Researchers have identified a molecular mechanism central to the development of osteoarthritis (OA) pain.

The finding from researchers at Rush University Medical Center, in collaboration with researchers at Northwestern University, could have major implications for future treatment of this often-debilitating condition.

“Clinically, scientists have focused on trying to understand how cartilage and joints degenerate in osteoarthritis. But no one knows why it hurts,” said Dr. Anne-Marie Malfait, associate professor of biochemistry and of internal medicine at Rush, who led the study.

Joint pain associated with OA has unique clinical features that provide insight into the mechanisms that cause it. First, joint pain has a strong mechanical component: It is typically triggered by specific activities (for example, climbing stairs elicits knee pain) and is relieved by rest. As structural joint disease advances, pain may also occur in rest.

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One quick way to lower your blood pressure could be as simple as drinking a glass of beetroot juice, researchers say.

Researchers from Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute in Melbourne, Australia, found that within hours of drinking beetroot juice, a group of healthy men saw their blood pressure drop by an average of four to five points.

While that number may seem small, WebMD writes that “on a public health level a reduction like that would equate to a 10 percent reduction in deaths due to heart disease.”

“It’s promising that we can see an effect from a single dose,” the New York Daily News quoted Dr. Leah Coles as saying.

“That effect might be even greater over the long term if they are drinking it day upon day,” Coles said.

The study involved 15 men and 15 women who drank 17.6 ounces of a drink containing about three-fourths beetroot juice and one-fourth apple juice or a placebo drink.

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Fragrant compounds that occur naturally in raspberries and a number of other fruits are the brand new get-slim-quick fix on the market.

Raspberry ketones are normally used to give a fruity smell to cosmetics and foodstuffs and, as only one to four milligrams can be extracted from every kilo of fresh fruit, a synthetic version is often used to get the same result.

Now, these ketones are being sold online, in supplement form, as a slimming agent, the Daily Mail reported.

The key lies in the fact that the ketones appear to boost levels of a hormone called adiponectin, which regulates metabolism. Higher levels of this hormone are associated with lesser fat stores.

Source: ANI
Image: Thinkstockphotos.com

Losing weight is one of the top resolutions made each year, yet only 20 percent of people are able to achieve successful weight-loss and maintenance.

Now, Jessica Bartfield, MD, internal medicine who specializes in nutrition and weight management at the Loyola Center for Metabolic Surgery and Bariatric Care, has revealed the top four reasons why many dieters fail to lose weight.

Firstly, she said, that most people underestimated the amount of calories that they consumed per day. Food eaten outside their home tended to be much larger portion sizes and much higher in calories.

Next, she said, that typically people needed to cut 500 calories per day to lose 1 pound per week, which was very difficult to achieve through exercise alone, so it required about 60 minutes or more of vigorous activity every day.

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