Nutrition And Balanced Diet

In a study featured in the recent issue of Radiology, scientists found that imaging suspicious breast lesions with magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopy reduced the need for biopsy by 58 percent. The investigators, from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, discovered that with the addition of MR spectroscopy to their breast MR imaging (MRI) protocol, 23 of 40 suspicious lesions could have been spared biopsy, and none of the resultant cancers would have been missed……..

Patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) who took part in hypnotherapy sessions reported reduced symptoms and improved quality of life, as per research reported in the recent issue of Journal of Clinical Nursing. Dr Graeme D Smith from University of Edinburgh studied 75 patients with IBS - which affects up to one in seven adults - before and after they took part in four to five therapy sessions over three months……..

With summer approaching and the school year coming to a close, thousands of children across the country will take on a familiar chore - mowing the lawn. Whether it’s to help their parents mow the backyard or a summer job to earn money, this routine task can be dangerous for children and adults alike if proper safety precautions are not taken. In fact, more than 230,500 people — approximately 20,000 of them children under age 19 — were treated in doctors’ offices, clinics and emergency rooms for lawn mower-related injuries in 2004, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reports……..

Acetaminophen is safe to use as a pain reliever and fever reducer after a heart attack, but it does not protect the heart muscle, a new study using sheep and rabbits concluded. The study, using rabbits and sheep, could have implications for people who have suffered heart attacks, about a million people in the U.S. each year, said researcher Robert C. Gorman, a medical doctor and associate professor of surgery at the University of Pennsylvania. “It’s a high volume problem,” he said……..

Scientists at Children’s Hospital Boston have discovered a naturally occurring growth factor that stimulates regeneration of injured nerve fibers (axons) in the central nervous system. Under normal conditions, most axons in the mature central nervous system (which consists of the brain, spinal cord and eye) cannot regrow after injury. The previously unrecognized growth factor, called oncomodulin, is described in the May 14 online edition of Nature Neuroscience……..

A potentially ground-breaking therapy for nerve damage caused by diabetes has shown promising results in preclinical and early patient trials. The University of Manchester team has discovered that injection of a novel therapeutic that works by stimulating a person’s genes may prevent nerve damage - primarily to the hands and feet - caused by the disease……..

Aided by a powerful imaging technique, researchers have discovered they can detect smoking-related lung damage in healthy smokers who otherwise display none of the telltale signs of tobacco use. Scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison were able to probe deeper into smokers’ lungs by tracking the movement in the respiratory organs of a harmless gas known as helium. Helium can be inhaled and visually detected via the widely used diagnostic technique known as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which produces high-contrast images of the body’s soft tissues. The use of helium is a departure from traditional MRI, which typically distinguishes body tissues from one another by tracking differences in water content……..

A UCLA/Veteran’s Affairs study showed that more than 40 percent of patients who initially had received a positive result on a fecal occult blood test (FOBT) — an initial screening tool for colon cancer — did not receive appropriate diagnostic follow-up tests such as a colonoscopy or barium enema in 2002. As per the authors, the study may even underestimate this problem in the United States, since prior studies have shown the VA’s level of preventive care and follow-up traditionally has been higher than at most other health care settings……..

There have been many people throughout history with migraine that have been very successful.  But that hasn’t cured them of the fear of an attack at a critical moment.Just ask Freddie Ljungberg, a major force on the Swedish team heading to the World Cup….

Currently radiation therapy extending to 5 weeks or more is often given to breast cancer patients after lumpectomy. This prolonged course of radiation therapy often causes hardship for many breast cancer patients. Over the years researchers have been trying various alternative methods of delivery of radiation, aimed at cutting the duration of radiation therapy of breast cancer……..