We all know that antioxidants have tremendous health benefits — but that may not be the case for cancer patients, and it may even be speeding their demise.

A new study has shown that antioxidants boost cancer growth in mice and alerted the medical community to the fact that while antioxidants are great for healthy people, they may be terrible for those suffering with cancer, according to a UPI report.

This is about in line with observations from other studies where trials had to be halted because patients being given antioxidants were dying at a more rapid rate.

The study, led by Dr. Sean Morrison, CRI Director and Mary McDermott Cook Chair in Pediatric Genetics at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, means that doctors treating cancer patients may need to change their treatments right away if they involve antioxidants, and should instead prescribe the opposite: pro-oxidants.

Researchers made their findings by examining the process of metastasis, which is when cancer spreads through the blood stream to other areas of the body. The reality is that cancer cells are actually quite fragile in the bloodstream and usually die, but the study found that antioxidants seemed to be boosting their survival rates, allowing them to spread to other parts of the body and thus increasing the lethality of the disease.

If a pro-oxidant were to be prescribed, however, it could limit metastasis, the researchers believe.

These findings, which were published in the journal Nature, could have huge ramifications on the medical community and on how it views antioxidants in general. Antioxidants have often been used in cancer patients, but this new research could halt that if more research confirms this finding.

Infection after treatment is a common complication of many surgical procedures. Now a new study shows that such ailments are becoming increasingly dangerous, as more and more bacteria that cause post-surgery infections are resistant to common antibiotics.

The study published this week in the medical journal The Lancet Infectious Diseases found that as much as fifty-one percent of the bacteria that caused infections after surgeries are already resistant to antibiotics. In the case of prostate biopsies, as many as ninety percent of the infections following the procedure were caused by resistant bacteria, according to Time Magazine.

The researchers suggested that the problem could cause a massive increase in illnesses and deaths from infections that were previously easily treated by drugs. If the trend of worsening resistance continues, they say we could face an additional 120,000 infections and 6,000 deaths annually in the U.S.

Preventive antibiotics administered prior to surgery were found to diminish the problem. Those patients given antibiotics before surgery were nearly three times less likely to come down with post-surgery infections.

Hospitals can institute other simple changes to help stem the growing problem, including improved infection control procedures, more consistent hand washing, and increased tracking of infections. They can also addressing the overuse and inappropriate uses of antibiotics: one previous study found that patients are often given antibiotics for viral diseases, despite the drugs’ ineffectiveness against viruses, and another showed that up to one-third of hospitalized patients are given antibiotics for no reason.

The first-ever drug intended to treat women who suffer from low sexual desire came to the market, despite concerns by many doctors about the drug’s effectiveness and potential side-effects. Now some physicians are raising new concerns, given the common practice of prescribing drugs for uses beyond those for which they were strictly approved.

The drug, called fibanserin but sold under the brand name Addyi, came to the market for the first time on Saturday, according to Scientific American. While it is sometimes referred to as the “female Viagra,” that name obscures the critical differences between the mechanisms and purposes of the two drugs.

Unlike Viagra, which can be taken only when desired, works within hours, and has a physiological effect, Addyi must be taken consistently for weeks before it takes effect, and scientists are not sure why it may help some women, according to an article in Quartz. Side effects of Addyi can include extremely low blood pressure and loss of consciousness, problems that become even more likely in women who drink any alcohol. As a result, women taking the drug are counseled to avoid even social drinking.

In addition, Addyi showed little effectiveness in clinical trials, with few women showing significant improvement in sexual desire. Given these issues, FDA approval of Addyi was considered controversial.

Now some doctors are concerned that the drug may be prescribed for women who are taking antidepressant drugs, since those treatments can often lead to low sexual desire. Using the drug this way would be considered an “off-label” treatment, a common but controversial practice that allows doctors to try approved drugs in patient populations who have not been fully researched in clinical studies.

