Health News

New York City Sees A Rise In Community-Acquired MRSA

Date: Jun-14-2012
Hospitalization rates in New York City for patients with community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA), a potentially deadly bacterial infection that is resistant to antibiotic treatment, more than tripled between 1997 and 2006, according to a report published in the July issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America. Most cases of MRSA are acquired in hospitals, nursing homes, or other healthcare facilities...

Contaminated Alcohol Pads Responsible For Illnesses In Colorado Children's Hospital

Date: Jun-14-2012
A small cluster of unusual illnesses at a Colorado children's hospital prompted an investigation that swiftly identified alcohol prep pads contaminated with Bacillus cereus bacteria, according to a report in the July issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America. The investigation ultimately led to an international recall of the contaminated products...

Intervention To Improve Foster Families' Trust, Connectedness

Date: Jun-14-2012
The key ingredients for a successful foster family aren't complicated, said former foster youths in a new study. Most adolescents in foster care simply need a stable home life that provides a sense of belonging, love and someone who shows a genuine interest in their lives. But the new study, by researchers at the University of Washington, also revealed that the most common challenges in foster families included overwhelmed foster parents and a lack of trust between caregivers and foster children. "The biggest problem is the lack of connection...

Effective Prevention Of Rheumatic Heart Disease Via Echocardiogram Screening

Date: Jun-14-2012
Routine screening with echocardiogram can detect three times as many cases of rheumatic heart disease (RHD) as clinical examinations, offering a novel approach in preventing this common disease, according to a new study in Circulation. The study, conducted by cardiologists from Children's National Medical Center, is the largest single-population study in Africa. The August issue of Nature Reviews - Cardiology features a summary of the article in its Public Health feature. The study screened nearly 5,000 school-aged children in Uganda and 130 had abnormal echocardiograms...

Birth At 37 Weeks May Be Best For Twins

Date: Jun-14-2012
University of Adelaide researchers say women pregnant with twins should elect to give birth at 37 weeks to avoid serious complications. The advice is based on the world's biggest study addressing the timing of birth for women who have an uncomplicated twin pregnancy, the results of which are published in the British Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology...

Embryo Selection For IVF: The First Day Of Development

Date: Jun-14-2012
The success rate of in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures still remains relatively low, at only around 30%. The high emotional, health and financial costs associated with having to undergo the procedure multiple times has driven the need to develop more efficient methods of assessing the development potential of embryos to ensure that only those with the highest potential are selected for IVF treatment...

Social Isolation And Alcohol Abuse In Teenagers

Date: Jun-14-2012
Rather than gaining "liquid courage" to let loose with friends, teenage drinkers are more likely to feel like social outcasts, according to a new sociological study. Published in the June issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior, the study shows alcohol consumption leads to increased social stress and poor grades, especially among students in schools with tightly-connected friendship cliques and low levels of alcohol abuse...

Unusual Microbes Could Hitch A Ride With Travellers

Date: Jun-14-2012
A rare and unusual new species of yeast has been identified at three separate locations across the world, reported in the International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology. The findings suggest a link between the distribution of specialized microbes and human migrations. The novel strain of yeast has been named Saccharomycopsis fodiens and was isolated from flower-associated beetles in three geographically distant locations in Eastern Australia, Costa Rica and the Galapagos islands...

Connection Between Sleepiness And Pro-Athlete Careers Revealed By 2 New Studies

Date: Jun-14-2012
Coaches, owners and fantasy-league traders take note: Sleep researcher W. Christopher Winter, MD, has uncovered a link between a pro athlete's longevity and the degree of sleepiness experienced in the daytime. Winter presented two studies at SLEEP 2012 that associate the career spans of baseball and football players with their voluntary answers on a sleepiness questionnaire. The results show that less sleepy football players tended to remain with their drafting NFL teams after college. In addition, attrition rates for sleepier baseball players trended higher than MLB averages...

Childhood Virus Infection Linked To Prolonged Seizures With Fever

Date: Jun-14-2012
New research shows that human herpes viruses (HHV)-6B and HHV-7, commonly know as roseola virus), account for one third of febrile status epilepticus (FSE) cases. Results of the FEBSTAT prospective study now available in Epilepsia, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE), suggest that HHV-6B may be involved in the development of epilepsy and further research is urgently needed...