Health & Medicine Week articles from May 2001

Health & Medicine Week archives from May 2001

Researchers Recommend Early Eye Exams For Type 1 Diabetics.
May 7, 2001... 2001 MAY 7 - (NewsRx Network) -- by Sonia Nichols, staff medical writer - Patients should receive comprehensive eye examinations within the first five years of being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, according to the results of a long-term study....

One More Visit Could Close Demographic Gaps In Infant Vaccination Efforts.
May 7, 2001... 2001 MAY 7 - (NewsRx Network) -- Although America has made rapid strides toward achieving goals for infant immunization set by the Healthy People initiative, many African-American and poor infants have been left behind, according to data from...

St. John's Wort Not Effective For Treatment Of Major Depression.
May 7, 2001... 2001 MAY 7 - (NewsRx Network) -- The popular herbal remedy St. John's wort was not effective for treatment of major depression in the first large-scale controlled trial in the United States, according to an article in the April 18, 2001, issue...

Protein Saves Bone In Elders.(animal protein intake may help reduce bone loss in elders)
May 7, 2001... 2001 MAY 7 - (NewsRx Network) -- It's no secret that people need ample calcium and vitamin D to maintain strong bones, even in their twilight years. Now, a study suggests that protein intake may be important in reducing bone loss in elders. ...

Patients' Complaints May Influence Doctors' Decision-Making.
May 7, 2001... 2001 MAY 7 - (NewsRx Network) -- Doctors are likely to choose defensive health care strategies for patients who make direct threats about their choice of treatment, conclude authors of a study published in the April 21, 2001, issue of the...

Effective Treatments Remain Elusive.(for acne)
May 7, 2001... 2001 MAY 7 - (NewsRx Network) -- After a half-century of looking at everything from Accutane to zinc, dermatologists still can't prove which acne treatments and drugs work best. "One of the key questions for dermatologists has been, 'How...

For Girls, Having Dad Around Is Preventive Medicine.(fathers have an effect on their daughters' outside relationships)
May 7, 2001... 2001 MAY 7 -- (NewsRx Network) -- For young daughters, father does know best -- if he is around. If a dad is absent, the chances greatly increase for a fatherless daughter to become sexually active while still a teenager, according to a...

Nicotine Patches Do Not Increase Risk For First Heart Attack.
May 7, 2001... 2001 MAY 7 - (NewsRx Network) -- Despite earlier reports to the contrary, nicotine patches do not increase risk of heart attack. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center compared 2,990 control subjects and 635 recent...

Task Force Calls For Chlamydia, Lipid Screening Among First Four Recommendations.
May 7, 2001... 2001 MAY 7 - (NewsRx Network) -- In its first set of recommendations, the third U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommended on April 17, 2001, that primary care clinicians screen all sexually active women ages 25 and younger, as...

Africa Requires Massive Funding To Help Stem Health Crisis, Experts Tell UN Panel.
May 7, 2001... 2001 MAY 7 - (NewsRx Network) -- Addressing an expert panel at United Nations Headquarters in New York, a Harvard University professor made an impassioned appeal on April 17, 2001, for massive assistance to help Africa stem its current health...

Study Suggests Psychiatric Interventions Should Be Assessed In Patients.(with hip fracture)
May 7, 2001... 2001 MAY 7 - (NewsRx Network) -- Psychiatric interventions should be evaluated in patients with hip fracture, conclude authors of a research letter in the April 21, 2001, issue of the Lancet. Hip fracture is a common cause of illness and...

NewsRx.net Is Preferred Site for Cancer, Malaria, AIDS, Other Health Searches, Audience Measurement Shows.
May 7, 2001... 2001 MAY 7 - (NewsRx Network) -- NewsRx Network, Atlanta, Georgia, the leading provider of life science databases and daily and weekly health news, announced on April 17, 2001, the results of audience measurements based on its report from...

For Some, Sleep Style Serves As Harbinger Of Depression.(speed in which a person falls into dream sleep may indicate that they are more prone to depression)
May 7, 2001... 2001 MAY 7 - (NewsRx Network) -- The search for the genetic roots of depression has led scientists to the bedroom, where they've discovered that people with a particular type of sleep pattern and a family history of depression are twice as...

