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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

'Dying of heartache?' Heart problems linked to bereavement
Conclusion The study found that people were more likely to have AF for the first time in the weeks immediately after a bereavement, but that this raised risk does not last. Despite the headlines, this does not mean that anyone who's had a bereavement is at immediate risk of "dying of a broken heart". Atrial fibrillation is treatable and not usually life-threatening. Because this was an observational study, we cannot rule out the possibility that factors such as family history of atrial fibrillation or lifestyle factors could have affected the results, although the researcher's conclusion that this is a small poss...
Source: NHS News Feed - April 6, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Mental health Source Type: news

Heart disease risk 'higher in men who skip breakfast'
Conclusion This large cohort study of middle-aged and older male American health professionals has found that eating breakfast and not eating after going to bed are associated with a lower risk of coronary heart disease. As this was a cohort study, it cannot prove cause and effect, as it is not possible to exclude the possibility that there are other factors responsible for any of the associations seen.  The results remained the same when researchers adjusted for diet, demographic factors and activity level, but were no longer significant if the researchers adjusted for obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol level...
Source: NHS News Feed - July 23, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Food/diet Source Type: news

Being bilingual may slow the onset of dementia
Conclusion This consecutive series of people treated at a specialist dementia clinic in India found that people with dementia who are bilingual developed dementia later than people who were monolingual. It is highly plausible that activities engaged in over a lifetime that increase our cognitive ability – such as understanding two or more languages – may have a protective effect against cognitive decline. However, this study cannot prove that being bilingual is directly protective against developing dementia. This study only characterised differences within a group of people who all developed dementia, rather than loo...
Source: NHS News Feed - November 8, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Lifestyle/exercise Neurology Older people Source Type: news

Test could give two-year warning for Alzheimer's
Conclusion The researchers suggest that Alzheimer's disease can be predicted with an accuracy of 87.5% when thinning of the cortex in the right anterior cingulated gyrus is seen on MRI, alongside test results suggesting problems with recall and recognition. This research does not indicate a new "test", as MRI and psychological testing are standard procedures when investigating the signs and symptoms of dementia. What is novel in this approach is looking at a specific combination of results as a potential way of predicting which people with MCI may develop Alzheimer's disease. While this form of testing would be b...
Source: NHS News Feed - December 9, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Neurology Source Type: news

Cannabis linked to brain differences in the young
Conclusion This study found differences between young recreational cannabis users and non-users in the volume and structure of the nucleus accumbens and amygdala, which have a role in the brain’s reward system, pleasure response, emotion and decision making. However, as this was only a cross sectional study taking one-off brain scans of cannabis users and non-users, it cannot prove that cannabis use was the cause of any of the differences seen. It is not known whether cannabis use could have caused these changes in regular users.   Or conversely whether the cannabis users in this study had this brain structure to sta...
Source: NHS News Feed - April 16, 2014 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Mental health Neurology Source Type: news