London - People who take statins to lower cholesterol are less likely to develop pancreatic cancer, according to a study from the University of California.
Researchers analysed data from more than 500 people who had the disease and compared it to healthy volunteers.
Those who had taken statins at any time had a 34 percent lower risk of the disease; for those who’d taken statins for ten years, the risk was even lower. The researchers say further work is needed to identify how statins could have such a protective effect.
One theory is that they are anti-inflammatory, which could reduce cancer risk - pancreatitis, a painfully inflamed pancreas, is known to be a common risk factor for pancreatic cancer.
* Blue light could help psoriasis, which causes painful patches of red, scaly skin. Researchers in Germany found that a device which emits blue light - Philips BlueControl - reduced the severity of the patches by half. Blue light stimulates the production of nitric oxide, a compound thought to slow the growth of new skin cells and reduce inflammation.
* Eating fruit may lower women’s risk of becoming overweight.
New research published in the Journal of Nutrition involving more than 18 000 women of normal weight found that those who ate the most fruit were less likely to become overweight or obese.
US researchers tracked women’s weight over 16 years. Those who ate the most fruit were 13 percent less likely to become overweight compared to those who consumed the least.
Surprisingly, consuming more vegetables and fibre didn’t reduce weight.
Some research suggests that fruit-based fibre and pectin - a compound found in the skin of fruit - are natural fat burners.
*Applying continuous pressure to the foot offers a way to tackle restless legs, according to US research.
Restless leg syndrome is characterised by unpleasant sensations and an urge to move the legs when at rest, most commonly at night.
In the new study, 30 patients with the condition had a device - known as Restiffic - wrapped around their feet as they slept. It works by applying a squeezing pressure on specific foot muscles.
After eight weeks, 90 percent of the patients felt their symptoms were “much improved” or “very much improved”. When the results were compared with previous research, Restiffic was as effective or better than drugs used for the condition, according to the Journal of Neurology.
* Casualty patients treated at teaching hospitals -where medical students receive training - have lower survival rates, according to a study by the Department of Health’s National Institute for Health Research.
The findings, published in the journal PLOS ONE, were based on an analysis of 140 English NHS trusts. Survival rates were higher at hospitals that conducted more research trials - these tended to have more medical staff, critical care beds and operating theatres and made greater use of scanning technology. Trusts with lower survival rates tended to have fewer staff and lower budgets.
Other factors the researchers looked at included size and funding. However, the study authors concluded that the exact reasons for the difference in patient outcomes was unclear.
* It’s a popular home remedy, but it seems lavender really does ease stress.
New research found that a lavender cream reduced anxiety, stress and depression better than a placebo.
The study involved 140 pregnant women who were recruited in the 25th to 28th week of their pregnancy.
One group rubbed 2g of the cream on their legs for eight weeks; another group had lavender cream and regular footbaths; and a third group used only a placebo cream.
The results, which were published in the Journal Of Caring Sciences, showed that the two lavender groups fared better with stress, anxiety and depression.
It’s thought a compound in lavender - called linalool - increases levels of brain chemicals that have an antidepressant effect.
Daily Mail