12/30/08
Deaths pass 1,500
As of Sunday, the outbreak had killed 1,564 people, and 29,131 cases had been reported, Gregory Hartl told CNN. These figures represent increases from numbers released Thursday that showed 1,518 deaths and 26,497 cases.
The World Health Organization says the outbreak has affected all of the country's 10 provinces and has spread to neighboring South Africa. It is "closely linked to the lack of safe drinking water, poor sanitation, declining health infrastructure and reduced numbers of health care staff reporting to work." More...
12/30/08
Your man may be depressed
As the traditionally stressful, dark days of winter set in, here are some signs that the guy you love might be suffering from more than a loss in fantasy football.
1. Substance use: Has he been drinking more beer than a pledging freshman? Has his usual dinner cocktail spawned into three? Often, an increase in substance use -- and this includes cigarettes, recreational drugs, and caffeine -- can be a desperate attempt to self-medicate or cover up unpleasant feelings that are gnawing at him. More...
12/30/08
Overcoming Addiction
That moment of yielding completely to addiction is what Alan Marlatt, director of the Addictive Behaviors Research Center at the University of Washington, calls the abstinence violation effect. "The abstinence violation effect is a form of black-and-white thinking," says Marlatt. "You blame [your failure] on internal factors that you consider beyond your control." More...
12/30/08
Top 10 healthiest diets
That's a lot of money, a lot of advice, and a lot of emotional investment. So, which diets really work -- and work safely? To find the weight-loss programs with that golden balance of nutrition, calorie-control, motivation, and activity, Health harnessed a panel of experts to put more than 60 well-known diets to the test and narrow them down to the top 10. Here's the list: More...
12/29/08
Obesity Surgery Reverses
All but one of the 11 extremely obese teens studied saw their diabetes disappear within a year after weight-loss surgery, the researchers reported. The 11th patient still had diabetes, but needed much less insulin and stopped taking diabetes pills.
Previous studies have shown the diabetes benefits of obesity surgery for adults. Dr. Thomas Inge, a pediatric surgeon at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, and his colleagues wanted to find out if the same was true for adolescents. More...
12/29/08
US Hospitals Feel Debt Troubles
Now, because of the recession, the plug is being pulled on 80-year-old, money-losing Shands AGH. Next fall, its eight-hospital not-for-profit parent company will shut the 220-bed hospital and shift staff and patients to a newer, bigger teaching hospital nearby as part of an effort to save $65 million over three years across the system.
Like many U.S. hospitals, Shands is being squeezed by tight credit, higher borrowing costs, investment losses and a jump in patients — many recently unemployed or otherwise underinsured — not paying their bills. More....
12/29/08
Cholera deaths pass 1,500
As of Sunday, the outbreak had killed 1,564 people, and 29,131 cases had been reported, Gregory Hartl told CNN. These figures represent increases from numbers released Thursday that showed 1,518 deaths and 26,497 cases.
The World Health Organization says the outbreak has affected all of the country's 10 provinces and has spread to neighboring South Africa. It is "closely linked to the lack of safe drinking water, poor sanitation, declining health infrastructure and reduced numbers of health care staff reporting to work."
The organization also says factors "include the commencement of the rainy season and the movement of people within the country, and possibly across borders, during the Christmas season." More...
12/29/08
Top health stories of 2008
Stem cell advances
This year's advances in stem cell research could revolutionize organ transplants.
A Colombian woman received a trachea transplant using her own stem cells so her body would not reject the transplant. The trachea is an airway essential for breathing.
Doctors in a Barcelona, Spain, hospital planted stem cells from Claudia Castillo, 30, into a trachea taken from a cadaver. Doctors said the new windpipe was "almost indistinguishable" from the patient's normal bronchi. More...
12/26/08
Good nutrition is always in season
It's no secret that cold and flu season peaks in winter. And if you're looking for ways to stay well, one priority, say experts, is simple: Follow a wholesome diet, just as you should any time of year. But that can be a tall order during the busy holiday season, when hectic social schedules and family commitments often interfere with regular meals...
12/26/08
Colonoscopy is imperfect but still recommended
Experts say a colonoscopy is still among the best ways to save lives from colorectal cancer, in spite of reports about the test's limitations...
12/26/08
Tobacco 'orbs' melt in mouth
The release this January of the first dissolvable tobacco product by a major company has some public health officials concerned...
12/26/08
Too sick to work? Need health care? Take a number
Master toolmaker John McClain built machine parts with details so small they couldn't be seen with the naked eye. Then a lump on his neck turned out to be cancer...
12/24/08
Risky combo of medications
One in three adults age 57 to 85 is taking at least five prescription drugs, and half regularly use dietary supplements and over-the-counter drugs, according to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association. While any single drug might help people live longer, healthier lives, experts worry that a combination of drugs, along with over-the-counter products and dietary supplements, could be a recipe for disaster in terms of drug interactions.
One in 25 people in the study, or about 2.2 million people, were taking a potentially risky combination of medications. That number jumped to one in 10 among men who were 75 to 85 years old.
For example, some people in the study were taking the blood thinner warfarin along with the cholesterol-lowering drug simvastatin, a combination that can increase the risk of bleeding. Others were taking warfarin and aspirin together, or ginkgo supplements with aspirin, which can also cause problems. More...
12/24/08
Single men turning to surrogates
"It was always something I knew, from the time I was a child." Just like his 3-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, who says she wants to be a mommy someday, Jeff says, "I knew I wanted to be a daddy."
Walker, a Manhattan music executive, says he and his partner had talked about adopting a baby years ago. But after three emotionally draining, failed attempts at adoption, they decided to turn to surrogacy. They contacted Circle Surrogacy, a Boston agency that specializes in gay clients. Their child was conceived with a donor egg, and then the embryo implanted in the surrogate, or carrier. More...
12/24/08
Baby in June
The baby is due in June.
Armstrong was diagnosed in 1996 with testicular cancer that had spread to his brain, lungs and abdomen.
He underwent treatment for the disease and was able to return to cycling, eventually winning seven consecutive Tour de France's.
The harsh chemotherapy left him unable to have children, although he and then-wife Kristin Richards had three children using sperm the cyclist had donated before the treatment. Armstrong and Hansen, however, are expecting without the use of any artificial fertilization process.
"This is a hopeful thing for testicular cancer survivors," CNN medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta said. "It means his body healed from the chemotherapy and surgery." More...
12/24/08
As scars heal
Youssif stands on stage beaming as he belts out "Jingle Bell Rock," his tiny burned hands waving in sync with his classmates at Hamlin Street School.
His mother, Zaineb, stands at the back, cradling his little sister, Aya, tears rolling down her face. "I am so proud of him," she says. "It reminds me of what he was like in Iraq when he used to sing in kindergarten. I felt for a moment that none of this had happened. My son was back, without fear, strong."
Youssif spots us, and waves wildly. Little appears to remain of the sullen and withdrawn dark-eyed boy we first met in Baghdad more than a year ago.
It has been almost two years since masked men in Baghdad doused Youssif, then just 4 years old, in gasoline and set him on fire. His mother still doesn't sleep at night. More...
12/23/08
Making Hospitals Greener
A doctor's principle code is, "First, do no harm." The irony is that your doctor's office or hospital may be making you sicker. Indeed, many hospitals are built with materials, like particleboard, PVC flooring and even conventional paint, that can leach poisonous substances. What's more, the chemicals used to clean hospitals — chlorine, laundry detergents and softeners, ammonia — contain toxic ingredients and can cause respiratory disease. In fact, studies suggest that nurses, who spend long hours at the hospital, have among the highest rates of environmentally induced asthma of any profession. More...
12/23/08
Stem cells could end animal testing
Speaking at a recent meeting of the British Pharmacological Society in Brighton, UK, Christine Mummery described how using embryonic stem cells to create human heart cells could be a viable and scientifically exciting alternative to animal testing.
Mummery, a Professor of Developmental Biology at Leiden University Medical Center in The Netherlands told CNN: "It could save a lot of time and effort of taking the wrong drugs through, or it may allow drugs through which are lost at an early stage, because they affect the animal cells but don't have an effect on human cells. More...
12/23/08
Robbed by rare virus
The blond, freckle-faced boy was unable to speak in a normal voice until about a year ago.
"I thought I would sound bad," he said.
Joey suffers from a rare virus that can get into the cells of the voice box.
"He has a condition called recurrent papillomatosis," explained Dr. Steven Sobol, director of pediatric otolaryngology at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia. "It causes growths like warts that you would see in other parts of the body." More...
12/22/08
Why we need an obesity tax
ike many New Yorkers, I remember a time when nearly everyone smoked. In 1950, Collier's reported that more than three-quarters of adult men smoked. This epidemic had a devastating and long-lasting impact on public health.
Today, we find ourselves in the midst of a new public health epidemic: childhood obesity.
What smoking was to my parents' generation, obesity is to my children's generation. Nearly one out of every four New Yorkers under the age of 18 is obese. In many high-poverty areas, the rate is closer to one out of three.
That is why, in the state budget I presented last Tuesday, I proposed a tax on sugared beverages like soda. Research has demonstrated that soft-drink consumption is one of the main drivers of childhood obesity. More...
12/22/08
Life-saving surgery tool
Originally designed as a military tool for the United States Department of Defense (DOD), the fiber-optic invention is revolutionizing the ways surgeons carry out brain surgeries.
The "Omni directional dielectric mirror" was created by Professor Yoel Fink, a then-29-year-old student in Material Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1995.
"I was asked to participate in a project funded by the DOD to create the perfect mirror," Fink told CNN.
"The perfect mirror reflects light from all angles and does not absorb any of it. It could have been used, for example, to reflect back enemy laser beams," he continued, more...
12/22/08
'Serious' clowns distract patients
"When you walk out of a room hearing people laugh and smile, you hear them talking about it," said the clown, whose real name is Asher Mechanic.
He entertains children and patients as part of a clown troupe in New York called Compassionate Clown Alley, bringing laughter to those in hospitals.
"It's the spreading of giving from one person to another, like a chain reaction," Mechanic said.
The clown organization is also known as Lev Leytzan, a name derived from the program's roots working with Jewish youth. In Hebrew, lev means heart, and leytzan is a clown, so the translation is "The Heart of the Clown." More...
12/22/08
Charting the psychology of evil
Common sense may say no, but decades of research suggests otherwise.
In the early 1960s, a young psychologist at Yale began what became one of the most widely recognized experiments in his field. In the first series, he found that about two-thirds of subjects were willing to inflict what they believed were increasingly painful shocks on an innocent person when the experimenter told them to do so, even when the victim screamed and pleaded.
The legacy of Stanley Milgram, who died 24 years ago on December 20, reaches far beyond that initial round of experiments. Researchers have been working on the questions he posed for decades, and have not settled on a brighter vision of human obedience. More...
12/19/08
Face transplant patient 'very happy'
Siemionow and CNN chief medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta talked with CNN's Larry King about the reconstructive procedure and the prognosis for the patient. The following is an edited transcript of the interview.
Larry King: Dr. Siemionow, what caused the patient to need a new face?
Dr. Maria Siemionow: The patient has a severe deformity of the face after trauma and was missing a nose and missing cheekbones and a large part of the skin and the front of the face, upper lip, lower eyelids. There was a large part of the skin and bone components which were missing, and practically the patient was missing the front of the face. More...
12/19/08
Protect health providers' right
When she asked why one intern could do those procedures and she couldn't, she said, her superiors told her it was because that intern had been "working hard on the abortions and you haven't, so she gets that perk."
Christiansen, an obstetrician and gynecologist, is opposed to abortion. A medical consultant for a pregnancy resource center in Frederick, Maryland, she has never performed an abortion and has never referred a patient to an abortion clinic.
"Just in the same way that my conscience would not allow me to perform an abortion, I wouldn't ask another colleague to do that," she said. More...
12/19/08
How does nutrition affect dementia
This is an important question as nutrition plays an important role in dementia prevention. Here are a few healthy brain nutrition tips.
Omega 3 fatty acids. Making sure that you get plenty of omega 3 fatty acids found in fish is one of the most important things you can do for brain health. Fish consumption is associated with significantly less decline of mental function and lower risk of Alzheimer's disease. DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), a type of omega 3 found in fatty fish like salmon, is particularly important. Low levels of DHA in the blood have been associated with worsening mental function. Aim for 2-3 four ounce servings of fish per week, and try make at least one of those servings salmon. If you hate fish, take a fish oil capsule or try out some of the new foods fortified with DHA including soy milk, yogurt and nutrition bars. More...
12/19/08
Your holiday health
There are some real holiday health hazards, but other much-discussed fears appear to be false, say two researchers. Their analysis, published Wednesday in the British Medical Journal, suggests that your mother's -- or even your doctor's -- advice may not always have rock-solid evidence to back it up.
Dr. Rachel Vreeman, M.D., and Dr. Aaron Carroll, M.D., professors of pediatrics at the Indiana University School of Medicine, in Indianapolis, Indiana, set out to show that even widely held medical beliefs require scientific examination. They pored over medical literature databases, and in some cases, conducted Google Internet searches, to find evidence that supported or refuted these ideas. More...
12/18/08
Study Boosts Low-Glycemic Diet
First it was fat, then it was carbs and, in recent years, the buzzword for the diet-conscious has become glycemic index. That's a measure of how quickly a food is broken down and absorbed by the body, and it's the driving principle behind such weight-loss plans as the Atkins and South Beach diets. But while scientific studies have documented the impact of too much dietary fat and carbohydrate on the body — making us heavier and increasing our risk of diabetes and heart disease — the evidence has not been as clear for high- or low-glycemic index foods. So, a new study published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association adds welcome evidence in favor of keeping your glycemic load in check — particularly if you have diabetes. More...
12/18/08
Poisoned medicine kills dozens
Giving him what they thought was a baby teething medicine, they were in fact dosing him with anti-freeze.
The bottle had been contaminated with a toxic chemical called diethylene glycol.
More than 30 Nigerian children are thought to have died recently after taking the medicine.
Nneka is angry.
"It's not easy carrying a pregnancy for nine months, [and] after that getting a drug from a pharmacy to kill your own child," she says. More...
12/18/08
Why kids get sicker at night
I ran into his room, my heart racing with worry, and I found him sitting up in his crib, looking scared and tired. I picked him up, took his temperature -- no fever -- and called the doctor.
"It sounds like croup," the doctor said. "Wrap him up in a warm blanket, sit outside with him, and call me back if his cough and breathing don't improve in ten minutes." Huh? This was early spring in New Hampshire. Sit outside?
It had to be worth a shot. I wrapped Liam up so that only his frightened little face was exposed, put on my winter coat, and stepped onto our screened-in porch. We sat on the rocking chair, moving back and forth, looking at the stars, and listening to the croaking tree frogs. More...
12/18/08
Surgery transplant
The 22-hour face surgery was completed two weeks ago by a team of eight surgeons at the Cleveland Clinic.
The patient had severe deformity in the middle of her face and was missing her right eye and upper jaw, the Cleveland Clinic doctors said. She could not taste or smell, and she had trouble speaking.
Dr. Maria Siemionow, the head of plastic surgery research at the Cleveland, Ohio, hospital, said many people are "hiding from society because they're afraid to walk to the grocery stores; they're afraid to go to streets because they're called names and humiliated." More...
12/17/08
Happiness is contagious in social networks
If you're feeling great today, you may end up inadvertently spreading the joy to someone you don't even know...
12/17/08
Feeling lonely? Genes might be at fault
For one person, the idea of spending a cold winter's night alone seems great -- a perfect time to catch up on novels, watch cheesy movies, and drink hot chocolate with marshmallows. For another, the prospect is less comforting -- feelings of depression, anger, isolation set in as the hours go by...
12/17/08
Colorado Doctor Finds Foot In Newborn's Brain
A Colorado Springs family is part of one of the strangest cases in medical history...
12/17/08
Securing health benefits after a layoff
Losing your job isn’t just about losing your paycheck, it also means losing your health care benefits. And it’s really going to cost you. A simple injury could send you into bankruptcy if you don’t have insurance. Here’s what to consider...
12/16/08
Antidepressants kill your sex life
Joanne, a 26-year-old nurse at the Cleveland Clinic, felt no sex drive for eight years. Nothing, nada, zilch. She wasn’t happy, and neither was her boyfriend.
At first she wasn’t quite sure what was to blame for this sudden change, but her psychiatrist knew instantly. Her antidepressants were the culprit, he told her. Studies show antidepressants cause a decrease in sex drive in about one out of three people who take them.
But she says her doctor didn’t give her any advice about what to do. “My psychiatrist just kind of shrugged her shoulders,” Joann says. “It was just like, well, that’s a side effect of the drug. That’s just the way it is.” More...
12/16/08
Toxic smoke worry troops
For four years, the burn pit was a festering dump, spewing acrid smoke over the base, including housing and the hospital.
Until three incinerators were installed, the smelly pit was the only place to dispose of trash, including plastics, food and medical waste.
"At the peak, before they went to use the real industrial incinerators, it was about 500,000 pounds a day of stuff," according to a transcript of an April 2008 presentation by Dr. Bill Halperin, who heads the Occupational and Environmental Health Subcommittee at the Defense Health Board. "The way it was burned was by putting jet fuel on it." More...
12/16/08
Slender in the Grass
There's one place my young daughters love so much that we have to spell out the word in their presence, lest they go berserk: the p-a-r-k. We regularly use a trip to the park as a bribe, and while that may not be the best parenting technique, in this case it comes with incredible rewards.
A new study found that inner-city kids living in neighborhoods with more green space gained about 13% less weight over a two-year period than kids living amid more concrete and fewer trees. Such findings tell a powerful story. The obesity epidemic began in the 1980s, and many people attribute it to increased portion sizes and inactivity, but that can't be everything. Big Macs and TVs have been with us for a long time. "Most experts agree that the changes were related to something in the environment," says social epidemiologist Thomas Glass of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. That something could be a shrinking of the green. More...
12/16/08
America's healthiest airports
Still, airports are not all bad. In fact, based on research Health magazine has done to find America's Healthiest airports, some are actually working hard to make your traveling experience healthier by offering nutritious food, special relaxation zones, walking paths, the latest safety technology, and a whole lot more. We scored the nation's major airports, see how we did it, and then asked a panel of expert judges (meet them here) to help us choose the top 10.
Congratulations to the winners. And to those airports that failed to make our list: Please shape up! More...
12/15/08
Falling asleep in class?
Sleepy teenagers may not be able to help it, researchers say. Blame it on the early school start time and their circadian rhythms: the mental and physical changes that occur in a day.
Teenagers need eight to 10 hours of sleep, compared with the six to eight hours recommended for adults. Teenagers also tend to go to bed and wake later than adults. These biological tendencies clash with early morning high school schedules, leaving them sleepy in class.
Research conducted at the University of Kentucky in Lexington found that when Fayette County high schools delayed their start time by an hour, the percentage of students getting at least eight hours of sleep per night jumped from 35.7 to 50 percent. More...
12/15/08
Racial gap in colon cancer
The racial gap in colon cancer death rates is widening, a new report says, and experts partly blame blacks' lower screening rates and poor access to quality care.
Colon and rectal cancer death rates are now nearly 50 percent higher in blacks than in whites, according to American Cancer Society research being released Monday.
The gap has been growing since the mid-1970s, when colon cancer death rates for the two racial groups were nearly equal.
"We have seen this enormous progress in whites. We could be seeing the same progress in blacks, if we could overcome disparities in access to health care," said Elizabeth Ward, who oversees surveillance and health policy at the cancer society. More...
12/15/08
U.S. emergency rooms
Hospital emergency rooms could use some intensive care of their own. Long waits. Patients spending hours or days on beds in ER hallways. Shortages of specialists willing to see emergency patients.
The cause of the nation's ER overcrowding is obvious: Too many patients and not enough ER capacity. But it's not all doom and gloom inside America's emergency rooms.
Some hospitals are finding ways to make their emergency rooms more efficient while maintaining safety: More...
12/15/08
T-Wave Alternans Testing
Cambridge Heart, Inc. (OTCBB-CAMH), announced that Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) of Arizona, the largest private insurer in Arizona, has made Microvolt T-Wave Alternans (MTWA) testing a covered benefit for people at risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD). With the addition of BCBS of Arizona, MTWA testing is now available to over 95 percent of all private and Medicare beneficiaries in the state of Arizona.
The coverage policy decision was issued after the insurer's medical director and Medical Policy Panel reviewed its guidelines and determined that MTWA testing is considered "medically necessary" for adults at risk of sudden cardiac death with documented cardiomyopathy, congestive heart failure, myocardial infarction or tachyarrhythmia. More...
12/12/08
Gene mutation protects
It's almost like being born with a built-in cholesterol-lowering drug. The gene is called APOC3, and researchers found that 5 percent of the people they studied -- who were all Amish, in this case -- had the protective mutation, according to the report in Science.
The researchers haven't tested a lot of people so far, but they think the gene mutation is relatively rare. (The Amish, who tend to be genetically similar because of their social segregation, sometimes have much higher or much lower levels of certain mutations than those found in the general population.) More...
12/12/08
Britain's oldest human brain
The remains of the brain were found in a skull unearthed during excavations at York University in northern England, a statement from the university said Friday.
The dig site was described by investigators from York Archaeological Trust as being in an extensive prehistoric farming landscape of fields, track ways and buildings dating back to at least 300 BC.
They believe the skull, which was found on its own in a muddy pit, may have been a ritual offering.
Rachel Cubitt, who was taking part in the dig, described how she felt something move inside the cranium as she cleaned the soil-covered skull's outer surface. Peering through the base of the skull, she spotted an unusual yellow substance. More...
12/12/08
Chinese weight-loss camp
"Yes this is our record," Dr. Su Zhixin proudly boasted.
He's talking about 33-year-old Alonzo Bland of Green Bay, Wisconsin. When Bland stepped off the plane at Beijing Airport in May of this year, he weighed 640 pounds. In fact, he struggled to take more than a few steps, and as he lay flat on his back, exhausted, airport staff called an ambulance.
After repeated warnings from his doctor, Bland decided to come to China as a last-ditch effort to shed the pounds.
"I needed to take it serious because we were talking about my life." More...
12/12/08
School still sugar free and proud
For dessert? Peaches.
There are no bake sales here, no birthday cupcakes, no cookies or ice cream. Don't even think about bringing sugar to Browns Mill Elementary School.
As schools around the country have begun removing soda and junk food from their premises, the elementary school in Lithonia, Georgia, was ahead of the curve, cutting out sugar 10 years ago under the watch of principal Dr. Yvonne Sanders-Butler. More...
12/11/08
Cancer to surpass heart disease
That compares to 12 million new cases in 2007, the report found. The group forecast a 1 percent increase globally each year, with emerging economies such as China, Russia and India being hit the hardest.
The major culprit: tobacco.
"About 1.3 billion people smoke globally, making tobacco the major avoidable cause of death and disease worldwide," the report found. More...
12/11/08
Obama taps Daschle as 'lead architect'
Obama said Daschle would also serve as the director of the White House office of health reform.
The president-elect said he has selected Jeanne Lambrew to be the deputy director of that office.
"[Daschle] will be responsible not just for implementing our health care plan. He will also be the lead architect of that plan," Obama said, calling Daschle "one of America's foremost health care experts."
"If we want to overcome our economic challenges, we must also finally address our health care challenge," Obama said. More...
12/11/08
Brain training games
A slew of products, from games like Nintendo's Brain Age to more sophisticated computer-assisted software, are marketed at consumers worried about losing their mental sharpness.
The brain fitness software market has been growing at a dizzying pace. Worldwide revenue surged to $850 million last year, up from $250 million in 2005, according to SharpBrains, a company that tracks the mental fitness industry.
Recent evidence that mental exercises can be beneficial to the brain has helped the industry flourish. Although, researchers caution, the verdict is still out when it comes to the long-term effect of these programs on cognition. More...
12/11/08
10 years of Viagra
In-boxes are clogged daily with spam mail promising cheap and instant manliness delivered fast and in bulk. Couples exchange amorous, come-hither looks followed by a lengthy recitation of side effects on TV ads. The pill helped more than 25 million men get their groove back and blasted the topic of erectile dysfunction into the open.
"It's like the nuclear explosion," said Dr. Irwin Goldstein, director of Sexual Medicine at Alvarado Hospital in San Diego, California. "It created sexual medicine. It allowed the taboo to be broken." More...
12/09/08
Olympic swimmer treated for cancer
Shanteau returned to competitive swimming over the weekend for the first time since he was treated for testicular cancer. He kicked off the U.S. Short Course Nationals in Atlanta with the men's 200-yard individual medley, clocking 1:42.59 -- a personal best, finishing second to Ryan Lochte, who holds the American record.
Shanteau finished the men's 100-yard breaststroke in 53.07, ahead of the 53.81 he clocked in last year's Short Course Nationals.
Not bad after just a few weeks of training, little rest and no shave.
"For me to go the times I just did is pretty incredible," Shanteau told CNN. More...
12/09/08
Help Cure Cocaine Addiction?
When methadone was first proposed for the treatment of heroin addiction, it sounded like a pointless gambit — sort of like substituting vodka for gin. That's enabling addicts, critics said, not helping them.
But over the years, maintenance treatment with methadone and other synthetic opiates like buprenorphine has proved successful — more than any other heroin-addiction therapy — in getting people off illicit drugs and lowering HIV transmission rates, crime and death among users. That success, in part, has got researchers wondering whether addiction to other drugs — namely to the stimulants cocaine and methamphetamine — could be curbed in the same way, by substituting a chemically similar alternative.
More...
12/09/08
Safe and green toys
"I'm looking for toys that meet all the safety standards," said Duran, 41, of Atlanta, Georgia.
The mother of a 3-year-old girl, Duran has done her homework. She's spent many hours online looking for products that are not only safe but environmentally friendly.
"I find that some of the safer toys are more expensive, but it's worth it to me," Duran said. "I will pay more to ensure that my daughter is not playing with something that contains harmful plastics or harmful lead in the paint."
Duran isn't the only parent who has become more vigilant about what type of products she's buying for her children. More...
12/08/08
Malaria vaccine
Researchers reported promising results for what may become the world's first vaccine to prevent malaria, a killer of 1 million people each year.
In early tests, the experimental vaccine was more than 50 percent effective in preventing the deadly disease in infants and young children in Africa, the scientists said Monday. A larger and longer test is set to begin early next year.
It is the first malaria vaccine to make it this far, and if further studies are successful, marketing approval could be sought as early as 2011. The vaccine was developed by the British-based GlaxoSmithKline PLC. More...
12/08/08
Happiness is contagious
New research shows that in a social network, happiness spreads among people up to three degrees removed from one another. That means when you feel happy, a friend of a friend of a friend has a slightly higher likelihood of feeling happy too.
The lesson is that taking control of your own happiness can positively affect others, says James Fowler, co-author of the study and professor of political science at the University of California in San Diego. More...
12/08/08
Dioxins join food scare
Ireland's admission that laboratory tests on its animal feed and pork fat samples showed alarmingly high levels of dioxins is worryingly familiar.
There have been a number of food scares in the past few years involving everything from infant milk and chili powder to chocolate and eggs.
As retailers strip their shelves of all pork products produced in Ireland, it's perhaps a time to look back at the foods and consumer products that have been found to contain more than it says on the label. More...
12/08/08
Babys with safe and green toys
"I'm looking for toys that meet all the safety standards," said Duran, 41, of Atlanta, Georgia.
The mother of a 3-year-old girl, Duran has done her homework. She's spent many hours online looking for products that are not only safe but environmentally friendly.
"I find that some of the safer toys are more expensive, but it's worth it to me," Duran said. "I will pay more to ensure that my daughter is not playing with something that contains harmful plastics or harmful lead in the paint." More...
12/05/08
Conjoined twin dies after surgery
Faith was breathing for Hope. So when the newborn conjoined Williams twins were separated, it turned out that Hope couldn't live without her sister.
Week-old Hope Williams died Tuesday night at London's Great Ormond Street Hospital after being separated from her sister, her doctor, Agostino Pierro, said Wednesday.
"Hope's lungs were too small to support ... breathing and the circulation," said Pierro, who headed the surgical team that separated the twins. "The lungs of Faith were somehow supporting Hope." More...
12/05/08
Exercise Eases Obesity
A study of sedentary but otherwise healthy 7- to 11-year-olds found they reduced both their weight and anger issues by taking part in a 10- to 15-week after-school aerobic exercise program. The finding applied to children across lines such as race, gender and socioeconomic status, as well as regardless of how fit or overweight the kids were.
"Exercise had a significant impact on anger expression in children," researcher Catherine Davis, a clinical health psychologist with the Medical College of Georgia School of Medicine, said in a news release issued by the school. "This finding indicates that aerobic exercise may be an effective strategy to help overweight kids reduce anger expression and aggressive behavior." More...
12/05/08
Brain-injured troops
WASHINGTON – Many of the thousands of troops who suffered traumatic brain injuries in Iraq and Afghanistan are at risk of long-term health problems including depression and Alzheimer's-like dementia, but it's impossible to predict how high those risks are, researchers say.
About 22 percent of wounded troops have a brain injury, concluded the prestigious Institute of Medicine — and it urged precise steps for studying how these patients fare years later so chances to help aren't missed. More...
12/05/08
Sick? Doctor's busy? Here's help
"You know how most people break their fall with their hands? I broke my fall with my head," says Lighthall.
An ambulance took her to the emergency room, where she was prescribed pain pills, discharged, and told to check in with her regular doctor in the next three days.
But that would prove impossible. When Lighthall called her internist the next day, the appointment secretary said the doctor wouldn't be able to see her for another week. More...
12/04/08
America's Health Checkup
What is the measure of a country's health? How do you take the temperature of a population that sprawls across nine time zones, 50 states and a global rainbow of cultures and communities? One way is by taking a close look at yourself. More...
12/04/08
Creating water out of thin air
Element Four, a small Canadian firm, has applied its water technology to create the WaterMill, a novel electricity-powered machine that draws moisture from the air and purifies it into clean drinkable water.
The compact WaterMill, which goes on sale in the spring, is designed for household use.
More crucially for countries such as Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo, Element Four is also working on another device, the WaterWall, which could potentially supply an entire village in the developing world. More...
12/04/08
The Year in Medicine
In good times and bad, science doesn't sleep, and every year brings breakthroughs, setbacks, reasons for worry and reasons for joy. TIME's annual alphabetical roundup of a sampling of those stories gives you an overview of the year behind and a hint of what might be in the one ahead. More...
12/04/08
Sick? Doctor's busy?
"You know how most people break their fall with their hands? I broke my fall with my head," says Lighthall.
An ambulance took her to the emergency room, where she was prescribed pain pills, discharged, and told to check in with her regular doctor in the next three days.
But that would prove impossible. When Lighthall called her internist the next day, the appointment secretary said the doctor wouldn't be able to see her for another week. More...
12/03/08
A New Pill for Jet Lag
Is there a medical condition more emblematic of the modern age than jet lag? Dislocated and deadened, the sleep-starved traveler wanders through meetings or tourist sites in a somnambulant haze. Now an experimental drug promises to reset the body's internal clock and banish jet lag zombies for good — and, surprise, it comes in a pill. More...
12/03/08
Radiologists read scans better
Radiologists in the study said they read CT scans more meticulously and felt more empathy when they saw a patient's face, although it's not clear whether the photo actually improved their accuracy in interpreting the test results.
Yehonatan N. Turner, M.D., a radiology resident at Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem, Israel, came up with the idea of adding photos to patients' files after reading dozens of CT scans as a medical resident. "I noticed that I know the patient's liver and spleen better than I know him," he says. "I thought maybe attaching the patient's photograph to the file may make the scan unique and important." More...
12/03/08
Mentally Ill Die Younger
Cynthia Scott is your average health conscious 56-year-old. She watches what she eats, drinks lots of water and takes a multivitamin every morning. She goes for frequent walks and visits her doctor regularly for check-ups, including cholesterol and diabetes screenings. More...
12/03/08
Less sun, more depression
Cootey, a stay-at-home dad in Salt Lake City, Utah, has struggled with depression for 16 years and shares his story with others on his blog, The Splintered Mind.
He said he started to notice last year that his depression was harder to manage in the winter. His challenge, he told CNN, is "keeping a positive and upbeat attitude in the face of a chemical onslaught induced by winter." More...
12/02/08
Avoid germs while traveling
Gendreau studies germiness while traveling, and he knows just how infectious travel can be.
"The risk of contracting a contagious illness is heightened when we travel within any enclosed space, especially during the winter months, when most of the respiratory viruses thrive," Gendreau said.
Studies show that germs can travel easily on an airplane, where people are packed together like sardines. More...
12/02/08
Allergic and wheezing
Her 30-pound pug and orange tabby scattered dead skin flakes around the house, triggering Coronado's allergic reactions. Her two daughters are also allergic, but their reactions are less severe.
