(HealthDay News) Frigid temperatures can pose health risks, especially for young children, seniors and people with chronic illnesses, warns the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention…

When the temperature plummets, stay inside in homes and buildings that are properly heated. If your home isn't heated, you should find other ways to keep warm:

• Wear winter clothing indoors, including layers of warm clothes, as well as socks, shoes and hats. Use blankets for additional warmth.
• Close off unused, exterior rooms and have people gather together in a single interior room.
• Seek shelter in heated public locations, such as malls, libraries and homeless shelters.

The CDC also offered tips for people who have to go outside in frigid weather:

• Wear proper outdoor clothing, including layers of light, warm clothing along with hats, scarves, mittens and waterproof boots.
• Be aware of the wind chill factor.
• Work slowly when doing outside chores.
• Take a friend and an emergency kit when doing outdoor recreational activities.
• Carry a cell phone.
• Don't travel when the weather service has issued advisories. If you must travel, tell a friend or relative about your proposed route and expected time of arrival.
• Sprinkle cat litter on icy patches.

Read more.

Community: Chicago has warming centers. If you have trouble with your heating during extremely cold weather, check to see if your city has something similar.

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(Science Daily) Researchers participating in the Multidimensional Intervention for Early Osteoarthritis of the Knee (Knee Study) determined that physically inactive, middle-aged people with symptomatic osteoarthritis benefitted equally from strength training regimens, self-management programs, or a combination of the two…

Given the higher rate of compliance in the self-management group, the Knee Study researchers suggest that self-management may be a less intrusive and equally effective early treatment for knee OA. The CDC also recommends self-management activities to decrease pain, improve function, stay productive, and lower health care costs, including self-management education programs such as the Arthritis Foundation Self Help Program (AFSHP), or the Chronic Disease Self Management Program (CDSMP) to manage arthritis on a day-to-day basis.

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(Chicago Tribune) Like every other diet program out there, Keri Glassman's antioxidant-based "O2 Diet" promises to make you thin and beautiful. And it's easy: Just eat foods that have high antioxidant levels.

Antioxidants are compounds that prevent free radicals from damaging the cells of your body. This type of damage, also called oxidative stress, can accumulate and eventually lead to the development of several chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease and cancer, as well as age-related conditions, such as macular degeneration, said antioxidant researcher Diane McKay…

The bottom line: "Just because a food or beverage scores well with the ORAC test doesn't guarantee that it can cure, treat or even prevent disease," McKay said. "However, most of the foods or beverages that have been studied for their health effects are those that have high antioxidant activity - teas, wine, cocoa, etc. The data from these studies certainly suggest that incorporating these antioxidant-rich foods and beverages into our regular diet, in moderate amounts, may help improve some biomarkers of disease risk."

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(UPI) Constantly linking exercise with weight loss may cause more people to fail at reaching their goals, a bariatric physician suggests.

Dr. Sasson Moulavi says exercise is ideal for maintaining weight once goals are met but is usually counterproductive in trying to lose weight…

Moulavi recommends eating healthy, nutritious foods, getting the weight off and then focusing on an exercise routine to keep it off.

Read more.

Community: For me, healthy eating and exercise go together for feeling better. I have to think of weight loss as a byproduct of the process, though, and not expect to lose more than two or three pounds a month. Otherwise, I get frustrated and want to give up.

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(Science Daily) [W]hen it comes to our muscles, a little less efficiency might be just what the doctor ordered, suggests a report…

[R]esearchers … have new insight into an important "fuel gauge" in muscle. They've also uncovered evidence in mice that treatments designed to disrupt those … channels specifically in muscles might allow us to control our weight by increasing the number of calories our muscles will burn with regular activity or exercise…

"If you don't have the channel, you will consume more energy. The system normally has an energy-saving role, but with a sedentary lifestyle and excess of food, it favors obesity."

