Health News

'Pain genes' identified by DNA sequencing

Date: Oct-18-2013
Researchers have identified hundreds of variants in a patient's genetic code that predict which people are more susceptible to persistent chronic pain following amputation. Dr. Andrew D. Shaw, associate professor of anesthesiology and critical care medicine at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, NC, and colleagues conducted the study on 49 military service members who had amputations and persistent pain. The International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) states that 80% of all amputees experience pain in the missing body part - known as phantom limb pain...

Researchers identify biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease in spinal fluid before onset of symptoms

Date: Oct-18-2013
Johns Hopkins researchers say that by measuring levels of certain proteins in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), they can predict when people will develop the cognitive impairment associated with Alzheimer's disease years before the first symptoms of memory loss appear. Identifying such biomarkers could provide a long-sought tool to guide earlier use of potential drug treatments to prevent or halt the progression of Alzheimer's while people are still cognitively normal...

Study looks at how ADHD medications work

Date: Oct-18-2013
There is a swirling controversy regarding the suspicion that medications prescribed for the treatment of ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder) primarily act to control disruptive behavior as opposed to having primary effects on the ability to attend to the environment. Thus, there is a continued need to better understand the neural basis of ADHD medication effects...

Young adults around minimum legal drinking age incur more hospital care related to alcohol use

Date: Oct-17-2013
According to a new study from the American Journal of Public Health, young adults of minimum legal drinking age incur increased hospital-based care for alcohol related incidents. In particular, young adults transitioning into this age showed increases in hospital events for alcohol-use disorders, suicides related to alcohol and assaults. The Ontario based study analyzed inpatient and emergency department events of Ontario hospitals from April 1, 2002 through March 31, 2007 among individuals 16 to 22 years of age...

Smoke-free homes may reduce smoking among lower income individuals

Date: Oct-17-2013
A new study from the American Journal of Public Health finds that smoke-free homes may result in less smoking among low income smokers and more successful quitting. The study used data from the 2006-2007 Tobacco Use Supplement to the Current Population Survey. Researchers analyzed data to determine if higher cigarette prices and smoke-free homes were associated with smoking behaviors and how they may vary among people of different income levels. Results indicated that higher cigarette prices and living in smoke-free homes were associated with less smoking among all income levels...

Death from drugs like oxycodone linked to economically disadvantaged neighborhoods, family fragmentation

Date: Oct-17-2013
Death from analgesic overdose, including oxycodone and codeine, is more concentrated in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods with fragmented families than other types of deaths from unintentional causes, according to new research from the American Journal of Public Health. Yet, compared to heroin overdose deaths, analgesic overdoses were found to occur in higher-income neighborhoods...

The NICU environment: Not all silence is golden

Date: Oct-17-2013
Medical technology has improved the survival rates of premature infants, but adverse developmental outcomes are a continuing problem. Researchers have turned their attention to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), where premature infants spend their first few weeks or months, for potential answers. In a new study scheduled for publication in The Journal of Pediatrics, researchers studied the relationship between different room types in the NICU and the developmental outcomes of the children at 2 years of age...

Bacteria-eating viruses found that fight C. diff 'superbugs'

Date: Oct-17-2013
A potential new victory in the war against antibiotic-resistant "superbugs" lies in the discovery of specific viruses that eat bacteria - called bacteriophages. Researchers in the UK have isolated certain phages, which have been shown to target the infectious hospital bug Clostridium difficile. C. diff, as the superbug is known, is responsible for 250,000 infections in the US each year and results in 14,000 deaths, the researchers say. Causing excess medical costs of $1 billion each year, finding a solution to this problem is one of both medical and economic importance. Dr...

IVF donors increase in US, alongside better birth outcomes

Date: Oct-17-2013
New research has revealed a steady increase in the number of donor eggs used for in vitro fertilization in the US between 2000 and 2010, with improved birth outcomes. This is according to a study published in JAMA. Researchers from the Emory School of Medicine in Atlanta, GA, used data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's National Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) Surveillance System (NASS). This system includes data on more that 95% of all in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles performed in the US...

Mindfulness training helps lower blood pressure

Date: Oct-17-2013
Becoming mindful - focusing attention and awareness on the moment - may sound like a New Age mantra, but researchers from Ohio claim that it can lower blood pressure to the extent that it could prevent or delay the need for drug intervention. The study, published in Psychosomatic Medicine: Journal of Biobehavioral Medicine, shows that patients with borderline high blood pressure following a mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program successfully reduced their blood pressure...