One small study involving women on antidepressants who were given Addyi showed that adding the drug did not worsen their symptoms, but did in some women slightly increase the risk of insomnia and other side effects.

A surprise investigation by authorities at the Food and Drug Administration showed up at the facilities of laboratory firm Theranos Inc. after concerns were raised about how they did blood work — and it could have big ramifications for the industry.

The FDA declared their new method of collecting tiny vials of blood via a pin prick rather than a traditional needle to be an “unapproved medical device,” and now Theranos is backing down from using the revolutionary technique that has helped make it the $9 billion company it is today, and one of the hottest names in biomedicine, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

Theranos quickly made a name for itself in the 12 years of its existence by pioneering new ways of conducting medical testing. This method of using a mere pinprick to collect tiny amount of blood in tiny vials instead of large amounts through a needle was supposed to revolutionize blood work, but this investigation is the latest setback to that effort.

Now, Theranos is back to doing blood work the old fashioned way in the meantime.

The FDA decided to make the visit after going over data submitted voluntarily by Theranos in an attempt to get the testing method approved, ultimately declared it to be an unapproved medical device. As a result, these “nanotainers” will only be used for one test — an approved test for herpes — and will not be used in the many others that Theranos does.

But the company is not giving up. For now, it’ll be a full-court press to get the nanotainers approved for use by the FDA, so they will begin jumping those hurdles right away.

Still, it’s been a rocky road for Edison, the name for the product, named after the inventor. It hasn’t quite on nearly as quickly as had been thought, and this latest wrinkle from the FDA will certainly not help matters.

When former NBA star Lamar Odom ended up in a Las Vegas area emergency room, news reports pointed to potentially tainted “herbal Viagra” supplements as a possible cause. Now a new study shows that Odom is far from alone in falling ill from suspect supplements.

The study, released earlier this week by a team of researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), show that more than 23,000 annually end up in emergency rooms after taking supplements, according to NBC News. More than half of the ER cases were related to supplements marketed for weight loss or for energy boosting. The most common symptoms were chest pain, palpitations, or rapid heart beat.

Young adults and teens appear to be especially at risk. More than twenty-five percent of the ER visits involved people between 20 and 34 years old. The study found that overall supplements led to more ER cases than prescription stimulants.

In fact, the FDA has warned that their testing has shown many supplements may be tainted with unlabeled stimulants that should only be available by prescription.

But the CDC researchers noted that supplements are marketed with no requirements for tracking adverse effects. They believe their findings likely underestimate the actual toll of supplement-related health problems.

In response to the study, a supplements industry spokeswoman stated that given the large numbers of Americans who use supplements, the research reinforces their track record of safety.

If your young athletes play contact sports, you may have something to learn from the recent injury to a New York Giants football player.

The Giants tight end Daniel Fells injured his ankle during a recent practice, according to ABC News. Following the injury, Fells was treated with an injection, leading to more pain, a fever, and eventual hospitalization, with doctors fearing that his foot may need to be amputated.

It turns out Fells was infected with a strain of the Staphylococcus aureus (staph) bacteria that is resistant to multiple antibiotics. Multiple resistant staph (MRSA) infections are increasingly common among athletes, including young athletes, and one researcher has found the problems are even more likely in those who play contact sports.

Dr. Buddy Creech of Vanderbilt University Medical Center is an expert in children’s infectious diseases. His study of 377 college athletes in both contact and non-contact sports showed a much higher incidence of MRSA infections in those playing contact sports.

In fact, the contact sports athletes had an incidence of staph colonization that was three times higher than would be expected in people generally. While colonization by staph does not necessarily lead to infections, the common cuts and injuries that come with playing contact sports appears to make those athletes more susceptible to the dangerous infections.

If you’re like many office workers, you may have heard that sitting for long periods is bad for your health. The accepted wisdom has been responsible for a rash of solutions, from ergonomic standing desks to standing during meetings.

But now new research suggest that sitting may not be that bad after all, according to WebMD. The study from the British University of Exeter followed more than 5,000 men and women for sixteen years, finding no increased risk of mortality in those who had long daily periods of sitting.

