Chronic Stress Found To Increase Cancer Severity In Mouse Model
Worrywarts, fidgety folk and the naturally nervy may have a real cause for concern: accelerated cancer. In a new study led by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine, anxiety-prone mice developed more severe cancer then their calm counterparts. The study, published online in PLoS ONE, found that after hairless mice were dosed with ultraviolet rays, the nervous ones - with a penchant for reticence and risk aversion - developed more tumors and invasive cancer. Consistent anxiety also came with sensitivity to chronic stress and a dampened immune system.
Bedwetting In Older Children
Bedwetting in older children is common, but it can be distressing. An article in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) outlines possible causes and evidence for current treatments. Bedwetting in children aged five years or older, also called nocturnal enuresis, is common, although more common in boys. An American study found a prevalence of bedwetting of 6.21% in boys compared with 2.51% in girls. There is also a strong genetic aspect to bedwetting, as a large British study found a significantly higher likelihood of bedwetting if a parent was a bedwetter.
Males With Mutated BRCA1 Breast Cancer Gene Have Higher Prostate Cancer Risk
Men who carry the mutated BRCA1 gene have a four times greater chance of developing prostate cancer than other males, researchers from the Institute of Cancer Research and the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust reported in the British Cancer Journal. The mutated BRCA1 is found in people with a family history of not only breast cancer, but ovarian cancer as well. Men with the mutated BRCA1 gene are also more susceptible to the very aggressive form of prostate cancer. The authors explained that hopefully, their findings may have an impact on the potential screening and treatment procedures for patients with prostate cancer.