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      Obese children twice as likely to develop multiple sclerosis, study suggests

      news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · Yesterday - 23:01


    Swedish researchers say inflammation caused by obesity is likely to increase risk of developing conditions such as MS

    Children who are obese may face more than double the risk of developing multiple sclerosis as adults, a study suggests.

    MS can affect the brain and spinal cord, causing a range of potential symptoms including problems with vision, arm or leg movement, sensation or balance. It is a lifelong condition that can sometimes cause serious disability.

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      ‘People assume you’re crazy for doing it’: the Melbourne clinic infecting healthy patients

      news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · Yesterday - 23:00

    Australia’s first unit dedicated to human challenge trials for novel vaccines and treatments has opened. But what are the ethics of infecting healthy people – and who would do it?

    Green plants, cool tones, casually placed scatter cushions: this living room in East Melbourne could belong to – or at least, be rented by – any millennial. The squeaky corridor floors are a giveaway, though; along with the beds on wheels.

    This isn’t a real estate opportunity, but Doherty Clinical Trials (DCT) – Australia’s first unit dedicated to human challenge studies, where trial participants are given a dose of an infectious disease in a controlled setting. An offshoot of the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity at the University of Melbourne, it opens on Monday – a breeding ground, its proprietors hope, for discoveries that may redefine the future of disease.

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      The virus that infects almost everyone, and its link to cancer and MS – podcast

      news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · Yesterday - 05:00

    On 28 March it is the 60th anniversary of the discovery of Epstein-Barr virus, the most common viral infection in humans. The virus was first discovered in association with a rare type of cancer located in Africa, but is now understood to be implicated in 1% of cancers, as well as the autoimmune disease multiple sclerosis, among others. Ian Sample meets Lawrence Young, professor of molecular oncology at Warwick Medical School, to hear the story of this virus, and how understanding it might help us prevent and treat cancer and other illnesses.

    Read an obituary of Sir Anthony Epstein, who died in February 2024

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      Hormone medication could increase risk of brain tumours, study finds

      news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · 2 days ago - 22:30

    Patients taking certain progestogens as a contraceptive or for gynaecological conditions may be more likely to develop growths, researchers say

    Millions of women around the world who use certain hormone drugs for contraception and to manage conditions such as endometriosis may have a raised risk of rare, usually benign, brain tumours, researchers say.

    Scientists found that prolonged use of certain progestogen medications was linked to a greater risk of meningioma, which are tumours (usually noncancerous) that form in tissues around the brain.

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      Perimenopause has brought chaos to my life - but also peace

      news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · 2 days ago - 12:00

    Trying to learn about menopause has been disorienting, but Angela Garbes has also experienced ‘a softening, an openness’

    In my 20s and 30s, I went hard, driven by a desire to live life fully. I wanted to stay up all night having heated conversations, collect experiences and adventures, make art and meaning from everything that happened. Somewhere in the far-off distance I pictured myself making it to age 40, but never thought further than that: I would turn 40 ... and then I’d be s65?

    My naivete died three years ago in the middle of the night. I woke up drenched in perspiration, shivering. It was shocking to find myself suddenly so cold and in the dark. Within a month, I was waking at least twice a week – three, four or even five times a night.

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      The fight to cure South Sudan’s mysterious neurological disorder

      news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · 4 days ago - 08:00

    Nodding syndrome is a distressing disease that stunts growth, harms brains and sparks convulsions. Though its cause is still unknown, there is now hope that epilepsy drugs can help afflicted children

    The other children move away, frightened, when the convulsions start. Tabo takes a long, guttural breath before slumping on to the ground unconscious, her entire body shaking. The 17-year-old’s mother, Penina Monyo Gulu Biro, gently holds the girl while the attack lasts.

    A minute or two later, Tabo (pictured above) sits up again, tears rolling down her cheeks. “She cries because she’s sad to be like this,” says Biro.

    An aerial view of the Dombolo River, near Mvolo town, in South Sudan’s Western Equatoria state

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      Princess of Wales’ diagnosis: cancers in young are rising, but so are survival rates

      news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · 5 days ago - 08:00

    Early diagnosis and better awareness mean tumours can be caught early – and when disease is found, under-45s can often tolerate chemotherapy better

    Prof Andrew Beggs of Birmingham University runs a special clinic for young people with cancer and has noted, as have other experts, that more and more people under the age of 45 are being diagnosed with some form of the condition.

    “There are a number of reasons for this rise,” he told the Observer . “For one thing, we are simply getting better at spotting cancer at earlier and earlier stages. In addition, special awareness is involved. Young people are much more perceptive about their health than previous generations and so they are more willing to seek help at an early stage when their symptoms have first appeared.”

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      How Covid lockdowns hit mental health of teenage boys hardest

      news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · 6 days ago - 16:00

    New research findings are contrary to what had previously been thought about pandemic’s effect on children’s wellbeing

    Teenage boys were hit hardest by the Covid lockdowns, with their mental health failing to recover despite the return to normality, according to the most comprehensive academic study of its kind.

    Early research into how lockdown affected children indicated that girls had suffered more significant mental health problems than boys.

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      How rightwing groups used junk science to get an abortion case before the US supreme court

      news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · 6 days ago - 12:00

    Anti-abortion researchers ‘exaggerate’ and ‘obfuscate’ in their scientific papers – but by the time they’re published, it’s too late

    A pharmacy professor who strenuously avoids heated political discussions is an unlikely candidate to get involved in a fight over abortion, particularly one as high stakes as a case now before the supreme court: the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) v the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine (AHM).

    But when the professor Chris Adkins of South University in Georgia emailed his concerns about an academic article to the editors of Health Services Research and Managerial Epidemiology, that’s exactly what happened.

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