Possible Role for Dentists in the Fight Against Heart Disease
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A new study published in the November issue of The Journal of the American Dental Association (JADA) says dentists have a “unique opportunity” to help in the fight against heart attack, one of the leading causes of death in the United States.
Health care utilization patterns indicate that individuals may be more likely to see their dentist regularly than they are to see their physician, the JADA report says.
“This could place dentists in the frontlines for identifying patients at risk of coronary heart disease,” says Michael Glick, D.M.D., who co-authored the study with Barbara L. Greenberg, Ph.D.
Moms’ low-allergen diet may ease infants’ colic
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For breast-fed babies who have colic, having mothers switch to a low-allergen diet seems to reduce the amount of time the infants spend crying and fussing, an Australian research team reports.
Previously, investigators have found that substituting a hydrolyzed casein- and whey-based preparation for regular formula appears to improve colic symptoms, as does elimination of some proteins from the breast-feeding mother’s diet. Results have not been conclusive, however.
Research Helps Identify Precursors to Foot Disease in Diabetes Patients
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Foot ulcerations are one of the most serious complications of diabetes, resulting in more than 80,000 lower-leg amputations each year in the U.S. alone. A new study led by researchers at the Joslin-Beth Israel Deaconess Foot Center and Microcirculation Laboratory finds that early changes in the oxygenation of the skin could help foretell the development of ulcerations and enable doctors to treat patients at an earlier stage, before the onset of serious complications.
Reported in the Nov. 12 issue of the medical journal The Lancet, the study is part of a special issue devoted to diabetic foot disease to coincide with World Diabetes Day, also Nov.12th.
Risks of Taking Sedatives for Insomnia in Older People
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For older people, the risks outweigh the benefits of taking sleeping pills and other sedatives, say researchers in this week’s BMJ.
Insomnia can often affect the quality of life for older people and between 5% and 33% of older people in the UK are prescribed sleeping pills such as benzodiazepine.
Traction Not Beneficial for Low Back Pain
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The use of traction to help treat low back pain has no benefit, despite its widespread use, a new review of studies has found.
“Traction was introduced before it was properly evaluated in high-quality randomized trials, and as an intervention is already part of usual practice,” said lead author Judy M.A. Clarke, M.D. “It is hard to convince health care providers not to use it.”
Neurologists Refine Multiple Sclerosis Diagnostic Criteria
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An international panel of neurologists has updated the current guidelines for diagnosing multiple sclerosis (MS), strengthening the role of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The guidelines, published online November 10, 2005 in the Annals of Neurology, update the “McDonald criteria,” created five years ago and named after the chair of the previous panel, Prof W. Ian McDonald of the Institute of Neurology in London.
“We hope, and trust, that these revisions will allow an even earlier diagnosis of MS, without any loss of diagnostic accuracy,” said Chris H. Polman, M.D., of the Free University Medical Center in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and chair of the current panel, which was organized and supported by the US National MS Society.
Doctors Need to Better Educate Pregnant Patients to Exercise
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Obstetricians and gynecologists need to do a better job of encouraging women with uncomplicated pregnancies to exercise, a Saint Louis University School of Public Health study concludes.
“The message is not getting out that women should continue to exercise during pregnancy, at least at moderate intensity,” said Terry Leet, Ph.D., a study author and associate professor of community health at Saint Louis University School of Public Health.
Pregnant Women Are Not Sweating Enough
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The exercise message is apparently not getting through to expectant mothers.
Just 6% of pregnant women work out for at least 30 minutes several times a week and only one in 10 pregnant women engage in moderate exercise weekly, according to survey results reported in the November issue of Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.
Sleep Disorder Increases Risk of Mortality
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Obstructive sleep apnea increases the risk of death from stroke or other causes, whether the sleeper has hypertension or not, according to research reported today.
Equally disquieting was the news that in patients with both central sleep apnea and heart failure, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) improves both sleep and cardiovascular function, but does not improve survival.
Sleep apnea Rx may not eliminate heart risk
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Treatment of long-standing or severe sleep-disordered breathing, also known as sleep apnea, cannot always eliminate the risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke and death, according to two studies in The New England Journal of Medicine this week.
People with sleep apnea involuntarily stop breathing dozens of times each night, causing them to gasp for breath. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) occurs when the airway becomes blocked by tissue such as the tonsils or base of the tongue, whereas central sleep apnea occurs when the respiratory system stops working in the absence of a blockage.
Amenorrhea common after Hodgkin’s treatment
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Most women stop having their menstrual period, a condition called amenorrhea, after undergoing chemotherapy for advanced-stage Hodgkin’s lymphoma (HL), cancer specialists report in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Study author Dr. Karolin Behringer told Reuters Health that doctors need to talk to patients about “late toxicities, especially infertility,” of chemotherapy and radiation therapy before treatment is initiated. Late toxicities or complications are side effects from chemotherapy or radiation therapy that occur long after the treatment ends. Among these, infertility for women is a major concern.
World health experts outline bird flu strategy
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International health experts on Wednesday agreed to the outlines of a global strategy to tackle the spread of bird flu that the World Bank has estimated would cost up to $1 billion over three years.
Wrapping up three days of talks, World Health Organisation (WHO) chief Lee Jong-Wook said the strategy covered minimising the virus threat at source in animals and humans, strengthening early warning systems, strengthening veterinary services, improving countries’ pandemic preparedness, making access to anti-viral drugs fairer and more research into pandemic vaccines.
Bird flu may cut energy demand
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Bird flu may reduce world energy demand should it evolve into a form that is easily transmitted among humans, possibly by more than a million barrels per day, Goldman Sachs said in a report.
“Should the flu mutate into a true global pandemic, the economic implications would be profound, potentially reducing energy demand by well over one million barrels per day,” the U.S. investment bank said.
Fertility after prostate “seed” therapy possible
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Contrary to popular belief, men with prostate cancer who have tiny radioactive seeds implanted in the prostate to destroy the cancer, a treatment called brachytherapy, are not always rendered infertile, according to the results of small case series.
Prostate brachytherapy has become a very popular way to treat prostate cancer that has not spread to other organs. While it is still a preferred treatment for older men, increasingly many younger men are now being treated with this approach.
Cannabis-Based Drug Relieves Arthritis Pain
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An oral spray containing marijuana extracts has offered pain relief to rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients, according to British researchers. The patients did not have the typical highs achieved by smoking marijuana.
Called Sativex, the agent was tested in a five-week randomized, placebo-controlled trial that the investigators said was the first formal study using cannabis-based medications to treat rheumatoid arthritis.
