Washington, Nov 10 : A new study by Mayo Clinic researchers has suggested that obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) - and, in particular, the low nighttime oxygen saturation of the blood it causes - may be a risk factor for sudden cardiac death (SCD).

OSA is a condition that disrupts breathing during sleep and is associated with obesity. The new study identified OSA as one of two traits that increase the risk of SCD. The other is age - patients who are 60 years old or older.

Washington, Nov 10 : Chronic use of the asthma drug corticosteroid may have some serious impact on bones, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) in Seattle.

The results came after an analysis of large population databases by researchers led by Dr. Rebecca Green, assistant professor, paediatric endocrinology and diabetes, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Washington, Nov 10 : Young women who survive breast cancer often face problems related with sexual intimacy in their relationships, and prefer using sexual enhancement products to combat them, according to an Indiana University study.

Titled "Young Female Breast Cancer Survivors: Their sexual function and interest in sexual enhancement products and services," the study was led by Debby Herbenick, associate director of the Center for Sexual Health Promotion at IU Bloomington''s School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation.

Washington, November 10 : A new study has revealed that influenza vaccination can help reduce the risk of blood clots forming in veins by 26 percent

“Our study suggests for the first time that vaccination against influenza may reduce the risk of venous thrombotic embolism (VTE),” said Dr. Joseph Emmerich, lead author of the study and professor of vascular medicine at the University Paris Descartes and head of the INSERM Lab 765, which investigates thrombosis.

“This protective effect was more pronounced before the age of 52 years,” he said while presenting the findings at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions
2008.

London, November 10 : Health experts are urging people not to rely on untested remedies advertised on the Internet, insisting that they sell “false hope”.

Backed by charity Sense About Science, the group of medical experts has revealed that the online promotion of treatments is increasingly exploiting vulnerable people.

According to them, many untested therapies being advertised on the Internet involve high costs, and do not work.

The experts say that such therapies are based on "unreliable" evidence.

Sense About Science says that people desperate for a cure are being targeted by hundreds of online advertisers.

London, November 10 : Yale University researchers have moved a step closer to unravelling the mystery behind the oft-fatal rupturing of blood vessels in the brain, scientifically known as aneurysms, on the back of an international study.

Lead researchers Professor Murat Gunel and Sterling Professor Richard Lifton joined forces with a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator to scan the genomes of over 2,000 individuals suffering from intracranial aneurysms along with 8,000 healthy subjects.