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Babies Understand Words From 6 Months Old, Scientists Say

February 14, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

Babies understand basic words at a much earlier age than previously thought, US scientists claimed.

University of Pennsylvania researchers found that infants aged between six and nine months can grasp the meaning of common words months before they can speak them.

It was widely believed that babies can comprehend elements of the sounds of their native language but not their meaning.

In the first demonstration that babies can understand such words, the researchers tested 33 six- to nine-month-old babies in controlled conditions. [Read more...]

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Abused Girls ‘More Likely To Have Higher Risk Of Heart Disease, Stroke’ As Adults

November 14, 2011 by ·

Girls who are sexually and physically abused may have higher risks for heart attacks, heart disease and strokes as adults, a new study has suggested.

The study found that compared to women who weren’t molested or raped as children or teens, women who reported repeated episodes of forced sex in childhood or adolescence had a 62 percent higher risk of cardiovascular disease as adults.

Severe physical abuse in childhood or adolescence was associated with a 45 percent increased risk of cardiovascular events.

But mild to moderate physical or sexual abuse was not associated with increased risk. [Read more...]

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Choice Has To Be The Big Issue For Childbirth

November 1, 2011 by ·

At a time when the NHS is being pinched on all fronts, it emerges that the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is proposing to make elective caesareans at public expense a right for all prospective mothers.

This is a big deal, a social sea-change. Many mothers and prospective mums will cheer. But opposition will unite the most hippy-looking members of the natural-birth movement with the fiercest exponents of public-sector cuts. One imagines a “Continuity NCT” or “Real NCT” emerging, and it wearing wooden beads and being scary.

The most treacherous ground of all, in this debate – and yet the ground over which the most vicious battles are fought – is the superiority of “natural” birth. Beware anyone who uses “natural” as a praise-word. It is an empty, and often brutal, sentimentality.

The “natural” order of things was historically invoked to justify slavery, colonial domination and the oppression of women, among other things. My late uncle used to scoff at those who regarded homosexuality as “unnatural” – pointing out that it occurs in nature, and that the lord provided us with all the equipment necessary for the “unnatural” and enjoyable practices associated with it. [Read more...]

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Dealing With Migraines Head-on

August 8, 2011 by ·

As anyone with migraines knows, not all headaches are created equal. Specialists put the number of different headaches at more than 165, with the migraine variety affecting about 11 people in 100.

‘A migraine is an intense throbbing or pulsing headache on one side of the head that lasts from four to 72 hours,’ said Uwe Reuter, a neurologist at Berlin’s Charite university hospital. It can be accompanied by oversensitivity to sounds, light or smells, as well as nausea and vomiting.

Migraines can come with or without an aura, which is the term given to sensory warning symptoms preceding an attack, explained Hans-Christoph Diener, president of the International Headache Society. These symptoms include visual, palpable and speech disturbances. [Read more...]

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Lawsuits Follow Diabetes Drug Link To Cancer Risk

August 7, 2011 by ·

The maker of the world’s best-selling diabetes drug is facing hundreds of lawsuits and likely a big sales drop as suspicion grows that taking the pill for more than a year raises the risk of bladder cancer.

In June, Takeda Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd. halted sales of Actos, its top drug, in Germany and France after pressure from regulators.

Since then, both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency have issued warnings about the cancer risk based on new research, but they have allowed sales to continue. Doctors are being told not to prescribe Actos for people who have or have had bladder cancer.

The warning will limit patient choices and could spell the end for a once-promising class of Type 2 diabetes drugs that debuted more than a decade ago amid heavy promotion. [Read more...]

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Alarm At Rise In Babies Born Addicted To Prescription Painkillers Taken By Their Mothers During Pregnancy

July 30, 2011 by ·

Health officials are becoming increasingly alarmed at the rise in the number of babies born hooked on pills that their mothers took while pregnant.

According to the White House Office on Drug Control Policy, prescription drug abuse is the nation’s fastest-growing drug problem.

But while prescription drug overdose deaths have risen dramatically, it’s the births that are now causing concern.

Al Lamberti, the Sheriff of Broward County, Florida, said: ‘We saw the number of crack babies that died, and this is just another version of that.’

‘We all need to be concerned.’ [Read more...]

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The Key To Dieting? If You Want To Eat Less, Use A Larger Fork

July 19, 2011 by ·

Dieters who want to limit what they eat could have an unlikely ally – big forks.

Diners who use them eat less than those with smaller forks, according to a study.

While previous research examined portion sizes and their effect on how much is eaten, researchers at the University of Utah in the U.S. assessed the impact of bite sizes.

The two-day experiment was conducted in an Italian restaurant. Tables were set with either a bigger fork or a smaller one – holding 20 per cent more and 20 per cent less food than the restaurant’s regular size. [Read more...]

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