Antibodies may trigger psychosis in children

Sydney: A world first study revealing the presence of two antibodies in a sub-group of children experiencing their first episode of psychosis affirms a longstanding recognition that auto-immune disorders play a significant role in psychiatric illness. Antibodies defend the body against bacterial, viral, and other invaders but sometimes the body makes antibodies that attack healthy cells. In these cases, autoimmune disorders develop. These include conditions such as multiple sclerosis (MS), rheumatoid arthritis and Type 1 diabetes. This 'immune hypothesis' is supported by new research in the current issue of Biological Psychiatry.

Dengue: bacteria vs mosquitoes

Melbourne: Researchers at the University of Melbourne along with international collaborators are using a novel way to block the dengue virus in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes using the insect bacterium Wolbachia and have for the first time provided projections of its public health benefit. Dengue is a viral infection spread between humans by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. Dengue causes flu-like symptoms, including intense headaches and joint pains.

Anti-depressants not as effective as advertised

Groningen: The effectiveness of anti-depressants in treating anxiety disorders has been overestimated. This is the conclusion drawn by Annelieke Roest of the UMCG, following an investigation of the scientific literature. Negative studies are often not published, making it unclear how well the drugs work in the treatment of anxiety disorders. Roest spent 3 years on the research and is publishing the results in JAMA Psychiatry of 26 March 2015.

Complex food chain increases food safety risks

WHO/Europe estimates that levels of foodborne disease are much higher than currently reported and underlines the need for improved collaboration among sectors to lower the health risks associated with unsafe food. Our food chain is longer and more complex than ever before, and demographic, cultural, economic and environmental developments – globalized trade, travel and migration, an ageing population, changing consumer trends and habits, new technologies, emergencies, climate change and extreme weather events – are increasing foodborne health risks. "The fact that we significantly underestimate how many people become ill from chemicals in the food chain and from common microorganisms such as Salmonella and Campylobacter should start alarm bells ringing across the many areas with a stake in our food chain. A failure in food safety at any link in this chain, from the environment, through primary production, processing, transport, trade, catering or in the home, can have significant health and economic consequences," says Dr Zsuzsanna Jakab, WHO Regional Director for Europe.

What if the severity of our seasonal influenza were related to our genetic background?

INSERM: While most of us recover from influenza after a week, it can be a very severe disease, and even fatal in rare cases, with no reason for physicians to have expected such an outcome. By analysing the genome of a little girl who contracted a severe form of influenza at the age of two and a half years, researchers at the Laboratory of Human Genetics of Infectious Diseases have discovered that she has a genetic mutation, unknown until now, that causes a subtle dysfunction in her immune system.

Exercise can outweigh harmful effects of air pollution

Copenhagen: New research from the University of Copenhagen has found that the beneficial effects of exercise are more important for our health than the negative effects of air pollution, in relation to the risk of premature mortality. In other words, benefits of exercise outweigh the harmful effects of air pollution. The study shows that despite the adverse effects of air pollution on health, air pollution should be not perceived as a barrier to exercise in urban areas. “Even for those living in the most polluted areas, it is healthier to go for a run, a walk or to cycle to work than it is to stay inactive,” says Pr Zorana Jovanovic Andersen.

Parents fail to spot that their kids are obese

NHS: "Parents hardly ever spot obesity in their children, resulting in damaging consequences for health," BBC News reports after a new study found a third of UK parents underestimated the weight of their child.
The study asked parents for their views about whether their child was underweight, a healthy weight, overweight or obese, comparing this with objective measurements of the child's weight and height taken on the same day. Researchers found most parents were only likely to think a child was overweight when they were at the top end of the very overweight category.

New technology shows potential in repairing damaged tissue in knee joints

Liverpool: A company is developping stem cell technologies that have shown potential in repairing damaged tissue in the knee. Professor Hollander and colleagues launched the company, Azellon, to produce stem cell therapies for treatment of damaged fibrous tissues in the knee, called meniscal cartilage. Using Cell Bandage technology, the team has shown encouraging test results from combining bone marrow stem cells with a special membrane that helps deliver cells to the injured site.

Body odour? Ask your skin microbiome!

York: Researchers discover bacterial genetic pathway in body odour production. For many, body odour is an unfortunate side effect of their daily lives. The smell is caused by bacteria on the skin breaking down naturally secreted molecules contained within sweat. Now, researchers from the University of York working with Unilever have studied the underarm microbiome and identified a unique set of enzymes in the bacterium Staphylococcus hominis that is effective at breaking down sweat molecules into compounds known as thioalcohols, an important component of the characteristic body odour smell.

