Month: October 2013

Blood sugar at the lower end of the normal range may be best for protecting the brain, a new study suggests. The study included 141 older adults. Their average age was 63. None of them had diabetes or pre-diabetes (blood sugar levels that are above normal but below diabetes levels). The study did not include anyone who was overweight or had more than 3.5 alcoholic drinks daily. It also excluded anyone who had been diagnosed with memory and thinking problems. Researchers gave everyone memory tests and measured their blood sugar. Everyone also received a brain MRI scan. Although everyone had blood sugar in the normal range, those with lower levels did better on the memory tests. They also tended to have a larger hippocampus than those with slightly higher blood sugar. This area of the brain plays a major role in memory. The journal Neurology published the study.

Getting a flu shot may decrease your risk of a heart attack, a new study finds. And the benefit is greatest for people with known heart disease. The new research combined the data from 6 studies on flu vaccines. They included nearly 7,000 people. Their average age was 67. About 36% had a history of heart disease. People were randomly assigned to receive flu vaccine or a placebo (fake) shot. Researchers kept track of them for an average of 8 months. In that time, the new study found, those who got the real vaccine were 36% less likely to have a heart attack, heart failure or related problems than those who got the placebo. The new study also took a separate look at just the 3 studies that included people with known heart disease. In these studies, flu shots reduced people’s risk of heart events by 55%. Flu shots are strongly recommended for people with heart disease.

Breast milk bought from milk sharing websites may be likely to contain bacteria, a new study suggests. Researchers tested 101 samples of breast milk bought from people who advertised on a U.S. milk sharing website. Nearly 3 out of 4 samples contained germs. These included several kinds that could make babies sick. About 1 in 5 contained cytomegalovirus. This usually causes a mild, flulike illness. However, in premature babies or those with compromised immune systems, the illness could be severe. Three samples contained salmonella, one cause of food poisoning. Researchers compared the purchased samples to samples of milk donated to a milk bank. Donors to milk banks are screened. Milk usually is pasteurized. However, the samples tested had not been pasteurized. Still, they had lower levels of bacteria than the samples bought from the milk-sharing site.

A survey suggests that most doctors aren’t telling people about the possible harms of cancer screenings. The study was based on an online survey. It included 317 men and women, ages 50 to 69. Only 9.5% said their doctors had told them that cancer screening tests can lead to
over diagnosis
and overtreatment. These possible harms include follow-up tests for abnormal results that turn out not to be cancer. People also may get treatment for cancers that were unlikely to cause harm in their lifetimes. About 80% said they would have wanted to know about these risks before getting screened. People also were asked how much
over diagnosis
was OK when weighed against possibly catching a cancer early. The answer depended on whether they were already getting the tests.