Early-onset osteoporosis linked to cancer risk
Early onset of the bone-thinning disease osteoporosis seems to be related to an increased risk of certain cancers, while later onset of osteoporosis may be related to a decreased risk of other cancers, researchers report.
They note in the International Journal of Cancer that the risk of breast, endometrial and other cancers has been reported to be lower among women with pre-existing osteoporosis. This is most likely because of lower estrogen levels, which increase the likelihood of osteoporosis but reduce the odds of certain cancers.
“Other osteoporosis risk factors, such as smoking and alcohol consumption, however, may increase risk,” Dr. Katherine A. McGlynn, of the National Cancer Institute, Rockville, Maryland, and colleagues suggest.
Otitis in infancy may affect hearing for years
Infection of the middle ear compartment, called otitis media, in babies can affect the way their brains process sounds years after the initial infection, according to a recent report from India.
Infancy is a time when the brain rapidly develops the ability to sort out and respond to input from the five senses. If these external stimuli are blunted or absent, however, the appropriate brain development can be impaired.
Even otitis media of a short duration “in the first year of life can cause long-standing auditory processing deficits,” Sandeep Maruthy from the All India Institute of Speech and Hearing in Mysore told Reuters Health.
