Gene Linked to Age-Related Blindness
A variation in a single gene is strongly associated with an increased risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of untreatable blindness in the elderly, according to a new study.
Based on the finding, a simple test might be developed that could help identify people at risk for this condition, speculate researchers at the University of Pittsburgh. They believe that identification of the PLEKHA1 gene may also help researchers find more effective ways to prevent this ocular degeneration.
World health leaders tackle hospital errors
A global initiative to stop hospital errors will focus on the old dictum “first, do no harm” by encouraging health care workers to clean up their acts, health officials said on Tuesday.
They said hospital employees all over the world should heed the advice attributed to the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates, and the best way to do that is improve hygiene habits.
Health, wealth seem not to affect dementia risk
The incidence of dementia does not appear to be influenced by social background or health status, at least in the UK, the results of a study from the Medical Research Council (MRC) has shown.
MRC researchers interviewed and followed 13,000 people from five ethnically uniform sites, ranging from wealthy Cambridge in the east of England to deprived Newcastle in the north, and found that that “health and wealth does not affect the incidence of dementia in England and Wales.”
Anesthesia doesn’t ease heroin detox
Heroin detoxification under general anesthesia has been touted as a fast and pain-free way for addicts to get clean, but new research indicates that this method offers no benefit over other protocols that are safer and much less expensive.
“Anyone who might be interested in anesthesia for detox should know that it’s costly, dangerous, and not better than alternative approaches,” Dr. Eric D. Collins told Reuters Health.
Eating During Pregnancy
To eat well during Pregnancy you must do more than simply increase how much you eat. You must also consider what you eat. Although you need about 300 extra calories a day - especially later in your Pregnancy, when your baby grows quickly - those calories should come from nutritious foods so they can contribute to your baby’s growth and development.
Why It’s Important to Eat Well When You’re Pregnant
Do you wonder how it’s reasonable to gain 25 to 35 pounds (on average) during your Pregnancy when a newborn baby weighs only a fraction of that? Although it varies from woman to woman, this is how those pounds may add up:
Testicular cancer risk linked to mothers’ weight
Pregnant women’s weight is apparently associated with the subsequent risk of Testicular cancer in male offspring once they become adults, according to a Scandinavian study.
Higher maternal weight leads to higher levels of estrogens, which can be transferred from mother to fetus via the placenta.
