New Delhi, Nov 17 (ANI): It is well known that second hand smoke from cigarettes is a risk to anyone who suffers from asthma. But a new research showed that it's possible for both children and adults with uncontrolled asthma to find their symptoms worsening due to cannabis allergy and exposure to marijuana smoke. This is different from second hand tobacco smoke which worsens asthma by irritating the lungs in a non-allergic way. The takeaway is that cannabis allergy can make asthma worse even without direct use. Anyone using cannabis should consider that others living in their house who have asthma - particularly children - may be at risk of uncontrolled asthma.

New Delhi, Nov 16 (ANI): According to a medical study, dry eyes condition in humans can significantly reduce the rate of reading and may cause disruption in daily tasks that require visual concentration for long periods. The chronic dry eye is a common disease in which natural tears fail to adequately lubricate the eyes, thus drastically affecting its functioning. According to researchers, dry eye affects millions of adults, primarily those in the age group of 50 and older. It causes ocular discomfort and visual problems. The study revealed that the participants with clinically significant dry eye read fewer words per minute as compared to those with only dry eye symptoms. It was found that sustained visual functions such as reading, driving or performing surgery is hard on everyone's eyes because it changes the blink rate, which spreads and replenishes tears over the cornea. However, the change in tempo affects people with a dry eye more severely. The diagnosis and treatment of dry eye are often complicated, in part because many conditions may cause it, including clogged oil glands and systemic inflammation from a rheumatologic disease. According to researchers people who experience frequent dry eye symptoms such as stinging, fluctuating vision and dryness can try over the counter eye drops but will do best if they undergo professional testing and diagnosis. Current treatments may include prescription drops, lifestyle and environmental changes, and surgical insertion of plugs or other procedures to increase tear production.

New Delhi, Nov 15 (ANI): Researchers have found that obesity and food restrictions are associated with less food enjoyment. Led by the University of Granada (UGR), the study has been published in the journal, Food Quality and Preference. For this work, 552 adolescents between 11 and 17 years old from several high schools in Granada, have had their emotional reactions analysed during the visualisation of images of sweet foods. Thus, the researchers observed that those adolescents who reported different types of dietary restrictions (different types of diet, dieting very often, skipping breakfast, eating less frequently, etc.), along with those who were obese and those who had unhealthy behaviours unrelated to food (such as smoking or having insufficient sleep), felt less pleasure, attraction and desire to eat the highly palatable foods they were looking at (images of sweets, doughnuts, ice-creams, chocolate crepes, etc. As explained by Laura Miccoli, main author of the study, “Adolescence, typically associated with greater body dissatisfaction, is a key stage for the development of risky eating behaviors, related both to uncontrolled restrictions on food intake -which may lead to the development of eating disorders- and with the stabilization of overweight and obesity.” The research, led by the UGR, is the first study that has examined the adolescents’ emotions toward sweet food cues based on a constellation of risk behaviours, related to both obesity and eating disorders. In the light of the results obtained, the UGR scientists point out that those adolescents who feel more pleasure or enjoyment when eating “have a healthy relationship with food, and this pleasure may be a possible protective factor against eating and weight-related disorders.” Therefore, “consistent with recent prevention strategies, it is important to change the perspective on the enjoyment of food with respect to the prevention of obesity, banishing the idea that we should avoid the pleasure of eating. On the contrary: we should take advantage of it, and make food enjoyment -the ‘slow food movement’- a tool for healthy eating,” Miccoli points out.

