Health News

What is important for a psychiatric patient in a trial

Date: Feb-03-2014
A paper published in Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics (P&P) analyzes the measures that are chosen as outcome in psychiatric trials and questions their clinical validity.The Authors advocate the use of simpler measures and more ecologically valid designs to answer the central questions on how do we know if one treatment works better than another, and who is going to benefit of such treatments. As highlighted by Arfken and Balon, the use of valid and reliable scales plays an essential role in research. However, the scales commonly used in psychiatry are difficult to understand.

Fatally injured drivers increasingly test positive for drugs

Date: Feb-03-2014
The prevalence of non-alcohol drugs detected in fatally injured drivers in the U.S. has been steadily rising and tripled from 1999 to 2010 for drivers who tested positive for marijuana -- the most commonly detected non-alcohol drug -- suggesting that drugged driving may be playing an increasing role in fatal motor vehicle crashes.

Exposure to BPA linked to liver tumors in mice

Date: Feb-03-2014
In one of the first studies to show a significant association between BPA and cancer development, University of Michigan School of Public Health researchers have found liver tumors in mice exposed to the chemical via their mothers during gestation and nursing."We found that 27 percent of the mice exposed to one of three different doses of BPA through their mother's diet developed liver tumors and some precancerous lesions.

Stress can be contagious: infants can catch it from their mothers

Date: Feb-03-2014
New research shows that babies not only pick up on their mother's stress, they also show corresponding physiological changes."Our research shows that infants 'catch' and embody the physiological residue of their mothers' stressful experiences," says lead researcher Sara Waters, postdoctoral scholar at the University of California, San Francisco.The findings are published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

Study suggests tighter economic regulation needed to reverse obesity epidemic

Date: Feb-03-2014
Governments could slow - and even reverse - the growing epidemic of obesity by taking measures to counter fast food consumption, according to a study published in the Bulletin of the World Health Organization.The study, by a team of researchers based in the United States and Ireland, is the first to look at the effects of deregulation in the economy, including the agricultural and food sectors, and the resulting increase in fast food transactions on obesity over time.

Specific strains of bacteria can be targeted by antibiotic 'smart bomb'

Date: Feb-03-2014
Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a de facto antibiotic "smart bomb" that can identify specific strains of bacteria and sever their DNA, eliminating the infection. The technique offers a potential approach to treat infections by multi-drug resistant bacteria."Conventional antibiotic treatments kill both 'good' and 'bad' bacteria, leading to unintended consequences, such as opportunistic infections," says Dr. Chase Beisel, an assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at NC State and senior author of a paper describing the work.

Many hospital asthma readmissions among black children and teens can be explained by financial and social hardships

Date: Feb-03-2014
Black children are twice as likely as white children to be readmitted to the hospital for asthma - a disparity due in large part to a greater burden of financial and social hardships, according to a new study.Researchers at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center found that 23 percent of black children were readmitted within a year, while 11 percent of other children in the study, most of whom were white, were readmitted within a year. Nearly 19 percent of all children were readmitted to the hospital within 12 months.

Nerve growth factor halts mitochondrial degeneration in Parkinson's disease

Date: Feb-03-2014
Neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's disease involve the death of thousands of neurons in the brain. Nerve growth factors produced by the body, such as GDNF, promote the survival of the neurons; however, clinical tests with GDNF have not yielded in any clear improvements. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology in Martinsried and their colleagues have now succeeded in demonstrating that GDNF and its receptor Ret also promote the survival of mitochondria, the power plants of the cell.

What doctors can learn from pilots about communication

Date: Feb-03-2014
As computers become common in medical examination rooms across the United States, a new study explores the role this technology plays in the doctor-patient relationship. The researchers looked to aviation, with its long history of success in complex communication between humans and machines, as an exemplar that may provide useful strategies to improve communication in the exam room.With the introduction of a "third party" into the exam room -- the computer that powers electronic medical records -- communication between physician and patient has become more complex.

Sex assault cases at colleges and universities and the role of campus police officers

Date: Feb-03-2014
With high rates of sexual assault at colleges and universities, campus law enforcement officers are important facets of a campus' response to this crime. The Crime Victims' Institute at Sam Houston State University recognizes the central role campus law enforcement play in sexual assault response and conducted a survey to increase understanding of that role and their procedures in responding to sexual assault cases.