http://medicalxpress.com/health-news/ en-us Medical Xpress provides the latest news on health, medicine technology and health sciences. Can economic incentives such as gift cards, T-shirts, and time off from work motivate members of the public to increase their donations of blood? http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-economic-incentives-blood-donation-negative.html Health Thu, 23 May 2013 14:01:36 EST news288536486 As health services strive to improve quality and reduce costs, researchers study the benefits – and the pitfalls – of 'pay for performance' in hospitals. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-price-health.html Health Thu, 23 May 2013 08:30:07 EST news288515062 An increasing number of U.S. children are experiencing gastrointestinal issues that require interventions to resolve, according to research presented at Digestive Disease Week (DDW). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-interventions-children-gi-health.html Health Sat, 18 May 2013 11:05:09 EST news288093882 One quarter of British lawmakers believe there is an "unhealthy" drinking culture in the Houses of Parliament, according to a survey published on Friday. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-british-mps-parliamentary-boozing.html Health Fri, 17 May 2013 12:10:01 EST news288009132 The dangerously high salt levels in processed food and fast food remain essentially unchanged, despite numerous calls from public and private health agencies for the food industry to voluntarily reduce sodium levels, reports a new Northwestern Medicine study conducted with the Center for Science in the Public Interest. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-voluntary-reduction-fast-food-salt.html Health Mon, 13 May 2013 16:00:08 EST news287658436 As the restaurant industry prepares to implement new rules requiring chains with 20 or more locations to post calorie content information, the results of a new study suggest that it would be beneficial to public health for all restaurants to provide consumers with the nutritional content of their products. Researchers at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA) at Tufts University analyzed meals from independent and small-chain restaurants, which account for approximately 50% of the nation's restaurant locations but will be exempt from the new federal rules. They found that the average single meal contained two to three times the estimated calorie needs of an individual adult at a single meal and 66% of typical daily calorie requirements. The findings were published today in JAMA Internal Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-individual-small-chain-restaurant-meals-daily.html Health Mon, 13 May 2013 16:00:04 EST news287658389 A surprisingly large number of women 18 or older choose to delay or skip monthly menstruation by deviating from the instructions of birth-control pills and other hormonal contraceptives, a team of University of Oregon researchers and others found in a study of female students at the university. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-women-menstruation-large.html Health Thu, 09 May 2013 16:05:06 EST news287334295 (Medical Xpress)—Consumption of whole walnuts or their extracted oil can reduce cardiovascular risk through a mechanism other than simply lowering cholesterol, according to a team of Penn State, Tufts University and University of Pennsylvania researchers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-walnuts-oil-cardiovascular-disease.html Health Wed, 08 May 2013 11:15:49 EST news287230528 (Medical Xpress)—New research shows that drinking one to three glasses of champagne a week may counteract the memory loss associated with ageing, and could help delay the onset of degenerative brain disorders, such as dementia. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-scientists-reveal-champagne-memory.html Health Wed, 08 May 2013 09:30:03 EST news287221913 A slowdown in the growth of U.S. health care costs could mean that Americans could save as much as $770 billion on Medicare spending over the next decade, Harvard economists say. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-slowdown-health-growth-americans-billion.html Health Mon, 06 May 2013 16:00:05 EST news287059565 Enrollment in Medicaid helps lower-income Americans overcome depression, get proper treatment for diabetes, and avoid catastrophic medical bills, but does not appear to reduce the prevalence of diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, according to a new study with a unique approach to analyzing one of America's major health-insurance programs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-health-lower-income-americans-depression-diabetes.html Health Fri, 03 May 2013 08:50:03 EST news286788809 (HealthDay)—Most Americans are falling short when it comes to exercise, a new government report shows. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-americans-cdc.html Health Thu, 02 May 2013 18:00:02 EST news286734682 A new analysis of the contents of lipstick and lip gloss may cause you to pause before puckering. Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley's School of Public Health tested 32 different lipsticks and lip glosses commonly found in drugstores and department stores. They detected lead, cadmium, chromium, aluminum and five other metals, some of which were found at levels that could raise potential health concerns. Their findings will be published online Thursday, May 2, in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-toxic-metals-lipstick.html Health Thu, 02 May 2013 00:00:01 EST news286646035 In a comparison of the effect of different dosages of vitamin D supplementation in breastfed infants, no dosage raised and maintained plasma concentrations within a range recommended by some pediatric societies. However, all dosages raised and maintained plasma concentrations within a lower range recommended by the Institute of Medicine, according to a study in the May 1 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on child health. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-optimal-vitamin-d-dosage-infants.html Health Tue, 30 Apr 2013 10:00:56 EST news286534833 (Medical Xpress)—Research from the University of Adelaide suggests that mothers who eat junk food while pregnant have already programmed their babies to be addicted to a high fat, high sugar diet by the time they are weaned. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-maternal-diet-junk-food-addiction.html Health Tue, 30 Apr 2013 06:50:03 EST news286521850 (Medical Xpress)—Want a good night's sleep? Be positive – consistently. Although happiness is generally good for sleeping, when a person's happiness varies a lot in reaction to daily ups and downs, sleep suffers, reports a Cornell study published online in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-good-night-linked-happiness.html Health Mon, 29 Apr 2013 08:10:01 EST news286440734 Being forced to exercise may still help reduce anxiety and depression just as exercising voluntarily does, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-anxiety-stress.html Health Thu, 25 Apr 2013 15:03:08 EST news286120981 (Medical Xpress)—For the millions of Americans at risk for heart disease or diabetes, a diet that includes tart cherries might actually be better than what the doctor ordered, according to new animal research from the University of Michigan Health System. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-tart-cherries-linked.html Health Wed, 24 Apr 2013 08:31:47 EST news286011099 Long term exposure to air pollution may be linked to heart attacks and strokes by speeding up atherosclerosis, or "hardening of the arteries", according to a study by U.S. researchers published in this week's PLOS Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-air-pollution-hardening-arteries.html Health Tue, 23 Apr 2013 17:02:33 EST news285955341 Taking a specific form of a vitamin E supplement can accelerate the health benefits that occur when people quit smoking, new research suggests. In the small study, improvement in blood vessel function associated with the added vitamin E potentially translates into an estimated 19 percent greater drop in future risk for cardiovascular disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-vitamin-extra-boost-heart-health.html Health Tue, 23 Apr 2013 10:20:54 EST news285931238 Alternative therapies such as aerobic exercise, resistance or strength training, and isometric hand grip exercises may help reduce your blood pressure, according to the American Heart Association. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-alternative-therapies-blood-pressure-aha.html Health Mon, 22 Apr 2013 16:00:03 EST news285850085 Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have discovered that eating mushrooms containing Vitamin D2 can be as effective at increasing and maintaining vitamin D levels (25–hydroxyvitamin D) as taking supplemental vitamin D2 or vitamin D3. These findings will be presented at the American Society for Biochemistry and Microbiology annual meeting in Boston on April 22 and also concurrently appear in Dermato-Endocrinology on line open access. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-mushrooms-vitamin-d-supplements.html Health Mon, 22 Apr 2013 12:30:01 EST news285849661 Since 1977, there has been a 70% increase in caffeine consumption among children and adolescents. Whether it is coffee, tea, soda, or energy drinks, our children are consuming more of it. One well documented effect of caffeine is improved cognitive performance on certain tasks. However, scientists also hypothesize that habitual caffeine use may lead to greater neural rewards if the caffeine drinker were to consume illicit drugs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-caffeine-effect-cognitive-tasks-food.html Health Mon, 22 Apr 2013 12:00:06 EST news285849631 Most people know that the way to stay healthy is to exercise and eat right, but millions of Americans struggle to meet those goals, or even decide which to change first. Now, researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have discovered that focusing on changing exercise and diet at the same time gives a bigger boost than tackling them sequentially. They also found that focusing on changing diet first—an approach that many weight-loss programs advocate—may actually interfere with establishing a consistent exercise routine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-diet-habits-results.html Health Sun, 21 Apr 2013 20:00:06 EST news285766089 Adding social gaming elements to a behavior tracking program led people to exercise more frequently and helped them decrease their body-mass index, according to new research from the USC School of Cinematic Arts, the Keck School of Medicine of USC, the USC School of Social Work and the University at Buffalo, SUNY. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-social-gaming-healthy-behavior-reveals.html Health Thu, 18 Apr 2013 09:57:10 EST news285497824 A review of published research has found no evidence that drugs, herbal products or vitamin supplements help prevent cognitive decline in healthy older adults. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-evidence-drugs-vitamins-supplements-cognitive.html Health Mon, 15 Apr 2013 16:10:16 EST news285261006 Research at Johns Hopkins suggests that if hospitals would show physicians the price of some diagnostic laboratory tests at the time the tests are ordered, doctors would order substantially fewer of them or search for lower-priced alternatives. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-comparison-doctors-money.html Health Mon, 15 Apr 2013 16:00:03 EST news285240488 Despite concerns that have been expressed about possible health risks from high intake of vitamin E, a new review concludes that biological mechanisms exist to routinely eliminate excess levels of the vitamin, and they make it almost impossible to take a harmful amount. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-excess-vitamin-intake-health.html Health Mon, 15 Apr 2013 13:03:58 EST news285249831 Australians who were exposed to high levels of lead as children may be at greater risk of committing violent and impulsive crimes two decades later, our yet-to-be-published research suggests. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-childhood-exposure-linked-crime-adulthood.html Health Mon, 15 Apr 2013 07:31:16 EST news285229862 American adults who prepare their own meals and exercise on the same day are likely spending more time on one of those activities at the expense of the other, a new study suggests. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-dinner-adults-healthy.html Health Fri, 12 Apr 2013 11:30:57 EST news284985050