Health News

Likelihood of rehospitalization of cognitively impaired seniors varies by discharge destination

Date: Nov-21-2013
Cognitively impaired older adults released from the hospital are less likely to be rehospitalized within 30 days if they go to a nursing home than if they return to their own home or the home of a family member, according to an Indiana University and Regenstrief Institute study.Discharge destination following hospitalization and cognitive status are co-dependent factors, according to the study, which followed 976 men and women, age 65 and older.

Poor mental health and casual sex: cyclical pattern identified

Date: Nov-21-2013
A new study suggests that poor mental health and casual sex feed off each other in teens and young adults, with each one contributing to the other over time.Researchers found that teens who showed depressive symptoms were more likely than others to engage in casual sex as young adults. In addition, those who engaged in casual sex were more likely to later seriously consider suicide.

Altered brain connections found in epilepsy patients

Date: Nov-21-2013
Patients with the most common form of focal epilepsy have widespread, abnormal connections in their brains that could provide clues toward diagnosis and treatment, according to a new study published online in the journal Radiology.Temporal lobe epilepsy is characterized by seizures emanating from the temporal lobes, which sit on each side of the brain just above the ear. Previously, experts believed that the condition was related to isolated injuries of structures within the temporal lobe, like the hippocampus.

Link between casual employment and women being childless by the age of 35

Date: Nov-21-2013
Women who have worked in temporary jobs are less likely to have had their first child by the age of 35, according to research published online today (Wednesday) in Europe's leading reproductive medicine journal Human Reproduction [1]. The study shows that the longer women spent in casual employment, the more likely they were to be childless when they were 35.The researchers from the University of Adelaide, Australia, found that this association between precarious employment and childlessness at 35 was irrespective of the socioeconomic status of the women.

Study confirms the therapeutic potential of inhibiting Aurora-A in cancer treatment

Date: Nov-21-2013
Aurora-A is a protein involved in the cell division process that is highly expressed or synthesised in a large number of human cancers, especially in those associated with a bad prognosis. Several pharmaceutical companies have recently developed these protein inhibitors, although the therapeutic and physiological effects that blocking Aurora-A might have on adult tissues are still unknown.

Increased risk of alcohol-related hypertension in individuals who flush after drinking

Date: Nov-21-2013
Excessive drinking is a known risk factor for hypertension. Drinking that results in facial flushing indicates high sensitivity or even intolerance to alcohol. A study of the relationship between drinking and these two conditions has found that drinking-related hypertension has a lower threshold value and higher risk in flushers than in non-flushers.Results will be published in the April 2014 online-only issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research and are currently available at Early View.

Moderate physical activity benefits older sedentary adults with heart disease

Date: Nov-21-2013
Moderate physical activity in sedentary older adults reduced the progression of injury to the heart, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2013.In a pilot study, 310 adults 70 years and older with a previously sedentary lifestyle, were randomly assigned to one-year supervised physical activity or to health education controls.Troponin T, a blood-based injury marker which historically has been used for the diagnosis of heart attack was measured with a new high sensitive cardiac assay (hs cTnT).

National flu vaccination plan with staggered timing may be best for China

Date: Nov-21-2013
China should tailor its influenza vaccination strategies to account for its three distinct flu regions, according to the first comprehensive study of the country's flu patterns conducted by a research team of Chinese and American scientists.

Adolescent solitary drinking increases risk of developing alcohol problems in young adulthood

Date: Nov-21-2013
Most teenagers who drink alcohol do so with their friends in social settings, but a new study by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh reveals that a significant number of adolescents consume alcohol while they are alone.Published in an upcoming issue of Clinical Psychological Science, the researchers found that compared to their peers who drink only in social settings, teens who drink alone have more alcohol problems, are heavier drinkers and are more likely to drink in response to negative emotions.

Disappearing stents still effective after 3 years

Date: Nov-21-2013
Propping open clogged heart arteries with a "disappearing stent" has worked well for three years in the first people implanted with the unique device, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2013.The new bioabsorbable magnesium stent (DREAMS) is a drug-releasing tube that is reabsorbed over time, leaving behind a healthy vessel and reducing clotting that sometimes occurs 12-24 months after implantation of a traditional drug-coated stent.Of 46 people implanted with the stent, the failure rate was 6.