Worried about bird flu? Wash your hands
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Little can be done to prevent an outbreak of bird flu if it comes in the next year or so before vaccine production can get started, health experts caution, but they say common sense measures can help individuals protect themselves.
Number one is hand-washing, they say—a surprisingly effective way to prevent all sorts of diseases, including ordinary influenza and the H5N1 virus that everyone now fears may jump into humans and cause a catastrophic pandemic.
Gastric Bypass: Let the Morbidly Obese Beware
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Gastric bypass surgery is on the rise, and so too are the rates of hospitalizations and early postoperative deaths related to complications.
So reported researchers in three studies published in the Oct. 19 issue of Journal of the American Medical Association.
Study finds Australia veterans in poorer health
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Australia’s surviving Korean War veterans are in poorer health than the rest of the community and are more likely to suffer depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, a new study has found.
The study for Australia’s Department of Veterans Affairs, released on Tuesday, found that 50 years after the conflict, Korean War veterans also had lower life satisfaction and a poorer quality of life compared with other Australian men of the same age.
Stimulating play helps growth-stunted kids
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Mental and social stimulation through play early in life appears to have lasting benefits in poorly nourished children with growth retardation.
According to a study in The Lancet this week, mental stimulation at 9 to 24 months of age among a group of growth-stunted Jamaican children led to improved cognitive function and better academic performance in high school.
Obesity linked to higher Alzheimer’s disease risk
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Obese middle-aged adults may face an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia later in life, new research suggests.
Exactly why obesity is linked to dementia is not completely clear, but the higher rates of high blood pressure, high cholesterol and other conditions that are common among obese adults seem to offer a partial explanation.
Twins More Likely to Have Premature Ovarian Failure
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Twins have a higher risk of premature ovarian failure than women in general, researchers reported here today.
What’s more, it’s relatively common for one twin to have ovarian failure years before her sister, said Roger Gosden, Ph.D., of Weill Cornell Medical College in New York.
Laparoscopic Surgery Staves Off Severe GERD Symptoms Over Long Haul
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Laparoscopic anti-reflux surgery has proved to be a highly effective and long-lasting treatment for severe gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).
At least five years after undergoing one of three types of laparoscopic fundoplication, 93% of the 1,340 severe GERD patients said they were highly satisfied with the operation, French investigators wrote in the October issue of Archives of Surgery.
Beta-Blockers Called Poor Choice for Hypertension
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Beta-blockers are no better at preventing heart attacks in patients with hypertension than other agents, and are less effective at preventing strokes, investigators here reported.
A meta-analysis of 13 randomized controlled trials involving nearly 106,000 patients, published online today in The Lancet by Swedish investigators, found that the relative risk of stroke was 16% higher for beta-blockers compared with other drugs.
Ringing in the Ears Called Growing Peril
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Let your ears tell the tale. That ringing may signal lifelong trouble.
So here’s a message, loud and clear. Turn down that iPod! Audiologists are hearing more and more about ringing in the ears, and ringing is a telltale sign of future chronic tinnitus.
Half of Egg Donors Produce Abnormal Embryos
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Embryos formed from the eggs of young healthy donors show a high level of chromosomal abnormalities, researchers said here today.
Overall, the rate of aneuploidy—an abnormal number of chromosomes—in such embryos was between 40% and 50%, but for some women as many as 83% of the embryos were abnormal, according to reports presented at a joint meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine and the Canadian Fertility and Andrology Society.
Lumpectomy Plus Radiation Therapy Can Spare Breast Implants
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A cosmetic breast implant does not need to be removed to treat women with early-stage breast cancer who are having a lumpectomy, a Mayo team reported here.
“The fact that a woman has a breast implant does not appear to impact outcomes if she wants breast conserving surgery,” Rosalyn Morrell, M.D., reported at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology meeting here.
Cryoplasty Effectively Treats Challenging Peripheral Artery Blockages
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Today, research presented at the Cardiovascular Research Foundation’s (CRF) Annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) scientific symposium, in Washington, D.C., has shown that cryoplasty, a minimally-invasive treatment that utilizes freezing-cold nitrous oxide injected into an angioplasty balloon, appears to be more effective than standard therapies in the treatment of peripheral artery disease in the lower limbs.
Peripheral artery disease (PAD) affects approximately 8 to 12 million Americans. Left untreated, PAD causes poor circulation in the legs and increases the risk of heart attack, stroke, amputation or even death. Treatment for PAD typically involves lifestyle changes or medication, but in some instances, surgery such as angioplasty is recommended because it is minimally invasive and cost-effective. However, in the arteries below the hip, angioplasty has had disappointing results - approximately 40% of patients will need to be treated again within one year because of artery re-blockage due to scar tissue accumulation, which cryoplasty has been shown to prevent.
Genetic melanoma risk less than previously thought
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The findings from a new study indicate that carriers of the CDKN2A mutation have a 28-percent lifetime risk of melanoma, much lower than the 58 percent to 91 percent risk previously identified in studies of multiple-case families.
“In studies of multiple-case families, these families could well be linked by other genes that contribute to the risk of melanoma as well as the one you’re looking at,” said lead author Dr. Colin B. Begg, from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. “When you separate out the family history like we did in our study, you tend to see a more representative estimate of the risk.”
Seattle gynecologist had sex with patients
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A gynecologist accused of raping patients did have sexual relations with two women in his practice but the relationships were consensual, his attorney said Monday at the opening of his trial.
Charles Momah is also the target of a number of civil lawsuits that accuse him and his twin brother Dennis Momah of impersonating one another in his medical practice. Dennis Momah is not credentialed, although he examined and even operated on patients, according to the lawsuits.
EBay stops Tamiflu sale on Web as drug price soars
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Internet auction site eBay pulled the sale of Roche Holding AG’s flu drug Tamiflu from its Web site on Tuesday, after prices topped 100 pounds on growing fears about the spread of bird flu.
A spokeswoman for eBay said the auction had been stopped because the sale of prescription drugs was not allowed under the company’s rules.
