Health News

Greater risk of long-term job injuries to urban night shift police

Date: Jan-21-2014
Police officers working the night shift are significantly more likely to suffer long-term on-the-job injuries than officers on day and afternoon shifts, according to new research conducted at the University at Buffalo.The study found that, independent of age and gender, urban officers working nights were three times more likely than those on the day shift, and 2.2 times more likely than those on the afternoon shift, to suffer injuries resulting in leaves of more than 90 days.

New training approach improves pediatric survival rates following cardiac arrest

Date: Jan-21-2014
Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford have found a new way to boost the survival of pediatric patients whose hearts stop while they are hospitalized.The researchers developed a broader approach to resuscitation training to include everyone who responds to a pediatric "code" event, the emergency call broadcast through the hospital when a patient's heart stops.

Troubling relationship revealed in college students between drinking and PTSD symptoms

Date: Jan-21-2014
The estimated 9 percent of college students who have symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are likely to drink more alcohol than peers without the psychological condition. In turn, heavy alcohol consumption exacerbates their PTSD symptoms over time, prolonging a vicious cycle.These are the conclusions of the first empirical study to examine the bidirectional influences of the two phenomena, influences that had been theorized but never tested.

Anti-bullying efforts may boost physical fitness

Date: Jan-21-2014
A new study found that children who were bullied during P.E. class or other physical activities were less likely to participate in physical activity one year later. Overweight or obese children who experienced teasing during physical activity had a lower perceived health-related quality of life (referring to physical, social, academic and emotional functioning) one year later. Even children with a healthy weight who were bullied during physical activity tended to exercise less often one year later.

Can sunlight protect against heart attack and stroke?

Date: Jan-21-2014
New research conducted by the Universities of Southampton and Edinburgh in the UK, and published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, suggests that exposure to sunlight may help reduce blood pressure. In turn, this could cut the risk of heart attack and stroke.According to the National Institutes of Health, about 1 in 3 adults in the US have high blood pressure. We know that blood pressure tends to rise with age, but following a healthy lifestyle can help delay or prevent this rise.

Paternal obesity may cause altered gene expression in pancreas and fat of offspring

Date: Jan-21-2014
Research involving rats suggests that there is a biological link between paternal diet, bodyweight and health at the time of conception and the health of offspring. In a new research report published online in The FASEB Journal, scientists show that if male rats ate a high fat diet, had diabetes and were obese, their offspring had altered gene expression in two important metabolic tissues--pancreas and fat (even though they were not yet obese). This altered gene expression may increase the risk of future obesity and premature aging.

Continuing statins in critically ill patients reduces delirium

Date: Jan-21-2014
Continued use of statins may help prevent delirium in critically ill patients who received statins before hospital admission, according to a new study of 470 intensive care patients in the UK."This is the first study using a validated delirium screening tool, the Confusion Assessment Method-ICU (CAM-ICU), to show that the administration of statins reduces delirium in these patients," said lead author Valerie J Page MB ChB, of the Watford General Hospital in Watford, UK. "This benefit may be mediated by a reduction in systemic inflammation.

Research reveals that three forms of blindness involve the same cell death pathway

Date: Jan-21-2014
Gene therapies developed by University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine researchers have worked to correct different forms of blindness. While effective, the downside to these approaches to vision rescue is that each disease requires its own form of gene therapy to correct the particular genetic mutation involved, a time consuming and complex process.

Sight-saving and sight-restoration measures as the population ages

Date: Jan-21-2014
Aging gracefully may not be an option for the 40 million people worldwide who are blind or have significant visual impairment. It's reported that 65% of those with visual impairment and 82% of those who are blind are over 50 years of age. In a special issue of Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science (IOVS), ophthalmic leaders from around the world address "the aging eye" to focus attention on unmet needs and accelerate the translation of research findings into effective clinical care.

Alcoholic liver disease and the circadian clock linked

Date: Jan-21-2014
Researchers from the University of Notre Dame and the Indiana University School of Medicine have revealed a putative role for the circadian clock in the liver in the development of alcohol-induced hepatic steatosis, or fatty liver disease.Hepatic steatosis is the abnormal accumulation of fats in the cells of the liver, and is linked to disturbed control of fat metabolism. Alcohol-induced liver steatosis is produced by excessive alcohol consumption and is linked to hepatitis, or inflammation of the liver.