Health News

5 Of Chocolate's Sweet Benefits Highlighted In New American Chemical Society Video

Date: Feb-13-2013
Just in time for Valentine's Day, the American Chemical Society (ACS), the world's largest scientific society, has released a new Bytesize Science video featuring five chemistry facts that highlight why chocolate, in moderation, may be good for you. The video explains how a bar of chocolate contains hundreds of compounds, many with beneficial properties. Among the video's "sweet" facts: Chocolate may improve your mood, and not just because of its delicious flavor...

Folic Acid Supplementation Before And During Pregnancy Lowers Autism Risk In Offspring

Date: Feb-13-2013
Women who take folic acid supplements four weeks before becoming pregnant and also during the first weeks of pregnancy have a lower risk of giving birth to children who eventually become diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ADS), Norwegian researchers reported in JAMA. Folic acid is the synthetic form of folate, a form of the water-soluble vitamin B9 found in legumes, leafy green vegetables and citrus fruits. Iron is a vital mineral found in spinach, legumes, fortified cereals and animal products...

Shorter, Newer Antibiotic Regimen Shows Equal Effectiveness For Skin Infections

Date: Feb-13-2013
Once daily treatment with a new antibiotic called tedizolid phosphate for six days proves just as successful as the antibiotic linezolid twice a day for ten 10 days, for patients with acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections. According to the new study, published in JAMA: "Antimicrobials available for treatment of complicated skin and skin structure infections (SSSIs) are generally efficacious, but antimicrobial resistance and adverse effects limit their use...

Vitamin D Supplement Potency Often Not What Label Says

Date: Feb-13-2013
When you buy your vitamin D supplements over-the-counter be careful, they may be less potent than the labels claim, researchers from Kaiser Permanente reported in JAMA Internal Medicine. Vitamin C insufficiency can be harmful to health, hence supplementation is commonly prescribed. However, vitamin D supplements are not regulated by the FDA, meaning that potency might not be evaluated. In a Research Letter in the journal, the authors explained that vitamin D supplements can have as little as 9% and as much as 146% of what their labels claim...

Factors For Eradicating Gastric Cancer Causing Bacterium H Pylori

Date: Feb-13-2013
The bacterium Helicobacter pylori is one of the leading causes of gastric cancer worldwide, researchers analyzed the results of interventions that tried to eradicate the bacterium in several different Latin American population groups.  The findings, which were recently published in JAMA, indicated that not only is the antibiotic regimen important in H pylori intervention, but also demographic factors, infection recurrence, the geographic site of the intervention, and adherence to initial therapy...

Race And Ethnicity Affect Obstetric Outcomes And Care

Date: Feb-13-2013
In a study to be presented on February 14 between 1:15 p.m., and 3:30 p.m. PST, at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting ™, in San Francisco, California, researchers will present data showing racial and ethnic disparities exist for adverse obstetric outcomes. In his study Dr...

Pregnant Women With High Blood Pressure At Increased Risk For Later Heart Disease

Date: Feb-13-2013
High blood pressure during pregnancy - even once or twice during routine medical care - can signal substantially higher risks of heart and kidney disease and diabetes, according to new research in the American Heart Association journal Circulation. "All of the later life risks were similar in pregnant women who could otherwise be considered low-risk - those who were young, normal weight, non-smokers, with no diabetes during pregnancy," said Tuija Männistö, M.D., Ph.D...

More Evidence Needed For Scale Up Of Mobile Device Technology In Health

Date: Feb-12-2013
Despite the hundreds of pilot studies using mobile health-also known as 'mHealth'', which describe medical and public health practice supported by mobile devices- there is insufficient evidence to inform the widespread implementation and scale-up of this technology, according to international researchers writing in this week's PLOS Medicine. � There are over 6 billion mobile phone subscribers and 75% of the world has access to a mobile phone leading health care providers, researchers, and national governments to be optimistic about the opportunities mobile health has to offer...

Whole Genome Sequencing Better At Tracing TB Outbreaks Than Standard Test

Date: Feb-12-2013
A new form of genetic testing of the bacteria that causes tuberculosis can provide better information on TB transmission and also trace TB outbreaks more accurately than the current standard test, according to a study from Germany published in this week's PLOS Medicine. � A team of researchers led by Stefan Niemann from Forschungszentrum Borstel, Molecular Mycobacteriology, compared the results of the two types of tests on 86 M...

Diclofenac Most Commonly Used NSAID In 15 Countries, Listed On 74 National Drug Lists, Despite Cardiovascular Risks

Date: Feb-12-2013
A study in this week's PLOS Medicine finds that the painkiller diclofenac (a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) in the same class as aspirin) is the most commonly used NSAID in the 15 countries studied and is included in the essential medicines lists of 74 low-, middle- and high-income countries, despite its known tendency to cause heart attacks and strokes in vulnerable patients. This risk is almost identical to that of Vioxx (rofecoxib), which was withdrawn from worldwide sales in 2004 because of cardiovascular risk...