Health News

Future Health Predicted By Reactions To Everyday Stressors

Date: Nov-06-2012
Contrary to popular perception, stressors don't cause health problems -- it's people's reactions to the stressors that determine whether they will suffer health consequences, according to researchers at Penn State. "Our research shows that how you react to what happens in your life today predicts your chronic health conditions and 10 years in the future, independent of your current health and your future stress," said David Almeida, professor of human development and family studies...

Finding Defibrillators In Philadelphia - A 'Crowdsourcing' Challenge

Date: Nov-06-2012
Participants in a "crowdsourcing" challenge in Philadelphia used a smart phone application to locate, photograph and map more than 1,400 automated external defibrillators External link PDF file in public places, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2012.  Crowdsourcing is when the public conducts tasks traditionally done by a company, individual or a group with special skills...

Daily Multivitamins Do Not Reduce Heart Risks In Men

Date: Nov-06-2012
Daily multivitamin use does not lower the chance of developing cardiovascular disease in men, according to a new study by Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH). A similar report from the same researchers announced in October that taking a multivitamin each day lowers a male's risk of cancer by 8%. One-third of the people in the United States take a daily multivitamin despite the fact that there is little, and even some negative, information about its impact on chronic disease in the long-term...

Lifetime Risk For Cardiovascular Disease Significant

Date: Nov-06-2012
The lifetime risk in men and women for cardiovascular disease is over 50 percent, and even in those of us who have an ideal cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factor description, that risk is still over 30 percent, according to new research in the Journal of the American Medical Association. As background information, the authors inform that no published data on the lifetime risk for total CVD has existed up until this point...

New Hip Replacement Technique Offers Faster Recovery With Less Pain

Date: Nov-06-2012
A new hip replacement strategy, an anterior approach technique, allows the patient to experience less pain, have a quicker recovery, and improved mobility. Dr. Harold Rees described this technique after performing the surgery on one of his patients, Sean Toohey, and witnessing the amazing results. The day after Toohey underwent a total hip replacement surgery, he was able to walk halfway up a flight of stairs at the hospital. Later, in the afternoon, he made the quick transition from using a walker to crutches to a cane...

Frail Older Adults More Likely To Have Food Insufficiency

Date: Nov-06-2012
Older Americans who are "frail", meaning they have restricted movability and little physical activity, are 5% as likely to suffer from "food insufficiency" compared with non-frail older adults, according to a study published in the British Journal of Nutrition. The recent trial involved data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey of over 4,700 U.S. adults ages 60 and older...

Promising Treatment Identified For Inherited Form Of Kidney Disease

Date: Nov-06-2012
A drug therapy shows promise for treating an inherited form of kidney disease called autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD), Mayo Clinic researchers say. The medication, tolvaptan, slowed the pace of kidney cyst growth over the three years of the study. The phase three clinical trial results were presented at the American Society of Nephrology annual meeting and published online in the New England Journal of Medicine...

Drug Doesn't Significantly Lower Risk Of Major Heart Problems In Dialysis Patients

Date: Nov-06-2012
In one of the largest and longest trials involving patients with kidney failure, a study led by an international team of researchers found that cinacalcet - a drug commonly prescribed to patients with kidney failure and a disturbance of bone and mineral metabolism known as secondary hyperparathyroidism - does not significantly reduce the risk of death or major cardiovascular events. The results of the trial known as EVOLVE, which enrolled nearly 4,000 kidney patients from several continents and stretched over five years, were mixed, researchers said...

Studies Investigate The Potential Of Several Drugs For The Treatment Of Patients With Diabetes Or Kidney Disease

Date: Nov-06-2012
Three late-breaking studies presented during the American Society of Nephrology's Annual Kidney Week provide new information on drugs being tested in patients with diabetes or kidney disease. Hans-Henrik Parving, MD (University of Copenhagen, in Denmark) and his colleagues investigated whether the drug aliskiren might improve the prognosis of patients with type 2 diabetes who are at high risk for developing heart and kidney problems...

Autism Cannot Be Diagnosed By Brain Imaging Alone

Date: Nov-06-2012
In a column appearing in the current issue of the journal Nature, McLean Hospital biostatistician Nicholas Lange, ScD, cautions against heralding the use of brain imaging scans to diagnose autism and urges greater focus on conducting large, long-term multicenter studies to identify the biological basis of the disorder. "Several studies in the past two years have claimed that brain scans can diagnose autism, but this assertion is deeply flawed," said Lange, an associate professor of Psychiatry and Biostatistics at Harvard Medical School...