Relief under the needle
Acupuncture helps relieve arthritic knee pain in more than one out of two sufferers - but so does a placebo, according to a study of about 1,000 patients by the University of Heidelberg in Germany. Both the acupuncture and sham treatment (needles weren't inserted far and were not near traditional Chinese sites) got significantly better results than conservative western therapy, Reuters reports. Despite the placebo's success, the researchers say acupuncture appears to be a useful adjunct in treating arthritis.
Getting to the heart of fats
Mediterranean diets, with so-called healthy fats from nuts and olive oil, may be better for people at risk of heart disease than low-fat diets, based on a University of Barcelona study published in Annals of Internal Medicine of more than 760 mostly overweight, at-risk people, aged 55 to 80. After three months, those on Mediterranean diets typically had better cholesterol, blood pressure and blood-sugar levels than those on low-fat diets. Mediterranean diets contain plenty of fruit, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and olive oil, and little red meat.
Breast milk inhibits bedwetting
Babies breastfed for more than three months are less likely to wet their beds when they're older, according to a preliminary study by the Johnson Medical School in New Jersey of more than 170 children aged five to 13. More than 80 per cent who didn't wet their beds had been breastfed. About four out of every 10 three-year-olds are bed-wetters, healthday.com reports. And a study by the Brown Medical School, Rhode Island, of more than 1,000 tiny premature babies has found that those fed with breast milk do better in mental-development tests when they're older than those fed only formula. Co-author Betty Vohr says breast milk ingredients, particularly fatty acids, seem to help brain development, AP reports.
Ultrasound boosts growth