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(HealthDay News) Cell phone addicts of the world, listen up: Electromagnetic waves emanating from these ubiquitous gadgets may prevent or even reverse Alzheimer's disease, researchers say.

Normal mice who had long-term exposure to such electromagnetic waves avoided developing Alzheimer's, while mice who were already sick started getting better, scientists report…

The findings were actually the opposite of what the researchers were expecting.

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(HealthDay News) Targeting two different enzymes simultaneously may hold promise for treating people with Alzheimer's disease, researchers report.

This "cocktail" strategy … outperformed a one-enzyme-at-a-time treatment and also avoided the troublesome side effects seen with that strategy, Johns Hopkins scientists say…

Researchers and pharmaceutical companies hope to figure out how to inhibit these enzymes as a way to treat Alzheimer's.

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(HealthDay News) New tools that use different colors of light to silence brain activity could lead to new treatments for disorders such as epilepsy, chronic pain, Parkinson's disease and brain injury, neuroscientists say.

These so-called "super-silencers" provide precise control over the timing of the shutdown of overactive brain circuits, something that's impossible with existing drugs or other conventional treatments, according to the research team.

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(Science Daily) Researchers … have found a way to cleverly override signals that tell breast cancer cells to keep surviving in the face of anticancer treatment. The investigational agent they used renews the sensitivity of these breast cancer cells to treatment by fulvestrant (Faslodex®) which had stopped working.

They add that this method will likely work equally well with tamoxifen, the world's most commonly used breast cancer drug. Both fulvestrant and tamoxifen are used in women with estrogen-receptor-positive metastatic breast cancer and both exhibit substantial issues with eventual tumor resistance. Fulvestrant is typically used when women stop responding to tamoxifen.

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(Reuters Health) Getting enough selenium in your diet could help protect you from cancer of the esophagus, a large new study suggests…

The amount of selenium in the soil where food is grown determines its selenium content…

The findings, conclude the researchers, suggest that low selenium levels may increase risk of ESCC [ esophageal squamous cell carcinoma] and GCA [gastric cardia adenocarcinom], as well as EAC [esophageal adenocarcinoma] in women, never-smokers, and people with low antioxidant intakes. [Emphasis added.] They caution, however, that the findings need to be confirmed by other researchers.

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(HealthDay News) New research indicates that the darker skin of blacks may increase their risk of heart disease and stroke because it reduces production of vitamin D, which is made during exposure to sunlight.

Several studies have associated low levels of vitamin D with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and "the biggest source of vitamin D levels is sunlight," said Dr. Kevin Fiscella… "People with dark skin who live at higher latitudes, where the intensity of sunlight is less, may be at greater risk."

But the issue abounds with unanswered questions, starting with whether there is a real cause-and-effect relationship of vitamin D levels and cardiovascular risk, and ending with whether supplements that increase blood levels of the vitamin lower that risk, Fiscella said.

"We don't truly know the answer," Fiscella said. "That is the really pivotal question, what happens to cardiovascular risk if you correct blood levels of vitamin D. We do know that small supplements for middle-aged people don't seem to have any effect."

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(HealthDay News) Two separate research teams report that surgery-related infections can be prevented using two different methods, one aimed at antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus aureus growing in the nose, the other at microbes living on the skin.

While the skin-based approach was more efficient, and required fewer resources and less testing, both methods can be used together in some high-risk cases, said Dr. Rabih O. Darouiche.

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(HealthDay News) [W]ouldn't it be great if humans could simply regrow missing parts on their own?

Within the space of a generation, this seemingly superhuman power might become a reality, scientists say, and people may have a lowly amphibian to thank for it.

Among the world's varied creatures, a Mexican salamander called the axolotl appears best at regrowing whole limbs lost to injury. And researchers are hot on the trail of finding out what the axolotl has that humans don't.

"The crux of what we are doing with this work is to be able to understand the basic biology of regeneration, and then translate that to regenerative therapies," said one pioneer in the field, biologist David Stocum…

As Stocum points out, humans do have a very limited capacity to regrow complex tissue -- namely the fingertip.

