A weekly round-up of news affecting your health:
ASTHMA
Australian scientists have discovered why children who are admitted to hospital with a severe viral respiratory infection as babies are more likely to develop asthma.
Researchers at QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute have discovered in mice that a respiratory virus sparks the production of a cell messenger called prostaglandin 2, which makes it harder for the immune system to fight the infection.
"In our studies, the prostaglandin 2 messenger played a role in turning down the production of anti-viral proteins," Associate Professor Simon Phipps said.
He said the research could pave the way for the development of a preventive treatment to stop the onset of asthma in children.
"We found that if we blocked the cell messenger prostaglandin 2 from reaching its target, the mice were able to clear the virus more quickly," Prof Phipps said.
This would then reduce the infants risk of developing asthma later in life.
"If we can identify those infants early and administer a treatment that blocks the production of the cell messenger prostaglandin 2, we can help them get better faster and potentially avoid a future diagnosis of asthma," Prof Phipps said.
DEPRESSION
Resistance training could reduce depressive symptoms in adults, according to an international study.
Researchers analysed the results of 33 published clinical trials involving more than 1800 people that looked at the impact of weight training on mental health.
"Resistance exercise training significantly reduced depressive symptoms among adults regardless of health status," the authors said.
The improvements were evident even with only a light weights regime and the exercise reduced symptoms in fit and unfit participants.
In light of the findings, the researchers suggest resistance training should be considered as a treatment for people with depression.
The study is published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry.
PAIN
Experiencing trauma as a child may influence how much pain an individual feels in adulthood, US researchers say.
Gaining insight about who feels more pain and why is important as problems such as the opioid crisis continue to worsen.
Researchers at Penn State university found that experiencing trauma or adversity in childhood or adolescence, such as abuse or loss of a parent, was linked with mood or sleep problems in adulthood, which in turn led to experiencing greater physical pain.
However, the connection was weaker in those who felt more optimistic and in control of their lives.
"The participants who felt more optimistic or in control of their lives may have been better at waking up with pain but somehow managing not to let it ruin their day," said Ambika Mathur, a graduate student in biobehavioral health.
"They may be feeling the same amount or intensity of pain but they've taken control of and are optimistic about not letting the pain interfere with their day. They're still performing their work or daily activities while doing their best to ignore the pain."
The findings, published in the Journal of Behavioral Medicine, build on research that suggests a link between adult physical pain and early-in-life trauma or adversity.
Jennifer Graham-Engeland, associate professor of biobehavioral health, said it was important to learn more about the factors that influenced pain because while pain medications helped a lot of people, they could also cause problems.
"We know that a lot of people are seeking pain relief and yet there are a lot of problems with some pain treatments, like the crisis surrounding opioids right now. We need more insight into pain and the phenomenon that can make pain both better or worse."
NUTMEG
The spice nutmeg has been shown to be beneficial to the livers of mice.
Traditional Chinese medicine has been using nutmeg, the seed of the Myristica fragrans tree, to treat gastrointestinal illnesses for centuries.
It has also been used to treat asthma, rheumatic pain, toothaches and infections.
A Chinese study, published in the American Chemical Society's Journal of Proteome Research, found the nutmeg compound myrislignan had a strong protective effect against liver damage.
