London, Oct 30: A pungent peppery spice known as grains of paradise or Aframomum melegueta, which is an integral part of West African cuisine, may harbour diabetes treatment, suggests a new study.

Aframomum melegueta – a member of the ginger family that grows well in the swamps along the coast –has long been known in African folklore as a medicine that aids digestion.

The finding was made after Ilya Raskin, a plant biologist at Rutgers University in New Jersey, tested an extract of A. melegueta on diabetic mice and found that it produced a significant drop in their blood sugar levels, reports New Scientist.

Washington, Oct 30: A new study has suggested that kids who are breastfed are less likely to suffer from behavioral or mental health issues than those who are not nursed.

The research has been presented at the American Public Health Association’s 136th Annual Meeting & Exposition in San Diego.

To reach the conclusion, the research looked at whether breastfeeding is

associated with decreased behavioral problems and psychiatric illness during childhood.

Washington, October 30 : An Italian study has revealed that patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2) have a significantly increased risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Dr. Valter Donadon from Pordenone Hospital of Italy, who investigated the relationships between DM2 and risk of HCC in a large population based case-control study, also found that DM2 pre-exists to the development of HCC in most cases.

Describing the study in the World Journal of Gastroenterology, Donadon said that the research team had enrolled 465 consecutive patients with HCC compared with an age and sex matched control group of 490 subjects.

Washington, Oct 30 : Eating grapes can help fight high blood pressure and lower signs of heart muscle damage, suggests a new study.

What’s more, intake of grapes can improve heart function, the study in lab rats found.

The new study, published in the October issue of the Journal of Gerontology: Biological Sciences, gives tantalizing clues to the potential of grapes in reducing cardiovascular risk. The effect is thought to be due to the high level of phytochemicals – naturally occurring antioxidants – that grapes contain.

The study was performed in laboratory rats. The researchers noted that while these study results are extremely encouraging, more research needs to be done.

Swedish researchers have found a 5% drop in heart attacks deaths and hospitalization after the semi-annual one-hour time changes to mark the end of daylight saving times. According to a study to be published Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine, the onset of daylight saving time in the spring appears to increase the risk of heart attacks.

Washington, Oct 30 : The initial excitement of joining a gym and being regular often dies, and people start coming up with innovative excuses to miss their exercise routine. Now, according to a group of researchers, such a sudden transition to a sedentary lifestyle can quickly lead to symptoms of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease 
(hepatic steatosis).

Hepatic steatosis is a reversible condition that causes fat to accumulate in liver cells of obese people.

The new study by researchers at University of Missouri indicated that a regular exercise can prevent nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, which affects at least 75 percent of obese people.