TIPS FOR A HEALTHY VOICE
Changes in your voice can signal changes in your health, from the development of acid reflux to the onset of throat cancer, researchers say. It is therefore important to listen to your own voice and take steps to keep it healthy, the University of Michigan vocal health experts advise. Dr. Norman Hogikyan says you can protect your voice by following a few simple steps, and, if you note any mysterious changes, you should consult your doctor. "Thankfully, most voice changes are temporary and self-limiting, but if they last longer than a few weeks, they can signal serious problems," he said. "Early attention to voice changes can literally make the difference between life and death for throat cancer patients, and in other cases can help resolve more minor issues before serious ones develop." To keep your voice healthy, the experts advise: drink water rather than alcohol and caffeine to properly lubricate your vocal cords; don't smoke, a cancer-causing habit; avoid abusing your voice through constant yelling or screaming; don't raise or lower your natural pitch; don't clear your throat too often, a habit that's rough on your vocal cords and can make you hoarse; spare your voice when you're sick, avoiding any unnecessary conversation when you are hoarse due to a cold or infection.
HYPERTENSION IN PREGNANCY PUTS HEART AT RISK
Researchers in Scotland have found women who experience high blood pressure during pregnancy may be at increased risk of developing heart disease later. The study, reported in the British Medical Journal, involved three groups of women from the Aberdeen maternity databank who were living in Aberdeen during their first pregnancy in the years 1951 to 1970. One group had been diagnosed with pre-eclampsia or eclampsia during pregnancy, one, with high blood pressure, and one had no history of hypertension. Women with raised blood pressure during their pregnancy had a long-term risk of hypertension, an increased risk of stroke and, to a lesser extent, an increased risk of "silent" heart disease that shows no symptoms until it is too late, the scientists found. Long-term cardiovascular risks were greatest for women with pre-eclampsia, said Cairns Smith of the Department of Public Health at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland.
ARSENIC IN WATER MAY INCREASE CANCER RISK
Studies suggest current levels of arsenic in drinking water may be enough to increase the risk of skin cancer, researchers said. Using toenails to determine arsenic exposure, a University of Missouri, Columbia, researcher concluded arsenic exposure at levels even 80 percent below current standards could increase the risk of skin cancer for people living in the northeastern United States. "Monitoring levels of arsenic in the body can be problematic," said Steve Morris. "Measuring the arsenic level in blood and urine only reflects the recent exposure over the period of a day or so. Toenails can reflect exposure that occurred six or more months in the past and combine the exposure that occurs over several weeks." In the studies, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, the research team found arsenic concentration in drinking water that was at least 1 part per billion was accurately reflected using toenail measurement. The scientists also found people having a toenail-arsenic level that corresponded to some 10 ppb of arsenic in drinking water were at higher risk for developing skin cancer than those with lower levels. The U.S. drinking water limit for arsenic is 50 ppb.
FIREFLY LIGHT FIGHTS CANCER CELLS
Researchers have discovered the bioluminescent effects of fireflies may kill cancer cells from within. The London scientists inserted the firefly gene that activates bioluminescent light into modified cancer cells, hoping to set off a chain reaction that can fight the disease. The light source, known as Luciferin, caused the modified cancer cells to glow much like a firefly. When a photosensitizing agent was added, the combination proved lethal. "The cells produced enough light to trigger their own death," said Dr. Theodossis Theodossiou of the National Medical Laser Centre at the University College London. The firefly technique may expand the effects of photodynamic therapy, a treatment that uses bursts of light to attack tumors that sit near the skin's surface or on the lining of internal organs, Theodossiou said. External light sources can only pass through a small amount of tissue to get to the tumor, so to treat deeper malignancies, the team inserted the light source into the disease itself, he explained.
(EDITORS: For more information about VOICE, call 734-764-2220; about PREGNANCY, contact Emma Dickinson at +44 (0)20 7383 6529 [email protected]; about ARSENIC, contact Christian Basi at 573-882-4430 or [email protected]; about FIREFLY, contact Eric Sabo at 212-450-1544 or [email protected].)
