Heart-warming news A diabetes drug appears to protect against thickening of artery walls, a precursor to many heart attacks, as well as significantly boost levels of so-called good cholesterol, according to a US study of more than 460 adults. 'It had a dramatic effect on [high-density lipoprotein] cholesterol levels, which is very hard to get,' says team leader Theodore Mazzone, of the University of Illinois at Chicago. The study was paid for by the Japanese drug-maker, Reuters reports. More than 20 million people in the US have diabetes, which puts them at greater risk of atherosclerosis, or artery hardening. Get the blood flowing A new scan may be able to find clogged arteries faster and more easily than existing tests, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore who have successfully used it on dogs. The computer tomography, or CT scan, tracks blood flow slowed by narrowed arteries, Reuters reports. It's non-invasive, requires little preparation of the patient, takes 15 minutes compared with up to 45 minutes for existing tests, and appears to more accurately locate even mildly blocked arteries. Google finds answer Internet search engine Google successfully diagnosed almost three out of every five puzzling case histories used to test doctors, according to a British study. Hangwi Tang and Jennifer Hwee Kwoon Ng conducted the test after finding that so many of their patients tried to self-diagnose using the internet, WebMD reports. 'Our study suggests that in difficult diagnostic cases, it is often useful to 'google' for a diagnosis,' they write in BMJ. The catch is that medical expertise is needed to choose and decipher the best diagnosis. Take a deep breath A simple breath test may eventually be used to predict people at risk of lung cancer, according to tests of a system that has successfully identified DNA markers that indicate early stages of the disease. Lung cancer is often fatal because it is identified too late, healthday.com reports. The test, developed by New York State Department of Health researchers, involves turning patient's breath into a condensed vapour, which is analysed for DNA modification linked to cancers. In separate tests earlier this year by a San Francisco-based non-profit cancer group, dogs successfully detected breast and lung cancers by sniffing patients' breath. Reason to be cheerful Happiness may be good for your health, according to a study of almost 200 adults by Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. Those with positive emotional styles were less susceptible to colds and flu - although those with negative emotional styles weren't especially vulnerable, WebMD reports. 'We need to take more seriously the possibility that positive emotional style is a major player in disease risk,' the researchers wrote in Psychosomatic Medicine. Healthy investment The best economic investment any nation can make is in the health of its people, according to a study by WHO economists. 'About 30 per cent of economic growth in the United Kingdom between 1790 and 1980 has been estimated to be attributed to better health and dietary intake,' they say in a European Commission report. The economists cast doubt on studies suggesting that once national wealth reaches a certain level, further health improvement makes no difference, WebMD reports. Jason Sankey is a tennis professional
