GOOD NEWS

Alcohol and obesity

According to Ahmed Arif, from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, and James Rohrer, from Mayo Clinic, Rochester, people who drink small amounts of alcohol regularly are less likely to be obese than those who do not drink at all, reports BMC Public Health. It shows that consuming no more than a peg of drink or two a few times a week reduces the risk of being obese. Consuming four or more pegs per day, however, increases the risk by 46 per cent, say the researchers.

Immunity clue

Scientists from the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Sydney, have found the neuropeptide Y (NPY) hormone which prevents our immune system from functioning properly. The researchers say during periods of stress nerves release a lot of NPY and it gets into the bloodstream, where it influences the cells of the immune system that look out for and destroy bacteria and viruses. The discovery may lead to the production of new drugs to stimulate immune system in people exposed to high levels of stress and also help prevent autoimmune diseases such as Crohn’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and type 1 diabetes.

BAD NEWS

Mothers’ burden

A mother’s obesity before pregnancy may affect her child’s weight, says a paper published in Pediatrics. Results of a study, which included more than 3,000 children, suggest that a child is far more likely to be overweight at a very young age ? at age two or three ? if his or her mother was overweight or obese before she became pregnant. The study conducted by some Ohio State University researchers adds that a child is also at greater risk of becoming overweight if the mother smoked during her pregnancy.

Killer stroke

People who have a stroke after a heart attack have a nearly three-fold risk of dying than those who don’t experience it. This finding, reported in the Annals of Internal Medicine, is based on a study of people living in Rochester who experienced a first heart attack between 1979 and 1998. A total of 2,160 patients were followed for around six years, senior author Dr Veronique L. Roger, from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, and colleagues note.