Some Alcohol May Be Good For The Health

If you consume alcohol or if you love  to have a glass of wine or beer , you could be boosting your bone health.

According to a study consuming a glass or two of beer or wine a day may have health benefits. The study was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 

 For the study researchers studied 1,182 men; 1,289 menopausal women, 248 post-menopausal women.

Result: 

1- Men who had one or two drinks per day had denser bones than those who did not.

 2- Women who drank more than two glasses per day had greater bone mineral density that those who drank less.

Read More on the study.

Caution has to  be used when consuming alcohol on a regular basis especially in the presence of other habits such as smoking and use of drugs. There are several risk factors for non-communicable diseases and harmful use of alcohol is one of them. Non-communicable diseases are: cancers, heart disease. heart attacks, strokes. COPD and other respiratory diseases.

Autism Linked To Environmental Factors

According to a report done on autism, environmental factors may contribute to autism.

 For the study researchers focused on the environmental factors that babies and fetuses are exposed to.  They argued that the increase in autism cases in California could not be explained by changes in doctors' diagnoses.

For example:
In 1990 there were 205 new cases of autism; 6.2 of  every10,000 children born were autistic.
In 2006, there were 3,000 new cases and 42.5 of every 10,000 were autistic.
Medical experts suspected changes in diagnoses or migration tom the state.

They analyzed 17 years of state data that tracks developmental disability. They also used birth records and census bureau data to calculate the rate of autism and diagnosis.

The result:
Migration to the state of California had no effect.
Changes in how and when doctors diagnose the disorder and when officials file reports can explain less than half of the cases.


Read Report

Clinical Trials Information

The National Library Of Medicine and Clinicaltrials.gov have made it possible for the general public to obtain data and to research clinical trials studies on most conditions.

Here are details of specific trials. They are up to date at time of reading this post. You may go directly to the website as well.

• Diabetes
• Heart disease
• AIDS
• Cancer 
• Prostate cancer

To access other diseases and conditions, go to their website and do a search.
Clinicaltrials.gov

Second Mastectomy- A Preventative Measure

More women are deciding to have their second breast removed to prevent cancer developing again.

According to a study, it could be a  preventative measure to protect their health and save their lives

Researchers studied 542 women with breast cancer and identified three factors which put them at risk of developing cancer in the second breast.

• More than one tumor in the same breast at time of diagnosis
• A high score in the Gail model
• Cancer begins in the milk producing glands rather than the milk ducts, then invading surrounding tissue

The women in the study who had all three risk factors had both breasts removed between 2000 and 2007. Researchers believe that these women are good candidates for removal of the second breast to protect their health and save their lives. Read More

Surgical Checklist Can Reduce Complications

A simple surgical checklist could make surgery safer than ever, the checklist mentioned by the World Health Organization(WHO)as a 'safe surgery' tool will decrease mortality and complications.

Researchers found that the simple surgical checklist can reduce complications and deaths after major surgery.

The study took place in the following cities:

• Toronto, Canada
• London, UK
• Auckland, Newzealand
• Seattle, USA
• Jordan
• India
• Manilla, Philippines
• Tanzania

Data was collected from 7688 patients: 3733 before the checklist was initiated and 3955 after completion of the checklist.  Hospitals in both high and low income settings  participated.

Result:

1. The reductions in complications were of equal magnitude in both settings.
2. Major complications rate fell from 11% to 7%
3. Inpatient deaths fell by by more than 40%

The checklist in question, is a three-step process, initiated before anaesthesia, then prior to the skin incision and completed before the patient leaves the OR.

Read Report

Hospitals responded well to the results of the study, Many around the world are expected to implement its use making major surgery safer than ever.