Test-tube technique can ruin pregnancy

A report in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology suggests that infertility due to abnormalities of fallopian tube or uterus raises the risk of invitro fertilisation or other assisted reproductive techniques (ART) for developing an ectopic pregnancy (fertilised egg attaches itself outside the normal uterus location). In such pregnancies the foetus is unable to grow properly and may rupture the fallopian tube. Transfer of a fertilised egg into the fallopian tube by an ART procedure known as ZIFT, also increases the risk of ectopic pregnancy by 75 per cent. The risk also rose when three or more embryos were implanted into the mother. Maternal age, prior abortions or use of other types of ART were not significant predictors of ectopic pregnancy.

Sprint averts diabetes

A 10-second sprint after moderate exercise reduces the risk of post exercise hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar) in young people with type 1 diabetes, says a report in the journal Diabetes Care. According to researchers, young individuals with complication-free type 1 diabetes should consider performing a 10-second sprint to counter a further fall in their blood glucose level, particularly if a source of dietary carbohydrate is not readily available. However the effect of sprinting on reducing the risk of post-exercise hypoglycaemia is probably not as marked in children and middle-age individuals with type 1 diabetes, due to their reduced capacity to engage in a maximal sprint effort.

No alternative to exercise

Many people take it for granted that as they become older, they will slow down and find it harder to exert themselves. A new study suggests that the explanation for the slowdown may not be simple ageing and that much of the loss can be erased with training. The report, in The Journal of the American College of Cardiology, says that part of the problem appears to be that older people use oxygen less efficiently when they exercise. Older people use about a fifth more oxygen than young people while walking or exercising, as hearts slow with age, they deliver less blood and oxygen to the body. However, the situation can be reversed with exercise.

Obese men are crash prone

Men are at higher risk of being killed in car accidents if they are obese, researchers have found. Obese women were not at higher risk of death in car crashes. The explanation may lie in the differing body shapes of men and women. Because of their weight, men experience greater forces in a crash and hence greater injury, reports the New York Times.