Health News

Pediatric Food Allergies Often Not Treated Properly

Date: Sep-14-2012
American children with food allergies should be receiving better care, including diagnostic testing and attention to severe allergic reaction symptoms, according to a study conducted by researchers at Northwestern Medicine. Ruchi Gupta, M.D., an associate professor of pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, as well as a physician at the Ann & Robert H...

Dangers Of Exposure To Light At Night

Date: Sep-14-2012
An international conference at the University of Haifa has called attention to the dangers of exposure to light at night. "The most important thing for us is to raise awareness of the dangers of artificial light at night and we have already come a long way now that the American Medical Association (AMA) recently announced its new policy recognizing adverse health effects of exposure to light at night and encouraging further research into the matter," said Prof...

Review: Altruism's Influence On Parental Decision To Vaccinate Children Is Unclear

Date: Sep-14-2012
As outbreaks of preventable diseases such as whooping cough and measles increase in the United States, researchers from the Regenstrief Institute and Indiana University School of Medicine are investigating whether altruism, known to influence adults' decisions to immunize themselves, influences parental decisions to vaccinate their children. "If enough people are immunized against a particular disease, it prevents outbreaks of that disease and protects the community...

LSUHSC Research Finds Ginkgo Biloba Doesn't Improve Cognitive Function In MS

Date: Sep-14-2012
A research study conducted by Dr. Jesus Lovera, Assistant Professor of Neurology at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, and colleagues has found that the herbal supplement Ginkgo biloba does not improve cognitive function in patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS.) Cognitive impairment affects 40-60% of people with MS, most commonly affecting their processing speed, memory, and executive skills. The research findings were published online ahead of print in Neurology on September 5, 2012. This study followed up on a promising earlier small study by Dr...

Researchers Improve Gene Therapy Technique For Children With A Form Of Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID)

Date: Sep-14-2012
By including chemotherapy as a conditioning regimen prior to treatment, researchers have developed a refined gene therapy approach that safely and effectively restores the immune system of children with a form of severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID), according to a study published online recently in Blood, the Journal of the American Society of Hematology (ASH). SCID is a group of rare and debilitating genetic disorders that affect the normal development of the immune system in newborns...

Parents Of Babies With Sickle Cell Trait Are Less Likely To Receive Genetic Counseling, Study Says

Date: Sep-14-2012
Parents of newborns with the sickle cell anemia trait were less likely to receive genetic counseling than parents whose babies are cystic fibrosis carriers, a new study from the University of Michigan shows. University of Michigan researchers found that 20 percent of physicians reported their patients with newborns carrying the sickle cell trait did not get any genetic counseling. In contrast, parents of babies who were cystic fibrosis carriers received more counseling overall (92 percent vs. 80 percent)...

Exercise Helps Prevent Stress

Date: Sep-14-2012
Moderate exercise may help people deal with anxiety and stress for a period of time after their workout.  Previous research has shown that exercise boosts mood, but the effects on a person's emotional state have yet to be seen, as well as whether the positive effects last when faced with everyday stressors. A study carried out by researchers from Brigham Youth University and published on 13th September 2012 found that exercise can reduce the urge to eat. Earlier studies report stress reduction can be achieved by meditation, breathing, progressive relaxation, and exercise...

Serious Games Could Be Integrated Into Surgical Training Subject To Validation

Date: Sep-14-2012
Serious gaming can be used to enhance surgical skills, but games developed or used to train medical professionals need to be validated before they are integrated into teaching methods, according to a paper in the October issue of the surgical journal BJS. Researchers from The Netherlands reviewed 25 research studies covering 30 serious games published between 1995 and 2012...

Body Heat, Fermentation Drive New Drug-Delivery 'Micropump'

Date: Sep-14-2012
Researchers have created a new type of miniature pump activated by body heat that could be used in drug-delivery patches powered by fermentation. The micropump contains Baker's yeast and sugar in a small chamber. When water is added and the patch is placed on the skin, the body heat and the added water causes the yeast and sugar to ferment, generating a small amount of carbon dioxide gas...

Study: Hearing Impaired Ears Hear Differently In Noisy Environments

Date: Sep-14-2012
The world continues to be a noisy place, and Purdue University researchers have found that all that background chatter causes the ears of those with hearing impairments to work differently. "When immersed in the noise, the neurons of the inner ear must work harder because they are spread too thin," said Kenneth S. Henry, a postdoctoral researcher in Purdue's Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences. "It's comparable to turning on a dozen television screens and asking someone to focus on one program...