Source: Reuters No one is sure what causes multiple sclerosis, but a recent preliminary study hinted that a combination of low sun exposure and the “kissing disease” mononucleosis could raise a person’s risk for the condition. Looking at seven years’ worth of data from England, researchers found that areas with a relatively lower amount of...

Source: Reuters A trial designed to test whether a drug made by Gilead Sciences Inc could prevent HIV infection in women at high risk of exposure to the virus was halted early after investigators determined it would probably not be effective. The trial, known as FEM-PrEP, was conducted by the non-profit organisation Family Health International...

Source: Reuters Too many patients are getting a thyroid cancer treatment that kills thyroid tissue but can also harm other tissues in the process, according to a new study. The research, published in Cancer, finds that doctors are treating patients with early-stage, low-risk thyroid cancer using radioactive iodine, which does not increase their chances of...

Source: Reuters Eating less meat and more vegetables is tied to a lower risk of cataracts, a British study says. In a large dietary survey that followed people for as long as 15 years, researchers found that about three in 50 meat eaters had cataracts, compared with about two in 50 vegans and vegetarians. The...

Source: Reuters Small children who are obese may be more likely to develop severe eczema, a painful, extremely itchy skin condition, according to a new study. Compared with children who were not obese, kids who became obese between the ages of two and five years old had more than three times the risk of developing...

Source: Reuters Will taking multivitamins protect you from dying of cancer or heart disease? The answer is no, according to new research. In a study of more than 180,000 people, scientists saw the same number of deaths from cancer and heart disease among multivitamin-takers and those who did not take the supplements. “People need to...

Source: Reuters Rising rates of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (TB) are hampering world health programmes aimed at tackling TB and threaten to wipe out progress made against the disease, scientists said recently. Experts from the World Health Organization and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said they were concerned about spreading multidrug-resistant TB,...

Source: Reuters A new study has found that South Carolina’s rate of spina bifida and similar birth defects fell substantially after more women began taking folic acid ‒ adding to evidence of the B vitamin’s benefits during pregnancy. Since 1998, the US has required manufacturers to add folic acid to enriched flours, breads, cereals, pasta,...

Source: Reuters Pregnant women may soon be able to have a blood test to predict whether their babies are likely to have Down’s syndrome instead of undergoing risky, invasive tests, scientists said recently. In a study in the Nature Medicine journal, researchers from Cyprus said a trial on 40 pregnancies using the test, which involves...

Source: Reuters Despite concerns over saturated fats in dairy products, the milk and cheese in your diet may not have much effect on your longevity, according to Dutch researchers. Their study, which was funded by the Dutch Dairy Foundation, followed more than 120,000 older adults for a decade. It showed no relationship between men’s dairy...

Source: Reuters While bone drugs have gotten a bad rap in the media recently, experts hope mounting evidence of benefits may convince patients not to shun the medicines. This month, Australian researchers published the latest report to hint that elderly women who take bisphosphonates ‒ as the bone drugs are known ‒ live longer than...

Source: Reuters Alcohol causes nearly 4 per cent of deaths worldwide, more than AIDS, tuberculosis or violence, the World Health Organization warned on Friday. Rising incomes have triggered more drinking in heavily populated countries in Africa and Asia, including India and South Africa, and binge drinking is a problem in many developed countries, the United...