Daily digest June 11 2015

Babies enjoy vegetables if offered variety early on

Feeding babies several types of vegetables when they are first weaned makes them more likely to go on to enjoy unfamiliar varieties, according to research published in the British Journal of Nutrition.

The Guardian reports that in three small studies, led by University College London, in Britain, Greece and Portugal, infants who were repeatedly offered a variety of vegetables in the first 15 days of weaning were more willing to try, accept and like new vegetables. The research involved 53 babies.

Read more on the Guardian website

Heart attack fears over indigestion pills

Pills for indigestion taken by millions of Britons every day raise the risk of having a heart attack, doctors warn.

A study reported by the Mail Online shows that those who take proton pump inhibitor (PPI) drugs are about 20% more likely than the rest of the population to suffer a heart attack. Even otherwise healthy, middle-aged people are at risk.

Researchers from Stanford and Houston Methodist universities in the United States reviewed the medical records of three million patients to find people who had been diagnosed with heartburn. They then compared the heart health of those taking PPIs with that of people not on the drugs.

This revealed that those on PPIs were between 16% and 21% more likely to have a heart attack.

Read more on the Mail Online

Test could predict Alzheimer’s before symptoms appear

A simple blood test could hold the key to predicting Alzheimer’s disease years before symptoms such as memory loss appear.

Neuroscience specialists at the University of California, San Francisco, say a new screening process shows promise in identifying people at risk of the condition at least a decade before they experience symptoms.

The researchers think proteins released by brain cells into the blood could act as ‘biomarkers’ for dementia.

The test could also unlock information about the process that triggers the condition, paving the way for new treatments.

Read more on the Express website

New drug offers hope for psoriasis treatment

A new drug offers hope for people with psoriasis, the Telegraph reports.

The skin condition, which affects up to 3% of the UK population, causes raised bumps known as ‘plaques’ to grow on the skin. These can be flaky, scaly and itchy.

Trials of a new drug, ixekizumab, involving 2,500 people found that 40% of participants showed complete clearance of their plaques after 12 weeks of treatment, while 90% experienced some improvement.

Read more on the Telegraph website