Moderate exercise may offset metabolic syndrome -- a potentially deadly mix of risk factors for heart disease and diabetes, a U.S. study finds. "A novel finding of our study was that the changes in disease risk factors with exercise training were more closely related to reductions in body fat, particularly abdominal fat, and increases in muscle tissue, rather than improvements in fitness," say researchers at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. The findings, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine and available online Thursday, finds 43 percent of all participants had the metabolic syndrome, but by the study's end participants in the exercising group had no new cases of metabolic syndrome and the condition resolved in nine cases -- a reduction of 41 percent.

RADON CAUSES 9 PERCENT LUNG CANCER DEATHS

The effects of natural radon gas escaping the Earth's surface into homes is causing 9 percent of all deaths from lung cancer in Europe. Radon gas emissions contain radioactive particles that disperse outdoors, but can build up in indoor environments -- most radon breathed is exhaled immediately, but some particles can attach to the lungs, exposing them to radiation. The study, published in the British Medical Journal, finds radon accounted for 20,000 deaths from lung cancer in Europe annually, or 9 percent of lung cancer deaths and 2 percent of all cancer in Europe.

OTC DRUGS EFFECTIVE FOR CHILDREN'S MIGRAINE

Ibuprofen and acetaminophen are safe and effective for treating migraine headaches in children and adolescents, new U.S. guidelines advise. The American Academy of Neurology and the Child Neurology Society's new practice guidelines are published in Neurology. Through the evaluation of more than 166 articles and abstracts that addressed children from age 3 to 18, neurologists examined the literature to find the most effective medicines to treat migraine attack, says lead author Dr. Donald W. Lewis, of Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters, Norfolk, Va. "As pediatric neurologists we are confident that the most common pharmacological headache treatments given to adults are also safe and effective for children."

RESTLESS LEG RISK LINKED TO IRON, FAMILY

Minnesota researchers find the risk factors for restless legs syndrome in children is family history and iron deficiency. "Restless legs syndrome is under-diagnosed in kids," says Dr. Suresh Kotagal, of the Mayo Clinic. "If you look at children with difficulty falling asleep, you'll see a fair number have restless legs -- nobody has studied a larger group of children, looking at children with insomnia complaints as a whole to see how many had restless legs syndrome." It's not known if the iron deficiency was caused by diet or a genetic predisposition, according to Kotagal. The study, published in the Annals of Neurology, found family history of restless legs syndrome in 23 out of 32 patients with restless legs syndrome.

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(EDITORS: For EXERCISE contact David March at (410) 955-1534 or dmarch1@jhmi.edu. For RADON, Emma Dickinson 44-207-383-6529 or edickinson@bmj.com. For RESTLESS LEG, Lisa Lucier (507) 284-5005 or newsbureau@mayo.edu)