A medieval remedy for modern bacteria

Nottingham: A one thousand year old Anglo-Saxon remedy (with garlic among other ingredients) for eye infections which originates from a manuscript in the British Library has been found to kill the modern-day superbug MRSA in an unusual research collaboration at The University of Nottingham. Dr Christina Lee, an Anglo-Saxon expert from the School of English has enlisted the help of microbiologists from University’s Centre for Biomolecular Sciences to recreate a 10th century potion for eye infections from Bald’s Leechbook an Old English leatherbound volume in the British Library, to see if it really works as an antibacterial remedy. The Leechbook is widely thought of as one of the earliest known medical textbooks and contains Anglo-Saxon medical advice and recipes for medicines, salves and treatments. 

Prototype nanoneedles can generate new blood vessels

Imperial College: Scientists have developed tiny nanoneedles that have successfully prompted parts of the body to generate new blood vessels, in a trial in mice.

The researchers, from Imperial College London and Houston Methodist Research Institute in the USA, hope their nanoneedle technique could ultimately help damaged organs and nerves to repair themselves and help transplanted organs to thrive.

Cell transplant therapy can help people with diabetes

Edinburgh: People with Type 1 diabetes are being helped by a transplant therapy that uses cells from the pancreas, a study shows. Patients who have received the cells from donor organs have shown an improved quality of life, University researchers say.

The technique aims to combat hypoglycaemia - a drop in blood sugar triggered in patients on insulin treatment, which can prove fatal.

Pig-borne disease jumped into humans when rearing practices changed

Cambridge: The most virulent strains of Streptococcus suis, the leading cause of bacterial meningitis in adult humans in parts of southeast Asia and in pigs around the world, are likely to have evolved and become widespread in pigs at the same time as changes in rearing practices, according to research from an international consortium published today in the journal Nature Communications.

Can children with egg allergy tolerate pasteurised raw egg?

Adelaide: New research from the University of Adelaide shows pasteurised (heated) raw egg contains the same main allergens as non-pasteurised (fresh) raw egg, and is not likely to be tolerated in children with egg allergy.

No need to delay rotator cuff surgery, study finds

UNSW research has found waiting months for a stiff shoulder to settle down before surgery may not be necessary, offering thousands of people with painful rotator cuff injuries hope of a speedier recovery. 

The world-first research found patients who underwent traditional surgery as well as a procedure to relieve stiffness, enjoyed the same improvements and less re-tearing two years later, compared to a control group who only received rotator cuff surgery.

Study reveals high-cholesterol diet increases spread of prostate cancer

University of Queensland research has shown that a high-cholesterol diet increases the spread of prostate cancer tumours to lymph nodes, lungs and bones. Study leader Dr Michelle Hill said the research highlighted why it is important for patients with prostate cancer to choose a low-cholesterol diet.
“High cholesterol doesn’t change the size of the original prostate cancer tumour, but the effect on cancer spreading was shown to be significant,” Dr Hill said.

The baker and the lupine

Allergy and Immunology: Lupine belongs to the Fabaceae family, like peanuts, peas, lentils and beans. It is increasingly used in baking and in the manufacture of pastry. In addition to ingestion, inhalation exposure to lupine could be responsible for allergic symptoms. A study was conducted across Europe to assess the sensibilization of bakers to lupine alongside their sensitization to peanut, soya, wheat flour and rye. The results of this study show that 67% of bakers were sensitized to wheat flour and / or rye, 35% to 33% peanut and lupine.

High Cholesterol: Why Me? The Genes-Diet Connection

Berkeley: Why do cholesterol-rich foods cause blood cholesterol to rise only in some people? Why does a salty diet raise blood pressure in some, but not in others? Why does a high-carbohydrate diet help some people stay thin and healthy, while it causes others to gain weight and develop high blood triglycerides? Genetic factors play a major role—and scientists are gaining insights into how and why.

Virtual colonoscopy not recommended by US experts

Berkeley: You may have heard of “virtual” (or CT) colonoscopy. Many people are attracted to the idea because they dread the invasiveness of being “scoped.” With virtual colonoscopy, no colonoscope is inserted. Instead, the colon is visualized by a CT scan. It may sound like a great alternative, but it really isn’t.
Studies on virtual colonoscopy have had some promising results. One in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2008, for instance, found that the test is good at identifying larger polyps and cancer in people at average risk.

