April 2009 Archives

The number of new cancer cases diagnosed each year will jump 45 percent in the next two decades to 2.3 million up from 1.6 million in 2010, affecting many more older adults and minorities, U.S. researchers predicted on Wednesday.
Using demographic trends, researchers at the University of Texas project a 67 percent increase in the number of adults 65 and older will be diagnosed with cancer in 2030, rising to 1.6 million in 2030 from 1 million in 2010. . . .

Reuters - April 30, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE53S7PL20090429?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

The World Health Organization raised the alert level of the fast-spreading swine flu virus on Wednesday afternoon, indicating that a "pandemic is imminent," on the day that a Mexican toddler who had been hospitalized in Houston became the first person to die from the disease on United States soil.
Dr. Margaret Chan, the director general of the organization, said that the "phase 5" alert out of a possible 6 levels signified that at least two countries have spread the virus by human to human contact, and that the highest phase 6 was probably imminent. . . .

The New York Times - April 29, 2009

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/30/health/30flu.html

Hundreds of thousands of deaths every year in the US could be prevented by tackling just a few risk factors, according to a new study out today in the journal PLoS Medicine.
Dr. Majid Ezzati of Harvard University and colleagues estimated the toll of poor diet, high blood pressure, cigarette smoking, sedentary lifestyle and other factors by determining how 2005 mortality data would change if each were eliminated. . . .

Reuters - April 28, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE53R5GB20090428?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

Over-the-counter pain relievers such as Tylenol and Advil will carry bolder warnings about the risk of liver damage or stomach bleeding, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Tuesday. . . .

Reuters - April 28, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE53R4Z020090428?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

The World Health Organization said on Tuesday the current outbreak of swine flu could lead to only a mild pandemic but warned the 1918 flu pandemic, which killed tens of millions, started that way. . . .

Reuters - April 28, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE53R58J20090428?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

The World Health Organization on Monday stepped closer to declaring the spread of swine flu a global epidemic, although officials caution that worldwide contagion is not a foregone conclusion.
Representatives of the United Nations agency, convening in Geneva, raised the pandemic alert system to its highest level yet, Phase 4, indicating that human-to-human transmission is causing community outbreaks. . . .

USATODAY.com - April 27, 2009

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-04-27-flu-united-states-who_N.htm?csp=34

A U.S. physicians' group is recommending that men 40 and older be offered a controversial prostate cancer test, adding to confusion over whether younger men should get the screening test.
The American Urological Association's new guidelines, released on Monday, say a blood test called the prostate-specific antigen or PSA test should be offered to men 40 or older who are expected to live at least 10 years. . . .

Reuters - April 27, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE53Q4TB20090427?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

Sorting through the "marquee flus" of recent years -- SARS, avian flu and now swine flu -- is complicated.
The three come from different viruses and carry different kinds of danger, depending on ease of transmission and virulence. . . .

The New York Times - April 27, 2009

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/28/health/28hong.html

Federal health officials announced today that the number of confirmed cases of swine flu in the United States has doubled to 40, and they recommended that Americans put off unnecessary travel to Mexico. . . .

The Washington Post - April 27, 2009

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/27/AR2009042700814.html?wprss=rss_health

We are monitoring, along with colleagues at the National Library of Medicine, developments in the Swine Flu outbreak. The HS/HSL will continue to provide authoritative, current information on the flu.

If you have questions, contact us at hshsl@umaryland.edu or 410.706.7996.

Governments around the world are hurrying to contain the spread of a new swine flu virus after outbreaks were reported in Mexico, the US and Canada.
At least 100 people are now suspected to have died of the disease in Mexico.
In Europe, health ministers called for an urgent meeting as one case of swine flu was confirmed in Spain. . . .

BBC News - April 27, 2009

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8019882.stm

Researchers in South Korea have identified genes that are linked to key indicators such as blood pressure and bone density that have a bearing on chronic diseases such as hypertension and osteoporosis.
In an article published in Nature Genetics, the scientists said they studied the DNA of nearly 9,000 people in South Korea and were able to identify genes that controlled indicators such as blood pressure, bone density, body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio, height and pulse rate. . . .

