Patch safer than pill in hormone therapy
LONDON, June 4 (UPI) -- Hormone replacement therapy may be safer when given in low-dose patches, a study in the British Medical Journal said.
A study of 75,000 patients in Canada and Germany between 1987 and 2006 found patches containing low doses of estrogen carried a lower risk of stroke than hormone replacement therapy given in pill form, the BBC reported Friday.
Hormone replacement therapy commonly is prescribed to ease the symptoms of menopause, which include hot flashes, mood changes, bone thinning and night sweats.
Women in the study who used hormone replacement therapy in pill form had a 25 percent to 30 percent increased risk of stroke, regardless of what dose of estrogen they took, the researchers said in a recent issue of the British Medical Journal.
The increased risk, however, was not found in women who took hormone replacement therapy in pill form for less than one year.
Dental X-rays increase risk of cancer
BRIGHTON, England, June 4 (UPI) -- A study of 313 cancer patients found the chances of developing thyroid cancer rose with repeated exposure to dental X-rays, British scientists said.
The results suggest dental X-rays should only be prescribed for a specific clinical need, rather than as part of a routine checkup, said the study's lead author, Dr. Anjum Memon of the Brighton and Sussex Medical School.
The thyroid gland, located in the neck, is sensitive to ionizing radiation, especially in children, Memon and his team said.
The findings of the study were consistent with previous reports of increased risk of thyroid cancer in dentists, dental assistants and X-ray workers, The Daily Telegraph reported Friday. Dental X-rays also have been linked with an increased risk of brain and salivary gland tumors.
"The public health and clinical implications of these findings are particularly relevant in the light of increases in the incidence of thyroid cancer in many countries over the past 30 years," Memon said.
Fourteen hospitalized with salmonella
CHICAGO, June 4 (UPI) -- Fourteen people who ate at Subway restaurants in Illinois have been hospitalized with a rare strain of Salmonella poisoning, authorities said.
In all, 34 people who ate at Subway restaurants in 14 Illinois counties were sickened, WGN-TV, Chicago reported Friday.
The Illinois Department of Public Health said it usually sees just one or two cases of the Hvittingfoss strain of Salmonella each year. The strain causes diarrhea, vomiting, fever and stomach cramps and usually develops within 6 to 72 hours after being exposed to it.
The specific product that caused the illnesses in the Subway patrons has not yet been identified, authorities said.
The 34 people sickened, including the 14 who were hospitalized, reported eating at Subways in Sangamon, Schuyler, Christian, Bureau, LaSalle, Cass, Champaign, Peoria, Shelby, Warren, Macon, Ogle, Fulton and Tazewell counties.
Cameras study the secret life of crickets
EXETER, England, June 4 (UPI) -- Female crickets preferred big males over smaller males in a British study that filmed 152 field crickets for 250,000 hours, scientists said.
Scientists from the University of Exeter used 96 video cameras to record field crickets -- Gryllus campestris -- during a breeding season in a meadow in Asturias in northern Spain, The Times of London reported Friday.
The footage showed females chose big males over smaller males, with some pairs of crickets often having sex as much as 40 times before parting ways.
Females also slipped away from their regular partners to find other males and had more offspring when they were promiscuous, the researchers said in a recent issue of the journal Science.
The 152 crickets were tagged with identifying codes and DNA samples were taken.
"The cricket soap opera is a model of the life struggles of so many species," said lead researcher Tom Tregenza. "Insects are far more important than larger animals to ecosystems but we have only very sketchy details about their lives."
