Increase in asthma linked to Caesareans – The Independent 2nd December 2008
The rise in asthma in industrialised countries over the past 30 years may have been driven by an increase in Caesarean births, researchers report.
Babies born by Caesarean delivery are more likely to develop asthma than those delivered naturally, doctors say. Exposure to bacteria in the vagina during birth is thought to play a key role in priming the immune system, providing a defence against the development of allergies.
Additional Story
New drug hope for jet lag sufferers – The Independent 2nd December 2008
For long-haul travellers it is said to take a day to recover for every time zone crossed, but now a drug based on the hormone melatonin has been shown to be an effective treatment for jet lag.
The drug, tasimelteon, made it easier for volunteers in a clinical trial to get to sleep, and helped them to stay asleep for longer, after their sleeping pattern was disrupted to mimic long distance travel.
The brains of autistic children react to sounds a fraction of a second slower than those of normal children, which may help explain the communication problems associated with autism, researchers said today.
And they hope a breakthrough technique called magnetoencephalography (MEG) could diagnose children as young as one so treatment can begin earlier.
How a tight squeeze with a new device can cure restless legs syndrome – Daily Mail 1st November 2008
A device which improves circulation by applying pressure is being tested as a treatment for restless legs.
The device, which fits over the legs and is inflated and deflated in quick succession, compresses the veins, pushing the blood back to the heart.
Health stories from around the world this week include a team of researchers who have discovered that incubator babies become happier adults. Also experiments have shown that eating apples can reduce the damage from taking aspirin. Elsewhere, scientists have developed the world’s first blood test for appendicitis.
Christmas cheer for Malawi’s Mary and Joseph? – BBC Health News 1st December 2008
Their names are Mary and Joseph and they have a newborn child.
But for this Malawian family this is a time of worry and not of cheer.
Both parents have HIV and when we meet them the status of their baby girl, Idess, is still unclear.
Papua mulls microchips for HIV – BBC Health News 1st December 2008
The Indonesian province of Papua is debating whether to introduce a law allowing the government to implant microchips in people living with HIV.\n\nThe bill proposes tracking the movements of HIV-positive people who behave in what some MPs describe as an irresponsible way.
S Africa unveils new Aids fight – BBC Health News 1st December 2008
South Africa’s new heath minister has promised to increase the availability of treatment for HIV and Aids, speaking at a rally to mark World Aids Day.\n\nBarbara Hogan cited the case of an eight-year-old boy battling Aids-related TB and meningitis who died while on a waiting list for drugs.
Did Aids change America? – BBC Health News 1st December 2008
More than 500,000 people have died from Aids-related illnesses in the US in the last 27 years – but has Aids really changed the country?
The actor Paul Michael Glaser, who presents a Radio 2 documentary on the subject on Tuesday, has no doubt it has had a tremendous impact at a personal level.
Nepalis give Aids the red card – BBC Health News 1st December 2008
A brave full-length dive from goalkeeper Alok Satyal was to no avail.
Deepak Bista had just scored the second and clinching goal for the ARV Superstars in their special match against the blue-and-white HIV Warriors.
The crowd of a couple of thousand whooped and whistled in the slanting sunlight. The men and women players in orange and blue high-fived each other. The police clapped.
Web searches feed health fears – BBC Health News 1st December 2008
Health information online is breeding a generation of cyberchondriacs – people who needlessly fear the worst diagnosis after surfing the net, say researchers.
A team at Microsoft studied health-related Web searches on popular search engines and surveyed 515 employees about their health-related searching.
‘No water’ in cholera-hit Harare – BBC Health News 1st December 2008
Much of the Zimbabwe capital, Harare, is without water, state media reports, at a time of a cholera outbreak.
Water was cut because of a shortage of purification chemicals, The Herald newspaper quotes water authority officials as saying.
At least 425 people have died in recent months from cholera – a disease spread by contaminated water.
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