Health & Fitness

Heart attack New technique, already available in US, could aid in development of cardiovascular drugs Scientists have developed a blood test that can predict whether someone is at high risk of a heart attack, stroke, heart failure or dying from one of these conditions within the next four years.The test, which relies of measurements of proteins in the blood, has roughly twice the accuracy of existing risk scores. It could enable doctors to determine whether patients’ existing medications are working or whether they need additional drugs to reduce their risk. “I think this is the new frontier of personalised medicine, to be able to answer the question, does this person need enhanced treatment? And when you’ve treated someone, did it actually work?” said Dr Stephen Williams at SomaLogic in...

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My symptoms first started in my early 40s. My periods went from predictable to erratic. The flow was so strong and heavy, I developed iron-deficiency anemia because of the blood loss. At times, I felt as if I was hemorrhaging. I didn’t know it then, but it was the start of my journey into perimenopause, the period of time before menopause that can begin in your thirties and forties when estrogen goes on a rollercoaster ride. This stage lasts until your ovaries stop making estrogen and your periods disappear. The average age of menopause is 51, and so women exist in perimenopause—and all of its symptoms—for four to eight years on average, according to the North American Menopause Society. For me, I went through perimenopause in about three years. At age 57, I’ve been postmenopaus...

Fascinating charts that show the rapid growth and slow decline of the human brain over an entire lifetime have been revealed by scientists. They illustrate how our minds change from a 15-week-old foetus all the way up to an 100-year-old adult, and are the result of a research project spanning six continents and involving almost 125,000 brain scans. The charts have allowed experts to confirm – and in some cases, show for the first time – developmental milestones that have previously only been hypothesised, such as at what age different areas of the brain reach peak volume. Grey matter, or brain cells, for example, increase rapidly from mid-gestation onwards, peaking just before we turn six years old. They then slowly begin to decrease. White matter, or brain connections, also increase quic...

PHOENIX — The World Health Organization is now investigating hearing loss and ringing in the ears as potential rare side effects of the COVID-19 vaccines. The WHO Pharmaceuticals Newsletter recently published data looking at expected numbers compared to actual reports from people who experienced hearing-related symptoms after receiving a COVID-19 shot. Researchers compared hundreds of stories from people in 10 countries who received either the Pfizer, Moderna, or AstraZeneca vaccine. The WHO concluded hearing loss and tinnitus (ringing in the ears) following the COVID-19 shot are preliminary signals, which means there is a possible causal relationship between the auditory problems and the vaccine. The organization is recommending further study and alerting healthcare professionals around ...

Plastics Particles discovered in tissue of 11 out of 13 patients undergoing surgery, with polypropylene and PET most common Microplastic pollution has been discovered lodged deep in the lungs of living people for the first time. The particles were found in almost all the samples analysed.The scientists said microplastic pollution was now ubiquitous across the planet, making human exposure unavoidable and meaning “there is an increasing concern regarding the hazards” to health.Samples were taken from tissue removed from 13 patients undergoing surgery and microplastics were found in 11 cases. The most common particles were polypropylene, used in plastic packaging and pipes, and PET, used in bottles. Two previous studies had found microplastics at similarly high rates in lung tissue taken d...

In this illustration, an implant (blue and gray) creates a feeling of fullness by pressing on the stomach and, when activated by a laser (black), killing cells that produce the hunger hormone. Credit: Adapted from ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 2022, DOI: 10.1021/acsami.2c00532 When dieting and exercise aren’t enough, weight-loss surgery can be an effective obesity treatment. But people who don’t want surgery have other options, including insertion of an appetite-suppressing balloon or other implant in the stomach. Now, researchers report in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces that they have augmented that procedure in laboratory animals by coating an implant with a laser-activated dye that kills cells producing ghrelin, the “hunger hormone.” Implants can be inserted in...

A fourth COVID-19 vaccine dose significantly boosts protection against severe illness in older adults, according to an Israeli study released on Tuesday. The study compared people over age 60 who received a fourth vaccine dose against those who only had three doses. In the group that received three doses the rate of severe disease was 3.5 times higher after four weeks. The data was based on 1.2 million Israelis over the age of 60 who were eligible for the additional shot and were monitored between January 10 and March 2, during the Omicron wave. Confirmed infections after receiving the fourth dose were lower, but that effect dropped after four weeks and was almost gone after eight weeks. The protection against severe illness did not decrease in the six weeks after re...

According to a study published in The Lancet, reducing sodium intake could help improve certain symptoms in patients with heart failure. Although it did not lower hospital visits or deaths in them, the study found that it could ease their symptoms such as swelling, fatigue and coughing. The research involved 806 heart failure patients at 26 medical centers in Canada, the United States, Columbia, Chile, Mexico and New Zealand, out of which half the participants received usual care, while the other half received nutritional counseling on how to reduce their dietary salt intake. Also read: Coronavirus: The length of your fingers may suggest if you are at a higher risk of long COVID Prior to the study, the participants had an average of 2,217 mg of salt per day. During and after the study,...

Virtual reality Sessions with virtual-reality headset helped people overcome anxiety and complete everyday tasks It’s a sunny day on a city street as a green bus pulls up by the kerb. Onboard, a handful of passengers sit stony-faced as you step up to present your pass. But you cannot see your body – only a floating pair of blue hands.It might sound like a bizarre dream, but the scenario is part of a virtual reality (VR) system designed to help people with agoraphobia – those for whom certain environments, situations and interactions can cause intense fear and distress. Scientists say the approach enables participants to build confidence and ease their fears, helping them to undertake tasks in real life that they had previously avoided. The study also found those with more severe psycholo...