Health-Medical-Fitness-Diet-zj: august 2012

duminică, 5 august 2012

Mental Abuse Hurts Children Just As Much As Physical Abuse

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) position statement on psychological maltreatment, psychological abuse in young children can be just as damaging in terms of the children's physical, mental and emotional health than physical abuse like punch, kick or slap.

The August issue of the journal Pediatrics reports that one of the biggest challenges is to detect this prevalent form of child abuse and neglect.

According to Dr. Harriet MacMillan, a professor in the departments of psychiatry and behavioral neurosciences and pediatrics of McMaster University's Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine and the Offord Centre for Child Studies, exploiting, belittling, terrorizing or denigrating a child or being emotionally unresponsive as well as corrupting a child to the point where a child's wellbeing is at risk are all forms of psychological abuse.

MacMillan, who holds the David R. (Dan) Offord Chair in Child Studies at McMaster is one of three authors of the position statement, says: "We are talking about extremes and the likelihood of harm, or risk of harm, resulting from the kinds of behavior that make a child feel worthless, unloved or unwanted."

She describes a case whereby a mother leaves her child alone in a crib all day or a father who involves his teenage child in his drug habit.

MacMillan continued that parents who raise their voice towards a child after having asked the child for the tenth time to do their chores is not psychological abuse, saying:

"But, yelling at a child every day and giving the message that the child is a terrible person, and that the parent regrets bringing the child into this world, is an example of a potentially very harmful form of interaction."

Scientific literature has described psychological abuse over two-and-a-half decades ago, yet MacMillan states that it has remained under-recognized and under-reported and that the impact of psychological child abuse "can be as harmful as other types of maltreatment."

Psychological maltreatment has an impact on the development of children. Psychological abuse is therefore associated with various problems, including disorders of attachment, developmental, educational and socialization problems as well as disruptive behavior.

"The effects of psychological maltreatment during the first three years of life can be particularly profound."

Psychological abuse happens in many types of families, although it is more frequent in homes where there is family conflict, multiple stresses, physical violence, mental health issues, depression or substance abuse.

Unlike the few existing studies that report on the prevalence of psychological abuse, the position statement reveals that large population-based, self-report studies in the UK and the U.S. have discovered that around 8 to 9% of women and 4% of men reported exposure to severe psychological abuse during childhood.

Pediatricians must be aware if they see potential signs of psychological abuse, even though little evidence is available on potentially successful methods to tackle the problem. The statement indicates that it is vital for children at risk for pediatric, psychiatric and child protective services to collaborate.

Written by Petra Rattue
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

Visit our pediatrics / children's health section for the latest news on this subject. "Psychological Maltreatment"
Roberta Hibbard, MD, Jane Barlow, DPhil, Harriet MacMillan, MD
Pediatrics, August 2012, doi: 10.1542/peds.2012-1552 Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:

MLA

n.p. "Mental Abuse Hurts Children Just As Much As Physical Abuse." Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 3 Aug. 2012. Web.
5 Aug. 2012. APA

Please note: If no author information is provided, the source is cited instead.

'Mental Abuse Hurts Children Just As Much As Physical Abuse'

Please note that we publish your name, but we do not publish your email address. It is only used to let you know when your message is published. We do not use it for any other purpose. Please see our privacy policy for more information.

If you write about specific medications or operations, please do not name health care professionals by name.

All opinions are moderated before being included (to stop spam)

Contact Our News Editors

For any corrections of factual information, or to contact the editors please use our feedback form.

Please send any medical news or health news press releases to:

Note: Any medical information published on this website is not intended as a substitute for informed medical advice and you should not take any action before consulting with a health care professional. For more information, please read our terms and conditions.

Stem Cell Therapy May Fix Defects From Injuries To Head And Mouth

Researchers have discovered, in the first human study of its kind, that it is faster, more effective and less invasive using stem cells to re-grow craniofacial tissues, i.e. mainly bone, compared with traditional bone regeneration treatments.

The clinical trial was a collaboration of researchers from the University of Michigan School of Dentistry and the Michigan Center for Oral Health Research together with Ann Arbor-based Aastrom Biosciences Inc. involving 24 patients who required jawbone reconstruction after tooth removal. The researchers divided the patients into two groups, with one group receiving experimental tissue repair cells (ixmyelocel-T) and the other group receiving traditional guided bone regeneration therapy. The tissue repair cells ixmyelocel-T are currently being development at Aastrom.

Leading investigator Darnell Kaigler, who is assistant professor at the U-M School of Dentistry said:

"In patients with jawbone deficiencies who also have missing teeth, it is very difficult to replace the missing teeth so that they look and function naturally. This technology and approach could potentially be used to restore areas of bone loss so that missing teeth can be replaced with dental implants."

Kaigler stated that the treatment is best suited for large defects, like those resulting from trauma, diseases or birth defects, since these are very challenging to treat due to their complex nature of requiring various different tissue types, including bone, skin and gum tissue.

He continued saying that the key advantage of using stem cell therapy is that the patient's own cells are used to regenerate tissue instead of using man-made, foreign materials.

The study achieved promising results. Study participants in the cell therapy group received dental implants at 6 and 12 weeks after their experimental cell therapy and were noted to have a greater bone density and quicker bone repair compared with those who underwent traditional guided bone regeneration therapy. They also needed less secondary bone grafting when receiving their implants compared with the traditional bone regeneration group.

The team used cells extracted from the patient's hip bone marrow, which was subsequently processed using Aastrom's proprietary system. This allows the growths of many different cells, including stem cells, which were then relocated into different areas in the patient's mouth and jaw.

Kaigler concluded saying that stem cell therapies are still probably 5-10 years away from becoming a standard treatment for oral and facial injuries and defects and that more clinical trials need to be conducted, which include a larger number of patients with larger craniofacial defects.

