Health News

Soccer Program Associated With Increased Activity In Students With Higher BMI

Date: Feb-25-2013
JAMA Pediatrics Study Highlights Kristine Madsen, M.D., M.P.H., of the University of California, Berkeley, and colleagues examined the effect of the community-based, after-school soccer and youth development program, America SCORES, on students' physical activity, weight and fitness. Among students with a higher body mass index (at or above the 85 th percentile) SCORES "significantly increased" moderate-to-vigorous physical activity after school (by 3.4 minutes per day) and on Saturdays (by 18.5 minutes)...

Study Examines ALS Incidence Among American Indians, Alaska Natives

Date: Feb-25-2013
JAMA Neurology Study Highlights A study by Paul H. Gordon, M.D., Ph.D., of the Indian Health Service, and colleagues analyzed electronic records for American Indians and Alaska natives (AI/ANs) with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and motor neuron disease separately from 2002-2009 to estimate the incidence and prevalence of the diseases. (Online First) A total of 71 AI/ANs were diagnosed with ALS, yielding an average annual crude incidence rate of 0.63 cases per 100,000 and age-adjusted incidence of 0.92 per 100,000...

Study Suggests Diagnostic Tests Do Little To Reassure Patients With Low Risk Of Serious Illness

Date: Feb-25-2013
JAMA Internal Medicine Study Highlights Alexandra Rolfe, M.B.Ch.B., University of Edinburgh, Scotland, and Christopher Burton, M.D., of the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, conducted a review of the available medical literature and meta-analysis to examine the relationship between diagnostic tests and worry about illness, anxiety, symptom persistence and subsequent use of health care resources among patients with a low probability of serious illness before the test. Fourteen randomized controlled trials that included 3,828 patients met the criteria to be included in the study...

Glucagonlike Peptide 1-Based Therapies Associated With Acute Pancreatitis In Study

Date: Feb-25-2013
JAMA Internal Medicine Study Highlights In a study by Sonal Singh, M.D., M.P.H., of The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, and colleagues, treatment with the glucagonlike peptide-1 (GLP-1)-based therapies sitagliptin and exenatide were associated with increased odds of hospitalization for acute pancreatitis in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus. (Online First) The population-based case-control study used a large administrative database of adults with type 2 diabetes. Researchers identified 1,269 hospitalized cases with acute pancreatitis and 1,269 matched controls...

Asthma Drug Treats Chronic Hives, Severe Itch

Date: Feb-25-2013
A commonly used asthma drug, omalizumab, has shown to be effective in treating chronic hives and severe, itchy rash in adolescents and adults. The finding came from a new study published in The New England Journal of Medicine after examining the effects of a once-a-month, high-dose injection of omalizumab on 323 subjects at 55 medical centers. The participants had previously been taking standard antihistamine therapy, however, it did not put an end to their underlying, allergy-like response, referred to as chronic spontaneous urticaria or chronic idiopathic urticaria...

Infants Who Develop Slowly Catch Up On Growth In Time

Date: Feb-25-2013
New research reveals that most babies who put on weight at a slow rate during their first 9 months do eventually catch up to normal weight by the time they are teenagers, however, they will remain slightly shorter and lighter than their peers for a long time. The findings, which were published by researchers at the University of Bristol in the journal Pediatrics, finally provides conclusive evidence to show that, with careful care, babies who are slow to put on weight during their first 9 months can eventually catch up to within a normal range...

'Watchful Waiting' Proves Best for Ear Infections In Kids

Date: Feb-25-2013
Doctors are currently getting updated guidelines on diagnosing and treating the millions of children who are afflicted with middle-ear infections, one of the most standard bacterial illnesses kids encounter and one that is usually treated with antibiotics. In 2004, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) aimed to reduce the unnecessary use of antibiotics to prevent antibiotic-resistant bacteria. During that time, they suggested an observational approach was best before deciding to prescribe antibiotics for middle ear infections in kids ranging in age from six months to 12 years...

Intense Acupuncture Can Improve Muscle Recovery In Patients With Bell Palsy - Randomized Controlled Trial

Date: Feb-25-2013
Patients with Bell palsy who received acupuncture that achieves de qi, a type of intense stimulation, had improved facial muscle recovery, reduced disability and better quality of life, according to a randomized controlled trial published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). Bell palsy is sudden onset of facial paralysis that is usually temporary, resolving within weeks or months, although it can sometimes be permanent. Acupuncture is used to treat a variety of conditions and is gaining acceptance worldwide...

Higher Income Earners More Likely To Get Doctors' Appointments Than Lower Income People

Date: Feb-25-2013
People of high socioeconomic status are more likely to be able to access primary care than those of low socioeconomic status, even within a universal health care system in which physicians are reimbursed equally for each patient, found an article published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). "A person calling a physician's office and asking to be seen as a new primary care patient was more than 50% more likely to be given an appointment if he or she presented as being of high socioeconomic status," says senior author Dr...

How Does The Brain Protect Itself From Stroke Damage?

Date: Feb-25-2013
Scientists from the University of Oxford say they have discovered how the brain protects itself from damage that occurs in stroke. They wrote about their study in the journal Nature Medicine. If we can harness this inbuilt biological mechanism, which the researchers identified in rats, we could develop effective treatments for stroke, as well as prevent other neurodegenerative diseases in the future...