High cadmium exposure is known to cause bone damage, but the association between low-level cadmium exposure and osteoporosis remains to be clarified. Using a population-based women's health survey in southern Sweden [Women's Health in the Lund Area (WHILA) ] with no known historical cadmium contamination, we investigated cadmium-related effects on bone in 820 women (53-64 years of age) . We mea...

The transcription factor hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF1) facilitates the induction of enzymes necessary for anaerobic glycolysis. Luo et al. (2011) now identify pyruvate kinase (PK)-M2 as an intriguing new interacting partner for HIF1, revealing a potential mechanism for the Warburg effect, an elevation in aerobic glycolytic metabolism frequently observed in cancer.

Insomnia is associated with increased risk of future myocardial infarction (MI) and stroke, a meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies has found. Insomnia—characterised by difficulty initiating or maintaining sleep, early morning waking, or non-restorative sleep—is common, as studies show that it affects around one in three adults. Sleep problems have previously been associated with cardiova...

This class of antidepressants, known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), may be especially risky early on in a pregnancy, the study suggests. Children who were exposed to the drugs during the first trimester were nearly four times as likely to develop an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) compared with unexposed children, according to the study, which appears in the Archives of Gene...

BACKGROUND Cadmium is a heavy metal found naturally in the environment that has been associated with negative health outcomes. The present study examines levels of blood cadmium (BCd), urinary cadmium (UCd), and the main sources of cadmium exposure among Canadians aged 20 to 79. DATA AND METHODS The data are from cycles 1 (2007 to 2009) and 2 (2009 to 2011) of the Canadian Health Measures Sur...

Levels of cadmium, chromium, lead, copper, manganese and zinc in city rabbits were determined to evaluate the edibility of the meat. Mean concentrations of toxic metals were 0.011 mg/kg for cadmium and 0.037 mg/kg for lead. Cadmium and lead concentrations were below the admissible maximum levels set by the EU. Concentrations of toxic metals in the meat were sufficiently low as to assume that co...

BACKGROUND Table salt is the most commonly used food additive. Since most of the salt consumed in Iran comes from mines, contamination with heavy metals is a health concern. The commonest salt purification method in Iran is washing with water. But recently, some industries have turned to recrystallization method. The present study aimed to determine the level of essential and non-essential heav...

Lead, cadmium, mercury and arsenic are the most important heavy metals which may cause health risks following consumption of contaminated foods. Table salt is one the mostly used food additive with unique place in food consumption. Although purified table salt is expected to have lower level of contamination, some Iranians still prefer to use rock salt. Use of rock salt for food purposes has be...

Background Prospective cohort studies have shown that seafood consumption is inversely related to fatal coronary heart disease, sudden cardiac death and stroke. We studied whether the kind of seafood consumed in addition to seafood consumption per se is associated with out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCA) of cardiac origin. Methods and results We compared the average consumption of differen...

Background Clinical studies have shown that many patients may have abnormally reduced myocardial shortening despite preserved ejection fraction (EF). Mathematical modeling explains this apparent paradox by demonstrating, that whilst myocardial shortening determines radial strain (RS), it is absolute wall thickness (AWT) rather than RS that determines EF. We sought in vivo cardiac MR (CMR) evide...