| Aspirin could combat throat cancer
Medical researchers in Oxford are investigating whether the humble aspirin could be used to prevent throat cancer. Aspirin is being combined with an anti-ulcer drug to try to prevent a condition called Barrett's oesophagus from developing into oesophageal cancer. Barrett's oesophagus affects up to two per cent of the UK population and is responsible for half of all oesophageal cancers. Patients with the condition have stomach acid that rises from the stomach into the oesophagus, usually causing frequent heartburn. The acid damages the cells in the lining of the throat and in some cases they turn cancerous. The Cancer Research UK-funded trial aims to see if aspirin and the anti-ulcer drug can prevent this condition of the oesophagus worsening and its progression to cancer.
No Malfunction as Prince Rocks Halftime
Phew! CBS got through the halftime show without a "wardrobe malfunction." The Artist Formerly Known as a Munchkin of Wardrobe Dysfunction began by singing "Let's Go Crazy," but he didn't.
Prince, who became a Jehovah's Witness in the mid-1990s, no longer wears yellow, butt-baring pants as he did at the 1991 MTV Video Music Awards (prompting Howard Stern's send-up at the '92 VMAs). The closest thing to a fashion statement Sunday night was an odd kerchief on his head. So the NFL had no repeat of the 2004 Janet Jackson/Justin Timberlake show, which happened the last time CBS broadcast the game.
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Esophageal Cancer Rates Climb With Obesity; UM Study Finds ...
The rapidly climbing obesity rates in the United States have created a higher risk of esophageal cancer linked to reflux disease. And this has some surgeons wondering if a currently popular procedure to remove the esophagus is as safe in obese patients.
According to a new study at the University of Michigan Health System, obese patients who underwent a procedure called transhiatal esophagectomy primarily for esophageal cancer had outcomes similar to their lean counterparts.
"The type of patient who currently develops esophageal cancer has changed dramatically in the last 20 years. Esophageal cancer used to be primarily squamous cell carcinoma found in people who drank alcohol and smoked excessively. In association with the horrendous epidemic of obesity in this country, we have seen a 350 percent increase of adenocarcinoma over the last 30 years.
To help fight flu, some opt for a shot of tradition
Take a sip of steaming ginger tea and feel it start to soothe. A tingling on the tip of your tongue quickly builds toward the back of your mouth. Your throat warms, you swallow, and that spicy warmth travels down to your stomach, like the trail of heat from a shot of Scotch, but with comfort instead of a burn or a buzz. With flu season here, ginger and other spices can do more than enliven our food; they can help nourish us and maintain our health. Many cultures prize ginger's medicinal effects, and a University of Michigan study this year confirmed what every pregnant woman with morning sickness or traveler with motion sickness knows (or should): Ginger can help ease nausea. A UCLA study in 2001 found that a chemical in turmeric, so popular in Indian cooking, can help fight infection (as well as slow the degenerative effects of Alzheimer's disease).
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