A new study appears to lend support to proponents of medicinal use of marijuana, as it shows that, when smoked, the plant has the potential to relieve chronic neuropathic pain.

The research was conducted by scientists from McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) and McGill University, and was reported in the latest issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

Study participants, who suffered from pain associated with nerve injury, were asked to smoke 25 mg of cannabis that contained about 10 percent THC – the active ingredient – three times a day for five days. The results suggested that most experienced modest pain reduction as well as better mood and sleep.

"The patients we followed suffered from pain caused by injuries to the nervous system, which was not controlled using standard therapies" said Dr. Mark Ware, lead author of the study and director of clinical research at the Alan Edwards Pain Management Unit at the MUHC.

He added that for these people, a similar approach "is sometimes seen as their last hope."

However, a recent study has found that not all green teas are created equal. It appears that the benefits of the drink vary, depending on whether it is consumed from a bottle or freshly brewed.

Speaking at the 240th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in Boston on August 22, scientists involved in the research said that many commercial beverages – whose sales may be as high as $1 billion a year in the U.S. – have fewer polyphenols than a cup of home-brewed green or black tea.

"There is a huge gap between the perception that tea consumption is healthy and the actual amount of the healthful nutrients found in bottled tea beverages," said researcher Shiming Li, who presented the findings.

"Our analysis of tea beverages found that the polyphenol content is extremely low," he added.

In fact, the scientists estimate that in order to reap full health benefits of a single cup of tea, individuals would have to drink about 20 bottles of commercial beverages.

Scientists from Iceland analyzed migraine history of 18,725 people born between 1907 and 1935 who took part in the Reykjavik Study launched by the Icelandic Heart Association in 1967 to assess heart disease in the country. Larus Gudmundsson and his colleagues found that individuals who suffered from migraine with aura were at a higher risk of dying from all causes, including heart disease and stroke, while those with a "regular" migraine were not.

However, the researchers do not want to cause unwarranted concern among migraine sufferers and stress that an individual risk is still low, and that reducing the chances of developing heart disease through measures such as blood pressure or cholesterol control, or smoking cessation, is a good idea, anyway.

The results were published in the British Medical Journal.

Scientists from the University of Oxford have mapped more than 200 genes in the human DNA that vitamin D directly influences.

In their work, the researchers used novel DNA sequencing technology to create a map of vitamin D receptors that appear along the genome and found 2,776 such binding sites, which allow the vitamin to attach itself and influence protein expression.

Many of the sites were located near genes linked to autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s disease, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis as well as cancers, including chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and colorectal cancer.

"Our study shows quite dramatically the wide-ranging influence that vitamin D exerts over our health," said Dr Andreas Heger from the MRC Functional Genomics Unit at Oxford.

His collaborators added that vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy and early life could yield substantial benefits for people as they grow up.

The results were published in the journal Genome Research.

During the trial, researchers examined the effects of Candida albicans compounds, which help yeast grow and survive, on mice with similar health problems. The team then used a series of medications and natural components in order to improve the health of the animals.

The researchers discovered that when treating the mice with a form of vitamin B3, the spread of Candida albicans throughout the immune system was reduced, and the animals’ health improved.

Martine Ryamond, lead author of the study, stated that "there is an urgent need to develop new therapies to kill C. albicans because it is one of the leading causes of hospital-acquired infections and is associated with high mortality rates." She added that these findings are "very exciting and they constitute an important first step in the development of new therapeutic agents to treat fungal infections without major side effects for patients."

These findings may prove beneficial to individuals looking for a natural alternative to preventing fungal infections. In addition to vitamin B3, extract from the pitcher plant has been proven to stave off similar health problems, according to a study published in the Journal of Experimental Biology.

Teams of researchers will incorporate botanical mixtures into their trials, which could lead to more effective and safer therapies for cancer patients. Also, by using natural compounds, New Earth BioMed hopes advancements in treatments will result in fewer side effects.

