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Total 28 results found since Jan 2013.

Targeted brain stimulation 'could aid stroke recovery'
Conclusion This mouse model of stroke has found that stimulating nerve cells in the part of the brain responsible for movement (the primary motor cortex) can lead to better blood flow and the expression of proteins that could promote recovery, as well as leading to functional recovery after stroke. But it remains to be determined whether a similar technique could be used in people who have had a stroke. The mice were genetically modified so nerve cells in the primary motor cortex produced an ion channel that could be activated by light. The nerve cells were then activated using a laser. To use this technique in humans, ...
Source: NHS News Feed - August 19, 2014 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Neurology Source Type: news

Light shed on how brain's stroke defences work
Conclusion This research has identified a potential role the protein hamartin plays in protecting nerve cells from death if they are temporarily starved of oxygen and glucose. Animal research such as this is essential for furthering our understanding of how the body and its cells work. Although there are obviously differences between rats and humans, there are also a lot of biological similarities. This type of research is a good starting point for better understanding human biology. Treating stroke is very difficult, so new treatments that could prevent nerve cell death would be very valuable. At this stage, the protein h...
Source: NHS News Feed - February 25, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Neurology Source Type: news

Calcium supplements linked to post-stroke dementia in women
Conclusion The media paint this as a troubling study for older women who take calcium to strengthen their bones. However the small size of the study (only 98 women took calcium supplements, and only 14 of those got dementia) and its observational nature mean that we cannot rely on the results. As the researchers mention, it is possible that those taking supplements were less healthy than those that didn't in some unmeasured way. Further research may improve our confidence in these results. Broken bones are not a trivial matter for older people – a broken hip can be the difference between being able to live independentl...
Source: NHS News Feed - August 18, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Neurology Medication Older people Source Type: news

Mediterranean diet cuts heart and stroke risk
Conclusion The results of this randomised controlled trial appear to confirm previous studies that there are benefits to following a Mediterranean diet. The trial has many strengths, including its large size, long period of follow-up, thorough assessment of medical outcomes (including reviewing medical records and having contact with the family doctor), and careful attempts to assess whether the diets were being followed. As this is a randomised controlled trial, it should also balance out other health and lifestyle differences between the groups that may influence cardiovascular risk. This avoids the limitations of m...
Source: NHS News Feed - February 26, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Heart/lungs Source Type: news

Review finds no link between dairy and heart attack or stroke risk
Conclusion This large meta-analysis of cohort studies demonstrated no increased risk to cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease or all-cause death from eating dairy products. The review has strengths in its large size and the fact it was able to analyse different types of dairy product, such as high and low-fat and everyday products such as cheese and yoghurt. However, there are a number of factors to consider: The results of a systematic review are only as good as the quality of the underlying studies. These are all observational studies and it's possible that unadjusted health and lifestyle factors are having an...
Source: NHS News Feed - May 9, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Heart/lungs Neurology Source Type: news

Statins side effects are minimal, study argues
ConclusionThis meta-analysis pooled results from 29 studies and has shown a very small increased risk of newly diagnosed diabetes mellitus. This is the same as the decreased risk of any cause of death in people taking statins, compared to placebo, to prevent a heart attack or stroke.The researchers point out some limitations to the meta-analysis: Each study did not report on all of the side effects, meaning that for each category of side effect, the number of participants differed. The side effect categories were only included if at least 500 people had reported suffering from it. This means there may be numerous other si...
Source: NHS News Feed - March 13, 2014 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Medication Source Type: news

Could testing grip strength predict heart disease risk?
Conclusion These are interesting results from a range of very different countries, showing that people with low muscle strength may be at higher risk of dying prematurely than other people. Earlier studies in high-income countries had already suggested that this was the case, but this is the first study to show it holds true across countries from high to low incomes. The study also shows that Europeans, and men from high-income countries, on average, have higher grip strength than people from lower-income countries. Interestingly, women from middle-income regions, such as China and Latin America, had slightly higher muscl...
Source: NHS News Feed - May 14, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Medical practice Source Type: news

