Massage therapy is suggested for patients in the grips of chronic pain when drugs fail to provide enough relief. And acupuncture is urged for those experiencing the nausea and fatigue that can accompany conventional chemotherapy.
At the same time, the panel warns against certain vitamin and mineral supplements such as beta carotene and vitamin A, both of which have been linked to an increase in the risk of lung cancer among smokers.
]]>Dr Rui Jiang, leading the research, said high levels of nitrites are used in cured meats such as bacon as preservatives, anti-bacterial agents and colour fixatives.
He said reactive nitrogen species, molecules that can damage body tissues, might be the key.
He said: "Nitrites generate reactive nitrogen species that may cause damage to the lungs, producing structural changes resembling emphysema."
Back away from the bacon, folks!
]]>The study found that health warnings on cigarette packages in the United States, which were last updated in 1984, are the least effective, consisting of only small text warnings on the side of packages.
Canadian warnings appear to be more effective as the cigarette package is covered in a large "photograph of health damage caused by smoking."
]]> ]]>The pure oxygen "saves their life in the short-term, but long-term exposure appears to cause significant damage to many cell types including the epithelial and endothelial cells of the lung," [lead author Dr. Augustine Choi] explained ... By administering oxygen mixed with a very small amount of carbon monoxide we may be able to significantly reduce such oxygen-associated damage and cell death."]]>
... only 5 percent to 10 percent of the fine particle pollution was soot from diesel exhaust, but it was that portion that seemed to be having the worst effect on the children's asthma. He said their symptoms, like wheezing, doubled on days when pollution from truck traffic was highest.]]>
A ban would send a shock through France's smoker-friendly culture, where smoky cafes have long been redoubts of Paris' intelligentsia. The French presidency's Web site features a photo of a young President Jacques Chirac with a cigarette in his mouth.]]>
"While it's not ready for prime time, the test would ideally be given to seemingly healthy people at high risk of lung cancer -- for example, smokers aged 45 or older," he tells WebMD. "You want to give it before symptoms develop, perhaps repeating it every six months or so."]]>
In the study, researchers in New Zealand and the U.K. compared more than 200 women with primary lung cancer and 339 healthy women. All the women lived in Teeside in northeast England, an area with especially high rates of lung cancer among women.
Lung Cancer Risk Rises in Industrial Zones
Related: Lung Cancer
]]>The researchers found that people who smoked menthol cigarettes in 1985 were more likely to still be smoking in 2000. For example, 69 percent of menthol smokers were still smokers, compared with 54 percent of non-menthol smokers.]]>
Pulmonary-function tests revealed that World Trade Center responders had twice the rate of abnormalities as those experienced in the general population. These abnormalities persisted for months and sometimes years, the report found.
Lung Problems Rife Among WTC Responders
Lung Problems for 9/11 Rescuers More Widespread: Study
COPD, a progressive lung illness often caused by smoking that includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis, is characterized by airflow limitation that is not fully reversible. People with severe COPD often require continuous oxygen therapy.]]>
Firefighters who arrived first had more frequent and severe bouts of wheezing and chest pain than those who came more than 48 hours later.]]>
Because asthma inhalers do not include dose counters, asthma sufferers may unknowingly run out of their rescue medication ... Without dose counters, patients are left to wonder whether their inhaler is "running on empty," writes Oppenheimer from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.]]> ]]>
A scientist at the National Institutes of Health thinks how we breathe may hold a key to how the body regulates blood pressure, and that it has less to do with relaxation than with breaking down all that salt most of us eat.]]>
" ... we were surprised by the high proportion of negatives in cancer patients ... [general practitioners] will want to consider either repeat X-rays, perhaps with a lateral, or referral, if they still suspect cancer. "]]> ]]>