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D minus for cancer

Breast-cancer patients with low levels of vitamin D are significantly more likely to die from the disease and almost twice as likely to have it recur or spread as those with adequate levels, say Canadian researchers, based on a 16-year study of more than 500 women. However, the researchers say they have no idea whether boosting the levels would have any effect, AP reports.

Music beats pressure

Listening to quiet music while breathing slowly for half an hour a day appears to lower blood pressure, says a University of Florence researcher. WebMD reports the preliminary study involved 48 people who were taking medication to control mild high blood pressure. Those who did the music and breathing exercises each day for a month recorded average reductions of three and four points in their mean arterial pressure. There was no change among those who weren't assigned to do the exercises.

Join the moss club

An extract of Chinese club moss shows promise in treating Alzheimer's sufferers, compared with placebos or normal care, say Sichuan University researchers who analysed the results of six trials of Huperzine A involving more than 450 patients. Although the methodology of the trials was what the researchers call low quality, team leader Wu Hongmei says the results warrant further investigation of 'this interesting drug', Reuters reports.

It's all relative for shingles

Shingles appears to run in families, say University of Texas researchers, suggesting a genetic susceptibility to the virus which affects about one in five people from the age of 50, bringing on a painful, blistering rash. Reuters reports that in a study of more than 1,000 people with various skin conditions, almost 40 per cent of those with shingles had a close relative with the virus.

Gassing about weight loss

A liquid diet infused with tiny gas bubbles appears to significantly increase the feeling of fullness for several hours and decrease food intake, say researchers from Unilever. The effects of the drink were compared with those of a standard shake with the same calories. Previous studies have suggested that increasing food volume with water or air can stave off hunger, WebMD reports.

Deadly serious

Almost one in five adult Japanese has seriously considered committing suicide, say government researchers. The figures 'are higher than we had expected', an official told Kyodo News, according to AFP. More than 30,000 people a year killed themselves in Japan between 1998 and 2006.