Written by Petra Rattue
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

Visit our stem cell research section for the latest news on this subject. Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:

MLA

n.p. "Stem Cell Therapy May Fix Defects From Injuries To Head And Mouth." Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 3 Aug. 2012. Web.
5 Aug. 2012. APA

Please note: If no author information is provided, the source is cited instead.

'Stem Cell Therapy May Fix Defects From Injuries To Head And Mouth'

If you write about specific medications or operations, please do not name health care professionals by name.

All opinions are moderated before being included (to stop spam)

Contact Our News Editors

For any corrections of factual information, or to contact the editors please use our feedback form.

Please send any medical news or health news press releases to:

Introduction Of The Medicare Diabetes Prevention Act Praised By The American Diabetes Association

Senators Al Franken (D-MN), John D. Rockefeller (D-WV), and Richard G. Lugar (R-IN) have been leaders in the effort to stop diabetes by introducing the Medicare Diabetes Prevention Act; new legislation that provides coverage of the National Diabetes Prevention Program (National DPP) under the Medicare Program.

At the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National DPP is a public-private partnership that includes private insurers, government agencies, and community organizations.

Based on an NIH clinical trial that showed participants over the age of 60 could effectively reduce their risk of diabetes by 71 percent, the proven prevention program provides evidence-based programs.

Coverage of this crucial program by Medicare is a fiscal breakthrough for the health of the nation by decreasing federal expenditures on diabetes and its crippling complications, such as: blindness, end-stage kidney disease, and amputation.

L. Hunter Limbaugh, Chair of the Board, American Diabetes Association, said:

"The American Diabetes Association strongly supports the introduction of the Medicare Diabetes Prevention Act.This legislation will provide our nation's seniors with access to proven diabetes prevention programs that will drastically change the course of type 2 diabetes among this high-risk population."

Diabetes is a serious nationwide public health problem. Almost half of all American adults over the age of 65 have prediabetes and are at enormous risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The expansion of community-based diabetes prevention programs will not only prevent diabetes from developing in adults, but will also save $191 billion in health care costs over a 10 year span, according to The Urban Institute. The timing is ideal for Congress to support proven and cost-effective programs to reduce health care costs, and most importantly, improve the lives of Americans.

According to the NIH (National Institutes of Health), in the USA: 8.3% of the US population are affected with diabetes; a total of 25.8 million.18.8 million have been diagnose with diabetes.At least 7 million people have diabetes but have not been diagnosed. (Experts say this is a conservative number.)If diabetes incidence continues growing at its present rate, within the next twenty years the percentage of people in the country with the disease will probably more than double.Written by Kelly Fitzgerald
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today Visit our diabetes section for the latest news on this subject. Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:

MLA

n.p. "Introduction Of The Medicare Diabetes Prevention Act Praised By The American Diabetes Association." Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 3 Aug. 2012. Web.
5 Aug. 2012. APA

Please note: If no author information is provided, the source is cited instead.

'Introduction Of The Medicare Diabetes Prevention Act Praised By The American Diabetes Association'

If you write about specific medications or operations, please do not name health care professionals by name.

All opinions are moderated before being included (to stop spam)

Contact Our News Editors

For any corrections of factual information, or to contact the editors please use our feedback form.

Please send any medical news or health news press releases to:

Spray-On Skin Helps Heal Wounds

Spraying living skin cells directly onto the wound was found to heal venous leg ulcers better than standard care, according to the results of a trial published online first in The Lancet on Friday.

The phase 2b clinical trial tested a "spray-on skin" that is under development for the treatment of venous leg ulcers. It contains two types of living, growth-arrested skin cells, keratinocytes and fibroblasts.

The treatment, which is described as an "allogeneic living cell bioformulation" is being developed by Healthpoint Biotherapeutics of Fort Worth, Texas.

The bioformulation, called HP802-247, contains a particular combination of keratinocytes and fibroblasts, which are thought to interact with the patient's own cells to promote wound healing and tissue regeneration.

Results of previous lab culture experiments suggest they release various growth factors and cytokines into the wound environment, said the company in a statement.

About 2.5 million Americans suffer from leg ulcers, an increasingly common condition where circulation in the lower legs is so poor, usually because of damaged veins or valves or both, that it leads to open wounds or ulcers that are very slow to heal and often recur, developing into chronic non-healing wounds.

The trial, which took place in 28 centers in the US and Canada, tested the effectiveness of two concentrations and dosing frequencies of the treatment when combined with standard care, compared to control plus standard care, in healing venous leg ulcers over a 12-week period.

228 patients were randomly assigned in a double blind manner to receive one of four doses (5·0 x 10 million cells per mL every 7 days or every 14 days, or 0·5 x 10 million cells per mL every 7 days or every 14 days), or the control formulation (vehicle alone every 7 days). (Double blind means neither the patients nor the professionals who administered the treatment knew whether they were using the active agent or the control).

Each patient had up to three venous leg ulcers, with diagnosis confirmed by ultrasound, and with at least one ulcer measuring between 2 and 12 square cm in area, that had persisted for between 4 and 104 weeks.

The primary measure of success was the average change in wound area by the end of week 12.

Overall, the spray-on skin achieved statistically significant improvement, as compared with control plus standard care.

The authors write there was a "significantly greater mean reduction in wound area associated with active treatment", with the "0·5 x 10 million cells/mL every 14 days showing the largest improvement compared with vehicle".

The most frequently reported adverse events were skin ulcers, cellulitis, wound infection, and skin irritation. These were much the same in all groups.

The authors conclude that at the appropriate dose, "venous leg ulcers can be healed with a spray formulation of allogeneic neonatal keratinocytes and fibroblasts without the need for tissue engineering".

