Selenium, an antioxidant included in multivitamin tablets thought to have a possible protective effect against the development of type 2 diabetes, may actually increase the risk of developing the disease, an analysis by researchers at the University at Buffalo has shown.
Results of a randomized clinical trial using 200 micrograms of selenium alone showed that 55 percent more cases of type 2 diabetes developed among participants randomized to receive selenium than in those who received a placebo pill.
Health & Wellness
The number of moles may offer an indication of how quickly the body ages, a study suggests.
King's College London scientists compared key ageing DNA with the number of moles in a study of 1,800 twins.
They found the more moles a person had, the more likely their DNA was to have the properties to fight off ageing.
The study, in the Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention journal, contrasts with the link between a high mole-count and high skin cancer risk.
Moles appear in childhood and disappear from middle age onwards.
When present in large numbers they can increase the risk of melanoma, a rare form of skin cancer. Moles vary significantly in numbers and size between individuals.
King's College London scientists compared key ageing DNA with the number of moles in a study of 1,800 twins.
They found the more moles a person had, the more likely their DNA was to have the properties to fight off ageing.
The study, in the Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention journal, contrasts with the link between a high mole-count and high skin cancer risk.
Moles appear in childhood and disappear from middle age onwards.
When present in large numbers they can increase the risk of melanoma, a rare form of skin cancer. Moles vary significantly in numbers and size between individuals.
Fake Sensodyne toothpaste which contains traces of toxic chemicals is being sold in markets, discount shops and car boot sales, the UK's medicines watchdog warned today.
The contaminated 50ml tubes of Sensodyne Original and Sensodyne Mint contain potentially dangerous levels of diethylene glycol, which could harm anyone with an impaired liver or kidney function and young children.
The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) warned that the fake products were being made by "unauthorised" copycat suppliers who printed their tubes in both English and Arabic, with genuine Sensodyne products only ever being printed in English.
The affected batch code is PROD 07 2005/EXP 08/2008, the agency said, instructing anyone who believes they may have bought the product to throw all tubes away.
The contaminated 50ml tubes of Sensodyne Original and Sensodyne Mint contain potentially dangerous levels of diethylene glycol, which could harm anyone with an impaired liver or kidney function and young children.
Comment: And what about similar harm effects of Fluoride? Why doesn't the UK's medicines watchdog warn the public about THAT?
The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) warned that the fake products were being made by "unauthorised" copycat suppliers who printed their tubes in both English and Arabic, with genuine Sensodyne products only ever being printed in English.
Comment:
Oh, we get it. If it's printed in Arabic, it's Eeeevil! Those damn terrorists are everywhere, and they are going to poison us!
Oh, we get it. If it's printed in Arabic, it's Eeeevil! Those damn terrorists are everywhere, and they are going to poison us!
The affected batch code is PROD 07 2005/EXP 08/2008, the agency said, instructing anyone who believes they may have bought the product to throw all tubes away.
Comment: Along with those tubes don't forget to throw a way last remains of common sense.
In the month after a surprising analysis revealed possible heart risks from the blockbuster diabetes drug Avandia, reports of side effects to federal regulators tripled.
WASHINGTON - The business of developing and selling new drugs is fraught with peril and setbacks. Billions of dollars are at stake. Nerves are on edge. Tempers flare.
Just ask Dr. John B. Buse, a medical researcher who testified at a House hearing on Wednesday about the safety of the popular diabetes drug, Avandia.
Just ask Dr. John B. Buse, a medical researcher who testified at a House hearing on Wednesday about the safety of the popular diabetes drug, Avandia.
An article in a leading medical journal yesterday raised serious safety questions about the widely used diabetes pill Avandia and renewed skepticism about the vigilance of federal drug regulators.
The analysis, based on a review of more than 40 existing clinical studies involving nearly 28,000 patients, showed that Avandia significantly increased the risk of heart attacks, compared with other diabetes drugs or a placebo.
Both the study's lead author and the editors of The New England Journal of Medicine, in which the article appeared, cautioned that the research method used left the findings open to interpretation. But they said the study nevertheless raised important concerns.
