Apples may prove to be a winner when it comes to reducing the risk of heart disease, says a new study of more than 34,000 women. In this study, flavonoid-rich apples were found to be one of three foods (along with red wine and pears) that decrease the risk of mortality for both coronary heart disease (CHD) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) among post-menopausal women, The findings were published in the March 2007 American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. [click link for full article]

Does exposure to odors, pollutants and cigarette smoke make you sick? Are you extremely sensitive to certain smells, such as cleaning agents and chemicals? Do various medications and food allergies…

A study published March 17, 2007 in The Lancet, one of the world’s foremost medical journals, finds that the chances of surviving a cardiac arrest outside a hospital setting are twice as high if bystanders perform chest-compression-only resuscitation instead of traditional cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) with mouth-to-mouth breathing. [click link for full article]

Below is a letter from Gina Starks to Medical News Today, who suffers from Fibrosing Mediastinitis (FM), a rare lung disease:Dear Medical News Today, My name is Gina Starks. I am 29 years old, married and have a two-year-old son. I also happen to be battling a very rare and life threatening lung disease. Fibrosing Mediastinitis (FM). I developed this disease as a result of living in the Midwest. [click link for full article]

A clinical trial conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public concluded that daily zinc supplements reduced the risk of death among children aged 12 to 48 months by 18 percent. However, the researchers did not find any significant reduction in mortality among children 1 to11 months of age. The study is published in the March 17, 2007, edition of The Lancet.Zinc is one of the most plentiful trace elements in the body, second only to iron. [click link for full article]

Two new interferon-gamma blood test assays to detect latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) showed customers were exposed to a supermarket employee in Holland who had smear-positive tuberculosis, while traditional tuberculin skin tests (TST) did not, according to a large contact study.Results from these tests were published in the second issue for March 2007 of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, published by the American Thoracic Society. [click link for full article]

Only 20 percent of children with persistent asthma have a level of control that is optimal, according to a survey-based study published in the Journal of Ambulatory Pediatrics.”That leaves almost 80 percent who are suffering more than they need to,” said the study’s lead author, Jill Halterman, M.D., M.P.H., Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Golisano Children’s Hospital at Strong. [click link for full article]

TV celebrity and Aussie legend, Mr Ray Martin, has told attendees at the launch of an Indigenous health project that the health of the next generation of Indigenous Australians needs to be given a ‘fresh start’.Speaking at the launch of the Indigenous EarInfoNet* at the Menzies School of Health Research (MSHR)** in Darwin, Mr Martin spoke about the need to focus attention on giving Indigenous kids the opportunity to have a healthy start to life. [click link for full article]

Indiana University School of Medicine researchers are taking a closer look at a disease whose incidence is rising as obesity in children increases. Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis, more popularly known as Fatty Liver Disease, occurs in approximately 15% of obese children. Fatty Liver Disease, in which fat accumulates in the liver, while not life threatening in children, can lead to cirrhosis (scarring) of the liver, sometimes requiring transplantation by adulthood. [click link for full article]