Read more.

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(Reuters) The radiation risk from full-body scanners used to improve airport security is low and unlikely to raise an individual's risk of cancer, U.S. experts said on Wednesday.

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One team of scientists in Chicago believe[s] … that the reason about half of people who need antidepressants don't respond to available drugs is that researchers have been focusing on the wrong neurological targets.

Developing effective drugs will require a whole new paradigm of thought, contends Eve Redei, a psychiatry professor at the Feinberg School of Medicine of Northwestern University, in Chicago.

Read more.

Community: Perhaps that new paradigm might include a non-pharmaceutical approach.

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(UPI) A U.S. researcher says age-related muscle loss is caused by free radical damage to muscle cell mitochondria…

[In the study, they] used mice that were genetically manipulated to prevent them from having a protective anti-oxidant and as a result had very high levels of free radicals. These mice lose muscle mass and function at a much faster rate than normal mice.

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(Science Daily) Knee osteoarthritis (OA) accounts for more disability in the elderly than any other disease. Running, although it has proven cardiovascular and other health benefits, can increase stresses on the joints of the leg. In a study…, researchers compared the effects on knee, hip and ankle joint motions of running barefoot versus running in modern running shoes. They concluded that running shoes exerted more stress on these joints compared to running barefoot or walking in high-heeled shoes.

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(Science Daily) With obesity rising markedly, reliance on the accuracy of food labeling is an important weight management strategy. Since people who are trying to reduce their weight are encouraged to choose meals labeled as "lower in calories" or "reduced-energy" in restaurants and supermarkets, it is essential that the listed data are accurate. In a study…, researchers from Tufts University found that some commercially prepared foods contained more calories than indicated in nutritional labeling.

Measured energy values of 29 quick-serve and sit-down restaurant foods averaged 18% more calories than the stated values. Likewise, measured energy values of 10 frozen meals purchased from supermarkets averaged 8% more calories than stated on the label.

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(Lifescript) A healthy, varied diet is an important part of your anti-cancer battle. Certain foods – particularly fruits, vegetables, whole grains and beans – are proven to have cancer-fighting vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, fiber and phytochemicals…

Here’s what to stock up on:

1. Stinky vegetables: Such sulfur-containing veggies – such as broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale and Brussels sprouts – “turn off signals to cancer cells to divide and conquer,” says registered dietitian and nutrition expert David Grotto…

2. Strawberries: The luscious red berries are rich in ellagic acid, a phytochemical that may function as an estrogen-blocker and reduce hormone-driven breast cancers. At only 50 calories per cup, they’re a cancer-fighter’s friend.

Not a strawberry fan? Enjoy a bowl of anything that ends with “erry,” Grotto says. That means raspberries, blueberries and cherries.

3. Pistachios: This green nut is full of gamma-tocopherol, a potentially cancer-fighting type of vitamin E…

4. Beans: The fiber, potassium, magnesium and folate in beans are tied to decreased cancer risk…

5. Green, yellow and orange fruits and vegetables: These colorful foods give us carotenoids, a powerful anti-cancer antioxidant…

6. Honey: …Studies have shown honey decreases tumor growth in mice and seems to have anti-bacterial properties that might decrease stomach ulcers, Grotto says…

7. Whole grains: People who ate a lot of whole grains had a 21%-43% lower risk of developing … cancers compared to people who ate less, according to a review of 40 studies of gastrointestinal cancer conducted by University of Minnesota researchers.

Read more, including foods to avoid.

Community: Isn’t it convenient that the anti-cancer diet is so close to the anti-obesity, anti-diabetes, anti-heart disease, anti-aging diet?

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(Science Daily) A new computerised device that tracks portion size and how fast people eat is more successful in helping obese children and adolescents lose weight than standard treatments, according to research published online in the British Medical Journal.