Being malnourished is not good for surgery

Pennsylvania: Malnourished patients are more likely to have complications following total knee or hip replacement surgeries than morbidly obese patients,according to new research. When compared to patients with normal nutritional status, malnourished patients were nearly 20 percent more likely to have a postoperative complication, 13 percent more likely to be readmitted within 90 days of discharge, 12 percent more likely to have an ICU admission following surgery, and five percent more likely to require a return to the operating room.

Disrupted biological clock linked to Alzheimer’s disease

Oregon: New research has identified some of the processes by which molecules associated with neurological diseases can disrupt the biological clock, interfere with sleep and activity patterns, and set the stage for a spiral of health concerns that can include a decreased lifespan and Alzheimer’s disease.

Ivacaftor, a new specific therapy for cystic fibrosis

Cochrane: What is the effect of ivacaftor (Kalydeco) on clinical outcomes (survival, quality of life and lung function) in people with cystic fibrosis?

Unlocking the benefits of dietary restriction for humans

Scimex: Scientists showed 80 years ago that rats given less to eat live longer and healthier lives. Since then, dietary restriction experiments have shown similar benefits in flies, fish, worms, chickens, dogs, monkeys, and other animals. It's time to start seriously pursuing this research in humans, say longevity researchers Luigi Fontana of Washington University in St. Louis and Linda Partridge of the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing.
"Dietary interventions that avoid unrealistic levels of self-deprivation and pharmacological interventions that recapture beneficial effects of [dietary restriction] are important goals to improve human health during aging," they write in their Review of the field. From their analysis, they conclude that more work is needed to conduct human experiments, including the development for biomarkers (e.g., protein levels in a blood test) that can identify differences between an individual who is eating well versus someone who is starving, as well as that can be used as metrics in clinical trials.

Office workers fear sitting too long could be impacting their health

Almost half of women (45%) and almost two fifths of men (37%) working in UK offices spend less than 30 minutes a day walking around at work, according to new statistics released ahead of the first On Your Feet Britain campaign to get office workers moving more.

We're partnering with Get Britain Standing to launch the UK’s first On Your Feet Britain campaign on 24^th April, encouraging workers to ditch their office chairs and raise vital funds for cardiovascular disease.

Do antibiotics in pregnancy cause cerebral palsy and epilepsy?

NHS: "Antibiotic used in pregnancy linked to risk of epilepsy and cerebral palsy," The Guardian reports.
The results of a new study suggest women who take macrolide antibiotics were slightly more likely to give birth to a child with one (or both) of these conditions, compared with women who take penicillin.
But no association was found between taking antibiotics in general during pregnancy and cerebral palsy (a condition that causes movement disorders) or epilepsy (a condition that causes seizures).

Frequent antibiotic use linked to higher type 2 diabetes risk

NHS: "Repeated antibiotic use linked to diabetes," BBC News reports. New research has studied over 200,000 people from the UK who were diagnosed with diabetes between 1995 and 2013. Researchers counted the number of antibiotic prescriptions they had during an average five-year period before they were diagnosed. They compared the number of prescriptions given to an age- and gender-matched control group of over 800,000 people. They found that people taking antibiotics were more likely to develop diabetes, and those taking more were at a higher risk. For example, people who took five or more antibiotic courses in the five-year period before diagnosis had around a third higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes than those taking no antibiotics. We should not assume that the results mean antibiotics definitely cause diabetes. It could be the other way round. 

Milk and dairy 'good for the brain' claim unproven

NHS: "Three glasses of milk every day ‘helps prevent Alzheimer's and Parkinson's’," is the misleading headline in The Daily Telegraph. The study it reports on only found that a high-dairy diet was linked to increased levels of an antioxidant called glutathione. It is also unclear what, if any, protective effects higher levels of glutathione would have against Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease.

Genetics: where do Americans come from?

Oxford: By comparing the genes of current-day North and South Americans with African and European populations, an Oxford University study has found the genetic fingerprints of the slave trade and colonisation that shaped migrations to the Americas hundreds of years ago. The team, which also included researchers from UCL (University College London) and the Universita’ del Sacro Cuore of Rome, analysed more than 4,000 previously collected DNA samples from 64 different populations, covering multiple locations in Europe, Africa and the Americas. Since migration has generally flowed from Africa and Europe to the Americas over the last few hundred years, the team compared the ‘donor’ African and European populations with ‘recipient’ American populations to track where the ancestors of current-day North and South Americans came from.