John Boik, president of the company, stated that "recent advances in bioinformatics, analytical technology and other related fields are strongly pointing to the concept that activities of a cell are dictated by a complex and dynamic internal web of protein interactions." He added that "this new screening program is representative of a new breed of drug discovery initiatives brought about through an evolution in biological understanding."

Advancements in natural alternatives for cancer therapies with fewer side effects may benefit those receiving treatments for these diseases. For example, the American Cancer Society reports that patients who undergo radiation therapy can experience fatigue, hair loss, skin problems, digestive problems, shortness of breath and negative psychological effects.

During a recent study, researchers divided 40 participants aged 10 to 14 years into two groups. One group sat in a chair while viewing images of a neighborhood and school grounds, while the others completed a one-mile walk while viewing similar images.

Students were then asked to take a Stroop test, which has participants identify colors in several colored boxes.

While completing this task, the walkers’ heart rate increased by 3 beats per minute, while the sitting group experienced an increase of 11 beats. Researchers also discovered that the sitters had a blood pressure that was three times higher than those who did the one-mile walk.

James Roemmich, lead author of the trial, stated that "the cardiovascular disease process begins in childhood, so if we can find some way of stopping or slowing that process, that would provide an important health benefit." He added that these findings show that "physical activity has a protective effect on the development of cardiovascular disease, and one way it may be doing so is by reducing stress reactivity."

In 2008, approximately 26.6 million people in the U.S. were diagnosed with heart disease, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports.

Researchers have previously found that a larger waist is linked to an increased risk of suffering from diabetes, heart complications and unhealthy cholesterol levels. A theory suggests the connection between larger waist circumference and these health problems is because the excess weight surrounds the organs damaged by these diseases.

In an effort to prove this argument, researchers surveyed more than 104,000 individuals aged 50 years and older about their lifestyles, medical history, waistline measurements and weight.

Following calculating the body mass index (BMI) of each participant, the results of the study showed that those with a larger waist circumference were twice as likely to develop any death-related health problems.

The authors concluded that "future detailed analyses of the relationship between waist circumference and measures of insulin resistance within categories of BMI could identify biological reasons for potential differences in the strength of the association between waist circumference and mortality."

People who are looking for a natural alternative that can lead to a smaller waist can benefit from practicing yoga and specific positions designed to tone one’s waistline, according to Yoga.com.

These health benefits have been found to improve synapses function, which transmits signals between cerebral cells masses. Damage to these neurological channels could be triggered by a poor diet and lack of physical activity, resulting in nerve degeneration and aging signs.

In order to better understand this health concern, researchers fed a group of mice a healthy diet throughout their lifespan, while another group exercised and consumed the low-caloric regimen for one month. The mice were also injected with fluorescent coloring in areas responsible for nerve cell growth, which improve the team’s ability to examine synapses.

The results of the study showed that the diet animal group were less likely to suffer muscle degeneration. Also, the exercise group showed signs of reversal of muscle damage.

Joshua Sanes, co-author of the study, said that "this research gives us a hint that the way these extremely powerful lifestyle factors act is by attenuating or reversing the decline in our synapses."

These findings may also benefit people who also are looking to maintain a proper weight, as a study conducted at the Oregon Health and Science University found that individuals need to do more than just eating a healthy diet to lose weight.

During the trial, researchers analyzed the medical records of 27 patients who had developed a sleep behavior disorder associated with rapid eye movement (REM), a stage of deep sleep. The individuals with this sleeping complication were also found to have high levels of Lewy bodies, which are abnormal aggregates of protein associated with cognitive problems.

The investigators discovered that after being diagnosed with the sleeping problem, these individuals began to develop symptoms of brain-related diseases. The results of the study also showed that of these patients, 13 had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, 13 had developed dementia and one individual suffered from multiple system atrophy.

"Our results show that in some patients, conditions such as Parkinson’s disease or dementia with Lewy bodies have a very long span of activity within the brain and they also may have a long period of time where other symptoms aren’t apparent," said Bradley F. Boeve, lead author of the study.

Approximately 1.5 million people in the U.S. are diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease each year, according to the Oregon Health and Science University.