In an accompanying commentary, Matthias Augustin, of the University of Hamburg, and Wolfgang Vanscheidt, of Dermatologische Praxisgemeinschafts in Freiberg, Germany, note that:

"In a well-done clinical trial in The Lancet, Robert Kirsner and colleagues have clearly shown that a specific cell therapy for venous leg ulcers can lead to a significantly higher healing rate than for vehicle alone in hard-to-heal [venous] wounds for which compression treatment has been applied unsuccessfully."

Written by Catharine Paddock PhD
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

Visit our dermatology section for the latest news on this subject. "Spray-applied cell therapy with human allogeneic fibroblasts and keratinocytes for the treatment of chronic venous leg ulcers: a phase 2, multicentre, double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial"; Robert S Kirsner, William A Marston, Robert J Snyder, Tommy D Lee, D Innes Cargill, Herbert B Slade; The Lancet, 3 August 2012; DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(12)60644-8; Link to Abstract.
Additional source: Healthpoint Biotherapeutics.. Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:

MLA

n.p. "Spray-On Skin Helps Heal Wounds." Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 5 Aug. 2012. Web.
5 Aug. 2012. APA

Please note: If no author information is provided, the source is cited instead.

posted by Betsy on 4 Aug 2012 at 8:25 pm

I have lividoid vasculopothy and have been suffering with venous ulcers for over 20 years. I am 45. It has never completely gone away, but is better than it has ever been. The worst part is the painful and reoccurring wounds and constant infection. How do I find out more? This is exciting news!

| post followup | alert a moderator |

'Spray-On Skin Helps Heal Wounds'

If you write about specific medications or operations, please do not name health care professionals by name.

All opinions are moderated before being included (to stop spam)

Contact Our News Editors

For any corrections of factual information, or to contact the editors please use our feedback form.

Please send any medical news or health news press releases to:

Sepsis Causes Come To Light

Death caused by infectious diseases occurs in the majority deaths, not because of the actual pathogen itself, but because of an excessive inflammatory immune response (sepsis). For example, as a result of organ damage.

Sepsis is also the second most frequent cause of death on intensive care units. Especially in patients with a severely compromised immune system, life-threatening candida fungal infections can pose a high risk of sepsis.

Leading researcher Karl Kuchler and his team at the Christian Doppler Laboratory for Infection Biology at the Max. F. Perutz Laboratories at the Vienna Biocenter Campus have now discovered the molecular causes of life-threatening inflammatory reactions that are triggered by fungal infections.

They discovered that inflammatory reaction in a candida infection is mediated by two of the immune system's highly aggressive types of phagocytes called neutrophils and inflammatory monocytes. Both phagocytes also have a high potential for collateral destruction.

Certain Interferons, i.e. the immune system's messenger substances that are excreted during fungal infections stimulate the growth of immune cell types, infecting organs and leading to sepsis.

Kuchler, said:

"We have been able to demonstrate for the first time that the targeted blockade of this immune response with inflammation-inhibiting drugs can significantly reduce candida sepsis and therefore mortality."

Kuchler used pioglitazone as an anti-inflammatory substance in the study, which is also used as an active ingredient in the treatment of type 2 diabetes.

He administered the medication in a mouse model and noted that the number and activity of neutrophils and inflammatory monocytes were significantly reduced, raising the animals' survival rate for invasive candida infections.

Kuchler continued: "The targeted blockade of excessive immune responses could therefore provide new therapeutic approaches to increase the chances of recovery from life-threatening fungal sepsis."

The world's number one cause of death is infectious diseases, and pathogenic fungi are responsible for extremely dangerous infections. Over € 6 billion are spent each year worldwide on anti-fungal medications, and the overall treatment costs for pathogenic fungi-related infectious diseases is estimated to be hundreds of billions of Euros.

Written by Grace Rattue
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

Visit our infectious diseases / bacteria / viruses section for the latest news on this subject. "Type I Interferons Promote Fatal Immunopathology by Regulating Inflammatory Monocytes and Neutrophils during Candida Infections"
Olivia Majer, Christelle Bourgeois, Florian Zwolanek, Caroline Lassnig, Dontscho Kerjaschki, Matthias Mack, Mathias Müller, Karl Kuchler
PLoS Pathogens, August 2012, doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.1002811 Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:

MLA

n.p. "Sepsis Causes Come To Light." Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 3 Aug. 2012. Web.
5 Aug. 2012. APA

Please note: If no author information is provided, the source is cited instead.

posted by Su Su on 4 Aug 2012 at 5:12 am

Research has shown that a simple vitamin in a high dose can cure sepsis. It is also not expensive to cure using the vitamin. Wake up hospitals!

| post followup | alert a moderator |

'Sepsis Causes Come To Light'

If you write about specific medications or operations, please do not name health care professionals by name.

All opinions are moderated before being included (to stop spam)

Contact Our News Editors

For any corrections of factual information, or to contact the editors please use our feedback form.

Please send any medical news or health news press releases to:

The Influence Of Gender On Smoking Cessation

New research has looked into the enduring assumption that women are less successful than men in quitting smoking. The study, published in Tobacco Control, found convincing proof that across all age groups "there [is] relatively little difference in cessation between the sexes."

Data was examined from major national surveys in Canada, the United States, and England in order to approximate the rates of smoking cessation by age in men and women. All of the countries surveyed had a consistency in the pattern of sex differences in smoking cessation.

The authors revealed, "below age 50, women were more likely to have given up smoking completely compared to men, while among older age groups, men were more likely to have quit than women." There were sex differences in different age groups, but the researchers are not positive as to what accounted for this finding.

This is the most recent and largest epidemiological study to date, and the researchers found no convincing evidence to support the longstanding claims that smoking cessation is harder for females. The authors wrote, "The myth of female disadvantage at quitting smoking is bad, first and foremost, for women," because it could discourage them quickly and stop trying to quit, before they find out for themselves if they really can.

The researchers also pointed out that this claim could be harmful for men as well who may think they are at an advantage and then not put forth any effort to quit their bad habit. "It is time to put aside the idea that women are less successful than met at giving up smoking," they said.

