Less sleep a big problem
ATLANTA -- People who sleep fewer than six hours a night -- or more than nine -- are more likely to be obese, according to a new U.S. government study that is one of the largest to show a link between irregular sleep and big bellies.The study also linked light sleepers to higher smoking rates, less physical activity and more alcohol use.
The research adds weight to a stream of studies that have found obesity and other health problems in those who don't get proper shut-eye, said Dr. Ron Kramer, of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.
Alzheimer drug hopes
TORONTO -- A drug in a potential new class of Alzheimer's medications showed promise in people with mild dementia, a new British and Canadian study suggests.
If further studies confirm those findings, the drug -- tarenflurbil or Flurizan -- could be among the first that slows or even halts progression of the mind-robbing disease, experts predict. Current Alzheimer's drugs only mitigate the symptoms of the disease.
Cancer breakthrough?
MONTREAL -- McGill University researchers have drawn up one of the most detailed genetic profiles yet of breast cancer -- a discovery that raises hopes of tailoring better therapies for each patient.
The researchers analyzed tissue from 53 patients. But rather than examine the cancer cells, they instead focused on the genes in the normal stromal tissue surrounding the tumours. Out of thousands of genes, they pinpointed 26 that could be used to predict how patients will respond to different treatments.
-- from the news services
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