U.S. Government Plans Organ Donor Card.
May 7, 2001... 2001 MAY 7 - (NewsRx Network) -- In a major effort to increase organ donation, U.S. federal officials are devising a national organ donor card that they hope will make clear potential donors' wishes. The idea is to give transplant...

Permeability-Increasing Protein Repairs Mucosal Damage To Rat Middle Ear.(rBPI.sub.2 may help treat otitis media with effusion)
May 7, 2001... 2001 MAY 7 - (NewsRx Network) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer - A lipopolysaccharide-binding protein called [rBPI.sub.21] may be useful in the treatment of otitis media with effusion (OME) and of mucosal infections of the respiratory...

Cancers Linked to Fat, Inactivity.
May 7, 2001... 2001 MAY 7 - (NewsRx Network) -- Up to one-third of cancers of the colon, breast, kidney, and digestive tract are attributable to too much weight gain and too little exercise, the World Health Organization cancer agency said on April 5, 2001....

Chronic Periodontal Disease May Be Risk Factor.(for type 2 diabetes)
May 7, 2001... 2001 MAY 7 - (NewsRx Network) -- Chronic periodontal disease may contribute to diabetes, a review of recent research indicates. While it has been established that people with diabetes are more prone to developing periodontal disease, new...

High Carbohydrate, Low Fat Diets Most Beneficial Overall.(for weight loss)
May 14, 2001... 2001 MAY 14 - (NewsRx Network) -- by Susan Hasty, staff medical writer - Two new studies confirm what many doctors have been saying for years: a high-carbohydrate, low-fat diet is the best way to lose weight and improve overall health. ...

Tai Chi Is A Good Way For Elderly People To Regain Physical Functioning.
May 14, 2001... 2001 MAY 14 - (NewsRx Network) -- The low-impact Chinese exercise, Tai Chi, can help older people regain some of the physical functioning that they may have lost to inactivity, according to a new study. Seniors taking Tai Chi classes...

Study Finds Men - Not Women - Are Under-Represented In Most Research Studies.
May 14, 2001... 2001 MAY 14 - (NewsRx Network) -- Contrary to longstanding public perception, women do not appear to be under-represented or understudied in scientific clinical research trials in the United States, according to a new study by researchers at...

American Cancer Society Endorses Hepatitis B 'Catch-up' Immunization for Children.
May 14, 2001... 2001 MAY 14 -- (NewsRx Network) -- Citing hepatitis B virus infection (HBV) as the most significant risk factor for later development of liver cancer, the American Cancer Society has endorsed greater efforts to foster immunization against this...

Parents Who Miss Work To Care For Sick Child Are More Accepting Of Flu Vaccine.
May 14, 2001... 2001 MAY 14 - (NewsRx Network) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer - Parents who miss work to care for their sick children or those whose children miss school for respiratory illnesses tend to be more accepting of having their children...

Children Exposed To Drugs In Utero More Likely To Have Behavior Problems.
May 14, 2001... 2001 MAY 14 - (NewsRx Network) -- The subject of whether prenatal drug exposure has a significant impact on a child's intellectual capacity has been controversial. Johns Hopkins Children's Center researchers have been following a group of...

International Study Links Tobacco Use To Eye Disease In Older Patients.(age-related macular degeneration)
May 14, 2001... 2001 MAY 14 - (NewsRx Network) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Scientific collaborators on three continents have concluded tobacco use can be linked to age-related macular degeneration, an eye disease that worsens with advancing...

Therapeutic Message May Have Long-Term Benefits.(for treatment of low back pain)
May 14, 2001... 2001 MAY 14 - (NewsRx Network) -- For millions of Americans with chronic low back pain, a trip to the massage therapist may be just what the doctor ordered, according to a new study. A study in April 23, 2001, issue of Archives of Internal...

Anti-Fungal Treatments Fail To Eradicate Original Candida Strains.
May 14, 2001... 2001 MAY 14 -- (NewsRx Network) -- by Deborah W. Heinrich, PhD, staff medical writer Researchers at the University of Wales in South Glam, Wales, found that antifungal treatments in terminally ill patients failed to eradicate the original...

