Body

Added salt in our diets is unnecessary and contributes to health problems such as hypertension and strokes, write Dr. Ken Flegel and Dr. Peter Magner and the CMAJ editorial team http://www.cmaj.ca/press/pg263.pdf. Consumers must be vigilant, read food labels, avoid food with high salt content and demand low salt food in stores and restaurants.

COLD SPRING HARBOR, N.Y. (Mon., Feb. 2, 2009) -- By using OP9-DL1 cells as a support system, researchers can study the differentiation of embryonic stem cells into mature components of the immune system.

Source:

Source:

ST. PAUL, Minn. – While a higher level of education may help lower the risk of Alzheimer's disease, new research shows that once educated people start to become forgetful, a higher level of education does not appear to protect against how fast they will lose their memory. The research is published in the February 3, 2009, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — A study by UC Davis researchers published in the February 2009 issue of the Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine has found that most of the healthy children and teenagers in the United States who are taking daily vitamin and mineral supplements probably don't need them.

The study also found that the children who most need to take vitamins aren't getting them.

A large number of U.S. children and teens age 2 to 17 appear to use vitamin and mineral supplements, although most may not need them, according to a report in the February issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Distrust of medical research appears more common among African American parents than white parents and may present a barrier to enrollment of minority children in research studies, according to a report in the February issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — At the radiation dose levels used in cardiac imaging exams, such as cardiac CT or nuclear medicine scans, the risk of potentially harmful effects from ionizing radiation are low. However, since the exact level of risk is not known, people without symptoms of heart disease should think twice about seeking, or agreeing to, these types of cardiac studies. This is the conclusion of an advisory committee convened by the American Heart Association's Council on Clinical Cardiology and Council on Cardiovascular Radiology and Intervention.

CHICAGO – The February issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association features research studies focusing on everyday eating habits of consumers.

Americans Are More Aware of Trans Fats, But Not Its Sources

American consumer awareness of trans fats increased during a one-year period to 92 percent in 2007 from 84 percent in 2006, according to researchers at the University of Colorado Denver, Pennsylvania State University, Tufts University, Albert Einstein College of Medicine and the American Heart Association.

"There are all of these old wives' tales that strength training is a detriment to the patient and that the new knee should be treated delicately," Snyder-Mackler notes. "Our study demonstrates that intensive strength exercise as outpatient therapy is critical to begin three to four weeks after surgery."

Blacksburg, Va. –Scientists from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Texas A&M Health Center, and the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute at Virginia Tech have uncovered genetic clues about why some strains of the pathogen Coxiella burnetii are more virulent than others.

Helsinki, Finland – February 02, 2009 – The antiepileptic drug vigabatrin (VGB) has been shown to be one of the best treatments against a special form of epilepsy in infants, called infantile spasm. However, its use has been limited in many countries because it has been shown to cause a permanent narrowing of visual fields in approximately 40 percent of adults who have been exposed at school age or later. A new study published in Epilepsia examined school-aged children who had been treated with VGB in infancy.

New Rochelle, NY, February 2, 2009—Post-Katrina flooded homes may contain harmful levels of contaminants in addition to sediment deposits. Indoor gases, mold films, and aerosols may also have exposed residents, first responders, and demolition crews to dangerous contaminant levels without the need for direct skin contact, according to a modeling study published in the April 2009 issue (Volume 26, Number 3) of Environmental Engineering Science, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.