Mom’s attitude affects teen’s dieting
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Teenagers who think their mothers put a high value on thinness may be more likely to worry about their weight and frequently diet, new research suggests.
The study, of more than 9,200 U.S. teenagers and their mothers, found that those who believed their weight was important to their mothers were more likely than other teens to be preoccupied by their weight and to diet repeatedly.
New Sleeping Pills Are Effective, but None Stands Out as the Best
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The spate of new sleeping pills on the market are effective treatments for insomnia, but they have different effects and no one drug stands out as the best, according to a new review of studies on drugs including Sonata, Ambien and Lunesta.
Reviewers from the Oregon Evidence-based Practice Center at the Oregon Health and Science University concluded that the drugs were better than placebo pills at treating insomnia symptoms such as trouble falling asleep and staying asleep.
Early results suggest Paxil birth defect risk
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Early results of new studies suggest GlaxoSmithKline Plc’s antidepressant Paxil increases the risk of birth defects when women take it during the first three months of pregnancy, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Thursday.
“FDA is advising patients that this drug should usually not be taken during pregnancy, but for some women who have already been taking Paxil, the benefits of continuing may be greater than the potential risk to the fetus,” the FDA said in a statement.
Most Tolerable Antidepressant May Not be Most Efficacious
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When it comes to antidepressants, popularity may translate into tolerability more than efficacy, suggests a systematic review of clinical trials by the Cochrane Collaboration. Consider Prozac (fluoxetine), for instance.
According to the Cochrane analysis, Zoloft (sertraline) and Effexor (venlafaxine) may be somewhat better than more popular Prozac for treating depression, reported Andrea Cipriani, M.D., of the University of Verona, and colleagues. However, patients seemed to tolerate Prozac better than other antidepressants.
Kids exercise to feel good, not lose weight
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Children and young teens may be more likely to exercise if they’re motivated by fun and fitness rather than weight concerns, a new study suggests.
In a study of 200 students (average age, 12-1/2 years) at one Pennsylvania middle school, researchers found that “personal fulfillment” was the only motivation to be active. That meant that kids tended to exercise for the sake of their health and athletic skills, and to simply feel good—and not in order to shed pounds or to emulate their friends or parents.
Some women prone to carry strep in pregnancy
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Black women, health care workers, and overweight women are at increased risk for carrying group B streptococcus (GBS) during pregnancy, new research suggests.
GBS is a microbe that can live in or “colonize” the birth canal and then be passed onto the infant during birth, resulting in a potentially life-threatening infection.
Cancer drug may help short boys be taller
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The drug tamoxifen, usually used to treat or prevent breast cancer, may help short boys attain a normal adult height, researchers report.
Final body height is determined when the skeleton reaches maturity, and tamoxifen decreases the rate of skeletal maturation, according to study findings reported in the medical journal Pediatrics.
U.S. grapples with bird flu preparations
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The White House on Wednesday planned an exercise to see just how poorly prepared the country is to cope with an avian flu pandemic, even as lawmakers in Congress debated how much to spend for U.S. preparations.
The H5N1 avian influenza virus is spreading steadily among poultry, pushing westward out of Asia into Europe.
Sweden to probe years of abuse in children’s homes
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Thousands of Swedes who say they were subjected to physical abuse and cruel treatment in state children’s homes and foster care for decades from the 1950s won the promise of an official inquiry on Thursday.
A cabinet minister said the probe would investigate the cases, which peaked in the 1940s and ‘50s when Sweden’s zeal for social engineering included making children of single women or poor people wards of the state.
Drink less and watch your diet, Russians told
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Russians must ease back on the bottle, cut down on smoking, watch their diet and lead healthier lives if they are to reverse population decline and maintain economic growth, the World Bank said on Thursday.
In a report, the Bank said the population crisis in Russia - which is losing around 750,000 people a year - was affecting every aspect of national life and could negate improvements in living standards.
Tourists unfazed by bird flu in Asia
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The spread of bird flu in Asia does not appear to be putting off tourists but local officials are nervous, fearing a repeat of the SARS outbreak two years ago, which made parts of the region no-go areas.
The H5N1 strain of avian flu has killed 69 people in Asia since late 2003 and several countries in the region regularly report more suspected cases in people and outbreaks in poultry.
Creativity tied to sexual “success”
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Artists may indeed have a more active love life than most of us—and part of the reason may be their tendency toward a certain schizophrenia-linked personality trait, a study suggests.
In a survey of 425 British adults, researchers found that serious poets and visual artists generally had more sexual partners than those who were either not artistic or only dabbled in the arts.
High-intensity ultrasound waves heats and destroys uterine fibroids
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A totally noninvasive procedure using high-intensity ultrasound waves to heat and destroy uterine fibroid tissue significantly relieves fibroid-related symptoms in women, according to the results of a multicenter clinical trial.
Magnetic resonance-guided, focused ultrasound surgery (MRgFUS) allows radiologists to precisely target fibroids without harming healthy surrounding tissue.
Genetic testing for Parkinson disease, is there a point?
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Should we start being genetically tested for Parkinson’s disease (PD)? According to research just published in the December issue of the “journal Movement Disorders” this might be a possibility in the future if you belong to a family affected by G2019S, a genetic mutation responsible for some PD cases.
Parkinson disease results from the death or loss of function of the nervous cells (neurons) in a brain area called substancia nigra, which is involved in the regulation of movement. Neurons within this region produce dopamine, a neurotransmitter that acts as messenger between the substancia nigra (the control centre) and other neurons around the body, leading to a correct regulation of the body movements. If the substancia nigra degenerates, like it happens in PD, dopamine is no longer properly produced and the individual starts presenting the typical symptoms of Parkinson’s disease such as slowed movements, tremors, loss of movement control and rigidity.
Short-term use of painkiller drugs does not increase the risk of heart attack
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Short-term use of painkiller drugs in the same family as ibuprofen does not increase the risk of having a heart attack.
The results of a large study, published in the open access journal BMC Medicine, confirm that taking traditional non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in the recommended dose for less than a year does not increase the risk of having a heart attack. When taken regularly for more than one year, however, some traditional NSAIDs can slightly increase the risk of non-fatal heart attack. This does not apply to ibuprofen or naproxen, two of the most widely-used NSAIDs.