Agent Orange, Leukemia Link Studied.(children of veterans exposed to Agent Orange may have a greater risk of being afflicted with acute myelogenous leukemia)
May 14, 2001... 2001 MAY 14 -- (NewsRx Network) -- The dangerous after-effects of the chemical Agent Orange used in Vietnam may have extended to the children of veterans of that war. The U.S. Institute of Medicine reported on April 19, 2001, that the...

Report Summarizes Best Ideas In COPD Management.(chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)
May 14, 2001... 2001 MAY 14 - (NewsRx Network) -- An executive summary of the best validated current concepts of disease management for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) was published in the April 2001 issue of the American Journal of Respiratory...

Radiation To Base Of Skull Causes Pituitary Damage In Dose-Dependent Manner.
May 14, 2001... 2001 MAY 14 - (NewsRx Network) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer - A follow-up study of adults who received high-dose radiotherapy to the base of the skull has demonstrated a high incidence of damage to the anterior, but not posterior,...

Initiating Oral Feeding 48-Hours After Surgery Is Safe.(laryngectomy patients can begin oral feeding 48 hours after surgery)
May 14, 2001... 2001 MAY 14 - (NewsRx Network) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer - Patients who undergo total laryngectomy can begin oral feeding 48 hours postoperatively with no increased risk of complications, according to a report in Laryngoscope....

Health Effects Of Herbicide Paraquat Are Under Study.
May 14, 2001... 2001 MAY 14 - (NewsRx Network) -- A popular herbicide in use in more than 130 countries in the world for weed control is the focus of an important health study conducted by physicians and researchers at the University of California, Davis,...

Children With Mitochondrial Disorders Should Be Tested For Hearing Loss.(mitochondrial enecephalomyopathies may cause hearing disorders in children)
May 14, 2001... 2001 MAY 14 - (NewsRx Network) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer - Mitochondrial encephalomyopathies manifest a variety of symptoms, one of which is progressive hearing loss. In children with these rare disorders, the severity of...

Ethnic Disparities in Pain Reporting and Care Discussed.
May 14, 2001... 2001 MAY 14 - (NewsRx Network) -- by Michelle Marble, senior medical writer - Health disparities among U.S. ethnic groups in the management and treatment of chronic pain disorders were discussed in a symposium at the 20th Annual Scientific...

Conference Lets Investigators Share First Look At Perplexing Health Concerns.(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Epidemic Intelligence Service's annual conference)
May 14, 2001... 2001 MAY 14 -- (NewsRx Network) -- Protecting health care workers from Ebola, making pork barbecues safer, and asking why America's children don't ride bikes to school are just three of 80 investigations conducted by the U.S. Centers for...

Mechanism For Life-Threatening High-Altitude Sickness Uncovered.(high altitude pulmonary edema is a complication for altitude sickness)
May 14, 2001... 2001 MAY 14 - (NewsRx Network) -- Mountain climbers who develop high altitude sickness, with symptoms that include extreme listlessness and coughing up blood, may now have an explanation for what causes the condition High altitude...

Maxillomandibular Advancement Is Conditionally Successful In Children.(with sleep apnea)
May 14, 2001... 2001 MAY 14 -- (NewsRx Network) -- by Deborah W. Heinrich, PhD, staff medical writer - Researchers at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill found that maxillomandibular advancement was successful in treating obstructed sleep apnea...

Study Shows Racial Bias In Pain Management.
May 14, 2001... 2001 MAY 14 -- (NewsRx Network) -- In a new study published in the medical journal Pain, researchers at Saint Louis University School of Medicine found that even though Caucasians and African Americans had similar work-related back injuries and...

Walking Protects Women From Cognitive Decline.
May 21, 2001... 2001 MAY 21 - (NewsRx Network) -- Walking may help women keep their brains young, according to research presented during the American Academy of Neurology's 53rd Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, May 5-11, 2001. Women who walk...