Reuters - April 27, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE53P1R120090427?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

American health officials on Sunday declared a public health emergency over increasing cases of swine flu, saying that they had confirmed 20 cases of the disease in the United States and expected to see more as investigators track down the path of the outbreak. . . .

The New York Times - April 26, 2009

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/27/world/27flu.html

Scientists have grown blood vessels for kidney patients from their own cells, making it easier and safer for them to use dialysis machines, a new study says.
Some experts said the results suggested that doctors might one day be able to custom-produce blood vessels for patients with circulatory problems in their hearts or legs. . . .

USATODAY.com - April 25, 2009

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-04-25-blood-vessels_N.htm?csp=34

During hysterectomy operations, surgeons often remove a woman's ovaries as well as her uterus. But new research suggests that for women are not at high risk for ovarian cancer, removing the ovaries during hysterectomy may adversely impact long-term health. . . .

Reuters - April 24, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE53N60I20090424?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

Contrary to earlier findings, taking common painkillers such as ibuprofen and naproxen may not prevent Alzheimer's disease, but may delay it, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday. . . .

Reuters - April 22, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE53L68D20090422?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

Treating depression and other mental disorders in U.S. children cost $8.9 billion in 2006, making mental illness the most expensive condition to treat in childhood, U.S. government researchers reported on Wednesday.
An estimated 4.6 million children were treated for mental disorders in 2006 at an average cost of $1,931 per child, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality reported. . . .

Reuters - April 22, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE53L5XE20090422?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

A new type of swine flu has infected at least two children in California and while both have recovered, U.S. health officials said on Tuesday they were looking for more cases. . . .

Reuters - April 21, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE53K4XU20090422?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

A drug used to reduce sugar levels in diabetics appears to be useful in delaying or even preventing the disease in people predisposed to developing diabetes, a study in Japan has found.
The study, published in The Lancet, found that fewer people who were given the generic drug voglibose went on to develop diabetes compared to those who received placebo, or dummy lookalike pills with no therapeutic value. . . .

Reuters - April 21, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE53K6FF20090421?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

Patients who had heart defibrillators implanted by specialists had fewer serious complications than patients who got them implanted by other types of doctors, according to a study released Tuesday.
The study, in The Journal of the American Medical Association, reviewed the experiences of more than 110,000 patients who received defibrillators and other heart devices between January 2006 and June 2007. The review, which analyzed how patients fared during the procedure or in the hospital afterward, was headed by Dr. Jeptha P. Curtis, a cardiologist at Yale University. . . .

The New York Times - April 21, 2009

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/22/health/22devices.html

A study to be released on Tuesday by the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation reports that far more Americans than previously estimated are paralyzed to some degree: 5.6 million people, representing 1.9 percent of the population, or roughly 1 in 50 Americans. . . .

The New York Times - April 20, 2009

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/21/health/21para.html

Women with psoriasis run a higher risk of diabetes and high blood pressure, perhaps because of the underlying inflammation that causes the skin condition, researchers said on Monday.
Psoriasis should be considered "a systemic disorder, rather than simply a skin disease," Dr. Abrar Qureshi of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston wrote in a study in the April issue of Archives of Dermatology. . . .

Reuters - April 21, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE53J5X220090421?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

Lowering the eligibility age for the federal Medicare health insurance plan for the elderly could reduce racial health disparities and help blacks and Hispanics live as long as whites, U.S. researchers said on Monday.
Their study of more than 6,000 middle-aged and elderly Americans showed that blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar control all improved when people hit the age of 65 and became eligible for Medicare. . . .

Reuters - April 21, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE53J67Y20090421?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

The federal government's stimulus package plus budget increases will give the National Cancer Institute enough money to double the number of research projects it pays for, the agency's director said on Monday. . . .

Reuters - April 20, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE53J61O20090420?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

The Obama administration announced Friday that it planned to lift some but not all federal financing restrictions on human embryonic stem cell research, drawing criticism both from abortion opponents and from scientists who had expected a more liberal policy. . . .

The New York Times - April 17, 2009

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/18/health/18stem.html

Women who get some sun during the last trimester of pregnancy may have children with stronger bones, a new study suggests.
UK researchers found that among nearly 7,000 10-year-olds they assessed, those whose mothers were in their last trimester during sunny months tended to have larger bones. . . .

Reuters - April 17, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE53G40F20090417?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

From 1985 to 2007, the CD4+ cell counts seen at diagnosis in HIV-infected patients in the US have fallen, suggesting that the virus may be adapting to the host and becoming more virulent, according to a report in Clinical Infectious Diseases. . . .

Reuters - April 15, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE53E47P20090415?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

Pregnant women who took a popular epilepsy drug, also widely used to treat migraines, pain and psychiatric disorders, had children whose I.Q. scores were significantly lower than those whose mothers took a different antiseizure medication, a new study has found. . . .

The New York Times - April 15, 2009

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/16/health/research/16child.html

A long-term study of thousands of older patients with Type 2 diabetes in Northern California found that those who had experienced even one episode of hypoglycemia serious enough to send them to a hospital were at higher risk for developing dementia than diabetic patients who had not experienced such an episode. With each additional episode, the risk of developing dementia increased, the study found. . . .

The New York Times - April 14, 2009

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/15/health/research/15dementia.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss

Cholesterol-lowering drugs cut the risk of strokes by about a fifth, according to a pooled analysis of 24 past clinical studies involving 165,000 people. . . .

Reuters - April 15, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE53E1FQ20090415?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

Screening patients with type 2 diabetes for coronary artery disease did little to lower their rate of heart attacks or death compared with diabetics who got routine care, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.
The study suggests routine screening tests of diabetics for heart problems would not be worth the enormous additional cost of such a screening program. . . .

Reuters - April 14, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE53D4HL20090414?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

A study of neighborhoods suggests that modifiable factors, not genetics, underlie the racial disparities that have been seen in survival of breast and prostate cancer. . . .

Reuters - April 14, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE53C5M220090414?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

What we know for sure about diet and what protects the heart is a relatively short list.
That's the conclusion of new research based on an analysis of nearly 200 studies involving millions of people. . . .

USATODAY.com - April 13, 2009

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-04-13-heart-diet_N.htm?csp=34

Heart patients who become depressed have a higher risk of developing heart failure, regardless of whether they take antidepressants, U.S. researchers said on Monday.
They said the study is the first to look at whether depression raises the risk for heart failure, a chronic condition affecting 5 million Americans in which the heart gradually loses its ability to pump blood efficiently. . . .

Reuters - April 13, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE53C5NL20090413?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

Patients should start taking drugs for the AIDS virus earlier to have the best chance of survival, researchers said Thursday.
An analysis of more than 45,000 people with HIV in Europe and North America found they were 28 percent more likely to develop full-blown AIDS or die if they deferred treatment until the point currently recommended in many countries. . . .

Reuters - April 8, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE53797520090408?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

For more than 30 years, scientists have been intrigued by brown fat, a cell that acts like a furnace, consuming calories and generating heat. Rodents, unable to shiver effectively to keep warm, use brown fat instead. So do human infants, who do not shiver very well. But it was generally believed that humans lose brown fat after infancy, no longer needing it once the shivering response kicks in.
That belief, three groups of researchers report, is wrong.
Their papers, appearing Thursday in The New England Journal of Medicine, indicate that nearly every adult has little blobs of brown fat that can burn huge numbers of calories when activated by the cold, as when sitting in a chilly room that is between 61 and 66 degrees. . . .

The New York Times - April 8, 2009

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/09/health/research/09fat.html

Decisions about the advisability of colorectal cancer screening should give more attention to life expectancy and less attention to age, according to a new report.
"Colorectal cancer screening decisions need to be more thoughtful and individualized rather than rigidly based on age cutoffs," Dr. Louise C. Walter told Reuters Health. "A core principle of good medicine is to target interventions to patients for whom the potential benefits of an intervention outweigh the potential harms.". . .

Reuters - April 8, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE5366YT20090407?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

Desk jobs are increasing obesity, with many employees and employers ignorant of the risks of sitting down all day, researchers said on Wednesday.
"Obesity is an epidemic, rising at troubling proportions," said John S. Evans, a senior lecturer at Harvard School of Public Health in the United States.
The School, which cooperates with the Cyprus International Institute for the Environment and Public Health, said a link between obesity and conditions in the workplace was growing. . . .

Reuters - April 8, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSL896076420090408?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

The Obama administration began a five-year, $45 million media blitz yesterday to spark awareness about HIV infection and AIDS, saying that Americans have grown complacent about the deadly illness even though it represents "a serious threat to the health of our nation.". . .

The Washington Post - April 8, 2009

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/07/AR2009040703717.html?wprss=rss_health

Acknowledging that infants in Baltimore are dying at an "alarming" rate, city officials will outline plans Wednesday to prevent premature births, low birth-weight babies and deaths from unsafe sleeping habits by offering intensive services in targeted neighborhoods.
"These are babies we should be able to save," said Jackie Duval-Harvey, a deputy health commissioner. . . .

baltimoresun.com - April 8, 2009

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/health/bal-md.infants08apr08,0,6353663.story?track=rss

Not only could the new test for human papillomavirus, or HPV, save lives; scientists say that women over 30 could drop annual Pap smears and instead have the DNA test just once every 3, 5 or even 10 years, depending on which expert is asked. . . .

The New York Times - April 6, 2009

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/07/health/07virus.html

A gene known to raise the risk of Alzheimer's disease may alter brain activity throughout life, British researchers said on Monday.
They found that young adults with the so-called APOE4 gene type had distinct brain patterns and said their finding might lead to a better test for Alzheimer's risk. . . .

Reuters - April 6, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE5356MT20090406?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

A study in this week's Neurology reports that being obese may increase the risk of restless legs syndrome, says author Xiang Gao, an instructor in medicine at Harvard Medical School. Restless legs syndrome is a neurological condition characterized by burning and creeping feelings in the legs and an uncontrollable urge to move them to get relief. . . .

USATODAY.com - April 6, 2009

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-04-06-restless-legs_N.htm?csp=34

In smokers with chronic illnesses, a combination of a nicotine patch, a nicotine inhaler and an antidepressant increases quit rates compared with standard therapy with a nicotine patch only, a study published today shows. . . .

Reuters - April 6, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE5356EK20090406?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

A striking new study says almost 1 in 5 American 4-year-olds is obese, and the rate is alarmingly higher among American Indian children, with nearly a third of them obese. . . .

USATODAY.com - April 6, 2009

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-04-06-obesity-preschool_N.htm?csp=34

The supply of doctors and hospital beds varies wildly across the United States and often has nothing to do with how much care patients want or need, researchers reported on Thursday. . . .

Reuters - April 2, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE53177A20090402?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

The nation spends billions of dollars a year on patients' return visits to the hospital -- many of which are readmissions that could be prevented with better follow-up care, according to a study published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine. . . .

The New York Times - April 1, 2009

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/02/health/02hospital.html

In a finding that may open new approaches to treating heart disease, Swedish scientists have succeeded in measuring a highly controversial property of the human heart -- the rate at which its muscle cells are renewed during a person's lifetime.
The finding upturns what has long been conventional wisdom: that the heart cannot produce new muscle cells and so people die with the same heart they were born with. . . .

The New York Times - April 2, 2009

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/03/science/03heart.html

. . . In a paper in the April 1 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association, the doctors' group recommends that medical professional associations adopt stricter conflict-of-interest guidelines, not simply requiring the disclosure of financial ties to drug and medical device companies but also barring members with financial ties from serving in leadership positions and on certain influential committees within the association. . . .

The New York Times - April 1, 2009

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/02/health/policy/02journal.html

People with the germiest mouths are the most likely to have heart attacks, U.S. researchers reported on Wednesday.
A study that compared heart attack victims to healthy volunteers found the heart patients had higher numbers of bacteria in their mouths, the researchers said.
Their findings add to a growing body of evidence linking oral hygiene with overall health. . . .

Reuters - April 1, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE5300RU20090401?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

People who suffer chronic sleep problems are more likely to think about suicide or actually try to kill themselves, researchers said on Wednesday.
The more types of sleep disturbances a person had -- such as waking up too early, difficulty falling asleep or lying awake at night -- upped the odds of suicidal thoughts, planning a suicide, or attempting it, researchers told a conference. . . .

Reuters - March 31, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE53000Q20090401?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews