http://www.readersdigest.com.sg/rd/rdhtml/en/magazine/mag_archive.jsp?ccid=58 Reader's Digest Asia - Medical Update Fri, 26 Feb 2010 06:27:00 -0000 http://www.readersdigest.com.sg/rd/rdhtml/en/magazine/mag_content.jsp?cid=7628 Researchers compared air temperature and atmospheric conditions in the three days leading up to each headache and found that hotter weather and lower air pressure were associated with more headaches. The headache risk increased by 7.5 percent with each 5 degrees Celsius increase in temperature. However,  air pollution did not seem to increase the number of headaches. http://www.readersdigest.com.sg/rd/rdhtml/en/magazine/mag_content.jsp?cid=7629 So here's a travel guide: if you've had an orthopaedic, chest, abdominal, neurological, ear, nose or throat procedure, wait ten to 14 days before flying, advises lead author Dr Mark Gendreau at Tufts University School of Medicine. An uncomplicated appendectomy or laparoscopic procedure? Schedule your flight at least five days later. http://www.readersdigest.com.sg/rd/rdhtml/en/magazine/mag_content.jsp?cid=7630 The researchers analysed 117 well-designed studies, which included 26,000 participants, to rank 12 antidepressants on their efficacy and tolerability. Mirtazapine (Avanza) and venlafaxine (Efexor) also performed well. http://www.readersdigest.com.sg/rd/rdhtml/en/magazine/mag_content.jsp?cid=7631 Those who are young, thin, or who have normal blood-sugar levels are more likely to have more brown fat. Such fat is commonly found in newborns. Babies start bulking up on brown fat at around 19 weeks in the womb and it accounts for five percent of their total body mass. Brown fat helps to keep babies warm. http://www.readersdigest.com.sg/rd/rdhtml/en/magazine/mag_content.jsp?cid=7632 Maryland and Wisconsin re­searchers found that the virus strains are organised into about 15 groups. According to senior author Dr Stephen B. Liggett, this means that rather than a one-for-all cure, specific antiviral drugs – and even vaccines – could be developed. http://www.readersdigest.com.sg/rd/rdhtml/en/magazine/mag_content.jsp?cid=7633 In the largest study of its kind to date, a group of British researchers examined more than 4000 people under age 30 who were diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in Yorkshire, United Kingdom, between 1978 and 2002. The team discovered that new cases of type 1 diabetes occurred in batches within confined sections of Yorkshire, specifically among youths between 10 and 19. The study's  findings suggest that perhaps a virus, which people encounter on an irregular basis, may be responsible for this serious autoimmune disease  rather than consistent environmental factors such as diet. http://www.readersdigest.com.sg/rd/rdhtml/en/magazine/mag_content.jsp?cid=7479 One, from Israel's University of Haifa, analysed satellite measurements of night-time light and cancer rates in 164 countries. The most brightly lit had the highest rates of prostate cancer, more than double those in the dimmest nations. Meanwhile, Harvard researchers who tracked more than 18,000 postmenopausal women reported that those with the lowest night-time levels of melatonin were about 60 percent more likely to develop breast cancer. http://www.readersdigest.com.sg/rd/rdhtml/en/magazine/mag_content.jsp?cid=7480 Higher quality of life For volunteers carrying an extra 45 kilograms, just an hour of exercise a week was enough to make life easier, helping with tasks like tying shoes and getting up from a chair. The benefits came even without weight loss, say the US researchers. Men also reported that their work and sex lives improved. http://www.readersdigest.com.sg/rd/rdhtml/en/magazine/mag_content.jsp?cid=7481 According to researchers at the University of New South Wales in Australia, people with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) often can't tell when someone is being sarcastic. Picking up on negative emotions is also affected. Authors of the study, published in Brain, say these findings could be used to help provide an early diagnosis for FTD and manage the condition. Findings may also be useful in determining which patients with FTD will deteriand shy;orand shy;ate quickly, they add. http://www.readersdigest.com.sg/rd/rdhtml/en/magazine/mag_content.jsp?cid=7419 The results? Besides a decrease in ''bad'' LDL cholesterol and stress levels, the study participants showed a 29 percent rise in telomerase. This enzyme repairs and lengthens telomeres, tiny protein complexes on the ends of chromosomes that are vital for immunity and longevity. Short telomeres and low levels of