May 2009 Archives

For years, overweight women who become pregnant have been advised to limit their weight gain to 25 pounds over nine months.
But on Thursday, health officials sharply reduced that number for many of them. In the first revision of weight-gain guidelines since 1990, the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council said that women who start their pregnancies very overweight should limit their gain to 11 to 20 pounds. . . .

The New York Times - May 28, 2009

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/29/health/research/29pregnant.html

Researchers using a new gene-scanning method have found a potential way to fight cancer by silencing genes that tumors need to stay alive.
They found a previously unknown gene that keeps tumor cells from killing themselves but that does not appear to be needed by normal, healthy cells. A second team found another new genetic process that also appears to be unique to tumors. . . .

Reuters - May 28, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE54R5X420090528?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

The number of European children under 5 with type 1 diabetes could double by 2020, an alarming trend that suggests environmental factors may be playing a role, researchers said on Wednesday.
They said cases of type 1, or juvenile, diabetes in older children will rise significantly as well, and the findings likely apply to children in other regions. . . .

Reuters - May 28, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE54Q5WX20090528?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

The nation's epidemic of new H1N1 flu may have peaked except in New York, New Jersey and New England, a leading federal health expert said Tuesday.
"In the country as a whole, influenza is starting to decrease," says Ann Schuchat of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. . . .

USATODAY.com - May 26, 2009

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-05-26-swine-flu-decrease_N.htm?csp=34

A steady 15-year decline in the U.S. death rate from cancer translates to about 650,000 lives over that time, the American Cancer Society said on Wednesday. . . .

Reuters - May 27, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE54Q0MK20090527?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

A growing number of hospital patients are routinely given drugs to prevent acid reflux. But a new study has found that patients who take these so-called proton pump inhibitors are at higher risk for pneumonia than those who do not.
The drugs -- including Nexium, Prilosec and Prevacid -- are often recommended for intensive-care patients to prevent stress ulcers, and in recent years they have been given to many other hospital patients, in large part because they are widely perceived to be safe. Experts estimate that 40 percent to 70 percent of inpatients now receive acid-suppressive drugs during a hospital stay, with about half receiving them for the first time.

The New York Times - May 26, 2009

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/27/health/27drugs.html

Hospitals and their emergency vehicles, which are major polluters, must join the fight against climate change, the World Health Organization said on Friday.
"The health sector can contribute a lot to reduce the carbon footprint because the health sector in many countries is the second most important user and energy consumption is very high," Maria Neira, director of the WHO's department of public health and environment, told a news briefing. . . .

Reuters - May 25, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE54L47G20090525?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

One in 20 children whose parents do not get them vaccinated against whooping cough catch the highly contagious illness, researchers said on Tuesday.
Only one in 500 children who got vaccinated developed whooping cough in the study by Kaiser Permanente Colorado's Institute for Health Research. . . .

Reuters - May 26, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE54P0NX20090526?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

A genetic link between dental disease and heart attacks has been found by German researchers.

BBC News - May 25, 2009

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8063512.stm

Countries should be ready for more serious H1N1 flu infections and more deaths from the newly discovered virus, World Health Organization chief Margaret Chan said on Friday.
The highly contagious strain must be closely monitored in parts of Asia, Africa and South America where the winter season is beginning in case it mixes with seasonal flu and mutates in "unpredictable ways," Chan told the closing session of her United Nations agency's annual congress. . . .

Reuters - May 22, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE54K2EB20090522?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

Federal health officials will probably recommend that most Americans get three flu shots this fall: one regular flu shot and two doses of any vaccine made against the new swine flu strain. . . .

The New York Times - May 21, 2009

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/22/health/22flu.html

A poor network of blood vessels may explain why some people with pancreatic cancer are often resistant to a common chemotherapy treatment, international researchers said on Thursday. . . .

Reuters - May 21, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE54K5DC20090522?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

U.S. health officials said on Wednesday they are considering starting the vaccination campaign for seasonal flu earlier this year to make room for a possible second round of shots against the new H1N1 flu. . . .

Reuters - May 20, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE54I6O820090520?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

A unique new institute will look for ways to treat rare and neglected diseases and take the first and riskiest steps toward bringing new drugs to market, U.S. health officials said on Wednesday.
Congress has provided $24 million a year for five years to start the Therapeutics for Rare and Neglected Diseases Program, or TRND at the National Institutes of Health, acting NIH director Dr. Raynard Kington told reporters in a telephone briefing. . . .

