SNORING LINKED TO HEADACHES
Researchers have made a connection between snoring and chronic daily headaches. The study, published in the journal Neurology, compared the snoring habits of people who suffer headaches at least 15 times a month, classified as chronic daily headache, and those who have pain in the head two to 104 times a year, defined as occasional headache. They found people with chronic headache were more than twice as likely to also be chronic snorers as those with occasional headaches. "If we can show that the snoring is causing the headaches, then we may be able to stop or lessen people's headaches by treating their snoring," said study author Ann Scher of the National Institute on Aging in Bethesda, Md. "This would be a great relief to people who suffer from chronic daily headache."
GRAPE JUICE MAY BE GOOD FOR HEART
A study of men with high blood pressure indicates drinking grape juice may benefit the heart. In the study, the volunteers who consumed Concord grape juice for 12 weeks experienced a significant drop in both their systolic and diastolic blood pressures, said the researchers who presented the results at the annual meeting of the Federation for American Societies of Experimental Biology in San Diego. "This is one of the first randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies to use a whole juice," said study author Kevin Maki, director of the Nutrition and Metabolism Research Unit at Radiant Research in Chicago. "In our study, blood pressure was measured as part of the basic health information of the study participants. When we reviewed the data, we saw reductions of nearly six points in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure measurements among the hypertensive men drinking Concord grape juice. Those on the calorie-matched placebo showed virtually no change." In the study of 80 men ages 45 to 70, half the participants drank an average of 12 ounces of juice per day and half drank the same amount of a drink designed to look and taste like grape juice.
STUDY SHOWS TOO FEW SMOKERS SCREENED FOR CANCER
Research shows 72 percent of tobacco users -- a group at high risk for oral and head and neck cancers -- have never been screened for the deadly diseases. "When oral and head and neck cancer is caught early, patients have a good chance for survival and a decent quality of life after treatment," said Dr. Terry Day, president of the Yul Brynner Head and Neck Cancer Foundation, associate professor of otolaryngology at the Medical University of South Carolina and director of the Division of Head and Neck Oncologic Surgery at the Hollings Cancer Center. "Screening for all adults, particularly those whose lifestyles put them at higher risk, like tobacco and alcohol users, is critical to detect these cancers in the beginning stages." The cancers include those that develop in the head and neck region, such as the oral cavity, the pharynx (throat), paranasal sinuses and nasal cavity, the larynx, thyroid and salivary glands, the skin of the face and neck and the lymph nodes in the neck. The American Cancer Society estimates more than 60,000 Americans will be diagnosed with cancers of the head and neck region, and more than 12,000 will die each year. The common warning signs are a swelling or lump in the throat or neck, pain in the mouth or throat that does not subside, red or white sores in the mouth that do not heal, bleeding in the mouth or throat, change in voice, ear pain and numbness of the tongue, mouth or lip.
'SAFE' LEAD LEVELS CAN HARM CHILDREN
A five-year study of 172 children has found lead can be harmful to youngsters at concentrations in the blood that are typically considered safe. Reporting in The New England Journal of Medicine, Cornell University scientists said children suffer intellectual impairment at a blood-lead concentration below the level of 10 micrograms per deciliter -- about 100 parts per billion -- currently considered acceptable by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "We also found that the amount of impairment attributed to lead was most pronounced at lower levels," said Richard Canfield, lead study author and senior researcher in Cornell's Division of Nutritional Sciences.
(EDITORS: For more information about SNORING, contact Kathy Stone at 651-695-2763 or [email protected]; about GRAPE contact Mary Martin at 804-231-0741 or [email protected]; about SMOKERS, contact MCS Public Relations at 800-477-9626 or [email protected]; about LEAD, contact Susan Lang at 607-255-3613 or [email protected].)
