Posted on January - 21 - 2012
A new study from UC Berkeley has uncovered physical evidence that people who challenge themselves intellectually could be decreasing their risk of developing Alzheimer’s Disease, and the clues are visible in their brains.
Just finishing a crossword puzzle can be difficult once Alzheimer’s Disease has set in. But researchers have long suspected that doing similar activities throughout your life-time could help keep the disease at bay. Now a team at UC Berkeley has taken that notion of use it or lose it a step further by studying deposits of amyloid plaque in the brain, which are believed to be linked with Alzheimer’s.
“What this study showed is that it’s not just a matter of this protecting you from the effects of the amyloid, for example,” said Dr.
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Posted on July - 24 - 2011
DIETS containing too much salt and too little potassium significantly increase the risk of dying from heart disease, researchers said.
The combined effect is greater than either factor on its own, a US study of 12,000 people suggests.
Sodium in salt is known to narrow arteries and raise blood pressure, whereas potassium is believed to counteract these effects.
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Posted on July - 23 - 2011
The risk of contracting cancer is generally thought to be caused by a combination of lifestyle and inheritance. If you decide to smoke too much, drink too much, or eat too much, the risk of cancer goes up. Plus, if your ancestors had a heightened risk of cancer, chances are you contain similar genetics. Now, new research from the University of Oxford has put forward a new theory: taller women are at increased risk of a wide range of cancer. Data has been compiled from over one million individuals which supports this theory. However, the reason why height equates to greater cancer risk remains a mystery.
The research concluded that the risk of cancer goes up by 16 percent for every four inch (ten cm) increase in height.
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Posted on July - 21 - 2011
TINY particles emitted by diesel exhaust fumes can raise the risk of heart attacks, according to new research.
Scientists from Edinburgh University discovered ultra-fine particles produced when diesel burns are harmful to blood vessels and can increase the chances of blood clots forming in arteries, leading to a heart attack or stroke.
The research sheds further light on the risks of traffic fumes after another study from Italy warned high levels of exposure to tiny particles in emissions can dramatically raise the risk of deep-vein thrombosis.
Glasgow has a long-standing problem with air pollution and was recently named as one of three areas in the UK alongside Greater London and north-east Scotland which were expected to fail European limits for nitrogen dioxide emissions.
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