Published in the International Journal of Epidemiology, the study asked participants, who had no heart problems, about their daily sitting during work and while watching television or partaking in other leisure time pursuits.

The researchers stressed that more research on inactive behavior is needed, and noted that encouraging people to stay active should remain a public health goal.  But they noted that activity may be more important than sitting versus standing, and they say their study opens questions about the utility of offices with standing desks.

Instead of standing, they suggest workers should take walks with colleagues more often or walk to have conversations with co-workers rather than relying on inter-office emails.

Surviving a shark bite is an experience you tell your grandchildren about. Now thanks to a shark bite, one Massachusetts man has a great chance of living to tell the tale to his grandkids.

Eugene Finney was on vacation in California, swimming at Huntington Beach with his ten year-old daughter, according to the San Jose Mercury News. Suddenly, he was knocked hard by something hitting his back, hard enough to leave him dazed and uncertain about what had happened.

After struggling to regain his composure and heading back to shore safely with his daughter, Finney’s girlfriend Emeline McKeown noticed a commotion near the shore. Lifeguards called swimmers in and beachgoers gathered their children, as shark fins had been spotted.

Finney suffered a gash down his back, and within days his abdomen and upper body grew sore. On his return home, he tried to go back to work, but ultimately went to the hospital to get checked out.

After a barrage of tests, the doctors determined that his pain was caused by interior bruising from the shark blow. They also told him they found a small, walnut-sized tumor on his kidney that was likely cancerous.

Doctors ultimately removed the tumor, saving 80 percent of the kidney, and expect Finney to make a full recovery without radiation or chemotherapy.

That amazing feeling you get after going on a long run is surprisingly similar to smoking up some pot, a new study has found.

Typically called a “runner’s high,” the feeling of completing a vigorous workout floods the body with endorphins and make you feel good — or maybe there’s something else at the root of it, something a bit more illicit sounding: endocannabinoids, or receptors in your body that are almost like a self-produced cannabis in the body, according to a Washington Post report.

The findings, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggest that there may be another cause of those feeligns of euphoria and reduced feelings of pain you have after a good workout. Scientists from the Central Institute of Mental Health of the University of Heidelberg tested these endocannabinoid receptors in mice, having them work out vigorously on a running wheel. Then they blocked these endocannabinoid receptors with drugs and watched to see what happened: they found that not only did the mice not experience a runner’s high, but that they had the same amount of anxiety and pain sensitivity as before.

Other studies have been conducted to look deeply into how the brain functions after exercise using mice. Scientists at the University of Montreal this summer were focused on the hormone leptin, which is believe to cause feelings of satiety, signaling to your body when it has received enough food and resulting in a satisfied feeling. It is believed that leptin levels drop during workouts, causing a hunger signal — a reward — to be sent to the brain. By genetically engineering mice to not have a leptin-sensitive protein, they were able to test this hypothesis, and found that these mice ran twice as far as normal mice.

The practical implications of these findings are that it could give researchers new leads in developing new drugs that could help people exercise more or better watch their health.

Or, you could just realize what you’re missing if you don’t exercise a lot and hit the gym or go for a job.

It’s hard to say whether such a feeling exactly mimics cannabis, which has been growing in cultural acceptance in recent years. It has medical uses, but is most commonly known as a recreational drug. For decades it has been stigmatized as a bad drug, but greater social acceptance has led to legalization in numerous states, although it remains illegal at the federal level.

A whopping 100 million Americans are believed to have at least tried a hit of marijuana at some point in their life, and about a quarter of that figure has toked in the last year.

The effects of cannabis are primarily psychoactive, resulting in feelings of relaxation and euphoria — similar to a runner’s high. Other effects include a tendency to be more introspective. Some effects aren’t so great: people report feeling anxious or paranoid. Or, the effects can be physiological, such as a more rapid heart rate and a case of the munchies.