Top Five Health News of the Week: 7th – 12th September 2009
As we all prepare to step into a relaxed weekend, we welcome all the readers at the successful end of another week. If you all have been busy this week and have missed out on the latest updates of the medical world, do not fret. Like always we have selected our top five news of the past week, which we think may interest you.
This week kick started with a study revealing that people who suffer from insomnia seem to have heightened night-time blood pressure. This heightened blood pressure could perhaps lead to cardiac problems. For the study, scientists from the Université de Montréal were noted to measure the 24-hour blood pressure of insomniacs in contrast to sound sleepers. They also recruited nearly 13 otherwise healthy chronic insomniacs and approximately 13 good sleepers.
The second news may prove to be crucial for expecting mothers. Scientists at Wake Forest University School of Medicine seem to have unveiled an essential component in the development of preeclampsia in pregnant women, which could possibly lead to miscarriage and maternal death. Apparently, the only identified method to cure preeclampsia is by normally delivering the baby. Women diagnosed with preeclampsia too soon in their pregnancy may need to put delivery as an option and allow the baby more time to mature, without putting themselves or their babies at danger of grave complications.
Studies reveal that the arteries get clogged due to several factors including when fatty deposits of cholesterol and other substances stick to the arterial walls and create plagues known as atherosclerosis. This atherosclerosis can result into angina, heart attack and stroke. Therefore, considering such adverse effects on the arteries functioning, experts from Imperial College London established a fact that green leafy vegetables protect arteries from clogging that can cause heart attacks. It is believed that eating vegetables everyday can boost a natural defense mechanism in human body thereby helping in protecting arteries from diseases.
Did you know that there could be an area in our brain which regulates the consumption of food? Pertaining to that, scientists from the University of Missouri carried out a study where they led a rat in a place where fatty food was kept. However, these study experts could not get the rat to eat. The study findings revealed that disabling the basolateral amygdala largely hindered the intake of the fatty diet. Basolateral amygdala is known to be a brain region implicated in regulating emotion. Shockingly, it apparently had no effect on the rat wanting to look for the food constantly.
Like the previous news, our last news may also prove to be eye-opening. Experts at Purdue University claimed that adding ascorbic acid and sugar to green tea could assist the body in absorbing helpful compounds. A digestion model with human intestinal cells may be adapted to explain that adding ascorbic acid to green tea may raise the absorbability of catechins found in the tea. Catechins, a class of polyphenols general in tea, cocoa and grape, are antioxidants claimed to combat heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes and other health problems. The study further revealed that adding ascorbic acid, sucrose or both together increases by as much as three times the quantity of catechins that could be absorbed into the bloodstream.
This summarizes the interesting happenings of the entire week. Since this week proved to be gushing with various novel discoveries and innovations, we sure had a difficult time in selecting the top five news for you. But as always, we hope to have successfully satisfied your craving for the latest news in the medical field. Until next week, have a nice and fun filled weekend.
