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Health Buzz: Omega-3s May Slow Cellular Aging in Heart Disease Patients
Tweet Share on Facebook January 20, 2010 Comment (1)Study Says Omega-3s Slow Cellular Aging in Heart Disease Patients
Omega-3 fatty acids, found in some cold-water fish including salmon and mackerel, have long been linked to heart benefits; heart attack sufferers, for example, can reduce their risk of a second attack by eating more fish with omega-3s. Now scientists think they've unearthed an explanation for the advantage, HealthDay reports. Researchers measured the omega-3 intake of 600 patients with heart disease and found that those with higher blood levels of omega-3s also showed signs that their cells were aging more slowly. To gauge the rate at which a cell aged, the team studied its telomeres—pieces of DNA at the ends of a chromosome that shrink during cell division. Their results are published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
[Slide Show: How 5 Longevity Researchers Stave Off Aging] [Read Scientists Are Changing the Definition of 'Old Age' and 11 Easy Ways to Load Up on Healthy Omega-3 Fats.]
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Health Buzz: Study Finds Women Tested for HPV Have Fewer Cancers
Tweet Share on Facebook January 19, 2010 Comment (1)Study Finds HPV Test Better at Finding Cancer Than Pap Smear
A new study suggests that testing women older than 35 for human papillomavirus may be key to preventing deaths from cervical cancer, BBC News reports. Researchers looked at data from 95,000 women collected over close to four years. When compared with women who had only the older Pap smear, women given an HPV screening test developed fewer cancers, a result researchers attribute to the latter test's sensitivity. Study author Guglielmo Ronco tells BBC News that the HPV test should be used first to screen women for the virus—ruling out a need for smear testing if no virus is present. Ronco and his team do not recommend the same approach for women under 35, however; they say screening younger women with the HPV test could result in unnecessary treatment, BBC News reports.
[Read Will HPV Test Replace Pap Smear in Cervical Cancer Screening? and HPV Vaccine: Women Have a Choice Between Cervarix and Gardasil.]
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Health Buzz: Johnson & Johnson Recall of Moldy-Smelling Products Expands
Tweet Share on Facebook January 15, 2010 CommentJohnson & Johnson Recalls More Moldy-Smelling Medicine
Following last month's recall of Tylenol Arthritis, Johnson & Johnson announced today it will voluntarily remove several of its popular over-the-counter products from store shelves, Reuters reports. The initial recall was sparked by buyer complaints that the pills had a moldy odor; some reports linked the musty-smelling products to nausea and stomach pain, though the illnesses so far have not been serious. The expanded recall involves more than 500 lots of products like Tylenol, Motrin, and Benadryl, according to Reuters. J&J has said the odd smell might come from a chemical applied to the wood pallets used in shipping.
[Read How to Use Tylenol So It's Safe for Your Kids and What You Need to Know About Pain Medications.]
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Health Buzz: Full Night's Rest Can't Erase Sleep Debt
Tweet Share on Facebook January 14, 2010 CommentStudy Suggests Full Night's Sleep Won't Help Chronically Sleep-Deprived
Don't expect to recoup hours of missed sleep with a full night's rest, a new study suggests. Many nights of restlessness can lead to sleep debt, researchers say, and that can hamper your work performance, HealthDay reports. Study author and neurologist Daniel Cohen characterizes the chronically sleep-deprived as those who get less than six hours each night for a period of two weeks. His team mimicked the condition in a group of nine healthy participants. Over time, the researchers found that participants' focus dwindled—even if they had slept for 10 hours the previous night. Cohen tells HealthDay the team did not learn how many nights of rest it would take to catch up on lost sleep. The study was published in Science Translational Medicine.
[Slide Show: 10 Ways to Get Better Sleep (and Maybe Cure Your Insomnia).] [Read 7 Things That Make Sleep Apnea Worse and When Sleep Problems Become Legal Problems, Neuroscience Can Help.]
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Health Buzz: Study Suggests Green Tea Protects Against Lung Cancer
Tweet Share on Facebook January 13, 2010 Comment (1)Study Suggests Green Tea Protects Lungs Against Cancer
A cup of green tea a day might reduce your chances of developing lung cancer—even if you're a smoker, HealthDay reports. Findings from a new unpublished study comparing the diet and lifestyles of 170 lung cancer patients with those of 340 healthy participants showed that among both smokers and nonsmokers, those who didn't drink tea had five times the risk of developing lung cancer, compared with those who drank a cup of green tea daily. Looking at smokers only, the effect was even more pronounced. Those who didn't drink tea had almost 13 times the risk of those who did so daily. But Norman Edelman, chief medical officer of the American Lung Association, tells HealthDay that smokers should not use green tea—a strong antioxidant—as an excuse for continuing the habit. Researchers also analyzed how participants' genes affected their lung cancer risk.
[Read No Firm Evidence Green Tea Helps Prevent Cancer and Turn Your Kitchen Into a Clinic.]
