Health Highlights: March 9, 2009

Mar. 9 -- Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors of HealthDay:

Oily Fish May Not Protect Against Dementia: Study

Eating oily fish may not help prevent dementia in old age, say U.K. researchers who studied data from a trial of more than 800 older people.

Initially, the researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine found a significant association between eating a couple of portions of oily fish per week and higher scores on tests of cognitive function, BBC News reported.

However, that association almost vanished when the researchers factored in education and psychological health. The finding, published in The Journal of Nutrition, Health and Aging, challenges previous research suggesting that oily fish may help prevent dementia.

"The evidence on this has always been sporadic," said study leader Dr. Alan Dangour, BBC News reported. "What this shows is there is a link between people who eat oily fish and better cognitive function, but if you adjust for education and mood, this relationship goes, so it's not at all clear that healthy older people get any benefit from eating fish oil."

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Scientists Identify Genes Linked to Childhood Brain Cancer

Genetic malfunctions linked to one of the leading types of childhood brain cancer have been identified by a Canadian-led team of researchers, who said their findings may lead to new treatments for medulloblastoma.

In the largest-ever genetic study of childhood brain cancer, the scientists sequenced the DNA of brain tumors taken from 800 children worldwide, the Globe and Mail reported.

They identified a family of eight genes capable of causing the deadly form of brain cancer, which occurs when primitive brain cells develop into tumors at the back of the brain. When the genes work properly, they instruct neurons in that area of the brain to stop growing. But a malfunction in any of the eight genes leads to medulloblastoma, which kills 40 percent of patients within five years.