Health Buzz: Some Prostate Cancers Tied to Virus and Other Health News

Scientists Find Virus in Some Prostate Tumors

A new study suggests that some cases of prostate cancer could be caused by a virus, Reuters reports. Previous research has tied prostate cancer to genes and advanced age, but scientists who compared 233 prostate cancer samples with about 100 benign tissue samples found a virus present in 27 percent of the cancerous samples. The virus, known as xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus, or XMRV, causes leukemia in animals. It was associated especially with aggressive prostate tumors, a finding that may help scientists identify and treat dangerous prostate cancer, according to Reuters. The study results are published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Last week, study findings suggested that the PSA or prostate-specific antigen screening test is leading to overtreatment of prostate cancer. Learn 11 things to know about prostate cancer and how to prevent it, along with the latest pros and cons of PSA testing.

Oprah's One-Sided Approach to Domestic Violence

R&B singer Chris Brown, who recently pleaded guilty to felony assault for an attack on his girlfriend, Rihanna, is launching a verbal attack against Oprah Winfrey in the new issue of People magazine, U.S. News's Deborah Kotz reports. He is upset that Winfrey aired a show about domestic violence that she dedicated to "all the Rihannas of the world."

Winfrey should be applauded for not allowing Brown to play the victim card, Kotz writes. Brown blames his actions on witnessing domestic abuse as a child. There's an unfortunate acceptance of violence against women in our culture, Rita Smith, executive director of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, tells Kotz, and it's responsible for the fact that 1 in 4 women will experience domestic violence during her lifetime. In taking her one-sided stand in support of Rihanna, Winfrey was countering the notion that it takes two to tango. Far too frequently, according to Smith, our society rushes to find some excuse for the assault. Winfrey isn't accepting any of these rationalizations, and she's sending the message that we shouldn't either, Kotz writes. Read more.

Read why domestic abuse is linked to poor health years later and why screening may not lessen domestic violence.

Eating When You Should Be Asleep (and 3 Other Weight-Loss Saboteurs)

We're a country obsessed with being thin, yet two thirds of American adults are overweight or obese and either suffering from or at risk of serious chronic illnesses like diabetes and heart disease, U.S. News's Sarah Baldauf reports. And the thriving weight-loss industry seems to churn out a new diet book or fat-loss pill every other week.

Even when dieters do succeed at slimming down, research has found that the majority end up gaining back their losses, Baldauf writes. She lists a few things that may be sabotaging your efforts to lose weight.

Among them: taking in too much added sugar, which is commonly found in processed foods. The American Heart Association, concerned that excessive sugar intake may be linked to metabolic abnormalities and poor health, has just suggested a daily upper limit—no more than 100 calories from added sugars for women and no more than 150 for men, Baldauf writes. The top culprits, notes the AHA, are soda and other sugary beverages like fruit juices and sports drinks. But even seemingly healthful dried, sweetened cranberries and reduced-fat or reduced-calorie salad dressings contain high levels of added sugar, for example. Read more.

Here's a list of foods surprisingly high in added sugar and foods high in sodium that could make hypertension worse.

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