Blood test can gauge prostate cancer risk

Thanks to Genomic research, a simple blood test can be used to determine a man's relative risk of developing prostate cancer. That's because blood work can detect five genetic variants that, according to an international study, are independently associated with the disease, but that, when combined, have a strong cumulative effect of risk.

Compared to having none of these genetic variants, researchers write in the New England Journal of Medicine, having four increases the risk of developing prostate cancer by 400 to 500 percent. Family history is added to the equation to make six risk factors. Having at least five of six factors increases the baseline risk by more than 900 percent.

"Our finding provides an opportunity to supplement the well-established risk factors (age, race, and family history) by looking at inherited variants," says seniors researcher Dr. Jianfeng Xu of Wake Forest University School of Medicine, in North Carolina. And being aware of the cumulative effect of these genetic variants, say Xu, "could substantially improve physicians' ability to assess risk and determine the need for more aggressive screening."

KNOW YOUR BODY:
The prostate is walnut-sized gland located just below the bladder in men. The prostate keeps urine and semen flowing in the proper direction, and produces a component of semen called prostatic fluid.

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Sneaky sign of diabetes

The symptoms of type 2 diabetes can be tricky, which helps explain why millions of people have the disease but don't know it. You may know the classic symptoms of fatigue, recurrent infection and frequent urination. Lesser known signs:

Bad breath
(A smell like nail polish remover). Excess sugar in saliva prompts bacteria growth, which help create foul-smelling gases.

Swollen gums
Increased bacteria can lead to inflammation and bleeding.

Blurred vision
Sugar in the lens of the eye makes it swell and refract light improperly.

Frequent thirst
In an effort to eliminate sugar, the body demands plenty of fluids.

If you have two or more symptoms, and any other risk factors (being over age 40 or overweight; having a family history of diabetest; having high blood pressure or cholesterol), see your doctor.

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A test that can save your life

As osteoporosis often causes no symptoms at all until a fall snaps a bone, the only way to tell if you have it is via a bone-mineral density test. This procedure is advised for anyone over 50 who has suffered a fracture and all womemn over 65. Right now, the test involves lying on your back while the arm of a special x-ray device moves over your body to measure the thickness of various bones.

CyberLogic, a New York research firm, has developed a simpler device that's around 23 cm long, run on four AA batteries and scans bones with ultrasound.

If the portable scanner proves as reliable as X-rays, it could be breakthrough, say osteoporosis expert Dr Ethel Siris. "A small device like this could make bone checkups part of a routine medical visit, becuase it's both affordable and user-friendly."

If testing shows you have osteoporosis, some major advantes in treatment can help. While there are several effective medications on the market, including Fosamax, Etidrate and Forteo, the latest wonder drug is Boniva, the first once-a-month pill for osteoporosis. The FDA recently approve this drug, which works by reducing the activity in cells respondsible for bone breakdown.

Should osteoporosis get severe enough to collapse a vertebra, doctor in the US have a new way to make repairs. two tiny baloons inserted into the bone through surgical tubes and inflated to push the bone back into its normal positiom. Bone cement is used to prevent it collapsing again

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