Eldest children spend about 3,000 more hours of quality time with their parents during childhood than the next-oldest child, new research suggests. The report found that in two-child households, the elder children typically got between 20 and 30 minutes more quality time with each parent each day between the ages of 4 and 13.

The findings may help explain why firstborn children tend to have higher IQs, perform better in school, and earn more money as adults, Brigham Young University assistant professor of economics Joseph Price, PhD, says. “Parents may think that they are giving equal time to their children, but it looks like firstborns are getting more quality time,” Price says. Read more

A latest drug that packs a wallop of caffeine and alcohol may be the latest weapon in the war on stroke. In a small study, sixty percent of stroke patients who were given the drug, called caffeinol, had no or minimal disability when they were discharged from the hospital. In counterpoint, only twenty-six percent of stroke survivors given standard therapy with tissue plasminogen activator, or tPA, fared that well, says researcher Sheryl Martin-Schild, MD, PhD, a neurovascular fellow of the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston.

“Caffeinol contains about as much caffeine as five to seven cups of good, strong New Orleans coffee and the equivalent of two shots of alcohol,” she said. The research was presented at the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference 2008. Read more

Latest Study find that women could cut their heart attack risk by up to 92% by doing these five things:

* Eat lots of veggies, fruit, fish, whole grains, and legumes.
* Drink a moderate amount of alcohol.
* Practice girth control (keep your waist trimmer than your hips).
* Walk or bike for 40 minutes daily and get another hour of weekly exercise.
* Don’t smoke. Read more

A recent study shows that cat owners are less likely to die of a heart attack and other cardiovascular diseases than people who have never had a pet cat. The reports came out from an analysis of data on nearly 4,500 men and women, ages 30 to 75, who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Study. All were free of cardiovascular disease when they entered the study in the 1970s.

Over half, fifty-five percent, reported having a pet cat at some point in their lives. Compared with cat owners, people who never had a pet cat were 40% more likely to die of a heart attack over the 20-year study period. They were also 30% more likely to die of any cardiovascular disease, including stroke, heart failure, and chronic heart disease. Read more

Researchers have finally found that how much fiber you eat can affect stroke severity and the chances of recovery. The researchers studied 50 stroke victims. They found that the more fiber they ate, the less severe their stroke and the greater the chance they could resume everyday activities like feeding themselves.

“Many recent studies have looked at fiber and its relation to the risk of having a stroke,” says researcher Angela Besanger, RD, a nutritionist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. “What’s new here is that we looked at people who have had a stroke, asking whether fiber can decrease its severity and improve function,” Besanger said.

She presented the results at the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference. For the study, participants were asked to recall how much fiber they consumed in a 24-hour period. Then, their consumption of total fiber, soluble fiber, and insoluble fiber was correlated with stroke severity and recovery. Read more