Todays-Healthy-Living

A tuberculosis test, called Xpert® MTB/RIF, can successfully identify 98% of all culture-confirmed TB cases, including more than 90% of those with smear-negative disease, a study published in NEJM (New England Journal of Medicine) reveals. The test is highly sensitive for tuberculosis as well as drug resistance to the powerful anti-TB drug rifampicin (RIF) in low resource settings, the authors write. The study revealed that the Xpert® MTB/RIF was accurate in more than 97% of patients with drug resistance...

Organic strawberries were found to have more vitamin C and antioxidants than non-organic ones, and they also had a nicer taste, but are 13.4% smaller and have considerably lower levels of dietary minerals potassium and phosphorous, according to a study published in the peer-reviewed journal PloS One. As consumers, we are usually willing to pay a bit more for organic produce for reasons of nutrition, health, the environment and/or the quality of life of farm animals...

When your newborn infant is crying with uncomfortable teething or otherwise obviously suffering, feeding sugar to the little one has been a home remedy for years based on not only perceived behavior, but also physiological reactions. However, a new article by Dr. Rebeccah Slater of University College London that appears in the current issue of The Lancet, shows there is no direct connection between pain reduction activity in the spinal cord or brain and the administration of sucrose...

Contrave (naltrexone SR/bupropion SR), an investigational drug aimed at combination therapy to address both biological and behavioral drivers of obesity, will be developed and commercialized by Orexigen Therapeutics, Inc. and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited in the USA, Canada and Mexico. The two drug firms have just signed an exclusive partnership for the North American area. The Contrave combination treatment targets the central pathways involved in controlling the balance of both food consumption and metabolism, as well as regulating eating behavior, Orexigen informs...

US researchers found that short sleep and insomnia was linked to a four times higher risk of early death in men; they urged public health policy makers to emphasize earlier diagnosis and treament of chronic insomnia. You can read how researchers from the Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, in Hershey, Pennsylvania, came to these findings in a paper they wrote that was published on 1 September in the journal SLEEP...

Where's the beef? Rather, where are the Escherichia coli (commonly referred to and spelled as E. coli) in my beef? It has been found that infrared spectroscopy detects E. coli (named for discovery by German pediatrician and bacteriologist Theodor Escherich) far more rapidly than current testing options. Utilizing infrared would speed up the detection process dramatically, and potentially curb outbreaks. In addition, spectroscopy can identify strains of E. coli (such as 0157:H7) in much less time than the current seven days necessary to complete the multi-step identification process...

Cases of human infection of West Nile virus (WNV) have been reported in Greece where 13 people have died and at least 140 have become ill, according to the Hellenic Centre for Disease Control and Prevention. Greek authorities say 32 patients are currently hospitalized. Several other countries in Europe are also affected, especially Central Europe and the Mediterranean area, according to the latest issue of Eurosurveillance. The publication adds that numerous animal cases have also been documented. A "single probable case" was reported in Portugal in July this year...

Two studies reveal that smokers may have a significantly lower risk of developing lung cancer and colorectal cancer with the drug metformin, which is commonly prescribed for diabetes type 2 treatment, the medical journal Cancer Prevention Research informs. Metformin, originally sold as Glucophage, is the first-line drug of choice for diabetes type 2 patients, especially those who are obese or overweight, as well as diabetes patients with normal kidney function. Metformin may have the following brand names: Fortamet, Glucophage, Glucophage XR, Glumetza, or Riomet...

Responding to the new energy bill announced in the Queen's Speech, Mike Hobday, Head of Campaigns at Macmillan Cancer Support said: 'Whilst the mandatory support from energy companies will help some vulnerable people struggling with their fuel bills, it is vital that cancer patients are not left out in the cold. Cancer patients undergoing treatment are twice as likely to fall into fuel poverty as the general population and must be included in any new support schemes...

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) today awarded a $153 million contract to Cellerant Therapeutics, Inc. of San Carlos, Calif., to continue developing a new way to treat an illness caused by exposure to high levels of ionizing radiation which can damage the body's cells - the type of radiation that would come from a nuclear blast. Under the contract, the company will continue development of a medication called CLT-008 that uses a special kind of cells called myeloid progenitor cells...