New Delhi, Nov 14 (ANI): Trying to quit smoking? Spend time with people who use e-cigarettes. The University College London research has found that smokers who were regularly exposed to vapers (as opposed to other smokers) were around 20 per cent more likely to have reported both a high current motivation to quit and made a recent quit attempt. The findings have been published in BMC Medicine. "Our results found no evidence that spending time with vapers discourages smokers from quitting, which should help to alleviate concerns about the wider public health impact of e-cigarettes," said the study's lead author, Dr Sarah Jackson. Around a quarter (25.8 per cent) of smokers in the study said they regularly spent time with vapers. Of these, around a third (32.3 per cent) had made an attempt to quit smoking in the previous year - a higher rate than was observed among smokers who did not regularly spend time with vapers (26.8 per cent). "A key factor driving these differences may be that smokers who are regularly exposed to e-cigarette use by others are more likely to use e-cigarettes themselves. When smokers' own use of e-cigarettes was taken into account, exposure to other people using e-cigarettes appeared to have little impact on how motivated smokers were to stop, and whether they made a recent quit attempt," explained Dr Jackson. E-cigarettes are estimated to be around 95 per cent safer than smoking tobacco, according to Public Health England. The authors say the findings should offer some reassurance in terms of the wider public health impact of e-cigarettes, particularly given evidence that the alternative, cigarette smoking, appeared to reduce other smokers' motivation to quit. Kruti Shrotri, Cancer Research UK's tobacco control expert, said "So far, there hasn't been much evidence about whether e-cigarettes might make smoking tobacco seem normal again. So it's encouraging to see that mixing with people who vape is actually motivating smokers to quit. As the number of people who use e-cigarettes to quit smoking rises, we hope that smokers who come into contact with them are spurred on to give up tobacco for good."

New Delhi, Nov 13 (ANI): A recent study has found bacterial pneumonia to be far more dangerous to the heart than viral pneumonia. The Intermountain Medical Center research was presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2018. In the study of nearly 5,000 patients, researchers found that patients diagnosed with bacterial pneumonia had a 60 per cent greater risk of a heart attack, stroke, or death than patients who had been diagnosed with viral pneumonia. The results of this study provided a clear answer, which will allow physicians to better monitor patients and focus on reducing their risk of a major adverse cardiac event. "The likely underlying cause is that bacterial pneumonia causes greater inflammation of the arteries compared to viral pneumonia," said Dr Muhlestein. When arteries become inflamed, it destabilises the layers of plaque that have built up over the years. The unstable plaque can then break loose from the artery wall and cause a blockage, which leads to a heart attack, stroke, or death. Dr Muhlestein recommends getting a flu shot, a pneumovax, practicing proper hand hygiene year-round (and especially during cold and flu season), and quitting smoking immediately.

New Delhi, Nov 12 (ANI): A recent study’s finding suggests that distress is caused among adults who find it difficult in controlling sexual feelings. About 10 percent of men and seven percent of women report significant levels of distress and social impairment associated with difficulty controlling their sexual feelings, urges and behavior. Compulsive sexual behavior disorder (CSBD) is a persistent pattern of failure in controlling intense sexual urges that can result in distress and social impairment.

New Delhi, Nov 11 (ANI): A study shows that improvement in parks is helpful in making residents of the area more active. The study has found that small improvements in city’s ParkScore-an evaluation of a city’s park system-can result in residents being actively involved in exercises. Cities with parks that are more accessible, spacious and adequately funded rank higher on the list of ParkScore. The study focuses on small improvements which would increase the physical activity of residents without taking big steps.

New Delhi, Nov 10 (ANI): According to a research, those who participated in a breast cancer screening had a 60 percent lower risk of dying from a breast cancer within 10 years of being detected and 47 percent risk of dying from a breast cancer within 20 of being detected. As per authors of this research, the benefit of this occurs as screening detects cancers at an early stage which respond better to treatment. All patients received stage-specific treatment in accordance with latest national guidelines, irrespective of the mode of detection.

New Delhi, Nov 09 (ANI): Patients express high satisfaction after cosmetic surgery to reduce the masculine appearance of the ‘Adam’s Apple’ according to a study. The procedure which is sometimes called ‘tracheal shaving’ is known to plastic surgeons as aesthetic chondrolaryngoplasty. The Adam’s Apple, developing during puberty from an increase in the size of the larynx and thyroid cartilage, is more prominent in males than females.

