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Lifestyle modification should be the first line of treatment for obesity

A new study shows that treatment with a lifestyle modification program of diet, exercise and behavioral therapy when used in combination with the weight loss medication sibutramine (Meridia) resulted in significantly greater weight loss among obese adults than treatment with the medication alone.

28 Nov 2005

Lack of selenium increases risk of knee osteoarthritis

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Thurston Arthritis Center medical scientists and colleagues conducted the research. It focused on the knees of 940 participants enrolled in the Johnston County (N.C.) Osteoarthritis Project, a continuing, federally supported investigation of osteoarthritis that began 15 years ago and is headquartered at UNC.

20 Nov 2005

Exercise and you'll live longer

According to a new report even moderate levels of physical exercise can prevent heart disease and prolong life, and the degree of benefit increases as the level of physical activity rises.

16 Nov 2005

Lack of aggressive treatment for clogged leg blood vessels means missed heart attack prevention opportunity

Despite the fact that clogged arteries in the legs usually mean clogged arteries near the heart, doctors often fail to give heart-protecting drugs to people with severe leg blood vessel blockages, a new University of Michigan-led study finds.

15 Nov 2005

Teenage suicides and Tamiflu - is there a link?

Roche the maker of the anti-flu drug Tamiflu has reported to authorities in Japan the possible suicides of two teenage boys although the company says there was no clear evidence that the drug had contributed to their deaths.

14 Nov 2005

Women should continue to exercise during pregnancy

Obstetricians and gynecologists need to do a better job of encouraging women with uncomplicated pregnancies to exercise, a Saint Louis University School of Public Health study concludes.

14 Nov 2005

Lifelong exercise decreases cellular aging in the brain

In the first study to show that lifelong exercise decreases cellular aging in the brain, scientists from the McKnight Brain Institute of the University of Florida say that moderately active rats have healthier DNA and more robust brain cells than their less active counterparts. The research was presented at the Society for Neuroscience's 35th annual meeting in Washington, D.C.

13 Nov 2005

Physical activity enhances long-term quality of life in older adults

Exercise is a lot like spinach … everybody knows it's good for you; yet many people still avoid it, forgoing its potential health benefits.

13 Nov 2005

On balance, seniors benefit from group exercise class

According to researchers group exercise classes given at local community centers can help older adults improve their balance, which in itself could translate into fewer falls and injuries.

9 Nov 2005

How does a neighborhood influence physical activity and diet?

Families living in the Nellies Cave Park area near Virginia Tech are helping researchers learn about healthy lifestyles and in return are getting information about their own health.

7 Nov 2005

'Morning-After Pill' still no decision by FDA

At the end of the two-month comment period on the "morning-after pill" Plan B, there is no indication when or how the Food and Drug Administration will proceed with the controversial application.

2 Nov 2005

How the brain tracks time is essential to understanding all its functions

The brain is a "time machine," assert Duke neuroscientists Catalin Buhusi and Warren Meck. And understanding how the brain tracks time is essential to understanding all its functions. The brain's internal clocks coordinate a vast array of activities from communicating, to orchestrating movement, to getting food, they said.

30 Oct 2005

More exercise equals lower risk of ischemic stroke

Even in an Asian nation where people generally have higher levels of physical activity on the job than is typical in North America or Europe, those who walk more or engage in regular sports activity tend to have lower levels of ischemic stroke and coronary heart disease

27 Oct 2005

Depression raises disability risk

Depressed middle-aged adults are at four times greater risk for being unable to perform everyday tasks than their non-depressed peers, a Northwestern University study found.

25 Oct 2005

It's safe for patients with asthma to exercise regularly

Although exercise can trigger asthma attacks in some people, a new review of studies has found that exercise improved cardiopulmonary fitness in people with asthma.

23 Oct 2005

Blocking macrophage migration inhibitory factor molecule might prevent the progression of multiple sclerosis

A new study suggests that a substance made by immune cells plays a key role in the progression of a disease in animals that closely mimics multiple sclerosis (MS). The findings further suggest that blocking the molecule, known as macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) might prevent the progression of the disease.

19 Oct 2005

Rett syndrome discovery

The gene responsible for Rett syndrome, a devastating neurological disease found mostly in girls, not only silences some genes but in combination with another also regulates alternative splicing, crucial to the formation of proteins -- a finding that may explain the symptoms associated with this puzzling disorder and others related to it

17 Oct 2005

People only need to walk up to 12 miles per week or for about 125 to 200 minutes per week to improve their heart health

The amount of exercise may be more important than intensity to improve cardiovascular health, according to a new analysis of the first randomized clinical trial evaluating the effects of exercise amount and intensity in sedentary overweight men and women.

10 Oct 2005

Amount of exercise more important than the intensity of the exercise

A study in the October issue of CHEST, the peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP), shows that adults who participate in mild exercise, such as walking briskly for 12 miles or exercising for 125 to 200 minutes a week at moderate intensity can significantly improve their aerobic fitness and reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease.

10 Oct 2005

Obese Zucker rat model shares the symptoms of obesity with a growing number of Americans

A mutant rat that mimics a 400-pound human is helping scientists understand early vascular changes that make walking a pain for more than 2 million Americans.

9 Oct 2005