VIDEO: Virus Linked to Prostate Cancer, New Research Questions Hygiene Hypothesis, Infections Raise Risk of Alzheimer's Disease in Elderly

08.09.2009 | 1:55 min

(September 8, 2009 - Insidermedicine) From New York - Scientists have identified a virus that may increase a mans risk of prostate cancer, according to research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Researchers compared over 200 prostate cancer tumors to 101 non-cancerous prostate tissue samples. They found that 27% of the tumors contained the virus XMRV--a virus that is known to cause other types of cancer in animals--compared to only 6% of the benign samples. From The Netherlands - New research suggests that the 'hygiene hypothesis'--a theory that maintains that early exposure to infections through daycare reduces ones risk of later illness--is false, according to a report published by the American Thoracic Society. Dutch researchers studied the respiratory symptoms of 4,000 children for the first eight years of their life. Results showed no beneficial or harmful effects of daycare--children who attended early were just as likely to wheeze later in life as those who did not. And finally, from the UK - Infections outside of the brain may increase an elderly persons risk of developing Alzheimer's Disease, according to a report published in the journal Neurology. Researchers studied over 200 elderly patients for a six month period; just over 100 of the patients developed different infections in places such as the chest, stomach, intestines and urinary tract. Those who developed these infections suffered memory loss twice as fast as patients who did not get infected or injured.
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