Healthwise    September 2010  

Healthwise is a regular column written especially for laterlife.com members and visitors. Welcome to healthwise 126.

For previous articles in the healthwise series visit 'More Healthwise'  

NEWS AND VIEWS
FROM THE WORLD OF MEDICINE AND HEALTH

We should all be delighted at the advances now being made by scientists, researchers and the medical profession. For 2010 we will continue to highlight some of the latest developments in health and medicine. 

Healthwise 126

Cancer gene identified

Scientists in Scotland have found a gene that helps spread breast cancer around the body.

The team at the Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Unit in Edinburgh say they have identified the gene that spreads HER2 cancer, an aggressive form of the disease.

Now drugs are in the pipeline to help block the gene’s function.

Dangers of weekend admittance

Patients are more likely to die if they are admitted to hospital at a weekend than during the week.

It has been suggested that patients are seven per cent more likely to die if admitted as an emergency on a Saturday or Sunday, possibly due to a lack of consultants and other senior staff.

The study, at Imperial College, London, said the higher rates found were equivalent to 3,369 extra deaths a year, more than the number who die on the roads.

Hearing drop

Roller coasters and fast funfair rides can damage the ear drums, according to research undertaken at the Henry Ford Hospital in Michigan, US.

The research said that today many rides were much faster than 20 years ago, and sudden drops experienced on modern rides can bring on ear barotraumas, a condition that leads to temporary hearing loss.

The researchers warned that passengers should remain facing forward for the duration of any ride to stop the full impact of acceleration from hitting the ear.

More good news about red wine

There have already been a number of reports highlighting beneficial aspects of red wine. Now an ingredient of red wine has been identified as a “wonder drug”.

Researchers at the University of Queensland, Australia, say that moderate wine drinking appears to reduce “all causes of mortality”. The key antioxidant resveratrol is mentioned as key, and the research says the benefits of wine include cancer prevention, protection of the heart and brain from damage and the reduction of age-related diseases such as diabetes.

The study was published in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.

Barking up a good line of research

Bark from the pine tree is being tested as a treatment for heart failure.

Heart failure affects around one million people in Britain and has a variety of causes including high blood pressure and diseased heart valves.

Early research has already shown that pine bark extract might help reduce blood pressure and now new trials are being carried out to test the bark’s benefit on high cholesterol levels.

The clinical study is being carried out at Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine in Japan.

If in any doubt about any of the information covered in healthwise articles and it's relevance for you, consult your GP.

IN THE PREVIOUS EDITION

More of us around
The number of people dying each year has reached a new low

Brain fitness
A commercial computer game designed to boost visual perception has been shown to also improve memory in older adults

Womb cancer hits a 30 year old peak
The number of women suffering from cancer of the womb has risen to an all time high

Broccoli can help
It has been said for some time that broccoli seems to help reduce the chance of developing prostate cancer.

Mobile phone risk
A study has concluded that people who regularly hold long conversations on mobile handsets are at greater risk of developing potentially fatal brain tumours.