Health News

Compulsive Eating And Excessive Weight Gain Curbed By Removal Of Hypothalamic Hamartoma

Date: Apr-11-2013
Neurosurgeons at the University of Texas-Houston and Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital (Houston, Texas) report on the success they achieved when they removed a hypothalamic hamartoma (HH) from a 10-year-old girl to combat hyperphagia (excessive appetite and compulsive overeating) and consequent unhealthy weight gain. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first time resection of an HH was performed for this particular reason. Findings in this case are reported and discussed in "Successful treatment of hyperphagia by resection of a hypothalamic hamartoma...

Unnecessary Early Deliveries Reduced In Multistate, Hospital-Based Study

Date: Apr-11-2013
A study published in Obstetrics & Gynecology shows that multistate, hospital-based quality improvement programs can be remarkably effective at reducing early elective deliveries of babies. The rate of elective early term deliveries (i.e., inductions of labor and Cesarean sections without a medical reason) in a group of 25 participating hospitals fell significantly from 27.8 percent to 4.8 percent during the one-year project period, an 83 percent decline...

Next-Generation Rat Model Will Advance Alzheimer's Research

Date: Apr-11-2013
A new genetically engineered lab rat that has the full array of brain changes associated with Alzheimer's disease supports the idea that increases in a molecule called beta-amyloid in the brain causes the disease, according to a study, published in the Journal of Neuroscience. The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health. "We believe the rats will be an excellent, stringent pre-clinical model for testing experimental Alzheimer's disease therapeutics," said Terrence Town, Ph.D...

Rate Of Health Care-Acquired Infections In The ICU Reduced By Copper Surfaces

Date: Apr-11-2013
Placement of copper objects in intensive care unit (ICU) hospital rooms reduced the number of healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs) in patients by more than half, according to a new study published in the May issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America, in a special topic issue focused on the role of the environment in infection prevention. In the United States, HAIs result in 100,000 deaths annually and add an estimated $45 billion to healthcare costs...

Hydrogen Peroxide Vapor Eradicates Multidrug-Resistant Organisms From Unopened Supplies

Date: Apr-11-2013
In rooms of patients with multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs), the outside of the packages containing sterile items can become contaminated. Unused medical supplies are often thrown away to prevent the items from becoming pathways for transmission of drug-resistant microbes, and in the process this leads to increased healthcare costs. Researchers at Johns Hopkins Hospital found that hydrogen peroxide vapor (HPV) is an effective way to sanitize the outside of the packages of these sterile supplies...

Disinfection Intervention Highlights Effective Method In Removing Antibiotic-Resistant Bug

Date: Apr-11-2013
With rates and deaths associated with Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) at historically high levels, many hospitals have taken extra steps to reduce these infections. New research finds that a dedicated daily cleaning crew who adequately clean and disinfect rooms contaminated by C. difficile using a standardized process can be more effective than other disinfection interventions...

Combination Therapy Could Be Key In Treating Blindness

Date: Apr-11-2013
Researchers have discovered that using two kinds of therapy in tandem may be a knockout combo against inherited disorders that cause blindness. While their study focused on man's best friend, the treatment could help restore vision in people, too. Published in the journal Molecular Therapy, the study builds on earlier work by Michigan State University veterinary ophthalmologist András Komáromy and colleagues. In 2010, they restored day vision in dogs suffering from achromatopsia, an inherited form of total color blindness, by replacing the mutant gene associated with the condition...

Fathers Sharing Household, Parenting Responsibilities Leads To A Better Marriage

Date: Apr-11-2013
Although no exact formula for marital bliss exists, a University of Missouri researcher has found that husbands and wives are happier when they share household and child-rearing responsibilities. However, sharing responsibilities doesn't necessarily mean couples divide chores equally, said Adam Galovan, a doctoral student in the MU Department of Human Development and Family Studies. "Sharing can mean something different to every couple," Galovan said. "It could be taking turns changing diapers or one parent watching the children while the other prepares dinner...

Rates Of Childhood Squint Surgery Have Plummeted Over Past 50 Years

Date: Apr-11-2013
But there's still inexplicable fivefold difference in rates across England, similar to wide discrepancies in tonsil removal Rates of surgery to correct childhood squint in England have tumbled over the past 50 years, finds research published online in the British Journal of Ophthalmology. But there's still a fivefold difference between the areas with the lowest and highest rates of the procedure, similar to the wide variations in tonsil removal, and it's not clear why, say the authors...

Reflexology Offers Some Pain Relief

Date: Apr-10-2013
A small scientific study on reflexology as a treatment for acute pain finds that it may be as effective as painkillers. The authors suggest  reflexology may usefully complement conventional treatments for conditions like osteoarthritis and cancer, which are often associated with pain. Carol Samuel and Ivor Ebenezer, of the University of Portsmouth in the UK, report their findings in the upcoming May issue of the journal Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, which is already available online...