Health News

A Back Brace That Can Measure How Long It Is Worn Benefits Children With Curvature Of The Spine

Date: Jun-01-2012
Scoliosis (curvature of the spine) affects three or four per thousand children and as many as seven out of ten older adults. While there is still controversy about the efficacy of back braces for children this is often considered a problem of compliance - if the children do not wear their braces the treatment does not work...

Concerns About Pharmaceuticals, Personal Care Products And The Environment

Date: Jun-01-2012
Researchers at the University of York headed a major international review aimed at enhancing efforts to better understand the impacts of chemicals used in pharmaceuticals or in personal care products, such as cosmetics, soaps, perfumes, deodorants and toothpastes (PPCPs), on the natural environment. Over the last two decades, scientists and regulators have raised concerns over the potential environmental effects and risks of the 4,000 pharmaceuticals and substantial number of personal care products that are used by society...

Increased Survival From Treatment For Oxygen Deficiency At Birth

Date: Jun-01-2012
A treatment to reduce the body temperatures of infants who experience oxygen deficiency at birth has benefits into early childhood, according to a follow-up study by a National Institutes of Health research network. Children who received the hypothermia treatment as infants were more likely to have survived to ages 6 and 7, when they were evaluated again, than were children who received routine care, the study found. They were no more likely than the routine care group to experience a physical or cognitive impairment, it said. The report appears in the New England Journal of Medicine...

Researcher Calls For Expansion Of Programs To Identify Potential Drug Abusers And Protect Pain Patients

Date: Jun-01-2012
Individual use of prescription opioids has increased four-fold since the mid-1990s, in part due to increased awareness of pain control for chronic conditions such as low back pain and fibromyalgia and a Joint Commission mandate that hospitals assess patients' pain as a "vital sign" along with their blood pressure and temperature. During the same timeframe, however, the number of people using these drugs recreationally, becoming addicted to them, and dying of overdoses has also shot up...

Sodium Retention, Blood Pressure Increased By Common Genetic Mutation

Date: Jun-01-2012
Nearly 40 percent of the small adrenal tumors that cause big problems with high blood pressure share a genetic mutation that causes patients to retain too much sodium, researchers report. The study of 47 human, benign adrenal gland tumors also showed a mutation of the gene KCNJ5 is twice as likely to occur in women - 71 versus 29 percent - as it points to potential new treatments for some patients who don't respond to current hypertension regimens, said Dr. William E. Rainey, Scientific Director of the Adrenal Center at Georgia Health Sciences University...

Tart Cherries May Help Millions Reduce Inflammation To Manage Pain, According To New Research

Date: Jun-01-2012
Tart cherries may help reduce chronic inflammation, especially for the millions of Americans suffering from debilitating joint pain and arthritis, according to new research from Oregon Health & Science University presented at the American College of Sports Medicine Conference (ACSM) in San Francisco, Calif.1 In fact, the researchers suggest tart cherries have the "highest anti-inflammatory content of any food" and can help people with osteoarthritis manage their disease...

Stress Suffered By Immigrant Women Giving Birth In Spain

Date: Jun-01-2012
A study conducted at the University of Granada has concluded that most immigrant women who give birth in Spain suffer "severe stress" and should receive psychological treatment after giving birth to help them overcome disorders such as obsessive compulsive disorder, phobic anxiety, depression or psychoticism. These disorders are caused by "the stress of labor itself combined with other personal stress factors. This is a very stressful moment in women's life due to biological, psychological and social factors"...

Physician May Overlook Patient's Mental Health When A Family Member Is Present

Date: Jun-01-2012
Existing research shows that it is beneficial to have a loved one present when visiting the doctor, but a new study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health suggests the opposite may be true for older adults suffering from poor mental health. They examined whether companion presence in routine primary care visits helps or hinders physician visit processes and found that older adults with poor mental health function may experience more communication challenges in the form of shorter visits and less patient-centered communication...

Just A Handful Of Genetic Changes Led To Evolution Of The Human Brain

Date: Jun-01-2012
Changes to just three genetic letters among billions led to evolution and development of the mammalian motor sensory network, and laid the groundwork for the defining characteristics of the human brain, Yale University researchers report. This networks provides the direct synaptic connections between the multi-layered neocortex in the human brain responsible for emotions, perception, and cognition and the neural centers of the brain that make fine motor skills possible...

Treatment Failure In Kids With Serious Infections Is Lowered By Zinc Supplementation

Date: May-31-2012
Researchers in India have found that zinc supplementation, in addition to standard antibiotics, reduces the risk of treatment failure among young children with suspected serious bacterial infections by 40%. The study is published Online First in The Lancet. In 2010, nearly 66% of deaths in children under 5 around the world were due to infections. Of these deaths, around two-fifths occurred within the first month of life...