Even short term to air pollution can raise stroke risk

Edinburgh: Recent exposure to air pollution is linked to an increased risk of stroke, according to new research. Researchers found a strong association between the levels of pollutants in the air and the number of people suffering a major stroke within days of exposure. Their findings add to previous reports that long term exposure to air pollution is linked to lung, heart and circulatory diseases.

Sea slug provides new way of analysing brain data

Manchester: Scientists say our brains may not be as complicated as we once thought – and they’re using sea slugs to prove it. Led by graduate student Angela Bruno, researchers at The University of Manchester and Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science in Chicago mapped how neurons fired in the brain of the large sea slug Aplysia while it moved.

“What happens in the brain during movement is currently only well understood for small, dedicated neural circuits. The sea slug brain has some of the complexity of higher organisms, yet has large neurons that make it possible to record a substantial amount of what is happening in the brain during movement.”

Crossing fingers can reduce feelings of pain

London: How you feel pain is affected by where sources of pain are in relation to each other, and so crossing your fingers can change what you feel on a single finger, finds new UCL research.  The research, published in Current Biology, used a variation on an established pain experiment, known as the “thermal grill illusion”. In the thermal grill illusion, a pattern of warm-cold-warm temperatures applied to the index, middle and ring finger respectively causes a paradoxical, sometimes painful, sensation of burning heat on the middle finger – even though this finger is actually presented with a cold stimulus.

Obesity: Cost of lifestyle advice during pregnancy is worth it

Adelaide: Research from the University of Adelaide shows that the additional cost of providing  one-on-one lifestyle advice to overweight and obese women during pregnancy is offset by improved outcomes at birth. Researchers from the University's Robinson Research Institute ran an economic evaluation in parallel with the world's biggest study offering healthy eating and exercise advice to overweight or obese pregnant women. The results of the economic analysis, published in the journal BMC Obesity, show that a range of improvements in health outcomes led to reduced healthcare costs both for the woman and her infant.  This resulted in the project being cost neutral.

Orthorexia nervosa: when righteous eating becomes an obsession

UNSW: Passionate about paleo or obsessed with organic? It might be time to reassess how you think about food, writes Rebecca Charlotte Reynolds. Orthorexia nervosa, the “health food eating disorder”, gets its name from the Greek wordortho, meaning straight, proper or correct. This exaggerated focus on food can be seen today in some people who follow lifestyle movements such as “raw”, “clean” and “paleo”.

Can a tweet or a status update indicate suicide risk?

UNSW researchers at the Black Dog Institute are using digital technologies to target groups most at risk of mental illness, including young people and those living in regional, rural and remote areas. Nearly 60% of Australians with symptoms of mental illness fail to seek formal treatment. UNSW researchers at the Black Dog Institute are hoping to reduce that burden by delivering mental health programs using digital technology such as apps and social media.

Oral Chemotherapy: Managing Symptoms and Side Effects. Dana Farber

Oral Chemoterapy: Remembering to Take It. Dana farber

Oral chemotherapy: handling safely at home (video)

Dana Farber

Blood pressure drug protects against symptoms of multiple sclerosis in animal models

Chicago: An FDA-approved drug for high blood pressure, guanabenz, prevents myelin loss and alleviates clinical symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS) in animal models, according to a new study. The drug appears to enhance an innate cellular mechanism that protects myelin-producing cells against inflammatory stress. These findings point to promising avenues for the development of new therapeutics against MS, report scientists from the University of Chicago in Nature Communications on Mar. 13.

Shifting Out of High-Calorie Habits

USDA: A new study suggests that it is possible to change the cycle of craving unhealthy foods by retraining the brain to stop activating its reward centers on exposure to a steady stream of high-calorie foods and visual triggers. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)-funded study addresses concerns among weight-loss experts that when people get used to eating instant-gratification foods, such habits may be nearly impossible to stop or reverse.

