Medical breakthroughs: curb carpal-tunnel discomfort, keep your insulin functioning properly, and sleep away your appetite

splint decision

Splinting your wrist at night can reduce pain caused by carpal tunnel syndrome, according to the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. After wearing the splint for six weeks, half the treatment group reported marked improvement; after one year, there was a 50 percent drop in discomfort.

slow food, fast walks

Researchers at the University of Minnesota found that people who eat fast food two or more times a week are nearly lo pounds heavier and have twice as much insulin resistance as those who eat it less than once a week. Meanwhile, an animal study at the University of Missouri-Columbia found that skipping workouts for as little as two days can lower insulin sensitivity, potentially boosting the risk of diabetes.

vitamin bp

Women who take folate during childbearing years significantly decrease their risk of high blood pressure. Nurses' Health Study participants ages 26 to 42 who took in at least 1,000 micrograms of folate from diet and supplements had 46 percent less risk of hypertension than those who got less than 200 mcg.

snooze and lose

Sleep stabilizes appetite-regulating hormones, concludes a study in the Annals of Internal Medicine. In subjects who slept four hours on two consecutive nights, levels of leptin (the stoplight for eating) were 18 percent lower and levels of ghrelin (the hunger trigger) were 28 percent higher than when they spent 10 hours in bed. The sleep-deprived group reported feeling hungrier for calorie- and carb-rich snacks.

help for herpes 2

Alpine cranberries may help fight herpes by preventing the virus from attaching and penetrating cells. In an in-vitro test, proanthocyanidin A-1, isolated from the evergreen shrub, suppressed herpes virus type 2 (genital herpes). The compound didn't reduce the infectivity of the virus, but did keep it from multiplying without toxicity to the cells. The study was published in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture.

Illustration by EILI-KAIJA KUUSNIEMI

COPYRIGHT 2005 Weider Publications
COPYRIGHT 2005 Gale Group