The difficulty of smoking cessation based on sex should not be ignored, even though this new study did not reveal such findings. Several studies have shown that women experience more severe withdrawal symptoms than men, which makes quitting much harder and more uncomfortable for these women. Women are also less likely than men to have a beneficial experience from nicotine replacement therapy, which adds to the difficulty some women face when trying to quit.

Smoking is a terrible habit and difficult to quit, because smoking can lead to nicotine dependence and serious health problems. Smoking cessation can dramatically decrease the risk of health issues caused by tobacco use. There are beneficial treatments available for people struggling with chronic tobacco use. Multiple intervention methods will also help with dependence from the drug. Statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta revealed, "there are more former smokers than current smokers," today in our country.

In order to improve the length and quality of a smoker's life, the smoker must put an end to their nicotine addiction. If men and women cannot quit smoking on their own, there are many options available that will help fight their nicotine addictions.

The authors also pointed out that women who stop smoking relapse for different reasons than men. Stress, weight control, and negative emotions are all reasons women gave who have relapsed. Cessation programs need to look into this information in order to be successful.

While the majority of smokers are able to stop tobacco use on their own, some people may need help to quit. The CDC has made a list of effective methods to help them do so: Brief clinical interventions, such as a 10 minute meeting with a doctor where he offers advice and assistanceBehavioral cessation therapiesCounseling - individual, group, or online/phoneMedication, such as nicotine replacement products, prescription and non-prescription medication including certain SSRI'sWhile women smokers try to quit smoking, they should also apply proper weight management, emotional and psychological support, which will help them have a smoke-free lifestyle long-term. Smoking cessation is not an easy challenge, whether male or female, but one that can be overcome and will provide great changes in a person's quality of life and overall health.

Written by Sarah Glynn
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

Visit our smoking / quit smoking section for the latest news on this subject.
Martin J Jarvis, Joanna E Cohen, Cristine D Delnevo, Gary A Giovino
Tobacco Control July 2012 doi: 10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2011-050279 Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:

MLA

n.p. "The Influence Of Gender On Smoking Cessation." Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 2 Aug. 2012. Web.
5 Aug. 2012. APA

Please note: If no author information is provided, the source is cited instead.

'The Influence Of Gender On Smoking Cessation'

If you write about specific medications or operations, please do not name health care professionals by name.

All opinions are moderated before being included (to stop spam)

Contact Our News Editors

For any corrections of factual information, or to contact the editors please use our feedback form.

Please send any medical news or health news press releases to:

Genetic Clue Discovered For Why Women Outlive Men

A new study of mitochondrial DNA in fruit flies offers a number of clues that might explain why females tend to outlive males across much of the animal kingdom, including humans.

Researchers from Monash University in Australia and Lancaster University in the UK, write about their work in the 2 August online issue of Current Biology.

They found male fruit flies appear to have mutations in their mitochondrial DNA that affect how fast they age and how long they live.

Scientists use fruit flies as models for studies in genes and aging because their biological processes are remarkably similar to that of other animals, such as humans, and with a lifespan of about a month, it doesn't take too long to investigate generational effects.

Senior author Damian Dowling, a research fellow in the Monash School of Biological Sciences, told the press:

"All animals possess mitochondria, and the tendency for females to outlive males is common to many different species. Our results therefore suggest that the mitochondrial mutations we have uncovered will generally cause faster male aging across the animal kingdom."

"Intriguingly, these same mutations have no effects on patterns of aging in females. They only affect males," he added.

Mitochondria are special subunits of cells, about the same size as bacteria, that provide the energy for life. They combine sugar and oxygen into adenosine triphosphate or ATP, molecular packets of energy that are usable by cells.

Mitochondria have their own DNA that is quite separate from the cellular DNA in the nucleus of the cell.

And, unlike cellular DNA, which is inherited from the sperm and egg that fuse to make the new individual, mitochondrial DNA comes only from the egg.

Thus, as mitochondrial DNA is passed down from generation to generation, the process of natural selection has no opportunity to "screen out" mutations in mitochondrial DNA that might be harmful to males. The researchers refer to this as a "sex-specific selective sieve".

For their study, Dowling and colleagues looked at differences in longevity and biological aging in male and female fruit flies whose mitochondria came from different origins.

They found genetic variations in both male and female mitochondrial DNA, but only the male ones could be linked to life expectancy. There weren't just a few mutations in one place, there were several, spread all over the mitochondrial genome:

"... our results indicate that the mitochondrial mutation loads affecting male aging generally comprise numerous mutations over multiple sites," they write.

The researchers suggest the mutations are entirely due to the way mitochondrial DNA is passed down through the female line.

"If a mitochondrial mutation occurs that harms fathers, but has no effect on mothers, this mutation will slip through the gaze of natural selection, unnoticed. Over thousands of generations, many such mutations have accumulated that harm only males, while leaving females unscathed," Dowling explained.

In an earlier study that looked at the effect of mitochondria being passed down the female line, the team had also discovered a link with male infertility.

Dowling said combining this latest study with their earlier work suggests mitochondria are "hotspots" for mutations that influece male health.

"What we seek to do now is investigate the genetic mechanisms that males might arm themselves with to nullify the effects of these harmful mutations and remain healthy," said Dowling.

