Grab Some Health News

Anyone diagnosed with type 2 diabetes know it isn’t easy to manage blood sugar control. One of the barriers is the constant need for monitoring blood sugar and giving injections in the morning and evening - and for some, even more often.
Now there is a drug in development that means one injection that could last for 14-days. The implication is more freedom from the burdensome act of carrying around insulin.
Biomedical engineers at Duke University have developed a  technology that could replace daily and even weekly insulin injections for type 2 diabetes treatment.
What if you only needed insulin once a month?
The insulin is combined with a biopolymer that  keeps insulin circulating in the body for a longer period of time than what is currently on the market. The development could mean insulin injections could be given just once or twice a month, which could be life-changing for those trying to manage type-2 diabetes.
Current therapies that target insulin signaling molecules only last a …

San Diego State University researchers are trying to keep kids safe from indoor pollution. As a means to that end, they recently set up  air particle monitors in the homes of 300 families to find out what happens in the home that might make indoor air unhealthy for children. Smoking pot turned out to be one of those indoor air pollutants that harm you and espeically your kids. Marijuana pops up as home air-pollutant

The investigation found cigarettes are still a major source of indoor pollution that exposes children to over 7,000 cancer causing chemicals from second-hand smoke.
But in addition to cigarettes, the researchers say marijuana also popped up as a home pollutant in addition to what we already know about other particulate matter from burning candles, frying and cleaning products.
"Our primary goal was to figure out what's happening in houses that leads to higher air particle levels and  in turn, to unhealthy environments for kids," said study coauthor John Belle…

Two types of skin cancer are becoming  more common; one  among women age 30 to 49.  You’ll want to know what to look for, but more importantly how to avoid a trip to the dermatologist that could result in bad news, stress and possibly surgery.

Squamous and basal cell skin cancer develop over timeThese two types of skin cancer, squamous and basal cell take time to develop. If you’ve used tanning beds in the past or spent too many summers in the sun as a child, you could be at risk.

The bad news about what researchers recently found is you don’t have to be ‘older’ to develop skin cancer that, in the early stages,  may barely be noticeable or on a skin area that you don’t see every day.

The good news is that by being proactive with sunscreen or protective clothing even on cloudy days and having regular skin checkups you can lower your risk and get early treatment for what may have already occurred.  

Skin cancer is also, almost always, treatable and even more so in the early stages. The l…

The PSA test for prostate cancer has been highly criticized because it just doesn’t give enough information and can lead to unnecessary biopsy that can have side effects for men - some of which might not be reversible.

Now there is evidence that a test called the IsoPSA could replace the PSA test and reduce the need for prostate biopsy.

The finding, published online last month by European Urology, highlights research done by Cleveland Clinic, if validated, could mean men could breathe easier when it comes to worrying about prostate cancer.

Test uses traditional PSA information to make a better diagnosis

The test uses protein changes found in traditional PSA blood testing to detect prostate cancer in addition to whether a tumor is  high or low grade or even if a tumor is non-cancerous.

The finding was presented at the American Urological Association annual meeting, May 10, 2017.

PSA testing can detect levels of protein in the blood that could (but may not) mean prostate cancer.

The IsoP…

Researchers, for the first time, have found children exposed to pesticides used when harvesting flowers can pose dangers to children. In short, neurotoxins in pesticides known as organophosphates interfere with brain connections that can impact a child’s ability to remember, learn and control behavior.
Pesticide exposure shown to lower performance in children
"Children examined sooner after the flower harvest displayed lower performance on most measures, such as attention, self-control, visuospatial processing (the ability to perceive and interact with our visual world) and sensorimotor (eye-hand coordination) compared to children examined later in a time of lower flower production and pesticide use."
The study was performed in Ecuador, the third largest producer of cut flowers in the world.
First author Jose R. Suarez-Lopez, MD, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Public Health at UC San Diego School of Medicine explained in a press release, the …

Researchers from the University of London suggest  long-term stress could be contributing to obesity.
The finding means there may be a way to treat obesity by targeting the stress hormone cortisol.
The paper, published in the journal Obesity, looked at the role of the stress hormone cortisol that is released in response to feeling anxious.
Researchers found people with high levels of the hormone tended to have thicker waistlines and higher body mass index (BMI).
Cortisol plays a role in where fat is stored and can be measured in hair samples.
Lowering stress could help weight loss
Dr Sarah Jackson (UCL Epidemiology and Public Health) who led the research explained in a media release:
"Hair cortisol is a relatively new measure which offers a suitable and easily obtainable method for assessing chronically high levels of cortisol concentrations in weight research and may therefore aid in further advancing understanding in this area."
She adds there was “consistent evidence” that lon…