Baby Grace goes home after having heart surgery as a fetus
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A baby girl, who had the world’s first heart “stent” procedure in the womb was discharged from hospital on Friday and went home 17 days after her birth.
Baby Grace Vanderwerken received the tiny stent while still in her mother’s womb at 30 weeks into the pregnancy on November 7th, and was born on January 10th, weighing 4.2kg with a full head of dark hair.
Nearly 8 million children born with defects
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Nearly 8 million children are born with birth defects around the world every year and most of them either die or are disabled for life as a result, according to a report released on Monday.
With proper medical care up to 70 percent of these defects could be prevented, or at least treated, the report from the March of Dimes said.
EU approves Tamiflu for children
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Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding AG has received approval from the European Union for Tamiflu (oseltamivir phosphate) use to prevent influenza in children between the ages of one to 12 years, the firm said on Tuesday.
Tamiflu, which is also being stockpiled by governments to ward off a bird flu pandemic, is approved in Europe, Japan and the United States as a prescription treatment for seasonal flu.
Boss key to return to work after breast cancer
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Research indicates that the vast majority of working women who develop breast cancer return to their job after treatment and it helps to have an accommodating employer.
“Working women who develop breast cancer can be encouraged to know that they can maintain a high quality of life after a breast cancer diagnosis because over 80 percent of employed women in our study returned to their same job position within one year of their cancer diagnosis,” study chief Dr. Reynard R. Bouknight told Reuters Health.
Amnesty says U.S. executes many mentally ill
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At least 10 percent of the first 1,000 people executed in the United States since 1977, were severely mentally ill, Amnesty International said in a report issued on Monday.
The London-based human rights organization, which opposes all forms of capital punishment, said the practice of putting to death people with serious mental illnesses offends international standards of decency.
Iraq says treating 12 possible human bird flu cases
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Officials in northern Iraq said on Tuesday they were treating 12 patients suspected of having bird flu as a World Health Organisation (WHO) team prepared to travel to the area to give urgent assistance.
Iraq’s health minister said on Monday the country fears it had its first human bird flu victim after preliminary test results showed a 14-year-old Iraqi girl who died two weeks ago had the H5N1 virus.
Hormone aids conception in women with endometriosis
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For women with endometriosis who undergo assisted fertilization procedures, treatment with a hormone that decreases the body’s production of testosterone and estrogen a few months before the procedure quadruples the chance of successful pregnancy, according to a review of randomized trials—but data on side effects is lacking.
Endometriosis is a painful condition that occurs when the tissue that normally lines the uterus grows outside the uterus, often in pelvic and abdominal areas were it is not supposed to grow. Endometriosis is a leading cause of infertility—up to 40 percent of women with this condition are unable to conceive.
New human virus linked to obesity in animals
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Researchers have identified a new human virus that increases fat deposits and, paradoxically, reduces triglyceride levels in animals, according to a report in the American Journal of Physiology—Regulatory, Integrative, and Comparative Physiology.
These findings could have important clinical implications for understanding and preventing obesity in humans, the authors suggest.
Alcohol underestimated as cancer cause: scientists
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Along with smoking and chronic infections, alcohol consumption is an important cause of several types of cancer, researchers said on Monday.
Excessive drinking raises the risk of cancer of the mouth, larynx, oesophagus, liver, colon and breast. It may also be linked with cancer of the pancreas and lung.
Pharmacists sue Walgreen over contraceptives
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Four Illinois pharmacists have sued U.S. drugstore chain Walgreen Co., saying they were wrongly fired for refusing to dispense the “morning-after” emergency contraceptive pill.
The four are represented by the American Center for Law and Justice, a conservative legal group founded by Christian evangelist Pat Robertson.
Magnetic therapy may help control major depression
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Repetitive magnetic stimulation of the brain may be an effective and safe long-term maintenance therapy for some patients with major depressive disorder, results of a small study suggest.
“There is growing evidence to support the short-term antidepressant effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), but few published data pertain to the maintenance treatment of patients with DSM-IV diagnosed major depressive disorder,” write Dr. John P. O’Reardon and colleagues from the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.
Widespread Depression in Elderly Is Under-Reported
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New York City’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene this week announced that depression in senior citizens is “a serious and under diagnosed condition.”
An innovative, year-old program at Montefiore Medical Center may offer a model for identifying and treating the homebound elderly with depression. The program trains all of its home care agency staff—nurses, social workers and therapists—to identify patients with depression and refer them to a Montefiore psychiatrist who provides treatment in the patient’s home.
Healthy diet combats high blood pressure
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Healthier eating habits could make a big difference in the epidemic of high blood pressure in the U.S., according to a report from the American Heart Association.
Over the past 10 years, studies have bolstered evidence that diets rich in fruits and vegetables and low in sodium can lower a person’s blood pressure, the AHA concludes in a scientific statement published in its journal Hypertension.
Surgery Best for Controlling Breast Cancer in Elderly Women
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Although women over age 70 are rarely offered surgery to treat their breast cancer, a new review of recent studies suggests surgery works better than hormone therapy to stop the progression of breast cancer in older women with operable tumors.
Although there was no significant difference in how long the women lived after having either surgery or first-line hormone therapy such as tamoxifen only, two of the studies found that women can go longer without their breast cancer becoming worse if they have surgery.
Obese Kids Twice as Likely to Have Diabetes
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Childhood obesity can carry with it some heavy health risks that often last well into adulthood – heart disease, high blood pressure and depression, to name a few.
Obese children also are twice as likely to have diabetes than children who are of normal weight, according to a new study from the University of Michigan Health System.
