The expanding waistline and increasing cholesterol levels many women face after menopause may be a factor in the stiffening of their arteries, increasing their risk of cardiovascular disease, researchers report in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association.
New research on a bacterium that can survive encounters with specific immune system cells has strengthened scientists? belief that these plentiful white blood cells, known as neutrophils, dictate whether our immune system will permit or prevent bacterial infections. A paper describing the research was released today online in The Journal of Immunology. Frank R. DeLeo, Ph.D., of Rocky Mountain Laboratories (RML), part of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health, directed the work at RML, in Hamilton, MT, in collaboration with lead author Dori L. Borjesson, D.V.M., Ph.D., of the University of Minnesota in St. Paul.
Based on data reviewed by a consensus conference convened by the American Academy of Dermatology Association (Academy) to examine the relationship between sunlight, tanning booths and vitamin D, renowned medical experts agreed that increasing exposure to either natural or artificial ultraviolet (UV) light should not be recommended as a supplemental source of vitamin D.
Pregnant women who witnessed the World Trade Center attacks on 9/11 passed on biological signs of stress to their babies, researchers suggest. Scientists from Edinburgh and New York say tests on infants when they were a year old showed they had low levels of the stress hormone cortisol.
A study has found that the ancient Chinese practice is as effective as popular painkillers for treating disabling conditions such as arthritis.
Research performed at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, has revealed that oxygen therapy aimed at helping mice with acute lung inflammation breathe paradoxically worsened their illness. The researchers say excess oxygen appears to thwart a natural process that limits lung tissue damage. They overcame this deleterious side effect, however, by adding an inhaled anti-inflammatory drug to the oxygen therapy.
A low-fat diet rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grains and beans has twice the cholesterol-lowering power of a conventional low-fat diet — even when the two diets have the same amount of calories and fat, researchers said.
Women who develop thick waists and high cholesterol at menopause may be at higher risk of heart disease because they also have more damage to their arteries, U.S. researchers reported.
Dietary supplementation with omega-3 and other fatty acids appears to reduce the educational and behavioral problems of children with a condition termed developmental coordination disorder (DCD), UK researchers report.
Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University have found that high doses of vitamin C might counteract some of the negative effects of smoking on unborn babies.