supplemental estrogen might be more hazardous than healthful, a new report contends.
In 2002, a large US clinical trial called the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) was stopped when early findings showed that HRT after menopause slightly raised a woman’s risk of Breast cancer, Heart attack, Stroke and blood clots.
Hormone replacement therapy, called HRT, is the use of man- made or natural hormones to treat a person whose body is no longer making enough of certain hormones. It is often prescribed for women in menopause.
FDA lowers patient age for hepatitis A vaccine
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Merck & Co. on Monday said US regulators have approved its already marketed Hepatitis A Vaccine Inactivated for use in children as young as 12 months old; the minimum age had been least two years old.
Why lose weight is so hard?
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Losing weight is hard because there are so many factors involved. The U.S. surgeon general says “for each individual body, weight is a combination of genetic, metabolic, behavioral, environmental, cultural and socioeconomic influences”. This means that when we are trying to lose weight we need to observe all of these components, including the genetic ones, although we cannot use that as an excuse, as the genetic factors only compose less than 15% of all influences.
Having said that, there are plenty of people who have successfully achieved that goal. Thus, losing weight is only difficult if we are not totally committed to achieving our weight goal.
Scientists identify “Jekyll and Hyde” cancer gene
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French and American scientists said Wednesday they have identified a “Jekyll and Hyde” type of cancer gene that could lead to better ways to diagnose and treat the disease.
Unlike other cancer genes that either promote cancerous tumors or block their growth, researchers at the University of Lyon in France and the Buck Institute in Novato, California have found a gene that does both.
Prevention of Lung Cancer
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Prevention
Doctors can not always explain why one person gets cancer and another does not. However, scientists have studied general patterns of cancer in the population to learn what things around us and what things we do in our lives may increase our chance of developing cancer.
Anything that increases a person’s chance of developing a disease is called a risk factor; anything that decreases a person’s chance of developing a disease is called a protective factor. Some of the risk factors for cancer can be avoided, but many can not.
Future of Cancer Diagnosis
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It has been said that a human being is a veritable encyclopedia of proteins. Proteins are the fabric of life - they provide the bricks and mortar of our cells, and run day-to-day operations. When these functions go awry - when too much or too little protein is produced, when a daisy-chain network of proteins working together is disrupted - illness can arise.
While an errant genetic code may underlie a disorder, biologists have estimated that 98% of disease is caused by something wrong in the proteins that genes produce.
Diabetes UK worried at loss of choice
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Modern insulin treatments for people with Diabetes Mellitus are making the condition worse for some patients, it is claimed today.
Manufacturers are taking long-established products off the market and replacing them with more expensive alternatives.
Diabetes Mellitus UK says long-term patients are finding their bodies do not always adjust to the substitutes.
MRI scan shows promise in treating bipolar disorder
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A study published in the Jan. 1, 2004 issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry had a surprising start.
As Michael Rohan, imaging physicist in McLean Hospital’s Brain Imaging Center, explains, “We were using MRI to investigate the effectiveness of certain medications in bipolar patients and noticed that many came out of the MRI feeling much better than when they went in. We decided to investigate further.” Researchers theorized that one type of magnetic pulse they were using was having the positive effect. “This was purely accidental.
Genetic Disorders Often the Cause of Birth Defects
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Although mothers often do all they can to maintain a healthy Pregnancy, babies still have birth defects.
Sometimes parents are told that an accident during the Pregnancy may have caused their child’s condition. But looking at the baby’s family history may reveal another source of the problem—genetics.