Written by Catharine Paddock PhD
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

Visit our seniors / aging section for the latest news on this subject. "Mitochondria, Maternal Inheritance, and Male Aging "; M. Florencia Camus, David J. Clancy, Damian K. Dowling; Current Biology, 02 August 2012; DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2012.07.018; Link to Abstract.
Additional source: Monash University. Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:
MLA
n.p. "Genetic Clue Discovered For Why Women Outlive Men." Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 5 Aug. 2012. Web.
5 Aug. 2012. APA
Please note: If no author information is provided, the source is cited instead.

posted by Ecologist on 4 Aug 2012 at 5:27 am
The idea is that males get mitochondria only from their mother, but the problem with it is that both males and females inherit mitochondria from their mother. This is not a nuclear scene where there are two sets of genes (or alleles), and the defect goes unnoticed in a female. At most this is a one-generation effect between the mother and her sons. There is also a one-generation effect between the mother and her daughters. Unless the researcher is proposing that male cells interact with their mitochondria in ways that females do not, then there is a logic flaw in their argument.
| post followup | alert a moderator |

posted by Kitfox on 3 Aug 2012 at 6:56 am
Is this research screening all flies or just the married ones? The data could be flawed. What we need to look into is the nagging genes of the females of the species and turn it off. Once that has been achieved the males will no longer mutate their genes ON PURPOSE in order to shorten the suffering period. :)
| post followup | alert a moderator |

'Genetic Clue Discovered For Why Women Outlive Men'
Please note that we publish your name, but we do not publish your email address. It is only used to let you know when your message is published. We do not use it for any other purpose. Please see our privacy policy for more information.
If you write about specific medications or operations, please do not name health care professionals by name.
All opinions are moderated before being included (to stop spam)
Contact Our News Editors
For any corrections of factual information, or to contact the editors please use our feedback form.

Please send any medical news or health news press releases to:
Note: Any medical information published on this website is not intended as a substitute for informed medical advice and you should not take any action before consulting with a health care professional. For more information, please read our terms and conditions.

Infant Sleep Safety Info Is Not Always Accurate Online

In 2010, a whopping 59% of people in the United Sates turned to the internet for information regarding health, parents were among the top users searching for information regarding the health of their kids. Recommendations for infant sleep safety were published in 2011 by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) in order to reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), strangulation, suffocation, and other accidental deaths during sleep. However, new research, scheduled for publication in The Journal of Pediatrics, found that Google internet searches do not contain the best information related to infant sleep safety and do no reflect AAP recommendations.

Rachel Y. Moon, MD, pediatrician and SIDS researcher at Children's National Medical Center, Washington, DC, said:

"It is important for health care providers to realize the extent to which parents may turn to the internet for information about infant sleep safety and then act on that advice, regardless of the reliability of the source."

Seventy-two percent of adults believed that most or all of the information regarding health issues on the internet was trustworthy, and 70% of adults said that they used that information on their actions hoping to improve their health or their child's health.

Using the top search engine in the United States, Google, Dr. Moon and colleagues, from the University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Children's National Medical Center, and George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, examined how accurate the information regarding sleep safety was on the internet. The team used 13 key phrases that best reflected the AAP recommendations for infant sleep safety, and closely analyzed the first 100 search engine websites for each phrase (a total of 1300 websites).

After examining the 1300 websites, results showed: 43.5% contained accurate information28.1% contained inaccurate information28.4% contained information that was irrelevant to infant sleep safety60.8% contained accurate information when the websites that were not relevant were excludedThe key search phrases with the highest percentage of accurate information were "infant cigarette smoking," "infant sleep surface," and "infant sleep position." Those with the highest percentage of inaccurate information were "pacifier infant," "infant home monitor," and "infant co-sleeping."

Company/interest groups, education websites, and retail product reviews were the most common types of websites found when using the key search phrases. The highest percentage of accurate information was found on organizational and government websites (72.5% and 80.1% respectively). The highest percentage of inaccurate information was found on retail product reviews, blogs, and individuals' websites. (36.2%, 30.9%, and 45.5%). News websites were accurate just one-half of the time.

According to the authors, healthcare providers should give parents an up-to-date list of websites that accurately reflect AAP recommendations on infant sleep safety.

Dr. Moon suggests these websites if you are currently seeking information on infant sleep safety: Health Finder (www.healthfinder.gov), Medline Plus (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus), and Health on the Net Foundation (www.hon.ch/HONcode).

Government and other websites should review and update their information on infant sleep safety, checking for accuracy and currency to provide accurate information to parents and caregivers.

Written by Sarah Glynn
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

Visit our it / internet / e-mail section for the latest news on this subject. Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:

MLA

n.p. "Infant Sleep Safety Info Is Not Always Accurate Online." Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 2 Aug. 2012. Web.
5 Aug. 2012. APA

Please note: If no author information is provided, the source is cited instead.

'Infant Sleep Safety Info Is Not Always Accurate Online'

If you write about specific medications or operations, please do not name health care professionals by name.

All opinions are moderated before being included (to stop spam)

Contact Our News Editors

For any corrections of factual information, or to contact the editors please use our feedback form.

Please send any medical news or health news press releases to:

Sober Patients Not Being Checked For Alcohol Problems

Leicester University researchers have discovered that medical staff struggle to spot problem drinking in their patients unless they are already intoxicated. The new study, published in the August edition of the British Journal of Psychiatry shows that clinical staff often remains unaware of patients with alcohol problems unless these are intoxicated.

Dr Alex J Mitchell, consultant at Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust and honorary senior lecturer at the University and his team performed a study in which medical staff assessed 20,000 patients for alcohol problems, finding that all clinicians had difficulties identifying alcohol problems in patients, regardless of whether or not these volunteered information regarding their drinking habits.

In the UK, 1 in 4 adults, i.e. 33% of men and 16% of women have an alcohol consumption, which could be harmful to their health, and 6% of men are alcoholics (Pilling et al, 2011). 1 in 6 primary care patients are either alcohol dependent or have an alcohol use disorder.

The study revealed that General practitioners (GPs) managed to identify 40% of problem drinkers, whilst hospital doctors identified 50% of problem drinkers and mental health specialists recognized 55% of patients with a drinking problem. However, according to the case notes, clinicians only correctly identified 1 in 3 people with an alcohol problem and only identified alcohol intoxication accurately. For instance, A&E clinicians correctly identified 9 out of 10 patients with alcohol intoxication. The study revealed that the same rates of under-detection occurred in cases where patients admitted to a drinking problem by self-report.