Like the 10 million American pet owners with allergies, the Coronados faced a dilemma: Can human and dog co-exist in the same house?
"We love them," said Coronado about her family's pets. "They're adorable. They're really our babies. They're part of the family. We could never live without them." More...
12/02/08
Tainted milk deaths rise
Six Chinese infants may have died from consuming melamine-tainted milk powder, twice the number previously reported by the government, the Ministry of Health said Monday.
The Ministry of Health said it has screened more than 22 million infants and children since September 10 and found that contaminated milk has sickened nearly 300,000 children -- a six-fold increase from the previous total of about 50,000.
China's health officials had investigated 11 infant death cases and ruled out a connection to the tainted milk powder in all but six of those. The government had previously confirmed three infant deaths linked to tainted milk. More...
12/02/08
Protect your family from food poisoning
Today, the Food and Drug Administration announced that it has made “significant process” in keeping our food supply safe. As you may remember, about a year ago, the FDA launched its Food Protection Plan to protect both domestic and imported food from contamination. The plan came about after a number of high-profile cases including the outbreak of E. coli in spinach in California and the discovery of melamine in food from China. Among its accomplishments, says the FDA, is establishing offices in regions of the world where the US imports lots of food and other FDA-regulated products: China, India, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East. The FDA has also OK’d the irradiation of iceberg lettuce and spinach for the control of E. coli. Critics have mixed feelings. “It’s a good thing,” says Bill Hubbard of the Alliance for a Stronger FDA. But Hubbard adds, “The key thing is if it will be funded.” More...
12/01/08
Doctors may give up vaccines
About one in 10 doctors who vaccinate privately insured children are considering dropping that service largely because they are losing money when they do it, according to a new survey.
A second survey revealed startling differences between what doctors pay for vaccines and what private health insurers reimburse: For example, one in 10 doctors lost money on one recommended infant vaccine, but others made almost $40 per dose on the same shot. More...
12/01/08
FDA sets 'safe' levels
"Amounts of the industrial chemical melamine or the melamine-like compound called cyanuric acid that are below 1.0 ppm [1,000 parts per billion] do not raise public health concerns," said Stephen Sundlof, the FDA's director of the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.
When it became known in September that thousands of babies in China had been sickened by tainted infant formula, the FDA ordered the testing of U.S.-manufactured infant-formula products. More...
12/01/08
World AIDS Day 2008
When we commemorated the first World AIDS Day on December 1, 1988, we had little to celebrate.
The number of reported AIDS cases in the United States was nearing 80,000 and rising rapidly. Untold thousands more in this country were living with the human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV. Globally, AIDS cases already had been reported from more than 135 countries. An AIDS tsunami clearly was looming, but we had few defenses at our disposal. More...
12/01/08
Challenges for eating disorder
She pulled a tray from the oven and sat down with her 9-year-old son, Drew, to frost the treats.
Then, Shock did something that might have been unthinkable for her a few years ago. She took a bite of a cookie.
Shock, 36, of Kennesaw, Georgia, spent most of her adolescence and early adulthood struggling with bulimia and an addiction to diet pills.
Long holiday seasons were always the worst, Shock said, as she dealt with the stress of trying to create a picture-perfect Thanksgiving and Christmas for her family. More...
11/26/08
Breast cancer tumors regress
In the study, a research team led by Per-Henrik Zahl, M.D., of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, looked at two groups of women from before and after Norway stepped up its mammogram screening program in 1996.
One group of 119,000 women ages 50 to 64 had mammograms every two years, for a total of three mammograms between 1996 and 2001. The researchers compared them with a second group of nearly 110,000 women who were ages 50 to 64 in 1992 but didn't have routine mammograms. Those women had a single mammogram in 1997. More...
11/26/08
Melamine found in 1 formula sample
Of 77 samples tested, one contained melamine, FDA spokeswoman Judy Leon told CNN. A trace amount is defined as less than 250 parts per billion, she said.
Last month, the FDA set the safety threshold for melamine at 2,500 parts per billion for foods other than infant formula. The agency said it did not have enough data to set a safety threshold for infants. More...
11/26/08
Cancer rates fall
The annual report, published online Tuesday in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, showed this simultaneous drop in overall cancer incidence and mortality for the first time since reporting began in 1998, the study authors said.
While overall cancer death rates have been dropping, it's only now that experts see incidence, the rate at which new cancers are diagnosed, falling along with cancer mortality for both men and women, the report said. More...
11/26/08
Peace with your in-laws
As one mom writes, "My MIL comes over once a week to spend time with my son and uses that day to tell me what I am doing wrong -- I'm feeding him too much, he's not ready to walk yet, it's too cold outside, it's too hot outside, it's too windy outside, his feet are cold, his feet are hot. Apparently I'm an idiot and she is Dr. Spock. My husband and I have fought so much over her." More...
11/25/08
Natural Remedies Travel Kit
I like to be prepared for anything when I travel, whether I’m headed out to my brother Jake’s house for days of holiday feasting and excellent wines, or across the country for a multicity business trip. The remedies I take along help me beat—or prevent—minor problems, fast.
Thankfully, my travel-related health problems aren’t usually a big deal, although they can put quite a damper on my trips. Here are a few of my more common ailments. More...
11/25/08
Medical Tourism
Earlier this month, the insurance company WellPoint announced a program that will allow employees of a Wisconsin printing company to get coverage for non-emergency surgeries in India. It's a first for WellPoint, but puts the insurer in good company. Over the past few years, some U.S. insurance companies — dismayed at losing income from uninsured Americans who get cheap surergies abroad or clients who choose to pay out of pocket for discount foreign surgeries rather than expensive in-network co-pays — have announced plans to include foreign medical procedures among those covered by health plans. More...
11/25/08
Life imitates art
Another was convinced his every move was secretly being filmed for a TV contest. A third believed everything -- the news, his psychiatrists, the drugs they prescribed -- was part of a phony, stage-set world with him as the involuntary star, like the 1998 movie "The Truman Show."
Researchers have begun documenting what they dub the "Truman syndrome," a delusion afflicting people who are convinced that their lives are being played out on a reality TV show. Scientists say the disorder underscores the influence pop culture can have on mental conditions.
11/25/08
Mom or dad doesn't recognize you?
Some will encounter elderly relatives who have Alzheimer's disease, a condition that affects 4.5 million Americans.
For many, it's an awkward trip where they don't know what to do or say. Facing the changes that accompany the disease can be devastating.
As the disease progresses, the essence of a person -- memories and traits -- fades as brain cells deteriorate. Unusual behaviors arise, moods inexplicably vacillate from anger to paranoia, and lapses in people's memories become more apparent. This can cause a person to forget his or her children. It's a prospect Karen McKeever, whose mother has Alzheimer's disease, dreads. More...
11/24/08
Kids' mental health system
The governor of Nebraska signed a bill Friday to change a controversial safe-haven law by restricting the age at which a child could be dropped off at a hospital without parents being prosecuted.
Since the law took effect in September, 35 children -- all but six of them older than 10 -- have been dropped off at Nebraska hospitals.
The revised law adds a 30-day age limit; it was approved by the legislature at a special session Friday and goes into effect at 12:01 a.m. Saturday. More...
11/24/08
Stem cell research
When the Bush presidency ends, opponents of embryonic stem cell research will face a new political reality that many feel powerless to stop.
President-elect Barack Obama is expected to lift restrictions on federal money for such research. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., also has expressed interest in going ahead with legislation in the first 100 days of the new Congress if it still is necessary to set up a regulatory framework. More...
11/24/08
Trauma of lung surgery
The less invasive form of surgery for lung cancer can significantly decrease recovery time when compared to open chest surgery. That not only allows patients to go home sooner but also can play an important role in reducing pain and preventing complications.
"The earliest I've seen someone going back to work after the procedure is one week," Dr Daniel DeArmond, an assistant professor in cardiothoracic surgery at the University of Texas Health Science Center, said in regard to a patient of his who underwent the minimally invasive surgery. More..
11/24/08
Spending guilt for holiday season
Peterson, a 34-year-old from French Lick, Indiana, was out of a job as of the end of last week, and there's no extra money to buy presents.
"It's really tough," said Peterson, a hospital registration clerk who contacted CNN through iReport.com. "I feel pretty guilty this holiday season."
Last year, Peterson and her husband, who works as a graphic artist, spent about $600 on gifts for their 3-year-old daughter. This year, Peterson wonders whether they'll have enough money to pay the electric bill and buy groceries. More...
11/21/08
Pill as good as chemo
LONDON – Some advanced lung cancer patients already treated with chemotherapy might be able to skip some of the bad side effects of another series of chemo by taking a pill instead, a study suggests. An international study showed patients on Iressa, an expensive, newer targeted treatment, survived about as long as those on another course of chemotherapy. More...
11/21/08
Windpipe created in laboratory
The breakthrough allowed Claudia Castillo, 30, to receive a new section of trachea -- an airway essential for breathing -- without the risk that her body would reject the transplant.
Castillo was given the stem cell surgery, the controversial branch of medicine that some say could lead to human cloning, after suffering a severe lung collapse.
The condition, caused by long-term tuberculosis left Castillo, a Colombian now living in Barcelona, unable to carry out simple domestic duties or care for her two children. More...
11/21/08
Support after fire
After the fire, all that was left of Jonathan Reyes' massive Hot Wheels collection was a piece of metal that once was part of a toy car.
But on Wednesday, the arrival of two cardboard boxes at his grandparents' house sent 7-year-old Jonathan flying to the door, said his mother, Jan Reyes.
Mattel, the company that makes Hot Wheels, sent racetracks, play sets, stickers, folders, T-shirts, hats and hundreds of toy cars.
"He was speechless," Reyes said. "He didn't say anything. He just smiled. He opened it up. It was like Christmas. All of us were bawling, crying. He was so happy."
More...
11/21/08
175 pounds lighter
Weighing 375 pounds, the 45-year-old wife and mother had high blood pressure; her knees hurt and she was always hot. She felt fatigued and could barely breathe at the slightest exertion. Even the simplest things became a chore -- tying her shoes, crossing her legs, getting in and out of the car or trying to fit into a chair with arms.
"I wasn't living ... I was just existing," recalled Daniel. More...
11/20/08
Keep Alzheimer's away
Blanche Danick may be 86 years old, but she's pretty hip. She keeps up with all the latest health news, and a while back, she called her daughter wanting to know whether she should start taking the herb ginkgo biloba. She'd heard it might stave off Alzheimer's disease.
"I told her not to bother, that it wouldn't make much of a difference," says her daughter, Edythe London, a professor of psychiatry and pharmacology at the University of California, Los Angeles. "On the basis of what I've read, I don't think it staves off dementia." More...
11/20/08
Hope in the ashes
Seven-year-old Jonathan Reyes sank his hands deep into his jeans pocket as anxiety wrinkled his face. He swallowed hard, twisted and turned nervously.
"It could be very hot," warned his dad, Augustine Reyes.
Jonathan whimpered softly as he and his parents approached what was left of their house, one of more than than 500 structures razed by wildfires raging in Los Angeles County. Their Sylmar home of the last 10 years was no more.
More...
11/20/08
Predicting Diabetes
WEDNESDAY, Nov. 19, 2008 (Health.com) — About 11 to 18 genes can help predict a person’s likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes, two new studies say. However, those genes don’t add much more to a patient’s diabetes-risk profile than information that’s easily available, such as body mass index, family history, and lifestyle, according to the studies in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The studies included more than 20,000 men and women who were followed for 20 to 30 years to see if they developed diabetes. In both studies, the gene variants’ predictive effect was more powerful for younger people. More...
11/20/08
Food safety office in China
Blanche Danick may be 86 years old, but she's pretty hip. She keeps up with all the latest health news, and a while back, she called her daughter wanting to know whether she should start taking the herb ginkgo biloba. She'd heard it might stave off Alzheimer's disease.
"I told her not to bother, that it wouldn't make much of a difference," says her daughter, Edythe London, a professor of psychiatry and pharmacology at the University of California, Los Angeles. "On the basis of what I've read, I don't think it staves off dementia."
More...
11/19/08
Thanksgiving tips
Thanksgiving marks the beginning of a season where eating is central to the festivities. While it's also the season of indulgence, it's easy to plan a holiday meal that's delicious and healthful. Whether you're serving two or 20, these guidelines will help make sure your big dinner is a success. Follow our tips for making smart choices at the market, in the kitchen, and at the table. More...
11/19/08
Surgery Below the Belt
On the youth sex-education website Scarleteen.com, dozens of teenage girls can be found commiserating about their labia. "i REALLY h8 mine! They hang really REALLY low and r SO long!" reads one comment. Meanwhile, on MakeMeHeal.com, a consumer site that sells special bras and other gear for women recovering from plastic surgery, women of all ages submit photos of their nether regions and ask for feedback on whether they should get nipped and tucked down there. Welcome to the strange new world of female genital cosmetic surgery, where body insecurity issues are fueling a small but growing Western market for such procedures as labiaplasty, clitoral un-hooding, G-spot augmentation and hymen reconstruction, a.k.a. "revirginization." More...
11/19/08
Windpipe created in laboratory
Doctors have given a woman a new windpipe with tissue engineered from her own stem cells in what experts have hailed as a "milestone in medicine."
The breakthrough allowed Claudia Castillo, 30, to receive a new section of trachea -- an airway essential for breathing -- without the risk that her body would reject the transplant.
Castillo was given the stem cell surgery, the controversial branch of medicine that some say could lead to human cloning, after suffering a severe lung collapse.
More...
11/19/08
How astronauts stay fit
Being in space is like being Superman every day, says Clay Anderson, a NASA astronaut from Omaha, Nebraska. At the international space station, where he spent five months last year, he flew to breakfast, work and the bathroom.
But floating around in zero-G can have some serious consequences for the human body, NASA's experts have learned, including the weakening of bones. In fact, studies have shown that space travelers can lose 1 to 2 percent of their bone mass each month on average, according to NASA. More...
11/17/08
Improve your attention span
It's no accident that you concentrate best when you're really engaging in something, like watching a good movie, or doing something challenging, like learning a new card game. Concentration occurs when the brain's prefrontal cortex, which controls high-level cognitive tasks, is awash with the right cocktail of neurotransmitters, hormones, and other body chemicals, particularly the "pleasure chemical" dopamine (you get a jolt of this when you eat delicious food, have sex, or encounter something new and exciting). More...
11/17/08
Vermont city is healthiest in U.S.
Vermont's largest city is tops among U.S. metropolitan areas by having the largest proportion of people -- 92 percent -- who say they are in good or great health.
It's also among the best in exercise and among the lowest in obesity, diabetes and other measures of ill health, according to a recent report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More...
11/17/08
Kicking the habit
A school bus passed her parked car, a sign that that it was time for the 17-year-old high school senior from Fairfax County, Virginia, to stop smoking and head to class.
If Graham has her way, that will be the last time she ever lights up.
"It's getting pretty bad," said Graham who started smoking at age 15. "It used to be fun and now I have to smoke. I know that it's not normal to smoke all the time, and I have to find some way to quit." More...
11/17/08
Irritable bowel syndrome
About 10 to 15 percent of people in North America have IBS, and it's twice as common in women. However, only about one-third of people with the intestinal disorder seek treatment.
The exact cause of IBS remains unknown, and that lack of knowledge has led to the use of a variety of treatments, including fiber supplements, probiotics, antidepressants, behavioral-based therapies, psychotherapy, food modification, acupuncture, and laxatives. However, many treatments are controversial because study results have been mixed. More...
11/13/08
Diabetes drug Avandia
Avandia, once a blockbuster drug made by British-based GlaxoSmithKline PLC, has been under a cloud since May 2007, when a medical journal report suggested it may raise the risk of heart attacks and heart-related deaths. The American Diabetes Association recently said patients should avoid using it until safety questions are resolved.
The new study tested Avandia against glipizide, sold as Glucotrol by Pfizer Inc. and in generic form, in 672 people in 19 countries. All had Type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease and the one linked to obesity. All were at high risk for heart problems and many were very overweight. More...
11/13/08
Search terms to detect flu outbreaks
Google knows that you might do something like that, and it also knows which U.S. state you're in. Now, it's putting that information together in a tool that Google says could detect flu outbreaks faster than traditional systems currently in use.
Google's new public health initiative, Google Flu Trends, looks at the relative popularity of a slew of flu-related search terms to determine where in the U.S. flu outbreaks may be occurring.
"What's exciting about Flu Trends is that it lets anybody -- epidemiologists, health officials, moms with sick children -- learn about the current flu activity level in their own state based on data that's coming in this week," said Jeremy Ginsberg, the lead engineer who developed the site. More...
11/13/08
10 Medical Missteps
When you show up complaining that something hurts, the easiest way for a doctor to get you out of the office is to send you off with a prescription for a pain medication that contains a narcotic (like Vicodin or OxyContin). The drugs are relatively easy to get and tempting to take, but you should never use them for chronic pain. Narcotics addiction is insidious. The drugs change who you are, and over time they make any and every pain worse. Stay away from them except in cases of acute, time-limited pain — and if you're on them already, work hard to get off them. More...
11/13/08
Weigh in on which vitamins
Americans love to take their vitamins. More than 150 million Americans take dietary supplements according to the Council for Responsible Nutrition, a supplement industry trade group.
But what should you do? Walk through the vitamin aisle of any grocery store, and you're hit by a staggering array of options. From vitamin A to glucosamine to milk thistle (what is that, anyway?) to whey protein, it's hard to decide what to take. More...
11/12/08
Times of a larger-than-life boy
ELLENSBURG, Wash. -- Imagine being 7 feet tall. Now imagine being 7 feet tall while you're in grade school.
In my business - sports journalism, here's the skinny: if you work enough, you'll meet a few big fellas.
But in the lengthy history of tall drinks of water, there has never been anyone quite like Brenden Adams.
"I don't know of anyone else like Brenden, and I don't think anyone else like Brenden has ever been reported before," said Dr. Melissa Parisi, a geneticist.
He is a medical mystery, a riddle and a miracle. And despite his outward and upward appearances, he is just 12 years old.
In the small town of Ellensburg, a boy who so desperately wants to blend in can't help but stand out. Doorways are constant obstacles, desks are ridiculously small -- every situation is a creative challenge for a boy who has simply outgrown his world. More...
11/12/08
Less sleep in older adults
People in their 60s and 70s who have high blood pressure may want to make sure they get enough sleep. A new study suggests that if they log fewer than 7.5 hours under the covers every night, they're at greater risk of heart attack, stroke, and sudden cardiac death than their peers who get more shut-eye.
The risk is even higher if they skimp on sleep and tend to have a hike in blood pressure at night, a problem known as the riser pattern. Most healthy people have a drop in blood pressure at bedtime. More...
11/12/08
Can Vitamin D Protect
It was a powerful idea, and there was some intriguing early evidence suggesting that something as simple as popping vitamin D might hold off the second biggest cancer killer among American women — breast cancer. So researchers were expecting to see positive results from the Women's Health Initiative (WHI), the first controlled trial of the effects of vitamin D on breast cancer.
Unfortunately, that didn't happen. Reporting in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, the study authors announce that taking vitamin D supplements does not affect breast cancer rates. Women who took 400 IU of vitamin D daily had the same rates of breast cancer as those not taking the supplements, after a seven-year period. (See TIME's A-Z Health Guide.) More...
11/12/08
Why kids lie
"Excuse me? When?" I asked, astonished.
"When you're asleep," she replied -- and proceeded to describe how, early Saturday mornings, he'd slip a bra over his T-shirt and then jump on our mini-trampoline. She stuck to her tale so adamantly that later that day, I sheepishly asked my schoolteacher husband if he'd ever jokingly held one of my lacy underthings up to his chest (he hadn't).
We laughed, but I felt unsettled. Lying to avoid punishment or to get an extra piece of pie -- that I could understand. But Lillian was lying frequently, for kicks, and she'd never admit that a made-up story wasn't true. Should I insist on honesty, I wondered, lest she develop into a pathological liar? Or let it slide, to avoid crushing her creativity? More...
11/11/08
Child aggression
Kids in both the U.S. and Japan who reported playing lots of violent video games had more aggressive behavior months later than their peers who did not, according to the study, which appears in the November issue of the journal Pediatrics.
The researchers specifically tried to get to the root of the chicken-or-egg problem -- do children become more aggressive after playing video games or are aggressive kids more attracted to violent videos? More...
11/11/08
Taking vitamins
Vitamin E even appeared to raise the risk of bleeding strokes, a danger seen in at least one earlier study.
Besides questioning whether vitamins help, "we have to worry about potential harm," said Barbara Howard, a nutrition scientist at MedStar Research Institute of Hyattsville, Maryland. More...
11/11/08
Blood pressure race gap
The gap between the races in controlling blood pressure is well-known, but the resulting number of lives lost startled some scientists.
"We expected it to be big, but it was even larger than we anticipated," said the lead author, Dr. Kevin Fiscella of the University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry. More...
11/11/08
America's healthiest grocery stores
Let's face it: Your weekly (or daily!) run to the grocery store is the foundation for your good health. So it's thrilling news that the supermarket industry is on a health kick -- these days you'll most likely find organic produce and "natural" packaged foods at almost any store you go to. But which chains are outdoing themselves to deliver the freshest and healthiest foods to you? And which ones provide the best tools to help you make smart choices? We asked six prominent health experts to help us pick the top 10 healthiest grocery stores out of the nation's largest chains. More...
11/10/08
Cholesterol drugs could help
Healthy men and women with good cholesterol levels could significantly reduce their risk of heart disease by taking cholesterol-lowering drugs, better known as statins, according to a study released Sunday.
Nearly 18,000 people in 26 countries, including 7,000 women and nearly 5,000 minorities, participated in the clinical trial, the results of which were published in The New England Journal of Medicine.
More...
11/10/08
Headphones could interfere with pacemakers
Most people with pacemakers or implanted defibrillators enjoy their iPods or other MP3 players just as much as anyone else, but a new study suggests they should be cautious about where they store the headphones.
The headphones contain magnets that could potentially cause interference if placed directly on the chest above the heart device, according to a report presented this week at the American Heart Association meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana.
11/10/08
Sharks helps veterans feel whole again
Retired Army Spc. Scott Winkler had many scary encounters while serving in Iraq, but they were nothing compared with his recent experience at the world's largest aquarium: swimming alongside a massive whale shark.
The fact that Winkler, 35, of Augusta, Georgia, is a paraplegic made the once-in-a-lifetime experience even more challenging.
"It's like you're in space," Winkler said. "It's like you're an able body again. It makes you feel so free." More...
11/10/08
The Evolution of Insanity
Today's schizophrenic may believe that terrorists are beaming radio transmissions into his brain; 50 years ago, however, Communists were the culprits. And a century ago, before radio was invented, it might have been a simple case of "hearing voices." In a paper published last spring, three Slovenian psychiatrists examined the ways in which insanity has historically manifested itself, and whether "crazy" has always been the same. Borut Skodlar, Mojca Dernovsek and Marga Kocmur studied 120 records of schizophrenic patients admitted to the Ljubljana (Slovenia) psychiatric hospital between 1881 and 2000 to see if psychotic delusions are affected by contemporary culture. As it turns out, they are.
11/07/08
Extra sleep helps the heart
Swedish researchers looked at 20 years of records and discovered that the number of heart attacks dipped on the Monday after clocks were set back an hour, possibly because people got an extra hour of sleep.
But moving clocks forward in the spring appeared to have the opposite effect. There were more heart attacks during the week after the start of daylight saving time, particularly on the first three days of the week. More...
11/07/08
Why family meals matter
This holiday season, one of the most valuable gifts you'll give your family won't come wrapped in a box or have a card attached. Instead, it will happen around your dining table, where you'll sit down to share a meal, conversation, and traditions with the people who matter most to you. And as special as family meals are throughout the holidays, they can also significantly enhance the life of your family every day. More...
11/07/08
Health reform: What's next?
A look at President-elect Obama's health care plan and the medical community's response. CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta reports. More...
11/07/08
Post-election blues?
When David Kronmiller wakes up and sits down at his computer in the morning, he usually checks the Huffington Post, the Drudge Report, Politico and the polls on RealClearPolitics. But the day after the election, he realized he didn't need to check those polls. There weren't any.
"There is some sadness to that," said Kronmiller, a North Hollywood, California, resident who frequently contributes his views to iReport.com. More...
11/06/08
How to stop procrastinating
Since the late 1980s, Nike has been telling us, "Just Do It!" If only we simply needed a sneakered kick in the butt.
"The world is designed to create procrastination problems," says Dan Ariely, Ph.D., James B. Duke professor of behavioral economics at Duke University and the author of "Predictably Irrational."
"Our emotions get the better of us, and we tend to forsake our long-term goals in favor of short-term desires. It's a major source of human misery."
Ariely surveyed almost 3,000 Oprah.com users to explore how procrastination toys with our lives. He found that while people have a general tendency to drag their feet, certain tasks are real "back burners" for pretty much everyone.
More...
11/06/08
U.S. diabetes rate nearly doubles
The rate of new diabetes cases nearly doubled in the United States in the last 10 years, with the highest levels in the South, the government said Thursday in its first state-by-state review of new diagnoses.
The highest rate was in West Virginia, where about 13 in 1,000 adults were diagnosed with the disease. The lowest was in Minnesota, where the rate is 5 in 1,000.
About 90 percent of the cases are Type 2 diabetes, the form linked to obesity. The findings echo geographic trends seen with obesity and physical inactivity, which are also tied to heart disease. Southern states rank worst in those measures, too.
More...
11/06/08
Bullets could pose risk for game eaters
North Dakota health officials are recommending that pregnant women and young children avoid eating meat from wild game killed with lead bullets.
The recommendation is based on a study released Wednesday that examined the lead levels in the blood of more than 700 state residents. Those who ate wild game killed with lead bullets appeared to have higher lead levels than those who ate little or no wild game.
The elevated lead levels were not considered dangerous, but North Dakota says pregnant women and children younger than 6 should avoid eating venison harvested using lead bullets.
More...
11/06/08
Getting a second opinion online
In August, just days before her daughter was to start her sophomore year of college, Dr. Lucy Sauer faced a troubling choice: Should her daughter have a device surgically implanted in her chest to control her heart rhythm?
One doctor, a cardiologist, told Sauer that her daughter, Hannah Remmel, "absolutely" needed a defibrillator. He said an MRI of Remmel's heart showed a rare congenital deformity, and he feared that she might die without the device.
But Remmel's primary care physician wasn't so sure. He doubted Remmel even had the deformity. Sauer, a family physician in Little Rock, Arkansas, needed clarity.
More...
11/05/08
Dangers of BPA in Plastics
There's no denying that bisphenol A (BPA), the latest headline-making toxin, is ubiquitous — it's in hard plastic water bottles, the lining of food and beverage cans and, most disturbingly, the plastic baby bottles that most parents commonly use. What's less clear, however, is exactly what effect BPA has on human health. More...
11/05/08
Women germier than men
A new study found that women have a greater variety of bacteria on their hands than men do.
And everybody has more types of bacteria than the researchers expected to find.
"One thing that really is astonishing is the variability between individuals, and also between hands on the same individual," said University of Colorado biochemistry assistant professor Rob Knight, a co-author of the paper.
"The sheer number of bacteria species detected on the hands of the study participants was a big surprise, and so was the greater diversity of bacteria we found on the hands of women," added lead researcher Noah Fierer, an assistant professor in Colorado's department of ecology and evolutionary biology. More...
11/05/08
Hunting for health insurance
Among the jobless, Smith is one of the lucky few with solid health insurance that she can afford.
And it covers thousands of dollars in prescription drugs she could never pay for herself.
Health problems forced the 55-year-old to leave her job as a human resources director several years ago.
She takes medication to help cope with spine problems, multiple sclerosis and high blood pressure, among other ailments.
She's covered under the Indiana Comprehensive Health Insurance Association, a state-backed safety net program, and pays $2,198 every three months. More...
11/05/08
Vaccines: Separating fact from fiction
When Katie Shutters's 13-month-old daughter, Averie, was born, she followed the recommended vaccine schedule for two months. Then she did some research and decided to hold off on additional shots until Averie turned 9 months old. "I liked the idea of my breast milk giving her the immunities she needs and allowing her body to work for her instead of some medicine," says the stay-at-home mom from Indianapolis, Indiana. "She isn't in daycare, and we don't travel overseas. I had concerns about injecting her for no reason." More...
11/04/08
Kids should get more vitamin D
o meet the new recommendation of 400 units daily, millions of children will need to take daily vitamin D supplements, the American Academy of Pediatrics said. That includes breast-fed infants -- even those who get some formula, too, and many teens who drink little or no milk.
Baby formula contains vitamin D, so infants on formula only generally don't need supplements. However, the academy recommends breast-feeding for at least the first year of life and breast milk is sometimes deficient.
Most commercially available milk is fortified with vitamin D, but most children and teens don't drink enough of it -- four cups daily would be needed -- to meet the new requirement, said Dr. Frank Greer, the report's co-author. More...
11/04/08
Drinking alcohol shrink your brain
People who drink alcohol -- even the moderate amounts that help prevent heart disease -- have a smaller brain volume than those who do not, according to a study in the Archives of Neurology.
While a certain amount of brain shrinkage is normal with age, greater amounts in some parts of the brain have been linked to dementia.
"Decline in brain volume -- estimated at 2 percent per decade -- is a natural part of aging," says Carol Ann Paul, who conducted the study when she was at the Boston University School of Public Health. She had hoped to find that alcohol might protect against such brain shrinkage.
"However, we did not find the protective effect," says Paul, who is now an instructor in the neuroscience program at Wellesley College. "In fact, any level of alcohol consumption resulted in a decline in brain volume." More...
11/04/08
Get your blood pressure under control
The American Heart Association estimates one in three adults in the U.S. has high blood pressure and nearly a third don’t even know they have it. Left untreated, high blood pressure can lead to stroke, heart attack and heart or kidney failure.
The Heart Association has some tips on how to control what is often called the silent killer: More...
11/04/08
Know your blood pressure
About 35 million American women have high blood pressure, and a third of them don't know it. In part, experts say, the increase comes just because women are living longer and doctors are paying more attention to the problem. But less-benign factors -- such as the exploding use of anti-inflammatory medicines (which make your body retain salt) and ever-increasing waistlines -- may be at play in what the American Heart Association calls a rise in uncontrolled hypertension in women.
Fortunately, there are many ways to control your blood pressure, even without medication. And just knowing your numbers is half the battle, says Dan Jones, M.D., president of the AHA. But that doesn't mean fighting high blood pressure is a cinch. Here are the stories of three women whose high blood pressure took them by surprise. Think about, More...
11/03/08
Number of kids with food allergies on the rise
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 Wednesday. 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.
Nobody knows for sure what's driving the increase. A doubling in peanut allergies -- noted in earlier studies -- is one factor, some experts said. Also, children seems to be taking longer to outgrow milk and egg allergies than they did in decades past.
But also figuring into the equation are parents and doctors who are more likely to consider food as the trigger for symptoms like vomiting, skin rashes and breathing problems. More...
11/03/08
How to keep anger from bubbling
That means long lines, and many people stewing over the amount of time they have to wait to cast their ballots.
We all get angry at times, but it's what sets us off and how we manage that anger that set us apart.
"It's hard to say that anger is normal or not normal," said Mark Crawford, a Roswell, Georgia-based clinical psychologist. "It's how angry you allow yourself to become that's either healthy or unhealthy." More...
11/03/08
Cancer warning labels on products
For several months I have enjoyed recording digital music files through my keyboard, thanks to a simple device that connects it to my laptop. But it wasn’t until recently that I discovered that the following label came with it:
WARNING: This product contains chemicals, including lead, known to the State of California to cause cancer, and birth defects or other reproductive harm. Wash hands after handling.
I freaked out. How could a set of cables attached to a small blue blinking cylinder cause cancer? The USB connector and keyboard inputs seemed harmless enough, and I hadn’t felt obvious symptoms while making music. Was I risking my life for the sake of my four-person fan base? More...
11/03/08
Study links sexual content
Researchers at the nonprofit organization found that adolescents with a high level of exposure to television shows with sexual content are twice as likely to get pregnant or impregnate someone as those who saw fewer programs of this kind over a period of three years. It is the first study to demonstrate this association, RAND said.
A central message from the study is that there needs to be more dialogue about sex in the media, particularly among parents and their children, said Anita Chandra, the study's lead author and a behavioral scientist at RAND. More...
11/01/08
Turning your clock back Sunday may help your heart
Turning your clock back on Sunday may be good for your heart. Swedish researchers looked at 20 years of records and discovered that the number of heart attacks dipped on the Monday after clocks were set back an hour, possibly because people got an extra hour of sleep...