And the publication of the study on the journal's Web site prompted the Food and Drug Administration to issue a public safety alert and advise users of the drug - an estimated million people in this country and two million worldwide - to consult their doctors about the potential cardiovascular risks.
The analysis, based on a review of more than 40 existing clinical studies involving nearly 28,000 patients, showed that Avandia significantly increased the risk of heart attacks, compared with other diabetes drugs or a placebo.
Both the study's lead author and the editors of The New England Journal of Medicine, in which the article appeared, cautioned that the research method used left the findings open to interpretation. But they said the study nevertheless raised important concerns.
And the publication of the study on the journal's Web site prompted the Food and Drug Administration to issue a public safety alert and advise users of the drug - an estimated million people in this country and two million worldwide - to consult their doctors about the potential cardiovascular risks.
Researchers have confirmed what common wisdom has long held -- that people can suppress emotionally troubling memories -- and said on Thursday they have sketched out how the brain accomplishes this.
Organic farming can yield up to three times as much food as conventional farming in developing countries, and holds its own against standard methods in rich countries, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.
They said their findings contradict arguments that organic farming -- which excludes the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides -- is not as efficient as conventional techniques.
"My hope is that we can finally put a nail in the coffin of the idea that you can't produce enough food through organic agriculture," Ivette Perfecto, a professor at the University of Michigan's school of Natural Resources and Environment, said in a statement.
She and colleagues analyzed published studies on yields from organic farming. They looked at 293 different examples.
They said their findings contradict arguments that organic farming -- which excludes the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides -- is not as efficient as conventional techniques.
"My hope is that we can finally put a nail in the coffin of the idea that you can't produce enough food through organic agriculture," Ivette Perfecto, a professor at the University of Michigan's school of Natural Resources and Environment, said in a statement.
She and colleagues analyzed published studies on yields from organic farming. They looked at 293 different examples.
If you're like most people, you've probably experienced a shoulda-woulda-coulda moment; a time when we lament our missteps, saying that we should have invested in a certain stock, should have become a doctor instead of a lawyer and so on.
Psychologists refer to this process, in which we evaluate how we would do things differently, as "counterfactual thinking" and while it can have a positive spin, more often than not it is a psychological mechanism that causes us to harbor feelings of disappointment and regret.
In order to study counterfactual thinking, researchers are fond of having participants read stories in which the main character makes decisions that will ultimately doom him or her to failure and then ask these same participants how they would have done things differently.
But this method may not provide a complete picture of this mental process. New research published in the June issue of Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, shows that our counterfactual thinking may be markedly different when we are actually experiencing failure rather than reading about someone else's.
In a series of experiments, Vittorio Girotto of the University IUAV of Venice, Italy and his colleagues attempted to demonstrate and explain the differences in counterfactual thinking between actors (those actually experiencing the problem) and readers (those who merely read about the problem).
Psychologists refer to this process, in which we evaluate how we would do things differently, as "counterfactual thinking" and while it can have a positive spin, more often than not it is a psychological mechanism that causes us to harbor feelings of disappointment and regret.
In order to study counterfactual thinking, researchers are fond of having participants read stories in which the main character makes decisions that will ultimately doom him or her to failure and then ask these same participants how they would have done things differently.
But this method may not provide a complete picture of this mental process. New research published in the June issue of Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, shows that our counterfactual thinking may be markedly different when we are actually experiencing failure rather than reading about someone else's.
In a series of experiments, Vittorio Girotto of the University IUAV of Venice, Italy and his colleagues attempted to demonstrate and explain the differences in counterfactual thinking between actors (those actually experiencing the problem) and readers (those who merely read about the problem).
An Indonesian boy died of bird flu, bringing the death toll to 81 in the only country regularly logging human fatalities from the virus, a health official said yesterday.
Comment: Rather than shutting down memories, another method is to consciously face the terror of the memories of the past. One that Martha Stout writes about in her inspiring book " The myth of Sanity". It is not an easy journey but it is one that is very rewarding and life affirming.