Reuters - May 20, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE54J7F220090520?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

People with Down's syndrome rarely get most kinds of cancer and U.S. researchers have nailed down one reason why -- they have extra copies of a gene that helps keep tumors from feeding themselves.
The findings could lead to new treatments for cancer, the researchers reported in the journal Nature on Wednesday, and further study of Down's patients might reveal more ways to fight tumors. . . .

Reuters - May 20, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE54J5IN20090520?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

The number of confirmed cases of the new Influenza A (H1N1) flu has risen to 10,243 and the death toll has edged up to 80, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday. . . .

Reuters - May 20, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE54H1XO20090520?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

Genetically engineered stem cells from bone marrow showed promise as a potential new way to deliver a cancer-killing protein to tumors, British researchers said on Tuesday.
Experiments in cell cultures and in mice showed the adult stem cells -- a type known as mesenchymal stem cells -- could home in on cancer cells and deliver a lethal protein that attacked only the cancer while sparing normal healthy tissue. . . .

Reuters - May 19, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE54I76U20090519?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

Injecting bone marrow stem cells into the heart helped some patients with a chronic form of heart disease, Dutch researchers said on Tuesday.
The infusions helped blood flow, reduced pain and helped patients exercise more, the researchers reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association. . . .

Reuters - May 19, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE54I6TO20090519?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

One shot to protect against all strains of flu won't be here anytime soon, but it is the holy grail for some researchers. . . .

The New York Times - May 18, 2009

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/19/science/19vacc.html

Drug manufacturers won't be able to start making a swine flu vaccine until mid-July at the earliest, weeks later than previous predictions, the World Health Organization said Tuesday. It will then take months to produce a new vaccine.
The disclosure that making a swine flu vaccine is proving more difficult than experts first thought came as U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and WHO chief Dr. Margaret Chan met Tuesday with representatives from about 30 pharmaceutical companies to discuss the subject. . . .

USATODAY.com - May 19, 2009

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-05-19-who-swine-flu_N.htm?csp=34

The real number of swine flu cases in the United States could be "upwards of 100,000," a top public health official estimated on Friday -- far higher than the official count of 7,415 cases confirmed by laboratories.
The official, Dr. Daniel Jernigan, head of flu epidemiology for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said at a news conference that the official number gave an inaccurate picture of the outbreak because so few mildly sick people were being tested.

The New York Times - May 15, 2009

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/16/health/16influenza.html

Insured immigrants have lower medical expenses than U.S.-born citizens, even after accounting for lower levels of insurance coverage, U.S. researchers said on Thursday.
They said the findings contradict the popular belief that immigrants are a drain on the U.S. health system. . . .

Reuters - May 15, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE54D6MC20090515?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

A common virus may be a major cause of high blood pressure, researchers said on Thursday in a finding that may bring new approach to treating a condition that affects an estimated 1 billion people worldwide.
Based on a series of studies in mice, they said cytomegalovirus or CMV -- a herpes virus that affects some 60 to 99 percent of adults globally -- appears to increase inflammation in blood vessels, causing high blood pressure. . . .

Reuters - May 15, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE54E00E20090515?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

A randomized clinical trial has confirmed what many people suspect -- that ginger can decrease nausea caused by chemotherapy. The effect goes beyond that provided by standard anti-vomiting drugs. . . .

The New York Times - May 14, 2009

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/15/health/15cancer.html

U.S. researchers have developed a checklist that can accurately predict whether a person over 65 is at high risk of developing Alzheimer's disease within six years. . . .

Reuters - May 13, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE54C77920090513?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

Girls with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes are more likely to have structural and functional cardiac abnormalities than are their healthy peers or even girls with type 1 diabetes, according to a study in of Diabetes Care.

Reuters - May 13, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE54C6C520090513?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

The two drugs used to treat influenza should be used carefully and only when needed for the chronically ill, pregnant women and other vulnerable patients, global health officials said on Tuesday.
The new H1N1 swine flu appears to be a little more contagious and a little more severe than seasonal influenza but only patients who need them the most should get the drugs, in part to keep the drugs working well in case the swine flu becomes more dangerous, said Dr. Nikki Shindo of the World Health Organization. . . .

Reuters - May 13, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE5480IR20090513?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

New research raises additional concerns about the harmful effects of formaldehyde, a common chemical found in everything from plywood to nail polish, car exhaust and cigarette smoke.
Formaldehyde has long been linked to rare tumors of the nasopharynx, which includes the back of the throat, which affect about 2,000 Americans a year, according to the American Cancer Society. . . .

USATODAY.com - May 11, 2009

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-05-12-formaldehyde-cancer_N.htm?csp=34

Few people think twice about taking aspirin or ibuprofen. But for those 75 and older, the high doses needed to treat chronic pain may be so dangerous that patients may be better off taking opioids instead, an expert panel has found.
New pain management guidelines issued by the American Geriatrics Society late last month removed those everyday medicines, called Nsaids, for nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, from the list of drugs recommended for frail elderly adults with persistent pain. The panel said the painkillers should be used "rarely" in that population, "with extreme caution" and only in "highly selected individuals.". . .

The New York Times - May 11, 2009

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/12/health/12pain.html

If you exercise to improve your metabolism and prevent diabetes, you may want to avoid antioxidants like vitamins C and E.
That is the message of a surprising new look at the body's reaction to exercise, reported on Monday by researchers in Germany and Boston. . . .

The New York Times - May 11, 2009

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/12/health/research/12exer.html

Most working-age women in the United States have too little health coverage, and often forgo needed care because of cost, U.S. researchers said on Monday.
They found that seven out of 10 women have no insurance, not enough insurance or are in debt because of medical bills. . . .

Reuters - May 11, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE54A43420090511?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

Even as the U.S. Labor Department released figures showing that the economy lost more than half a million jobs in April, researchers on Friday made public a large study with an unsettling finding: Losing your job may make you sick. . . .

The New York Times - May 8, 2009

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/09/health/09sick.html

A gene that allows cancer to spread into the brain has been identified by US scientists. . . .

BBC News - May 6, 2009

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8033630.stm

The U.S. public could become more vulnerable to a flu pandemic if complacency about the need for heightened vigilance sets in, health experts said on Wednesday.
Those concerns would escalate if the H1N1 virus that has killed two people in the United States and made 642 others sick mutates into a more virulent form by the start of the traditional flu season in the fall. . . .

Reuters - May 6, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE5458CJ20090506?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

About 6.3 million Americans have diabetes without knowing it, and complications from their undiagnosed disease account for an estimated $18 billion in U.S. healthcare costs each year, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday. . . .

Reuters - May 6, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE54586K20090506?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

A U.S. research team said on Tuesday it had found evidence why some plaque build-ups in arteries may lead to heart attacks and stroke while others do not.
A gene had been found in mice that makes artery-clogging plaques more likely to break apart and cause stroke or heart attacks, Ira Tabas of Columbia University in New York and colleagues reported. . . .

Reuters - May 5, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE5444XA20090505?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

Experts say the next few days will determine whether the swine flu outbreak will keep expanding or if it will recede in the fashion of seasonal flu at this time of year. . . .

USATODAY.com - May 5, 2009

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-05-05-swine-flu-spread_N.htm?csp=34

Many more Americans have been using prescription drugs to treat mental illness since 1996, in part because of expanded insurance coverage and greater familiarity with the drugs among primary care doctors, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.
They said 73 percent more adults and 50 percent more children are using drugs to treat mental illness than in 1996. . . .

Reuters - May 5, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE5440V120090505?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

More than one third of mothers and more than half of their infants have vitamin D deficiency at the time of birth, investigators report.
What's more, prenatal vitamin D supplements do not fully protect against this deficiency, according to data released at Pediatric Academic Societies annual meeting. . . .

Reuters - May 4, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE5435OV20090504?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

The World Health Organization is likely to raise its flu alert to the top of its six-point scale and declare a pandemic, its director-general indicated in an interview published on Monday.

Reuters - May 4, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE5431DI20090504

Obese children and adolescents are 26 percent more likely to have some kind of allergy, especially to food, U.S. researchers said on Monday.
They said it is not clear from the study if obesity causes allergies, but it suggests controlling obesity in young people may be important for lowering rates of childhood allergies and asthma. . . .

Reuters - May 4, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE54350K20090504?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

Fathers' mental health problems may take a toll on their children's psychological well-being, particularly that of their sons, a new research review suggests.
The review, published online by The Lancet medical journal, found that when fathers had psychiatric conditions like major depression, drug or alcohol addiction, or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), their children were at increased risk of mental health problems. . . .

Reuters - May 4, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE54345E20090504?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

Results of new study provide more evidence that participating in volunteer activities may add years to an older person's life.
In a study of U.S. retirees, researchers found that volunteering significantly reduced the chances of dying over a four-year period. . . .

Reuters - May 4, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE54342Y20090504?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

Swine flu has become widespread in the United States, with 226 cases in 30 states and more expected to turn up in additional states in the next few days, federal health officials said Sunday. . . .

The New York Times - May 3, 2009

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/04/health/04flu.html