Your Health

What brings the stork

What triggers labor has always mystified science, but a new study might have found the answer - and might help prevent preterm births.

Australian researchers say the balance between two types of estrogen, which is affected by a hormone produced in the placenta called CRH, can trigger the birthing process.

It may be possible to predict the timing of birth by monitoring the estrogen ratio, and to delay or speed up labor by changing the ratio.

The study, in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, is the first of its kind and will need further research for confirmation and to develop any practical treatment.

Functional foods OK'd

The American Dietetic Association says fortified, enriched or enhanced food can promote health when part of a varied diet.

Health claims for so-called "functional foods," the association warned, must be based on strong scientific evidence. The government should take more steps to regulate the definition and use of such foods.

Examples of conventional food with functional properties that enhance health include broccoli, nuts and tomatoes.

Modified foods include calcium-enriched orange juice and foods with ingredients like fish oil or lutein. Foods for special use include gluten-free and lactose-free foods.

Breaking back pain

People suffering from back pain try a lot of remedies, but researchers say they often don't utilize one of the most effective treatments - exercise.

The telephone survey found 732 people with chronic lower back pain. Researchers at the University of North Carolina, as published in the journal Spine, said the majority of patients used narcotics for pain relief, and almost one-third of them used muscle relaxants.

Another study in the same publication found pain medications were involved in 20 percent of deaths in the years following spinal fusion surgery.

Some patients used treatments for which researchers said there is little or no scientific evidence, such as traction, corsets and electrical stimulation.

But fewer than half the patients had prescriptions for exercise, only 30 percent had seen a physical therapist in the last year, and just 3 percent had gone through a structured rehabilitation program - one of the few treatments with moderately strong evidence of effectiveness.