From Oxford – Statins reduce risk of heart attacks and strokes, even in low-risk individuals, according to a report published in the Lancet. Researchers conducted a meta-analysis examining nearly 30 trials and 175 000 individuals–including both young and old men and women who were at low to high risk for suffering a vascular event. Results showed that that statins reduced risk of vascular events in all of the individuals by 21% for every 1mmol/L reduction in LDL cholesterol. From New Hampshire – Contact sports such as football and hockey may cause learning problems in the athletes, according to a report published in Neurology. Researchers compared over 200 college athletes participating in contact sports to 45 non-contact athletes. They found that the contact sport athletes experienced more head impacts and performed worse on tests measuring new learning. From Boston – A new report published in Science Translational Medicine finds that soldiers exposed to explosions are at raised risk of serious brain injury. Researchers found that the brains of soldiers exposed to a single blast showed evidence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy–an injury similar to that experienced by athletes with a history of repetitive concussions.
New Answers to High Cholesterol