Powerful new “Tips From Former Smokers”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is launching its 2015 “Tips From Former Smokers” campaign with a series of powerful new ads featuring former smokers who suffer from smoking-related illnesses, including vision loss and colorectal cancer. Ads also highlight the benefits of quitting for smokers’ loved ones, and the importance of quitting cigarettes completely, not just cutting down. Beginning March 30, these ads will run for 20 weeks on television, radio, billboards, online, and in theaters, magazines, and newspapers.  www.cdc.gov/tips

FDA approves new treatment for diabetic retinopathy in patients with diabetic macular edema

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today expanded the approved use for Eylea (aflibercept) injection to treat diabetic retinopathy in patients with diabetic macular edema. Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is the most common diabetic eye disease and is a leading cause of blindness in adults in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, diabetes (type 1 and type 2) affects more than 29 million people in the United States and is the leading cause of new blindness among people ages 20 to 74 years.

Researchers Identify Natural Plant Compounds That Work Against Insects

UCR: Each year millions of deaths result from diseases transmitted by insects.  Insects are also responsible for major economic losses, worth billions of dollars annually, by damaging crops and stored agricultural products. Many currently available insecticides present environmental and health risks.  Further, insects develop resistance to existing insecticides, complicating pest-control strategies.  The need to develop novel effective insecticides is therefore urgent.

How Healthy Is Genetically Modified Soybean Oil?

UCR: Scientists shows GM soybean oil is as unhealthy as conventional soybean oil, with one benefit: no resistance to insulin. Soybean oil accounts for more than 90 percent of all the seed oil production in the United States. Genetically modified (GM) soybean oil, made from seeds of GM soybean plants, was recently introduced into the food supply on the premise that it is healthier than conventional soybean oil. But is that premise true?

Breast cancer: share your experience and feelings with Apple

UCLA: Share the Journey: Mind, Body and Wellness after Breast Cancer is available now on the iTunes App Store. UCLA cancer research pioneer Dr. Patricia Ganz and collaborators Apple and Sage Bionetworks announced, on March 9, the launch of Share the Journey: Mind, Body and Wellness after Breast Cancer, a patient-centered mobile app that empowers women to be partners in the research process by tracking their symptoms and successes.

Alzheimer: measuring the hippocampus

UCLA: After six years of painstaking research, a UCLA-led team has validated the first standardized protocol for measuring one of the earliest signs of Alzheimer’s disease — the atrophy of the part of the brain known as the hippocampus.

People with anorexia and body dysmorphic disorder have similar brain abnormalities

UCLA: People with anorexia nervosa and with body dysmorphic disorder have similar abnormalities in their brains that affect their ability to process visual information, a new UCLA study reveals. People with anorexia have such an intense fear of gaining weight that they starve themselves even when they are dangerously thin. Body dysmorphic disorder is a psychiatric condition characterized by an obsessive preoccupation with a perceived flaw in physical appearance.

In Anorexia Nervosa, Brain Responds Differently to Hunger Signals

UCSD: Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have pinpointed differences in brain function that may help to explain how people with anorexia nervosa can continue to starve themselves, even when already emaciated. The finding adds to growing evidence about the role of brain mechanisms in eating disorders and could lead to new treatment development efforts targeting specific brain pathways.

Virtual nose may reduce simulator sickness in video games

Purdue: Virtual reality games often cause simulator sickness – inducing vertigo and sometimes nausea - but new research findings point to a potential strategy to ease the affliction. Various physiological systems govern the onset of simulator sickness: a person's overall sense of touch and position, or the somatosensory system; liquid-filled tubes in the ear called the vestibular system; and the oculumotor system, or muscles that control eye movements.

Diaper Compound Brings Change to Cell Microscopy

NIH: Light microscopy has been a mainstay of neuroscience and many areas of biology for more than a century. But the resolution limit of light, based on immutable physical principles, has kept the fine details of many structures out of view. Scientists can’t change the laws of physics—but NIH-supported researchers recently devised a highly creative way to see images that were previously out of reach, by expanding the contents of tissue sections up to five times their normal size, while maintaining the anatomic arrangements. The new approach takes advantage of a compound used in—get this—disposable diapers!

HIV can spread early, evolve in patients’ brains

NIH: The AIDS virus can genetically evolve and independently replicate in patients’ brains early in the illness process, researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have discovered. An analysis of cerebral spinal fluid (CSF), a window into brain chemical activity, revealed that for a subset of patients HIV had started replicating within the brain within the first four months of infection. CSF in 30 percent of HIV-infected patients tracked showed at least transient signs of inflammation – suggesting an active infectious process – or viral replication within the first two years of infection. There was also evidence that the mutating virus can evolve a genome in the central nervous system that is distinct from that in the periphery.