11/01/08
Australia: No residency for boy with Down syndrome
Thirteen-year-old Lukas Moeller has Down syndrome. His father is a doctor who came to Australia from Germany to help fill a shortage of physicians in rural communities...
11/01/08
Therapy plus Zoloft helps kids with anxiety
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...
11/01/08
Obesity blamed for doubling rate of diabetes cases
The nation's obesity epidemic is exacting a heavy toll: The rate of new diabetes cases nearly doubled in the United States in the past 10 years, the government said Thursday. The highest rates were in the South, according to the first state-by-state review of new diagnoses. The worst was in West Virginia, where about 13 in 1,000 adults were diagnosed with the disease in 2005-07. The lowest was in Minnesota, where the rate was 5 in 1,000...
10/29/08
Diabetes drug costs soaring
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. More...
10/29/08
Questioning of FDA finding
WASHINGTON – Environmentalists are welcoming a report by an independent panel of scientific advisers which found flaws in the government's assurance that a controversial chemical is safe for use in food containers.
The chemical is known as bisphenol (BIS'-phen-ol) A. It is used to make plastic for food packaging, baby bottles and other consumer and medical products. Consumer groups wanted the Environmental Protection Administration to ban the chemical in products for infants because of concerns that it can interfere with their development. More...
10/29/08
Get vaccinated, nonprofit urges
The non-partisan program Vote & Vax is teaming up with local health agencies to provide flu vaccinations at 250 polling locations around the country.
"It's a win-win situation for everyone," said Dr. Doug Shenson, national program director of Vote & Vax. "The providers are delivering flu shots. The community is protected. The election experience is an efficient and good one." More...
10/29/08
Germ hotbeds
WASHINGTON – Someone in your house have the sniffles? Watch out for the refrigerator door handle. The TV remote, too. A new study finds that cold sufferers often leave their germs there, where they can live for two days or longer.
Scientists at the University of Virginia, long known for its virology research, tested surfaces in the homes of people with colds and reported the results Tuesday at the nation's premier conference on infectious diseases. More...
10/28/08
Cost of diabetes care doubled
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.
The new study follows updated treatment advice for Type 2 diabetes, issued last week. In those recommendations, an expert panel told doctors to use older, cheaper drugs first. More...
10/28/08
Cholesterol-Lowering Drugs
MONDAY, Oct. 27 (Health.com) — People who take statins and end up in the hospital with pneumonia are more likely to survive than those who are not taking a cholesterol-lowering drug, according to a study in Archives of Internal Medicine.
It’s possible that statins, some of the most commonly prescribed medications in the world, may help fight lung infections. On the other hand, people who take them may be in better health to begin with, which could explain their ability to survive a serious infection. More...
10/28/08
Breast cancer journey
When a woman goes through breast cancer treatment, the shape of her chest changes, hair falls out and eyebrows thin. She'd probably tell you she's had better days.
But the physical changes she faces often are rivaled by threat she feels to her femininity and her relationships.
Yvonne Wuamett's boyfriend's left her for a younger woman. Jan Rabinowitz's former husband asked her why she was upset. More...
10/28/08
NFL stars no match for bacteria
A 6-foot-4 football player is more than a million times the size of a typical Staphylococcus bacterium. But under the right conditions, that athlete could find himself defenseless against the microscopic bug.
The problem came to the forefront last week with Cleveland Browns player Kellen Winslow, who recently had his second staph infection. He is reportedly the sixth player to acquire staph among the Browns in five years.
Winslow recently said the Browns treated him like a "piece of meat" when he was hospitalized for the condition, and he claimed they covered up the cause of his illness. More...
10/27/08
Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report
Summaries of several recent developments related to health care issues in the presidential election appear below.
Ad spending: Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) this year has spent $113 million on television advertisements related to health care, eight times the amount that Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) has spent, The Politico reports. In October, Obama has spent $48.5 million, or 86% of his ad budget, on ads related to health care, compared with $261,000, or 1.5%, for McCain. For the year, Obama has spent 68% of his ad budget on ads related to health care, compared with 13% for McCain. Obama has run a total of 117 ads related to health care, and McCain has run 10 (Frates, The Politico, 10/24). More...
10/27/08
Hospitals ease ER crowding
here's no phone and no television. Only a screen offers privacy. But heart patient Edward Gray understands why the hospital put him in a cardiac unit hallway.
"They sent me up here to make room for other emergency patients," Gray, 78, said last week from his bed in the hall of a New York area hospital. "This is the way things are in hospitals."
It may not sound like ideal health care, but hospital officials nationwide are being urged to consider hallway medicine as a way to ease emergency department crowding, and some are trying it.
Leading the way is Stony Brook University Medical Center at Stony Brook, N.Y., where a study found that no harm was caused by moving emergency room patients to upper-floor hallways when they were ready for admission. More....
10/27/08
AIDS treatment should start
People who have the AIDS virus should start drug treatments sooner than current guidelines recommend, suggests a large new study that could change the care of hundreds of thousands of Americans.
The study found that delaying treatment until a patient's immune system is badly damaged nearly doubles the risk of dying in the next few years compared to patients whose treatment started earlier.
Doctors have thought it would be better to spare patients the side effects of AIDS drugs as long as possible.
"The data are rather compelling that the risk of death appears to be higher if you wait than if you treat," said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which helped pay for the study. More...
10/27/08
Heart attack, not stray bullet
Lewis is breathing heavily as he makes his way to a ladder leaning next to an old pine tree. He then climbs 20 feet to a custom-built enclosed hunting stand and waits for a deer.
"Ninety percent of the time, it is relaxation therapy," said Lewis, 52, a university police officer in Atlanta, Georgia. "The other 10 percent of the time, it is a workout."
That workout, according to some medical experts, may be too much for some hunters to handle.
"I think it's a very significant problem," said Dr. Eric Good, a cardiologist at the University of Michigan Health System in Ann Arbor.
The biggest danger that some hunters face isn't getting hit by a stray bullet or falling out of a tree stand, Good said. It's heart disease. More...
10/23/08
Food allergies increasing in US kids, study says
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...
10/23/08
HIV scare puts Mo. school in uncertain territory
Students at a suburban St. Louis high school headed to the gymnasium for HIV testing this week after an infected person told health officials as many as 50 teenagers might have been exposed to the virus that causes AIDS...
10/23/08
Scientists try to stop hunger with retooled foods
Want to lose weight? Try eating. That's one of the strategies being developed by scientists experimenting with foods that trick the body into feeling full...
10/23/08
Survey: Half of US doctors use placebo treatments
About half of American doctors in a new survey say they regularly give patients placebo treatments — usually drugs or vitamins that won't really help their condition. And many of these doctors are not honest with their patients about what they are doing, the survey found...
10/22/08
Va. pharmacy follows faith, no birth control sales
A new drug store at a Virginia strip mall is putting its faith in an unconventional business plan: No candy. No sodas. And no birth control. Divine Mercy Care Pharmacy is among at least seven pharmacies across the nation that are refusing as a matter of faith to sell contraceptives of any kind, even if a person has a prescription...
10/22/08
FDA: Incontinence surgery linked to complications
A type of mesh used in surgeries to treat severe incontinence, cases of prolapsed uterus and other women's health problems has been linked to serious but infrequent complications, federal health officials say...
10/22/08
Panel calls for vaccine for adult smokers
For the first time, an influential government panel is recommending a vaccination specifically for smokers...
10/22/08
Food allergies increasing in US kids, study says
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...
10/21/08
Parents press states for autism insurance laws
In Washington state, Reza and Arzu Forough pay more than $1,000 a week for behavior therapy for their 12-year-old autistic son...
10/21/08
Magnet device aims to treat depression patients
The government has approved the first noninvasive brain stimulator to treat depression — a device that beams magnetic pulses through the skull. If it sounds like science-fiction, well, those woodpecker-like pulses trigger small electrical charges that spark brain cells to fire. Yet it doesn't cause the risks of surgically implanted electrodes or the treatment of last resort, shock therapy...
10/21/08
Safety a problem for new generation drugs, too
Nearly a fourth of widely used new-generation biological drugs for several common diseases produce serious side effects that lead to safety warnings soon after they go on the market, the first major study of its kind found...
10/21/08
Va. pharmacy follows faith, no birth control sales
A new drug store at a Virginia strip mall is putting its faith in an unconventional business plan: No candy. No sodas. And no birth control. Divine Mercy Care Pharmacy is among at least seven pharmacies across the nation that are refusing as a matter of faith to sell contraceptives of any kind, even if a person has a prescription...
10/20/08
Seizure-alert dogs help epilepsy sufferers
Ben, who's 15 months old, can already do a lot of things. He can turn on a light or open a door. He can pick up a remote control off the floor. He can pull a heavy object with his teeth...
10/20/08
Child virus kills 3, sickens 110 in east China
Hand, foot and mouth disease has killed three children and sickened about 110 others in eastern China, state media reported...
10/20/08
Gastric bypass cuts heart risks
The risk faced by obese people of having a heart attack or other cardiovascular "events" is reduced substantially after they undergo gastric bypass surgery to lose weight, according to a recent study...
10/20/08
Parents press states for autism insurance laws
In Washington state, Reza and Arzu Forough pay more than $1,000 a week for behavior therapy for their 12-year-old autistic son...
10/17/08
Health care access problems
PBS' "NewsHour with Jim Lehrer" on Wednesday examined access-to-care issues facing people who live in rural New Mexico, the state with the second-highest rate of uninsurance in the country. More than half of all New Mexico residents live in non-urban areas, often in towns that have no pharmacy and few physicians.
Many of these uninsured residents work for small businesses that cannot afford to offer coverage, and they must rely on outreach programs that work with insurers and drugmakers to provide basic services, including blood pressure checks and diabetes screenings. A physician shortage in the state has forced many primary care physicians in small communities to be on call 24 hours a day and seven days a week. Additionally, because of the overwhelming demand for physicians, some rural residents must travel to the closest urban emergency department to receive immediate treatment. More...
10/17/08
'Stayin Alive' lives up to name
CHICAGO – "Stayin' Alive" might be more true to its name than the Bee Gees ever could have guessed: At 103 beats per minute, the old disco song has almost the perfect rhythm to help jump-start a stopped heart.
And in a small but intriguing study from the University of Illinois medical school, doctors and students maintained close to the ideal number of chest compressions doing CPR while listening to the catchy, sung-in-falsetto tune from the 1977 movie "Saturday Night Fever."
The American Heart Association recommends 100 chest compressions per minute, far more than most people realize, study author Dr. David Matlock of the school's Peoria, Ill., campus said Thursday. More...
10/17/08
Why moms get jealous
I smiled with pity at this poor, deluded man. Several times a night, Davey had been getting up to look at books. I had spent fruitless hours reasoning with him. No way could Bill's threat make a difference, especially since Davey found his troll-under-the-bridge act more funny than scary.
But that night, Davey didn't get up once. In the morning he ran around crowing that he'd won and the troll couldn't come. Bill, unlike me, must have known that Davey needed to turn staying in bed into a game. Of course I was grateful.
I was also just the tiniest bit jealous. Why hadn't I been the one with the great insight? Why couldn't I talk like a troll? More...
10/17/08
Health workers skip flu shot
DES MOINES — Operating room nurse Pauline Taylor knows her refusal to get a flu shot is based on faulty logic.
But ever since she got sick after getting a shot a few years ago, she's sworn off the vaccine.
"I rarely get sick. The only thing I could narrow it down to is that I had gotten this shot," said Taylor, who works at University Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City. "I know that it's not a live virus. It just seemed pretty coincidental."
Such stories frustrate Dr. William Schaffner.
As chairman of the Department of Preventive Medicine at Vanderbilt University, he hears that kind of talk frequently and knows it's in part to blame for a surprising statistic — nearly 60% of health care workers fail to get a flu shot. More...
10/16/08
A head-to-toe look at breast cancer
Let's face it: Your mom, your sister-in-law, your co-worker, your best friend from college -- someone you know has had breast cancer. Someone you care about has sat white-faced, clutching the kitchen phone, or in a doctor's office, and gotten the scary news that every woman dreads -- news that one out of eight of us will hear in our lifetime, 250,000 of us this year alone.
If there's an upside to this breast cancer picture it's that the odds of surviving are getting better all the time.
In the United States, there are more than 2 million breast cancer survivors who are learning to live -- and live well -- with what was once a death sentence. That means there are even more opportunities for us to share the breast cancer experience with a friend or family member, and more reasons to try to understand what they're going through and how we can help. More...
10/16/08
Stressed about money?
Marquitia Fell isn't sure how she got to the Web site -- she linked from one site to another to another -- but finally, in black and white, she found the promise she'd been looking for: a promise to make her mortgage problems go away.
Fell's bank was threatening to kick her out of her Germantown, Maryland, home November 6 because she was behind on her mortgage. The agency she found on the Internet said that if she paid $1,300 now and an additional $1,500 later, it would take care of her mortgage problems.
Fell sent in a check and a few days later was kicking herself.
"A friend said to me, 'You did what?' " she said. "She told me there were places out there that could help me and wouldn't charge me a dime. I couldn't believe it. There have to be millions of people out there who don't know you can get help for free. It's so sad." More...
10/16/08
EPA tightens health standard
WASHINGTON - The Environmental Protection Agency is setting a new health standard for lead to slash the amount of the toxic metal in the nation's air by 90 percent.
EPA officials, who were under a federal court order to set a new standard by midnight Wednesday, said the new limit would better protect health, especially children.
"Our nation's air is cleaner today than just a generation ago, and last night I built upon this progress by signing the strongest air quality standards for lead in our nation's history," Stephen Johnson, the EPA administrator, said Thursday. "Thanks to this stronger standard, EPA will protect my children from remaining sources of airborne lead."
The new limit — 0.15 micrograms per cubic meter — is the first update to the lead standard since 1978, when it helped phase out leaded gasoline. It is ten times lower than the current standard, which was 1.5 micrograms per cubic meter. More...
10/16/08
Expand health coverage as economy weakens
Pennsylvania's two-year legislative session is ending without a compromise on overhauling the state's health care system, as sought by Gov. Ed Rendell (D), but the state is "far from alone" in its failure to expand coverage to the uninsured, the AP/Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Republican lawmakers in the state objected to Rendell's proposal, saying that a weakening state economy would require tax increases to sustain the coverage expansion.
According to the Kaiser Family Foundation's Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, similar proposals in several other states -- including California, Illinois and New Mexico -- also were defeated after lawmakers could not agree on how to fund the plans. Diane Rowland, executive vice president of the Kaiser Family Foundation and executive director of the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, said, "Health reform at the state level is a very heavy lift for any state," adding, "What you also see is, health reform ... is easier when economic times are good and more difficult to accomplish and more difficult to sustain when the economy goes down." More...
10/14/08
Nation's health care problems?
Health care cost and coverage has been a hot topic among presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama in the weeks leading up to the Nov. 4 election.
But which candidate has a plan that likely voters believe will make the biggest impact on the toughest health care problems facing the nation? The answer: Obama.
According to a report released today by the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health, the majority of likely voters polled selected Obama as their top presidential pick to handle the country's biggest health care issues, including the high cost of health insurance, and the millions of U.S. adults and children without insurance. More...
10/14/08
What healthcare professionals think?
Senator McCain believes it to be a responsibility; Senator Obama, a right. While both candidates believe that healthcare reform is a high priority, they disagree on the methods necessary to fix this problem. But do they know which plan physicians support? A new study from DoctorDirectory of more than 900 physicians of all specialties was designed to assess attitudes on universal healthcare as it relates to the upcoming election. More...
10/14/08
China orders more testing
BEIJING - China is ordering all liquid and powdered milk manufactured before Sept. 14 to be taken off the shelves for melamine testing, a news report said Tuesday, the first time Beijing has issued a blanket recall of products since the tainted dairy scandal broke last month.
It is the latest in a series of measures China has taken to allay worries over the quality of Chinese products and restore consumer confidence since four babies died and tens of thousands of children were sickened after drinking tainted milk. More...
10/14/08
How to be sodium savvy
"Enough salt already," sighed Theo Hodge on a recent evening as I added more salt to a plat de resistance I was preparing for us. Considering that he was my doctor, the scolding came as no surprise. But as a chef and food writer, I know sodium chloride salt is an important ingredient in many recipes. Both professional and home cooks equate salt with flavor.
However, the more we use, the more our palates desire. Hodge's insistence was a matter of health, so I would have to come up with other ways to enhance future dishes. More...
10/13/08
Post examines mental health parity law
The Washington Post on Friday examined how mental health parity legislation, which was included in the $700 billion bailout of Wall Street firms that President Bush last week signed into law, is "a culmination of a decade of lobbying and negotiating among advocates for the mentally ill, the insurance industry, the business community ... and doctors' groups" (Jenkins, Washington Post, 10/10). The legislation (HR 1424) requires group health plans of 51 or more employees to cover mental illnesses at the same level as physical ailments. It does not require the plans to offer such coverage but it must be equivalent if they do (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 10/6). More...
10/13/08
Options on breast reconstruction
When actress Christina Applegate announced she had had a double mastectomy this summer, she also said she had begun immediate reconstruction surgery — and was looking forward to having "cute boobs till I'm 90 … the best boobs in the nursing home," as she put it in a Good Morning America interview.
It's too soon to say whether Applegate's words — and her rapid return to a busy life (including her sitcom, Samantha Who?, back on ABC tonight) — will increase the popularity of breast reconstruction among cancer survivors. More...
10/13/08
Double vitamin D recommendations
The nation's leading pediatricians group says children from newborns to teens should get double the usually recommended amount of vitamin D because of evidence that it may help prevent serious diseases.
To meet the new recommendation of 400 units daily, millions of children will need to take daily vitamin D supplements, the American Academy of Pediatrics said. That includes breast-fed infants — even those who get some formula, too, and many teens who drink little or no milk.
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10/13/08
Dads can get postpartum depression
If his baby had needed to be soothed three months ago, Sandler, 36, of Houston, Texas, might have handed the baby off to his wife and then found an excuse to leave the house.
"Honestly, it felt like when I was at home, the walls became very, very close in. I wouldn't say claustrophobic, but very cabin feverish," Sandler said.
It turned out that Sandler, a medical device salesman, had more than cabin fever. He recently got an official diagnosis: He has a male version of postpartum depression. More...
10/10/08
Use of false names by uninsured
The Philadelphia Inquirer on Thursday, as part of a series titled "Falling Through: Casualties of the Health Insurance Crisis," examined how some emergency department patients register under false names because they do not have health insurance and cannot afford to pay for care.
The article profiled a 27-year-old man who three years earlier experienced a sudden elevated heart rate and called 911. After the paramedics arrived, they found his heart rate had increased to 190 beats per minute, and his heart rate later reached 250 beats per minute. The man told the paramedics not to take him to the ED because he had no health insurance. According to the man, the paramedics encouraged him to leave all forms of identification and personal items with his friend and register at the ED under a false name. The paramedics took the man to the ED, where he received treatment for supraventricular tachycardia, a form of heart-rhythm disorder that physicians attributed to exhaustion and consumption of large amounts of coffee. More...
10/10/08
Opting out of Medicare
WASHINGTON (AP) — Three men who say they have adequate health coverage and enough money to pay for their health care needs want to opt out of hospital coverage under Medicare. Federal rules say they cannot collect Social Security benefits if they do that.
Their goal is to save taxpayer money by voluntarily forgoing Medicare. Their challenge to that policy is coming in a lawsuit expected to be filed Thursday in federal court.
It would not cost them anything to participate in Medicare Part A, which covers care delivered at the hospital. Medicare participants pay a deductible of $1,024 if admitted to the hospital. More...
10/10/08
Girls got cervical cancer shot
The figures represent the government's first substantial study of vaccination rates for the Gardasil vaccine — Merck & Co.'s heavily advertised, three-shot series that targets the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus, or HPV.
The vaccine protects against strains of the virus that cause about 70 percent of cervical cancers.
Health officials recommend that girls get the shots when they are 11 or 12, if possible, before they become sexually active. Also, age 11 is when kids are generally due for another round of vaccinations. More...
10/10/08
Even presidents need time to chill
In long days scheduled in 15-minute increments, presidents are asked to make decisions affecting millions -- sometimes life-or-death decisions.
"When you get to the Oval Office, there are no easy decisions," says Kenneth Duberstein, who was chief of staff to President Ronald Reagan. "Any decision that reaches the president's desk is a close call. It's not black and white. It's shades of gray."
Presidents work best when they take regular respites from the burdens of the presidency, according to Duberstein and other White House insiders from the Nixon presidency through the current administration. More...
10/09/08
Think fat just hangs around?
PHOENIX — Most people think of fat as an inert blob, but fat cells release powerful chemicals.
In obese people, the fat tissue often produces too many bad hormones and too few good ones, says Susan Fried, director of the Clinical Nutrition Research Unit of Maryland at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore.
BETTER LIFE: The skinny on losing weight
Fried and other scientists discussed the latest research on fat cells here at the annual meeting of the Obesity Society. Fried talks about the relationship between obesity and fat cells.
Q: Do people have different numbers of fat cells?
A: A person at a healthy weight might have 10 billion to 20 billion, and an obese person can have up to 100 billion. Babies are born with about 10 billion. You naturally increase the number of fat cells, like other kinds of cells, as you grow.
FIND MORE STORIES IN: Baltimore | Obesity Society | University of Maryland School of Medicine. More...
10/09/08
Cervical cancer shot
ATLANTA - One in four teen girls have rolled up their sleeves for the relatively new vaccine against cervical cancer, federal health officials said Thursday.
The figures represent the government's first substantial study of vaccination rates for the Gardasil vaccine — Merck & Co.'s heavily advertised, three-shot series that targets the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus, or HPV.
The vaccine protects against strains of the virus that cause about 70 percent of cervical cancers.
Health officials recommend that girls get the shots when they are 11 or 12, if possible, before they become sexually active. Also, age 11 is when kids are generally due for another round of vaccinations. More...
10/09/08
Help via online networking
She was told that no doctor in her home state of West Virginia had much experience treating it. Then when her sister found an expert out of state, her insurance refused to pay for treatment there.
"I was panicked. I cried for 36 hours straight," says Beth Weiss, Reid's older sister. "My sister has an 8-year-old child and a disabled husband."
Late one night, Weiss went online looking for information about her sister's disease, uterine leiomyosarcoma. And there she found the woman she calls her "godsend," Dr. Doreen Kossove.
Kossove, a pediatrician, also has advanced leiomyosarcoma. Tethered to an oxygen tank, writing from the hospital bed that's been set up in her apartment in Berkeley, California, Kossove goes online several times a day to offer guidance to others on ACOR.org, home of the Association of Cancer Online Resources. More..
10/09/08
Presidential Nominees Discuss Health Care
Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) and Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) on Tuesday during a debate at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn., discussed their proposals for health care, the economy and other issues, the Wall Street Journal reports (Meckler/Cooper, Wall Street Journal, 10/8).
McCain Comments
"I want to give every American a $5,000 refundable tax credit," McCain said of his health care proposal, which would replace an income tax break for employees who receive health insurance from employers with a refundable tax credit of as much as $2,500 for individuals and $5,000 for families who purchase of coverage through their employers or the individual market. "They can take it anywhere, across state lines. Why not? Don't we go across state lines when we purchase other things in America?" (AP/Kansas City Star, 10/7). More...
10/08/08
Health Spending Growth
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission on Friday examined some of the factors contributing to U.S. health care spending growth, CQ HealthBeat reports. According to the briefing papers presented by two staffers, overall health care spending between 1999 and 2008 increased by 50%, compared with 20% in other economic sectors, the staffers said, while health care sector construction spending rose slightly more than 50%, compared with less than 20% in other sectors. Imaging centers and home health care both experienced the largest employment growths at 50% each, compared to a 25% growth in overall health care employment and 5% in other sectors. More...
10/08/08
Health questions continue for McCain
Meghan McCain was on the talk-show couch, being grilled by the hosts of "The View." Does it bother her to hear jokes about her father's age? Megan, 23, started chuckling, and allowed, "He IS old!" Tension was replaced by laughter. But that was summer. These days, for Republican Sen. John McCain, age is no laughing matter.
Age as political issue has become a reality the McCain campaign does indeed have to face. McCain turned 72 in August, which would make him the oldest man to begin a first term as president -- three years older than Ronald Reagan. More...
10/08/08
E. coli strain O111
Braylee Beaver, 20 months old, is back to her playful self after a 12-day hospital stay in which she received dialysis treatment and was stuck with so many needles she thought she was being punished, says her father.
Beaver was allegedly sickened by an E. coli bacteria but not E. coli O157:H7, the type that most consumers are aware of. That bacteria drove the recall of almost 30 million pounds of meat last year and was blamed for an outbreak involving fresh spinach in 2006 in which five died. More...
10/08/08
Double arm transplant
A German farmer who received the world's first complete double arm transplant is recovering well and able to perform some basic tasks, though doctors said Wednesday it still could take up to two years before he relearns how to use his hands.
Doctors spent 15 hours on July 25-26 grafting the donor arms onto the body of 54-year-old Karl Merk, who lost his own just below the shoulder in a farm accident involving a combine six years ago.
"These are my arms, and I'm not giving them away again," Merk said at a news conference at the Munich University Clinic where the operation was done. More...
10/07/08
Link between creativity, mood disorders
The works of David Foster Wallace, who committed suicide September 12, are famous for their obsessively observed detail and emotional nuance.
Certain characteristics of his prose -- hypersensitivity and constant rumination, or persistent contemplation -- reflect a pattern of temperament that some psychology researchers say connects mental illness, especially bipolar disorder and depression, with creativity.
There have been more than 20 studies that suggest an increased rate of bipolar and depressive illnesses in highly creative people, says Kay Redfield Jamison, professor of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University and author of the "An Unquiet Mind," a memoir of living with bipolar disorder.
Experts say mental illness does not necessarily cause creativity, nor does creativity necessarily contribute to mental illness, but a certain ruminating personality type may contribute to both. More...
10/07/08
No cold medicines for kids under 4
The voluntary changes came less than a week after federal health officials said they also saw little evidence that the drugs work, but feared that parents would give kids adult medicines if the products were taken off store shelves.
In addition, the drug makers said they will add a warning to their products that parents should not give children antihistamines to make them sleepy. These are allergy-relief medications often found in medicines that combine several ingredients to treat a variety of symptoms. More...
10/07/08
Health Care And The US Presidential Election
Health care is playing a bigger role in this election than in any presidential contest in the past.
"There are now more than 45 million people in America without health insurance for the entire year; almost twice that number lack coverage for at least a month out of the year. Over the last few years, most of the newly uninsured are from the middle class. As unemployment rises, along with gas and food prices, more and more people will be unable to afford health insurance, especially as it gets more expensive each year. The combination of a sagging economy, increasing numbers of uninsured, and a disproportionately affected middle class may make this a tipping point," said Aaron Carroll, M.D, director of the Center for Health Policy and Professionalism Research (CHPPR) and associate professor of pediatrics at the Indiana University School of Medicine. More...
10/07/08
Economy creates more stress
Economic stress is taking its toll on the USA's emotional and physical health, new survey data show: More than half of Americans report irritability or anger, fatigue and sleeplessness, and almost half say they self-medicate by overeating or indulging in unhealthy foods.
Money and the economy topped the list of stressors for at least 80% of those surveyed by the American Psychological Association, which releases its numbers today. Finances now overshadow the more typical daily stressors of work and relationships; 46% report being worried about providing for their family's basic needs. More...
10/06/08
Health Discount Program
Allsup announced today it is offering a new Health Discount Program to help millions of people with disabilities gain access to discounted healthcare and medical services. The program is among the new financial and healthcare-related services Allsup has introduced for people with disabilities to complement the nationwide SSDI representation services it has offered for nearly 25 years. More...
10/06/08
Small diet tricks seem to work
There's no magic bullet for dropping pounds and keeping them off, but there are many practical ways to approach weight loss. Researchers presented hundreds of studies in Phoenix over the weekend at the annual meeting of the Obesity Society, an organization of weight-loss researchers and professionals. USA TODAY's Nanci Hellmich shares some of the findings. More...
10/06/08
Nobel prize for work on AIDS
Three European scientists shared the 2008 Nobel Prize in medicine on Monday 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.
10/06/08
Modern breast cancer survivors
Three boats with fierce dragon heads at the helm cut through the water. Drummers kept time as 20 paddlers in each craft vigorously moved their boats toward the finish line.
The sport dates back thousands of years, but some of these warriors are modern-day breast cancer survivors racing in a dragon boat festival on Lake Peachtree south of Atlanta, Georgia.
"It's like a floating support group," proclaimed Jill Binkley, a physical therapist and two-time breast cancer survivor.
10/03/08
Senate approves financial bailout legislation
Mental health parity legislation was included in the $700 billion bailout of Wall Street firms passed Wednesday by the Senate, the AP/Detroit Free Press reports. The legislation would require group health plans of 51 or more employees to cover mental illnesses at the same level as physical ailments. It does not require the plans to offer such coverage but must be equivalent if they do (Freking, AP/Detroit Free Press, 10/1). Health plans violating the requirement could be subject to federal excise taxes (Pear, New York Times, 10/2). The bailout bill now goes before the House, which earlier this week voted against a previous package that did not include parity legislation (Hulse, New York Times, 10/2). More...
10/03/08
Safety of cold medicines for kids
A top government health official Thursday 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 also said they were uncomfortable with the lack of solid scientific data to support continued use of OTC remedies with youngsters, particularly from ages 2-6. More...
10/03/08
Finale push for mental health bill
Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., has spent years fighting for legislation that would require insurance plans to treat mental health patients on par with those who have physical ailments. No more higher copays or deductibles for the mental health treatments. No more limits on visits to the doctor that differ from the caps for other patients.
Domenici, after six terms, is leaving office this year. One of his final votes was on the mental health legislation he fought so hard for over the years. More...
10/03/08
Factor of the public potty
Charles Gerba, a microbiologist at the University of Arizona who has studied restrooms and other germ-infested environments for more than 20 years, says that because of the care people take when they're about to sit, other parts of the bathroom are much more prone to delivering bacterial infections.
"One of the cleanest things in the bathrooms we find are the toilet seats," Gerba said. "I'd put my fanny on it any time -- unless it's wet; then you'd want to wipe it first." More...
10/02/08
Healthy San Francisco Plan
A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday ruled that San Francisco's universal health care program can continue because it does not violate federal regulation of employee benefit plans, the San Francisco Chronicle reports (Egelko, San Francisco Chronicle, 10/1). The ruling overturned a lower court decision that the Healthy San Francisco plan placed requirements on employers in violation of federal law (Dearen, AP/Houston Chronicle, 9/30). More...
10/02/08
Alzheimer's expert Doraiswamy
P. Murali Doraiswamy, author of the popular new book The Alzheimer's Action Plan, answers readers questions here and in the live forum in the comment section below from 12 to 2 p.m. ET Thursday. Click here to go straight to the comments to ask your question. Murali is also the chief of biological psychiatry and senior fellow at the Center for the Study of aging at Duke University Medical Center. More...
10/02/08
Recall cold medicines for youngsters
WASHINGTON - With a new cold season coming, the government is trying once more to decide what to do about over-the-counter medicines for kids' coughs and sniffles. Doctors question the drugs' benefits and worry about their risks.
Pediatricians are urging the Food and Drug Administration, which scheduled a public hearing Thursday on the issue, to demand a recall of the medicines for children younger than 6. More...
10/02/08
Being a bad patient can save your life
You probably know Evan Handler as Harry Goldenblatt, Charlotte York's husband on HBO's "Sex and the City," or as Charlie Runkle, the agent for David Duchovny's character on "Californication." What you probably don't know is that he's a passionate patient advocate, based on his experience being treated for leukemia in the mid- and late-1980s. More..
10/01/08
Some women never get sick
hey survive cold season without a sniffle. They fly in germ-packed airplanes unscathed. And they somehow avoid stomach bugs that decimate the office. Wish you could be one of these women who never get sick? Try one or -- even better -- all of these seven secrets, and you may join this club come flu season.
For the past three years, Mindy Hardwick, 38, of Lake Stevens, Washington, has dodged all the major bugs while volunteering at schools and a juvenile-detention center. Her secret weapon: a monthly massage. Hardwick even sailed through a move (selling her first house) without the post stress blahs. "It's got to be the massage," she says. "I'm convinced it's like taking medicine." More...
10/01/08
Faster genetic test for flu
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.
The new test was developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Applied Biosystems Inc. of Foster City, Calif. The Food and Drug Administration approved the test kit Tuesday, and state health labs are expected to start using it this fall. More...
10/01/08
Food now gets label of origin
Coming soon to an apple, a pound of hamburger or a head of lettuce near you will be a label that says what country the item came from.
