Category Health/Medical

Eczema

Infants whose mothers had a higher level of a particular type of vitamin B during pregnancy have a lower risk of eczema at age 12 months, new Southampton research has shown. The study is the first to link maternal serum levels of nicotinamide, a naturally occurring vitamin, and related metabolites to the risk of atopic eczema in the child.The researchers believe the findings support the concept that eczema partly originates as a baby develops in t he womb and could reveal ways of reducing the risk of the skin condition.

Dr Sarah El-Heis, the study’s lead researcher from the University of Southampton, comments: “Nicotinamide cream has been used in the treatment of eczema but the link between the mother’s levels of nicotinamide during pregnancy and the offspring’s risk of atopic eczem...

Researchers have identified a way to prevent chronic urinary tract infections, a common infection primarily caused by E. coli (shown above). Vaccinating mice against a key protein that E. coli use to latch onto the bladder and cause UTIs reduces severe disease, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Credit: Scott Hultgren and John Heuser

A potential way to prevent chronic urinary tract infections (UTIs) has beenfound. Their research points to a key protein that bacteria use to latch onto the bladder and cause UTIs, according to scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Vaccinating mice against the protein reduces the ability of bacteria to cause severe disease...

A comprehensive review of studies testing the safety and carcinogenicity of sucralose has confirmed that the artificial sweetener does not cause cancer, and is safe to ingest. “This latest review of sucralose studies should reassure those who choose sucralose, and can be particularly useful to scientists and healthcare professionals, who may be asked for information on low calorie sweetener safety,” says lead author of the study, Professor Dr. Sir Colin Berry, Emeritus Professor of Pathology at the University of London.

Sir Berry and his fellow researchers conducted a review of studies assessing sucralose carcinogenicity potential, and placed them in the context of the types of studies relied upon by national and international regulatory agencies to make recommendations on the safety of n...