OMH CAPSULE: Adding Extra Salt To Food Linked To Premature Death

Only My Health brings you a quick round-up of all the latest health news that you need to know.

New Antibody Discovered, That Holds Cure To Cancer

Researchers at the University of Southampton have discovered key properties of an antibody that can be useful in fighting cancer.
The study, published in Science Immunology, revealed how changing the flexibility of the antibody could stimulate a stronger immune response.

The study helped researchers to design antibodies to activate important receptors on immune cells to "fire them up" and deliver more powerful anti-cancer effects.
Researchers have found that the flexibility of the structure between the arms of an antibody- also known as “hinge” - influences the strength of the immune response.
The scientists believe their findings could pave the way to improve antibody drugs that target cancer as well as other autoimmune diseases.

The study has given new information about how to engineer antibodies to deliver a better immune response.

A Seemingly Harmless Virus Can Cause Brain Cancer: Study

A study by scientists of IIT Indore has found a virus that is present widely in humans, and usually deemed harmless, can cause diseases of the central nervous system or CNS as well as brain cancer.
The scientists claimed that the cancer-causing virus Epstein Barr Virus or EBV could infect the neuronal cells leading to CNS and brain diseases.

EBV has been found to be widely present in the human population.
It usually does not cause any harm, but the virus gets reactivated inside the body in some unusual conditions like immunological stress or immunocompetence. This may further lead to various complications like a type of blood cancer, stomach cancer, and multiple sclerosis.

Experts say that earlier studies provided links to EBV involvement in various neurodegenerative diseases. However, how this virus can affect the cells of the brain and manipulate them is still unexplored.

Adding Extra Salt To Food Linked To Premature Death

People who add extra salt to their food at the table are at higher risk of dying prematurely from any cause, according to a study published in the European Heart Journal.

Compared to those who never or rarely added salt, those who always added salt to their food had a 28% increased risk of dying prematurely.

In addition, the study found a lower life expectancy among people who always added salt compared to those who never, or rarely added salt.

At the age of 50, 1.5 years and 2.28 years were knocked off the life expectancy of women and men, respectively, who always added salt to their food compared to those who never, or rarely, did. According to the study, even a small amount of  reduction in salt  intake, by

adding less or no salt to food at the table is likely to result in substantial health benefits.