Radiation overload for obese patients
Obese or overweight people are being given as much as 20 to 40 times the normal doses of radiation to get more usable X-ray images, according to a study conducted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston. 'You need to get a certain amount of X-rays to go through the body in order to get an informative image, and excess weight impedes that,' says MIT professor Jacquelyn C. Yanch, the study's lead author. The long-term effect of the higher dosages is still unknown. The findings are in the July issue of Radiology, HealthDay reports.
Heavy mums misjudge child's weight
The ability of a mother to identify a weight problem in her child appears to be dependent on her own weight, with overweight mothers tending to underestimate their child's weight, Reuters reports. On the other hand, a mother's ability to correctly determine the weight status of a child who is unrelated to her appears to depend on her socioeconomic level, research in paediatrics shows. The findings present a challenge for physicians working with overweight children and their parents, say Petra Warschburger and Katja Kroller, of the University of Potsdam in Germany. 'The first step for parents is to recognise and accept that their child is overweight and to recognise [obesity] in this particular age group as a significant and severe health risk,' the authors say.
Protein not linked to heart disease
C-reactive protein (CRP), a naturally occurring chemical in the blood, may not play as large a part in heart disease than earlier thought, according to a research paper published last week in The Journal of the American Medical Association, reports The New York Times. Researchers, who analysed genetic data from more than 100,000 people, conclude that their study 'argues against' the notion the protein causes heart disease. David Altshuler, a professor of genetics and medicine at Harvard Medical School, says the distinction was important. If CRP were merely associated with heart disease and not the direct cause, lowering it would not have a marked effect on health. The findings could put an end to some research and development work to produce CRP-lowering drugs.
Daily sex improves sperm quality