Botox is Not Just for Cosmetic Purposes Anymore

Botox has become popular in recent years for smoothing out facial wrinkles, but it's turned out to to useful for real medical conditions, too.

Botox, which is formally known as botulinum toxin type A, has also effective in treating hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating), especially under the armpits. And it can also have benefits for treating eczema in the hands, easing muscle spasms, treating cerebral palsy, soothing shoulder pain from osteoarthritis, and eliminating headaches. One effect that Botox has is to block chemical signals from the brain that direct nerve endings to move muscles.

The many medical cures attributed to Botox are somewhat ironic because it is a form of the botulinum toxin, which before Botox was mainly known for causing sometimes-fatal food poisoning.

Waist-to-Hip Ratio Found Best Predictor of Heart Disease

Predicting heart disease may come down to a tale of the tape... the measuring tape. A new British study is lending more credence to the belief that where on the body a person is carrying fat, and not just the amount of fat nor their weight, can be a strong predictor of heart disease.

The study is another piece of evidence that ties fat around the belly to the risk of heart disease, and it suggests using a measuring tape to determine a person's waist-to-hip ratio. In other words, having a big waist can be a bigger sign of trouble in someone with relatively small hips that with someone whose big waist is matched by big hips.

The study, from the University of Cambridge, tracked heart disease in 24,500 British adults, according to a story in WebMD. The study appears in the journal Circulation.

The study sought to find out which of a number of factors best predicted heart disease: BMI (body mass index, which is calculated using a person's height and weight), waist-to-hip ratio, waist circumference by itself, or hip circumference itself.

The waist-to-hip ratio was found to be the best predictor of heart disease, and it held true whether a person was overweight or had a normal weight, as measured by BMI.

Much recent research has pointed to the belief that excess visceral fat (fat in the body cavity, as opposed to fat underneath the skin) can release hormones into the adjacent organs, increasing a person's risk of heart disease (and, some research has indicated, other diseases as well).Wasit

The Tragedy of Female Circumcision (or Female Genital Mutilation)

In more than two dozen African countries women and girls are subjected to a practice commonly called female circumcision, but another term for the procedure--female genital mutilation--is actually a more accurate description.

While male circumcision simply involves cutting off the foreskin, female genital mutilation can consist of the total or partial cutting away of the woman's clitoris, which potentially deprives the woman of sexual pleasure for the rest of her life.

A fact sheet from the World Health Organization describes the problem of female circumcision or female genital mutilation. The practice of this procedure has become more controversial not only in Africa but in countries such as England and the United States that have African immigrants who may try to practice this custom in their new countries. This has sparked a debate on whether a custom or religious tradition common in one country can be practiced in another country with different laws and customs.

Femoral Artery Wound Has NFL Player Sean Taylor Struggling for Life

Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor is in critical condition and struggling for his life after being shot in his home in Miami-Dade county, Florida. It is believed that the incident was the result of a robbery attempt or home intrusion.

He was discovered in his home by police early Monday morning after his girlfriend called 911. Sean Taylor was then airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital. Police were not saying anything about the extent of Sean Taylor's injuries, but it has been reported that he was shot in the leg and had been bleeding heavily from a wound to a femoral artery.

The femoral artery is a major blood vessel that starts in the lower abdomen and goes down past the groin and into the thigh near the upper leg bone, or femur. The femoral artery supplies blood to the muscles and other tissues in the leg and foot. The leg muscles are the largest muscle group in the body. Because the femoral artery is such an important blood vessel, injuries to it can lead to death if the bleeding is not stopped in a timely fashion.

Taylor played college football at the University of Miami and has been in the NFL for four years. He is known for his talent, but also for a number of on- and off-the-field problems. He's been fined for late hits during games, and has faced assault charges off the field.

Cigarette Smoking Speeds Up Hair Loss in Men

Here's another reason to stop smoking: a new study says that it accelerates hair loss in men.

The reasoning that smoking "may destroy hair follicles, interfere with the way blood and hormones are circulated in the scalp or increase the production of estrogen," according to researchers with the Far Eastern Memorial Hospital and National Taiwan University in Taipei.

The study examined 740 men in Taiwan with an average age of 65, and found that cigarette use played an important role "in the development of moderate or severe" hair loss, the authors of the study said, when the men smoked 20 or more cigarettes a day.

The research was published in the November issue of the Archives of Dermatology. It recommended that men who show early signs of hair loss should be told about the role smoking can play in hair loss, to help them prevent further loss.