The labeling has been a long time coming. It predates by years concerns about domestic and imported foods after E. coli outbreaks and chemical contamination.
First proposed in 2002, the country-of-origin legislation finally took effect in full on Tuesday. All meats, fish, and fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables must be identified by their country of origin, whether by a sticker, a sign, a placard or a label. Organ meats, such as heart, liver or kidney, aren't included.
The labeling originally was advocated by farmers and ranchers who believed consumers would choose U.S.-grown food. And today, consumer groups applaud the measure, saying it offers valuable information and choice. More...
10/01/08
Daily Health Policy Report
NPR's "Morning Edition" on Tuesday reported on the estimated cost of the health care proposal of Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.). The segment includes comments from Joe Antos, a health policy analyst at the American Enterprise Institute; David Cutler, an economist at Harvard University who helped develop the proposal; and health policy analyst Jeff Goldsmith (Rovner, "Morning Edition," NPR, 9/30). More...
09/30/08
HealthBeat examines state efforts
CQ HealthBeat on Friday examined states' efforts to overhaul their health care systems. According to CQ HealthBeat, the success of Massachusetts' health insurance law in expanding health coverage to hundreds of thousands of state residents, as well as other states' efforts to expand coverage, "shows that it is possible to find compromise on an issue that has divided the two parties for more than a decade. More...
09/30/08
Nicotine gum helps
Nicotine gum doesn't help pregnant smokers quit smoking, but it may help them smoke fewer cigarettes — reducing their risk of having a premature or low-birth-weight baby, according to a small study.
The study is one of the few to examine the effect of nicotine replacement in pregnancy. Nicotine-replacement products haven't been approved for pregnant women, although 12% of expectant mothers smoke. More...
09/30/08
Free malaria treatment in Africa
South Africa - Making tests and treatment for malaria free dramatically increases the number of people who seek treatment for the disease that kills 1 million people a year, an international medical aid group said Tuesday. More...
09/30/08
Down syndrome goes to college
Marget Wincent has never met Sarah Palin, but she hopes the Republican vice presidential candidate will respond to her recent e-mail. Wincent said she encouraged Palin, whose son Trig has Down syndrome, to "get that little guy on skates when he's a couple years old, and enjoy those snowmobile rides." More...
09/29/08
Teen prescription drug abuse
The attorney from Tulsa, Oklahoma, reminisced about his teenage son, Harrison, who died two years ago at the age of 17 after fatally mixing over-the-counter cold medication and someone else's prescription painkillers.
"There's nothing worse as a parent than to see your kid on a gurney being rolled out of your house ... and placed in a hearse," Neal, 61, lamented. "There's nothing worse than that." More...
09/29/08
National campaign to lose weight
On the spot, the 5-foot-6-inch, 240-pound lab researcher joined "Vamos Por Un Million de Kilos" (Let's Lose a Million Kilos), a national campaign to get Mexicans to collectively trim about 2 million pounds.
The project is one of several new efforts to fight obesity in Mexico, which is on track to catch up with the United States within a decade as one of the world's fattest countries, according to the Mexican government. Nearly half of Mexico's 110 million people are overweight, and the number of fat children has climbed 8 percent a year over the last decade. More...
09/29/08
The CDC goes viral
Emily Lastinger came home from preschool on a Wednesday and fell asleep. An after-school nap was so unusual for the perky 3˝-year-old that her parents called the pediatrician.
The next day, the doctor told Joe and Jennifer Lastinger, who was nine months pregnant with the couples' fourth child, that Emily had the flu. The couple, of Grapevine, Texas, weren't especially concerned. "We were like most people we knew," Joe says. "The flu? Neither of us worried much about it." More...
09/29/08
The Application of Patients' Rights
As the voice of the medical technology industry in Europe, Eucomed urges the development of cooperation amongst Member States regarding e-health. Through its e-health solutions the medical technology industry demonstrates both its strength in terms of technology and its understanding of healthcare processes. Medical technology helps in increasing the cost-effectiveness of medical care, to better integrate hospital and primary care and to improve patient quality of life and provide equal access to innovative medical technology. More...
09/26/08
Presidential Nominees' Health Care Proposals
"U.S. Health Care: Health and the U.S. Presidential Campaigns," BMJ: In the article, Barbara Markham Smith, a consultant to Health Management Associates, discusses the implications of the health care proposals of presidential nominees Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.). Markham Smith writes, "At the heart of the differences between the plans are different views of what drives health system costs." She says McCain's plan "reflects the belief that aggregate individual choices drive health spending" and "focuses on shifting costs to individuals as a hammer to drive down demand for health services and limit benefits." Obama's plan "reflects a view that individuals have little control over total health system costs and that large market forces must be harnessed to bring down costs and improve access," according to Markham Smith (Markham Smith, BMJ, 9/23). More...
09/26/08
Chinese baby snacks tainted
HONG KONG (AP) — The Hong Kong government said Friday it has found traces of the industrial chemical melamine in Chinese-made crackers and Heinz baby cereal.
The chemical was found in Heinz DHA+AA Vegetable Formula Cereal and in Silang House-brand steamed potato wasabi crackers produced by Kam Tai Co., the Center for Food Safety said.
It says both products were made in mainland China. More...
09/26/08
Chelation-heart disease study
More than 1,500 heart attack survivors are involved in the research, which tests a controversial treatment called chelation. It is mainly used to treat lead poisoning.
More than two people have died, although the Miami doctor leading the study said the deaths were not a direct result of the treatments. He said he doesn't know exactly how many deaths have occurred.
He also acknowledged that some doctors who had been involved in the study have been disciplined by state boards or have criminal records and have been asked to drop out. More...
09/26/08
Woman loses more than half herself
Angela Stokes had never been overweight as a child.
But she steadily started gaining weight as a teenager due to an under-active thyroid gland. By the time she graduated from college her weight had ballooned and she wore a U.K. dress size 26-28.
"I was 300 pounds, very unwell, very miserable," recalls Stokes. "I ate junk food all the time. I was very closed down emotionally. I had no interest in dieting; I just wanted to eat all the time ... that was like my comfort in life." More...
09/25/08
Increasing Health Care Value
Finding better ways to deliver healthcare to patients is key to ensuring that Medicare is able to meet the needs of the nation's baby boomers according to a new paper by Geisinger Health System published in Health Affairs. More...
09/25/08
Humanitarian concerns
If Lance Armstrong finishes in the pack during a cyclo-cross race sometime this winter — or even at Australia's Tour Down Under in January — the seven-time Tour de France winner won't mind. Well, at least not too much.
In an interview with USA TODAY on Wednesday at the Clinton Global Initiative, Armstrong said he's not worried about "taking a nick out of my legacy" if it helps his global campaign against cancer. More...
09/25/08
Embracing generic drugs
Seniors who switch between low-cost generic drugs and the original products based on who's footing the bill are likely driving up the cost of the government's Medicare drug plan, according to a new study. More...
09/25/08
Save money on drugs and doctors
Most of us know how to save money on groceries: You clip coupons, compare prices at different supermarkets and jump on good sales. But saving money on health care costs? That's much more complicated. Here are six Web sites to help you slash how much you're paying for drugs, dentists, doctors and hospitals. More...
09/24/08
Physician panel to review rescissions
Starting on Thursday, Aetna will let an independent panel of physicians decide whether to rescind health insurance policies for sick plan members suspected of submitting false or incomplete information on their applications, the Los Angeles Times reports. The move comes amid recent scrutiny of alleged inappropriate policy rescissions in several states. In California, state regulators have won more than $20 million in settlements with five insurers over the practice, and Congress in July began an investigation into rescissions (Los Angeles Times, 9/23). Regulators in California, Connecticut and other states say some companies have used retroactive policy rescissions as a way to avoid paying costly medical bills when a plan member gets sick (Levick, Hartford Courant, 9/23). More...
09/24/08
Stem-cell 'reset' to fix immune system
First Bari Martz's fingers turned blue. Then she started gasping for breath, and her joints stiffened so that she couldn't even open her hands. Doctors diagnosed scleroderma, part of an insidious family of diseases where the immune system attacks a patient's own body, sometimes enough to kill.
Worsening rapidly, the Florida woman took a gamble: Doctors stored stem cells from her blood and then wiped out her faulty immune system. Her reinfused stem cells seem to have let a healthy new immune system take root, stopping more damage and, nearly two years later, letting her lungs and joints heal enough for better function. More...
09/24/08
Insurance costs grow more gradually
The 5 percent increase was comparable to last year's uptick. Overall, premiums for family coverage increased to $12,680 and premiums for single coverage increased to $4,704, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research and Educational Trust. Employers pick up, on average, about three-quarters of that cost.
Over the past decade, insurance premiums have grown much more quickly than wages and inflation. That wasn't the case this year. But to help slow the costs of health insurance, companies are increasingly offering coverage that requires their workers to pay more of their medical expenses before the insurance will kick in. More...
09/24/08
America's healthiest schools
The average American child spends nearly 12,000 hours in school, from kindergarten through 12th grade. That's a big chunk of time during which he or she can develop good (or bad) health habits.
Happily, schools today are recognizing the many benefits of a healthy head start -- and Health magazine wants to recognize the ones that are doing an A+ job. To find the health stars in America's vast public school universe, we asked education officials in every state for their nominations; we scored those based on how they measured up to some tough criteria (see How we chose our winners, and the semifinalists were ranked by our panel of experts (at right). Congratulations to all of the inspiring winners! More...
09/23/08
McCain on health insurance
Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) over the weekend criticized Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) for an article that McCain wrote about the health insurance market in an "obscure journal," the Washington Post reports.
In the article -- which appeared in the September/October issue of Contingencies, a journal published by the American Association of Actuaries -- McCain cited the need to increase competition in the health insurance market to expand coverage and reduce costs. McCain wrote, "Opening up the health insurance market to more vigorous nationwide competition, as we have done over the last decade in banking, would provide more choices of innovative products less burdened by the worst excesses of state-based regulation." More...
09/23/08
Dietary supplements
Serious side effects from the use of food supplements resulted in 604 "adverse-event" reports — a list that includes at least five deaths — through the first six months that such accounts have been required by law.
The Office of Nutritional Products, Labeling and Dietary Supplements in the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition acknowledged receiving 368 mandatory reports from supplement manufacturers and 236 reports from consumers or health care professionals. More...
09/23/08
Resetting immune system
First Bari Martz's fingers turned blue. Then she started gasping for breath, and her joints stiffened so that she couldn't even open her hands. Doctors diagnosed scleroderma, part of an insidious family of diseases where the immune system attacks a patient's own body, sometimes enough to kill.
Worsening rapidly, the Florida woman took a gamble: Doctors stored stem cells from her blood and then wiped out her faulty immune system. Her reinfused stem cells seem to have let a healthy new immune system take root, stopping more damage and, nearly two years later, letting her lungs and joints heal enough for better function. More...
09/23/08
Satisfy your cravings
Rather than berate your lack of willpower, once in a while, indulge yourself. In a 2007 Tufts University study of healthy women, 91 percent reported having food cravings (which the researchers define as an intense desire to eat a specific food). In other words, cravings are common, and the key to successful weight management, experts say, is learning to address cravings rather than always deny them.
"You first have to accept that having cravings is normal, but you don't have to give in to every one," says Tufts study coauthor Susan Roberts, PhD. "The people in our research who manage their weight the best are not those who crave foods less often but those who give in some of the time." More...
09/22/08
Accident-proof your kids
I've made my share of safety mistakes -- like leaving change on a hotel nightstand where my 3-year-old son Nate could reach it. He swallowed a penny and we spent five hours in the local ER. (He passed it without harm the next day.) That was the last time I've let loose coinage linger, but I'm bound for other blunders down the road -- all moms are.
"Nobody can watch a child at every moment," says Robert Sege, M.D., a professor of pediatrics at the Boston University School of Medicine. But that doesn't mean it hurts to step up your game. Check out these seven situations that can turn frightening in a flash -- and learn how to keep them as uneventful as possible. More...
09/22/08
Heal the body and mind
Jazzman Stanley Jordan's intuition that music could be a healing force traces back to his teen years. He says he was sick with the flu and spent an entire day surrounded by song — and recovered nearly instantly.
Now, Jordan, 49, is taking his music talents beyond entertainment and into the realm of healing, inspiration and self-esteem. More...
09/22/08
China's food safety chief quits
BEIJING - The head of the Chinese agency that monitors food and product safety has resigned, state media announced Monday, pushed out by a scandal over tainted baby formula that killed four babies and sickened nearly 53,000.
Beijing authorities also said that China's biggest producer of powdered milk had known for months that its baby formula was tainted with the industrial chemical melamine. There were complaints about infant formula sold by the Sanlu Group Co. as early as December, 2007, China Central Television reported, citing an investigation by the State Council, China's Cabinet.
09/22/08
State ballot Measures related to health care
Stateline.org on Wednesday highlighted a number of health care measures that will appear on state ballots in November. According to stateline.org, "Experts say it's the first time that voters are being asked to tackle the country's fractured health care system at the ballot box."
In Arizona, voters will consider the "Freedom of Choice in Health Care" measure, under which lawmakers could not pass legislation that would require state residents to participate in public health care programs. In Colorado, voters will consider a measure that would require businesses with more than 20 employees to offer health insurance to workers. Montana voters will consider a measure that would expand SCHIP and Medicaid (Prah, Stateline.org, 9/17).
09/19/08
When to take a sleeping pill
Why do women have such trouble sleeping? The reasons are as numerous as the passel of pills on the market: anxiety, depression, chronic illness, restless legs syndrome, sleep apnea, everyday exhaustion ... the list goes on and on. No wonder so many sleep aids are available.
But sleeping pills, while often quite helpful, are largely misunderstood. Many stop working after a few hours, for instance, and most should never be mixed with other meds. So if you take one of these drugs now -- or plan to in the future -- there are important questions you need to ask. Here, the answers. More...
09/19/08
Vaccines are safe, docs say
Thursday's message comes from the Chicago-based American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and 20 more of the nation's most influential health-related groups.
Their concern stems from recent measles outbreaks in several U.S. cities. Last month, health officials said 131 children had gotten the measles so far this year — the highest number in more than a decade. Nearly half of the cases involved children whose parents rejected vaccination and many of the cases were traced to outbreaks overseas. More...
09/19/08
Public health emergency
A 30-year-old man falls 25 feet from a cherry picker, smacking his head and breaking his leg so badly that bone pokes through his thigh. A trauma team at Texas Medical Center's Memorial Hermann Hospital crowds around him.
Nearby, a trauma team prepares for a patient arriving by helicopter who was hit in the head by a falling tree.
It is noon Thursday, five days after Hurricane Ike. Every bed in the emergency department is full. Nearly every 20 minutes, a helicopter carrying another critically ill person lands on the roof.
There are at least 10 people with severe stomach ailments, a woman who sliced her thigh open with a chain saw, three people awaiting emergency dialysis, two broken legs, a woman with pregnancy complications who arrived in a Black Hawk helicopter and one child with asthma. Another 13 people sit in the waiting room. More..
09/19/08
Audience supports universal health coverage
Intelligence Squared U.S., the Oxford style debate series sponsored by The Rosenkranz Foundation, announced the results of the first debate of its Fall 2008 season on the motion, "Universal health coverage should be the federal government's responsibility." A sold out audience at Rockefeller University's Caspary Auditorium, New York City voted 58% for the motion and 34% against at the conclusion of the debate. 8% were undecided. More...
09/18/08
'Virtual' colonoscopies
"Virtual" colonoscopies are about as reliable as more invasive procedures for finding cancer and polyps, according to the largest study of its kind, published in today's New England Journal of Medicine.
The study of 2,600 adults found that virtual exams — which use CT scans, or computed tomography — found 90% of patients with cancer or polyps, which are raised growths that sometimes become malignant. The study, performed at 15 centers around the country, confirms the results of smaller trials. More...
09/18/08
Genetically engineered animals
The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday a government review will ensure that such animals are safe to eat. Genetically engineered animals are created when scientists insert a gene from one species of animal into the DNA of another animal to reprogam some of its characteristics. For example, fish could be made to grow faster, or hens could be made to lay heart-healthier eggs. More..
09/18/08
Is boutique medicine worth the price?
The doctors said they'd be cutting their practices down from around 2,500 patients to 600 patients. Those willing to pay the annual fee were promised primo service in return: The doctor's cell phone and/or pager number; "same day or next day appointments that start on time and last as long as needed" and a "full, thorough, comprehensive physical examination that is typically not given in most traditional primary care practices."
"Is it worth it?" my friends asked. "Should I spend the extra money, or should I go find myself another doctor?" More...
09/18/08
Personal expenses for health care
Farmers and ranchers on average spend about twice as much on health care than non-farmers, according to a report released on Tuesday by The Access Project, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. The report was based on a 2007 survey of 2,017 noncorporate farm and ranch operators in Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota (Yee, Minneapolis Star Tribune, 9/16). The survey, which was sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, had an 80% response rate (AP/Lincoln Journal Star, 9/16). More...
09/17/08
When to back off, when to step in
Many parents today insert themselves into even the most minute activities in their children's lives, a phenomenon that's known as "helicopter parenting."
But two child experts told CNN that parents should aim to empower their children to do things on their own. More...
09/17/08
Plastic linked with health risks
A Food and Drug Administration advisory committee met as a major study linked bisphenol A to possible risks of heart disease and diabetes. The scientific debate could drag on for years.
"Right now, our tentative conclusion is that it's safe, so we're not recommending any change in habits," said Laura Tarantino, head of the FDA's office of food additive safety. But she acknowledged, "there are a number of things people can do to lower their exposure." More...
09/17/08
TV also sends health messages
The television medical drama Grey's Anatomy apparently has more to offer than Patrick Dempsey's rakish smile and a good cry. A new survey reports watching the show also may increase a viewer's health smarts.
Research released Tuesday by the Kaiser Family Foundation indicates many people who tune in to prime time's top-rated shows remember health messages in episodes. More...
09/17/08
Bush promotes use of health savings accounts
During a forum about health savings accounts on Friday, President Bush promoted expanded use of HSAs and raised concerns that the U.S. health care system is "drifting toward nationalization," the Oklahoman reports. The forum was held at the Presbyterian Health Foundation Research Park Conference Center in Oklahoma. More...
09/16/08
How to eat out with allergies
The Zinnas took part in Worry Free Dinners, a series of monthly meals for people with food allergies. Sunday's 16-person barbecue -- complete with ribs, chicken, burgers and brownies -- was the first event aimed directly at parents and children affected by food allergies.
"When you're going into a restaurant environment, you're putting your child's safety and livelihood into other hands," Tara Zinna said. At the Worry Free Dinners event, "not only was the food phenomenal, but it's wonderful to have an opportunity to interact with other families who are dealing with similar issues." More...
09/16/08
Anti-nausea patch for chemo
The Food and Drug Administration said Monday it has approved the first anti-nausea patch for chemotherapy patients, intended to provide relief for up to five days. The patch, called Sancuso, is worn on the arm and delivers a widely used anti-nausea medicine, known as granisetron, through the skin. It is expected to be available by the end of the year.
"It will be another way that we can address nausea and vomiting, coming from a route that we haven't had before," said nurse practitioner Barbara Rogers, who specializes in cancer treatment. "The patch is a nice option." More...
09/16/08
Plastic linked to human heart disease
For the first time, a large, population-based study links a chemical in plastic baby bottles to heart disease and diabetes in humans.
Some scientists say the study — released today to coincide with a Food and Drug Administration meeting — shows that bisphenol A, or BPA, is too dangerous to allow in consumer products, especially those used by babies and pregnant women. More...
09/16/08
Canceled health insurance policies in California
Health Net on Thursday agreed to reinstate coverage for 926 former members in California whose policies were canceled after they filed claims and to pay $3.6 million in fines, the Los Angeles Times reports. The company also will pay as much as about $14 million to reimburse expenses for medically necessary care that would have been covered had the policies not been canceled. More...
09/15/08
Federal long-term care
Although the "good news" is that U.S. residents are living longer, the "bad news" is that "our nation's financial and health care systems are woefully unprepared for them" and "neither presidential candidate seems to be giving it much thought," Stuart Shapiro, president of the Pennsylvania Health Care Association, writes in a Philadelphia Inquirer opinion piece. More...
09/15/08
More hospitals offer alternative
When nurses tried to insert an IV into patient Linda Aron's hand, she was so anxious over the impending operation to fix her acid reflux that they simply had to stop.
Instead of continuing to poke and prod Aron, nurses at Grinnell (Iowa) Regional Medical Center called in a massage therapist to rub her shoulders and arms to help her relax. Within 10 minutes, Aron had an IV in place. More...
09/15/08
Leg pain can signal
"It's a silent killer. It's hard to diagnose," said acting Surgeon General Dr. Steven Galson, who announced the new campaign Monday. "I don't think most people understand that this is a serious medical problem or what can be done to prevent it."
At issue are clots with cumbersome names: A deep vein thrombosis, or DVT, forms in large veins, usually a leg or the groin. It can quickly kill if it moves up to the lungs, where it goes by the name pulmonary embolism, or PE. More...
09/15/08
Teen drivers with ADD
Getting a driver's license is a rite of passage for many teenagers, but the process was a bit more challenging for 19-year-old Mulligan of Acworth, Georgia. She has attention deficit disorder.
When she gets behind the wheel, she said, "Sometimes my mind wanders off."
She's not alone. Researchers reported driving can be a serious problem for teens with ADD and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Motor vehicle accidents already are the leading cause of death among teenagers in the U.S., according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Experts such as Russell Barkley say ADD and ADHD compound the problem. More...
09/12/08
Proposals of major presidential candidates
The Akron Beacon Journal on Thursday examined the health care proposals of Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) and Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.). According to the Beacon Journal, although both candidates agree that too many people are uninsured and that health care costs are too high, they "agree on little else." More...
09/12/08
Post-Sept. 11 disorder
NEW YORK (AP) — New data from a public registry that tracks health effects of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks suggest that up to 70,000 people developed post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the terror attacks.
The new analysis released Wednesday from the World Trade Center Health Registry provides the most comprehensive picture yet of the health of people who were affected by the attacks. Participants agreed to be tracked for up to 20 years after 2001. More...
09/12/08
Drugs affect more drinking water
Testing prompted by an Associated Press story that revealed trace amounts of pharmaceuticals in drinking water supplies has shown that more Americans are affected by the problem than previously thought — at least 46 million.
That's up from 41 million people reported by the AP in March as part of an investigation into the presence of pharmaceuticals in the nation's waterways.
The AP stories prompted federal and local legislative hearings, brought about calls for mandatory testing and disclosure, and led officials in at least 27 additional metropolitan areas to analyze their drinking water. Positive tests were reported in 17 cases, including Reno, Nev., Savannah, Ga., Colorado Springs, Colo., and Huntsville, Ala. Results are pending in three others. More...
09/12/08
Why infants still die from SIDS
When Melissa and Rudy Haberzettl's son Jacob was born in November 2006, he was perfect in every way -- full-term, healthy weight, and a champion eater. Like many new moms, Melissa was determined to follow doctor's orders: She breastfed Jake exclusively, put him to sleep on his back, never exposed him to cigarette smoke, and kept soft toys and bedding out of his crib. And Jake thrived. "He was such a happy baby, always looking around and cooing," remembers the Colorado Springs, Colorado, mom. More...
09/11/08
Deals for workers who travel
The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday examined how some employers "are looking to take advantage of the geographical variations in quality and cost of health care within the U.S.," and others are "leveraging deals they've struck with foreign hospitals in order to secure better rates with U.S. hospitals." Some employers are offering incentives to workers who agree to travel within the U.S. for care, including no out-of-pocket costs, which can save workers thousands of dollars, as well as money for travel expenses and access to concierge services, the Journal reports. Most of these agreements are focused on surgical procedures, such as hip and knee replacements and cardiac bypasses. More...
09/11/08
Options to knee surgery
Hundreds of thousands of people go under the knife each year for arthroscopic knee surgery to treat osteoarthritis, but they may do as well without surgery, suggests a study in today's New England Journal of Medicine.
Research by Brian Feagan, director of the Robarts Clinical Trials at the University of Western Ontario in London, Canada, and colleagues suggest arthritic knees benefit equally from less invasive treatments, including medication and physical therapy. More...
09/11/08
Post-9/11 stress disorder
The estimate, released Wednesday by New York City's Department of Health, is based on an analysis of the health of 71,437 people who enrolled in the World Trade Center Health Registry. They agreed to be tracked for up to 20 years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, and the study was based on answers they volunteered about their health two and three years after the attack.
Of the estimated 400,000 people believed to have been heavily exposed to pollution from the disaster, data suggests that 35,000 to 70,000 people developed PTSD and 3,800 to 12,600 may have developed asthma, city health officials said. More...
09/11/08
How to talk to your doctor
Christopher was just a few days old and had a rare blood infection and fungal meningitis, a brain infection.
"I could tell in their eyes they had no hope for my son," Gorman said. "They told me to prepare for his death. They told me he might not make it through the night." More...
09/09/08
Candidates discuss proposals for health care
Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) and Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) on Saturday appeared via satellite at an AARP convention in Washington, D.C., and spoke about health care and other issues that affect seniors, the Washington Post reports.
In his comments, Obama said that McCain would abandon seniors economically and tax their health benefits. He said, "Job shipped overseas? Tough luck. Pension disappeared? That's the breaks. No health care? The emergency room will fix it. You're on your own." More...
09/09/08
Help adults control diabetes
New research shows that adults with type 1 diabetes who use continuous glucose monitoring devices to help manage their disease control their blood sugar better.
The initial results of the multicenter clinical trial paid for by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation were presented Monday during the European Association for the Study of Diabetes' annual meeting in Rome. Portions of the study will be published in October in The New England More...
09/09/08
Got a fat gene?
CHICAGO (AP — Maybe you CAN blame being fat on your genes. But there's a way to overcome that family history — just get three to four hours of moderate activity a day. Sound pretty daunting? Not for the Amish of Lancaster County, Pa., who were the focus of a new study on a common genetic variation that makes people more likely to gain weight. It turns out the variant's effects can be blocked with physical activity — lots of it.
Scientists believe about 30 percent of white people of European ancestry have this variant, including the Amish, and that may partly explain why so many people are overweight. More..
09/09/08
Olympic swimmer
"Getting to the Olympics was, has always been, my swimming dream since I was 8 or 9 years old. You know, right after I started swimming it was, 'I want to make an Olympic team. That's where I want to be'."
In June, a week before the qualifying round of the Olympics he was told he had testicular cancer. "My initial reaction was probably anger more than anything else," he says. "I'm used to being in control of everything. I'm in control of how I train, how I race and then to all of a sudden have that control ripped away from me was tough." More...
09/08/08
Colon cancer patients
Only about 40 percent of the 4,426 older patients in the study got all the doctor visits, blood tests and the colonoscopy advised in the three years after cancer surgery, according to the results released Monday by the journal Cancer.
While nearly all made the doctor visits and almost three-quarters got a colonoscopy, many didn't get the blood tests that can signal a return of colon cancer, according to the researchers at University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland. More...
09/08/08
Sex ed in schools
Another pregnant teenager in the limelight has focused new attention on just how much teens know about sex and when they know it.
This pregnant teen, of course, is the 17-year-old daughter of Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, and the pregnancy has reignited the national debate over two different approaches to sex education: abstinence-only vs. comprehensive. But as it turns out, there's no systematic tracking of what U.S. schools are teaching kids about sex — and either way, there seems to be little connection between what they're taught and their behaviors, researchers say.
More...
09/08/08
Grandparents take on parenthood
Foster, 54, of Stone Mountain, Georgia, doesn't just see the kids on weekends and holidays. They live with her full time.
Foster is one of 2.5 million grandparents around the United States who are the primary caregivers for their grandchildren.
In Foster's case, she's a single parent, raising four grandkids under age 19. "It has not been a picnic all the time," Foster said. "It's been hard."
Hard may be an understatement, according to Nadine Kaslow, chief psychologist for Grady Health System in Atlanta, Georgia.
"There are many challenges for grandparents taking on grandchildren," Kaslow said. "Many grandparents are older when they take on grandchildren, so you may not have the energy you had as a parent in your 20s and 30s to be running around after toddlers." More...
09/08/08
Kaiser daily health policy report
While mainstream news coverage is still a primary source of information for the latest in policy debates and the health care marketplace, online blogs have become a significant part of the media landscape, often presenting new perspectives on policy issues and drawing attention to under-reported topics. To provide complete coverage of health policy issues, the Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report offers readers a window into the world of blogs in a roundup of health policy-related blog posts. "Blog Watch," published on Tuesdays and Fridays, tracks a wide range of blogs, providing a brief description and relevant links for highlighted posts. More...
09/05/08
Health care in presidential election
Former Republican presidential candidate and Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee on Tuesday during a forum about obesity expressed disappointment that the party has not focused more on health care in the presidential election, The Hill reports. According to Huckabee, "speech gurus" at the Republican National Convention recommended that he remove language about health care from his planned convention speech. However, Huckabee also pointed out "that time constraints restricted his speech to about half the size of his draft," according to The Hill. More....
09/05/08
'Good News' on marriage
Married couples in their later years often show a great deal of affection,says best-selling author Maggie Scarf, 77, who has spent more than 30 years studying relationships.
"There's intimacy.There is pleasure in each other's company. They say to each other, 'I love you more than ever.' " Scarf's new book is September Songs: The Good News About Marriage in the Later Years, out today. She has been married for 55 years to Herb Scarf, 78, a Yale professor. More...
09/05/08
Gene domino effect behind brain
Scientists have mapped the cascade of genetic changes that turn normal cells in the brain and pancreas into two of the most lethal cancers. The result points to a new approach for fighting tumors and maybe even catching them sooner. Genes blamed for one person's brain tumor were different from the culprits for the next patient, making the puzzle of cancer genetics even more complicated.
But Friday's research also found that clusters of seemingly disparate genes all work along the same pathways. So instead of today's hunt for drugs that target a single gene, the idea is to target entire pathways that most patients share. Think of delivering the mail to a single box at the end of the cul-de-sac instead of at every doorstep. More...
09/05/08
When sex becomes an addiction
Sex addiction, also called compulsive sexual behavior, is like a gambling compulsion or alcoholism: It's about devoting your free time to a behavior that you cannot stop, even if you damage relationships or prompt other negative consequences. That could mean extensively using pornography, having affairs, sleeping with prostitutes, and masturbating excessively, to the point where such behaviors get out of control.
If you think it's just about primal desire, think again. For many addicts, sex becomes a way to numb out painful feelings, kill time or stop feeling lonely, says Kelly McDaniel, licensed professional counselor in San Antonio, Texas, and author of "Ready to Heal: Women Facing Love, Sex and Relationship Addiction." More...
09/04/08
Simple ways to save a life
Even if you don't have first aid training, there are simple things everyone can learn to do in emergency situations. "You really could save somebody's life," says Dr. Assaad Sayah, chief of emergency medicine at the Cambridge Health Alliance in Massachusetts.
Think of it as "first aid for idiots" -- five things to remember if you otherwise know nothing about first aid.
More...
09/04/08
Workers to pay more for health care
On average, health care costs will go up by an estimated 5.7 percent next year for both workers and their employers, the study found. That repeats this year's 5.7 percent hike and a 6.1 percent jump in 2007.
The growth of health care costs has hovered at around 6 percent since 2005, according to Mercer. While that's down from the double-digit growth in previous years, it's still moving at a faster clip than inflation or workers wages.
More...
09/04/08
Couples improve with age
Married couples in their later years often show a great deal of affection,says best-selling author Maggie Scarf, 77, who has spent more than 30 years studying relationships.
"There's intimacy.There is pleasure in each other's company. They say to each other, 'I loveyou more than ever.' " Scarf's new book is September Songs: The Good News About Marriage in the Later Years, out today. She has been married for 55 years to Herb Scarf, 78, a Yale professor.
They have three daughters. Scarf shares her insights with USA TODAY. More...
09/04/08
On-Site health care services for workers
The Philadelphia Inquirer on Wednesday examined how workplace-based health care centers are "quickly gaining popularity among large employers around the country" who consider them "an attractive perk for employees, but also a way to increase worker productivity and hold down health costs by treating problems early and efficiently." According to the Inquirer, businesses and manufacturers "historically had doctors or nurses around to treat injuries or give drug tests," but they increasingly are adopting "a new template that offers work-site primary care plus preventive services such as vaccines, health screenings and weight-loss counseling." More...
09/03/08
Paid family leave insurance program
An insurance program exists in California that allows parents of children with special health needs to take paid family leave. However, according to a paper published in the September 3 issue of JAMA, few people are aware of the program and only 5% of those surveyed have used the program.
