Preliminary research presented this week at the Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research conference in Houston, reveals promising findings about the role that exercise and coffee could play in the fight against prostate cancer. An analysis of activity levels among 2,686 prostate cancer patients showed that men who jogged, played tennis or
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Between 1991 and 2004, deaths due to opioid overdose more than doubled in Ontario, an alarming trend that corresponds with an increase in prescriptions for oxycodone, a narcotic pain killer derived from extracts of opium. What’s more, the introduction of oxycontin—a long-acting form of oxycodone—in 2000, was associated with a
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As cell phones are growing more prevalent—an estimated 270 million Americans now have one—concerns about the health risks of the mobile devices are increasing as well. As Bryan Walsh reported for TIME earlier this year, the growing trend of cell phone use—or, cast in a different light, of holding tiny emitters of low-level
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For obese men who suffer from sleep apnea, losing weight may be an effective cure, according to research published in the British Medical Journal. Sleep apnea—or when you temporarily stop breathing while asleep—is a condition that, when left untreated, can increase the risk for heart disease and stroke, and in serious cases, even
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For many smokers, that first cigarette of the day is all part of the morning routine. But, new research suggests that smokers who light up first thing in the morning may have a disproportionate risk for developing lung cancer. According to a small study published in the December issue of the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers &
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The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine Cervarix, produced by GlaxoSmithKline, offers protection against the two major cancer-causing strains of HPV, (HPV-16 and HPV-18) for more than 6 years, according to research published online today in the British medical journal the Lancet. The analysis, led by Dr. Cosette Wheeler from the
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If current obesity trends continue, life expectancy gains due to decreases in smoking could potentially be canceled out in the future, according to research published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine. By analyzing data from several national health surveys including tens of thousands of respondents, researchers Susan
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It’s no secret that mothers are sensitive to their babies’ cries, even while asleep. Yet a recent sleep study commissioned by Lemsip, the manufacturer of over-the-counter flu and cold remedies sold in the U.K., suggests it’s not just mothers, but all women, who are quickly roused from sleep by the sound of a crying infant. For men,
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As women are still struggling to make sense of the new mammogram recommendations released in November by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, research presented today at a meeting of the Radiological Society of North America suggests that, for women at high risk of developing breast cancer, who are often urged to undergo annual
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Employing educational and psychological intervention techniques from a very young age can make a world of difference in autistic children’s development, according to research published online today in the journal Pediatrics. At the University of Washington in Seattle, researchers conducted a five-year study of 48 autistic children
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According to estimates from researchers at the University of Chicago, the total number of Americans with diabetes will double in the next 25 years, from the current 23.7 million to some 44.1 million in 2034. During that same time frame, annual costs for treating those patients are expected to soar—nearly tripling from the current $113
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A centuries-old folk remedy for aches and pains just earned a nod of recognition from modern medicine: researchers from the U.K.’s Newcastle University determined that Hypnis crenata, or Brazilian mint, is an effective pain reliever. Researchers first traveled to Brazil to observe traditional preparation of the remedy to determine
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Research presented last week at a major cancer research conference suggests that morphine, which is regularly prescribed to cancer patients to treat pain, may actually spur cancer growth. For the past seven years, the notion that opiates might stimulate cancer growth has slowly been gaining attention in the medical research community,
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