For Osteoporosis, Early Treatment Is Crucial

My neighbor Arlyn Riskind, who is 53, has premenopausal osteoporosis, diagnosed nine years ago. She takes low-dose birth control pills to preserve her bone mass and postpone menopause. But after menopause, she knows she “may be soon faced with some decision-making.” And she is quite anxious about it. The source of her angst is whether to begin treating her osteoporosis with bisphosphonates, drugs that are very effective at increasing bone density but carry some small risks. These include an increased chance of developing osteonecrosis of the jaw, in which the…

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WHAT ARE YOU SMOKING? – Air quality worst early in the morning

WHAT ARE YOU SMOKING? – Air quality worst early in the morning PM10 Far Exceeds Safe Limits In Parts Of Gurgaon, Dwarka Winter’s coming. And, already, the signs are ominous: Qutab Plaza in Gurgaon recorded an average PM10 (coarse, pollution particles) level of 421 micrograms per cubic metres between September 20 and October 7, which is more than four times the national 24-hour safe standard. Similarly, Dwarka sector 22 recorded an average PM10 level of 203 micrograms per cubic metres during the same period -twice the national safe standard. Sector…

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Parental Absence May Lead to Early Smoking, Drinking

  Parental absence in early childhood as a result of death or relationship break-up is linked to an increased risk of children starting to smoke and to drink alcohol even before they reach teenage years, says a study. “Associations between parental absence and early smoking and alcohol consumption may operate through a range of mechanisms, such as reduced parental supervision,self-medication, and adoption of less healthy coping mechanisms,” the researchers said. The researchers from University College London drew on data from the UK Millennium Cohort Study, which has been tracking the…

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Unknown Exposure To Second-Hand Smoke May Cause Early Death

US researchers have identified a new biomarker which revealed that known and unknown exposure to second-hand smoke may lead to an increased risk of mortality in non-smokers. Serum cotinine — a metabolite of nicotine — when used as a biological marker of exposure to second-hand smoke was found to have associations to overall and cause-specific mortality in non-smokers. Increased levels of serum cotinine in blood were significantly also associated with all types of cancers, and heart disease, the researchers said. “The study found that non-smokers are exposed to second-hand smoke…

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Hearing loss setting in early, caution doctors

Hearing loss setting in early, caution doctors (Mehmed Zelkovic/Getty Images) Modern-day living contributes immensely to hearing impairment, said doctors on the eve of International Week of the Deaf. Overuse of mobiles and earpods to medications to construction site noise, could all be contributing to the growing incidence of hearing loss. “One would expect hearing loss to set in after 45 years of age, but nowadays we get people in their early thirties with hearing loss,” said Dr Neelam Sathe from the ENT department of civic-run KEM Hospital, Parel. Presbycusis is…

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Giving Babies Eggs and Nuts Early May Avert Allergies

Infants who get a taste of eggs and peanuts starting when they’re as young as 4 months old may have a lower risk of developing allergies to those foods than babies who try them later, a research review suggests. With eggs, giving babies that first spoonful between 4 and 6 months was associated with 46 percent lower odds of egg allergies than waiting to introduce this food later. For peanuts, offering infants a sample between 4 and 11 months was associated with 71 percent lower odds of peanut allergies than…

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