Research

Despite claims by the dairy industry that dairy products may help people to lose weight, a new study based out of the U.S. indicates that neither dairy nor calcium intake has an effect on weight loss.

Two researchers - Amy Joy Lanou of the University of North Carolina at Asheville and Dr. Neal Barnard with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine in Washington evaluated 49 clinical trials from 1966 to 2007. All of these trials assessed the effects of milk, calcium intake, or dairy products on both body weight and body mass index, with or without dieting.

Of the 49 clinical trials, 41 showed no effect. One showed a lower rate of weight gain and five showed weight loss. The review of these studies, which was published in the journal "Nutrition Reviews" indicated that neither dairy or calcium supplements help in weight loss efforts.

In a statement, the authors said, "Our findings demonstrate that increasing dairy product intake does not consistently result in weight or fat loss and may actually have the opposite effect."

Peanut allergies seem to be on the rise, and often appear within the first three years of life. Those individuals who are allergic to peanuts suffer from a range of reactions including minor irritation to a more life-threatening response called anaphylaxis. But now, an expert has revealed that a form of immunotherapy which could prevent people from being allergic to peanuts is likely to exist within five years.

Dr. Wesley Burks, a food allergy expert at the Duke University Medical Center, recently wrote in the "Lancet" medical journal that a solution may be forthcoming.

"I think there's some type of immunotherapy that will be available in five years. And the reason I say that is that there are multiple types of studies that are ongoing now," wrote Burks.

According to Burks, the therapy would be able to change a person's immune response to peanuts from an allergic to a non-allergic state. This could be accomplished in a variety of ways, including using engineered peanut proteins as immunotherapy or even Chinese herbal medicine.

Medical experts now claim that taking vitamin D supplements during early childhood may dramatically cut the odds of developing Type 1 diabetes later in life. Researches found that children given additional vitamin D were up to 80% less likely to develop Type 1 diabetes than those not given the supplement.

They also found that the higher and more regular the dose, the lower the likelihood of developing the condition. These findings came from the analysis of five studies in various countries.

One of the studies that was looked at was a Finnish sudy that followed more than 12,000 children born in 1966 in Finland. Their study showed that those who took any amount of vitamin D had a lower rate of diabetes than those who did, and those who took recommended amounts of vitamin D were at an 80% reduced risk of developing it.

Type 1 diabetes is an auto-immune disease in which the immune system destroys its own cells. It develops when insulin-secreting cells in the pancreas are destroyed.

According to a new Dutch study, first-born children are typically smarter than their siblings. The study monitored the IQs of 1,000 children from the time they were adolescents until they were 18, and seems to suggest that siblings' IQs are influenced by birth order.

In a majority of cases, older siblings had higher IQs. Results of the study were revealed this week in the journal "Intelligence".

This is just the latest study to indicate that birth order may strongly influence many significant human characteristics, such as life span, weight, cancer risks, and asthma. Researchers have also suggested that birth order may affect sexual orientation, which hand a child uses to write, and the number of sexual partners one has in their lifetime.

A five-year study which looked at suicide in the United States revealed a 20% increase in the suicide rate amongst the 45 to 54 year-old age group. This group, according to the study, is currently out-pacing any other age group.

The study looked at suicide rates from 1999 to 2004. While the rate for middle-aged US residents increased 20%, the increase in teens was just 2%.

Breaking down the 45 to 54 year-old age group, the suicide rate for men increased 15%, while for women it inceased 29%.

Experts indicate that much of the suicide prevention efforts focus on youth. But US health officials think that the rampant use and abuse of prescription and illegal drugs is the reason for at least part of the increased suicide rates.

But a 1989 study seems to give a more general explanation for the increase, stating that the changing US social structure, with more family and friends on the move, disrupts social support networks of the baby boom generation. That being said, however, because you can't do a psychological autopsy, there's no way to know why suicide is on the increase in that age group.

According to the results of a new study by an international team of researchers from the United States and Canada, men who consume a high amount of sugary drinks have an increased risk of developing gout. Gout is common amongst men over age 40, and is caused by an excess level of uric acid in blood.

For men with gout, high levels of uric acid thus lead to the deposit of crystals around joints, which results in swelling and intense pain. One of the most commonly affect joints by gout is the knee.

In this study, researchers examined 46,000 men age 40 and older over the course of 12 years. At the beginning of the study all of the men were healthy, and none had any history of gout. Over the 12 years, the men were quizzed about their dietary habits, with particular attention being paid to soft drinks and other sugary drinks.

During the follow-up period of 12 years, there were 755 new cases of gout in the group of men.

What the researchers found was that the risk of gout increased when men consumed at least five to six servings of sugary drinks per week. Those who trank more than two servings per day were at an 85% increased risk of developing gout.

Some fruits high in fructose, which many of us don't think as unhealthy or bad, were seen to increase the risk of gout. These would include apples and oranges, which double your risk of developing gout.

These risks of developing gout were seen to be independent of other factors, including age, high blood pressure, alcohol intake, diuretic use, body mass index, and diet.

Demi-Lee Brennan, 15, of Australia has amazed scientists around the world after becoming the first person ever known to switch blood types and completely accept a transplanted organ. The teen spontaneously made the switch from blood type O-negative to O-positive after taking on her liver donor's immune system.

Experts are now saying that Brennan is the living "holy grail of transplants", and have now put together a team of researchers to study her transformation. Researchers are hoping that their findings will be able to help other transplant patients, as well as those who suffer from multiple sclerosis and type-1 diabetes.

Brennan suffered from liver failure, and had a liver transplant at the age of nine in 2001. Several months post transplant, her doctors were shocked to find out that her blood typed had changed to match that of the deceased male donor. Closer inspection revealed that stem cells from the donor liver had penetrated her bone marrow, resulting in a naturally occurring bone marrow transplant. This means that Demi-Lee is the first person ever recorded whose body has fully accepted a transplanted organ.

According to a new study reported this month in the journal "Circulation", people who eat two or more servings of red meat a day are far more likely to develop conditions leading to heart disease and diabetes. Researchers also found that eating large quantities of red meat increased one's risk of suffering from a cluster of factors known as metabolic syndrome by 25%.

Symptoms of metabolic syndrome include high cholesterol, high blood sugar, high blood pressure, and excessive fat around the waist.

Interestingly, the study also found that the consumption of diet soda was also linked to the elevated risk of heart disease and diabetes. Researchers were surprised with the diet soda link, but believe that it may be associated with individuals compensating for eating higher calorie food. "People may say, 'I can eat this cookie because I am drinking this diet soda,'" said researchers.

The study, which was funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Instituted, examined the diets of 9,514 people. Most of the participants were aged 45 to 64.

Participants were given a 66-item food frequency questionaire, which researchers then used to put the volunteers into two groups: those with a "western pattern diet" (heavy on processed meat, fried foods, red meat) and a "prudent pattern" diet (more fruits & veggies, small amounts of fish and poultry).