NSAIDs Cause GI Bleeding

People who take prescription anti-inflammatory drugs are almost five times as likely as non-drug users to have potentially life-threatening stomach bleeding, a new study suggests. And the older the person, the greater the risk, according to the report in the January issue of Epidemiology.

Infant Cancer Screening Not Useful

Routinely screening infants' urine for two chemicals linked to a common childhood cancer, called neuroblastoma, does not help reduce the number of children who develop an advanced-stage of the disease, a study shows. The findings based on a five-year investigation of 475,000 Canadian children also indicate that infant urine testing will not result in fewer deaths from the cancer.

Smoking May Turn Hair Gray

Smokers may have two more things to worry about -- premature gray hair and baldness, researchers say. A study reported in this week's issue of the British Medical Journal found a significant tie between smoking and gray hair in both men and women, and a link with baldness in men. The researchers say the findings may help keep young people away from tobacco.

Alcohol And The Brain

Shortly after the dawn of mankind, humans discovered that fermenting grain or fruit produces a substance -- alcohol -- that affects the brain. Now, researchers think they know the reason why. According to a report in the December 20 issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, alcohol breaks down into components in the brain -- compounds thought to be responsible for the slurred speech and loss of inhibition characteristic of drunkenness.

The Seven-Year Ear

"What big ears you have, Grandpa": researchers say older men have larger ears than younger ones, adding that ears show peaks of growth every seven years. Drawing on previous research that showed older men had larger ears, Dutch researchers have discovered a seven-year cycle to their growth, peaking at ages 35, 42, 49, and 55. They say other body parts may have similar growth cycles.

Good Tidings About Good Times

Good news for the holiday season: a life-long habit of getting out and about -- be it the theater, cinema, caroling, or even listening to a sermon -- may help you live longer. In a study of 12,000 people in Sweden, those who attended cultural events, read books and magazines, and made music or sang in a choir were 57% more likely to survive in a nine-year period than those who did not, according to the report in the current issue of the British Medical Journal.

Whiskey Contains Carcinogen Traces

Planning on sipping your holiday spirit? A not-so-cheery report from the Netherlands may cause your plan to slip: whiskey contains small amounts of carcinogenic compounds, called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs. However, the same compounds are also found in tobacco smoke and charbroiled and smoked food -- and in much higher amounts, say the researchers. PAHs are the product of incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, such as gasoline and oil, according to a letter published in the British journal The Lancet.

Work Chemicals Cause Lung Problems

Long-term exposure to low levels of chemical additives commonly used in spray paint and polyurethane-coating processes can cause deterioration of the lungs' ability to function, a study shows. The widely used compounds, called isocyanates, continued to cause the lung declines in workers even when exposures were well within current federal safety limits.

Standing Raises Miscarriage Risk

Long hours of standing at the workplace may increase the risk of miscarriage in some women, according to a new study. California state government researchers interviewed over 5,300 pregnant women and found that long hours of standing, combined with a previous history of miscarriage, more than quadrupled the risk of miscarriage.

Balloons Blew Up Lungs

A word of caution as New Year's Eve approaches -- blowing up balloons can damage your health. According to a case report in this week's British Medical Journal, a young man was hospitalized for lung problems after inflating 20 party balloons in one hour. He suffered chest pain and a crackling under the skin due to extensive amounts of trapped air in the chest tissues -- air forced out of the lungs by the pressure used to inflate the balloons.

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