One in four people who have a stroke will likely die within one year from any cause and 8 % who have a stroke will have another one soon, U.S. researchers said on Monday. The risks were higher for African-Americans and for everyone increased with age and the number of other ailments stroke patients had, the researchers wrote in the journal Neurology.

     Stroke prevention can now be added to Cocoa’s impressive resume of health benefits that include a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease. And if you have suffered a stroke, regularly indulging in Cocoa or Cocoa rich chocolate before the stroke may lower your risk of dying.      The good news centers around two new studies.

     Daily supplements of magnesium may improve lung function in asthmatics, and improve their quality of life, says a new study from Bastyr University in Kenmore, Washington State. Measures of lung capacity increased by about 6 % during six months of magnesium supplementation, and improvements were also observed in resisting the inflammation causing effects seen as a bronchial response to methacholine, a chemical that produces constriction of the lungs, according to the findings which are published in the Journal of Asthma.      Epidemiological studies have reported beneficial effects of magnesium on asthma occurrence and management, but less than half of adults in the US consume the recommended levels of the mineral, according to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) for 1999-2000.

     Researchers at Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands report that a high white blood cell count and/or an elevated value for C-reactive protein (a proxy for inflammation in the circulatory system) independently predict a man and women’s risk of dying within a period of up to 10 years following their 85th birthday. Elevations in both white blood cells and C-reactive protein (CRP) are markers of inflammation, which is associated with vascular events such as strokes and heart attacks and other health concerns.      The study included 599 individuals enrolled between 1997 and 1999 in the Leiden 85-plus Study of local residents born between 1912 and 1914.