High-Dose Vitamin B Risky for Diabetics With Kidney Disease

TUESDAY, April 27 (HealthDay News) — High-dose vitamin B therapy is dangerous for diabetics with kidney disease, and patients on this regimen should stop immediately, says a new study.

When the researchers began the study, they believed it would show that high-dose vitamin B therapy (folic acid, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12) would improve patients’ kidney function and reduce their risk of heart attack and stroke.
But it turned out that patients on high-dose vitamin B therapy had significant worsening of kidney function, and twice as many heart and stroke incidents as patients taking a placebo.

Mental Health Woes Plague ‘Cyberbullies’ and Their Victims

TUESDAY, July 6 (HealthDay News) — Teens who “cyberbully” others via the Internet or cell phones are more likely to suffer from both physical and psychiatric troubles, and their victims are at heightened risk, too, a Finnish study finds.

The survey of almost 2,500 teens found that more than 7 percent of teens bullied other teens online, about 5 percent were targets of this aggressive behavior, and 5.4 percent said they were both bullies and bullied.

Can Supplements Ease Menopause Symptoms?

Hot flashes, insomnia, mood swings, and the other symptoms of menopause can be unpleasant and difficult to manage. Hormone therapy (HT) can help in the short term, but long-term HT can increase a woman’s risk of breast cancer, stroke, and heart attacks.

Fish Oil Linked to Lower Breast Cancer Risk

Postmenopausal women between the ages of 50 and 76 who took fish oil were 32% less likely to develop certain types of breast cancer than women who didn’t, the study found.

The researchers looked at 14 other popular supplements (including gingko biloba, black cohosh, soy, and St. John’s wort), but only fish oil—which contains concentrated amounts of the omega-3 fatty acids found in salmon, tuna, and other fish—had any connection to breast cancer risk.

Despite their findings, the researchers say it’s too soon to recommend that women start taking fish oil to stave off breast cancer.

“People should try to achieve nutrients through a healthy diet, so eating fish is a better recommendation than fish oil,” says the lead author of the study, Emily White, PhD, an epidemiologist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, in Seattle. “We think that fish oil is promising in terms of disease prevention, but it’s not proven.”

HealthNews Dozen: States Boost Health Budgets Despite Economic Woes

The U.S. financial crisis has affected every part of the federal budget with a special focus on state and local budgets. Spending has been cut almost across the board when it comes to state and local issues, and federal subsidies have been available but spread thin. While public health has been as much on the chopping block as any other sector of the states’ budgets, many have reduced spending in other areas in order to sustain health programs, while some have even increased spending in this area because of its vital importance to the American people.