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Total 273 results found since Jan 2013.

Firefighters warned about heart attack risk
Conclusion This randomised crossover trial aimed to assess whether putting out a fire has an effect on the biological signs of cardiovascular health of firefighters.  By simulating a fire fighting scenario the researchers found that exposure to these conditions increased tendency of the blood to clot, reduced the stretchiness of the blood vessel walls, and caused a slight increase in a marker of heart muscle damage. This trial is thought to be the first assessing this link. Whilst a randomised controlled trial is the best way of investigating this link, there are some limitations to consider. The trial included a con...
Source: NHS News Feed - April 5, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Source Type: news

Moderate drinking may reduce heart disease risk
Conclusion This study paints a more complicated picture than the "Pint a day keeps the doctor away" story proffered by The Sun. It seems to confirm the findings of other studies, which have shown that non-drinkers tend to have a higher risk of cardiovascular diseases than people who drink moderately. It suggests that some cardiovascular diseases (mainly those directly affecting the heart) seem to have a stronger link to a possible protective effect from alcohol than other vascular diseases, such as mini-strokes and bleeding in the brain. However, this can't be concluded with certainty due to the study design. We ...
Source: NHS News Feed - March 23, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Food/diet Lifestyle/exercise Source Type: news

New drug shows promise in preventing heart attacks
Conclusion This is a high-quality, well-conducted randomised controlled trial conducted in a very large number of people across multiple countries. To date, it's remained uncertain whether evolocumab reduces the risk of cardiovascular events. This study provides good evidence that the drug reduces the risk of major cardiovascular events in people with high LDL cholesterol levels, and with a high risk of having a cardiovascular event, who are already taking statins. The follow-up is limited to around two years, during which roughly 1 in 10 people experienced a cardiovascular event. The reduction in risk was shown to inc...
Source: NHS News Feed - March 20, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Medication Heart/lungs Source Type: news

'Tooth loss link to increased risk of dementia'
Conclusion This study adds to the evidence that good oral health is linked to good overall health, including a reduction in the chances of developing dementia in later life. But the research doesn't prove that regular tooth brushing will prevent dementia. We don't know what causes dementia. From research so far, it looks as if there are a number of interlinked causes. Brain health and ageing are likely to be affected by factors including diet, exercise, smoking, alcohol use, blood pressure and genetics. While living a healthy lifestyle may certainly reduce the chances of dementia, there are no guarantees. This study ha...
Source: NHS News Feed - March 9, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Mental health Neurology Older people Source Type: news

Substance found in red wine 'helps fight ageing'
Conclusion Resveratrol has been of interest to anti-ageing scientists for many years and researchers have previously shown it may be linked to a slowing of the decline in thinking and movement, at least in rodents. This study suggests a possible way this might happen. But the results don't tell us anything about what happens in humans. They suggest this substance may be useful for further research in humans at some point. They certainly don't provide a reason to drink gallons of red wine, in the hope of seeing an anti-ageing effect. Drinking too much alcohol is a sure-fire way to speed up deterioration of thinking skills,...
Source: NHS News Feed - March 8, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Lifestyle/exercise Neurology Source Type: news

Is red hair gene linked to increased risk of Parkinson's?
Conclusion This study looked at the role the red hair gene MC1R plays in the brains of mice. The findings suggest the gene has a part to play in keeping certain nerve cells in the brain alive. The cells in question are those that die off in Parkinson's disease and cause the condition's characteristic movement problems. These findings in mice are likely to need further investigation in human cells and tissue in lab studies. Exactly what causes brain cells to die, causing Parkinson's disease, is unknown. As with many conditions, it's thought both genetic and environmental factors could play a role. Research like this helps...
Source: NHS News Feed - March 6, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Cancer Genetics/stem cells Source Type: news

Regular activity may help some people stay 'fat and fit'
Conclusion As people often say, if exercise was a medicine, it would be hailed as a miracle cure. This study suggests that what we already know about the benefits of exercise may extend to reducing risk of cardiovascular disease for middle aged and older people, even if they are overweight or obese. But the study has some limitations. This type of study can't prove that one factor – exercise – is responsible for the lower risk of heart attack and stroke among overweight or obese people who exercise more. It's possible that other factors are important – for example people's income may be linked to their opportuniti...
Source: NHS News Feed - March 2, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Obesity Lifestyle/exercise Heart/lungs Source Type: news

Five-a-day of fruit and veg is good, but '10 is better'
Conclusion This research supports the idea that the more fruit and veg you eat the better – at least, up to 10 portions (800g) a day. It also suggests the number of people who die early might be reduced if they were to eat more than the current recommended guideline daily amount. However, before we take this at face value, there are some important considerations: There are likely to be many confounding factors that may have affected the results. It might be that people who eat a lot of fruit and veg are also more likely to be physically active, consume less alcohol, not smoke and be a healthy weight, or other facto...
Source: NHS News Feed - February 23, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Heart/lungs Cancer Medical practice Source Type: news

Exercise 'most proven method' to prevent return of breast cancer
Conclusion This was a helpful summary of recent research into how lifestyle changes impact on the risk of breast cancer returning, but it does have some limitations. Researching lifestyle factors separately is always difficult as they tend to clump together, making it difficult to pick apart individual factors. For example, people who are more physically active tend to have a healthier diet and are less likely to drink excessive amounts of alcohol or smoke. While the researchers say many studies attempt to make adjustments for these confounding factors, it is difficult to know which studies did this and how successful they...
Source: NHS News Feed - February 22, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Cancer QA articles Lifestyle/exercise Source Type: news

Long-term daily drinking linked to stiffening of the arteries in men
Conclusion This prospective cohort study aimed to look at the relationship between long-term alcohol patterns and stiffness of the arteries as a potential indicator of cardiovascular health. The researchers found men who were stable heavy drinkers had stiffer arteries compared with stable moderate drinkers. Male former drinkers also had increasingly stiffer arteries over the following four to five years compared with consistent moderate drinkers. There were no significant findings seen for women at all. But this study does have limitations: This type of study is not able to prove drinking causes stiffness of the arter...
Source: NHS News Feed - February 21, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Food/diet 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

'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

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

Weekend-only workouts 'still give an important health boost'
Conclusion This survey aimed to investigate patterns of physical activity in adults over the age of 40 and the potential impact on their cause of death. The study found that, compared with those who were not physically active, all active groups saw a reduction in their risk of death from any cause and cardiovascular disease. Being active at the weekend only had no effect on cancer mortality. However, interpretations around the optimal level of activity are difficult when you note that insufficient activity gave similar mortality reductions as the recommended regular activity. This study has both strengths and limitations...
Source: NHS News Feed - January 10, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Lifestyle/exercise Heart/lungs Cancer Source Type: news

Gum disease bug linked to rheumatoid arthritis
Conclusions This research aimed to investigate a possible bacterial origin of rheumatoid arthritis and found one potential candidate – Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans (Aα). It seems these bacteria could cause the high levels of citrullinated proteins which are known to trigger an immune reaction in people with rheumatoid arthritis. However, it's important to put these findings into the right context. Though antibodies against citrullinated proteins, anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP), are one of the possible diagnostic findings in people with rheumatoid arthritis – not everyone with rheumatoid arthri...
Source: NHS News Feed - December 19, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Medical practice Source Type: news