GOOD NEWS

Obesity drug

A new drug can substantially reduce the bodyweight, waist circumference, and risk factors for heart disease in obese people, according to results of a trial published in The Lancet. Researchers at the University Hospital Antwerp, Belgium, undertook the trial involving 1,507 people from Europe and the US. Participants had abnormal blood fat levels, high blood pressure, or both. They were assigned 5 mg or 20 mg of the drug called rimonabant, or a placebo, once daily, in addition to a calorie-controlled diet. This dose over one year led to a meaningful weight loss in those who took the drug, but not the placebo.

Colitis cure

Ingesting the eggs of Trichuris suis, an intestinal worm, appears to be an effective treatment for ulcerative colitis (an inflammation in the colon, causing diarrhoea), reports Gastroenterology. Researchers at the University of Iowa, US, say that treatment with parasitic worms improves human's immune system. A suspension of the worm's eggs was given to six patients with bowel disease, and it produced a temporary remission with no side-effects.

BAD NEWS

Smoking risk

People who smoke have double the risk of suffering from a degenerative eye disorder that is the leading cause of blindness in the elderly, say researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, reports Reuters Health. In a study, published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology, they reviewed more than 4,000 Britons aged 75 years and older to find that those who smoke were twice as likely to have age-related macular degeneration (AMD) as those who didn't. AMD is an illness that blurs the central vision.

Sodium loss

If you love running long-distance, refrain from drinking too much of water during the race. According to a cardiologist at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, this can develop hyponatremia, a condition marked by a loss in the body's sodium content that can result in lethargy, disorientation, seizures and even respiratory distress, reports The New England Journal of Medicine. More drinks may not replace salts - normally found in the human body - adequately.