Soul Searching

By PETER JARET
Hepatitis C can take decades to show up as damage to the liver.
Chronic viral hepatitis is now the leading reason for liver transplants.
Current combination therapy can be individualized to cure chronic infections in 40 to 80 percent of cases.

The consequences of being infected with hepatitis C can take years to appear. So while […]

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Eradicating a common bug in people with stomach cancer can prevent the disease from recurring, research suggests.
Helicobacter pylori, proved to be the cause of most stomach ulcers, has also been linked with stomach cancer.

In a study of 550 people who had stomach cancer surgery, antibiotics which killed the bug cut the risk of a second […]

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A herb known as “Indian Frankincense” can reduce the symptoms of arthritis, US researchers have suggested.
Extracts from Boswellia serrata, a similar species to the variety famous for its role in the Christian nativity, were tested on dozens of patients.

Those who received it reported better movement and less pain and stiffness.
The herb has been used for […]

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By LAUREN COX
ABC News Medical Unit
July 31, 2008 —
What would you do if had an incurable disease and heard that something simple and common may help — a chemical found at a pet store, or in an allergy drug, or a breakthrough injection a man in California developed?
It’s the sort of dilemma Alan Romantowski, a […]

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By Megan Rauscher
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Research shows that boosting levels of potassium in the diet may lower a person’s risk of developing high blood pressure and may decrease blood pressure in people who already have “hypertension.”

High blood pressure remains the chief reason for visits to doctors’ offices and for prescription drug use in […]

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By JOHN NOBLE WILFORD
After a closer examination of the Antikythera Mechanism, a surviving marvel of ancient Greek technology, scientists have found that the device not only predicted solar eclipses but also organized the calendar in the four-year cycles of the Olympiad, forerunner of the modern Olympic Games.

The new findings, reported Wednesday in the journal Nature, […]

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Scientists may have uncovered why some people naturally lose their ability to make new memories as they get older.
Using brain scans, University of Arizona scientists found differences in how older rats “replayed” their actions in the brain during sleep.

They say this night-time process might help them remember better the next day.
Not all experts agree. A […]

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Hurried Doctors, Economic Pressures, Fear of Pain Play a Role in Rapid Decline
By SUSAN DONALDSON JAMES
Pregnant with her first child, Julie Speier prepared to deliver with the help of a midwife at a New York City birthing center. But in June — three weeks before the due date and 600 miles from home — her […]

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By ANN PLESHETTE
Breast-feeding, what many believe to be the most intimate act between a mother and child, is also generally believed to be an act exclusively between a mother and child.
According to experts, however, there is a growing trend of cross-nursing, in which a mother will allow another woman to breast-feed her baby.

“I think that […]

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Children carrying the first gene that has been clearly linked to obesity find it harder than others to tell when they are full, London-based researchers say.

They studied over 3,000 children to see whether the FTO gene impacts on the ability to burn calories or appetite.
The researchers found those with copies of the gene’s risky variant […]

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