Some 13 to 17 percent of children in the United States are considered chronically ill or have special health care needs. Children with illnesses such as cerebral palsy, chronic kidney failure, congenital heart diseases, cystic fibrosis, degenerative neurological disorders and malignancies fall into this category.
More...
09/03/08
Early Alzheimer's diagnosis
Bob Blackwell can rattle off the names of every country in Europe, even the obscure little islands, but most days he can't remember his computer password or his wife, Carol's, cellphone number.
The 30-year CIA veteran recalls trips to the U.S.S.R. on Air Force One with Vice President George H. W. Bush and meetings with Presidents Carter and Reagan, but he occasionally forgets which exit to take on the way home.
More...
09/03/08
Modest brain test benefit
Brisk walking led to slight improvements on mental tests for older people with memory problems in what is billed as the first rigorous test of exercise on the aging brain. The results from the small Australian study were only modest. But they back up observational studies showing potential mental benefits from physical activity.
he effects of exercise were at least as good, if not better, than those seen with drugs approved to aid mental function in Alzheimer's disease, according to experts not involved in the study. More...
09/03/08
High-profile teen pregnancies
Amid ripples of publicity, 17-year-old television star (and sister of Britney) Jamie Lynn Spears gave birth in June to a daughter, Maddie Briann. That same month, pregnancies of numerous students at Gloucester High School in Massachusetts were discovered, causing a huge stir in the community and across the country.
The overall teen birth rate rose slightly in 2006 after steadily declining since 1991, according to the latest figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The report shows the birth rate for teenagers ages 15-19 rose 3 percent between 2005 and 2006. More...
09/02/08
How to survive storm's cleanup
His building was about the only thing left unscathed -- the city felt as if it had been thrown back into the 18th century, Tyree recalls. There was no garbage pickup or mail delivery, no stores open and -- scariest of all, to Tyree -- nobody to call if you needed help.
Gulf Coast residents returning after Hurricane Gustav probably will have an easier time than Tyree did three years ago -- wind and water damage appear to be much less than from Katrina -- but they still face both challenges and dangers during their rebuilding efforts. More...
09/02/08
Smoking riskier to women's hearts
In fact, women who smoke have heart attacks nearly 14 years earlier than women who don't smoke, Norwegian doctors reported in a study presented to the European Society of Cardiology. For men, the gap is not so dramatic; male smokers have heart attacks about six years earlier than men who don't smoke.
"This is not a minor difference," said Dr. Silvia Priori, a cardiologist at the Scientific Institute in Pavia, Italy. "Women need to realize they are losing much more than men when they smoke," she said. Priori was not connected to the research. More...
09/02/08
Animals add love
The pitter-patter of little feet is an increasingly common sound at nursing homes and senior-living residences.
Dogs, cats and rabbits are roaming the halls, lounging about on common-area sofas and warming the beds at a growing number of residences and extended-care facilities. Most of the creatures are "resident pets" or "community pets" rescued from shelters to live in the facility full time and spread their love to all who reside there. Some are animals that residents brought with them. More...
09/02/08
Hurricane Gustav public health actions
HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt declared a public health emergency on Sunday, August 31, to ensure that individuals, including those enrolled in Medicare, Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), in Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi and Alabama continue to receive their health care items and services.
More...
09/01/08
Some uninsured to stop medications
The Jackson Clarion-Ledger on Wednesday examined how some U.S. residents who cannot afford health insurance are reducing the amount of medications they take or cutting doses, as well as seeing the doctor less frequently, to save money. A survey conducted by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners showed that 11% have skipped doses or stopped taking medications altogether because of financial reasons and that 22% have reduced doctor visits. More...
09/01/08
Cholera outbreak kills
Four people have died of cholera and another 100 are infected by an outbreak of the disease in Iran, a top health official said Saturday.
The daily Hambastegi quoted Deputy Health Minister Mohammad Mahdi Gooya saying that the outbreak has been reported in the capital Tehran and five other provinces in central, western and southern Iran.
Health Minister Kamran Bagheri Lankarani said two of the dead were Afghan nationals, according to the official IRNA news agency, adding that a lack of sanitation and unhealthy water pumped from wells led to the cholera outbreak. More...
09/01/08
Suicide risks studied in drugs
Both are now dead, hanging victims driven to suicide, their families believe, when drugs prescribed to relieve physical symptoms upset their mental and emotional balance.
Federal drug regulators are investigating to see if the families could be right.
Until now, the Food and Drug Administration's attention to the suicide risks of medications has focused on psychiatric drugs, such as antidepressants prescribed to youngsters. But this year, officials unexpectedly broadened their concerns to include a medication for asthma, drugs for controlling seizures and even one for quitting smoking. Those are medical conditions not usually associated with psychiatric disorders. More...
09/01/08
Katrina to prep for Gustav
At Tulane Medical Center, evacuations began early Sunday as a long line of ambulances took patients to the airport. From there, they were flown to hospitals outside the zone threatened by Gustav. Only the sickest patients will remain at the hospital.
During Katrina, 1,600 people sheltered at the Tulane hospital. This time, only 450 patients, staff and family members are expected to remain. Patients are allowed one family member to stay with them. More...
08/29/08
More freedom in health insurance market
The "good news" from Tuesday's Census Bureau report was that the number of U.S. residents with insurance increased by 3.6 million in 2007, but the "bad news is that nearly three million of them got their coverage through government programs," according to a Wall Street Journal opinion piece by Galen Institute President Grace-Marie Turner. Turner states, "The slide toward a government-dominated taxpayer-supported health sector will continue" until uninsured U.S. residents "are given more opportunities to buy private coverage." More...
08/29/08
Weight-loss camps invite families
PAUL SMITHS, N.Y. — It took Kelsey Galer four weeks at a weight-loss camp to lose 9 pounds. It took her dad just three days to start acting like a "dork."
"He wears his pedometer around all the time," said Galer. "He's just really into it with the family workshop he went to."
Her weight-loss camp and others are inviting mom, dad and siblings to share the camp experience so they can help campers stay motivated when they return home where unhealthy temptations and habits lurk. More...
08/29/08
Salmonella outbreak over
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration said they found strong evidence to implicate jalapeno and serrano peppers, and a farm in Mexico, in the largest outbreak of foodborne illness in a decade. Investigators were unable to clear domestic and imported tomatoes, however, although the evidence against tomatoes is weaker.
The FDA also lifted its warning that consumers avoid eating jalapeno and serrano peppers from Mexico. But officials pointedly said that doesn't guarantee another such outbreak can be prevented. More...
08/29/08
Walk off the belly fat
The three women below each walked off at least 35 pounds, much of it around the middle, using one of these secret weapons: plyometrics, hills, or intervals. The strategies also strengthened their legs more quickly than plain old walking sessions, so they could walk longer and faster to burn more calories.
After six weeks of walking four to six times a week, you will feel stronger and look slimmer where it counts. Health.com: Walk a little, live a lot (longer) More...
08/28/08
Hospitals require insured patients
The South Florida Sun-Sentinel on Tuesday examined how across the U.S., "some insured patients are being asked by hospitals to pay larger portions of their bills upfront -- and sometimes hospitals will not do the procedures until they get their copayments." Although hospitals must provide emergency treatment without receiving upfront payment, elective or scheduled procedures, such as angioplasty or chemotherapy, "can be withheld depending on a patient's ability to pay," according to the Sun-Sentinel. More...
08/28/08
Salmonella outbreak
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say the salmonella outbreak that sickened more than 1,440 people appears to be over.
A joint investigation by CDC and the Food and Drug Administration found strong evidence that jalapeno peppers were a major carrier of the bacteria, and that serrano peppers were also a carrier. The salmonella strain that caused the outbreak was traced back to a produce distribution center in Texas, and to a farm in Mexico that grew peppers. More...
08/28/08
Cells change identity
The cell identity switch turned ordinary pancreas cells into the rarer type that churns out insulin, essential for preventing diabetes. But its implications go beyond diabetes to a host of possibilities, scientists said.
It's the second advance in about a year that suggests that someday doctors might be able to use a patient's own cells to treat disease or injury without turning to stem cells taken from embryos. More..
08/28/08
Medical debt
One evening last spring, Alex Trim was knocked unconscious when a car hit his bike and he slammed into the windshield. Three hours, many stitches and seven CT scans later, Alex was discharged in pretty good shape.
About a month later, the bill arrived in the mail. "I didn't have a clue you could go into $15,000 debt in one night," said Alex's father, Callvin Trim. "When I saw that bill, I was just kind of numb." More...
08/27/08
New HHS regulation
HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt's most recent posting on his professional blog about the proposed regulation reflects that he "continues to either misunderstand or deliberately misrepresent the certification issue as a primary argument for the introduction of the proposed regulations," the blog post says. According to the entry, the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the certifying organization for ob/gyns, has "clearly stated since at least March of this year that refusal to perform or refer for abortion would have no bearing on issuance or renewal of provider certification." The blog references a letter sent on Aug. 22 by ABOG to Leavitt in response to the proposed regulation. The letter challenges Leavitt to provide any evidence that this is a real justification for the regulation, which he has "thus far failed to provide" ("Our Bodies Ourselves," 8/25). More...
08/27/08
Toxins in some herbal medicines
Traditional herbal supplements used by thousands of Americans may contain dangerously high levels of lead and other toxins, a study shows.
Nearly 21% of Ayurvedic medicines — plant-based products used in India for thousands of years to promote health — actually contain lead, mercury or arsenic, according to a study in today's Journal of the American Medical Association. More...
08/27/08
New attack ad on TV
A new TV commercial shows kids eating hot dogs in a school cafeteria and one little boy's haunting lament: "I was dumbfounded when the doctor told me I have late-stage colon cancer."
It's a startling revelation in an ad that vilifies one of America's most beloved, if maligned, foods, while stoking fears about a dreaded disease.
More...
08/27/08
Is your kid really gifted?
Did your child walk and talk early? Does she have a brain like a sponge? Scribble magnificently? Love learning? Ask questions that leave you marveling (and scrambling to Google an answer)?
Wow, clearly she's a genius!
Or, um, maybe not.
"Gifted" has become one of the most tossed-about words in the parenting lexicon. Unfortunately -- sorry, but let's get this out of the way right up front -- it's also one of the most misused. More...
08/26/08
Costs reduced by California tobacco control
Tobacco control programs can reduce smoking, and when successful, they reduce personal health care costs, according to a study released on August 25, 2008 in the open-access journal PLoS Medicine.
The study specifically tracks the California Tobacco Control Program, which was established in 1989 with the goal of changing social norms surrounding tobacco use. Rather than focusing on adolescents, the program targeted adult users, with the idea that change in young people can be enabled by changes in the actions of their role models.
More...
08/26/08
Society's road map for behavior
It's a rough road to manhood for young guys, who more than ever are finding themselves confounded and conflicted about what "masculinity" means.
Behavioral researchers say being a heterosexual male used to mean being macho, but guys today get mixed messages on all fronts as they navigate sex, drinking, friendships and the future.
"The social messages … about how to be a good person or a good guy vary quite widely," says Glenn Good, professor of counseling psychology at the University of Missouri-Columbia. More...
08/26/08
Number of uninsured drops
The poverty rate held steady at 12.5 percent, not statistically different from the 12.3 percent registered in 2006. The median — or midpoint — household income rose slightly to $50,233. And the number of uninsured dropped to 45.7 million, down from 47 million in 2007.
The numbers represent a kind of scorecard on President Bush's stewardship of the economy at the kitchen-table level. However, they only go as far as the end of last year, before the current economic downturn started gathering force. Indeed, they could come to be seen as a snapshot taken at the high point of the administration's tenure. More...
08/26/08
Fluids to stay hydrated
Food can significantly affect your daily fluid needs. In fact, you can obtain much of the liquid you need from the food and beverages (other than water) you eat and drink every day.
What you really need
Water is an important nutrient that composes 50 to 60 percent of your body weight, and it also helps transport other nutrients within the body. Yet because the body doesn't store water, you have to replenish the supply. How much do you need? For years, we've been told to drink eight glasses of water a day for optimal health. But that one-size-fits-all prescription has given way to a more flexible approach. Health experts have found that fluid requirements vary from person to person, and for many of us, the best way to stay adequately hydrated is to use thirst as a guide. More...
08/25/08
Face transplants
Transplanting faces may seem like science fiction, but doctors say the experimental surgeries could one day become routine. Two of the world's three teams that have done partial face transplants reported Friday that their techniques were surprisingly effective, though complications exist and more work is still needed.
"There is no reason to think these face transplants would not be as common as kidney or liver transplants one day," said Dr. Laurent Lantieri, one of the French doctors who operated on a man severely disfigured by a genetic disease. More...
08/25/08
Tainted blood scandal speak
Robert Mackie trembles with rage when he describes how he and his wife were kept in the dark about his HIV infection — and how doctors published his medical data in journals years before they gave him the devastating news.
Mackie is one of some 5,700 British hemophiliacs who received tainted blood and were infected with HIV, hepatitis or both, in what has been viewed as one of the worst treatment disasters in the history of Britain's heath care system. Nearly a third of those infected have since died. More...
08/25/08
Help your child cope
The adversary? Preteen and teenage bullies.
Toting anti-bullying posters and masking tape, Magee was determined to let students see from Day One that she had a zero-tolerance policy when it came to that kind of harassment.
"Middle-school kids are just cruel to each other," Magee said. "They speak their minds, so you see bullying in the form of teasing, taunting, social isolation and name calling."
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimated that 30 percent of all children in grades six through 10 have been bullied or have bullied other children during a school year. More...
08/25/08
Uninsured currently spend $30 billion
Americans who lack health insurance for any part of 2008 will spend $30 billion out of pocket for health services and receive $56 billion in uncompensated care while uninsured. Government programs pay for about three-quarters, or roughly $43 billion, of the uncompensated care bill, researchers report in today's Web Exclusive edition of Health Affairs. The researchers define uncompensated care as care received but not paid for fully by the uninsured or by a health insurer. More...
08/22/08
Proposals to change health care
Tennessean: A "highly informative" study released earlier this week by the Commonwealth Fund moves "beyond the usual emphasis placed on Americans who have no health insurance to call attention to problems experienced by people who thought they were sufficiently covered," a Tennessean editorial states. More...
08/22/08
Doctors can refuse abortions
The Bush administration on Thursday proposed stronger job protections for doctors and other health care workers who refuse to participate in abortions because of religious or moral objections.
Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt said that health care professionals should not face retaliation from employers or from medical societies because they object to abortion.
"Freedom of conscience is not to be surrendered upon issuance of a medical degree," said Leavitt. "This nation was built on a foundation of free speech. The first principle of free speech is protected conscience." More...
08/22/08
Face transplant patient
Transplanting faces may seem like science fiction, but doctors say the experimental surgeries could one day become routine. Two of the world's three teams that have done partial face transplants reported Friday that their techniques were surprisingly effective, though complications exist and more work is still needed.
"There is no reason to think these face transplants would not be as common as kidney or liver transplants one day," said Dr. Laurent Lantieri, one of the French doctors who operated on a man severely disfigured by a genetic disease.
In Friday's issue of the British medical journal Lancet, Lantieri and colleagues reported on their patient's status one year after the transplant. Chinese doctors also reported on their patient, two years after his surgery. More...
08/22/08
Schoolchildren are still at risk
Troubles at the local elementary school -- and health problems among its students, such as seizure disorders -- were among the first signs of a much larger problem that made news around the world and prompted federal Superfund legislation to clean up the most polluted sites in the United States.
Despite the outcry over Love Canal, little has been done to make schoolchildren safer from hazardous or toxic waste, says Lois Gibbs, who headed the Love Canal Homeowners Association and now runs the Center for Health, Environment & Justice.
"We should be farther along today than we are," said Gibbs, who started the nonprofit a year after her evacuation from Love Canal. The organization is dedicated to helping communities facing, more...
08/21/08
Treatment to sexual assault survivors
Two not-for-profit groups in South Carolina have launched an initiative to provide sexual assault survivors in three counties with post-exposure prophylaxis medications and follow-up care in an effort to prevent the spread of HIV, the Myrtle Beach Sun-News reports. The partnership is between Careteam -- a group that serves families and individuals affected by HIV/AIDS in Horry, Georgetown and Williamsburg counties -- and the Rape Crisis Center. More...
08/21/08
Some elderly to forgo medicine
About 3.4 million older and disabled people hit a gap, known as the doughnut hole, in their Medicare drug coverage in 2007. When that happened, they had to pay the entire costs of their medicine until they spent $3,850 out of pocket. Then, insurance coverage would kick in again.
About 15 percent of those hitting the coverage gap stopped their treatment regimen. That rate varied depending upon illness. For example, about 10 percent of diabetes patients stopped buying the medicine, as did 16 percent of patients with high blood pressure and 18 percent of patients with osteoporosis. More...
08/21/08
Medical marketing
Lewis, a graduate student who lives in Sherman Oaks, California, says Dr. John Regan, a surgeon in Beverly Hills, put in an artificial disc to help relieve her lower back pain.
"He said my back would be better than ever," said Lewis, 45. "I'm thinking, 'Wow, disc replacement is the best thing since sliced bread.' "
But after the surgery, Lewis says, she ended up in debilitating pain, could walk only with the assistance of a walker and had to have a second procedure to correct the first one. More...
08/21/08
HPV vaccine by age 21
A new economic analysis shows that the HPV vaccine, which protects against the viruses that cause most cervical cancers and genital warts, could be a good financial investment in public health if given to those who have the most to gain: preadolescent girls and women up to age 21.
Authors of the study, in today's New England Journal of Medicine, measured the Gardasil vaccine's value by calculating the cost of giving one person an extra healthy year of life and balancing the expense of vaccinations with the benefits of avoiding cancer, death and related expenses.
More...
08/20/08
Kaiser daily health policy report
While mainstream news coverage is still a primary source of information for the latest in policy debates and the health care marketplace, online blogs have become a significant part of the media landscape, often presenting new perspectives on policy issues and drawing attention to under-reported topics. To provide complete coverage of health policy issues, the Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report offers readers a window into the world of blogs in a roundup of health policy-related blog posts. "Blog Watch," published on Tuesdays and Fridays, tracks a wide range of blogs, providing a brief description and relevant links for highlighted posts. More...
08/20/08
Hospital death rates unveiled
Motorists heading through the Lehigh Valley from Allentown, Pa., earlier this year passed two giant billboards proclaiming: "Fast Heart Attack Care Saved My Husband's Life."
What the billboards didn't say was just how fast. It took 24 minutes for Richard Silverman's doctors at Lehigh Valley Hospital to clear a 100% blockage from his heart's most vital artery. That's a third of the 90-minute goal that hospitals strive for. More...
08/20/08
Water may be linked with diabetes
The analysis of 788 adults' medical tests found a nearly fourfold increase in the risk of diabetes in people with low arsenic concentrations in their urine compared to people with even lower levels.
Previous research outside the United States has linked high levels of arsenic in drinking water with diabetes. It's the link at low levels that's new. The findings appear in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association.
"The good news is, this is preventable," said lead author Dr. Ana Navas-Acien of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore. More...
08/20/08
Girls will be girls from birth
If anything, I went out of my way to avoid giving them gender-stereotyped toys, offering glittery finger paint to my son and trains to my daughter. But it didn't matter: My son turned his doll's crib into a race car and my daughter was obsessed with shoes.
Even though I'm a psychologist who specializes in early education, it took having kids to make me realize that sex differences aren't just the stuff of Brady Bunch reruns.
More...
08/19/08
Divine intervention
An eye-opening survey reveals widespread belief that divine intervention can revive dying patients. And, researchers said, doctors "need to be prepared to deal with families who are waiting for a miracle."
More than half of randomly surveyed adults -- 57 percent -- said God's intervention could save a family member even if physicians declared treatment would be futile. And nearly three-quarters said patients have a right to demand that treatment continue.
When asked to imagine their own relatives being gravely ill or injured, nearly 20 percent of doctors and other medical workers said God could reverse a hopeless outcome. More...
08/19/08
New study backs angioplasty
The best path to a clogged heart may be through the wrist. About a million artery-clearing angioplasties are performed in the United States each year, and the usual route is to thread a tube to the heart through an artery in the groin.
Now a major study shows going through the wrist instead can significantly lower the risk of bleeding — without the discomfort of lying flat for hours while the incision site seals up.
Just one in 100 angioplasties is done via the wrist, and the approach isn't for everyone. But Monday's study promises to spur more specialists to use the method.
"In experienced hands, it can be done more," said Dr. Sidney Smith, heart disease chief at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a past president of the American Heart Association, who wasn't part of the study. "This approach, when done by experienced operators, has advantages."
08/19/08
What not to feed the kids
David Zinczenko was not surprised by the report this month that found most kids' meals at popular chain restaurants are far too high in calories.
"There's a lot more that needs to be done to get smart and healthful choices at restaurants for kids," says Zinczenko, best-selling author of a new book, Eat This, Not That! For Kids! with Matt Goulding.
The book offers color photos of good and not-so-good choices at fast-food and chain restaurants, as well as comparisons of processed and home-cooked foods.
It's a natural sequel to Eat This, Not That!, which has been in the top 150 books on USA TODAY's Best-Selling Books list for 34 weeks. More...
08/19/08
Laboring without health insurance?
For years, Labor Day has meant picnics, watermelon, softball games and kids having fun. But for millions of working people, it also could rekindle memories of the old days when having a job meant they didn't have to worry about health insurance. Times are changing and HSAInsights.com can help.
Today, employment no longer guarantees health insurance coverage, especially in small businesses. The National Coalition on Healthcare reports that one-third of firms in the U.S. (and almost two-thirds of small businesses) did not offer coverage in 2006. Nearly 1.3 million full-time workers lost their health insurance the same year, bringing the total number of uninsured workers in this country to 37.7 million. More...
08/18/08
Hearts get special attention
Pugh, of Charlotte, North Carolina, was recruited to play football for the University of Georgia Bulldogs, ranked No. 1 in pre-season polls.
Like other elite athletes at the school in Athens, Georgia, he was required to undergo a battery of medical tests before he took the field.
What made this checkup unique is that it specifically screens athletes for the risk of sudden cardiac arrest and other heart problems.
Sudden cardiac arrest affects more than 400,000 people every year in the United States and is the leading cause of death among young athletes, according to the National Athletic Trainers' Association.
"What we're looking for today is some evidence that would signal to us that there is an underlying heart problem," explained Atlanta-based cardiologist Winston Gandy. More...
08/18/08
Kaiser daily health policy report
While mainstream news coverage is still a primary source of information for the latest in policy debates and the health care marketplace, online blogs have become a significant part of the media landscape, often presenting new perspectives on policy issues and drawing attention to under-reported topics. To provide complete coverage of health policy issues, the Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report offers readers a window into the world of blogs in a roundup of health policy-related blog posts. "Blog Watch," published on Tuesdays and Fridays, tracks a wide range of blogs, providing a brief description and relevant links for highlighted posts. More...
08/18/08
Navajo tradition, modern medicine
When a Navajo woman delivers a baby at Banner Page Hospital in northern Arizona, she invites her entire family — often more than 10 people — into the birthing room. She may give birth squatting, as is custom among Native Americans. A medicine man will offer ancient prayers and herbs for the mother to ease childbirth. After the baby is delivered, nurses will save the placenta so the family can take it home and bury it in a sacred place.
In this desert town flanked by canyons and Lake Powell, traditional Navajo healing is merging with modern medicine. The hospital's Native American Cultural Committee, formed in 2002, is working toward an inclusive medical community by tackling the cultural sensitivities of the Navajo people, many of whom are wary of modern medicine. More...
08/18/08
Long-gone killer 1918 flu
Scientists tested the blood of 32 people aged 92 to 102 who were exposed to the 1918 pandemic flu and found antibodies that still roam the body looking to strangle the old flu strain. Researchers manipulated those antibodies into a vaccine and found that it kept alive all the mice they had injected with the killer flu, according to a study published online Sunday in the journal Nature.
There's no pressing need for a 1918 flu vaccine because the virus has long since mutated out of its deadly form and is extremely unlikely to be a threat anymore, experts said. What's more important in this research, they said, is that it confirms theories that our immune system has a steel-trap memory. More...
08/15/08
India's first group health insurance
Population Services International (PSI), a non-governmental organization, in partnership with Star Health and Allied Insurance Company and the Karnataka Network for Positive People (KNP+) introduced India's first ever group health insurance plan today to more than 250 People Living with HIV (PLHIV). This innovative initiative is supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under Project Connect, a program designed to build Public Private Partnerships to combat HIV and tuberculosis in India. More...
08/15/08
Deployments raise mental health risks
Multiple combat deployments to Iraq are increasing serious mental health problems among soldiers, triggering drug and alcohol abuse and contributing to record suicide levels, suggest reports out Thursday at the American Psychological Association meeting in Boston.
In a typical unit headed to Iraq, 60% are on their second, third or fourth deployment, lasting about a year each, says U.S. Army Col. Carl Castro, who directs a medical research program at Fort Detrick, Md. More...
08/15/08
Doctors debate
For decades, organs have typically been removed only after doctors determine that a donor's brain has completely stopped working. In the case of the infants, all three were on life support and showed little brain function, but they didn't meet the criteria for brain death.
With their families' consent, the newborns were taken off ventilators and surgeons in Denver removed their hearts minutes after they stopped beating. The hearts were successfully transplanted, and the babies who got the hearts survived. More...
08/15/08
New Year's baby's death
Just 12 weeks later, he was bathed in warm water minutes after he quietly died in his mother's arms, the victim of shaken baby syndrome. Camryn's 9-year-old sister, Tabatha, asked why he needed a bath now.
"We have to get him ready to go to Jesus," a nurse softly replied. Tabatha took up a sponge to help.
Camryn's father, Craig R. Wilson, 28, of Cuyahoga Falls, is scheduled for a pretrial hearing on murder and other charges August 20. Police say he confessed to shaking and squeezing the infant after arguing with his wife, Crystal Wilson. More...
08/14/08
Candidates discuss health care proposals
Advisers to the two major presidential candidates during an online debate on the Wall Street Journal Web site discussed the effect that their health care proposals would have on the employer-sponsored health insurance market, the Journal's "Health Blog" reports.
As part of his plan, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) has proposed to have private health plans and a new public plan compete in the health insurance market, with subsidies to help low-income residents purchase coverage. Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) as part of his plan has proposed to replace a tax break for employees who receive health insurance from employers with a refundable tax credit for families to purchase private coverage. More...
08/14/08
Anti-snoring device rises
The retirement haven of Lady Lake, Fla., boasts several golf courses and country clubs — and apparently many residents who have restless sleep.
In three years, Medicare spending there for small bedside ventilators that help treat a serious sleep-related condition soared 324%, to $1.4 million last year.
Doctors in the central Florida town say their community is at the forefront of a national trend that has made the devices one of Medicare's fastest-growing medical equipment expenses, up 96% nationwide since 2004. More...
08/14/08
When to declare organ donors dead
For decades, organs have typically been removed only after doctors determine that a donor's brain has completely stopped working. In the case of the infants, all three were on life support and showed little brain function, but they didn't meet the criteria for brain death.
With their families' consent, the newborns were taken off ventilators and surgeons in Denver removed their hearts minutes after they stopped beating. The hearts were successfully transplanted, and the babies who got the hearts survived. More...
08/14/08
How to stay healthy
Hula, who's always ready for an international gustatory adventure, ordered some from the waitress, tossed it into her drink, took a swig, and all of a sudden couldn't breathe.
"I popped a Benadryl, but that didn't act fast enough. My chest felt constricted, and the people around me started to panic," she said. "Then I pulled out my inhaler, and that did the trick."
Benadryl and an inhaler are just two of the things Hula keeps with her at all times when she's traveling abroad. Hula, who spends four months out of the year outside the United States, also keeps antiseptic wipes with her always, as well as aspirin because, as she says, "It's hard to run to Publix in the middle of the night if you're in, say, Dakar, and have a raging headache." More...
08/13/08
Groups offer members group-like health insurance
An increasing number of small-business owners that do not provide health insurance to their employees and individuals without employer-based health coverage are looking to professional organizations and trade groups that offer "group-like" coverage to their members, the Wall Street Journal reports.
According to the Journal, organizations such as state medical associations, bar associations, chambers of commerce and other associations frequently offer dues-paying members the option of purchasing insurance through them. The Journal reports that coverage purchased through these groups mirrors employer-based coverage, and even with membership fees is often less expensive than purchasing individual coverage in the private market. More...
08/13/08
Breast cancer: Risk of relapse
Women who survive five years after being diagnosed with breast cancer have a good chance of remaining cancer-free, a new study shows.
In the most detailed study of its kind, the report shows that 89% of such patients remain disease-free 10 years after diagnosis, and 81% are cancer-free after 15 years.
Authors of the study, published online Tuesday in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, say their findings may reassure breast cancer survivors, many of whom assume their odds are much bleaker. More...
08/13/08
Citizen soldiers turning to alcohol
National Guard and Reserve combat troops in Iraq and Afghanistan are more likely to develop drinking problems than active-duty soldiers, a new military study suggests. The authors speculate that inadequate preparation for the stress of combat and reduced access to support services at home may be to blame.
The study, appearing in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association, is the first to compare Iraq and Afghanistan veterans' alcohol problems before and after deployment.
It should help guide planning for future prevention and treatment programs, said study co-author Dr. Edward Boyko, who works for the Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System.
The research is one of the first major studies to emerge from the Pentagon's landmark "Millennium" study, launched in 2001 because of concerns about possible health effects from the first Gulf War. It includes tens of thousands of military personnel and is designed to evaluate the long-term health effects of military service. More...
08/13/08
How to talk about chronic pain
Truth is, many doctors have not been trained to deal with the complex, changing area of chronic pain treatment. One 2001 survey of primary care physicians' attitudes toward prescribing certain medications found that only 15 percent said they enjoyed working with patients who have chronic pain.
This can lead to frustrating encounters at the primary-care level, especially if your doctor is rushed.
Pressures on doctors
"Doctors don't want patients to suffer; they want people to get better," said Dr. Bill McCarberg, founder of the Chronic Pain Management Program at Kaiser Permanente in San Diego, California. "But they feel stress; they feel time constraints; they have to deal with pre-authorizations; it's not the kind of practice they wanted. They're stressed, and that leads to moving patients along." Health.com: Arthritis quiz, More...
08/12/08
Living with autism in college
Hackett, who has Asperger's syndrome, found at the Community College of Allegheny County in Pittsburgh that some of his symptoms were holding him back. He had difficulty organizing his time and managing assignments.
"I always knew I could do better," said Hackett.
His parents tried to help, but he wasn't comfortable with them intervening at college. He was relieved to discover Achieving in Higher Education with Autism/Developmental Disabilities, a group that helps college students like him.
After contracting with AHEADD, Hackett's grade point average increased from 1.5 to 3.6.
"They kept me on track," says the now 21-year-old political science major. "They helped me manage my time." More...
08/12/08
Adults may be heart-healthy
The first national estimate of its kind bolsters the argument that you can be hefty but still healthy, or at least healthier than has been believed.
The results also show that stereotypes about body size can be misleading, and that even "less voluptuous" people can have risk factors commonly associated with obesity, said study author MaryFran Sowers, a University of Michigan obesity researcher.
"We're really talking about taking a look with a very different lens" at weight and health risks, Sowers said.
In the study, about 51 percent of overweight adults, or roughly 36 million people nationwide, had mostly normal levels of blood pressure, cholesterol, blood fats called triglycerides and blood sugar. More...
08/12/08
Teens with diabetes
Many college-bound freshmen have the same questions about their new roommate: Will she be messy, drink a lot, have a weird boyfriend? Caroline McEnery, who heads to Boston College this month, has a few extra concerns, such as: Will her roommate mind bunking with someone with diabetes?
"Some people are uncomfortable with seeing someone stick their finger," McEnery says. She has type 1 diabetes — a condition in which her pancreas does not make enough insulin, a hormone that helps the body use glucose for energy. She pricks her finger numerous times a day to obtain a drop of blood to test her blood sugar. More...
08/12/08
'Guaranteed' access to affordable health care
The 186-member platform committee of the Democratic National Committee on Saturday in Pittsburgh voted to approve a 51-page platform that includes "guaranteed" access to affordable health care, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports (O'Toole, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 8/9). The platform does not mention an individual health insurance mandate but acknowledges that "there are different approaches within the Democratic Party about how best to achieve the commitment of universal coverage" (Nicholas, Los Angeles Times, 8/10). More...
08/11/08
Dancing helps strip off pounds
Wright is not an exotic dancer in a strip club. She's a 38-year-old mother of two from Atlanta, Georgia, looking to get in a decent workout.
"It works the abs, oh my goodness, muscles I didn't even know I had," Wright chuckled.
