Previous Medical News

2009/05/30

1.  Daniel Hauser Undergoes Chemotherapy: Should physicians force parents to accept therapy for their sick children?
Share with us your opinion and join the complex medical ethics debate.

2.  Will diabetes affect Sotomayor's ability to serve on Supreme Court? (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, 5/28/09)
If confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court, Sonia Sotomayor would be its first known member with Type 1 diabetes. The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation in New York says that the disease shaves an average of seven to 10 years off of a patient's life, but patients like Sotomayor who manage their disease well can expect to live as long -- and work as hard -- as healthy Americans.

3.  Which City Is America's Fittest? (American College of Sports Medicine, 5/26/09)
Washington, D.C., tops the American College of Sports Medicine's new list of America's fittest cities. Rankings were based on ppercentage of residents who smoke, are obese, get regular physical activity, eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables per day, and have conditions such as diabetes and heart disease -- and on local resources, such as parks, farmers' markets, number of primary health care providers, and crime rates. Top ten are:

1. Washington, D.C.
2. Minneapolis-St. Paul
3. Denver
4. Boston
5. San Francisco
6. Seattle
7. Portland
8. San Diego
9. Austin, Texas
10. Virginia Beach, Va.

4.  Adcirca approved for pulmonary hypertension (FDA, 5/26/09)
The FDA has approved Adcirca tablets (tadalafil, from United Therapeutics), a once-daily oral phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) inhibitor, for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Adcirca is indicated to improve exercise ability in World Health Organization (WHO) Group I PAH patients, including patients with multiple forms of PAH (eg, idiopathic PAH, familial PAH, PAH associated with scleroderma and congenital heart disease).

5.  Gene links heart and gum disease (annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics in Vienna, 5/25/09)
A genetic link between dental disease and heart attacks has been found. A common gene mutation has been found in people with periodontitis and heart attack patients.

6.  Statin therapy helps prevent repeat stroke (Neurology, 5/26/09)
People who take cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins after suffering a first stroke may be less likely to have another stroke in the next 10 years.

7.  US cancer death rate drops again in 2006 (American Cancer Society, 5/27/09)
The U.S. cancer death rate fell again in 2006 continuing a slow downward trend attributed to declines in smoking, earlier detection and better treatment. About 560,000 people died of cancer that year, according to an American Cancer Society report. Better screening has improved deaths from colon cancer. Treatment advances are more of a factor in leukemia death rates. And smoking cessation is the main reason behind improvements in male lung cancer deaths.

8.  Study says uninsured are costly for all (Families USA, 5/28/09)
Health insurance premiums for an average family are $1,000 a year higher because of costs of health care for the uninsured.

9.  New Treatment for Barrett's Esophagus (New England Journal of Medicine, 5/27/09)
Radiofrequency ablation may zap away the potentially precancerous cells associated with Barrett’s esophagus. Radiofrequency ablation, which uses heat generated by radio waves to selectively destroy tissue, completely eradicated the abnormal cell growths lining the esophagus in more than 77% of those who received the treatment. Barrett’s esophagus is usually the result of GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease), in which repeated acid reflux causes the cells that line the esophagus to be replaced by the type of cells normally found in the intestine. Most people with GERD will not develop Barrett's esophagus. About 10% of people with chronic GERD will develop Barrett's esophagus. The condition itself is not life-threatening, but a small proportion of people with Barrett’s esophagus go on to develop esophageal adenocarcinoma, one of the most deadly forms of cancer.

10.  'Pulling Out' Method Gets New Respect (Contraception magazine, 6/09)
Half of pregnancies are unplanned. Sex researcher Rachel K. Jones has published a controversial report that suggests the much-maligned withdrawal method of birth control was nearly as effective as condoms in preventing pregnancy. Her findings are based on several studies and data from the Guttmacher Institute, a nonprofit organization focused on sexual and reproductive health. Her studies found that in perfect use -- meaning the man pulls out every time -- withdrawal has a 4 percent failure rate, as compared to condoms, which have a 2 percent failure rate.

