Healio Minute Monday, Jan. 13, 2014 Edition: Smoking cessation cuts cataract risk, sugary drinks raise endometrial cancer risk, new hepatitis C treatments could go global

What just happened in medicine and why do you care?

Smoking cessation increasingly lowered cataract risk

Healio.com/Optometry: Even heavy smokers had some benefit from quitting, indicating that the lens has some capability to recover. Read more.

Consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages increased endometrial cancer risk

Healio.com/Hematology-Oncology: Women in the highest quintile of sugar-sweetened beverage consumption had a 78% higher risk for endometrial cancer. Read more.

Access to new, less expensive hepatitis C antivirals feasible within 15 years

Healio.com/Hepatology: Widespread availability of such treatments in low- and middle-income countries is a feasible goal, say researchers. Read more.

Accelerated chest pain diagnostic protocol improved early ED discharge rates

Healio.com/Cardiology: Reduction in assessment time could reduce consumption of health resources, costs and patient anxiety and inconvenience, say researchers. Read more.

Assisted conception did not increase cancer risk in children

Healio.com/Hematology-Oncology: Researchers report no increased risk for leukemia, neuroblastoma, retinoblastoma, central nervous system tumors, or renal or germ-cell tumors. Read more.