New Delhi, Nov 08 (ANI): Turns out, at the time when autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can be first reliably diagnosed, toddlers affected by ASD already display emotional vulnerabilities potentially foreshadowing the emergence of co-morbid affective and behavioral conditions highly prevalent in older children. According to a study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (JAACAP), toddlers with ASD display enhanced anger and frustration and decreased fear in response to naturalistic situations. They also found that the capacity to experience joy appears intact in the early stages of the disorder."ASD onsets in most cases within the first two years of life and affects approximately 1 in 59 children," said lead authors Suzanne Macari and Katarzyna Chawarska." This study documents, for the first time, that at the earliest age when the disorder can be reliably diagnosed, toddlers with ASD already display emotional vulnerabilities signalling risk for co-morbid affective and behavioral problems. "Toddlers aged 21 months were recruited between December 2013 and March 2017. Using a multi-modal approach, the researchers examined the intensity of emotional responses across vocal and facial channels to naturalistic situations aimed to elicit anger, fear, and joy. "The vulnerabilities are unrelated to autism symptoms and thus, contribute independently to the development of complex and highly heterogeneous autism phenotypes," added Drs. Macari and Chawarska. The researchers found that when the desired object is put out of reach of the toddler, toddlers with ASD displayed elevated levels of intensity of anger and frustration. However, when faced with novel and potentially threatening objects, their fear intensity is lower than in the comparison groups. While an elevated anger response may challenge the developing emotion regulation system, the attenuated fear response suggests atypical appraisal of threat and risk for safety concerns. Although there is a prevailing notion that children with ASD do not experience joy as much as other children, the study found that levels of joy in response to playful situations was comparable in toddlers with ASD and the control groups. This suggests that in the early stages of the disorder, the capacity to experience joy may be intact. Harnessing this intact emotional competence for therapeutic purposes is essential as the activation of positive emotions promotes learning and exploration and counters stress. Together, the study reveals a surprising and complex emotional landscape of toddlers with ASD and provides strong motivation for the investigation of early emotional development in ASD and its role in the emergence of autism.

New Delhi, Nov 06 (ANI): A recent study has found that genetics could be used to predict a patient's response to antipsychotic drug treatment for schizophrenia. The findings of The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research were published in the American Journal of Psychiatry. Schizophrenia is characterised by delusions, hallucinations and disorganised thoughts and behavior. The condition is currently treated with antipsychotic drugs, but this therapy is given without guidance from lab tests to show effectiveness, as is common in other areas of medicine. Doctors often use "trial-and-error" when choosing a treatment for schizophrenia, without knowing if patients will respond well. This uncertainty places a large burden on not only patients and their families, but also healthcare professionals and health care systems. For this study, genetic tests were used to predict ultimate response to medications in patients suffering their first episode of schizophrenia.

New Delhi, Nov 04 (ANI): Consumption of more protein-based food could contribute to helping older people to delay disability, according to a study published in the Journal of American Geriatrics Society.To live successfully and independently, older adults need to be able to manage two different levels of life skills: basic daily care and basic housekeeping activities. Basic daily care includes feeding yourself, bathing, dressing, and going to the toilet on your own. You also need to handle basic housekeeping activities, such as managing your finances and having the mobility to shop and participate in social activities.If someone has trouble performing these two types of life skills, this may bring on problems that can reduce the quality of life and independence. People aged 85 and above are at higher risk for becoming less able to perform these life skills.Protein is known to slow the loss of muscle mass. Having enough muscle mass can help preserve the ability to perform daily activities and prevent disability. Older adults tend to have a lower protein intake than younger adults due to poorer health, reduced physical activity, and changes in the mouth and teeth.To learn more about the health benefits of adequate protein intake in older adults, the researchers examined the impact of protein intake on the increase of disability over five years.

