High BMI Tied to Poor Cognitive Function in Middle-Aged Adults
Middle-aged adults with a high body mass index (BMI) received lower scores on cognitive tests than middle-aged adults with low BMI, according to a study published in the October 10, 2006, issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
The study investigated the relationships between BMI and cognitive function in 2,223 healthy men and women in France through the use of four cognitive tests. The participants, who were between the ages of 32 and 62, were initially tested in 1996 and again five years later.
The study found a higher BMI was associated with lower cognitive test scores. Results from a test involving word memory recall show people with a BMI of 20 remembered an average of nine out of 16 words, while people with a BMI of 30 remembered an average of seven out of 16 words.
Fertile women dress to impress, U.S. study finds
Women dress to impress when they are at their most fertile, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday in a study they say shows that signs of human ovulation may not be as mysterious as some scientists believe.
A study of young college women showed they frequently wore more fashionable or flashier clothing and jewelry when they were ovulating, as assessed by a panel of men and women looking at their photographs.
“They tend to put on skirts instead of pants, show more skin and generally dress more fashionably,” said Martie Haselton, a communication studies and psychology expert at the University of California Los Angeles who led the study.
Six children die, 76 infected in Kazakh HIV case
Six children have died in Kazakhstan and at least 76 have been infected after transfusions of blood suspected of containing HIV, officials said on Tuesday.
Health Minister Anatoly Dernovoi told a government meeting the virus was also found in eight of the children’s mothers.
Health officials have tested 10,000 children for the virus near the southern city of Shymkent since the outbreak started earlier this year. The number of reported cases has been growing steadily over the past weeks.
Pre-op chemotherapy benefits young cancer patients
Children with advanced kidney cancer may suffer fewer long-term side effects and need less treatment if they are given chemotherapy to shrink their tumour before surgery, researchers said on Tuesday.
Wilms’ tumour is the most common type of kidney cancer that affects children. In most cases it is curable.
Chemotherapy is normally given after surgery to kill any remaining cancer cells in the body. But British scientists said some children would benefit from delaying surgery to receive chemotherapy treatment.
Congress urged to act on US FDA safety reforms
Editors at a major medical journal and members of a drug-safety advisory panel joined calls on Monday for major changes to improve the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s oversight of medicines on the market.
A New England Journal of Medicine editorial urged the U.S. Congress to adopt recommendations made by an Institute of Medicine (IOM) panel last month to bolster drug safety.
The IOM report pressed Congress to give the FDA more staff, funding and power—including the ability to require the drug industry to do post-approval studies and change warning labels.
