Previous Medical News
2009/10/10
1. H1N1 Shots to Arrive Next Week (CDC, 10/07/09)
About 2.2 million doses of nasal spray are available so far. However, the spray is not recommended for some people who are most in danger of complications from flu, including pregnant women and people with asthma. While some priority groups like health care workers and healthy children or older can get vaccinated this week, pregnant women and others at risk should wait.
2. Swine flu put many hospitalized patients into ICU (New England Journal of Medicine, 10/8/09)
One quarter of Americans sick enough to be hospitalized with swine flu last spring wound up needing intensive care and 7 percent of them died. That's a little higher than with ordinary seasonal flu. What is striking and unusual is that children and teens accounted for nearly half of the hospitalized cases, including many who were previously healthy.
3. One Third of parents oppose swine flu vaccine (AP Poll, 10/7/09)
More than a third of parents don't want their kids vaccinated.
4. US, other nations stop counting pandemic flu cases (CDC, 10/09/09)
U.S. health officials have lost track of how many illnesses and deaths have been caused by the first global flu epidemic in 40 years. And they did it on purpose. The novel H1N1 flu seems to be more dangerous for children, young adults, pregnant women and even the obese, according to studies based on small numbers of patients. Federal health officials are keeping track of children's deaths.
5. 76 children dead of swine flu as cases rise: 19 new reports in the last week (CDC, 10/09)
76 U.S. children have died of swine flu, including 19 new reports in the past week — more evidence the new virus is unusually dangerous for the young. The regular flu kills between 46 and 88 children a year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That suggests deaths from the new H1N1 virus could dramatically outpace children's deaths from seasonal flu, if swine flu continues to spread as it has.
6. 'Breakthrough' Drug May Put an End to Menstrual Misery (London’s Daily Mail, 10/09/09)
Dysmenorrhea (painful menstruation) affects a large number of women and there is currently no targeted therapy to treat the condition. The pill, known in trials as VA111913, works by bringing down the levels of vasopressin, the hormone that controls the muscles that contract in the uterus. Most other drugs only treat the symptom, rather than the cause. The first round of trials proved there are very few side effects of the drug and could offer an effective alternative to the over-the-counter painkillers.
7. Researchers Develop Memory-Boosting Nasal Spray (Federation of the American Societies for Experimental Biology, 10/09)
A short spray of the inhaler – taken at bedtime – will help the brain to hold in memories acquired during the day. The spray was made using a molecule in the body’s immune system known as interleukin 6.
8. 3 Americans share 2009 Nobel medicine prize (Stockholm)
The trio was awarded for the discovery of how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase. Americans Elizabeth H. Blackburn, Carol W. Greider and Jack W. Szostak have won the 2009 Nobel Prize in medicine for discovering a key mechanism in the genetic operations of cells, an insight that has inspired new lines of research into cancer. The trio solved the mystery of how chromosomes, the rod-like structures that carry DNA protect themselves from degrading when cells divide. They found the solution in the ends of the chromosome - features called telomeres that are often compared to the plastic tips at the end of shoe laces that keep those laces from unraveling. Blackburn and Greider discovered the enzyme that builds telomeres - telomerase - and the mechanism by which it adds DNA to the tips of chromosomes to replace genetic material that has eroded away.
9. Gen. Petraeus treated for prostate cancer (Multiple sources, 10/6/09)
Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, was diagnosed with prostate cancer in February and has since undergone two months of radiation treatment. Petraeus, 56, was diagnosed with early-stage prostate cancer, which was not publicly disclosed at the time because Petraeus and his family regarded his illness as "a personal matter" that "did not interfere with the performance of his duties."
10. Study links virus to chronic fatigue syndrome: XMRV (Science, 10/8/09)
A virus recently linked to prostate cancer is a new suspect in chronic fatigue syndrome. Scientists tested blood from 101 patients and found two-thirds carried it. That doesn't mean the virus causes chronic fatigue. Chronic fatigue is characterized by at least six months of severe fatigue, impaired memory and other symptoms, but there's no test for it — doctors rule out other possible causes — and no specific treatment.
11. Convertibles Hazardous to Your Hearing? (American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery Annual Meeting, Oct. 4-7, 2009, San Diego)
Too Much Top-Down Driving May Harm Hearing. The maximum noise was at 70 miles.
12. Bouncing Back From Low Back Pain (BMJ, 10/07/09)
Nearly a third of the patients -- 35% -- had recovered completely at nine months; 42% had recovered completely within a year after their back pain began. The study wasn't about the back pain treatments that helped them recover; the patients had gone to any of three clinics and saw general practitioners, physiotherapists, or chiropractors.
13. Bad air quality could trigger appendicitis (Canadian Medical Association Journal, 10/5/09)
Short-term exposure to air pollution could trigger appendicitis in adults, possibly because pollutants cause inflammatory responses.
14. Mammograms Cut Risk of Breast Cancer Death (American Society of Clinical Oncology, 10/09)
Three-fourths of deaths due to breast cancer occur among women who do not undergo regular screening mammograms.
15. Choose an educated wife for a longer life (Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 10/6/09)
If you want to enjoy a long life, marry a highly educated woman. A woman's education is a stronger factor in her husband's risk of dying over the next decade or so than the man's own level of education.
16. Childhood stress can shorten your life (American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 11/09)
Stressful childhood experiences, such as verbal and physical abuse, can take years off an individual's life.
17. Shingles May Raise Risk of Stroke (Stroke, 11/09)
Adults with shingles are at increased risk for stroke, especially if they have shingles that affects the eyes.
18. Depression, Anxiety Linked to Weight Gain (BMJ, 10/09)
People who suffer from depression, anxiety, and other mental health disorders are more likely to gain weight over time and become obese than people who don’t.
19. Mediterranean diet cuts depression risk (Archives of General Psychiatry, 10/09)
People who follow a Mediterranean-style diet rich in vegetables, fruits, nuts, whole grains and fish are less likely to become depressed. Elements of the diet may improve blood vessel function, fight inflammation and repair oxygen-related cell damage.
20. Internet Addiction: Is Your Teen at Risk? (Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 10/09)
Kids with ADHD, hostility, social phobia, or depression may be more likely to become addicted to the Internet. There appear to be certain psychiatric conditions that make teens more prone to internet addiction.
21. Women on Birth Control Pill Less Attracted to 'Masculine' Men (Ecology and Evolution, 10/09)
suppressed a female’s interest in ‘masculine’ men, making ‘boyish’ men more attractive. Women prefer ‘masculine’ men during the time they ovulate each month. But on the days women are not fertile, they prefer men who have boyish faces and caring personalities.
22. Autism May Be More Common Than Thought (Pediatrics, 10/09)
According to two new national surveys autism may be more common than previously thought. It is unclear whether there are actually more cases or we are more effectively counting the cases or counting cases that were in the past given other diagnoses. It's important to know potential signs of autism and to consult a pediatrician as soon as possible to check out a child. About 1% of U.S. children, or about one in 91, may have autism or an autism spectrum disorder. Among the potential signs are social interaction problems, language difficulties, or behavior problems such as repetitive behavior.
23. Eating Candy in Childhood Linked to Adult Crime (British Journal of Psychiatry, 10/09)
Kids who eat too many treats at a young age risk becoming violent in adulthood.