On this night, Wright is among more than a dozen women of all shapes and sizes -- no men allowed -- attending a beginner class at PoleLaTeaz, an Atlanta dance studio owned by Angela Edwards. More...
08/11/08
Chemical ban in baby items
The bill would require that all products or food containers designed for children 3 years and younger contain only trace amounts of the chemical, bisphenol A.
There is little dispute that bisphenol A can disrupt the hormonal system, but scientists differ on whether the very low amounts found in food and beverage containers can be harmful. More...
08/11/08
'Culturally competent' health care
When a doctor doesn't look an Asian-American patient in the eye, that might be seen as a sign of respect. But making eye contact is encouraged with black patients, according to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, which has published a guidebook for culturally competent care.
As the ethnic profile diversifies in the United States, some states are trying to assure that health care providers are trained in "cultural competency." More...
08/11/08
$13.3B in unfunded retiree health care
Massachusetts faces an estimated $13.3 billion in unfunded retiree health care costs over the next three decades, according to a report by a commission studying the issue, the Boston Globe reports. The seven-member panel comprises four lawmakers, the state treasurer, the state budget chief and state pension fund chief. Under the current retiree health care system, lawmakers set aside about $275 million annually to cover the health care expenses for the state's 50,000 retirees. Residents who retired before 1994 contribute 10% of their health insurance costs, and residents who retired after 1994 contribute 15% of their insurance costs. More...
08/10/08
Prices for some drugs skyrocket
Drug companies are quietly pushing through price hikes of 100% — or even more than 1,000% — for a very small but growing number of prescription drugs, helping to drive up costs for insurers, patients and government programs...
08/10/08
Gift cards key to new AIDS prevention strategy
Could the AIDS virus be stopped with gift cards? Desperate for a way to stop the escalating spread of HIV among young gay men, public health officials are looking to novel strategies, such as enlisting local gay opinion leaders to urge their peers to practice safe sex...
08/10/08
Obese Men Face Twin Threat From Prostate Cancer
The standard screening test for prostate cancer may not be accurate for obese men, leaving them more vulnerable to the disease, and surgery is less likely to be effective for them, a new pair of studies found...
08/10/08
Scientists Create Mice Resistant to Obesity
Researchers have developed a strain of mice resistant to diet-induced obesity...
08/08/08
Premiums have more than doubled
Private-sector employers and their employees have seen their health insurance premium costs go up by more than 100 percent since 1996, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
AHRQ's survey also found that for employment-based health insurance between 1996 and 2006:
- Nationwide, the average premium cost of a family insurance plan rose from $4,954 to $11,381 a year, while the average cost for a single premium went from $1,992 to $4,118. More...
08/08/08
First adoption survey
Minority women are currently seeking to adopt children more often than white women, the survey found.
Researchers also reported that women who have never married adopt children much more often than single men do. But overall, men adopt children at more than twice the rate women do, due largely to men marrying women with children from a previous relationship.
Overall, nearly 1.3 million men had adopted a child, compared with an estimated 613,000 women.
That's not really surprising, said Jeff Katz, a consultant on adoption and foster care issues who formerly headed a Rhode Island adoption agency. More...
08/08/08
Stem cells for 10 disorders
This early step, using a new technique, could help speed up efforts to find treatments for some of the most confounding ailments, the scientists said.
The new work was reported online Thursday in the journal Cell, and the researchers said they plan to make the cell lines readily available to other scientists.
Dr. George Daley and his colleagues at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute used ordinary skin cells and bone marrow from people with a variety of diseases, including Parkinson's, Huntington's and Down syndrome to produce the stem cells. More...
08/08/08
Son'e birth and life as a father
The actor and his girlfriend, Camila Alves, take their son out all the time, even to a John Mellencamp concert, to get him used to sights, sounds and people. They don't even tell house guests to quiet down when the baby sleeps.
"Our life has not changed, it just takes a little more prep time to do whatever it is you're going to do," McConaughey, star of the upcoming comedy "Surfer Dude," told CNN Thursday.
McConaughey, 38, still wore the hospital ID bracelet as he detailed his son's birth and philosophized about parenting with CNN's chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta in Los Angeles, California, on Thursday. More...
08/07/08
How to have a baby
She's madly in love with the results -- son Tyler is 19 and Spencer is 15 -- but she didn't always love the process. That's why she started the American Fertility Association -- to help other couples in the same position.
"Getting pregnant isn't always an easy thing to do," said Madsen. "Doctors are not gods, and you have to remember that no one's going to care about you as much as you are."
Here are a few things Madsen said she did right while going through infertility treatments. More...
08/07/08
ER waiting time nears 1 hour
The increase is due to supply and demand, said Dr. Stephen Pitts, the lead author of the report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"There are more people arriving at the ERs. And there are fewer ERs," said Pitts, an associate professor of emergency medicine at Atlanta's Emory University.
Overall, about 119 million visits were made to U.S. emergency rooms in 2006, up from 90 million in 1996 — a 32 percent increase. More...
08/07/08
A child's life can be lost
The 1-year-old's temperature was nearly 106 degrees when the ambulance arrived at her babysitter's home. It was too late.
Aslyn Ryan had been found limp and unresponsive after being left in the car for 50 minutes while her caretaker ran errands, says her mother, Dee Ryan. She spent two days in intensive care and suffered multiple strokes and other hyperthermia-related injuries before she died in 2004 at Kapi'olani Medical Center for Women & Children in Honolulu.
"I never, as a nurse, could have dreamed what the horror of walking into the ER would be to see a code being performed on my own child," Ryan wrote in testimony to the state Legislature in support of a law that makes leaving a child unattended in a car a violation of the state's traffic code and sets fines for violators. More...
08/07/08
Uninsurance among immigrants
Although U.S.-born residents still make up the majority of uninsured U.S. residents, the percentage of uninsured documented and undocumented immigrants is growing, according to a study released on Tuesday by the Employee Benefit Research Institute, the Kansas City Star reports. EBRI researchers analyzed U.S. Census data for the study and found that immigrants accounted for 18.8% of uninsured residents in 1994 and 26.6% in 2006, the last year in which data were available. According to the study, 12.3 million immigrants and 34.1 million U.S.-born residents were uninsured in 2006. More...
08/06/08
No prostate screening
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, which made the recommendation Monday, reported finding evidence that the benefits of treatment based on routine screening of this age group "are small to none." However, treatment often causes "moderate-to-substantial harms," including erectile dysfunction and bladder control and bowel problems, the task force said.
The new guidance is the first update by the task force on prostate cancer screening since 2002. Its last report concluded there was insufficient evidence to recommend prostate screening for men of all ages. More...
08/06/08
ER waiting time nears 1 hour
The increase is due to supply and demand, said Dr. Stephen Pitts, the lead author of the report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"There are more people arriving at the ERs. And there are fewer ERs," said Pitts, an associate professor of emergency medicine at Atlanta's Emory University.
Overall, about 119 million visits were made to emergency rooms in 2006, up from 90 million in 1996 — a 32 percent increase. More...
08/06/08
Egypt fights medical rumors
SULTAN ZAWYIT, Egypt — In this small Nile River farming village, Maha Mohammed has started to doubt whether she should circumcise her two daughters.
A year ago, she had few qualms about female genital mutilation, the practice of cutting a girl's clitoris and sometimes other genitalia. She herself was cut two decades ago, and she fears her daughters will not find husbands otherwise. More...
08/06/08
Lawmakers nearing agreements on health care
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) and Democratic legislators are nearing agreements on several pieces of legislation that would limit insurers' profits on individual health plans, require plans to provide a minimum set of benefits and restrict insurers' ability to rescind coverage, the Los Angeles Times reports. According to the Times, "The new focus reflects how far Schwarzenegger remains from his original health care goal: to orchestrate medical insurance for the five million Californians who lack it." State lawmakers rejected Schwarzenegger's proposal in January, but many of the measures now being considered were included in the governor's plan. More...
08/05/08
Illness common among uninsured
A National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (1999 - 2004) of more than 12,000 patients aged 18 to 64 concluded that an estimated 11.4 million americans with chronic medical conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and diabetes, were uninsured.
The survey found that chronically ill patients without insurance were less likely than those with coverage to report a physician visit within the last 12 months and more likely to report using an emergency department as a standard site for care. More...
08/05/08
Tme is on your side
Our attitudes toward time shape every part of our lives, and yet few recognize how this subtle fact can sabotage careers or vault them skyward, wreck marriages and make people happy (or not), suggests a book in stores today.
The Time Paradox: The New Psychology of Time That Will Change Your Life (Free Press, $27) by Stanford University psychologist Philip Zimbardo and John Boyd, research manager at Google, is not a time-management book. More...
08/05/08
Prostate screening in elderly men
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, which made the recommendation Monday, reported finding evidence that the benefits of treatment based on routine screening of this age group "are small to none." However, treatment often causes "moderate-to-substantial harms," including erectile dysfunction and bladder control and bowel problems, the task force said.
The new guidance is the first update by the task force on prostate cancer screening since 2002. Its last report concluded there was insufficient evidence to recommend prostate screening for men of all ages. More...
08/05/08
Surgical side effects
In this case, the surgeon is removing a man's prostate gland. Robotic surgery is a growing trend in treating prostate cancer. The number of cases have increased sevenfold in the past four years, from 10,000 in 2004 to a projected 70,000 in 2008, according to Intuitive Surgical Inc., the creators of the robotic device. The advantages of robotics -- fewer side effects and quicker recovery times in many patients -- have led to increased use for other surgeries, including hysterectomy, kidney cancer and some heart procedures.
"At first, men think we hook up a robot and then go get some coffee, but the reality is the robot arms are a tool that I control, just like a scalpel, " said Shah, who has performed more than 600 robotic prostatectomies at St. Joseph Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. More...
08/01/08
Mexico criticizes US salmonella findings
Mexican agriculture officials said Thursday that U.S. colleagues hunting for the source of a salmonella outbreak are rushing to a conclusion about finding the strain at a Mexican pepper farm...
08/01/08
More cities move aggressively to stop heat deaths
The homeless woman was nauseated, dizzy, drenched with sweat, dehydrated and sobbing with fear. She had heat exhaustion and was on the verge of heat stroke. But she had come to the right place, a church turned into a refuge from the overpowering heat...
08/01/08
Cell changes may help Lou Gehrig's research
Using a new technique to reprogram cells, scientists are growing neurons from people with Lou Gehrig's disease, a possible first step in understanding how the deadly illness develops...
08/01/08
Drug gives couch potato mice benefits of a workout
Here's a couch potato's dream: What if a drug could help you gain some of the benefits of exercise without working up a sweat? Scientists reported Thursday that there is such a drug — if you happen to be a mouse...
07/31/08
Distribution of public health care spending
Judith H. Hibbard, Jessica Greene and Martin Tusler of the University of Oregon -- finds that people who enroll in consumer-driven health plans generally reduce their use of medical services. The authors write that CDHP members with high deductibles -- who tend to have lower incomes and less education -- seek care less often than members with low deductibles because of cost concerns. The study suggests providing more information to high-deductible health plan members that encourages use of necessary medical services (Hibbard et al., Medical Care Research and Review, August 2008). More...
07/31/08
Exercise video games
Boxing in the living room and dancing in the den have elevated home gaming — and children's heart rates — to new heights.
New research shows that exercise video games such as Wii Sports and Dance Dance Revolution boost children's activity levels significantly.
The Wii system, made by Nintendo, is controlled by a wireless remote that translates movements to its "Mii" caricature on screen. In Dance Dance Revolution, from video game maker Konami, players use their feet to hit arrows on the game's dance mat, matching their own steps with arrows set in time to music on screen. More...
07/31/08
Salmonella strain at second Mexican farm
Dr. David Acheson, the Food and Drug Administration's food safety chief, called the finding a key breakthrough in the case, as did another health official.
"We have a smoking gun, it appears," said Dr. Lonnie King, who directs the center for foodborne illnesses at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More...
07/31/08
Limit your cell phone risk
Indeed, I'm not. This is a good thing, because you don't want to get into an argument with Davis on this subject. She's the director of the University of Pittsburgh's Center for Environmental Oncology, and her group recently put out recommendations that we should be using a speakerphone or ear piece. The report says children, who have thinner skulls and developing brains, should use cell phones only in case of emergency.
And heaven forbid anyone should carry a cell phone in a pocket or clipped to a belt. "You're just roasting your bone marrow," Davis said. More...
07/30/08
Insurers using radiology benefit
Health insurers are increasingly denying coverage for medical imaging procedures recommended by physicians that are judged to be unnecessary, in an attempt to reduce health care spending by $30 billion annually, according to a report released on Monday by America's Health Insurance Plans, Bloomberg/Hartford Courant reports. Imaging procedures account for nearly $100 billion in U.S. health care spending, but about half of scans for some conditions fail to improve patients' diagnoses or treatments, according to AHIP. More...
07/30/08
Health investigators use props, patience
ALBUQUERQUE — There are the pit bulls, chained and unchained. The scary-looking guy with bloodshot eyes. The 37 houses in a row with people who don't want to talk. The trailers in the middle of the desert with only a TV watching over a couple of kids.
The nation's outbreak of salmonella saintpaul has been going on for four months. At least 1,307 have been sickened, and it's not over yet. As state and federal officials zero in on jalapeńos as the cause, the eventual conclusion of the investigation will be based on painstaking detective work. More...
07/30/08
Missing DNA chunks
These deletions are rare, each found in less than 1 percent of schizophrenia patients. But each one boosts the risk of disease by as much as 15-fold, by one estimate.
Scientists said studying such abnormalities may help them find new medications by shedding light on what causes the disease. And if enough rare aberrations can be found eventually, they may be combined into a test to help in diagnosis, said Kari Stefansson, chief executive officer of deCode Genetics of Reykjavik, Iceland, and an author of one of the studies. More...
07/30/08
Eating healthy when dining out
Whether it's the slow-cooked salmon with sesame seeds, warm bok choy salad, and miso mustard dressing or the jumbo lump crab cakes with celeriac-apple slaw and lemon-caper aioli, each meal contains 600 or fewer calories -- nearly half the amount found in a typical restaurant entree.
"We offer what you're supposed to eat -- proper portions, great flavor-and we use fresh, local ingredients as much as possible," says co-owner Tom Williams, who, with partner Judith Hammerschmidt, opened Rock Creek two years ago. The pair worked with Cynthia Payne Moore, R.D., a Baltimore, Maryland-based dietitian, to obtain nutritional analyses for every item on the menu, and they adjust recipes to avoid unnecessary fat and determine portion sizes. More...
07/29/08
Insurers to cover retail clinic visits
Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and Tufts Health Plan have signed contracts with CVS Caremark to cover member visits to the company's retail clinics in Massachusetts, the AP/Boston Herald reports (AP/Boston Herald, 7/24). Under the contracts, copayments for visits to the clinics -- which typically cost between $59 and $69 --will range from $10 to $25, compared with usual emergency department copays of $59 to $150. The clinics offer services that include vaccinations and treatment of common illnesses, such as ear infections, poison ivy and minor burns. More...
07/29/08
Beachgoers' health at risk
The nation's ocean, bay and Great Lakes beaches continue to suffer from water pollution that puts swimmers' health at risk, according to a leading environmental group.
Last year, beach closings and no-swimming advisories reached their second-highest level in the 18 years that the group, the Natural Resources Defense Council, has monitored the health of recreational waters. More...
07/29/08
Take bite out of fast food
In the impoverished neighborhood of South Los Angeles, fast food is the easiest cuisine to find — and that's a problem for elected officials who see it as an unhealthy source of calories and cholesterol.
The City Council was poised to vote Tuesday on a moratorium on new fast-food restaurants in a swath of the city where a proliferation of such eateries goes hand-in-hand with obesity.
"Our communities have an extreme shortage of quality foods," City Councilman Bernard Parks said. More...
07/29/08
Gupta treats his carsickness
Once the illness settles in, even the most soothing scenery whizzing past a car window will be no match for the symptoms: nausea, sweating, racing heart and difficulty breathing.
It's a subject all too familiar to CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta, who spoke with CNN.com about his own history of acute carsickness and how sufferers can treat it. More...
07/28/08
Federal standards for long-term care
Witnesses on Thursday at a House Energy and Commerce Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee hearing called on federal lawmakers to require minimum standards for private long-term care insurance policies, CQ HealthBeat reports. Bonnie Burns, a training and policy specialist at California Health Advocates, said that, because states regulate such policies, the standards offered differ based on where policyholders live. She said, "It should not depend on the state a person lives in whether they have a quality product," adding, "There's a disconnect between those services available in a community and the way they are described in an insurance policy, and no two companies have the same definitions." More...
07/28/08
Motivate smokers to kick habit
Morning sickness and dry heaves made her too nauseated to crave cigarettes. And seeing pictures of low-birth-weight babies at a health clinic made her determined to protect her child.
"Those pictures just broke my heart," says Adams, 22, of Shawnee, Okla., whose first child was born in 2006. "I said, 'I'm not going to put my kid through that.' " More...
07/28/08
More fit Alzheimer's
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed less shrinkage in the hippocampus region of patients' brains in the Alzheimer's patients with higher fitness scores. In Alzheimer's the hippocampus is one of the first parts of the brain to suffer damage.
Exercise and physical fitness have been shown to slow age-related brain cell death in healthy older adults. More...
07/28/08
Got insomnia?
"I toss and turn and watch the clock, sometimes at 3 in the morning, 2 in the morning," lamented Ford, 44, a commercial sign installer in Atlanta, Georgia.
Valerie McCloskey, a 42-year-old mother of two from Grand Rapids, Michigan, complained of a similar problem. "My husband is sound asleep next to me and I'm thinking about everything that I'm worried about."
McCloskey and Ford are among a huge group of Americans who suffer from some type of insomnia. More...
07/25/08
Proposals of major presidential candidates
Two newspapers recently published opinion pieces that address the health care proposals of the two major presidential candidates. Summaries appear below.
Malinda Markowitz, Miami Herald: The health care proposal of presumptive Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) "won't come close to solving" the U.S. health care "crisis," Markowitz, president of the National Nurses Organizing Committee/California Nurses Association, writes, More...
07/25/08
Shaken-baby syndrome
Pablo Cano-Lopez told detectives he was at "the breaking point" when he lifted his crying stepson, 4-month-old Elijah Llanos, and shook him four or five times. The baby stopped crying and whimpered before falling asleep.
Six hours later, Elijah's lips had turned blue. He was rushed to a hospital, but by the next day, Feb. 19, 2006, he was pronounced dead.
"He just kept on crying again, and that's when I … I just got irritated, man," Cano-Lopez told police, according to transcripts. "That's when I shook him." More...
07/25/08
Food industry bitten
The industry pressured the Bush administration years ago to limit the paperwork companies would have to keep to help U.S. health investigators quickly trace produce that sickens consumers, according to interviews and government reports reviewed by The Associated Press.
The White House also killed a plan to require the industry to maintain electronic tracking records that could be reviewed easily during a crisis to search for an outbreak's source. Companies complained the proposals were too burdensome and costly, and warned they could disrupt the availability of consumers' favorite foods. More...
07/25/08
Healthy investment for company
Lincoln Industries has three full-time employees devoted to "wellness," and offers on-site massages and pre-shift stretching.
Most unusual of all: The company requires all employees to undergo quarterly checkups measuring weight, body fat and flexibility. It also conducts annual blood, vision and hearing tests.
"When you get the encouragement from somebody to help you with nutrition and to help with a more active lifestyle, it makes it easier to be able to attain a lifestyle that most people want to attain anyway," says Hank Orme, president of Lincoln Industries. More...
07/24/08
Get your sex life going
Unlike men, there are no approved drugs to take. If you go strictly by the rules, the best medical science has to offer is counseling, or a device that applies suction to your clitoris, or physical therapy for your vagina. While not to diminish these choices, where's that convenient, little blue pill for women?
That's what Joanne wanted to know. This isn't her real name, but she's a 26-year-old nurse at the Cleveland Clinic who felt no sex drive -- nothing, nada, zilch -- for eight years. She wasn't happy, and neither was her boyfriend. More...
07/24/08
Cancer center warns of cell phone risks
The warning from Dr. Ronald B. Herberman, director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, is contrary to numerous studies that don't find a link between cancer and cell phone use, and a public lack of worry by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Herberman is basing his alarm on early unpublished data. He says it takes too long to get answers from science and he believes people should take action now — especially when it comes to children. More...
07/24/08
Shaken-baby syndrome
Pablo Cano-Lopez told detectives he was at "the breaking point" when he lifted his crying stepson, 4-month-old Elijah Llanos, and shook him four or five times. The baby stopped crying and whimpered before falling asleep. More...
07/24/08
Amerigroup settles medicaid lawsuit
Amerigroup on Tuesday said it will enter a $225 million settlement agreement with Illinois and the federal government over allegations that it denied coverage to eligible pregnant women, the Baltimore Sun reports (Baltimore Sun, 7/23). More...
07/23/08
HealthMarkets Agrees To Pay $20M
HealthMarkets, a health insurer that primarily sells coverage to the self-employed, on Monday agreed to pay $20 million to settle violations found by regulators in 36 states, USA Today reports. In January, state regulators, led by investigators in Alaska and Washington state, released the details of an investigation into the company's practices from 2000 to 2005. Investigators found that HealthMarkets did not properly train its sales agents and that the agents did not always fully disclose the policies' limits to consumers. More...
07/23/08
Pre-diabetes must be treated
Diabetes experts created the first recommendations Tuesday for the treatment of people with pre-diabetes in the hopes of curbing the diabetes epidemic.
There are now no solid guidelines for diagnosing and managing pre-diabetes, a condition in which a person's blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be classified as diabetes. More...
07/23/08
TB cases need better control
TB rates were highest among residents from lower Africa and parts of Southeast Asia. Most drug-resistant TB cases also were from foreign-born residents, the study noted.
The researchers called for wider testing, including efforts to seek out latent cases of TB from long-term immigrant residents in certain populations. More...
07/23/08
Healthier in five easy steps
The scoop: Pans that let cookies slide off easily and make cleanup a cinch contain perfluorochemicals (or PFCs), which have been shown to cause cancer, hormone disruption, and hypothyroidism in animals. In humans, they've been linked to a decreased ability to fight infection, as well as low birth weight in babies whose mothers were exposed to them during pregnancy. PFCs are found in the linings of fast-food packaging and most microwave-popcorn bags to keep grease from soaking through (as well as in some furniture and carpeting). More...
07/22/08
Fast facts on fats
"When you look at the evidence, there's no question artificial trans fat increases the risk for coronary heart disease," says Sonia Angell, M.D., director of cardiovascular disease prevention and control at New York City's Department of Health.
"The most conservative estimates show that the replacement of these fats with heart-healthy alternatives can decrease coronary artery disease risk by 6 percent, and it is likely even higher." More...
07/22/08
Salmonella strain in jalapeno
WASHINGTON - Government inspectors finally have a big clue in the nationwide salmonella outbreak: They found the same bacteria strain on a single Mexican-grown jalapeno pepper handled in Texas — and issued a stronger warning for consumers to avoid fresh jalapenos.
But Monday's discovery, the equivalent of a fingerprint, doesn't solve the mystery: Authorities still don't know where the pepper became tainted — on the farm, or in the McAllen, Texas, plant, or at some stop in between, such as a packing house. More...
07/22/08
Shaken-baby syndrome
Pablo Cano-Lopez told detectives he was at "the breaking point" when he lifted his crying stepson, 4-month-old Elijah Llanos, and shook him four or five times. The baby stopped crying and whimpered before falling asleep.
Six hours later, Elijah's lips had turned blue. He was rushed to a hospital, but by the next day, Feb. 19, 2006, he was pronounced dead. More...
07/22/08
CNA zeroes in on serious mMedical errors
Recently, CNA insurance companies issued a client bulletin to provide healthcare managers with risk management guidance on responding to serious medical errors or so-called "never events" because they never should have happened.
Also known as "hospital-acquired conditions" and "serious reportable events," these medical errors are the subject of recently issued policy statements from the federal government, healthcare and consumer groups, and private insurers. Among the issues addressed in these policy statements is the need for no-charge policies, whereby fees are waived when a never event occurs. More...
07/21/08
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization urged Asian countries on Monday to take action against the growing threat of drug-resistant tuberculosis, warning that even more virulent forms of the disease could spread if they fail to do so.
WHO said many Asian countries lack adequate laboratory facilities to detect multidrug-resistant TB, and only 1 percent of the estimated 150,000 people infected with the disease in East Asia and the Pacific are receiving appropriate treatment.
"No country in the region is rushing to fight multidrug-resistant TB," Dr. Pieter Van Maaren, WHO's Western Pacific regional adviser for tuberculosis, said in a statement.
More...
07/21/08
Senior citizens hitting the gym
Four years ago, Andrew Dancy, 80, received a card in the mail advertising a free gym membership through his Medicare provider, Humana, and the Silver Sneakers Fitness Program. Dancy, who had never belonged to a gym, absentmindedly added the mailer to a stack of papers on a kitchen shelf.
A few months later, after his wife of 52 years died, Dancy was wandering around the house when he saw the edge of the card sticking out of the pile.
"I pulled the card out, saw that it wasn't expired and thought, 'Well, I guess I'll give this a try,' " Dancy says. "I must have kept that card for a reason." More...
07/21/08
Ups and downs of perimenopause
"It's the exact same symptoms as my period, but I get them every two weeks," said Nolan, 46, a communications executive from Atlanta, Georgia.
Nolan went online to research what was going on, but it was her gynecologist who confirmed the diagnosis: perimenopause.
It's defined by experts as the time in which a woman's body begins to transition into menopause.
"This is actually a six- to 13-year process, not an event," said Dr. Christiane Northrup, author of "The Wisdom of Menopause."
She said it usually starts when a woman is in her 40s, but sometimes begins in the 30s. More...
07/21/08
Coverage for students
The House Energy and Commerce Committee on Wednesday voted 40-0 to approve a bill (HR 2851) that would allow college students who take medical leave to continue to receive health insurance under the policies of their parents, CQ Today reports. Before approval of the bill, the committee passed an amendment to clarify that the legislation also applies to college students who switch from full-time to part-time status because of serious illnesses or injuries (Nylen/Wayne, CQ Today, 7/16). More...
07/18/08
Man counted calories
Bhattacharya, of Coppell, Texas, never paid attention to his weight problem until his doctor told him he had high cholesterol in summer 2006. His friends also told him that he had become heavy and needed to do something about it.
The feedback was upsetting, he acknowledged, but the combination of his friends' prodding and the cholesterol numbers motivated him to start trimming down his 193-pound frame. More...
07/18/08
Food safety worries change
Although three in four remain confident about the overall safety of foods, the poll found that consumers overwhelmingly support setting up a tracing system for produce in the wake of the salmonella outbreak first linked to tomatoes and, now, hot peppers.
Eighty-six percent said produce should be labeled so it can be tracked through layers of processors, packers and shippers, all the way back to the farm. The lack of such a system frustrated disease detectives working on the salmonella outbreak. Although federal officials lifted the tomato warning Thursday, the cause of the outbreak remains unknown. More...
07/18/08
It's OK to eat tomatoes
Federal officials said Thursday that all tomatoes on the U.S. market are safe to eat but they still don't know what's causing a salmonella outbreak that's sickened thousands over the past three months.
Jalapeno and serrano peppers remain the focus of the Food and Drug Administration's investigation. The FDA repeated warnings that consumers at high risk, such as the very young and old, avoid eating them. More...
07/18/08
Individual health insurance market
Almost 18 million U.S. residents have individual health insurance, which "works well for some but ... is fraught with costly complexities for many others," and the two major presidential candidates seek to "improve options for those who buy their own coverage," USA Today reports. More...
07/17/08
Consumers' health care costs rise
The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday examined how U.S. prescription drug volume has "fallen steadily" since early 2007 and in recent months have "slipped in and out of negative territory" because of a "troubled economy and the growing burden of out-of-pocket health care costs." Preliminary data gathered by IMS Health and Wall Street analysts show that the growth rate prescriptions for branded medications began to decline early last year. Between January and May this year, the growth rate of brand-name medication declined to 1.5%, the lowest rate since 1996, compared with an average growth rate of 3% between 2003 and 2007. In May, prescription drugs accounted for 30.6% of all dispensed medications, down from 45.9% in 2003, IMS found. More...
07/17/08
Special Olympics founder
Anne Burke remembers sitting in the stands at Shanghai Stadium in China, watching 1,000 drummers kick off the 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games. In the center of the stage, elevated above the other performers, stood one Special Olympian. As he drummed, the others fell silent — then began echoing his beat.
"It was unbelievable," says Burke, 64, an Illinois Supreme Court Justice. "It showed: All hearts beat the same. There we were (in China), celebrating children with disabilities. And how did we get there? By bringing them out of the closet." More...
07/17/08
Taking kidneys through navel
"The actual incision point on me is so tiny I'm not getting any pain from it," Kaster, 29, said Wednesday. "I can't even see it."
Kaster was the 10th donor to undergo the procedure at the Cleveland Clinic. Dr. Inderbir S. Gill and colleagues at the research hospital on Thursday were to perform the 11th such procedure, which Gill said could make kidney donations more palatable by sharply reducing recovery time. More...
07/17/08
Victim of a surgical error
The nurses weren't happy; it wasn't protocol to have the surgeon meet with parents immediately before a procedure.
"Maybe this is overkill," I said to my husband. "He knows what side the hernia's on. He's already seen her twice in his office. Plus, we've told the pre-op nurses 10 times it's on the right side." More...
07/16/08
Americans are saving thousands
Now more than ever, Americans need a solution to their health care dilemmas. There are about 40 million people uninsured in the States and those who do have insurance are paying for coverage that is too expensive for the little benefits they receive. HSA for America has a new video that details how Health Savings Accounts can help benefit you and your family's healthcare needs.
"To add on to these problems, rates continue to rise - including for those that have limitations and exclusions on their plans. Unless the deductibles are met, no benefits are given," explains Wiley Long, President of HSA for America. More...
07/16/08
Married couples who play together
Most couples know their marriages are happier when they make time to have fun. But often it's the fun that's first to fall by the wayside as demands pile up, especially in a trying economy when couples often work long hours or hold down more than one job.
Now research from the University of Denver supports the idea that finding moments to be together free of financial, family or other stresses — just to have fun together — is not an indulgence. More...
07/16/08
When kids become teens
One of the largest studies of its kind shows just how sluggish American children become once they hit the teen years: While 90 percent of 9-year-olds get a couple of hours of exercise most days, fewer than 3 percent of 15-year-olds do.
What's more, the study suggests that fewer than a third of teens that age get even the minimum recommended by the government — an hour of moderate-to-vigorous exercise, like cycling, brisk walking, swimming or jogging.
The sharp drop raises concerns about inactivity continuing into adulthood, which could endanger kids' health throughout their lives, the study authors said. More...
07/16/08
How to stop feeling so tired
Maybe you were too busy, maybe you were trying to lose some baby weight. Whatever the reason lunch didn't happen, it's bringing you down. You've probably heard that breakfast is super important, and it is -- but moms, whether they're rushing around at home or at work, are often guiltier of skipping lunch. And to maintain your energy, you can't wait until dinner to eat.
"Moms often eat a bite of toddler waffle here, an animal cracker there, but that's just not enough," says Lauren Slayton, a nutritionist in New York City. When you skip a real meal, your blood sugar level dips, and that affects your energy, your mood, and your ability to think clearly. The solution: Leave the crumbs on the counter and, if you're at home, sit down with your child to eat. At work, try to separate your sandwich from your spreadsheets, even for a few minutes. More...
07/15/08
Companions to medical visits
More than one-third of Medicare users over 65 years old are accompanied on their medical visits by family members of companions. These results, published in a report on July 14, 2008 in the Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals, also indicate that these companions could be associated with increased patient satisfaction.
More...
07/15/08
Grateful organ recipients meet
After a spouse in the prime of life or a beloved child dies, grief-stricken family members often find little solace anywhere.
But a surprising source of comfort is emerging for some. Among families who have donated their loved ones' organs, there's a growing trend to contact the recipients, say experts in the transplant field. More...
07/15/08
Grateful organ recipients meet
After a spouse in the prime of life or a beloved child dies, grief-stricken family members often find little solace anywhere.
But a surprising source of comfort is emerging for some. Among families who have donated their loved ones' organs, there's a growing trend to contact the recipients, say experts in the transplant field. More...
07/15/08
Blood thinners are nearing
The first goal is a pill option for people who now need daily blood-thinning shots for weeks after knee or hip replacement surgery.
But the ultimate goal is an alternative to that old standby warfarin, also called Coumadin, the nation's most troublesome lifesaver because of side effects and restrictions its 2 million users face. More...
