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Heel test for osteoporosis
An ultrasound exam of the heel could help to identify women at risk of developing osteoporosis, according to a Swiss study involving 6,174 women aged 60-85. After 32 months, 6 per cent of those classified as high risk developed osteoporosis, compared with 1.8 per cent in the low-risk group. Radiology Online 2008

Low vitamin D doubles risk of death from CVD
Austrian researchers took venous blood samples for 12 consecutive months from 3,258 men and women with an average age of 62 to calculate average serum levels of the active version of vitamin D. Participants were followed for seven years and the researchers found that those in the lowest vitamin D intake group were 2.08 times more likely to die from any cause and 2.2 times more likely to die from CVD than patients in the highest vitamin D group. Arch Intern Med 2008; 168: 1,340-8

Patch could end travel bug misery
A skin patch has been developed that could help prevent stomach bugs during foreign travel, say US researchers. The patch, which contains poisons produced by Escherichia Coli, was found to be 75 per cent effective against diarrhoea attacks. Lancet Online 2008

Hormones cause comfort eating
Stressed or depressed people might comfort eat because of the excess of 'hunger hormone', say US researchers. Experiments on mice found they made extra gherlin to combat depression. Nature Neuroscience Online 2008.