A popular antidepressant plus three months of psychotherapy dramatically helped children with anxiety disorders, the most common psychiatric illnesses in kids, the biggest study of its kind found. . . .
washingtonpost.com - October 30, 2008
October 2008 Archives
Plenty of vigorous exercise can cut a healthy, older woman's breast cancer risk by 30 percent, researchers said on Friday.
A study of more than 30,000 post-menopausal women showed that strenuous activity -- ranging from housework such as scrubbing floors to running -- protected against breast cancer even among those who do not have a higher risk, the researchers said. . . .
Reuters - October 30, 2008
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE49U04X20081031?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews
The rate of new cases of diabetes soared by about 90 percent in the United States in the past decade, fueled by growing obesity and sedentary lifestyles, U.S. health officials said on Thursday.
Diabetes experts said the findings show there is no end in sight to the diabetes epidemic.
Newly diagnosed cases of diabetes rose to 9.1 per 1,000 people annually between 2005 to 2007, up from 4.8 per 1,000 from 1995 to 1997, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. . . .
Reuters - October 30, 2008
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE49T7JJ20081030?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews
Striking new evidence has emerged of a widespread gap in the cost of health insurance, as women pay much more than men of the same age for individual insurance policies providing identical coverage, according to new data from insurance companies and online brokers. . . .
The New York Times - October 29, 2008
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/30/us/30insure.html?partner=permalink&exprod=permalink
Clocks spring ahead and fall back when adjusting in and out of daylight saving time. A study published on Wednesday finds that heart attack rates do the same.
The research, based on heart attacks in Sweden, concluded that the chance of a heart attack goes up during the first three weekdays after the springtime shift to daylight saving time, possibly because of sleep deprivation. . . .
Reuters - October 29, 2008
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE49S8XV20081029?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews
A blood protein linked with inflammation called C-reactive protein does not cause heart attacks and strokes but it may be sign of trouble, Danish researchers said on Wednesday in a finding that may have implications for drug makers. . . .
Reuters - October 29, 2008
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE49S8XL20081029?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews
New survey data ranking patients' experiences in U.S. hospitals find many institutions fall short, particularly when it comes to managing pain, researchers said on Wednesday.
The data come from newly available customer satisfaction surveys on 2,400 institutions or 60 percent of U.S. hospitals. . . .
Reuters - October 29, 2008
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE49S8YF20081029?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews
If a family member has a cold, it's very likely that several surfaces in the home, including the refrigerator door, TV remote, and faucet, are contaminated with the cold virus (also called rhinovirus), which can then be transferred to fingertips following contact, new research shows. . . .
Reuters - October 29, 2008
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE49S78T20081029?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews
Patients receiving transfusions of blood stored 29 days or longer -- well within American standards -- are twice as likely to contract a hospital-acquired infection as those receiving newer blood, researchers said on Tuesday.
Food and Drug Administratoin regulations allow for blood to be stored up to 42 days before it must be discarded. But researchers at Cooper University Hospital in Camden, N.J., found that blood stored nearly two weeks less than that might still be problematic. . . .
The New York Times - October 29, 2008
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/29/health/29blood.html?partner=permalink&exprod=permalink
Doctors subconsciously favor whites over blacks, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday in a finding that may explain widespread racial disparities in health care in the United States.
A long line of studies have found that U.S. blacks get inferior care for cancer and a variety of other ailments compared to whites but experts concerned about the disparities have struggled to understand why. . . .
Reuters - October 28, 2008
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE49R8DY20081028?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews
While there are no reliable data on the number of cases, pediatric urologists and nephrologists across the country say they are seeing a steep rise in young patients. Some hospitals have opened pediatric kidney stone clinics. . . .
The New York Times - October 28, 2008
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/28/health/28kidn.html?partner=permalink&exprod=permalink
Researchers on Monday announced disappointing news for men hoping that antioxidant supplements might prevent prostate cancer: vitamin E and selenium don't reduce the risk of the disease, either when taken separately or combined. . . .
USATODAY.com - October 28, 2008
Americans with diabetes nearly doubled their spending on drugs for the disease in just six years, with the bill last year climbing to an eye-popping $12.5 billion.
Newer, more costly drugs are driving the increase, said researchers, despite a lack of strong evidence for the new drugs' greater benefits and safety. And there are more people being treated for diabetes. . . .
