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In terms of research studies which I deem totally pointless and a waste of money I think this one might just be the champion.

Childhood risk factors, including exposure to dogs, can boost the chances of snoring later in a life, according to a team of researchers.

"Early-life environments can affect if you are a snorer or not later in life," Karl Franklin, MD, PhD, the study's lead author and a physician at University Hospital in Umea, Sweden.

The so-called expert stresses that more research is needed before advising parents to do anything. "I think we should do more studies before we take the dogs away."

Well yeah, I'd say so. Good grief!

The study is published in Respiratory Research.

Labels: children, pets, research, snoring

We all know I like my wine, I'm a complete wine addict and until this very morning I was okay with it. Until, of course, I read an article in which research shows even having one to two alcoholic drinks in a day can raise your risks of certain types of breast cancer.

"While the studies do not prove cause and effect, they lend plausibility to growing evidence implicating drinking as a risk factor for breast cancer, says Elizabeth Platz, ScD, a specialist in cancer prevention at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health."

Given the high rate of cancer in Delaware, where I live, and in my family history reading reports like this is alarming. When you put all these factors in the same bowl of likelihood then your risks appear ready to overflow, right?

The researchers reviewed data on 184,418 postmenopausal women, who answered questions about how much alcohol and what type of alcohol they drank each day. They were followed for an average of seven years.

Overall, moderate drinking raised the risk of developing breast cancer, regardless of whether a woman's preference was for beer, wine, or hard liquor. And the more she drank, the greater the risk.

Aw hell.

In other reports, we hear how a glass of wine a day is good for your heart. So how do you weigh the risks? Which studies should take precedence? This I do not know and even my assumptions should be taken lightly because I lack any type of medical background.

I suppose the biggest argument would be regarding your other behavior. When it comes to heart disease there are a plethora of preventive measures you can take to lower your risks. Whereas with breast cancer...well..not so much, unless maybe this means not drinking alcohol is your only preventive measure.

Decisions, decisions.

SOURCE

Labels: alcoholism, breast cancer, heart disease, research

I don't know about you but I never complete my resolutions. I always have the best of intentions but by February I'm back to eating tons of cookies. What can I say? I have a whole set of sweet teeth.

My hope for 2008 is that doctors and scientists are able to develop new treatments/cures for cancer. Or perhaps more likely, better screenings which are less invasive and can be used for very early detection.

I'd also like to see more people delve into the healthcare profession. We are lacking good doctors, nurses and surgeons that actually care about their patients more than their salary or recognition.

And last but not least, I would like less news on childhood obesity. And for that to happen we need to make sure our families are active and eat more nutritiously. Less fast food and more sit-down family dinners. It's not easy, but in many ways it is very necessary.

Labels: cancer, nutrition, obesity, research, resolutions

From a very young I age I became fascinated with the autism spectrum disorder. Observing children has always been something I revel in and I often can sense things in children that other people cannot. When it comes to autism I am intrigued as to why it causes such turmoil in some children and is barely noticeable in others. I have bought books, done research and signed up for all sorts of groups and newsletters to learn more.

This morning doing my daily reading through the news I stumbled across an article about how studying children with autism while they are running a fever has caused the need for further observation with doctors.

Researchers studied 30 patients with autism and the results were overwhelming. "They found that a fever of at least 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit improved symptoms such as arm flapping and body rocking, as well as irritability and hyperactivity." Clearly the disorder is completely neurology based, but how can a fever decrease those symptoms?

Of course the argument from other doctors is that a fever can cause lethargy in anyone. But to me this doesn't sound like a matter of lethargy. And a fever of 100.4 is still low enough that it shouldn't change your actions THAT much.

A fever can restore nerve cell communications in the brain, perhaps because the extra heat causes slight inflammation. The stimulation in children with autism causes them to behave more calmly and less erratically. Perhaps instead of being completely due to nerve cell communications it is also due to the immune system focusing efforts on healing the infected part of the body. Or maybe it is related to some sort of bacteria made by the body of a person with autism...? Because when you have a fever bacteria will begin to die due to the higher temperatures around it. Once your immune system stops inducing a fever because it has fought the infection then your body returns to normal temperature and the bacteria can fester again. So if for some reason there is a certain residue of bacteria made by the brains of people with austism then it would make sense they behave substantially different during a fever.

I don't know the answers, I'm not a doctor, but I am thrilled beyond belief that this study has brought forth such questions and possibilities. It has definitely got me thinking!

SOURCE

Labels: autism, fever, research

...in 2009. For those who suffer from migraines, you know just how disabling one can be. The searing pain caused by the dimmest light or the reverberating jet engine in your head caused by a sound as faint as a pin drop.

The current prescription remedy for migraines is a class of drug called "Triptans" which primarily work on seretonin levels in the brain and act to constrict blood vessels to help reduce migraine associated symptoms. However, the experts at Merck Research Laboratories. have uncovered a potential new class of migraine drug called a "oral calcitonin-gene-related peptide receptor antagonist" or CGRP receptor antagonist for short. Researchers have found that CGRP levels in the brain are elevated during migraines and the current theory is that these elevated levels are related to the severity and duration of the migraine. The higher the CGRP level the more severe the migraine pain. What this new experimental drug class is designed to do is block CGRP and in doing so alleviate the pain of a migraine.

So far the study statistics are promising. Doses of 300-600mg of MK-0974(the trial name for the drug) are shown to be most effective thus far. Two-thirds of those patients who took MK-0974 or Maxalt (a Triptan class drug) reported a reduction in pain in about 2 hours. That's typical for someone who is going to experience pain relief from a migraine medication. However, 50% of the patients who took MK-0974 reported being pain FREE in 2 hours as compared to to 33% taking Maxalt and 14% with placebo. Also, 40% of those who took MK-0974 reported being pain-free 24 hours after their dose. That's the most impressive statistic to me. A long acting migraine medication with potential to eliminate pain completely in about 50% of those who take it in as little as 2 hours. Fascinating!

If the FDA grants approval to Merck to market this new type of drug, the approximately 30% of migraine sufferers who cannot take Triptans because of cardiovascular conditions or because Triptans do not provide them any relief will be presented with a new prescription treatment for their migraines.

Exciting stuff don't you think? As stated, don't expect this drug (if it clears clinical trials) to win FDA approval until at least 2009.

To find out more check out the full article on WebMD here:

New Migraine Drug Promising

Also: Merck Research Labs

Labels: migraines, new drugs, research