Skin Cancer on the Rise

Skin cancer is on the rise and the numbers of cases are higher than those predicted by experts previously.

Image courtesy of Christiana Care / flickr

A new study shows the most common type of skin cancer is approximately double the level indicated by government statistics, with more than 200,000 cases of basal cell carcinomas a year.  BCC is treatable by surgery but with cases rising it could cost the NHS £200million a year.  Dr Bav Shergill, a dermatologist at Brighton and Susses Hospitals NHS Trust, said he is seeing more and more patients and added: “It is thought that this is due to a number of factors, including people living longer, and greater exposure to sun through outdoor hobbies, travel and package holidays and so on.”

BCC is rarely fatal but is thought to account for 75 per cent of all skin cancers.

Pot Bellies Not All Bad

In a recent study researchers have found that that a pot belly might not be as bad for some as it is for others.

Women with pot bellies and muffin tops are less likely to break bones than those with perfectly toned tummies.  However, for men the same can’t be said.  Researchers studied 1000 men and women aged 50 years plus over a period of five years and during that time 107 women broke bones compared to 19 men.  The study was conducted by a team at Sydney’s Garvan Institute of Medical Research and factored a link between big bellies and breaks in women but hastened to add that although some fat around the middle can be ok, being obese is not.

Project leader, Tuan Nguyen, said: “The study appears to be consistent with the fact that obesity levels are rising worldwide at the same time fracture incidence is decreasing.”

Music Good for Premature Babies

Researchers have found that playing live music to prematurely born babies can slow their heartbeat and make them breathe more easily.

The sound of their parent singing or an instrument playing can help a newborn sleep better and puts them in a quietly attentive state.  The research coordinated by Beth Israel Hospital in New York across 11 American hospitals found the effect was true regardless of which song was played, although the tracks had to be slowed down to sound like a lullaby.  Mothers of 272 premature babies worked with music therapists for several sessions over two weeks using either two instruments, singing or no music.

A premature baby is one that is born less than 37 weeks into the pregnancy and the UK has the highest rates of these births among Europe.  Study leader, Dr Joanne Loewy, revealed all music had a beneficial effect; singing was most effective at slowing the baby’s heart rate and made the baby most attentive, whilst breathing was slowed the most by ocean music, and sucking behaviour improved the most with the gato box (a wooden drum).

Sense of Purpose is Good for Our Health

New research suggests we all like to feel needed and a sense of purpose is good for our health.

Those with a strong sense of purpose were 70 per cent less likely to suffer a stroke according to a study of 7,000 people.  Eric Kim, the clinical psychologist who led the study at University of Michegan said: “Maintaining a purpose in life not only increases quality of life but may improve physical health and increase longevity.”  Other similar research has shown that positive attitude and mood can also lower the stress hormone cortisol.  Cary Cooper, professor of health psychology at Lancaster University said: “This is significant as we have an ageing population and it helps show what behaviours inoculate people from getting ill.  Maybe retirement is not good for some.”

Making Chocolate Healthy

Scientists may have come up with the perfect solution for those who struggle to eat their five-a-day.

Chocolate made with fruit juice.  Tiny droplets of juice are used to replace up to half of the bar’s fat content and the process works with white, dark, and milk chocolate.  The downside is that researchers are still unable to make it taste exactly like chocolate and admit the final product has a fruity flavour.  The technique, developed by a team at University of Warwick, substitutes the cocoa butter and milk fats with liquid in the form of micro-bubbles.

Speaking about the technique, Dr Stefan Bon, said: “We have established the chemistry that’s a starting point for healthier chocolate confectionary.  This approach maintains the things that make chocolate ‘chocolatey’ but with fruit juice instead of fat.  Now we’re hoping the food industry will take the next steps and use the technology to make tasty, lower-fat chocolate bars and candy.”