The Mandometer device, a portable computerised weighing scale, was developed at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm. It helps to retrain individuals to eat less and more slowly by providing real-time feedback during meal times. The device plots a graph showing the rate at which food actually disappears from the plate, compared to the ideal graph programmed in by a food therapist.

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Community: Surely, the device could also help older folks, as well.

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(HealthDay News) Laboratory tests suggest pomegranates contain chemicals that reduce the risk that women will develop hormone-dependent breast cancers, researchers report.

The key seems to be a phytochemical, ellagic acid, found in pomegranates. It inhibits aromatase, an enzyme linked to the development of estrogen-responsive breast cancer.

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(HealthDay News) Concentrations of several biomarkers begin to grow three years before women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer, but only reach substantial elevation levels over the 12 months before diagnosis, new research finds…

"Serum markers likely will form a key element in any screening regimen, with the lead time and other parameters of each marker or combination of markers being taken into account. The careful evaluation technique applied in the current study fits into a staged approach necessary for testing performance of early markers of disease," Patricia Hartge, of the U.S. National Cancer Institute, wrote in a commentary accompanying the study.

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(Science Daily) A Dutch study that included nearly 90,000 women finds that liquid-based cytology, a commonly used alternative to conventional Pap tests, is not superior to Pap tests for the detection of cervical cancer precursors or cancer, according to a study.

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(Science Daily) Circumcision, which substantially lowers HIV risk in men, also dramatically changes the bacterial communities of the penis, according to a study…

The study could lead to new non-surgical HIV preventative strategies for the estimated 70 percent of men worldwide (more than 2 billion) who, because of religious or cultural beliefs, or logistic or financial barriers, are not likely to become circumcised.

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(Science Daily) New UK research, published in PLoS ONE, has not reproduced previous findings that suggested Chronic Fatigue Syndrome may be linked to a recently discovered virus. The authors of the study … say this means that anti-retroviral drugs may not be an effective treatment for people with the illness.

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(HealthDay News) Researchers have some good news for cocaine addicts: New findings suggest that a kind of protein could help them beat their addiction.

The protein, known as cocaine esterase, is a naturally occurring bacterial enzyme. It breaks down cocaine, which is thought to make cocaine less addictive, but it doesn't last for long in the body.

In a new study, … researchers report that they're moving toward a possible solution through the development of a longer-lasting version of the protein. In rats, it lessened the desire for cocaine and prevented the rodents from dying of overdoses.

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(Science Daily) A recent evaluation by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) shows that online interventions for problem alcohol use can be effective in changing drinking behaviours and offers a significant public health benefit.

In the first evaluation of its kind, the study published in Addiction found that problem drinkers provided access to the online screener www.CheckYourDrinking.net, reduced their alcohol consumption by 30% -- or six to seven drinks weekly -- rates that are comparable to face-to-face interventions. This result was sustained in both the three and six month follow-up.

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(Science Daily) Researchers have found that even a very little bit of the fat hormone leptin goes a long way when it comes to correcting diabetes. The hormone controls the activity of a gene known as IGFBP2 in the liver, which has antidiabetic effects in animals and could have similar therapeutic effect in humans…

The new findings confirm what some at least had already suspected: that leptin's antidiabetic effects are independent of the hormone's well-known ability to reduce body weight.

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(Science Daily) Researchers at University College London say they have gleaned a key insight into the molecular beginnings of age-related macular degeneration, the No. 1 cause of vision loss in the elderly, by determining how two key proteins interact to naturally prevent the onset of the condition.

In a paper to be published in a forthcoming issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, the team reports for the first time how a common blood protein linked to the eye condition reins in another protein that, when produced in vastly increased amounts in the presence of inflammation or infection, can damage the eye.

"By starting to understand these interactions in greater detail, we can begin to devise methods that will ultimately prevent the development of blindness in the elderly," said Zuby Okemefuna, the lead author of the paper.