U.S. National Infant Immunization Week Targeted Children Who Lack Vaccinations.
May 21, 2001... 2001 MAY 21 - (NewsRx Network) -- More than 900,000 American children are not routinely immunized, the consequence of which may be a revival of nearly eradicated diseases, say University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas...

Study Aims To Reduce Potentially Inappropriate Prescriptions To Elderly Patients.
May 21, 2001... 2001 MAY 21 - (NewsRx Network) -- The administration of many drugs together to elderly patients is a well-known problem in geriatrics. In an effort to find a solution, Dr. Jacques Allard and colleagues set up a randomized controlled trial...

Condom Misconceptions Abound Among Sexually Active Adolescents.
May 21, 2001... 2001 MAY 21 - (NewsRx Network) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer - The combustible mix of ignorance and sexual activity is underscored by new data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, which reveal that many...

Parents And Physicians Report Increased Concerns About Some Vaccines.
May 21, 2001... 2001 MAY 21 - (NewsRx Network) -- In the wake of recent publicity surrounding vaccine safety issues, parents and the physicians who treat their children are reporting more concern about some vaccines, and even refusing certain vaccines for...

Costs Of Caring For Patients In California Projected To Triple By 2040.(Statistical Data Included)
May 21, 2001... 2001 MAY 21 - (NewsRx Network) -- The costs of caring for California community residents with Alzheimer's disease will increase 83% by 2020 and an additional 59% by 2040, according to University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), researchers...

Kids On Medicaid Less Likely To See Specialist For Care.
May 21, 2001... 2001 MAY 21 - (NewsRx Network) -- Asthmatic children insured through the Medicaid program in the U.S. are less likely to see a physician who specializes in asthma care than children who get their health insurance through other types of managed...

Hepatitis C Risk Not Limited to Injection Drug Users.
May 21, 2001... 2001 MAY 21 - (NewsRx Network) -- A study in New York City has found a higher than expected prevalence of hepatitis C infection among non-injecting drug users. In this study, as many as 17% of the subjects who denied a history of injection...

Similar Long-Term GERD Outcomes Reported For Surgery And Medical Treatment.(gastroesophageal reflux disease )
May 21, 2001... 2001 MAY 21 - (NewsRx Network) -- Nearly two-thirds of patients who underwent surgery for severe gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) still used anti-reflux medications, and had similar rates of esophageal disease as patients who received...

NewsRx Network Chosen As Source For Information Therapy'.
May 21, 2001... 2001 MAY 21 - (NewsRx Network) -- NewsRx Network, Atlanta, Georgia, the leading provider of life science databases and daily and weekly health news, now is a major source for "information therapy." NewsRx databases are derived from medical...

Genetic Disorders Common Among Hospitalized Children.
May 21, 2001... 2001 MAY 21 - (NewsRx Network) -- New research indicates that a vast majority of children admitted to hospitals have a genetically determined underlying disorder. The study, led by a pediatrician and medical geneticist at the University of...

Lowered Blood Alcohol Limits For Teens Reduces Drinking And Driving.
May 21, 2001... 2001 MAY 21 - (NewsRx Network) -- U.S. states with lower blood alcohol limit policies for drivers under age 21 have seen a 19% decrease in the frequency of teenagers who drive after drinking and a 23% decrease in the frequency of teens who...

'Back To Sleep' Campaign More Effective Among Some Racial Groups Than Others.
May 21, 2001... 2001 MAY 21 - (NewsRx Network) -- The Back to Sleep campaign ongoing in the U.S., which recommends that caretakers place healthy babies on their backs to sleep, has been credited with recent declines in Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, or SIDS....

Higher Chickenpox Vaccination Rates Decrease Disease Even In The Unvaccinated.
May 21, 2001... 2001 MAY 21 - (NewsRx Network) -- With more than 60% of children being vaccinated, the "vaccine has been administered to a high enough proportion of the children in the population that incidence of varicella disease has decreased within the...

Protein Tells Cells When To Stop Repair Process.
May 21, 2001... 2001 MAY 21 - (NewsRx Network) -- Researchers have found that an integrin, a protein that helps cells stick to surfaces, also tells cells when they should stop healing a wound and settle down. Vito Quaranta, at The Scripps Research...