Health News

Identifying Autism Risk In Newborns

Date: Feb-27-2013
Low-birth-weight babies with a particular brain abnormality are at greater risk for autism, according to a new study that could provide doctors a signpost for early detection of the still poorly understood disorder. Led by Michigan State University, the study found that low-birth-weight newborns were seven times more likely to be diagnosed with autism later in life if an ultrasound taken just after birth showed they had enlarged ventricles, cavities in the brain that store spinal fluid. The results appear in the Journal of Pediatrics...

Researchers Replace Artificial Preservatives In Bread, Improve Flavour

Date: Feb-27-2013
University of Alberta researchers have found a way to replace artificial preservatives in bread, making it tastier. After loafing around in the lab analyzing strains of mould fermented in sourdough bread, Michael Ganzle, professor and Canada Research Chair in the University of Alberta Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science and fellow researchers were able to isolate natural compounds that can help keep bread fresh without changing its flavour...

Bone-Marrow Environment Identified That Helps Fight Infection

Date: Feb-27-2013
The Children's Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern has deepened the understanding of the environment within bone marrow that nurtures stem cells, this time identifying the biological setting for specialized blood-forming cells that produce the infection-fighting white blood cells known as T cells and B cells. The research found that cells called early lymphoid progenitors, which are responsible for producing T cells and B cells, thrive in an environment known as an osteoblastic niche. The investigation, published online in Nature and led by Dr...

BMJ Launches 'Too Much Medicine' Campaign To Tackle The Harms Of Overdiagnosis And Overtreatment

Date: Feb-26-2013
Journal will partner at international conference to find ways to stop harming the healthy Today, the BMJ launches a 'Too Much Medicine' campaign to help tackle the threat to health and the waste of money caused by unnecessary care. Unnecessary care occurs when people are diagnosed and treated for conditions that will never cause them harm and there's growing evidence that many people are overdiagnosed and overtreated for a wide range of conditions such as prostate and thyroid cancers, asthma, and chronic kidney disease...

Self Help Books And Websites Can Benefit Severely Depressed Patients

Date: Feb-26-2013
Researchers recommend these interventions in first step of treatment Patients with more severe depression show at least as good clinical benefit from 'low-intensity' interventions, such as self help books and websites, as less severely ill patients, suggests a paper published on bmj.com today. Depression is a major cause of disability worldwide and effective management of this is a key challenge for health care systems. Evidence suggests 'low-intensity' interventions provide significant clinical benefit...

Home Based Telehealth Does Not Improve Generic Quality Of Life For Patients With Long Term Conditions

Date: Feb-26-2013
Technology was not effective or efficacious compared with usual care only Telehealth does not improve generic health related quality of life or psychological outcomes for patients with long term conditions over 12 months, finds a study published on bmj.com today. As such, the researchers say "it should not be used as a tool to achieve improvements in generic health related quality of life or psychological outcomes." Telehealth uses technology to help people with health problems live more independently at home...

Increased Risk Of Sleep Disorder In Children Who Received Swine Flu Vaccine

Date: Feb-26-2013
Results consistent with findings from Finland and Sweden, but may still be overestimated A study published on bmj.com today finds an increased risk of narcolepsy in children and adolescents who received the A/H1N1 2009 influenza vaccine (Pandemrix) during the pandemic in England. The results are consistent with previous studies from Finland and Sweden and indicate that the association is not confined to Scandinavian populations...

No Significant Difference Seen In Bariatric Surgery Complication Rates Since Restricting Coverage To Higher-Quality Centers

Date: Feb-26-2013
In an analysis of data on patients who underwent bariatric surgery 2004-2009, there was no significant difference in the rates of complications and reoperation for Medicare patients before vs. after a 2006 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services policy that restricted coverage of bariatric surgery to centers of excellence, according to a study appearing in the February 27 issue of JAMA...

Findings Suggest That Number And Frequency Of Surveillance Scans For Small Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms Can Be Reduced For Most Patients

Date: Feb-26-2013
In contrast to the commonly adopted surveillance intervals in current abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) screening programs, surveillance intervals of several years may be clinically acceptable for the majority of patients with small AAA, as the smallest AAAs often do not appear to change significantly over many years, according to a meta-analysis of previous studies reported in the February 27 issue of JAMA. "The survival rate following rupture of an abdominal aortic aneurysm is only 20 percent, making AAAs an important cause of mortality," according to background information in the article...

Long-Term Use Of Medication May Improve Heart Function, But Does Not Improve Symptoms, Quality Of Life For Heart Failure Patients

Date: Feb-26-2013
Among patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, long-term treatment with the medication spironolactone improved left ventricular diastolic function but did not affect maximal exercise capacity, patient symptoms, or quality of life, according to a study appearing in the February 27 issue of JAMA...