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(HealthDay News) With new rules in place that lifted restrictions on federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research, health-care advocates are looking down the line and wondering when the first medical advances based on stem cells might occur.

That will take some years yet, according to experts in the field. And when breakthroughs do come, they might not be what most people think of when they envision potential stem cell therapies…

[T]he first advances are more likely to come from stem cells used to research genetic diseases and develop therapies and cures for those diseases, said Story Landis, director of the U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

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(HealthDay News) A professor of health and exercise science … says adding a half hour of exercise a day is the key to a healthier lifestyle…

[Peter] Brubaker, director of the healthy exercise and lifestyle programs at Wake Forest, has these suggestions about how to get more exercise each day:

1. Don't feel like you need to exercise all at once. A few minutes here and there can add up to what you need.
2. Walk. It's efficient and easy. If you wear a pedometer to track your mileage, studies suggest you'll boost your activity.
3. Find ways to get exercise in your daily routine through things like taking the stairs.
4. Track your exercise in a journal and don't worry so much about weight loss. If you do want to shed pounds, 60 minutes of exercise a day is a good place to start.
5. Try a variety of activities and challenge your family and friends to join you in exercising 30 minutes a day.
6. Set realistic expectations. Change takes time.

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(Science Daily) Peripheral artery disease (PAD) affects 5 million individuals in the U.S. and is the leading cause of limb amputations. Doctors have long considered exercise to be the single best therapy for PAD, and now a new study helps explain why… [T]he findings demonstrate that a protein called PGC-1alpha plays a key role in the process.

"Exercise is a staple of healthy living," notes senior author Zoltan Arany, MD, PhD, an investigator in BIDMC's Cardiovascular Institute and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. "One of the many benefits of exercise, endurance exercise in particular, is the generation of new blood vessels in leg muscles." Known as angiogenesis, this naturally occurring process comes to the rescue when an injury or artery blockage leaves normal tissue starved for blood.

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(SouthBeachDiet.com) [W]hy not make this year your year to stick to your healthy resolutions for good? Whether you’ve recently discovered the South Beach Diet or you’ve already adopted its principles for life, there’s no better time than now to reaffirm your commitment. These motivating tips will help you stick with your goals:

• Surround yourself with positive people…
• Be creative with healthy foods…
• Set obtainable weight-loss goals…
• Reward yourself…
• Take a challenge.

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(Science Daily) A new research discovery … suggests that treatments for disorders that cause accelerated aging, particularly Werner's syndrome, might come straight from the family medicine chest. In the research report, a team of Canadian scientists shows that vitamin C stops and even reverses accelerated aging in a mouse model of Werner's syndrome, but the discovery may also be applicable to other progeroid syndromes.

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(Science Daily) As it turns out, children were not the only ones with visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads over this past holiday season. In a new research report…, a team of scientists … shows how a compound from licorice root (glycyrrhizin from Glycyrrhiza glabra) might be an effective tool in battling life-threatening, antibiotic-resistant infections resulting from severe burns.

Specifically, they found that in burned mice, glycyrrhizin improved the ability of damaged skin to create small proteins that serve as the first line of defense against infection.

Read more.

Community: They BURNED MICE for this research? Honestly, I really have a hard time with some of these experiments.

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(UPI) Two New York City high school students using high-tech DNA analysis techniques found rampant consumer fraud in the labeling of pricey food…

Using the DNA barcoding analysis on items found in their homes, the students found:

-- A specialty "sheep's milk" cheese made from cow's milk.

-- "Venison" dog treats made of beef.

-- "Sturgeon caviar" that was really Mississippi paddlefish.

Read more.

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(Science Daily) As the US population becomes increasingly obese while smoking rates continue to decline, obesity has become an equal, if not greater, contributor to the burden of disease and shortening of healthy life in comparison to smoking.

Read more.

