Gargling May Prevent Colds; Expert Finds Results Hard to Swallow
Daily gargling with water appears to ward off colds among healthy people, Japanese researchers report in the November issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. But an American expert is throwing cold water on the study.
“The most important finding in our study is that the common cold could be prevented over 30 percent of the time by daily gargling with water,” said lead author Kazunari Satomura, M.D., Ph.D., a professor of medicine and epidemiology at Kyoto University. “This simple hygienic habit could contribute to public health and it would have obvious economic benefits,” he added.
Multiple Sclerosis Progression Linked to Immune-Cell Substance
A new study suggests that a substance made by immune cells plays a key role in the progression of a disease in animals that closely mimics multiple sclerosis (MS). The findings further suggest that blocking the molecule, known as macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) might prevent the progression of the disease.
Researchers at The Ohio State University Medical Center conducted the study using mice that develop a disease that mimics MS. They compared these animals to similar mice that lacked MIF, an immune-system signaling molecule.
Indonesia “covered up” bird flu, newspaper reports
Indonesian officials “covered up and then neglected” an epidemic of avian influenza in poultry for two years, allowing it to spread among flocks and then to people, the Washington Post reported on Thursday.
The newspaper quoted an Indonesian microbiologist as saying authorities argued about whether the virus killing chickens was in fact H5N1, and then tried to deal with it quietly.
Bleach treatment neutralizes mold allergens
Treatment with household bleach reduces the allergy-inducing ability of mold spores, a new study shows.
Current efforts to remediate mold-contaminated buildings require replacement of contaminated materials, Dr. John W. Martyny of the National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver and colleagues note in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical immunology.
Narcotic use common in Crohn’s disease patients
Chronic narcotic use is common in patients with Crohn’s disease, and is associated with increased disease activity and decreased quality of life.
Dr. Raymond K. Cross, of the University of Maryland, Baltimore, and colleagues examined the prevalence of narcotic use and contributing factors in a review of 291 patients with Crohn’s disease who were followed for 5 years. The results of the study are published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology.
HK to close border if H5N1 virus mutates in China
Hong Kong’s health minister said on Thursday the city would close its border with mainland China if cases of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus were found to be transmitted person-to-person there.
Many countries have said they would close their borders in such a scenario, but the commitment is remarkable in the case of Hong Kong given that it is part of China.
Fine-tuning freezing improves fertility rate
By using sodium-deleted, choline-substituted culture medium and a slow-freeze, rapid-thaw protocol, researchers in Los Angeles have achieved pregnancy success rates of 63 percent resulting from the use of frozen eggs (oocytes).
Dr. John K. Jain and his associates at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California reported their institution’s outcomes at the annual meeting of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine in Montreal.
Marital status doesn’t affect breast cancer outcome
A woman’s marital status does not affect the outcome after surgery and radiation for breast cancer and should not be a factor in choosing treatment, Fox Chase Cancer Center researchers reported this week at the annual meeting of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiation and Oncology (ASTRO) in Denver, Colorado.
Dr. Shelly B. Hayes presented results of a study of 2,143 women with early-stage breast cancer treated with lumpectomy, which involves surgical removal of the tumor only, and radiation between 1984 and 2003. Women were divided into four groups, according to marital status. Overall, 65 percent were married, 10 percent were single, 10 percent were divorced and 18 percent were widowed.
Risk factors for BC death same for blacks, whites
African-American women are known to be more likely to die from breast cancer than white women, yet new study findings show that the factors associated with an increased risk of death from the condition are similar in both groups.
“This study found that major known risk factors do not vary considerably between these two groups, so this study underscores the need for all women to follow breast cancer screening guidelines,” said study author Dr. Marjorie L. McCullough, of the Atlanta-based American Cancer Society.
Impotence drugs need stronger warning
Drugs to treat erectile dysfunction need stronger warnings on their packaging about the risk of blindness, U.S. consumer group Public Citizen said on Thursday in a petition filed with health regulators.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration should “immediately add a black box warning regarding the risks of drug-induced blindness for the three phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE5) inhibitors that are prescribed for the treatment of erectile dysfunction,” Public Citizen’s Health Research Group wrote.
Debate Over Wider Use of Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis
Preimplantation genetic diagnosis—first used in assisted reproduction 15 years ago—is becoming more and more widely used. But whether it should be employed universally drew heated debate here.
Researchers here say that data show preimplantation genetic diagnosis is becoming accurate to the point that in some settings it can dramatically improve the rate of successful pregnancies by winnowing out all but the completely normal embryos.
Incidence of Acute Lung Injury Higher Than Previously Thought
There may be a lot more cases of acute lung injury in the United States than previous estimates suggested—perhaps 2.5 to five times as much.
An estimated 190,600 cases of acute lung injury occur each year that result in 3.6 million hospital stays and 74,500 deaths, Gordon D. Rubenfeld, M.D., and colleagues of the University of Washington here reported in the Oct. 20 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Abused Boys Prone to Psychiatric Ailments and Future Violence
Boys who are physically abused, often by their mothers, have a heightened risk of psychiatric illnesses, legal troubles, violent behavior, and doing prison time as adults, researchers here reported.
A random telephone survey of 197 men here found a history of childhood physical abuse to be significantly associated with depression (P=0.003), post-traumatic stress disorder (P<0.001), the number of lifetime sexual partners (P=0.035), legal troubles (P=0.002), and incarceration (P=0.007), investigators reported in the Oct. 18 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.
HIV Patients Perceive Discrimination by Physicians
Many doctors don’t gladly welcome HIV patients—or so the patients perceive.
One in four HIV-infected adults reported that they had experienced discrimination by a healthcare provider, with more than half citing their physicians as offenders, according to a large nationally representative study.
Serve more food and they will eat it
If you eat too much fattening food one day, don’t count on yourself to be good the next day and eat less.
People offered large meals will eat them day after day, according to a study released on Wednesday at a conference of North American obesity researchers in Vancouver.
