Among 150 Iranian men, infertile men had higher ratios of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids in blood and semen, while fertile men had more ALA, EPA and DHA. The authors call for research into whether omega-3 supplements could help treat male infertility.
Food Consumer
Disease
Inherited blindness treatable via gene therapy
A year after corrective RPE65 genes were delivered to small areas of their retinas, three adults aged 21 to 42 born with Leber congenital amaurosis type 2 had far better vision, and their brains adapted to use the treated regions, University of Florida researchers report.
Diet
Mediterranean Dieters Less Likely to Develop Dementia
A Taub Institute study reports that people who followed a Mediterranean diet closely had 40 percent lower dementia risk, and those who added exercise a further 33 percent. The authors stress they found no causal link between diet, exercise and dementia.
Government
FDA Lessens Drug Restriction for Dying Patients
The FDA launched a website explaining expanded access, or compassionate use, for patients with serious or life-threatening illness who are ineligible for clinical trials. Requests go case by case, and the drug's maker must agree and work with the patient's physician.
Drug
Antidepressants raise suicide risk in young people
An FDA-led review of 372 trials covering nearly 100,000 adults found antidepressants raised suicide risk in people under 25 while lowering it in those 65 and older, Reuters reported. The analysis appeared on the British Medical Journal website.
Disease
Arkansas reports first swine flu death
The Arkansas Department of Health reported the state's first death from H1N1 complications and withheld further details for confidentiality. The CDC listed 11 states with regional flu activity, and the WHO counted 162,380 lab-confirmed cases and 1,154 deaths worldwide as of Aug. 4.
Environment
Radiation raises diabetes risk in cancer survivors
An Archives of Internal Medicine study compared 8,599 childhood cancer survivors with 2,936 siblings and found 2.5 percent had diabetes against 1.7 percent. Abdominal radiation raised the odds 2.7-fold and total body radiation 7.2-fold, unrelated to BMI or activity.
Cooking
Healthy Recipes:Delicious Summer Chili
A light, broth-based summer chili with ground chicken breast, corn, black beans, red bell pepper and green chiles, simmered about 25 minutes and finished with cilantro. Five servings; the black beans supply B vitamins, potassium, iron, magnesium and fiber.
Environment
Antibiotic Resistant Staph: A Threat to Home HealthCare Providers
Archives of Internal Medicine reports 191 of 1,501 patients screened on leaving hospital carried methicillin-resistant staph, and 36 picked it up during follow-up. Home caregivers face the greatest risk, since staph spreads by skin contact and through used bandages and towels.
Miscellaneous
Young Women Look to Their Own Mothers for Parenting Advice
An Ohio State study of 1,133 young parents whose own parents took a 1979 survey found women more likely than men to copy their mother's approach to reading, spanking and praising. Co-author Jonathon Vespa notes practices shifted too, with 1990s parents less likely to spank.
Lifestyle
Breastfeeding linked to lower breast cancer risk
A study in the Archives of Internal Medicine links breastfeeding to a 59 percent lower breast cancer risk among women whose mother or sister had the disease. The piece also notes reported reductions in type 2 diabetes, ovarian cancer and rheumatoid arthritis risk.
Lifestyle
Breastfeeding reduces breast cancer risk
Among 60,075 women in the Nurses' Health Study II, breastfeeding showed no overall link to premenopausal breast cancer. But women whose mother or sister had the disease were 59 percent less likely to develop it before menopause if they breastfed.
Alerts
Milford Citizens Told to Boil Tap Water
Tests on Milford, Massachusetts tap water from Echo Lake Reservoir turned up E. coli and other fecal coliform bacteria. Water manager Henry Papuga told residents to boil water and throw out food and formula made with it since Wednesday; traces had cleared by Sunday evening.
Lifestyle
Optimists live longer, healthier lives, study shows
In an eight-year University of Pittsburgh study of nearly 100,000 post-menopausal women, the most optimistic had a 9% lower risk of heart disease and a 14% lower risk of dying from any cause, while the most hostile and cynical were 16% more likely to die.
Miscellaneous
Border collies: "Super dogs" of the species
Dog expert Stanley Coren told the American Psychological Association that dogs understand more than 150 words and reason roughly like a two-year-old, and that super dogs in the top 20 percent learn 250. The writer punctuates each claim with his own dog's less impressive habits.
Disease
China: No more plague risk
China lifted the quarantine imposed on July 30 around Ziketan town in Qinghai province, where a pneumonic plague outbreak killed three villagers. Xinhua reported no new cases in the previous week in the remote town of 10,000 residents.
Food
Beetroot juice may boost your stamina
Eight men aged 19 to 38 who drank 500 ml of beetroot juice daily for six days cycled 11.25 minutes on average, 92 seconds longer than on placebo. The researchers credit nitrate for cutting oxygen uptake, but did not establish the mechanism.
Government
"Crucial" to keep schools open: CDC
New CDC guidelines urge schools to weigh the risks of closing against the cost of interrupting learning if swine flu spreads this fall. Officials recommend hand washing, covering coughs, screening students on arrival, sending sick children home, and H1N1 vaccination when doses arrive in October.
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