Suffolk Street Surgery

NHS ‘should consider giving statins to healthy people’

Admin — Mon, 21 May 2012 08:58:58 +0000

Thousands of heart attacks and strokes could be prevented if the cholesterol-lowering drugs, statins, were more widely prescribed, research suggests.

The study of 175,000 patients, in the Lancet, said even very low-risk patients benefited from the medication. The Oxford researchers says the NHS should consider giving statins to healthy people. The NHS drugs watchdog, NICE, is reviewing the evidence. Read more…

ESRI report finds breastfeeding helps fight childhood obesity

Admin — Thu, 03 May 2012 21:14:58 +0000

A new study is suggesting that children who are breastfed and weaned onto solid foods later in life have a lower risk of obesity. The research, which is part of the “Growing Up In Ireland” study, was carried out by the Economic and Social Research Institute. Read more…

Blood test could detect breast cancer risk

Admin — Wed, 02 May 2012 16:23:33 +0000

Researchers discover association between risk of the disease and a molecular change in a particular white blood cell gene

The possibility of developing a simple blood test to help identify women most at risk from breast cancer has been raised after researchers discovered a strong association between risk of the disease and a molecular change in a particular white blood cell gene. Read more…

Diet and lifestyle can switch on or off ageing genes

Admin — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 11:21:01 +0000

FOUR “Father Time” genes that help determine how fast we age have been uncovered by scientists.

The ageing genes are switched on or off by environmental and lifestyle factors such as diet, and may be programmed from an early age. Read more…

Resistance spread ‘compromising’ fight against malaria

Admin — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 11:09:30 +0000

Scientists have found new evidence that resistance to the front-line treatments for malaria is increasing.

They have confirmed that resistant strains of the malaria parasite on the border between Thailand and Burma, 500 miles (800km) away from previous sites. Read more…

Gene flaw linked to serious flu risk

Admin — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 09:55:12 +0000

Scientists have identified a genetic flaw that may explain why some people get more ill with flu than others.

Writing in Nature, the researchers said the variant of the IFITM3 gene was much more common in people hospitalised for flu than in the general population. Read more…

Smear tests ‘boost cure chances’

Admin — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 13:30:55 +0000

Women diagnosed with cervical cancer as a result of a smear test have a far better chance of being cured than women who do not go for tests, a Swedish study suggests.

The researchers found a 92% cure rate after a smear test diagnosis, compared with 66% for symptoms-based diagnoses.

The study in bmj.com looked at all women diagnosed with cervical cancer in Sweden between 1999 and 2001.

A cancer charity said screening saved 5,000 UK lives a year. Read more…

Exercise Fuels The Brain

Admin — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 11:01:49 +0000

Moving the body demands a lot from the brain. Exercise activates countless neurons, which generate, receive and interpret repeated, rapid-fire messages from the nervous system, coordinating muscle contractions, vision, balance, organ function and all of the complex interactions of bodily systems that allow you to take one step, then another.

This increase in brain activity naturally increases the brain’s need for nutrients, but until recently, scientists hadn’t fully understood how neurons fuel themselves during exercise. Now a series of animal studies from Japan suggest that the exercising brain has unique methods of keeping itself fueled. What’s more, the finely honed energy balance that occurs in the brain appears to have implications not only for how well the brain functions during exercise, but also for how well our thinking and memory work the rest of the time. Read more…

Body clock ‘alters’ immune system

Admin — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 12:22:32 +0000

The time of the day could be an important factor in the risk of getting an infection, according to researchers in the US.

They showed how a protein in the immune system was affected by changes in the chemistry of the body through the day.

The findings, published in the journal Immunity, showed the time of an infection changed its severity. Read more…