Health News

Car crashes linked to adverse pregnancy outcomes

Date: Oct-08-2013
Pregnant women are bombarded with information about what is good or bad for their baby, but surprisingly, advice about wearing seat belts when traveling in cars is not usually included. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that 6,400 adults are injured in car crashes every day and that the risk of serious injury and death is reduced by 50% when wearing a seat belt. Although the number of people wearing seat belts is increasing, 1 in 7 adults do not wear one on every trip...

Recurrent C. diff infection treated with fecal transplant pill

Date: Oct-08-2013
Swallowing pills containing a concentrate of fecal bacteria successfully stops recurrent bouts of debilitating Clostridium difficile (C. diff) infection by rebalancing the bacteria in the gut, suggests a study presented at the IDWeek 2013™ meeting. Infection from C. diff bacteria is such a concern that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) named it one of the three most urgent threats in its recent landmark report on antibiotic resistance. C. diff sickens half a million Americans and kills 14,000 every year. C...

E-cigarettes: Slippery slope to tobacco addiction?

Date: Oct-07-2013
Electronic or e-cigarettes are becoming increasingly popular, yet they may be a slippery slope to tobacco addiction, argues an editorial in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). "By allowing the user to inhale a vapour in a manner resembling smoking a cigarette, e-cigarettes provide a uniquely appealing means of obtaining nicotine without exposure to the other harmful constituents of tobacco smoke," writes Dr. Matthew Stanbrook, deputy editor, CMAJ...

What is Hashimoto's thyroiditis or Hashimoto's disease?

Date: Oct-07-2013
Hashimoto's thyroiditis, also known as Hashimoto's Disease or chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis, is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system attacks the thyroid gland. Hashimoto's thyroiditis was the first ever recognized autoimmune disease. This Medical News Today information page will give you the essential details about Hashimoto's thyroiditis. It includes a description of the disease, what causes it, its signs and symptoms, how it is diagnosed, and offers an overview of currently available treatment options...

Seniors in long-term care residences: high risk of head injuries

Date: Oct-07-2013
Seniors in long-term care facilities are at high risk of head injuries, with 37% of people experiencing head impact in falls, according to a study published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). Falls account for more than 60% of hospital stays for traumatic brain injury in seniors over age 65 years, and the incidence is increasing, especially in people over age 80...

Use of post-operative blood clot rate as measure of hospital quality may be flawed

Date: Oct-07-2013
A new study published by JAMA questions using the rate of postoperative blood clots as a hospital quality measure. The study is being released early online to coincide with the American College of Surgeons 2013 Annual Clinical Congress.  The study examined whether surveillance bias (i.e., the greater the intensity of a search for a condition the greater likelihood it will be found) influences the reported rate of venous thromboembolism (VTE; blood clot)...

Study questions effectiveness of less-invasive surgical procedure to detect cancer in lymph nodes near breast

Date: Oct-07-2013
Judy C. Boughey, M.D., Kelly K. Hunt, M.D., and colleagues for the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology conducted a study to determine the false-negative rate of sentinel lymph node surgery in patients with node-positive breast cancer receiving chemotherapy before surgery. A false-negative is occurrence of negative test results in subjects known to have a disease for which an individual is being tested. The study, published by JAMA, is being released early online to coincide with its presentation at the American College of Surgeons 2013 Annual Clinical Congress...

Norovirus vaccine reduces symptoms by half

Date: Oct-07-2013
Doctors from the University of Cincinnati claim that a new vaccine for norovirus reduces the symptoms by more than half. For anyone suffering from this severe gastrointestinal (GI) infection, this will be welcome news. Norovirus, or the winter vomiting bug, causes sickness and diarrhea in sufferers. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), between 19 and 21 million Americans - 1 in 15 people - are infected each year. Most people make a full recovery within a few days, but as many as 800 die...

Sports stars endorse junk food, sending kids 'mixed messages'

Date: Oct-07-2013
Athletes must be in tip-top shape to compete at the pro-level, and once they attain fame, endorsement deals come rolling in. But a new study shows that the majority of foods these star athletes promote are nutrient-poor, encouraging young people to adopt bad eating habits. The study, which appears in print in November, is currently published online in the journal Pediatrics. Researchers say that previous studies have shown that parents are more likely to buy foods that are marketed by pro-athletes, as they are seen to be "healthier...

'Healthy' obesity: identical twin study uncovers characteristics

Date: Oct-07-2013
A new study analyzing pairs of identical twins, in which one is obese while the other is a healthy weight, has discovered that "metabolically healthy obesity" in some individuals is linked to lack of adipose tissue inflammation and high mitochondrial function. Metabolically healthy obesity (MHO) is defined as an individual with a body mass index (BMI) greater than 30, but who does not seem to be at increased risk of the health complications usually associated with excess weight, such as cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes...