Women who are stressed about money, relationships and other problems during pregnancy may give birth to babies who are predisposed to allergies and asthma, U.S. researchers said on Sunday. The findings, presented at a meeting of the American Thoracic Society in Toronto, suggest a mother’s stress during pregnancy may have lasting consequences for her child. “This research adds to a growing... 

Women who are stressed about money, relationships and other problems during pregnancy may give birth to babies who are predisposed to allergies and asthma, U.S. researchers said on Sunday. The findings, presented at a meeting of the American Thoracic Society in Toronto, suggest a mother’s stress during pregnancy may have lasting consequences for her child. “This research adds to a growing... 

Air pollution heavy in small particles may cause blood clots in the legs, the same condition air travelers call “economy class syndrome” from immobility during flight, researchers said. U.S. scientists say they have linked long-term exposure to air pollution to a greater risk of deep vein thrombosis, or blood clots in the leg. The study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine,... 

Heavy smokers and drinkers develop Alzheimer’s years before people who don’t drink or smoke as much, a new report says. The study, presented Wednesday at the American Academy of Neurology meeting in Chicago, suggests heavy drinking and smoking might be accelerating damage to the brain, which could lead to Alzheimer’s. But the flip side of the study is a message of hope: People who... 

The April 8 issue of Neurology carries the results of a study conducted on 486 people ranging in age from 60 to 90 with no symptoms of dementia. These same people were monitored for about six years each to see if anyone developed Alzheimer’s disease. Earlier bouts of depression were logged, too, with 134 study participants reporting at least one depressive episode that required medical intervention.... 

.Infants and toddlers who slept fewer than 12 hours in a 24-hour period were twice as likely to be overweight than longer sleepers by the time they’re 3 years old, a study showed Monday. The children most likely to be overweight were those who slept less than 12 hours and watched at least two hours of television a day, says the study in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine. Although... 

WASHINGTON: Eating more eggs can help prevent breast cancer, for a study has suggested that an essential nutrient, choline, found in foods such as eggs, can reduce the risk of breast cancer by about 24 per cent. This new case-control study, led by Steven H Zeisel, MD, PhD, University of North Carolina, added another piece of evidence to indicate the link between egg consumption and decreased risk... 

WASHINGTON - About one of every 43 U.S. infants is physically abused or neglected annually, and those babies are especially at risk in the first week of their lives, U.S. health officials said on Thursday. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in its first report on maltreatment of babies up to age 1 that 91,278 of them were physically abused or neglected in 2006. Other new government... 

New concerns about a very popular way to get rid of those wrinkles in your face. A new study out of the Italian National Research Council’s Institute of Neuroscience says Botox injected into the face might be able to travel to the brain. Doctors injected Botox’s active ingredient, called Botulinum Neurotoxin Type A, into the whisker muscles of rats. Three days later, they found remnants... 

Three independent teams of researchers have found genes that may explain why some smokers get cancer and others do not, and why some people who never smoke also get the disease. Investigators say the discoveries could lead to better ways to prevent and treat one of the most lethal forms of cancer. The teams in the United States, France and Iceland scoured the DNA of thousands of white smokers and...