Washington, Apr 3 : Treating diabetes with a class of drugs, called glitazone, leads to a "modest" increase in the risk of diabetic macular oedema (DME), which is a common vision-threatening complication, according to a study.

Diabetic macular oedema is a common diabetes complication, with swelling and fluid build-up in the retina leading to progressive visual loss.

Washington, Apr 3 : Women with a family history of breast cancer can reduce their risk of developing the disease through regular exercise, say researchers.

With the evidence that reducing estrogen in the body reduces cancer risk, and that elite female athletes experience a drop in estrogen levels that often cause them to stop ovulating and menstruating, University of Pennsylvania researchers are conducting further studies to understand whether reduce their risk.

Washington, Apr 3 : Supervised exercise through pulmonary rehabilitation can help improve the condition of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to a study.

Richard Casaburi, at the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center (LA BioMed), has found that supervised exercise can reduce the feelings of breathlessness, increase the tolerance for exercise, and improve quality of life in COPD patients.

Washington, Apr 3 : Hypodermic needles often lead to medical complications when the jab penetrates too far in the skin. However, now MIT researchers have developed a novel needle that aims to reduce the risk.

Based on the drilling technique from the oil industry, scientists have developed a mechanical device that automatically stops once the needle tip enters a cavity or lower-density tissue.

Washington, Apr 3 : Want to shed those extra pounds? Well, then focus more on what you drink than what you eat, suggest Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health researchers.

The researchers studied the relationship between beverage consumption among adults and weight change and found that weight loss was positively linked to a reduction in liquid calorie consumption and liquid calorie intake had a stronger impact on weight than solid calorie intake.

Washington, Apr 3 : A diet rich in whipping cream, butter and vegetable oils can help control epileptic seizures in children, suggests a new study.

In the study, children on highly regimented ketogenic diet, a high-fat nutritional therapy, were found to have 90pct reduction in seizure frequency.