'Stop demonising butter,' say researchers
Conclusion This systematic review and meta-analysis assessed the long-term association between butter consumption and major health conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and death. The nine identified studies found little to no evidence that butter consumption increased the risk of death, cardiovascular disease, heart disease or stroke. Perhaps surprisingly, though, there did seem to be a protective effect against the risk of type 2 diabetes. This review has both strengths and limitations that may affect the reliability of the findings. The researchers used careful search methods that aimed to identify onl...
Source: NHS News Feed - June 30, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Heart/lungs Source Type: news

A pattern of brain activity may link stress to heart attacks
Conclusion This intriguing study sets out a possible pathway by which the effects of stress on the brain could translate into inflammation in the blood vessels, and so raise the risks of cardiovascular disease. This would help to explain why people living in stressful situations, or with illnesses such as depression and anxiety, are more at risk of heart attacks and strokes. However, there are important limitations to the study which mean we should treat the findings with caution. The main study of 293 people was relatively small for a long-term study looking at cardiovascular disease, and only 22 people had a cardiovascul...
Source: NHS News Feed - January 12, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Neurology Mental health Source Type: news

Children of obese mums may die younger
Conclusion This valuable research has examined a large cohort of 28,540 Scottish women who had their BMI measured during pregnancy and gave birth to a single baby between 1950 and 1976. Its strengths include the use of a reliable maternity database linking more than 80% of the offspring to national registers. This allowed the researchers to identify hospital discharges and mortality records for the children. The study suggests a link between mothers who are overweight or obese during pregnancy and an increased risk of their children's death overall – specifically prior to age 55 – as well as an increased risk of th...
Source: NHS News Feed - August 14, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Obesity Pregnancy/child Source Type: news

'Computer helps patients with severe MND communicate'
Conclusion It's hard to imagine the situation of being alert, aware of what's happening around you, but unable to move, respond or communicate with the outside world. So it is comforting, then, to hear that people with complete locked-in syndrome may be able to communicate – and may be relatively content with their situation. However, it's important to remember the limitations of this study. It's very small. Only four people took part, and full results are available for only three of them. The results may only apply to people with this very specific type of neurodegenerative disease, not to people with other types of pa...
Source: NHS News Feed - February 1, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Neurology Source Type: news

'Breakthrough in communication for patients with severe MND', study claims
Conclusion It's hard to imagine the situation of being alert, aware of what's happening around you, but unable to move, respond or communicate with the outside world. So it is comforting, then, to hear that people with complete locked-in syndrome may be able to communicate – and may be relatively content with their situation. However, it's important to remember the limitations of this study. It's very small. Only four people took part, and full results are available for only three of them. The results may only apply to people with this very specific type of neurodegenerative disease, not to people with other types of pa...
Source: NHS News Feed - February 1, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Neurology Source Type: news

'Chocolate good for the heart' claims sadly too good to be true
Conclusion Health stories that suggest eating or drinking something we like, whether it's chocolate or wine, are always popular. But they don't really tell us anything we don't know already. Certain foods may have a small impact on certain types of diseases, but it's the overall diet that counts. Previous studies have already suggested that the antioxidant properties of cocoa could reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, so it's surprising that this study focused on one particular cardiovascular disease, atrial fibrillation. AF is a common condition that affects heart rate, often causing a faster than normal, irregular ...
Source: NHS News Feed - May 24, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Heart/lungs Source Type: news

Does coffee make you live longer?
Conclusion This study, conducted on a large number of people across Europe, was backed up by similar findings in the US. It appears to show some association between people who drink higher amounts of coffee and a reduced risk of death. But the "potentially beneficial clinical implications" need to be considered carefully for a number of reasons: Although the analyses were adjusted for some confounding variables, there may be a number of other factors that differ between the groups that account for the differences in death, such as socioeconomic status, family history, other medical conditions, and use of medic...
Source: NHS News Feed - July 12, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Source Type: news

Inactivity 'twice as deadly' as obesity
Conclusion This study’s strengths included its large size and long follow-up period. Researchers also took into account a large number of factors (called confounders) that might have influenced the risk of death, such as diet, smoking history and alcohol intake, although it is still possible that both measured and unmeasured confounders influenced mortality rates. The study had one important limitation. It only measured people’s BMI (calculated by combining their weight and height) and their physical activity once, at the start of the study. It is quite possible that people’s BMI changed over time, and that this wou...
Source: NHS News Feed - January 15, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news