New Delhi, Nov 03 (ANI): According to a recent study, young athletes who have good sleep after sustaining a concussion are more likely to recover within two weeks. Those who don't have good sleep quality often take longer to recover, sometimes longer than 30 days. Researchers at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children examined data from four outpatient clinics in North Texas that specialise in treating concussions, analysing records from 356 athletes younger than 19 who were diagnosed with a sport-related concussion between October 2015 and June 2017. Researchers looked at overall sleep quality for these young athletes by asking them to complete a commonly used sleep questionnaire. Those athletes who reported a score of five or fewer were considered to have good sleep quality and generally had their concussion symptoms resolved within two weeks. Those athletes who reported a score of six or more were considered to have poor sleep quality and experienced symptoms for a longer period of time, often times greater than one month.

New Delhi, Nov 01 (ANI): The most harmful pollutants in the air are known as particulate matter (PM), which enter and cause damage to our health, if inhaled. The PM gets lodged straight into the lungs, causing permanent damage. Chemical pollutants, if inhaled even for a brief period, can lead to serious health conditions. One has to deal with a long-term damage due to PM, if it gets lodged deep inside the lungs. It can also cause progressive lung diseases. Chemicals and gases are equally harmful as their side-effects are visible almost immediately, they believe. Prolonged exposure to pollutants can lead to fatal lung conditions such as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder (COPD), making it hard to breathe. Pollution affects not just the lungs, but other organs such as the heart and brain over a period of time. In the next 10 years there will be a significant jump in cases of COPD because of high pollution levels.

New Delhi, Oct 30 (ANI): Researchers of a recent study have found that the side effects of drugs in lungs are more widespread than thought. Research by The University of Manchester has been published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine. Though the 27 drugs treating a range of conditions including arthritis, cancer and the heart are successful for most patients, doctors, according to the team - need to be more aware of the potential risks to their respiratory systems. Though Drug-Induced Interstitial Lung Disease (DIILD) can cause difficulty in breathing, inflammation and fibrosis, the risk sometimes only becomes apparent after the drugs have been in use for some years. Though the team said clinicians are hindered because most of the papers they reviewed were of low or very low quality. Steroids were the most common drug used to treat DIILD, but no studies examined their effect on the outcome. Dr Nazia Chaudhuri of The University of Manchester, said, "Doctors need to be aware and vigilant to the possible lung toxicities and harm that can be caused by some drugs. With newer drugs coming on the market this is an increasing yet under recognised problem and we need better ways of detecting these side effects before they cause harm."

New Delhi, Oct 29 (ANI): As a part of a recent study, researchers compared global agricultural production with nutritionists' consumption recommendations and found a drastic mismatch. The study is published in the journal PLOS ONE. Results show that the global system currently overproduces grains, fats, and sugar, while production of fruits and vegetables and, to a smaller degree, protein is not sufficient to meet the nutritional needs of the current population. Researchers calculated how much land is currently used for farming and how much would be needed if everyone followed the nutritional recommendations."What we are producing at a global level is not what we should be producing according to nutritionists," said Fraser author of the study. Krishna KC, the co-author of the study, said, "Also fat, sugar, and salt are tasty and are what we humans crave, so we have a real hunger for these foods. All of these factors combined have resulted in a world system that is really overproducing these types of foods. The study suggested that adopting a more nutritious diet is not only good for us but also good for the planet. The researchers also found that shifting production to match nutritional dietary guidelines would require 50 million fewer hectares of arable land because fruits and vegetables take less land to grow than grain, sugar and fat.