A genetic test for inherited kidney diseases

Washington: Many kidney disorders are difficult to diagnose. To address this problem, scientists and clinicians have developed a diagnostic test that identifies genetic changes linked to inherited kidney disorders. This testing is now available nationwide through Genomic Pathology Services (GPS) at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

How to Prvent Overmedicating seniors?

Jefferson: Currently used tools to prevent over-medicating senior cancer patients need improvement. Open the medicine cabinet of a senior and you’re likely to find scores of pill bottles. Physicians are often unaware of all the medications a patient is taking, which can result in unnecessary additional prescriptions, non-prescription medications and potential drug-drug interactions that cause unexpected adverse effects. When a cancer diagnosis is thrown into the mix, the drug-drug interactions can become even more complex. A new study evaluates the currently available screening tools for determining if and when seniors with cancer are taking too many medications and finds that a more comprehensive medication assessment and monitoring plan is needed to improve treatment for this population.

New Approach to Promote Regeneration of Heart Tissue

Pennsylvania: The heart tissue of mammals has limited capacity to regenerate after an injury such as a heart attack, in part due to the inability to reactivate a cardiac muscle cell and proliferation program. Recent studies have indicated a low level of cardiac muscle cell (cardiomyocytes) proliferation in adult mammals, but it is insufficient to repair damaged hearts.

Too much of a bad thing can be good in brain tumors

Yale: DNA mutations can cause cancer but in some cases, more mutations may mean a better prognosis for patients. A Yale-led comprehensive genomic analysis of more than 700 brain tumors has revealed one such subtype of the most malignant brain tumor, called glioblastoma, or GBM. This subtype possesses thousands of tumor-specific DNA errors or mutations instead of dozens observed in most glioblastoma cases. It is also associated with longer survival.

Team Identifies Genes that Play Critical Role in the Development of Congenital Heart Disease

Pittsburgh: Fetal ultrasound exams on more than 87,000 mice that were exposed to chemicals that can induce random gene mutations enabled developmental biologists at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine to identify mutations associated with congenital heart disease in 61 genes, many not previously known to cause the disease. The study, published online today in Nature, indicates that the antenna-like cellular structures called cilia play a critical role in the development of these heart defects.

Website recruits people to share health data for studies

Nature: Open Humans, an online portal that encourages people in the United States to share their DNA and other medical data with researchers, launched on 24 March. It aims to connect people with researchers, but provides no privacy guarantee.

Fitness Level Associated with Lower Risk of Some Cancers, Death in Men

JAMA: Men with a high fitness level in midlife appear to be at lower risk for lung and colorectal cancer, but not prostate cancer, and that higher fitness level also may put them at lower risk of death if they are diagnosed with cancer when they’re older, according to a study published online by JAMA Oncology.
While the association between cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) has been well-established, the value of CRF as a predictor of primary cancer has gotten less attention, according to background in the study.

Testing times for heart disease and stroke

Scimex: For the first time, scientists have developed a new scoring system that can predict the 10-year risk of developing heart disease or having a stroke, in people aged 40 years or older. The risk score, called Globorisk, was developed using data from eight previous studies involving over 50,000 people, and unlike previous scores, can be adapted for use in any country.

Playground washing only temporary solution to children’s exposure to lead dust

Australia: A new study has found that while the washing of playground equipment in mining towns does reduce children's exposure to dust metals by 55.9%, recontamination occurs within 24 hours. The study was based in Port Pirie, South Australia, where lead smelting has taken place since 1889. Dust with metals (arsenic, cadmium, copper, lead and zinc) in Port Pirie playgrounds have been recorded at levels well above state and international benchmarks. The research team was led by Professor Mark Taylor of Macquarie University, who in a 2013 study showed that atmospheric emissions from the Port Pirie smelter were directly related to surface dust and hand metal exposures from playground equipment.

Effect of natural sweetener Xylitol in preventing tooth decay still unproven

Scimex: The natural sweetener xylitol is unproven in preventing dental cavities in children and adults, according to a new research review by UK scientists. The researchers gathered data from almost 6000 participants in 10 different studies but didn't get a conclusive outcome from combining the results. While they did see weak support for adding xylitol to toothpaste, the authors concluded there was no evidence for its benefits in other products and were "particularly surprised to see such a lack of evidence on xylitol-containing chewing gums".