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(Reuters Health) Overweight middle-aged men may have a higher risk of heart problems and strokes and die earlier than their thinner peers -- even in the absence of some traditional risk factors, a new study suggests.

Read more.

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(HealthDay News) Smokers who give up the habit have an increased risk of developing diabetes over the next few years, a new study finds.

The finding wasn't a surprise, since smokers typically gain weight when they quit, and weight gain is associated with diabetes…

"The main message we would like to convey is that quitting smoking is good," [study author Hsin-Chieh Yeh] said. However, "when a person quits, the physician should pay additional attention in terms of weight measurement and counseling."

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(Science Daily) In theory, Vitamins C and E and magnesium could help prevent or limit diabetic retinopathy (DR), a potentially blinding disease, since each nutrient causes the body to respond in ways that alter retinopathy mechanisms. For example, in animal models Vitamins C and E suppress production of a growth factor, VEG-F, which can promote abnormal blood vessels in the retina. And high dietary levels of magnesium are associated with lower blood pressure and blood sugar, both of which correlate with a lower risk of retinopathy…

Based on 15 selected studies comprising 4,094 individuals, Dr. [Amanda] Adler says to the evidence is not strong enough yet to recommend Vitamins C or E or magnesium supplements for patients with diabetes. She thinks the research should continue, though.

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(HealthDay News) An experimental drug called imetelstat shows promise in treating glioblastoma brain cancer and prostate cancer, according to the results of preclinical studies in which the drug was tested on human prostate cancer cells and in rodents with glioblastoma.

Researchers from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center found that the drug had an effect on most tumor cells, as well as cancer stem cells believed to cause most of a cancer's growth. Tests in mice with glioblastoma also showed that the drug was able to cross from the bloodstream into the brain. Most drugs cannot cross the blood-brain barrier.

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(Science Daily) The new recommendations from the Society of Breast Imaging (SBI) and the American College of Radiology (ACR) on breast cancer screening … state that breast cancer screening should begin at age 40 and earlier in high-risk patients. The recommendations also suggest appropriate utilization of medical imaging modalities such as mammography, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and ultrasound for breast cancer screening.

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(UPI) U.S. researchers say an examination of cancer rates among the Amish underscores the virtues of exercise, not smoking, healthy food and fewer sex partners.

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(USA Today) Live a Little! Breaking the Rules Won't Break Your Health. [is] a new book by famed Los Angeles breast surgeon Susan Love and Boston psychologist Alice Domar. These health experts are in favor of exercise, vegetables and sleep, but they also say it's OK if you sometimes have that second glass of wine, eat a brownie — or entirely fail to jog…

They say that a "pretty healthy woman":

• Gets enough sleep to feel alert most days, without worrying about whether that's six, seven or eight hours (and knows that no research shows long-term harm from the kind of sleep deprivation common among new parents).

• Lives a large enough life to inflict some stress on herself and sometimes overdoes it — but has the resources to recover. (Lives that are not full enough are an overlooked problem in a popular culture focused on crazed multitaskers, Domar says.)

• Eats plenty of fruits, vegetables, lean protein, whole grains and healthy fats, but doesn't worry about exact proportions, occasional indulgences or the latest "superfood."

• Is physically active and fit enough to walk a 20-minute mile and lift the things she needs to lift — and is probably working harder to stay fit as she ages.

Read more.

Community: Sounds like pretty good advice for pretty healthy men, too.

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(RealAge.com) You could slash your risk of Alzheimer's by 60 percent (yes, 60 percent!) with just two healthy habits: Eat like a Greek, and go for a walk.

A large, 5-year study showed that the people in their 70s who were the most active and adhered the best to a Mediterranean-style diet were 61–67 percent less likely to develop Alzheimer's disease compared with the least active and least Mediterranean-minded of the group.

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(RealAge.com) Sip tea, slow down, and take notes. Yep, these three strategies could mean dropping even more pounds -- or dropping them more quickly.

