Computer aids in detecting breast cancer

A computer is as good as a second pair of eyes for helping a radiologist spot breast cancer on a mammogram.

That's the main finding of one of the largest and most rigorous tests of computer-aided detection.

Like spell-checkers looking for mistakes, the computers flag suspicious areas on X-rays for a closer look by a radiologist.

Mammograms are used to screen women for early signs of breast cancer, but the tests aren't perfect.

Usually, the X-rays are read by a single radiologist and cancers are sometimes missed.

Wheezing with a cold increases asthma risk

Researchers say infants and young children who wheeze when they get a cold are more likely to develop asthma.

And the odds increase with age.

Wheezing with the common cold virus at age two increased the odds of asthma at age six by six times.

Those who wheezed with a common cold at age three were more than 30 times as likely to develop asthma by age six compared to children who did not wheeze when they got a cold.

The work is reported by the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

-- compiled by Florence Sicoli from Hamilton Spectator news services