The UK Primary Care Service Framework and NICE assess alcohol problems in patients by using a short questionnaire, but this approach is not widely used by clinicians.

Dr Alex Mitchell concludes:

"This study highlights that clinical identification of alcohol problems is challenging in busy clinical environments. When clinicians try and spot alcohol problems they often miss patients who have serious alcohol problems but who are not currently intoxicated. Further they can misidentify about 5% of 'normal drinkers' as problem drinkers.
Clinicians are not always sure what questions to ask or what screening tests to apply. We did not find that patients refused to admit alcohol problems, in fact it was more common for patients to disclose problem drinking when asked to self-report than the number found by clinicians judgment alone.
There needs to be a greater awareness of the importance of carefully assessing alcohol problems for non-intoxicated patients. Patient responses to questioning about drinking habits should not be assumed to be misleading but questioning must be handled sensitively."

Written by Petra Rattue
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

Visit our primary care / general practice section for the latest news on this subject. Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:

MLA

n.p. "Sober Patients Not Being Checked For Alcohol Problems." Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 2 Aug. 2012. Web.
5 Aug. 2012. APA

Please note: If no author information is provided, the source is cited instead.

'Sober Patients Not Being Checked For Alcohol Problems'

If you write about specific medications or operations, please do not name health care professionals by name.

All opinions are moderated before being included (to stop spam)

Contact Our News Editors

For any corrections of factual information, or to contact the editors please use our feedback form.

Please send any medical news or health news press releases to:

Iced Tea May Cause Kidney Stones

Summer is high season for drinking iced tea. However, a John Miller, Loyla University Medical Center urologist warns that iced tea can contribute to painful kidney stones because of its high concentration of oxalate, one of the key chemicals that lead to the formation of kidney stones.

Around 10% of people in the U.S. suffer from kidney stones, a common disorder of the urinary tract.

Dr. John Milner, assistant professor at the Department of Urology at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine explains: "For people who have a tendency to form the most common type of kidney stones, iced tea is one of the worst things to drink."

Drinking an insufficient amount of fluids is the most common cause of kidney stones, and during the summer, when people can become dehydrated from sweating, the combined effect of dehydration together with drinking a lot of iced tea can raise the chance of developing kidney stones, particular in those already at risk.

Milner said:

"People are told that in the summertime they should drink more fluids. A lot of people choose to drink more iced tea, because it is low in calories and tastes better than water. However, in terms of kidney stones, they might be doing themselves a disservice."

Even though hot tea also contains oxalate, Milner said that it is difficult to drink sufficient amounts to cause kidney stones and figures from the Tea Association of the USA reveal that around 85% of tea consumed in the United States is iced.

In comparison with women, men are four times more likely to develop kidney stones, and the risk rises dramatically for those aged 40 years or older. Women with low estrogen levels like postmenopausal women and those with their ovaries removed are also at a higher risk.

Kidney stones are small mineral and salt crystals that are typically deposited in the urine in the kidneys or ureters, the small tubes that transport the urine from the kidney to the bladder. Usually kidney stones are so small they are expelled in the urine without causing any harm. However, sometimes the stones grow large enough to get lodged in the ureters, causing pain and discomfort.

Milner recommends drinking water or real lemonade, not the powdered version to quench thirst and properly hydrate as the best option, saying: "Lemons are high in citrates, which inhibit the growth of kidney stones."

He also recommends that those who are at risk for kidney stones should reduce certain foods that contain high concentrations of oxalates, including spinach, chocolate, rhubarb and nuts and eat less salt and meat, drink several glasses of water a day and eat foods that provide adequate amounts of calcium as this reduces the amount of oxalate the body absorbs.

For those drinking iced tea, who already suffering from kidney stones, Milner advises to consult a specialist to see if the drink could be a contributing factor, as it fairly simple to check an overproduction of oxalates.

Milner advises: "Like many people, I enjoy drinking iced tea in the summer. But don't overdo it. As with so many things involving a healthy lifestyle, moderation is key."

Written by Petra Rattue
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

Visit our urology / nephrology section for the latest news on this subject. Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:

MLA

n.p. "Iced Tea May Cause Kidney Stones." Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 4 Aug. 2012. Web.
5 Aug. 2012. APA

Please note: If no author information is provided, the source is cited instead.

posted by Catia on 3 Aug 2012 at 4:18 pm

Where are the studies that directly link oxalate kidney stones to the amount of tea consumed? Also is fructose sweetened ice tea treated the same non sweetened tea? How high is the bioavailability of oxalate in tea. High oxalate content doesn't mean it is available.

| post followup | alert a moderator |

'Iced Tea May Cause Kidney Stones'

If you write about specific medications or operations, please do not name health care professionals by name.

All opinions are moderated before being included (to stop spam)

Contact Our News Editors

For any corrections of factual information, or to contact the editors please use our feedback form.

Please send any medical news or health news press releases to:

ADHD Linked With Slower Brain Development

According to a study conducted by the National Institutes of Health, children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) experience a developmental delay in frontal regions of the brain.

The study is published in Biological Psychiatry.

The team examined 234 children with ADHD and 231 normally developing children. Each child's brain was scanned up to four times from age 10 to 17. The team then used advanced neuroimaging technology in order to map the trajectories of surface area development at over 80,000 points across the brain.

The surface area of the cerebral cortex - the folded gray tissue that makes up the outermost part of the brain - grows during childhood. However, the researchers discovered that this process was delayed in frontal brain regions in children with ADHD.

According to the researchers, the normally developing children attained 50% peak area in the right prefrontal cortex at a mean of 12.7 years compared with 14.6 years for children with ADHD.

Dr. Phillip Shaw, a clinician studying ADHD at the National Institute of Mental Health explained: "As other components of cortical development are also delayed, this suggests there is a global delay in ADHD in brain regions important for the control of action and attention."

