Obesity prevention the old fashioned way: Calorie restriction

University of South Florida researcher Barbara Hansen, PhD, will likely never be invited to talk about weight loss on Oprah. Her message is mundanely common sense, not faddish – she doesn’t drop phrases like “low carb,” or “low fat,” or “geared to your body type” or “put your body into fat-burning mode.” more  

Acupressure works to relieve low back pain

Acupressure (applying pressure with the thumbs or fingertips to the same points on the body stimulated in acupuncture) seems to be more effective in reducing low back pain than physical therapy, finds a study published online by BMJ. more

Dramatic metabolic differences in how adults, infants, children process drugs

A Medical College of Wisconsin study provides the strongest and most complete evidence to date of major changes occurring during human development in the types and levels of enzymes responsible for the disposition of drugs and environmental chemicals. more  

Chromosome rearrangements not as random as believed

As the human genome gradually yields up its secrets, scientists are finding some genetic events, such as rearrangements in chromosomes, are less random than they had previously thought. Originating as structural weaknesses in unstable stretches of DNA, abnormal chromosomes may, rarely, result in a disabling genetic disease one or two generations later. more

Risk takers may have lower rates of Parkinson’s disease 

Risk takers may have lower rates of Parkinson’s disease, suggests research in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry. more

Alzheimer’s disease progresses more rapidly in highly educated people  

High levels of education may help ward off Alzheimer’s disease, but they also speed up its progression once developed, reveals research in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry. more

Prescriptions for headache almost twice as likely in middle aged women

Family doctors are almost twice as likely to prescribe drugs to middle aged women with headache as they are to men of the same age, reveals research in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry. more