Very young children may not get enough sleep
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Young children are getting about nine hours of sleep a night, substantially less than the 12- to15- hours of shut-eye experts recommend, a new study shows.
While it’s not clear that children actually need a dozen hours of nightly sleep, Dr. Christine Acebo of the Bradley Hospital Sleep and Chronobiology Research Laboratory in Providence, Rhode Island told Reuters Health, the findings do raise the possibility that some young children may be sleep-deprived.
Risedronate prevents bone loss and periodontal disease
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Drugs that reverse and prevent bone loss due to osteoporosis also significantly ward off periodontal disease, according to a graduate of the Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine who reports in the current Menopause journal article, “Periodontal Assessments of Postmenopausal Women Receiving Risedronate.”
Leena Bahl Palomo, D.D.S and M.S.D., is the lead author on the study with Nabil Bissada, chair and professor of Case’s department of periodontology; and James Liu, chair of the department of obstetrics and gynecology of University Hospitals of Cleveland.
Dutch “suicide consultant” is jailed for a year
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A Dutch court sentenced a man calling himself a “suicide consultant” to a year in jail on Wednesday for helping a mentally ill woman end her life.
Jan Hilarius, the 73-year-old founder of Dutch suicide consultancy De Einder, was found guilty of helping a 25-year-old woman acquire medicines to kill herself 2003.
A court in the northern town of Alkmaar said in a statement Hilarius had corresponded with the woman and given her information about the deadly doses and combinations of medicines available online.
Parts of Africa have no bird flu defences
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Some countries in Africa have no defences at all against the possible arrival of deadly bird flu, the world animal health body said on Wednesday
Bernard Vallat, director general of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), said countries like Namibia, Botswana and South Africa had services able to deal with the deadly H5N1 virus, but others like Somalia had no systems in place.
Kids of overweight mothers have higher obesity risk
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The children of mothers who are obese before pregnancy or who smoke during pregnancy, have a higher risk of becoming overweight at a very young age, a study in the journal Pediatrics reports. The condition can be perpetuated as the children get older.
“One of the questions we wanted to explore was whether the development of early childhood overweight was associated with maternal behaviors,” said Dr. Pamela J. Salsberry of Ohio State University in Columbus. “We were interested in how pre-pregnancy weight and smoking affect a child’s risk, but also in how the risk develops over time.”
Sleep apnea tied to higher risk of stroke
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People with sleep apnea are at a higher risk of having a stroke than those without the condition, Canadian and US researchers report.
Senior investigator Dr. T. Douglas Bradley of Toronto General Hospital, said that “evidence going back to the early 1970s suggests that sleep apnea, strokes and heart attacks often happen together, but that doesn’t mean that there is a cause/effect relationship.”
Anxiety may lead to stomach upsets
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Anxiety induced under experimental conditions alters gastric function and nerve sensations, Belgian and UK researchers report, and this may give rise to some gastric disorders.
“Our data suggest that anxiety status should be taken into account when dealing with patients with long-standing stomach symptoms without readily identifiable organic cause,” Dr. Jan Tack told Reuters Health.
Choosing the Best Kidney for Transplantation
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Organ transplantation is subject to the law of supply and demand – in which demand for organs far outweighs supply from both living and deceased donors.
But results from a new, nationwide Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR) study led by University of Michigan Health System researchers may offer new hope to some patients with end-stage renal disease waiting for a kidney transplant.
Pneumonia Hospitalization Rates on the Rise for Older Adults
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Hospitalization rates for pneumonia have increased substantially for U.S. adults 65 to 84 years of age, according to a study in the December 7 issue of JAMA.
Pneumonia is among the top 10 causes of death in the United States and is a significant cause of outpatient visits and hospitalizations, according to background information in the article. Factors that increase the risk for pneumonia include the presence of underlying medical conditions, advanced age, functional disability, and residency in long-term care facilities.
Use of Intranasal Flu Vaccine Does Not Show Unexpected Serious Risks
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Approximately 2.5 million people received the intranasal influenza vaccine the last 2 flu seasons, and a new study did not identify unexpected serious risks associated with use of this vaccine, according to an article in the December 7 issue of JAMA.
Annual influenza vaccination is the primary method for protection against influenza illness, according to background information in the article. Until the 2002-2003 influenza season, the only licensed influenza vaccine in the United States was the inactivated, trivalent (reacting immunologically with three different combining sites [as of antigens or antibodies]) injectable vaccine, with recommendations emphasizing use among individuals for whom influenza is of particular concern. In June 2003, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) licensed a trivalent live, attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV-T [FluMist]) for intranasal use among healthy persons 5 to 49 years of age. Each dose contains live attenuated influenza virus of the 3 strains recommended by the U.S. Public Health Service for the corresponding influenza season. Although the number of vaccinees studied during prelicensure LAIV-T clinical trials was relatively large (20,228), postlicensure administration of the vaccine to much larger populations could reveal new safety issues.
Ten Ways to Manage Stress Day by Day
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Experiencing ongoing stress—even at low levels—can have a negative effect on your health and well-being. That’s why stress management isn’t something to reserve only for difficult times, but something to practice daily.
The November issue of Mayo Clinic Health Letter offers 10 ways to manage stress day by day:
Minimally Invasive Surgery May Increase Options for Octogenarians
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Like their younger counterparts, some elderly patients who have early stage non-small cell lung cancer can benefit from a minimally invasive surgical procedure to remove part or all of a lung, according to a study conducted by thoracic surgeons at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and described in The American Surgeon, the journal of the Southeastern Surgical Congress and the Southern California Chapter of the American College of Surgeons.
When non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC) are detected at an early, localized stage, surgical removal of the affected area often can prevent metastasis to other tissues and organs. But while some patients, including the elderly, might not be good candidates for the physical demands of open chest surgery, this study of 159 patients between ages 80 and 94 suggests that video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery should be considered a viable option.
Tips to Keep Your Mind in Top Shape
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Just when you’re old enough to be considered wise about the ways of the world, some days it’s awfully hard to find your glasses.
As you age, some brain cells may deteriorate or function less efficiently, potentially affecting your speed of mental processing and ability to retrieve information rapidly. Yet many factors besides aging affect mental ability. Depression, stress, sleep disorders, poor health and certain medications are among the most common.
Good sleep, sociability may keep grandma healthy
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New research shows that aging women who sleep well and/or have strong social ties have lower levels of interleukin-6, an immune system protein that promotes inflammation and that tends to increase with age.
Interleukin-6 (IL-6) has been linked to a variety of diseases including osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis, heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and cancer. People who have relatively high levels of IL-6 are at greater risk for these diseases.
Marital Stress Linked with Slower Wound Healing
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Married couples who had higher levels of hostile behaviors had slower healing times of blister wounds, possibly because of the corresponding change in the level of proinflammatory proteins in the blood, according to a study in the December issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Marital discord has been associated as a risk factor for several illnesses, according to background information in the article. Possible mechanisms have included changes in blood pressure and endocrine levels. Stress has been linked with a change in the production of proinflammatory cytokines, proteins in cells that play a key role in wound healing.
