Health Weekly

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March 24 - 30, 2010
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Women who closely adhere to a Mediterranean-style diet rich in vegetables, vegetable oils and fish may have a higher likelihood of becoming pregnant after infertility treatment, a new study suggests.

Researchers in the Netherlands found that among 161 couples undergoing fertility treatment at their centre, women whose eating habits most closely matched the traditional Mediterranean diet were 40 per cent more likely to become pregnant than those with the least Mediterranean-like diets.

Bacterial infections, hepatitis B and C, and possibly even HIV are being transmitted via acupuncture through the use of contaminated needles, cotton swabs and hot packs, experts have warned.

In an editorial published in the British Medical Journal, microbiologists at the University of Hong Kong said the number of reported acupuncture-related infections worldwide was the tip of an iceberg and they called for tighter infection control measures.

There isn't enough evidence to back or debunk the claim that vitamin D can help reduce the risk of ovarian cancer, despite several recent studies making this claim, the authors of a new review of the scientific literature conclude. "Based on the current evidence, it is premature to make any definitive claims for or against the role of vitamin D in ovarian cancer," Dr Linda Cook of the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque and her colleagues conclude.

A targetted heat treatment appears to alleviate bothersome and sometimes painful plantar warts, researchers from China have found.

Plantar warts are skin growths on the soles of the feet caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV), which enters the body through tiny cuts and breaks in the skin. Plantar warts often develop beneath pressure points in the feet, such as the heels or balls of the feet.







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