CNN.com - October 27, 2008
http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/conditions/10/27/diabetes.costs.double.ap/index.html?eref=rss_health
Heart ailments, infectious diseases and cancer remain the world's top three killers, the U.N. health agency said Monday.
Heart attacks and related problems are the top killer -- especially among women -- claiming 29% of people who die each year, the World Health Organization said in a report on the global burden of disease. In second place, infectious diseases lead to 16.2% of worldwide deaths.
Cancer, in third, claims 12.6% of global deaths, said the 146-page report, which is based on death registration data from 112 countries and estimates where reporting is incomplete. . . .
USATODAY.com - October 27, 2008
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-10-27-who-death-report_N.htm?csp=34
A new analysis of the best time to begin HIV treatment found that starting early sharply improves survival, doctors said Sunday.
Doctors say the new evidence is certain to prompt many doctors to change the way they treat patients, and to prompt health officials to begin examining the evidence underlying guidelines for treating the AIDS virus. The study of 8,374 patients in the USA and Canada showed that those treated later in the course of HIV infection are 70% more likely to die than patients treated sooner, says lead researcher Mari Kitahata of the University of Washington-Seattle. . . .
USATODAY - October 27, 2008
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-10-26-study-aids_N.htm?csp=34
A vaccine against rotavirus, the leading cause of diarrhea in infants, has led to a dramatic drop in hospitalization and emergency room visits since it came on the market two years ago, doctors reported Saturday. . . .
USATODAY.com - October 25, 2008
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-10-25-rotavirus_N.htm?csp=34
Half of all American doctors responding to a nationwide survey say they regularly prescribe placebos to patients. The results trouble medical ethicists, who say more research is needed to determine whether doctors must deceive patients in order for placebos to work. . . .
The New York Times - October 23, 2008
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/24/health/24placebo.html?partner=permalink&exprod=permalink
Rheumatoid arthritis appears to be on the rise among U.S. women after four decades of retreat while remaining stable among men, researchers said on Saturday. . . .
Reuters - October 25, 2008
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSN2418160620081026?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews
Women with depression symptoms early in pregnancy may be at heightened risk of delivering prematurely, a study published Thursday suggests. . . .
Reuters - October 23, 2008
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE49M67220081023?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews
A health industry watchdog group reports that a record number of serious problems and deaths linked to medications were reported to the U.S. government in the first three months of this year. . . .
USATODAY.com - October 22, 2008
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2008-10-22-drug-reactions_N.htm?csp=34
The ailing economy is leading many Americans to skip doctor visits, skimp on their medicine, and put off mammograms, Pap smears and other tests. And physicians worry the result will be sicker patients who need even more costly treatment in the long run. . . .
USATODAY.com - October 22, 2008
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-10-22-medical-financial_N.htm?csp=34
A broad analysis of genes has turned up 26 mutations linked with the most common form of lung cancer, several of which play a role in other cancers as well, researchers said on Wednesday.
The findings, published in the journal Nature, double the number of genes already linked with lung adenocarcinoma, a type of non-small cell lung cancer that accounts for 40 percent of the more than 1 million lung cancer deaths each year. . . .
Reuters - October 22, 2008
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE49L7GK20081022?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews
Food allergies in American children seem to be on the rise, now affecting about 3 million kids, according to the first federal study of the problem.
But experts said that might be because parents are more aware and quicker to have their kids checked out by a doctor.
About 1 in 26 children had food allergies last year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported today. That's up from 1 in 29 kids in 1997.
The 18 percent increase is significant enough to be considered more than a statistical blip, said Amy Branum of the CDC, the study's lead author. . . .
baltimoresun.com - October 22, 2008
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/health/bal-allergy1022,0,6283378.story?track=rss
Smokers should be vaccinated against a pneumonia-causing germ, along with children and the elderly, U.S. federal advisers recommended on Wednesday.
If accepted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it would be the first vaccine recommendation aimed specifically at smokers. . . .
Reuters - October 22, 2008
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE49L6CB20081022?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews
Contrary to what many believe, people without medical insurance are not the primary cause of the overcrowding that is typical in emergency rooms at US hospitals, new research indicates.
