Health News

Cognitive Vulnerability Can Be 'Contagious' And Predict Episodes Of Depression

Date: Apr-23-2013
A new study with college roommates shows that a particular style of thinking that makes people vulnerable to depression can actually "rub off" on others, increasing their symptoms of depression six months later. The research, from psychological scientists Gerald Haeffel and Jennifer Hames of the University of Notre Dame, is published in Clinical Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science...

Warts Mainly Spread In Family Settings

Date: Apr-22-2013
Researchers have found that most children become infected with warts through direct contact with family members or classmates, contrary to the popular belief that they are more likely to get them from public places. Warts have a rough texture and are caused by viruses, particularly one of several kinds of HPV (human papillomavirus). They are spread by direct contact with objects that carry the virus - most commonly human skin. The virus creates keratin, a very hard protein which develops on the top layer of skin, growing fast and appearing as a solid blister...

Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapies May Be Cardioprotective In HIV-Infected Children, Teens

Date: Apr-22-2013
Long-term use of highly active antiretroviral therapies (HAART) does not appear to be associated with impaired heart function in children and adolescents in a study that sought to determine the cardiac effects of prolonged exposure to HAART on children infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), according to a report published Online First by JAMA Pediatrics, a JAMA Network publication. Prior to contemporary antiretroviral therapies (ARTs), children infected with HIV were more likely to have heart failure. Steven E. Lipshultz, M.D., of the University of Miami Leonard M...

Medicaid Expansion ... Good For Children, Their Parents, And Clinicians

Date: Apr-22-2013
JAMA Pediatrics Viewpoint Highlights In a Viewpoint, Aaron E. Carroll, M.D., M.S., of the Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, and Austin B. Frakt, Ph.D., of the Boston University Schools of Medicine and Public Health, Massachusetts, write: "Public insurance makes a real difference in the health of children. Those who are covered are significantly more likely to have a usual source of care than those who are uninsured, which is strongly associated with better outcomes...

Study Evaluates Mobile Acute Care Of The Elderly (MACE) Service Vs. Usual Elder Care

Date: Apr-22-2013
JAMA Internal Medicine Study Highlights A matched cohort study by William W. Hung, M.D., M.P.H., of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, and colleagues examined the use of the Mobile Acute Care of the Elderly (MACE) service compared with general medical service (usual care)...

Low-Dose Aspirin May Halt Breast Cancer

Date: Apr-22-2013
Research done in test tubes and in mice presented at a conference in Boston in the US at the weekend suggests taking low doses of aspirin on a regular basis may stop breast cancer from growing and spreading. However, cancer campaigners urge caution as the results are very early stage and have yet to be shown in patients...

The Cinnamon Challenge Lands Many Children In Hospital

Date: Apr-22-2013
The "Cinnamon Challenge", which involves trying to swallow a teaspoon of cinnamon without water within sixty seconds, has led to many calls to poison centers, emergency departments visits and hospitalizations of teenagers who require ventilator support for collapsed lungs. Swallowing a teaspoon of Cinnamon within sixty seconds is a nearly impossible challenge. Even on the online dare, there is a warning: "It's going to burn, you are going to cough, and regret you tried." The Cinnamon Challenge is a dare that has spread throughout the Internet...

Smoking More Than Doubles The Risk Of Rheumatoid Arthritis

Date: Apr-22-2013
Smoking just a few cigarettes each day can more than double a woman's risk of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), according to a new study. The research was conducted by scientists from the Karolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital and was published in the journal Arthritis Research & Therapy. Although the likelihood decreases after a person quits smoking, he or she still has a higher probability to develop RA fifteen years after stopping, the experts discovered...

Parent's Controlling Teenage Food Intake Linked To Weight Status

Date: Apr-22-2013
An overwhelming number of parents (up to 66%) are controlling and pressuring their teenagers to eat all the food on their plate, regardless of whether or not the teen is obese, according to a new study, published in Pediatrics. The study, "Food-Related Parenting Practices and Adolescent Weight Status: A Population-Based Study," identified the extent of food controlling practices carried out by parents across the U.S. The researchers found that many parents are restricting or pressuring food intake in their teenage children...

For Millions Of Americans With Smell Loss Researchers Are Sniffing Out Solutions

Date: Apr-22-2013
Snot. It's not something most of us spend a lot of time thinking about, but, for a team of researchers in Washington, D.C., it's front and center. Robert I. Henkin, founder of the Taste and Smell Clinic in is charmingly self-deprecating. He says with a chuckle that he's often called a "spit and snot doctor," but he knows all too well that for his patients - those who no longer can appreciate the fragrance of fresh-cut grass or the intricacies of an herb-infused sauce - such loss is no laughing matter. "You might think: 'Oh well, you can still hear. You can still see...