07/15/08
Parents get 'kid-sick'
These days, camp leaders and family counselors say it's an increasingly common dynamic. It used to be the homesick kid begging to come home from camp. While that still happens, they've noticed that it's often parents who have more trouble letting go.
They call it "kid-sickness," a condition attributed in large part to today's more involved style of parenting. Observers also say it's only being exacerbated by our ability to be in constant contact by cell phone and computer, as well as many parents' perception that the world is a more dangerous place. More...
07/14/08
Michael DeBakey dead at 99
Today, in part because of his contributions, it routinely saves thousands of lives each day.
DeBakey, a world-famous cardiovascular surgeon who pioneered such now-common procedures as bypass surgery and invented a host of devices to help heart patients, died Friday night in Houston. He was 99.
According to a statement issued early Saturday by Baylor College of Medicine and Methodist Hospital, DeBakey died of "natural causes" shortly after arriving at the hospital. The hospital's heart and vascular center bears his name.
More...
07/14/08
Fibromyalgia
"It's kind of like a burning, but an ache. It's almost like you have the flu," said Poole, 31, a receptionist from Canton, Georgia.
Poole is one of almost 6 million Americans who suffer from a chronic condition called fibromyalgia.
In addition to widespread pain, patients may complain about fatigue and sleep disturbances, depression, headaches, irritable bowel syndrome and heightened sensitivity. More...
07/14/08
Middle-aged mortals
The chiseled body of 41-year-old Olympic swimmer Dara Torres was all the talk of people watching the U.S. Olympic trials.
And it prompted some middle-aged people to think about their own physical condition and wonder whether mere mortals can achieve that high level of fitness and end up looking like Torres. More...
07/14/08
Health coverage for college students
The House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee on Wednesday by voice vote approved to extend a bill (HR 2851, S 400) that would allow college students who are forced to leave school for a serious illness to continue to receive health care benefits under their parents' health insurance policies, CongressDaily reports. The law would allow students who have certification from a physician of a serious ailment to qualify for coverage during a medical leave of up to one year. The panel also adopted an amendment, proposed by Subcommittee Chair Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), for the law to take effect one year after it is enacted. More...
07/11/08
Health care systems in european nations
NPR, in series titled "Health Care for All," recently examined the health care systems in five European nations, which have lower health care costs than the U.S. and provide a higher quality of care on several measures. Summaries of the stories in the series appear below.
Britain: More....
07/11/08
Fret over red tide dangers
When you have a red tide event, people have a hard time breathing. It runs people out of our hotels. The economy suffers," said Mack, a Fort Myers Republican.
Red tide not only causes respiratory problems, it contaminates shellfish and can destroy other marine life, said Boyd, the Monticello Democrat whose district includes Panama City, Destin, Fort Walton and other parts of what Boyd affectionately called "the Redneck Riviera." More...
07/11/08
Nonsmokers breathe cigarette fumes
A main reason for the decline in secondhand smoke is the growing number of laws and policies that ban smoking in workplaces, bars, restaurants and public places, said researchers with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Another factor is the drop in the number of adult smokers: It has now inched below 20 percent, according to 2007 CDC data. More...
07/11/08
Teen pregnancies up
The new data also show that eighth-graders smoke less, according to the report "America's Children in Brief: Key National Indicators of Well-Being 2008."
The report comes after a spate of high-profile teen pregnancies: that of 17-year-old TV star Jamie Lynn Spears, who recently gave birth to a daughter, as well as the pregnancies of numerous students at Gloucester High School in Massachusetts. More...
07/10/08
Salmonella warnings shift focus
The search for the source of what federal officials are calling the largest outbreak of food-borne illness in decades changed course yet again Wednesday with a warning against the consumption of hot peppers.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is advising the young, old and those with impaired immune systems to avoid fresh jalapeńo and serrano peppers. The announcement comes 12 days after federal officials backtracked on statements that tomatoes are most likely responsible for the outbreak of a rare strain of salmonella that has sickened more than 1,000 people since April. More...
07/10/08
AMA apologizes to black doctors
The apology stems from initiatives at the nation's largest doctors' group to reduce racial disparities in medicine — from the paltry number of black physicians to the disproportionate burden of disease among blacks and other minorities.
"The AMA is committed to improving its relationship with minority physicians and to increasing the ranks of minority physicians so that the work force accurately represents the diversity of America's patients," Dr. Ronald Davis, the group's immediate past president, said in a statement posted on the AMA's Web site. More...
07/10/08
Keep your kids pain-free
"Tell them to blow the pinwheel to make it turn, and you're accomplishing two things," Greenwald says. "It distracts the child while they're getting a shot, and it makes them take deep breaths, which helps them relax."
Jennifer Crain discovered another anti-pain weapon after giving birth to her son: a pacifier dipped in sucrose water. Nurses gave it to him during his circumcision. Researchers think the action of sucking sugar water on a pacifier probably changes neurochemicals in the brain. More...
07/10/08
McCain's plan to expand federal support
The New York Times on Wednesday examined a plan by presumptive Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) to expand high-risk health insurance pools as part of his plan to provide greater access to health insurance in an "invigorated individual market." High-risk pools, now based in states, generally help individuals who cannot obtain private coverage because of pre-existing medical conditions or no previous group coverage. More...
07/09/08
Consumer health plans choosing less care
Consumer-driven health plans (CDHP) -- hailed since their inception in 2000 as a tool to help control costs -- are resulting in members forgoing care and discontinuing drugs to treat chronic medical problems, according to two newly published studies.
Under employer-offered CDHPs, members pay up-front deductibles either out-of-pocket or from a dedicated health-care account before insurance coverage begins. Proponents -- including President Bush and presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain -- argue that consumers in a market-oriented approach will make better health-care choices and drive health-care costs down by doing cost comparisons and accessing information about their conditions. Critics argue that people will instead opt out of important care. More...
07/09/08
FTC takes on cigarettes
Tobacco companies could no longer imply government approval when they advertise cigarettes as "light" or "low-tar" under a proposal announced Tuesday.
The Federal Trade Commission wants to bar manufacturers from using a test known as the "FTC method" to claim a cigarette is low in tar or nicotine. Its proposal says the FTC no longer believes that measurement accurately gauges risk and does not want smokers to think some cigarettes are safe. More...
07/09/08
Watch your waistline
In research presented Wednesday at a meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology, scientists found that obese men have worse sperm than normal-weight men.
"There is a very long list of health hazards from being overweight," said Ghiyath Shayeb, the study's lead researcher at the University of Aberdeen. "Now we can add poor semen quality to the list." More...
07/09/08
Young athletes face grown-up injuries
A single morning's patients for Harvard's Dr. Mininder Kocher provides a window into a troubling trend: Injuries once seen mostly in adult athletes are becoming distressingly common in youth athletes -- not just in high school, but in Little League and Pee Wee Football.
These aren't simple injuries. In the past decade, "Tommy John" surgeries to repair elbows blown out playing baseball -- an operation named for a famous baseball pitcher -- have almost tripled among adolescents at a high-profile Alabama clinic, a meeting of sports medicine specialists will be told by researchers this week. More....
07/08/08
Fighting the cancer
It was a long night, and Susan Niebur was feeling low. Normally, this working mom in Silver Spring, Maryland, can keep a shocking number of balls in the air and still smile. She's a physicist who works part-time as a consultant to NASA; an at-home mom to Matt, 1, and Andrew, 3; an animal-rescue volunteer; and a daily blogger. But Niebur, 35, is also a full-time cancer patient, and one night last fall her characteristic attitude of resolve and optimism failed her. After nearly six months of chemotherapy, the treatment's side effects -- which are cumulative -- were brutal. More...
07/08/08
FDA issues warning on Cipro
The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday ordered makers of flouroquinolone drugs — a potent class of antibiotics — to add a 'black box' warning to their products, which include Cipro, Levaquin, Floxin and other medications.
Patients should immediately stop taking the medications if they develop any tendon pain, swelling or inflammation, More...
07/08/08
Food costs soar
Rebecca Woods and her family in Lathrop, Mo., have turned to the land, planting hundreds of vegetables and relying on their own chickens for eggs.
Retirees Sally and Robert Jones of Alpine, Texas, have reverted back to some of the menus that got them through graduate school many years ago, living on beans, stews and soups.
Dave Snyder of Mobile, Ala., goes to four grocery stores in search of bargains. Nancy Sierra of Fort Myers, Fla., now eats peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch. And Tiffany Nicosia of Charlotte says that, more and more, she whips up new recipes with whatever is left in her refrigerator. More...
07/08/08
Downturn on health care providers
The recent economic downturn has left many health care providers "fighting to stay out of the red," but they have not passed their higher costs to consumers, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Ken Thorpe, a professor of health policy at Emory University, said that providers have not passed their higher costs to consumers because salaries and other contracts are negotiated at certain intervals during the year. Paul Fronstin, director of health research at the Employee Benefit Research Institute, said, "Providers have contracts with health plans," adding, "To the degree they can raise prices, they will, but they still have to be competitive." More...
07/07/08
Comfort cancer patients
It wasn't until I interviewed Dr. Bernadine Healy, a brain cancer survivor, that I discovered there is such a thing as cancer etiquette.
"I found as a patient, sometimes people are awkward, and they'll say the strangest things to you," said Healy, former head of the National Institutes of Health and the American Red Cross. More...
07/07/08
Cholesterol drugs recommended
It is the strongest guidance ever given on the issue by the American Academy of Pediatrics, which released its new guidelines Monday. The academy also recommends low-fat milk for 1-year-olds and wider cholesterol testing.
Dr. Stephen Daniels, of the academy's nutrition committee, says the new advice is based on mounting evidence showing that damage leading to heart disease, the nation's leading killer, begins early in life. More...
07/07/08
Beef recall hits 20 states
On Wednesday, The Kroger Co. expanded its voluntary recall of some ground beef products to its stores in more than 20 states, saying the meat may be contaminated with E. coli.
The nation's biggest traditional grocer also urged customers to check the ground beef in their refrigerators and freezers to determine whether it is covered by the recall. More...
07/07/08
Health care system overhaul
"Health care will become one of the most onerous personal finance issues in coming years unless the system is changed to ensure universal access, cost control and long-term financing," Bloomberg columnist John Wasik writes in the Bloomberg/Boston Globe. He writes that the establishment of an "entirely government-run program may be untenable and politically unacceptable," and that the "road to a solution can merge both private and public interest." More...
07/04/08
Waterlogged Midwest
An explosion of pesky insects is pestering clean-up crews and just about anyone venturing outside in the waterlogged Midwest.
In some parts of Iowa there are 20 times the normal number, and in Chicago up to five times more than usual.
The good news is these are mostly floodwater mosquitoes, not the kind that usually carry West Nile virus and other diseases. But they are very hungry, and sometimes attack in swarms with a stinging bite. More..
07/04/08
Haywire brain chemical
Autopsied brain tissue from SIDS babies first raised suspicion that an imbalance in serotonin might be behind what once was called crib death.
But specialists couldn't figure out how that defect could kill. Now researchers in Italy have engineered mice born with serotonin that goes haywire — and found the brain abnormality is enough to spur sudden death, in ways that mesh with other clues from human babies. More...
07/04/08
Cigarette tax increases by $1 per pack
Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D) on Tuesday signed into law a bill that increases the state cigarette tax by $1 per pack, the AP/Boston Globe reports. The increase, which brings the tax to $2.51, took effect immediately. On Monday, the bill was approved by the state House and Senate by votes of 93-52 and 26-9, respectively. The increase is expected to generate $174 million in revenue, which will be used to help offset the higher-than-expected costs of the Massachusetts health insurance law. More...
07/04/08
Latest suspect in salmonella
The search for the source of the nationwide salmonella outbreak tightened Wednesday to focus on fresh salsas made with tomatoes and other ingredients, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The agency has asked state and local health officials to focus their efforts on items commonly used in the production of fresh salsa, particularly that made in local restaurants, says CDC spokesman Glen Nowak. More...
07/03/08
Stricter diabetes drug testing
Advisers to the Food and Drug Administration voted 14-2 that all new diabetes drugs should undergo longer studies to assure they don't increase risks of heart problems.
The opinions from diabetes experts, cardiologists and statisticians come less than a year after the FDA was criticized for its handling of heart risks connected with a widely used GlaxoSmithKline pill. The drug was approved in 1999 but the agency didn't add a warning about potential heart risks until last November. More...
07/03/08
Watermelon yields Viagra-like effects
A slice of cool, fresh watermelon is a juicy way to top off a Fourth of July cookout and one that researchers say has effects similar to Viagra — but don't necessarily expect it to keep the fireworks all night long.
Watermelons contain an ingredient called citrulline that can trigger production of a compound that helps relax the body's blood vessels, similar to what happens when a man takes Viagra, said scientists in Texas, one of the nation's top producers of the seedless variety. More...
07/03/08
Drink up as summer heats up
Drinking enough water seems intuitive, but when it becomes an afterthought, people exercising or working outdoors can easily become dehydrated — often without knowing it.
With schools out and vacations planned, more Americans are heading outdoors. But experts warn many of them will change exercise habits without giving their bodies the time or resources to catch up. More...
07/03/08
Lawsuit against hospital
The California Department of Managed Health Care on Friday filed a lawsuit in Orange County Superior Court seeking to stop the hospital chain Prime Healthcare Services from billing patients for the cost of services above what their HMOs are willing to pay, the Los Angeles Times reports. The practice is known as "balance billing." More...
07/02/08
Healing touch therapy
Often, a gentle hand on your shoulder when you're upset is all it takes to ease your mind and calm your nerves.
Now, UC researchers are looking at a similar occurrence by pairing a complementary therapy known as Healing Touch with mild sedation to see if the technique truly calms patients undergoing minor procedures. More...
07/02/08
At-risk moms
With more than 14 million copies sold, What to Expect is one of the most successful pregnancy books ever written. But its author, Heidi Murkoff, recognizes that the 614-page, $14.95 book is beyond the reach of the 1 million American women who give birth in poverty each year. "All moms should have access to this information," she says.
More...
07/02/08
Salmonella probe adds foods
Adding to tomato confusion, the government is about to start testing numerous other types of fresh produce in the hunt for the source of the nation's record salmonella outbreak — even as it insists tomatoes remain the leading suspect. More...
07/02/08
Nutrition from produce
Clinical trials have shown that eating about two cloves of garlic per day may help prevent platelets in blood from clumping, which may help keep your arteries unobstructed and reduce your risk of heart attack. Lab studies have linked those benefits to thiosulfinates, compounds that also give garlic and onions their pungent smell. More...
07/01/08
Sunscreens overpromise
"They are both pretty fair skinned," says the West Chester, Ohio, mother of two, so every time Emily, 6, and Claire, 3, go out into the sun, she slathers them with SPF 30 or more.
But during a recent trip to Key Largo, Florida, Crawley's vigilance wasn't enough. "I wasn't sure if it was my technique, the sunscreen or being in Florida," says Crawley, but "that evening they were just fried beyond belief." More...
07/01/08
Benefit in illegal mushroom drug
In 2002, at a Johns Hopkins University laboratory, a business consultant named Dede Osborn took a psychedelic drug as part of a research project.
She felt like she was taking off. She saw colors. Then it felt like her heart was ripping open.
But she called the experience joyful as well as painful, and says that it has helped her to this day. More...
07/01/08
Eye injuries occur at home
Concern about eye injuries may surface with Fourth of July fireworks, but it's more likely for such injuries to occur at home in the kitchen, garden or garage, an eye doctors' association reports today.
"People think they're most at risk in the workplace, or when they're playing sports," says Andrew Iwach, a spokesman for the American Academy of Ophthalmology. "But what we found is that almost all eye injuries occur in the home. And it's not because of exotic behavior — it's very routine things that can be extraordinarily caustic." More...
07/01/08
Costs for care at not-for-profit hospitals
Old Order Amish and Mennonites in Lancaster County, Pa., "suffer from endemic proportions of certain deadly genetic diseases" because they do not marry outside their communities, and, as they "seek lifesaving treatments, the uninsured in these Pennsylvania communities are struggling with escalating costs of care" at not-for-profit hospitals, the Wall Street Journal reports. More...
07/01/08
Bush administration delaying Medicare fee cut
The Bush administration said Monday it will delay paying doctors for treating Medicare patients in early July to give Congress more time to block a scheduled 10.6 percent fee cut...
07/01/08
Medication managers, drug stores merge networks
The drug store and pharmacy benefit management industries on Tuesday will announce a combination of their information systems in order to boost electronic prescribing by physicians...
07/01/08
Surprising fact: Half of gun deaths are suicides
The Supreme Court's landmark ruling on gun ownership last week focused on citizens' ability to defend themselves from intruders in their homes. But research shows that surprisingly often, gun owners use the weapons on themselves...
07/01/08
3-D mammograms, cameras may improve breast exams
Remember peeking through a View-Master? Scientists are using the same concept behind the classic kids' toy to try to see mammograms in 3-D...
06/30/08
California health care groups criticize Gov.
Health care groups that supported Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's $15 billion health coverage expansion plan last year are criticizing the governor's proposed fiscal year 2009 budget, saying that it could increase the number of uninsured state residents, the Los Angeles Times reports. Schwarzenegger's proposed budget would reduce spending on Medi-Cal, California's Medicaid program, by $1.1 billion in the next fiscal year, which begins next month. More...
06/30/08
Strong babies
Several times a day, Donna Lesner gives Marty a chance to strengthen the neck, shoulder and arm muscles he'll need to crawl. She props him on the floor with a toy. She burps and soothes him on her lap, tummy down. And instead of carrying him against her shoulder, she cradles him on her arm like a football, allowing Marty to lift his head and gaze out at the world. More...
06/30/08
Freezing cuts in Medicare fees
Physicians have been running ads hinting that as a result of the cuts, patients may find doctors less willing to treat them. The administration's delay in implementing the cuts, which had been scheduled to go into effect Tuesday, spares lawmakers from having to use the recess to explain to seniors why they didn't do the job before leaving town.
More...
06/30/08
Mower season means risks
Rives, a 28-year-old cable technician from Ellenwood, Georgia, accidentally cut off three toes on his right foot two years ago while trying out his new riding mower.
"I was going too fast and my shorts got caught on the gear shift," Rives recalled. "I came too close to the curb and I couldn't stop. I ended up sliding off and my foot went under." More...
06/27/08
Fight health insurance fraud
The National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association, the National Insurance Crime Bureau and the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud on Tuesday announced the formation of the Consortium to Combat Medical Fraud, which will seek to fight health insurance fraud nationwide, more...
06/27/08
756 ill from salmonella
The official toll from salmonella-tainted tomatoes continues to rise: The government counted 756 confirmed illnesses Thursday.
That's roughly 200 more illnesses than health officials had counted a week ago, in what has become the nation's largest-ever outbreak of salmonella from tomatoes. More...
06/27/08
Routine HIV testing on adults
Under a new program announced Thursday, officials have set an ambitious goal of testing a quarter million adults in the Bronx, one of five boroughs that make up New York City, within three years.
"We need every single individual to know their status," said Dr. Monica Sweeney, an assistant health commissioner who specializes in HIV prevention. More...
06/27/08
Working for or against you?
turns out that certain compounds in Brussels sprouts (and other cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli and cauliflower) may help rid the body of carcinogens that can form on meat during high-heat cooking.
That said, loading up on these vegetables doesn't give you license to char meat, chicken, or fish on the barbecue. "It's always best to cook meat or fish at low temperatures until it's done," says Kristin E. Anderson, Ph.D., a cancer epidemiologist at the University of Minnesota's School of Public Health and Cancer Center, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. "And if there are burned pieces, trim them off." More...
06/26/08
Uninsured rate examined
The Akron Beacon Journal on Tuesday examined how lapses in health insurance, pre-existing conditions and chronic illnesses are contributing to Ohio's uninsured rate. According to the Beacon Journal, 1.4 million, or about one in eight, people in the state are uninsured. According to the Beacon Journal, 56% of Ohio residents have a chronic health condition. More...
06/26/08
Is make-believe vital to kids?
Make-believe is more than child's play. It's crucial to the development of creativity, empathy, learning and problem-solving, but it's being squeezed out of the lives of many children, says psychologist Susan Linn. In her new book, The Case for Make Believe: Saving Play in a Commercialized World (The New Press, $24.95), Linn says parents must limit their children's screen time and give them simple tools that encourage creative play. USA TODAY talks to her about the building blocks of make-believe. More...
06/26/08
Global AIDS bill
The agreement sets the stage for the Senate to vote in the near future on the five-year bill that would more than triple the size of the $15 billion global AIDS bill that Congress, at the urging of President Bush, passed in 2003. The current act expires at the end of September. More...
06/26/08
Do you want to be a guinea pig?
A poster in my internist's waiting room asks whether I'd be interested in participating in a cholesterol study. In my gynecologist's waiting room, another poster tries to recruit ladies for studies on prenatal vitamins and on vulvar vestibulitis (you don't want to know). On my way home from work, I hear radio ads that go something like this: "Depressed? Come join our study of a new medication."
More...
06/25/08
Insurance lags most in Southwest
New England — with a rate of uninsured people less than half that of the Southwest — has the largest proportion of its population covered, the study found.
The study marks the first time the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has compared different regions of the country by health insurance status, said Robin Cohen, the lead researcher. More...
06/25/08
Electronic interference in hospitals
Hospital hallways are covered with warnings to silence mobile phones, which can interfere with medical equipment. It appears other devices commonly used in hospitals might have the same effect on critical-care medical equipment, new research suggests. More...
06/25/08
Examines health insurance claim denials
The San Francisco Chronicle on Monday examined how "[e]ach year, thousands of Californians find themselves at odds with their health insurers over whether they, as patients, should get the treatment their doctors prescribed." More...
06/25/08
The best cardiologist for you
It can be unsettling even to realize you need a heart specialist.
The process of switching cardiologists after a bad experience, or looking for one on your own, can be even more intimidating.
Comparing notes with friends, family members, and coworkers is a good way to start. More...
06/24/08
Caffeinated moms
Americans are consuming caffeinated beverages as never before. In fact, energy drink sales skyrocketed in 2007. The sale of Rockstar, which contains up to 360 mg of caffeine per can, compared with 80 to 150 mg per serving for coffee, rose 38.9 percent in 2007, according to Beverage Digest. Redbull sales rose 19 percent. More...
06/24/08
Brain injuries
The elderly fear breaking a hip when they fall, but a government study indicates that hitting their head can also have deadly consequences: Brain injuries account for half of all deaths from falls. More...
06/24/08
A stroke in prime of life
In November 2005, Davida Godett seemingly had it all. She had a great job and was on the fast track to earning her MBA.
Then, on an otherwise uneventful Monday morning, Godett crashed: She had a mini-stroke that temporarily stopped the blood flow to her brain. More...
06/24/08
Few employers addressing employees' obesity
Obesity rates in the U.S. are driving up costs for employers that provide health insurance to workers, but few companies have introduced programs intended to curb the trend, the New York Times reports. More...
06/23/08
Health insurers' stock prices fall
Stock prices for UnitedHealth, WellPoint and other U.S. health insurers declined Thursday after an announcement by Coventry Health Care that it had lowered its earnings estimates for the second quarter and the full year after reporting that it had underestimated claims in Medicare plans, Bloomberg reports. More...
06/23/08
Mosquitoes, with repellants
When it comes to warding off mosquitoes and the sometimes serious illnesses their bites can cause, we are stuck with commercial repellents — an unloved group of products that can be stinky and sticky and, if used incorrectly, potentially toxic. More...
06/23/08
New clue to Alzheimer's found
The brains of people with the memory-robbing form of dementia are cluttered with a plaque made up of beta-amyloid, a sticky protein. But there long has been a question whether this is a cause of the disease or a side effect. Also involved are tangles of a protein called tau; some scientists suspect this is the cause. More...
06/23/08
Expert gets West Nile
In the time it took him to walk down his driveway in Fort Collins, Colorado, chat briefly with a neighbor and return to his house, Petersen got infected with a potentially serious mosquito-borne illness called West Nile virus. Within hours of being bitten, he said, he began to feel symptoms he recognized. More...
06/21/08
8-limbed 'goddess' baby
Twirling in a wheeled plastic disc is unremarkable for most 2-year-olds but a big achievement for Lakshmi, a child born with eight limbs who her rural villagers believed was a goddess, not a girl, and who underwent a surgery last fall unlike any her doctors had ever performed.
Her story is equal parts mythology and goddess worship, leap of faith and medical miracle. More...
06/21/08
Animal disease outbreak
The government acknowledged that an outbreak of one of the most contagious animal diseases from any of five locations being considered for a new high-security laboratory — an event it considered highly unlikely — would be more devastating to the U.S. economy than an outbreak from the isolated island lab where such research is now conducted.
More...
06/21/08
Global food crisis
The worst of the bird flu threat is over but the fight to eliminate the disease from poultry is weak — a situation that could worsen the global food crisis, health experts warned on Friday.
"The peak is over, but we still are dealing with many outbreaks, small outbreaks," Juan Lubroth, a senior official with the United Nations' Food and Agricultural Organization, said at an international medical conference.
More...
06/21/08
"Protect 4" Pet Health Insurance Plans
EnsurApet, Inc. (OTCBB:EPTI), a provider of pet health insurance, announced that the Company's "Protect 4" Pet Health Insurance Plans offer dog and cat owners an insurance plan which provides coverage for preventive and medical treatments of common canine and feline illnesses.
More...
06/20/08
Medical tourism guidelines for travelers
The American Medical Association this week approved guidelines for U.S. residents who travel abroad to receive medical care and for employers who are considering covering overseas care, the Chicago Tribune reports. More...
06/20/08
'Brain fitness' market booming
At 32, he's not worried about losing his memory. He's taking advantage of a growing market in "brain fitness" spurred by aging baby boomers.
Teenagers cramming for tests and people worried about "senior moments" can now turn to an explosion of brain-assisting video games, such as Nintendo's Brain Age; puzzles that are said to ward off dementia, such as Sudoku and crosswords; and online tips that claim to train the brain. More...
06/20/08
Treating herpes doesn't prevent HIV
Doctors have long suspected that people with herpes are more likely to catch HIV. So they thought that by treating herpes, they could also cut a person's HIV risk. But a new study that tested this strategy found the assumption may have been wrong. More...
06/20/08
Working to cut premature births
The government this week begins an unprecedented push to figure out why, with special aim at preterm births that may be lowered: so-called late preemies, those born weeks, not months, early.
"The average woman should be thinking about this," says acting Surgeon General Steven Galson, who opened a two-day conference on developing a national strategy to prevent premature birth. "We really need to redouble our efforts." More...
06/13/08
Walking a little can go a long way
What if there was something simple you could do every day that would burn calories, be good for your heart, and help you stay young. You'd do it, right?...
06/13/08
FDA issues precautionary note on silver fillings
Silver dental fillings contain mercury, and the government for the first time is warning that they may pose a safety concern for pregnant women and young children. The Food and Drug Administration posted the precaution on its Web site earlier this month, to settle a lawsuit — making the move a victory for anti-mercury activists...
06/13/08
CDC: Hospitals do poorly on breast-feeding support
Most U.S. hospitals don't do very well when it comes to promoting breast-feeding, according to the first national report to look at the issue. The average hospital scored 63 out of 100, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday...
06/13/08
CDC: Salmonella-tainted tomato illnesses reach 228
The toll from salmonella-tainted tomatoes jumped to 228 illnesses Thursday as the government learned of five dozen previously unknown cases and said it is possible the food poisoning contributed to a cancer patient's death...
06/12/08
Juice up your diet
Eating fruits and vegetables helps keep you healthy and protects against disease, but it's not always easy to consume as much produce as experts advise. Fortunately, juices can be a convenient way to squeeze in extra servings. Six ounces -- just 3/4 cup of juice -- counts as one serving of a fruit or vegetable. More...
06/12/08
Worrisome rise in underweight babies
The percentage of underweight babies born in the U.S. has increased to its highest rate in 40 years, according to a new report that also documents a recent rise in the number of children living in poverty. More...
06/12/08
Marijuana potency rises
Marijuana potency increased last year to the highest level in more than 30 years, posing greater health risks to people who may view the drug as harmless, according to a report released Thursday by the White House. More...
06/12/08
McCain discuss health care proposals
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) and presumptive Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) on Tuesday discussed their "sharply different approaches" to health care, the economy and other issues, the Washington Post reports (Bacon, Washington Post, 6/11). Obama promoted his health care proposal on Tuesday during a visit to St. Louis Children's Hospital, more...
06/11/08
Life choices baised on health insurance
Anxiety over becoming uninsured or paying higher premiums is causing some people -- "especially those with health problems" -- to go to "great lengths to get or keep job-based health coverage," the Wall Street Journal reports...
06/11/08
Fruit as top kids' snack
Parents are beginning to clean up their nutrition acts when it comes to the snacks they serve their children, new data show.
Fruit is the most common snack for children under 6, and cookies are second. In 1987, cookies ruled and fruit ranked second, according to findings from the NPD Group, a market research firm. And kids today: More...
06/11/08
US life expectancy tops 78
For the first time, U.S. life expectancy has surpassed 78 years, the government reported Wednesday. The increase is due mainly to falling mortality rates in almost all the leading causes of death, federal health officials said. The average life expectancy for babies born in 2006 was about four months greater than for children born in 2005. More...
06/11/08
Juice up your diet
Eating fruits and vegetables helps keep you healthy and protects against disease, but it's not always easy to consume as much produce as experts advise. Fortunately, juices can be a convenient way to squeeze in extra servings. Six ounces -- just 3/4 cup of juice -- counts as one serving of a fruit or vegetable. More...
06/10/08
Health care reform issues
Jane Bryant Quinn, Washington Post: U.S. employers "want to keep their hand in" the health care system, but because "they consider the current system unsustainable" and "know that tinkering won't change the picture," they are "backing some surprising fundamental changes," More...
06/10/08
Father's memory loss
People over 40 might worry that a slip of the mind could signal the onset of Alzheimer's. Sue Halpern, a scholar-in-residence at Middlebury College in Vermont, had seen her own father struggle with memory problems.
Halpern decided to find out all she could about memory, Alzheimer's and the aging brain. She spent five years talking to neuroscientists, visiting labs and learning about lifestyle measures thought to keep the aging brain in shape. More...
06/10/08
Tomatoes pulled off shelves
Federal officials hunted for the source of a 17-state salmonella outbreak linked to three types of raw tomatoes, while the list of supermarkets and restaurants yanking those varieties from shelves and menus grew.
McDonald's, Wal-Mart, Burger King, Kroger, Outback Steakhouse, Winn-Dixie and Taco Bell were among the companies that voluntarily withdrew red plum, red Roma or round red tomatoes unless they were grown in certain states and countries. More...
06/10/08
Glasses, eye patches look more friendly
When doctors told Kelly Harmsen that her son, Joshua, 2, had amblyopia, or lazy eye, she couldn't imagine keeping an eye patch on him for three hours a day. He pulled it off after about 30 seconds.
But when Joshua saw a cartoon with a patch-wearing pirate, he took his own patch out of the drawer and tried to put it on. More...
06/09/08
Health care legislation
Legislation that would overhaul the U.S. health care system might take a back seat to other issues for the next administration, former House Majority Leader Dick Gephardt (D-Mo.) said Thursday at a health care policy forum, CQ HealthBeat reports. More...
06/09/08
Players increasingly face injury, surgery
Petr Vaneck was throwing a 90-mph splitter as a 16-year-old. A star for his Czech Republic high school team, he had planned to show off his skills as an exchange student in the USA this year.
Instead, Vaneck tore his rotator cuff, an arm injury that has derailed his hopes. More...
06/09/08
Debt stress tears at your body, too
When people are dealing with mountains of debt, they're much more likely to report health problems, too, according to an Associated Press-AOL Health poll. And not just little stuff; this means ulcers, severe depression, even heart attacks.
Take Edward Driscoll, 38, of Braintree, Mass. He blames debt — $10,000 worth — for contributing to his ulcers and his wife Kimberly's panic attacks. "Just worrying, worrying, worrying, you know, where the next payment of this is going to come from," he says. More...
06/09/08
Don't wait to see a doctor
"On a scale of one to 10, Bill was a zero," Kelly remarked when asked about her partner's willingness to get an annual checkup.
It turns out Horrisberger, 62, a retired English teacher from Atlanta, Georgia, isn't the only man who is reluctant to put on a hospital gown.
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality estimates that American men are 25 percent less likely than women to visit a doctor. More...
06/06/08
Prospects for expanding health coverage
The Kansas Health Institute News Service on Monday in a series of articles examined prospects for expanding health coverage in Kansas this year. Last month, lawmakers agreed to expand HealthWave, the state's version of SCHIP, to children in families with incomes up to 225% of the federal poverty level in fiscal year 2009 and to 250% of the poverty level in FY 2010. More...