Dr. John Krystal, Editor of Biological Psychiatry, said: "These data highlight the importance of longitudinal approaches to brain structure. Seeing a lag in brain development, we now need to try to understand the causes of this developmental delay in ADHD."

Dr. Shaw explained that the study finding "guides us to search for genes that control the timing of brain development in the disorder, opening up new targets for treatment."

Further research expanding these measures into adulthood will also be vital. Such data would help determine whether or when a degree of normalization occurs, or if these delays translate into long-lasting cortical deficits.

Written by Grace Rattue
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

Visit our adhd section for the latest news on this subject. Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:

MLA

n.p. "ADHD Linked With Slower Brain Development." Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 3 Aug. 2012. Web.
5 Aug. 2012. APA

Please note: If no author information is provided, the source is cited instead.

posted by Alexander Nestoiter on 3 Aug 2012 at 7:30 pm

Review this statement from the article very carefully: "According to the researchers, the normally developing children attained 50% peak area in the right prefrontal cortex at a mean of 12.7 years compared with 14.6 years for children with ADHD."
This means that children attain 50% peak in the average of 12.7 years. Children with ADHD attain this point in the average of 14.6 years. The study was conducted on kids from 10 to 17 years of age. As you can see something is off with their figures.
What is even more bothersome, is that while they studied kids 10-17 years of age, they now pass the results of the study to all kids, including those who are only 4 years old.
Not in this article, but in others, they urge parents to monitor their kids for any signs of the broad ADD/ADHD spectrum of symptoms, get the kids diagnosed, and, of course, seek treatment = pills.

| post followup | alert a moderator |

'ADHD Linked With Slower Brain Development'

If you write about specific medications or operations, please do not name health care professionals by name.

All opinions are moderated before being included (to stop spam)

Contact Our News Editors

For any corrections of factual information, or to contact the editors please use our feedback form.

Please send any medical news or health news press releases to:

Allergy Sufferers Have Lower Risk Of Brain Tumors

A new study has added to the growing body of evidence implying that there's a link between allergies and reduced risk of a serious type of cancer that starts in the brain.

According to this particular study, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, the reduced risk seems to be stronger among women than men, however men have a lower tumor risk with certain allergies.

Scientists have believed having allergies or similar factors reduces the risk for this cancer, and this study has strengthened that theory. Experts have never known whether allergies lower the risk of cancer or if, before diagnosis, these tumors (glioma) interfere with the hypersensitive immune response to allergens, because they have the potential to suppress the immune system in order to grow.

Stored blood samples that were taken from patients decades before they were diagnosed with glioma were analyzed by the researchers. The researchers found that there was a 50% reduced risk of developing glioma 20 years later for men and women who had blood samples containing allergy-related antibodies, compared to people without signs of allergies.

Judith Schwartzbaum, associate professor of epidemiology at Ohio State University, investigator in the University's Comprehensive Cancer Center, and leading author of the study, said:

"This is our most important finding. The longer before glioma diagnosis that the effect of allergies is present, the less likely it is that the tumor is suppressing allergies. Seeing this association so long before tumor diagnosis suggests that antibodies or some aspect of allergy is reducing tumor risk.
It could be that in allergic people, higher levels of circulating antibodies may stimulate the immune system, and that could lower the risk of glioma. Absence of allergy is the strongest risk factor identified so far for this brain tumor, and there is still more to understand about how this association works."

Studies, until now, have not been able to analyze blood samples collected longer than 20 years before tumor diagnosis. Previous studies examining the relationship between allergies and brain tumor risk have used self-report questionnaires on patients' histories with glioma.

The study also showed that women had at least a 50% lower risk for the most severe and common type of these tumors, known as glioblastoma, if their blood samples tested positive for specific allergy antibodies. These results were not seen in men. On the other hand, men had a 20% reduced risk of this tumor if they tested positive for both specific antibodies and antibodies of unknown function than men who tested negative.

In the United States, glioblastomas constitute about 60% of adult tumors that start in the brain, which affects 3 in 100,000 people. Patients may seek treatments such as radiation, surgery, and chemotherapy. On average, these patients survive for about one year, with fewer than 25% surviving up to 2 years and just 10% surviving up to 5 years.

The Janus Serum Bank in Norway granted the research team access to specimens. This bank contains samples collected over the last 40 years from people during their annual medical checkups or from volunteer blood donors. Since 1953, Norway has registered all recent cancer cases in the country, and personal identification numbers allows cross-referencing those cases with blood samples that have been previously collected.

The experts were able to analyze stored samples from 594 citizens who were diagnosed with glioma, including 374 that were diagnosed with glioblastoma, between 1974 and 2007. These samples were matched for age, sex, and date of blood collection with 1,777 samples from people who did not have glioma in order to compare.

The team was looking for levels of two types of proteins, IgE, or immunoglobulin E, while they were measuring the blood samples. This is a class of antibodies that are made from white blood cells that mediate immune responses to allergens. Two classes of IgE take part in the allergic response: allergen-specific IgE- identifies specific components of an allergentotal IgE- identifies these components but also includes antibodies with unknown functionsThe researchers observed each sample and determined whether the serum had elevated levels of IgE specific to the most common allergens in Norway as well as IgE. Specific Respiratory allergens were: tree pollen and plantsdog and horse danderdust mitesmoldA statistical analysis was then conducted in order to approximate the association between the risk of developing glioma and elevated concentrations of allergen-specific IgE and total IgE.

A 54% reduced risk of glioblastoma was associated with the women who tested positive for elevated levels of allergen-specific IgE compared to the women who tested negative. This association was not seen in men.

The relation between total IgE levels and risk of glioma was the same for both sexes. For men and women combined, a 25% reduced risk of glioma was associated with testing positive for elevated total IgE.

