Health News

A Step Closer To Understanding What Causes Congenital Heart Disease

Date: May-14-2013
Findings from the first large-scale sequencing analysis of congenital heart disease bring us closer to understanding this most common type of birth defect. The analysis found that spontaneous, or de novo, mutations affect a specific biological pathway that is critical to aspects of human development, including the brain and heart. Congenital heart disease can cause infants to be born with structural heart problems, which can be serious or even life-threatening...

Identification Of Gene Associated With Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis

Date: May-14-2013
Researchers from the RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences in Japan have identified the first gene to be associated with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (also called AIS) across Asian and Caucasian populations. The gene is involved in the growth and development of the spine during childhood. Their study is published today in the journal Nature Genetics. AIS is the most common pediatric skeletal disease, affecting approximately 2% of school-age children. The causes of scoliosis remain largely unknown and brace treatment and surgery are the only treatment options...

Shared Decision Making And How Decision Aids Help Guide Choices For Cancer Screening

Date: May-14-2013
When it comes to a cancer diagnosis, timing can be everything - the sooner it's found, the more treatable it is. But when and how often should someone get screened? A growing number of educational, interactive tools known as "decision aids" - such as videodiscs, audiotapes, workbooks and pamphlets - are intended to supplement patient-doctor discussions on the pros and cons of timing, methods and frequency for different types of cancer screening...

Guidance For Clinicians On Prescribing Exercise For Depressed Patients

Date: May-14-2013
Exercise has been shown to be an effective treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD), both when used alone and in combination with other treatments. There's now sufficient research data to provide specific guidance on how to prescribe exercise for depressed patients, according to a report in the May Journal of Psychiatric Practice®. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health...

'Appreciable Correspondence' Between DSM-IV And DSM-5 Alternative Model For Personality Disorder Diagnoses

Date: May-14-2013
A new "alternative model" included in the upcoming Fifth Edition of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM -5) lines up well with the current approach to diagnosis of personality disorder, according to a study in the May Journal of Psychiatric Practice. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health...

High Levels Of OR Noise Can Impair Surgical Team Communication, Have A Disruptive Effect On A Surgeon's Auditory Processing Abilities

Date: May-14-2013
Ambient background noise - whether it is the sound of loud surgical equipment, talkative team members, or music - is a patient and surgical safety factor that can affect auditory processing among surgeons and the members of their team in the operating room (OR), according to a new study that appears in the May issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons. The findings are the first to demonstrate that a surgeon's ability to understand spoken words in the OR is directly affected by noise in the environment...

Disease-In-A-Dish Models Show Promise For Treating Ataxia Telangiectasia

Date: May-14-2013
Led by Dr. Peiyee Lee and Dr. Richard Gatti, researchers at the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA have used induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells to advance disease-in-a-dish modeling of a rare genetic disorder, ataxia telangiectasia (A-T). Their discovery shows the positive effects of drugs that may lead to effective new treatments for the neurodegenerative disease. iPS cells are made from patients' skin cells, rather than from embryos, and they can become any type of cells, including brain cells, in the laboratory...

Some Newborns Benefit From Early Formula, Helping Mothers To Breastfeed Longer

Date: May-14-2013
Recent public health efforts have focused extensively on reducing the amount of formula babies are given in the hospital after birth. But in the first randomized trial of its kind, researchers at UC San Francisco have found that giving small amounts of formula in the first few days of life to infants experiencing high levels of early weight loss actually can increase the length of time their mothers end up breastfeeding. "Until now, we haven't explored if it is possible to identify babies who might benefit from early formula use...

The Decision To Deny Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation To A Critically Ill Relative Can Be Influenced By The Doctor's Choice Of Words

Date: May-14-2013
A physician's choice of words when talking with family members about whether or not to try cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) if a critically ill patient's heart stops may influence the decision, according to a study by University of Pittsburgh researchers in the June edition of Critical Care Medicine and now available online.  "It's long been known that the way a choice is framed can influence people's decisions," noted Amber E. Barnato, M.D., M.P.H., M.S...

In Children With ADHD Methylphenidate 'Normalizes' Activation In Key Brain Areas

Date: May-14-2013
The stimulant drug methylphenidate "normalizes" activation of several brain areas in young patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to a review published in the May Harvard Review of Psychiatry. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health. Studies using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) show increased activation of key brain areas after a dose of methylphenidate in young patients with ADHD, according to the systematic review by Constance A...