06/06/08
Communities to get $300M
In Mississippi, 57% of women aged 65-69 got mammograms in a two-year period versus 74% in Maine.
And, in Alaska, 71% of Medicare patients with diabetes got an important annual test for blood sugar compared with 91% in Vermont. More...
06/06/08
Creating 'organ-removal' ambulance
Saving the living has always been the No. 1 priority for a New York City ambulance crew. But a select group of paramedics may soon have a different task altogether: saving the dead. The city is considering creating a special ambulance whose crew would rush to collect the newly deceased and preserve the body so that the organs might be taken for transplant.
The "rapid-organ-recovery ambulance," still in the early planning stages, could raise a host of ethical questions and strike some families as ghoulish. But top medical officials in the Fire Department and Bellevue Hospital say it has the potential to save hundreds of lives.
More...
06/06/08
Your private health details
There it was in black, white, and hypertext blue. My annual mammograms; the visits to the podiatrist for the splinter in my foot; the kind of birth control I use -- it was all on my health insurance company's Web site. And that's not all: The prescriptions drugs I use were listed on the Web site where I get my prescription drug insurance.
I had no idea this was all on the World Wide Web. Welcome to the 21st century, says Dr. Steven Schwaitzberg, associate professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School and a medical informatics expert. More...
06/05/08
Decline in percentage of uninsured
The Washington Post on Wednesday examined the results of a study that found the percentage of uninsured Massachusetts residents decreased from 13% to 7% last year -- the first year after the state's health insurance law took effect in 2006. The study, by researchers at the Urban Institute, was published online Tuesday in Health Affairs. More...
06/05/08
'Hidden condition' for many women
Nine years ago, Lee Greenwood developed a problem that, she says, could have made her hide from the world.
Greenwood, a real estate agent, wet her pants while showing a home. It was the first of many accidents. "I had to do something about it," says Greenwood, 59, from Swarthmore, Pa. "I was not going to be a recluse." More...
06/05/08
$300 million to tackle health
In Mississippi, 57 percent of women aged 65-69 got mammograms in a two-year period versus 74 percent in Maine.
And, in Alaska, 71 percent of Medicare patients with diabetes got an important annual test for blood sugar compared with 91 percent in Vermont. More...
06/05/08
Your private health details
There it was in black, white, and hypertext blue. My annual mammograms; the visits to the podiatrist for the splinter in my foot; the kind of birth control I use -- it was all on my health insurance company's Web site. And that's not all: The prescriptions drugs I use were listed on the Web site where I get my prescription drug insurance. More...
06/04/08
Reduce U.S. Health Care Costs By $145B
Officials from America's Health Insurance Plans have proposed a plan they estimate could reduce U.S. health care spending by $145 billion by 2015, The Politico reports. The group plans to present its findings to congressional committee chairs and ranking members and to hold a policy briefing. More...
06/04/08
A 'drug drought' for pregnant women
Leslie Candy of Boston was expecting her first baby when she developed dangerously high blood pressure. The condition, called pre-eclampsia, can cause women to have seizures or strokes if it's not controlled.
Doctors ordered bed rest and gave Candy, 38, intravenous medications to try to lower her blood pressure. There are no effective drugs for pre-eclampsia, however, and her condition worsened after she was hospitalized. More...
06/04/08
Suicide at higher rates
Hispanic high school students use drugs and attempt suicide at higher rates than their black and white classmates, according to a new federal survey that shows a continuation of a troubling trend. More...
06/04/08
Healthy in the summer
School's out and the kids are playing outside. How much do you have to worry about them getting sick? Here are some concerns you may have, and some you may not know about. More...
06/03/08
Radiation be hurting your health
When Sheri Diehl, a Chicago-area flight attendant, got -- and finally stayed --pregnant after four miscarriages in the 1990s, she contacted her supervisor and asked to stop flying immediately. Her biggest worry? Radiation. She knew the airplane's shell didn't protect her from the sun's rays at high altitude. Diehl and her fellow flight attendants had long wondered -- Could there be unknown health risks for frequent fliers? -- which now included her baby. "I wasn't taking any chances," she says. More...
06/03/08
Kennedy was awake during tumor removal
Kennedy did just that, in an unusual operation Monday at Duke University Medical Center to treat his cancerous brain tumor.
His surgeon said the operation met its goal: removing as much of the tumor as possible to give the radiation and chemotherapy he'll face next a better chance to help.
The 76-year-old senator now will likely be given medicine to prevent brain swelling and seizures — common complications — and watched for signs of bleeding that could lead to a stroke. More...
06/03/08
Mother's gamble pays off
Nate has a rare and deadly genetic disease that prevents his skin from attaching to his body. The slightest friction against his skin, such as the rubbing of the seam from his shirt, gave him blisters the size of water balloons. Swallowing anything but baby food tore his esophagus.
More...
06/03/08
Health insurance policy rescissions
The Arizona Republic on Friday examined how the practice of health insurers rescinding and canceling the health care policies of beneficiaries has been "scrutinized from California to Connecticut with some states passing tough measures or pursuing regulatory actions and assessing fines to restrict these retroactive health policy voids."
More...
06/02/08
Not enough physicians
There are not enough primary care physicians in Massachusetts to meet the demand for care created by the state's health insurance law, according to health care reform advocates and medical professionals, the Boston Globe reports. Jon Kingsdale, executive director of the Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority, said that as of Jan.1, about 340,000 state residents, most of whom had previously been uninsured, are now insured through state programs. More...
06/02/08
Marriage after age 45
When she was still single in her 40s, Debra Siegel made a list of qualities for her yet-elusive perfect husband: honest, family-oriented, a hard worker and physically fit.
But the years passed and the list went unfulfilled. More...
06/02/08
Brain surgery is risky
Targeted brain surgery like that chosen for Sen. Edward M. Kennedy is a delicate balance — removing as much tumor as possible improves cancer control, but there's also the risk of harming healthy brain tissue that lets patients walk and talk. More...
06/02/08
Therapy on horseback carries rewards
The 8-year-old from Dunwoody, Georgia, has cerebral palsy. He can't walk, and he has difficulty sitting up, but while riding on the back of a horse he gains physical and emotional strength and confidence.
"When he's up on the horse, he loves it," said his mother, Kay Hillis. "He never wants to leave." More...
06/01/08
What puts you at risk for high cholesterol?
Blood cholesterol is a risk factor for coronary artery disease and heart attack, so reducing your risk of high cholesterol is a worthy goal...
06/01/08
Study: Vitamin D helps breast cancer survival
Breast cancer patients with low levels of vitamin D were much more likely to die of the disease or have it spread than patients getting enough of the nutrient, a study found -- adding to evidence the "sunshine vitamin" has anti-cancer benefits...
06/01/08
College professor goes from fat to 'Mr. Low Body Fat'
To most of his friends and colleagues, Muata Kamdibe was the fun-loving, dreadlocked English professor with a great sense of humor. He was outgoing and loved to laugh and have a good time...
06/01/08
EPA aims to keep rat poison from children, animals
Ecological and conservation groups are praising a move by the Environmental Protection Agency to impose new restrictions on rat poisons to help reduce the threat of accidental exposure to children and wildlife...
05/30/08
Lack Of 'Signature Domestic Issue'
The Washington Post on Thursday examined how Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) has not "emphasized any signature domestic issue or signaled that he would take his party in a new direction." More...
05/30/08
Sudden infant death syndrome
A study published Friday in the medical journal The Lancet found potentially dangerous bacteria such as staphylococcus aureus and E coli in nearly half of all babies who died suddenly and unexpectedly at a London hospital between 1996 and 2005.
"This may be another piece to the puzzle," said Marian Willinger, a SIDS expert at the United States' National Institute of Child Health and Human Development who was not connected to the British study. More...
05/30/08
Tobacco industry's youth focus
Tobacco companies are targeting the half billion young people in the Asia Pacific region by linking smoking to glamorous and attractive lifestyles, the U.N. World Health Organization said Friday. More...
05/30/08
Specter on cancer battle
Sen. Arlen Specter woke at 4 a.m. one day last week with an excruciating headache, a side effect of chemotherapy. Ninety minutes later, he was on the squash court, playing a partner less than half his age. That's the way Specter faces cancer and chemo. Borrowing a phrase from Winston Churchill, he calls it the "never-give-in" approach. More...
05/29/08
Tool kit to prevent errors in handoff
When information is missing or incorrect during a patient handoff, the consequences can be tragic.
A "handoff" is the process of transferring care for a patient from one caregiver to another. The Joint Commission's National Patient Safety Goal 2E requires organizations to create a standardized approach to handoff communications, including an opportunity to ask and respond to questions. "Handoff Communications: Toolkit for Implementing the National Patient Safety Goal," More...
05/29/08
Go West, unfit American!
It looks as if the West has won.
San Francisco is the fittest big city in the USA, just slightly more fit than Seattle, according to a scientific analysis of 16 cities released today by the American College of Sports Medicine at its annual meeting in Indianapolis.
But not all of the West is in top shape. Los Angeles is near the bottom of the list. More...
05/29/08
Superbug causing more illnesses
The germ, resistant to some antibiotics, has become a regular menace in hospitals and nursing homes. The study found it played a role in nearly 300,000 hospitalizations in 2005, more than double the number in 2000.
The infection, Clostridium difficile, is found in the colon and can cause diarrhea and a more serious intestinal condition known as colitis. It is spread by spores in feces. But the spores are difficult to kill with most conventional household cleaners or antibacterial soap. More...
05/29/08
Is Grandma drugged up?
One cold November weekend five years ago, Kelli Phillips and her husband traveled from their home in Norman, Oklahoma, to Kansas City, Missouri, to watch their beloved Oklahoma Sooners play in a Big 12 championship against Kansas State. Checking into the hotel, they looked forward with great excitement to the game. More...
05/28/08
Presidential candidates' health care proposals
Several newspapers recently published opinion pieces addressing health care in the presidential election. Summaries of the pieces appear below
Alex Gerber, Washington Times: "Since the top health care economists in the nation are available to the White House, we should assume our health care woes will be largely resolved upon the retirement" of President Bush, but a "careful review of the health care reforms" proposed by presidential candidates "depicts a gloomier picture," according to a Times opinion piece by Gerber, a University of Southern California... More...
05/28/08
Child obesity rates high
Finally some good news: The rate of childhood obesity may be leveling off in the USA after years of skyrocketing growth, new government data show.
About 32% of children and teens ages 2 to 19 — about 23 million — were either overweight or obese in 2003-2006 compared with 29% in 1999. The increase is not considered statistically significant. More...
05/28/08
Be a happier mom
"Moment to moment, you may be exhausted, frustrated, sometimes angry," says Peter Ubel, M.D., a professor of medicine and psychology at the University of Michigan. In fact, on their list of pleasurable activities, moms rank child care lower than eating, exercising, or watching TV, according to a University of Michigan study. And kid care rates only slightly higher than housework, working, or commuting! More...
05/28/08
Superbug causing more illnesses
The germ, resistant to some antibiotics, has become a regular menace in hospitals and nursing homes. The study found it played a role in nearly 300,000 hospitalizations in 2005, more than double the number in 2000.
The infection, Clostridium difficile, is found in the colon and can cause diarrhea and a more serious intestinal condition known as colitis. It is spread by spores in feces. But the spores are difficult to kill with most conventional household cleaners or antibacterial soap. More...
05/27/08
Salamander-inspired therapy
Army Sgt. Shiloh Harris' doctors applied specially formulated powder to what's left of the finger in an effort to do for wounded soldiers what salamanders can do naturally: replace missing body parts.
If it sounds like science fiction, the lead surgeon agreed.
"It is. But science fiction eventually becomes true, doesn't it?" said Dr. Steven Wolf of Brooke Army Medical Center. More...
05/27/08
Disease in Myanmar delta
DEDAYE, Myanmar - Myint Hlaing's family bathes and draws cooking water from an irrigation ditch fouled by human waste and a rotting cow carcass. His 10-year-old daughter suffers from diarrhea, despite drinking bottled water donated by aid groups.
They are among hundreds of cyclone survivors in this town forced to endure daily rains beneath tattered thatch huts and use whatever water they can find — a recipe for disease in Myanmar's low-lying delta as the monsoon season nears.
More...
05/27/08
Intensified war on AIDS
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — The abused and orphaned children in Pastor Julius Bonani's church are the face of an AIDS epidemic that is killing nearly 1,000 South Africans a day and infecting even more.
And yet, the 18 children who live in Bonani's heartbreak home, in a shanty town filled with dust and despair, also personify a tortuous journey toward hope in the country most affected by the AIDS crisis. After a decade of denial under a president who has disputed the cause of AIDS and a health minister who thinks garlic is a remedy, there is growing political will to tackle the crisis. More...
05/27/08
The risk of disability
Many baby boomers incorrectly believe they have disability income protection, according to a new survey conducted by Harris Interactive® on behalf of America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP). Most say that disability insurance is important to protect their income, but nearly half say they do not have any disability income protection. More...
05/23/08
Blood pressure patients
High blood pressure is a leading cause of heart attacks, strokes and death. Having it checked a few times a year in a doctor's office or at the drugstore is not enough to keep tabs on it, and regular home monitoring is more accurate, the new advice says. More...
05/23/08
McCain appears cancer-free
The Republican presidential nominee-in-waiting remains at risk for developing new skin cancers, and gets a thorough check by a Mayo Clinic dermatologist every few months.
"I do not see any worrisome lesions," Dr. Suzanne Connolly concluded after McCain's most recent exam, on May 12. More...
05/23/08
Smokers get the signal
Smoking is addictive, but quitting may be contagious, according to research that suggests social networks shape people's behavior far more powerfully than previously suspected.
Although many smokers see their battle with nicotine as an individual struggle, the study shows that people actually give up smoking in groups, quitting at the same time as others in their social network. Researchers found that someone who stops smoking may inspire not just his friends but distant members of his "social niche" — a friend of a friend of a friend — whom he doesn't even know. More...
05/23/08
Bush signs measure banning genetic
On Wednesday, President Bush signed into law the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (HR 493), which will prohibit health plans, insurers and employers from discriminating against individuals based on genetic information that shows a predisposition to certain conditions, including breast cancer, the Washington Times reports (Ward, Washington Times, 5/22).
More...
05/22/08
After cancer diagnosis
"It's horrible, it's shocking," Healy says of her diagnosis nine years ago. "It takes awhile to digest what's happening."
Once over the initial shock, Healy, former director of the National Institutes of Health, went to work, combing the latest literature and talking to experts about the best treatments. More...
05/22/08
Smokers tend to quit in groups
The urge to smoke is contagious, but quitting apparently is, too. A team of researchers who showed that obesity can spread person-to-person has found a similar pattern with smoking cessation: A smoker is more likely to kick the habit if a spouse, friend, co-worker or sibling did. More...
05/22/08
FAA bans anti-smoking drug
The Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday removed the smoking cessation drug Chantix from the list of medications considered safe for pilots and air-traffic controllers after a new study linked the medication to mental confusion and other problems that could put passengers at risk. More...
05/22/08
Legislation to prohibit genetic discrimination
USA Today: The bill, which President Bush likely will sign on Wednesday, would allow U.S. residents to undergo genetic tests "without worrying that the results could cost them their job or health insurance," a USA Today editorial states. According to the editorial, the "issue is increasingly relevant" because "more than 1,100 tests look for genetic links to various diseases." Genetic tests can "alert people to their own medical risks" and "help researchers find therapies for hereditary diseases," the editorial states. The legislation would "set a national standard" against genetic discrimination and, although "not perfect," would represent a "crucial step forward," according to the editorial (USA Today, 5/21).
05/21/08
What diagnosis could mean
Kennedy's doctors at the Massachusetts General Hospital said Tuesday that the preliminary results from the brain biopsy showed a tumor in the left parietal lobe was responsible for the seizure.
Kennedy hasn't had any seizures since his hospitalization, doctors said. More...
05/21/08
What diagnosis could mean
Kennedy's doctors at the Massachusetts General Hospital said Tuesday that the preliminary results from the brain biopsy showed a tumor in the left parietal lobe was responsible for the seizure.
Kennedy hasn't had any seizures since his hospitalization, doctors said. More...
05/21/08
Kennedy's brain cancer is worst kind
A malignant glioma — the diagnosis doctors gave Sen. Edward M. Kennedy — is the worst kind of brain cancer. Malignant gliomas strike almost 9,000 Americans a year. Survival statistics are grim — few live three years and for the worst subtype, half die within a year. More...
05/21/08
Weight discrimination
Weight discrimination, especially against women, is increasing in U.S. society and is almost as common as racial discrimination, two studies suggest.
Reported discrimination based on weight has increased 66% in the past decade, up from about 7% to 12% of U.S. adults, says one study, in the journal Obesity. The other study, in the International Journal of Obesity, says such discrimination is common in both institutional and interpersonal situations — and in some cases is even more prevalent than rates of discrimination based on gender and race. (About 17% of men and 9% of women reported race discrimination.) More...
05/21/08
Low income patients face hurdles
Having health insurance is only one of the hurdles that patients have to clear in order to see a doctor these days, according to a new study of Floridians receiving Medicaid.
When interviewers posing as Medicaid patients called doctors' offices that participate in the Florida Medicaid program, they were met in some cases by disconnected numbers, phone trees and time on hold before they could find out about scheduling an appointment. More...
05/20/08
Vitamin D is hot!
Vitamin D is becoming an increasingly important player in a healthful diet. Over the past 10 years, a spate of research has linked it to an impressive and diverse array of potential benefits. In addition to vitamin D's well-known function of increasing calcium absorption and thereby helping encourage healthy bone growth, it has shown promise in helping to prevent certain cancers, heart disease, diabetes, and osteoarthritis. More...
05/20/08
Health service publicly available
Called Google Health, the service lets users link information from a handful of pharmacies and care providers, including Quest Diagnostics labs. Google plans to add more.
Similar offerings include Microsoft Corp.'s HealthVault and Revolution Health, which is backed by AOL co-founder Steve Case. More...
05/20/08
'need for speed' may be DNA
A photo spread in Sports Illustrated makes no secret of what's under Danica Patrick's race car suit, but it doesn't begin to reveal what's happening beneath the helmet of the 26-year-old IRL IndyCar Series star.
Sports psychologists, neurologists and other scientists who study the minds of top race car drivers say it takes a complex combination of intelligence, certain inherited brain chemicals and environmental influences to make a champion. More...
05/20/08
Insurance premium that covers abortions
The group Harvard Right to Life, or HRL, during the past two weeks has been sending cards to Harvard University students who have Blue Cross Blue Shield health insurance plans that detail how to request a refund for the portion of their premiums that funds abortions, The Politico reports. More...
05/19/08
California health insurers agree
California health insurers Kaiser Permanente and Health Net on Thursday agreed to reinstate coverage to about 1,200 individuals whose policies were improperly rescinded, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The insurers reached the agreement with the California Department of Managed Health Care, which has been investigating insurers that retroactively cancel health coverage for some plan members who incur high medical costs, More...
05/19/08
Dieters navigate emotions
Overeating is often fueled by a wide range of turbulent emotions.
It's not always a simple matter of being hungry. Boredom, loneliness, anxiety, anger, stress, sadness and even happiness can have more to do with what and when we eat.
That's the experience of many of the dieters who have been profiled for the past two months in USA TODAY's fifth annual Weight-Loss Challenge, which draws to a close today. More...
05/19/08
Health system strained
TWANTE, Myanmar - Saw Htin's cheeks were wet with tears after waiting in line with hundreds of sick, desperate cyclone survivors. The 18-year-old mother clutched her wheezing baby boy.
"He coughed and cried all night," she explained hysterically to a volunteer doctor. "Is he going to die?"
Myanmar's ragged health system has been stretched to the limit after the cyclone two weeks ago left up to 2.5 million people homeless, exposed to pounding rains and potential disease. More...
05/19/08
At risk for high cholesterol?
However, the next time you brag that your cholesterol is nice and low -- or lament that your number is in the mid-200s -- know this:
"Your total cholesterol is a pretty meaningless number," says Maureen Mays, M.D., a preventive cardiologist and lipid specialist at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland.
"Not only does the general public not know this, some doctors don't either." More...
05/16/08
Man's rare ability
Williams is one of only three people in the world identified with this off-the-charts autobiographical memory, according to researchers at the University of California-Irvine who gave the condition its name: hyperthymestic syndrome, from the Greek words for excessive (hyper) and remembering (thymesis).
Unlike most people whose memories fade with time, much of Williams' life is etched indelibly in his mind.
"It's just there," said Williams, 51, who reports the news for a family of radio stations in La Crosse, Wisconsin. More...
05/16/08
Help curb breast cancer
The skin makes vitamin D from ultraviolet light. Too much sunlight can raise the risk of skin cancer, but small amounts — 15 minutes or so a few times a week without sunscreen — may be beneficial, many doctors believe.
While the vitamin is found in certain foods and supplements, most don't contain the best form, D-3, and have only a modest effect on blood levels of the nutrient. That's what matters, the Canadian study found. More...
05/16/08
Low Vitamin D
Breast cancer patients with low levels of vitamin D were much more likely to die of the disease or have it spread than patients getting enough of the nutrient, a study found — adding to evidence the "sunshine vitamin" has anti-cancer benefits. More...
05/16/08
Average 2008 employee Out-of-Pocket costs
The cost of health care for the average U.S. family with employer-sponsored health coverage will increase 7.6% this year, due in part to rising prescription drug prices, according to a Milliman study released on Wednesday, Dow Jones reports. The fifth annual Milliman Medical Index analyzed historical claims data and trends in provider contracting and examined the drivers and components of medical spending. More...
05/15/08
Health care expansion bill
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) on Tuesday vetoed legislation that would have expanded access to publicly-sponsored health coverage, saying the bill would not reduce health care costs or improve quality, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports (Duchschere, Minneapolis Star Tribune, 5/13). More...
05/15/08
Hospital staffs train
Annie West began bleeding internally after an emergency Cesarean section.
West, who had just delivered twins, says she might have panicked if she weren't confident in the doctors and nurses caring for her at Aurora Women's Pavilion in West Allis, Wis. More...
05/15/08
twin is found inside stomach
A 9-year-old girl who went to hospital in central Greece suffering from stomach pains was found to be carrying her embryonic twin, doctors said Thursday.
Doctors at Larissa General Hospital examined the girl and surgically removed a growth they later discovered was an embryo more than two inches long.
05/15/08
5 mistakes women make
For 10 years, Barbara's gut told her she needed to get a new doctor for her daughter, and for 10 years, she didn't listen, even as her daughter got sicker and sicker.
The doctor had diagnosed irritable bowel syndrome when Barbara's daughter was 13. Day after day, year after year, she had bloody diarrhea. More...
05/14/08
4 bad-habit makeovers
Given this line of reasoning, I deserved every bit of grief I got when my first child, Lucy, was born. Of course, it wasn't really my fault. I never slept. I breastfed round the clock, taking breaks only for wrestling matches with my unspeakably tight pre-pregnancy pants. My hormones mocked me. So I did whatever it took to survive. More...
05/14/08
Americans are taking prescription
The most widely used drugs are those to lower high blood pressure and cholesterol — problems often linked to heart disease, obesity and diabetes.
The numbers were gathered last year by Medco Health Solutions Inc., which manages prescription benefits for about one in five Americans. More...
05/14/08
New mouthwashes
So the person you're talking to decides to chew on some gum or mints and offers you some, too. Hmmm. Does she think her breath smells bad — or is she hinting yours does?
It's a vexing and often taboo topic. Despite shelves full of products to fight bad breath, there's little solid information on whether they really work. More...
05/14/08
Insurers dropping out
The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday examined how efforts by the state of Connecticut to expand disclosure among the HMOs in its Medicaid program have resulted in insurers dropping out of the program and have "left Connecticut's Medicaid program in turmoil, jeopardizing health care for thousands of poor residents." More...
05/13/08
Health Insurance for small businesses
The National Federation of Independent Business last week in Washington, D.C., launched a new advertising campaign that focuses on the cost of health insurance for small businesses, CQ HealthBeat reports.
The campaign, titled "Solutions Start Here," includes ads on four local radio stations and in local print publications focused on politics, as well as ads scheduled to appear online this week. More...
05/13/08
Slow elder mental decline
The arthritis drug Celebrex and the over-the-counter painkiller Aleve showed no benefit on thinking skills, new findings show. Earlier results from the same research showed the two drugs didn't prevent Alzheimer's, at least in the short term.
The experiment was halted several years early in 2004 when heart risks turned up in a separate study on Celebrex. Researchers also had noticed more heart attacks and strokes in the people taking Aleve in the Alzheimer's prevention study. More...
05/13/08
Genetically modified human embryo
An author of the study says the work was focused on stem cells. He notes that the researchers used an abnormal embryo that could never have developed into a baby anyway.
"None of us wants to make designer babies," said Dr. Zev Rosenwaks, director of the Center for Reproductive Medicine and Infertility at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. More...
05/13/08
Help teens remember meds
Ohio doctors are experimenting with texting to tackle a big problem: Tweens and teens too often do a lousy job of controlling chronic illnesses such as asthma, diabetes or kidney disease.
It's a problem long recognized in adults, particularly for illnesses that can simmer without obvious symptoms until it's too late. But only now are doctors realizing how tricky a time adolescence is for skipping meds, too. More...
05/12/08
Employer-provided high-deductible policies
Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue (R) on Wednesday signed into law two measures intended to make high-deductible health insurance plans more affordable and accessible, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
Under one bill (HB 977), insurers are exempt from taxes on premiums for high-deductible plans that include health savings accounts, for which they previously paid a tax of at least 2.5%. More...
05/12/08
That first step was the hardest
Heather Burczynski, 32, of Nashville works right next door to a YMCA, but she had a membership for a year before she had the courage to step through the door.
When she finally mustered the nerve to go inside, she went directly into the bathroom and sat there for 10 minutes, worried that people would stare at her and think she was too heavy — at 280 pounds — to work out. "It was very frightening," she says. "But that's actually ridiculous, because if anything, people would be thinking, 'Well, good for her.' " More...
05/12/08
Case for vaccine link to autism
The Institute of Medicine said in 2004 there was no credible evidence to show that vaccines containing the preservative thimerosal led to autism in children. But thousands of families have a different take based on personal experience.
Some of them are going to court Monday as attorneys will attempt to show that the mercury-based preservative triggers symptoms of autism. More...
05/12/08
Moms key to healthy daughters'
These aren't professional chefs. They're 10- and 11-year-old girls getting a lesson in cooking and healthy eating. They're also learning how to have a positive image of their bodies.
"I think you need to balance things," said Thornton, a fourth-grader from Atlanta, Georgia. More...
05/08/08
Women, click here for good health
One patient wrote Nedrow enthusiastically about an herb to treat low libido. Nedrow, medical director of Women's Primary Care and Integrative Medicine at the Oregon Health Sciences University, clicked on the link, and saw that it was an advertisement for the herb, and there was no science proving that the herb actually worked.
Another e-mail contained a link to a site for a nutritional drink. Again, Nedrow wrote back pointing out that the Web site actually belonged to the company that made the drink, hardly an objective source. More...
05/08/08
Decades of details
Middle-age people often ask that plaintive question as time seems to accelerate, the days blur together, and children grow up in a flash.
But it's not a question 42-year-old Jill Price ever asks, because she can recall in vivid detail every day of her life since age 14, and many earlier days, too. More...
05/08/08
Chantix recommended to quit smoking
The federal government's new advice to doctors for helping smokers quit recommends the drug Chantix, which has recently been linked with depression and suicidal behavior. The new guidelines mention the psychiatric risks but also say the popular Pfizer Inc. drug is the most effective at helping people get off cigarettes. More...
05/08/08
Universal health care proposal
Washington, D.C., Council member David Catania (I) on Monday said he is reworking a proposal that aims to establish universal health care in the district, the Washington Post reports (Stewart, Washington Post, 5/6). In its initial form, the $50 million Healthy DC proposal would require all district residents to obtain health insurance. The proposal would subsidize coverage for uninsured residents who are ineligible for Medicare, More...
05/07/08
Build a better salad
While the quintessential pairing of ripe tomatoes and lettuce is certainly enjoyable, a good salad can be so much more. Adding fruits, nuts, and other well-chosen ingredients offers a welcome change. More importantly, incorporating a few more nutritious ingredients is an easy way to serve a more healthful dish.
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05/07/08
Too little sleep tied to ill health
The study also linked light sleepers to higher smoking rates, less physical activity and more alcohol use.
The research adds weight to a stream of studies that have found obesity and other health problems in those who don't get proper shuteye, said Dr. Ron Kramer, a Colorado physician and a spokesman for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.
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05/07/08
New dads' depression hurts kids
Fathers of 9-month-olds are about twice as likely as other men their age to show symptoms of major depression, which also can hurt their children: Depressed fathers read less to their kids, and the children know slightly fewer words by age 2, a study suggested Tuesday.
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05/07/08
Medical research is essential
Health care in the United States is expensive, but its funding is crucial because it also is a major contributor to the economy and can better lives, according to an essay appearing in the June 2008 issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN). Because of the cost of health care, this is not time to shrink the budget at the National Institutes of Health, which funds medical research that leads to potentially curative therapy.
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05/06/08
Trouble paying for medical expenses
In addition to increasing the number of uninsured, the "economic slowdown" also is "threatening millions of people who have insurance" but are underinsured or are struggling to afford their premiums, copayments and other out-of-pocket expenses, the New York Times reports. Since 2001, an employee's average annual premium cost for family health coverage has nearly doubled from $1,800 to $3,300, yet at the same time, "incomes have come nowhere close to keeping up,"
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05/06/08
Test men for osteoporosis
Men ages 65 and older should get screened for osteoporosis, a bone-thinning disease once thought of primarily as a woman's problem, a physicians group said today.
In a report in today's Annals of Internal Medicine, the American College of Physicians unveiled new guidelines urging doctors to look for factors that put older men at risk. The report says a substantial number of men go undiagnosed.
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05/06/08
Pandemic flu threat remains
"We can't delude ourselves. The threat of a pandemic influenza has not diminished," said Keiji Fukuda, coordinator for the World Health Organization's Global Influenza Program.
Fukuda spoke to a meeting of around 150 health experts from governments, WHO and other agencies to update WHO's pandemic influenza preparedness plan.
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05/06/08
Seven vaccines you need
"It brought me to tears," she remembers.
Simpson's family doctor tested her for asthma, but she didn't have asthma.
She had pertussis, a bacterial infection that usually goes by the name whooping cough because of its distinctive seal-like cough.
Most people are vaccinated against pertussis as kids. But here's a surprise: It's come roaring back since an all-time low in the 1970s, largely due to waning immunity in adults who received shots in early childhood.
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05/05/08
Neck cancer dangers
"It's therapeutic for me to talk to patients," Hamilton explained. Her husband, Bobby Hamilton Sr., a champion NASCAR driver, died of neck cancer last year at the age of 49.
"It blindsides you," Hamilton said. "It just completely caught us off guard."
The American Cancer Society estimates 35,000 new cases of oral, head and neck cancer will be diagnosed in the United States this year, accounting for between 3 and 5 percent of all cancers. More than 7,000 people will die.
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05/05/08
Who should MDs let die in a pandemic
Now, an influential group of physicians has drafted a grimly specific list of recommendations for which patients wouldn't be treated. They include the very elderly, seriously hurt trauma victims, severely burned patients and those with severe dementia.
The suggested list was compiled by a task force whose members come from prestigious universities, medical groups, the military and government agencies. They include the Department of Homeland Security, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Health and Human Services.
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05/05/08
An upswing in suicides
The sun is shining. Flowers are blooming. It's May, and many of us feel great.
But the thoughts of some vulnerable people grow dark at this seemingly bright time of year. In fact, if there is a season for suicide, springtime is it.
"It's a new beginning, but some people don't feel that new beginning," says Jerry Reed, executive director of the Suicide Prevention Action Network.
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05/05/08
Consolidated health program higher
Enrollment in Wisconsin's new BadgerCare Plus program has "far exceeded" officials' expectations, with more than 71,000 residents enrolling in the first six weeks of the program, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports (Boulton/Forster, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 4/29). The program consolidates and streamlines the state's existing Medicaid, Healthy Start and Badger Care programs.
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05/04/08
Gastric Bypass May Also Relieve Low Back Pain
Obese people who underwent surgery that reduced the amount of food they could ingest not only lost weight, they also lost some of their lower back pain, according to a new report...
05/04/08
Obesity May Worsen Impact of Asthma
A study of women with a wide range of body-mass indexes (BMIs) found that obesity may worsen the impact of asthma and also mask its severity in standard tests...
05/04/08
Special Diet Can Ease Epileptic Seizures in Kids
The "ketogenic" diet, which features high levels of f