"There is a commonly held belief that uninsured patients abuse the emergency department, coming in for 'non-urgent' complaints, are overwhelming the system. This is simply not true," lead author Dr. Manya F. Newton told Reuters Health. . . .
Reuters - October 21, 2008
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE49K7VZ20081021?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews
After falling for more than a decade, the U.S. suicide rate has climbed steadily since 1999, driven by an alarming increase among middle-age adults, researchers said Monday.
A new six-year analysis in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that the U.S. suicide rate rose to 11 per 100,000 people in 2005, from 10.5 per 100,000 in 1999, an increase of just under 5%. . . .
Los Angeles Times - October 21, 2008
http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-sci-suicide21-2008oct21,0,7752917.story?track=rss
A Western diet rich in fried foods, salt and meat accounts for 35 per cent of heart attacks worldwide, researchers say.
The findings support evidence that animal fat and junk food can lead to heart attacks.
"This study indicates that the same relationships that are observed in Western countries exist in different regions of the world," says the study's senior author, Salim Yusuf, a professor of medicine at McMaster University in Hamilton.
For the study in Tuesday's issue of the journal Circulation, Yusuf and his colleagues surveyed 16,000 people in 52 countries, and analyzed 5,761 cases of heart attack. . . .
CBC News - October 21, 2008
http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2008/10/20/diet-heart-attack.html?ref=rss
Patients taking blood pressure drugs known as beta blockers had double the risk of heart attack after surgery and more than double the risk of dying within a month of the operation, U.S. researchers said on Monday.
Beta blockers are often given to slow a patient's heart rate before routine operations such a hernia repair, but recent studies are beginning to suggest the drugs may do more harm than good. . . .
Reuters - October 20, 2008
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE49J8CB20081020?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews
Studies suggest that many Hispanics may have more risk factors for developing dementia than other groups, and a significant number appear to be getting Alzheimer's earlier. And surveys indicate that Latinos, less likely to see doctors because of financial and language barriers, more often mistake dementia symptoms for normal aging, delaying diagnosis. . . .
The New York Times - October 20, 2008
Canada declared a chemical widely used in food packaging a toxic substance on Saturday and will now move to ban plastic baby bottles containing bisphenol A.
The toxic classification, issued in the Canada Gazette, makes Canada the first country to classify the chemical commonly used in the lining of food cans, eyeglass lenses and hundreds of household items, as risky. . . .
USATODAY.com - October 18, 2008
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-10-18-bpa-canada_N.htm?csp=34
Spending on the Medicaid health program for the poor is on a path to grow at a much higher rate than the overall U.S. economy in the next 10 years, officials said on Friday. . . .
Reuters - October 17, 2008
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE49G7FG20081017?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews
Low levels of cystatin C -- a blood protein commonly used as a measure of kidney function -- may be a risk factor for the development of Alzheimer's disease in elderly men, researchers report. . . .
Reuters - October 17, 2008
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE49G6NZ20081017?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews
Older African-American, Native American and non-white Hispanic women are more likely to develop arthritis than their white counterparts, and the larger prevalence of obesity among these ethnic groups may help explain why, new research shows. . . .
Reuters - October 17, 2008
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE49G7GI20081017?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews
Three naturally occurring antibacterial compounds hold promise for a new class of antibiotics, offering hope for fresh weapons against infection at a time when older drugs are losing their punch, researchers said on Thursday.
The new agents, reported in the journal Cell, may even provide a quicker cure for tuberculosis, which could help people stick to the prescribed therapy better and reduce the development of resistant strains. . . .
Reuters - October 16, 2008
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE49F7DF20081016?rpc=28
Monkeys regained the use of paralyzed wrist muscles with a computer-aided device that uses brain signals to direct movement, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday.
The finding may lead to treatments for people paralyzed with spinal cord or other injuries, they said.
"This was an initial demonstration that this type of technology is possible," said Chet Moritz of the University of Washington in Seattle, who reported his findings in the journal Nature. . . .
Reuters - October 15, 2008
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE49E9RY20081015?rpc=28
The Environmental Protection Agency is slashing the amount of lead allowed in the nation's air by 90 percent.
EPA officials, who were under a federal court order to set a new health standard for lead by midnight Wednesday, said the new limit would better protect health, especially children's. Exposure to even low levels of lead early in life can affect learning, IQ and memory. . . .
CNN.com - October 16, 2008
http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/10/16/epa.lead.air.standard.ap/index.html?eref=rss_health
Infant deaths in the United States declined 2 percent in 2006, government researchers reported Wednesday, but the rate still remains well above that of most other industrialized countries and is one of many indicators suggesting that Americans pay more but get less from their health care system. . . .
The New York Times - October 15, 2008
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/16/health/16infant.html?partner=permalink&exprod=permalink
High doses of B vitamins failed to slow cognitive decline in people with Alzheimer's disease, dashing the hopes for a new weapon against the fatal, mind-robbing ailment, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.
Experts had viewed B vitamins as a potential way to lower the risk of Alzheimer's disease or slow its progression because the vitamins can cut the amount of the amino acid homocysteine, found in high levels in the blood of Alzheimer's patients. . . .
Reuters - October 14, 2008
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE49D98N20081014?rpc=28
The number of Americans with high blood pressure is on the rise thanks in large part to growing rates of obesity, researchers said on Tuesday.
But increasing numbers of those with high blood pressure, also called hypertension, are getting the condition treated, researchers from the U.S. government's National Institutes of Health wrote in the journal Hypertension. . . .
Reuters - October 14, 2008
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE49D7X020081014?rpc=28
The country's leading group of pediatricians is recommending that children receive double the usually suggested amount of vitamin D because of evidence that it might help prevent serious diseases.
To meet the new recommendation of 400 units daily, millions of children will need to take vitamin D supplements each day, the American Academy of Pediatrics said. That includes breast-fed infants -- even those who get some formula -- and many teenagers who drink little or no milk.
The New York Times - October 13, 2008
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/13/health/policy/13vitamind.html?partner=permalink&exprod=permalink
A study of nearly 40,000 women has found no overall link between caffeine and breast cancer, though some women who have benign breast lumps might be at a higher risk, researcher said on Monday. . . .
Reuters - October 13, 2008
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE49C7FB20081013?rpc=28
At a time when they're already fighting for their lives, more cancer patients are now struggling to pay for their medicines.
One in eight people with advanced cancer turned down recommended care because of the cost, according to a new analysis from Thomson Reuters, which provides news and business information. . . .
USATODAY.com - October 13, 2008
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-10-12-cancer-costs_N.htm?csp=34
About one in four teen girls last year got the groundbreaking vaccine that prevents cervical cancer, federal health officials reported Thursday.
The figures represent the government's first full year of vaccination rate data for the Gardasil vaccine, which came on the market in mid-2006. Merck & Co.'s heavily advertised, three-shot series targets the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus. . . .
USATODAY.com - October 9, 2008
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-10-09-hpv-cervical-vaccine_N.htm?csp=34
A protein in the inner ear helps people differentiate between sounds and understand speech, French researchers reported on Wednesday in a finding that could help treat the hard of hearing.
The study also helps explain why some people have difficulty hearing in crowded restaurants or other noisy places, said Paul Avan, a researcher at the University of Auvergne in Clermont-Ferrand, France. . . .
Rueters - October 9, 2008
http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSTRE4978SH20081009?rpc=28
Two Americans and a Japanese researcher won the 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry on Wednesday for the discovery of a glowing jellyfish protein that makes cells, tissues and even organs light up -- a tool used by thousands of researchers around the world. . . .
Reuters - October 8, 2008
http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSTRE4973T620081008?rpc=28
Scientists have mapped the genomes of the parasite that causes most cases of malaria outside Africa and a monkey parasite that is emerging as an important cause of malaria in people in Southeast Asia.
This information should help guide efforts to develop new drugs and vaccines to fight the mosquito-borne disease, two teams of researchers wrote in the journal Nature on Wednesday. . . .
Reuters - October 8, 2008
http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSTRE4979FR20081008?rpc=28
The herbal remedy St. John's Wort effectively treats symptoms of major depression, an analysis of previous studies found on Wednesday.
St. John's Wort extracts tested in the different trials were better than placebos and as effective as standard antidepressants with fewer side effects, the researchers reported in the Cochrane review, a journal that analyses medical and scientific studies. . . .
Reuters - October 8, 2008
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE496A2M20081008?rpc=28
Hoping to head off more severe government restrictions, manufacturers of pediatric cough and cold medicines announced Tuesday that they would voluntarily change their products' labels to say that they should not be used in children under the age of 4.
In addition, for products containing certain antihistamines, new language will be added to the products' labels warning parents not to use the products to sedate or make a child sleepy. . . .
The New York Times - October 7, 2008
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/08/us/08cough.html?partner=permalink&exprod=permalink
Most people over 75 should stop getting routine colon cancer tests, according to a government health task force that also rejected the latest X-ray screening technology.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force -- in a break with other medical and cancer organizations -- opted not to give its stamp of approval to the newest tests: CT colonography, an X-ray test known as virtual colonoscopy, and a stool DNA test. The panel said more research is needed. . . .
USATODAY.com - October 6, 2008
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-10-06-colon-cancer_N.htm?csp=34
Three European scientists shared the 2008 Nobel Prize in medicine today for separate discoveries of viruses that cause AIDS and cervical cancer, breakthroughs that helped doctors fight the deadly diseases.
French researchers Francoise Barre-Sinoussi and Luc Montagnier were cited for their discovery of human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, in 1983. . . .
baltimoresun.com - October 6, 2008
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/health/bal-nobel1006,0,4312588.story?track=rss
Germany's Harald zur Hausen and French researchers Francoise Barre-Sinoussi and Luc Montagnier shared the 2008 Nobel Prize in medicine Monday for discovering the AIDS virus and viruses causing cervical cancer. . . .
USATODAY.com - October 6, 2008
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/2008-10-06-nobelprize-medicine_N.htm?csp=34
A landmark law requiring employers to provide mental health insurance benefits comparable to their medical coverage cleared Congress today and was signed by President Bush.
The mental health "parity" bill was tacked onto the financial bailout package that passed the Senate Wednesday and the House of Representatives today. . . .
USATODAY.com - October 3, 2008
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2008-10-03-domenici-mental-health_N.htm?csp=34
A top government health official rejected pediatricians' calls for an immediate ban on over-the-counter cough and cold medicines for young children, saying it might cause unintended harm.
But Food and Drug Administration officials at a public hearing yesterday also said they were uncomfortable with the lack of solid scientific data to support continued use of OTC remedies with youngsters, particularly from ages 2 to 6.
A ban - as sought by leading pediatricians' groups - might only drive parents to give adult medicines to their youngsters, said Dr John Jenkins, who heads the FDA's Office of New Drugs. . . .
baltimoresun.com - October 3, 2008
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/health/bal-te.fda03oct03,0,6619057.story?track=rss
Over-the-counter cough and cold medicines should not be sold for young children because they are unproven and can be dangerous, doctors and consumer advocates said on Thursday, despite objections from industry representatives.
Experts urged U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials to ban sales of the products, which include versions of Wyeth's Dimetapp and Procter & Gamble Co's NyQuil, for children ages 2 to 6. . . .
Reuters - October 2, 2008
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE49177320081002?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews
Overeating makes the brain go haywire, prompting a cascade of damage that may cause diabetes, heart disease and other ills, U.S. researchers reported on Thursday. . . .
Reuters - October 2, 2008
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE49172820081002?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews
A new estimate of how many Americans have the AIDS virus puts the number at about 1.1 million, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday.
The CDC numbers, based on 2006 data, show the population living with HIV is growing as people become newly infected and as more patients survive thanks to HIV drugs. . . .
Reuters - October 2, 2008
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE49166C20081002?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews
The AIDS virus has been circulating among people for about 100 years, decades longer than scientists had thought, a new study suggests.
Genetic analysis pushes the estimated origin of HIV back to between 1884 and 1924, with a more focused estimate at 1908.
Previously, scientists had estimated the origin at around 1930. AIDS wasn't recognized formally until 1981 when it got the attention of public health officials in the United States. . . .
USATODAY.com - October 1, 2008
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/genetics/2008-10-01-aids-earlier-origin_N.htm?csp=34
The government approved a new genetic test for the flu virus Tuesday that will allow labs across the country to identify flu strains within four hours instead of four days.
The timesaving test could be crucial if a deadly new strain emerges, federal health officials said. The new test also could help doctors make better treatment decisions during a conventional flu season. . . .
CNN.com - September 30, 2008
http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/conditions/09/30/fast.flu.test.ap/index.html?eref=rss_health