New Delhi, Oct 28 (ANI): According to a new study, older adults with tooth loss are at higher risk of both impaired oral health and malnutrition. The study, which appeared in the Journal of Ageing Research and Clinical Practice, analysed the health records of 107 community-dwelling senior citizens treated at the Rutgers School of Dental Medicine clinic between 2015 and 2016. The results showed that more than 25 per cent of the patients had malnutrition or were at risk for malnutrition. The researchers saw a trend in which patients with 10 to 19 teeth were more likely to be at risk for malnutrition. Those patients classified as having malnutrition had higher rates of weight loss, ate less and more frequently reported that they suffered from dementia and/or depression and severe illnesses than those who had a normal nutrition status. The findings showed that dental clinics are ideal locations to perform nutritional status screenings as they can identify patients who may not regularly visit a primary care provider and who may be at risk for malnutrition. This was the first part of a mixed-methods grant to research the associations between tooth loss and nutritional status in older adults. The second part of the grant built on these results and qualitatively studied the eating experience and eating-related quality of life of community-dwelling older adults using qualitative interviews. The study set the stage for further research to examine the relationships between tooth loss and malnutrition risk and the impact of tooth loss on the eating experience and eating-related quality of life.

New Delhi, Oct 25 (ANI): Here’s another reason to stop smoking when pregnant! A recent study has linked earlier puberty in children with mother’s smoking during pregnancy. The Aarhus University study has been published in the American Journal of Epidemiology. “We found that children of mothers who had smoked more than ten cigarettes a day during pregnancy, on average entered puberty three to six months earlier than the children of non-smokers,” says Nis Brix, who is one of the researchers behind the study. “Early puberty can be associated with an increased risk of a number of diseases as an adult, such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and certain types of cancer,” said Nis Brix. Brix hopes that the study’s results can be used as another motivating factor to stop smoking among women who are planning on becoming pregnant. “It is known that smoking is harmful to the unborn foetus. Smoking is, among other things, associated with an increased risk of low birth weight, premature birth and increased mortality. There are thus a wide range of other good reasons to give up smoking before pregnancy,” concluded Brix.

New Delhi, Oct 24 (ANI): Did you know! Nose breathing could enhance memory consolidation, according to a study. The research has been published in the Journal of Neuroscience. The findings add to growing evidence for the influence of respiration on human perception and cognition. Building on previous research in animals and humans, Artin Arshamian and colleagues compared the effects of nose breathing and mouth breathing during a one-hour consolidation period after participants were exposed to various odors. Nose breathers, whose mouths were taped over during the consolidation period, showed increased odor recognition compared to mouth breathers, whose noses were clipped during consolidation. Although this study did not measure brain activity, the researchers suggested that nose breathing might facilitate communication between sensory and memory networks as memories are replayed and strengthened during consolidation. The study provided evidence that, in addition to its effects on memory encoding and retrieval, nasal respiration also supports memory consolidation.

New Delhi, Oct 23 (ANI): According to a recent study, people with high blood pressure taking medication for their condition are more likely to benefit from the therapy if they have good oral health. Findings of the analysis, based on a review of medical and dental exam records of more than 3,600 people with high blood pressure, reveal that those with healthier gums have lower blood pressure and responded better to blood pressure-lowering medications, compared with individuals who have gum disease, a condition known as periodontitis. Specifically, people with periodontal disease were 20 percent less likely to reach healthy blood pressure ranges, compared with patients in good oral health. Considering the findings, the researchers say patients with periodontal disease may warrant closer blood pressure monitoring, while those diagnosed with hypertension, or persistently elevated blood pressure, might benefit from a referral to a dentist. The findings of the study have been published in the journal of the American Heart Association.

New Delhi, Oct 22(ANI): According to a study, four out of five adults are at risk of early death due to preventable heart disease. “Heart disease is a largely self-inflicted disease,” Fox News quoted the statement of Sheila Caldwell, a heart attack survivor. “Hopefully, knowing the 'heart age’ is a wake-up call and, for some of our participants, it has been”. Experts found that most people thought they were in ideal health, and the reality is that most people are no. 99 percent of the US adult population has at least one of the seven cardiovascular health risks. Those risks are high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high blood glucose, unhealthy weight, tobacco use, physical inactivity, and poor diet. According to experts, the easiest thing for people to manage is improving diet, reducing weight, and improving exercise because those things, generally, we can all do it.