1. Come to the light. The light-colored tea, that is. In lab research, human fat cells became significantly less fat when treated with a white-tea extract. Because white tea is less processed than green or black, it retains higher concentrations of compounds that seem to help with fat-cell metabolism…

2. Watch your speed. There are two eating habits that can triple your chances of being overweight, according to research. The first is eating fast. The second is eating until you're completely full. Stop when you're about 80 percent full…

3. Take notes. Keeping a food diary can double your weight loss success, a recent study showed. Keeping track of every bite makes you think and reflect more about your next food choice.

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(RealAge.com) Brew yourself a cup of hot tea. Sure, it's a psychological comfort. But studies show it might provide much more than that when it comes to soothing your symptoms…

In a small study, drinking a hot, fruit-flavored beverage seemed to offer wider-ranging cold and flu relief than sipping a room-temperature drink did. Specifically, sore throats were better soothed, and fatigue and chills were kept more effectively at bay. So follow doctor’s orders and keep the liquids coming -- just warm them up first.

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(Science Daily) Results of a randomized, controlled clinical trial … reveal that one in five patients with narrowing or blockage in arteries that supply blood to the legs and other parts of the body also have significant but silent coronary artery disease.

Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) occurs when plaque, a combination of fat, cholesterol and other substances, builds up in the arteries, limiting the flow of oxygen-rich blood throughout the body. PAD usually affects arteries that carry blood to the legs, causing poor circulation, discomfort and pain…

"In PAD patients experiencing no cardiac symptoms, we found a strikingly high rate of severe coronary artery disease," Dr. Vliegenthart Proenca said. "The results of our trial stress that PAD patients without a history of cardiac symptoms should undergo extensive cardiovascular risk factor management."

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(Science Daily) Using Herceptin with chemotherapy, instead of after, clearly improves treatment of women with HER2+ breast cancer, and should be the new standard of care, says a Mayo Clinic researcher who led what is regarded to be a key clinical trial determining the best use of Herceptin.

Patients using Herceptin and chemotherapy at the same time had a relative 25 percent reduction in the risk of recurrence of cancer or death, compared with women who used Herceptin after chemotherapy, says Edith Perez, M.D.

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(Science Daily) In trying to explain psychiatric disorders, genes simply cannot tell the whole story. The real answers are in the interaction of genes and the environment. Post-traumatic stress disorder requires some trauma, for instance, and people, for the most part, aren't born depressed. Now research has revealed one mechanism by which a stressful experience changes the way that genes are expressed in the rat brain. The discovery of "epigenetic" regulation of genes in the brain is helping change the way scientists think about psychiatric disorders and could open new avenues to treatment.

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(Reuters Health) Women who started having menstrual periods before the age of 12 may have a higher risk of developing or dying of heart disease than other women, a new study suggests…

[The results] suggest that women should be aware of the connection, and that it seems to be partly related to greater amounts of body fat in women who started menstruating early, according to Dr. Rajalakshmi Lakshman and colleagues at Cambridge University.

"These women may need greater awareness of their disease risks and weight control," Lakshman told Reuters Health.

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(Science Daily) The role of pharmacists hasn't received much attention in the debate on the cost of health care. But national and regional studies show that when pharmacists directly participate in patient care, they significantly reduce treatment costs and improve outcomes…

"We know there's a long-term clinical and economic benefit to pharmacists working directly with patients and we think that can continue to grow," says Scott V. Monte, PharmD… "Pharmacists can help achieve better outcomes if given the chance."

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According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation, about 10 million Americans have osteoporosis, 80 percent of them women, but an additional 34 million have "low bone mass" that puts them at increased risk. Sally Field is in the former group, but many women in the latter category, experts contend, are being unnecessarily treated with bisphosphonate drugs like Boniva, Fosamax, or Actonel…

[L]ifestyle changes like weight lifting, supplements of vitamin D and calcium [can help reduce osteoporosis risk.]

Read more.

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