Medi watch
Wash hands to keep flu bug at bay
Physical barriers, such as regular handwashing, may be more effective than drugs to prevent the spread of influenza and Sars, an international team of scientists has found. The researchers trawled through 51 studies, comparing any intervention to prevent animal-to-human or human-to-human transmission of respiratory viruses, such as isolation, quarantine and hygiene, to doing nothing or to other types of intervention. They excluded vaccines and antiviral drugs, Reuters reports. The results, published in the British Medical Journal, found that measures such as handwashing and wearing masks, gloves and gowns were effective individually in preventing the spread of respiratory viruses, and were more effective when combined.
Hearty news for red wine fans
Adding to the research that red wine is good for you is a study that suggests drinking two glasses a day benefits women's hearts. University of Barcelona researchers recruited 35 women, who each spent four weeks on a heart-healthy, but wine-free, diet, followed by four weeks in which they had a glass of red wine with lunch and dinner. Overall, the study in American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, found the women's levels of 'good' HDL cholesterol climbed after four weeks of drinking, while their blood levels of inflammatory substances, such as C-reactive protein, declined, Reuters reports.
Depression bad for the bones
Even mild depression may significantly increase a woman's risk of developing osteoporosis, says the US National Institute of Mental Health. Its research revealed the level of bone density loss attributed to depression was similar to that associated with other osteoporosis risk factors, including cigarette smoking, WebMD reports. The average age of the 89 women in the test group with mostly mild depression was 35, and none had reached menopause. Bone mineral density testing revealed that 17 per cent of them showed thinning in the thigh bone, as opposed to 2 per cent of the 44 women of similar age who weren't depressed. An inflammatory protein linked to bone loss - interleukin-6 - was highly elevated in the women with depression.
Procreating farmers living past 100
A young, trim farmer with four or more children: that's the ideal profile for American men hoping to reach 100 years of age, according to research by the University of Chicago's Centre on Ageing. Based largely on data from first world war draft cards, the study suggests keeping off excess weight in youth, farming and fathering many children all help men live past a century, HealthDay reports.
