IN BRIEF (Page 19)

Cancer sign during menopause

Women who experience unexpected vaginal bleeding after menopause should always consult their gynaecologist, says Germany's professional association for gynaecologists. Vaginal bleeding after menopause could indicate cancer of the uterus, according to the Munich-based association.

Women not yet in menopause who experience unusually heavy or irregular periods, discharge and abdominal pain could have a tumor, the association adds.

Women should also be aware that unexpected bleeding and other symptoms could be caused by something other than cancer. The association says vaginal infections and benign growths cause similar symptoms.

Cancer of the uterus occurs more frequently in older women, particularly those between the ages of 50 and 75. When the disease is detected in an early stage, the chances of a cure are good.

Workouts sculpt hearts too

Exercise can cause structural changes in the heart, and these changes vary depending on the type of training an athlete is engaged in, new research shows.

In a study, researchers found that endurance athletes showed an increase in the size of both their left and right ventricles after 90 days of team training, while athletes who only did strength training had excessive growth in their left ventricles, but no change in their right ventricle size.

Noses are no-lotion zones

Avoid lotions when treating dried out noses. Most lotions can cause the cilia - the small hairs in a nostril - to stick together and prevent them from removing unwanted substances.

The cilia clear the nostrils by pushing particles, such as germs, towards the throat, says Michael Deeg of the German Professional Association of Ear, Nose and Throat Doctors.

"The function is impaired in a dry nose and it gets worse with creams," he says. In a worst case scenario, this can lead to infection.

Many office workers are regularly exposed to dry air, which can damage mucous membranes in the nose. Nasal ointments can provide quick relief. Their liquid consistency does not damage the cilia. Salt solution sprays can also help.

Do not treat a dry nose with water as that just dries the nose out even more. Special treatments to flush out the nasal passages are also helpful as they moisten the membranes and remove blockages.

Tree-lined streets good for kids

City blocks boasting plenty of trees aren't only more pleasing to the eye; they may be healthier for children's lungs, according to research conducted in New York City. Four- and 5-year-olds living along the city's greenest streets were less likely to have asthma than young children living in sparsely planted neighborhoods, Gina S. Lovasi and colleagues from Columbia University found.

Breast-feeding lowers cancer risk

Adult women who were breast-fed as infants may have a lower risk of developing breast cancer than those who were not breast-fed, unless they were first-born, study findings suggest. "As a general group, women who reported they had been breast-fed in infancy had a 17 percent decrease in breast cancer risk," Hazel B. Nichols, who was involved in the study, says.

Child seats should be centered

Positioning child safety seats in the center of the back seat could cut infants' and toddlers' injury risks by nearly half, a new study suggests.

In a study of car crash data from 16 US states, researchers found that children younger than 3 years old were 43 percent less likely to be injured when their seat was fastened in the center of the back seat rather than one of the side seats.

Agencies

(China Daily 05/14/2008 page19)