11.  Refusing whooping cough vaccine shown to raise risk: 1 in 20 catch the virus (Pediatrics, 5/09)
One in 20 children whose parents do not get them vaccinated against whooping cough catch the highly contagious virus. The illness, which features uncontrollable deep coughing, is rarely fatal but infants are most vulnerable and accounted for most of the 140 U.S. deaths from pertussis between 2000 and 2005. Even if children survive a bout with whooping cough unscathed, they can spread illness-causing bacteria to more vulnerable victims, he said, including babies not yet vaccinated.

12.  Ears to Blame for Falls? (Archives of Internal Medicine, 5/09)
Inner Ear Balance Disorder May Put a Third of Adults at Risk for Falls. More than a third of older adults may unknowingly have an inner ear balance disorder that puts them at high risk of potentially disabling falls. 35% of American adults 40 and older have vestibular dysfunction of the inner ear, which hampers their sense of balance control. People with symptoms of vestibular dysfunction were eight times more likely to experience a fall. Dizziness is the most common symptom of vestibular dysfunction, but researchers say many people with the disorder do not experience symptoms and may be unaware there is a problem.

13.  Many dying patients don't discuss hospice with doc (Archives of Internal Medicine, 5/25/09)
Just half of terminally ill lung cancer patients discuss hospice with their health care provider.

14.  Scientists identify gene that may explain hair loss (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 5/09)
Researchers in Japan have identified a gene that appears to determine cyclical hair loss in mice and believe it may also be responsible for hair loss, or alopecia, in people.

15.  Memory Takes a Hit During Menopause (Neurology, 5/26/09)
Women do not learn as well during early and late perimenopause, when periods are irregular but have not disappeared altogether. The deficits were temporary. A woman's learning capacity bounces back once post menopause has begun.

16.  Expectant moms packing on too many pounds (Institute of Medicine, 5/29/09)
Eating for two? New guidelines are setting how much weight women should gain during pregnancy — surprisingly little if they're already overweight. Most importantly: Get to a healthy weight before you conceive. About 55 percent of women of childbearing age are overweight. Being at ideal body weight reduces the chance of pregnancy-related high blood pressure or diabetes, or the need for a C-section — and it's best for the baby, too. Babies born to overweight mothers have a greater risk of premature birth or of later becoming overweight themselves. A normal-weight woman, as measured by BMI or body mass index, should gain between 25 and 35 pounds during pregnancy. A normal BMI, a measure of weight for height, is between 18.5 and 24.9. An overweight woman — BMI 25 to 29.9 — should gain 15 to 25 pounds during pregnancy. For the first time, the guidelines set a standard for obese women — BMI of 30 or higher: 11 to 20 pounds. An underweight woman — BMI less than 18.5 — should gain 28 to 40 pounds.

17.  Low Vitamin D Levels May Initiate Cancer Development (Annals of Epidemiology, 5/09)
Low levels of vitamin D may contribute to cancer development. The first event in cancer is loss of communication among cells due to, among other things, low vitamin D and calcium levels. Maintaining adequate levels of vitamin D may help stop cancer development. Ask your doctor to check your Vitamin D level.

18.  Technology, Caffeine Keeping Teens Awake (Pediatrics, 6/09)
Just one in five teens is getting the recommended eight hours of sleep each night. The rest may be texting the night away with the help of highly-caffeinated energy drinks.

19.  Obese, Diabetic Youths Have Artery Plaque (Circulation, 5/09)
Teens and young adults who are obese or have type 2 diabetes show early warning signs of heart disease. Researchers from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital used ultrasound imaging to confirm the presence of fatty plaque buildup in the carotid arteries of young people who were obese or had type 2 diabetes. The average age of the study participants was 18.

20.  Teen Stress May Have Roots in First Three Years of Life (Child Development, May/June/09)
Very young children who spent excessive time in child-care facilities or who had insensitive mothers may be more prone to stress in their teen years.

21.  Stimulant Chewing Gum Can Be Dangerous for Kids (The Lancet, 5/30/09)
Stimulant chewing gum can be dangerous if used excessively according to a case report about a teenage boy who was hospitalized after chewing a large amount of the caffeine-containing gum.

22.  Recall: Chang Farm Bean and Soy Sprouts-contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes (FDA, 5/28/09)