New Delhi, Oct 21 (ANI): Ever wondered why are low-and-middle-income countries so hard hit by a stroke and what can be done about it? A new study has the answer to this vital question. According to a new study at the World Stroke Congress, low- and-middle-income countries bear over 80 per cent of the global burden of stroke, but have less than 20 per cent of the global resources to combat it. The ageing population and the increases in risk factors such as high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes are driving up stroke rates. Strokes occur, on average, 15 years earlier in low- and middle-income countries than in high-income countries. Also, while building momentum to address sex differences in stroke, researchers found that women bear a greater burden of stroke than men. Leading stroke experts looked at incidence and mortality rates, the impact of traditional risk factors on women versus men, the quality of care women receive compared to men, and international efforts to address the challenges.

New Delhi, Oct 20 (ANI): A recent study has found how social media usage can buffer depression among older adults with pain. The researchers reported that using social media can reduce the negative health effects of curtailed social contact that comes as a consequence of pain. The findings of the University of Michigan study are significant among an ageing society where social isolation and loneliness are key determinants of well-being, said Shannon Ang, the study's lead author. The findings showed older adults who experienced pain were less likely to participate in social activities that require face-to-face interactions, which offers mental benefits. Still, social media may preserve cognitive function and psychological well-being in this population, the researchers said.

New Delhi, Oct 19(ANI): A recent study found that a wide range of both IV thrombolysis (IVT) and mechanical thrombectomy (MT) rates in ischemic stroke patients, who smoke marijuana, indicates the need for further improvement of access to acute recanalization therapies in many regions. Researchers at the University of Toronto presented the results of a study evaluating the use of the drug rivaroxaban versus acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) to prevent strokes in patients with an enlarged left atrium of the heart. The results showed some potential benefit from rivaroxaban but caution was urged. "We are seeing a very intriguing signal here, and it has biological plausibility, but it is going to require independent validation before making any changes to practice recommendations," said researcher Dr. Gladstone. The statistics also showed a rise in stroke incidence among marijuana users while overall stroke prevalence remained stable. A five-year study of hospital statistics from the United States showed that the incidence of stroke has risen steadily among marijuana users even though the overall rate of stroke remained constant over the same period. The study examined a total of 2.3 million hospitalizations among people who used marijuana recreationally. Of these, 32,231, or 1.4 per cent, had a stroke including 19,452 with acute ischemic stroke (AIS).As a result, the researchers concluded that these growing trends of stroke among marijuana users "warrant further prospective studies to evaluate the marijuana-stroke association amidst legalization of recreational use."A significant percentage of strokes - estimated from 8-21 per cent - affect adults under age 45.

New Delhi, Oct 18 (ANI): Participating in sports during childhood and adolescence can give long-term benefits for bone mass at 20 years of age. A recent study, performed at Curtin University, followed 984 children into young adulthood. Males who were 'consistent sport participators' from ages 5-17 years had significantly greater whole body and leg bone mineral content at age 20 years than those who dropped out of sport, whereas males who 'joined sports' had significantly greater leg bone mineral content than those who dropped out of sports. Same was the case with women as well.

New Delhi, Oct 17 (ANI): A study conducted at the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais found out that conducting an eight-week mindfulness-based program can turn out to be effective for reducing stress and depression-related symptoms while increasing general well-being of infertile women. The study was conducted on 62 infertile women who underwent the program, which included meditation, relaxation, guided imagery and other components and the remaining 37 were in a control group and received no intervention. The median number of symptoms of chronic stress recorded in the past month decreased from six before the program to two after the intervention. Depressive symptoms also decreased after the program, while general well-being improved. None of the outcomes changed significantly in the control group. "We observed that a relatively brief program of mindfulness practice was able to reduce the self-perception of stress and depressive symptoms in this population," said senior author Dr. Fernando Reis. "This program offers a complementary support to mitigate the psychological burden of infertility." Infertile women are often affected by chronic stress and are at increased risk for depression.