The analysis for effects on glioblastoma risk alone showed a similar decreased risk for both men and women combined whose blood samples tested positive for elevated levels of IgE. However, this finding was considered borderline in terms of statistical significance because it was not a significant enough number, meaning there is still the possibility that the association could be caused by chance.

"There is definitely a difference in the effect of allergen-specific IgE between men and women. And even results for total IgE suggest there still may be a difference between the sexes. The reason for this difference is unknown," explained Schwartzbaum.

This research has shown evidence for the likelihood that the immune system of people with respiratory allergies could help fight against this type of cancer. The author explained that being able to examine this association over 4 decades between blood sampling and tumor diagnosis gave him and his team better insight.

For example, a 46% reduced risk for developing glioma 20 years later was associated with a positive test for elevated concentrations of total IgE compared to samples that tested negative. That reduced risk was only about 25% in samples that tested positive for high levels of total IgE taken between 2 and 15 years before diagnosis.

Schwartzbaum explained:

"There may be a trend- the closer the samples get to the time of diagnosis, the less help the IgE is in decreasing the risk of glioma. However, if the tumor were suppressing allergy, we would expect to see a bigger difference in risk near the time of diagnosis."

He hopes to further his research and analyze the serum samples for concentration of cytokines (chemical passengers that promote or suppress inflammation as part of the immune response) in order to see if these proteins play a part in the relationship between elevated IgE levels and reduced tumor risk.

Written by Sarah Glynn
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

Visit our neurology / neuroscience section for the latest news on this subject. Association Between Prediagnostic IgE Levels and Risk of Glioma
Judith Schwartzbaum, Bo Ding, Tom Borge Johannesen, Liv T. N. Osnes, Linda Karavodin, Anders Ahlbom, Maria Feychting and Tom K. Grimsrud
Journal of the National Cancer Institute 2012 doi: doi: 10.1093/jnci/djs315 Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:

MLA

n.p. "Allergy Sufferers Have Lower Risk Of Brain Tumors." Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 5 Aug. 2012. Web.
5 Aug. 2012. APA

Please note: If no author information is provided, the source is cited instead.

'Allergy Sufferers Have Lower Risk Of Brain Tumors'

If you write about specific medications or operations, please do not name health care professionals by name.

All opinions are moderated before being included (to stop spam)

Contact Our News Editors

For any corrections of factual information, or to contact the editors please use our feedback form.

Please send any medical news or health news press releases to:

Foodborne Illness - FDA Releases Safety Booklets

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) have partnered in creating six food safety booklets for different groups that are most susceptible to food borne illness. These pamphlets target adults, transplant recipients, pregnant women, and people with diabetes, HIV/AIDS, or cancer in an effort to reduce their risk for foodborne illnesses.

These booklets contain much needed information for consumers who have an increased chance of becoming sick from the food they eat. The goal is to present clear and understandable information on how to confidently and safely prepare and eat food. They are also helpful to doctors and health professionals as a resource to educate their patients about food borne illnesses.

The 24-page pamphlets contain easy-to-read charts, illustrated how-to's, straightforward summaries of why each group is at risk, and symptoms they may experience. Each booklet focuses on tips for grocery shopping, cooking at correct temperatures, and eating at restaurants, including tear-out cards for use on the go. "Everyone from farmers to food manufacturers to food preparers in the home has a role in food safety," said FDA Deputy Commissioner for Foods Michael Taylor.

In the past, booklets on five of these topics already existed, however, these two agencies decided to produce a sixth one especially for pregnant women who are at risk for listeriosis. The updated booklets include revised safe cooking temperatures for poultry and meat: 145 °F for whole cuts of meat, and a three-minute rest time; 160 °F for ground meats; and 165 °F for all poultry and leftovers. The new booklets also list food safety resources, such as foodsafety.gov that are readily available for all consumers.

As a part of this same effort - to prevent food borne illness - the USDA and the FDA joined with the Centers for Disease and Control Prevention along with the Ad Council, to launch a food safety education campaign called Food Safe Families. The goal of is to empower families to reduce their risk of foodborne illnesses in the home by using these safety steps: clean, separate, cook, and chill.

The new booklets and educational campaign are a small part of a large effort of public health measures being put in place by President Barack Obama's Administration to prevent foodborne illness, improve consumers' knowledge about their food, and to safeguard their food supply. These actions support the three principles developed by the President's Food Safety Working Group: strengthening surveillance and enforcement, prioritizing prevention, and improving response and recovery.

Examples of these actions include: Test-and-hold policy where products cannot be released until Agency test results for dangerous contaminants are known. Labeling requirements. Public Health Information System. Performance standards for poultry establishments for continued reductions in the occurrence of pathogens. Written by Kelly Fitzgerald
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today Visit our nutrition / diet section for the latest news on this subject. Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:

MLA

n.p. "Foodborne Illness - FDA Releases Safety Booklets." Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 3 Aug. 2012. Web.
5 Aug. 2012. APA

Please note: If no author information is provided, the source is cited instead.

posted by Spoon on 4 Aug 2012 at 1:20 pm

All good intentioned, but what is/was the cost of this common sense set of 6 pamphlets overall?

Do this by PSAs on TV...they’re FREE since the FCC mandates a certain percentage of on-air time must be provided for such messages.

We no longer live in the age of Peas Porridge Hot/Cold and in the pot NINE DAYS old. Life is full of risks and more nanny-state mentality coupled with unnecessary federal or state capital outlays borders on the ridiculous is simply another example FW&A (Fraud, Waste & Abuse) Individual responsibility is what’s really missing in America.

| post followup | alert a moderator |

'Foodborne Illness - FDA Releases Safety Booklets'

If you write about specific medications or operations, please do not name health care professionals by name.

All opinions are moderated before being included (to stop spam)

Contact Our News Editors

For any corrections of factual information, or to contact the editors please use our feedback form.

Please send any medical news or health news press releases to: