News: Counselling doubles chances of surviving breast cancer by cutting stress levels - Telegraph

Researchers from Ohio State University found that attending fortnightly counselling groups helped women with breast cancer.

This Telegraph article (18 November 2008) reports on the study from the Comprehensive Cancer Centre which found that interventions boosted survival rates for breast cancer patients.

Barbara Andersen, who led the research, comments: "The results suggest that we can help breast cancer patients make positive steps that may help them live longer. Many of the strategies learned in the intervention programme, such as stress reduction, may have had benefits against heart disease and other causes of death."

You can find out more about this research by visiting the press pages for the Ohio State University.

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News: Binge-drinkers 'risking dementia' - BBC News

Britain could be heading for a dementia epidemic following a doubling of alcohol consumption since the 1960s, warns this BBC News article (1 November 2008).

Reporting on research published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, Alcohol-related dementia: a 21st-century silent epidemic, the BBC piece quotes Dr Susanne Sorensen, of the Alzheimer's Society: "Binge drinkers hitting the town on a Saturday night are becoming a familiar sight, but we don't yet understand how it will affect the numbers of people with dementia."

"As drinking habits change, it is vital we understand more about the relationship between alcohol and this devastating condition."

The research authors, Dr Susham Gupta and Dr James Warner, comment: "Given the neurotoxic effects of alcohol and the inexorable increase in per capita consumption, future generations may see a disproportionate increase in alcohol-related dementia."