Health News

Harm Caused By Bullying, Whether Online Or Off

Date: Feb-13-2013
Children who are bullied online or by mobile phone are just as likely to skip school or consider suicide as kids who are physically bullied, according to a study led by a Michigan State University criminologist. The findings, published in the International Criminal Justice Review, suggest parents, school officials and policymakers should consider bullying experiences both on and offline when creating anti-bullying policies and procedures. "We should not ignore one form of bullying for the sake of the other," said Thomas Holt, associate professor of criminal justice...

No Advantage Provided By Planned C-Sections Over Planned Vaginal Birth Of Twins

Date: Feb-13-2013
In a study to be presented on February 14 between 8 a.m., and 10 a.m. PST, at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting ™, in San Francisco, researchers will report findings that suggest that planned birthing of twins at 32-38 weeks by cesarean section does not decrease perinatal or neonatal death compared to planned vaginal birth...

Life-Saving Reduction In Sodium Consumption

Date: Feb-13-2013
Less sodium in the U.S. diet could save 280,000 to 500,000 lives over 10 years, according to new research in the American Heart Association journal Hypertension. Using computer simulations and models researchers projected the effects of small (about 5 percent of a teaspoon of salt per person per day), steady annual reductions of sodium consumption in the U.S. diet, reducing sodium consumption by 40 percent to about 2,200 mg/day over 10 years...

Decrease In C-Sections Associated With Around-The-Clock Labor Coverage

Date: Feb-13-2013
In a study to be presented on February 16 between 8 a.m., and 10 a.m. PST, at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting ™, in San Francisco, researchers will report findings that suggest around-the-clock labor and delivery coverage decreased the odds of cesarean delivery. The objective of the study was to determine if the implementation of "laborists" to provide around-the-clock coverage of labor and delivery would produce better outcomes...

Patient Safety Improved By Comprehensive Maternal Hemorrhage Protocols

Date: Feb-13-2013
In a study to be presented on February 16 between 8 a.m., and 10 a.m. PST, at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting ™, in San Francisco, researchers will report findings that suggest comprehensive maternal hemorrhage protocols reduce utilization of blood products and improve patient safety...

Women Who Carry Small-For-Gestational-Age Babies In First Pregnancy At Increased Risk For Recurrence In Second Pregnancy

Date: Feb-13-2013
In a study to be presented on February 16 between 8 a.m., and 10 a.m. PST, at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting ™, in San Francisco, researchers will report findings that suggest women whose babies are small-for-gestational-age (SGA) in their first pregnancy have a strongly increased risk for SGA in a second pregnancy. The aim of this study was to assess and describe in detail the incidence of SGA infants and the SGA recurrence rate in general...

Cesarean Section And Breastfeeding Practices Influence Infant Gut Microbiota, May Affect Health In Later Life

Date: Feb-13-2013
Method of birth (vaginal birth s. cesarean delivery) and feeding practices (breastfeeding v. formula-feeding) influence the development of gut bacteria in newborns and thus may affect lifelong health, according to a new study in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). Bacteria in the gut play an important role in health, helping digest food, stimulating the development of the immune system, regulating bowels and protecting against infection. Disruption of the gut microbiota has been linked to a range of diseases, such as inflammatory bowel disease, allergies, asthma, cancer and others...

Is Gun Violence A Public Health Issue Requiring Physician Intervention?

Date: Feb-13-2013
Recent violent events have driven gun policy to the top of the President's second-term agenda. In an article being published early online in Annals of Internal Medicine, public health experts at the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research call for greater physician involvement in the current gun policy dialogue. The authors cite grim statistics regarding gun violence and survival rates and conclude that greater emphasis needs to be placed on prevention. Physicians are uniquely poised to be at the forefront of prevention efforts...

Improved Understanding Of Clear Cell Sarcoma Offered By Mouse Model

Date: Feb-13-2013
Geneticists led by University of Utah Nobel Prize Laureate Mario R. Capecchi, Ph.D., have engineered mice that develop clear cell sarcoma (CCS), a significant step in better understanding how this rare and deadly soft tissue cancer arises. The mouse model also can potentially speed the development of drugs to target genes that must be activated for the cancer to form. CCS arises in connective soft tissues, such as tendons, fat, blood vessels, and muscle...

Genetic Root To Early-Onset Prostate Cancer Identified

Date: Feb-13-2013
Prostate cancer is often considered an elderly man's disease, and little is known about the approximately 2% of cases that arise in men who are aged 50 years or younger. Research published in Cell Press journal Cancer Cell uncovers the genetic origin of such early-onset prostate cancer. The findings could help in the development of new diagnostic, prognostic, therapeutic, and prevention strategies for the disease. "It's been unclear whether prostate cancer in the young is explainable by a different mechanism than prostate cancer in the elderly...