telomerase signal an increased risk of heart disease and cancer, plus a poor prognosis if you do get ill. http://www.readersdigest.com.sg/rd/rdhtml/en/magazine/mag_content.jsp?cid=7420 Strength training increases muscle mass, which burns fat faster – and the pudge it melted was mostly the heart-risky abdominal kind. http://www.readersdigest.com.sg/rd/rdhtml/en/magazine/mag_content.jsp?cid=7421 It's not just grapefruit that affects medicine absorption: the latest research shows that orange and apple juice can reduce the benefits of some medications. A recent study found that several fruit juices have a negative effect on medications for life-threatening ailments such as heart disease and cancer. In some cases, only half the medicine was absorbed when taken with juice. Some older research showed that grapefruit juice caused dangerously high concentrations of some medicines. The bottom line? Swallow your pills with water. http://www.readersdigest.com.sg/rd/rdhtml/en/magazine/mag_content.jsp?cid=7309 Having a pear-shaped figure could be good for your health. Researchers found that subcutaneous fat that typically collects in the hips, bottom and thighs actually helps reduce insulin levels and improve insulin sensitivity, protecting people from diabetes. When the researchers transplanted the bottom fat into the stomach area of lab mice, they lost weight and had better insulin levels. The next step is to determine how the subcutaneous fat works to improve metabolism, with the aim of creating a drug that can mimic the effect. http://www.readersdigest.com.sg/rd/rdhtml/en/magazine/mag_content.jsp?cid=7310 Researchers from Monash University in Australia, the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Harvard Medical School and Vanda Pharmaceuticals found that the drug, ''tasimelteon,'' acts on the brain's melatonin receptors, which are involved in circadian-rhythm pro-cesses. ''It improved the ability to fall and stay asleep when bedtime was shifted earlier by five hours,'' says Monash University's Dr. Shantha Raja-ratnam, likening this to travelling east and setting back the clock by five hours. He said the drug could also ease sleep disorders caused by shift work. http://www.readersdigest.com.sg/rd/rdhtml/en/magazine/mag_content.jsp?cid=7331 Now the race to perfect the bionic eye is hotting up, with more than 20 research teams around the world reportedly vying to the be the first to offer sight to the blind. http://www.readersdigest.com.sg/rd/rdhtml/en/magazine/mag_content.jsp?cid=7263 What do people find most pleasurable in their daily lives? Sex. But number two is being with friends. Almost everything we find pleasurable, including eating and drinking, is so much better when doing it with someone else. http://www.readersdigest.com.sg/rd/rdhtml/en/magazine/mag_content.jsp?cid=7264 (The SARS outbreak in 2003 claimed more than 800 lives from 29 countries. It is believed to have emerged in humans in Asia, originating in bats and ''jumping'' to peo-ple, either directly or from animal delicacies in China. The animal strains still exist.) http://www.readersdigest.com.sg/rd/rdhtml/en/magazine/mag_content.jsp?cid=7265 This was tested in one London study, where people who drank half a litre of beetroot juice experienced a substantialand nbsp; drop in blood pressure within hours. Other dietary tips if you have high blood pressure: reduce your salt intake, lower your weight and avoid alcohol – even moderate drinking may raise blood pressure more than previously thought. http://www.readersdigest.com.sg/rd/rdhtml/en/magazine/mag_content.jsp?cid=7173 Professor Ronald M. Evans and his team found the drug GW1516 activated the ''PPAR delta'' pathway, resulting in improved resistance to weight gain and insulin response. When coupled with training (four weeks of up to 50 minutes a day on a treadmill), endurance rose by 77 percent over exercise alone. And after four weeks on another drug, AICARand nbsp;- which triggers the ''AMPK'' pathway and, says Evans, ''puts a turbocharge on PPAR delta''and nbsp;- sedentary mice ran 44 percent longer than those not given the drug. Researchers suggest these ''exercise mimetic'' drugs could be useful for conditions such as metabolic disorders, muscle diseases and obesity, for which exercise is beneficial. http://www.readersdigest.com.sg/rd/rdhtml/en/magazine/mag_content.jsp?cid=7174 The study, published in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, reveals that children who were not given peanuts during infancy and early childhood were ten times more likely to develop peanut allergy than children who were exposed to peanuts.