USA TODAY articles from February 2004

USA TODAY archives from February 2004

Religious facilities limit services.(Patient Rights)(National Women's Law Center releases guide on law requiring health care facilities to inform patients of services they will not perform)
February 1, 2004... The ban on services instituted by many religiously affiliated hospitals, nursing homes, managed care companies, and insurers goes beyond abortions, extending to end-of-life options; research and therapy using fetal and embryonic stem cells;...

Prescription contraceptives must be covered.(Health Insurance)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Susan (identity changed), like millions of women, had a problem. Her employer, Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, did not provide insurance for prescription contraceptives, so Susan paid for them out-of-pocket. The hospital covered other...

Depressed women should seek treatment.(Pregnancy)(research into effects of depression during pregancy on mother and child)
February 1, 2004... One in five pregnant women may be experiencing symptoms of depression, but few are getting help for them, a University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, study finds. Moreover, those with a history of depression any time before their pregnancy--about one...

The effects of Alzheimer's disease.(Health Beat)(research into compounds that may be successful in reversing effects of Alzheimer's)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... The effects of Alzheimer's disease may be reversed by a group of existing compounds with known biological properties--some already approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Vernon Ingram, professor of biology, Massachusetts Institute of...

Accelerated Partial Breast Radiotherapy.(Health Beat)(Implant Sciences Corp. performs research into new treatment for breast cancer)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Accelerated Partial Breast Radiotherapy, in which a radioactive seed is placed within the breast using a catheter, could become me operative method of postlumpectomy cancer treatment, Conventional, external radiotherapy can take as long as...

A link between gene malfunction and colon cancer.(Health Beat)(researchers hope results will lead to new diagnostic test for colon cancer)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... A link between gene malfunction and colon cancer could lead to a new diagnostic test for the disease. "We have found that we can detect the abnormal [DNA] in the blood of certain patients with colon cancer as a marker of the disease" announces...

The first biotechnology product.(Health Beat)(Food and Drug Administration approves Omalizumab for treatment of asthma)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... The first biotechnology product to treat patients with a type of asthma that is related to allergies has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Omalizumab is a monoclonal antibody shown to be effective in treating people 12 years of...

The salicylic acid.(Health Beat)(reduces likelihood of Staphylococcus aureus infection)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... The salicylic acid present in aspirin disrupts the ability of Staphylococcus aureus to adhere to tissue and propagate, reducing the likelihood of infection. In a world where bacteria are becoming antibiotic resistant, aspirin could prove an...

Ten to 20% of Americans.(Health Beat)(kidney stones)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Ten to 20% of Americans will suffer a kidney stone varying in size from a grain of sand to a golf ball. Drinking up to 12 glasses of water a day and avoiding excessive protein intake reduce the risk, indicates Orson Moe, associate professor of...

The diversion of ambulances.(Health Beat)(research suggests most effective use of ambulance services)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... The diversion of ambulances away from crowded emergency departments, despite an increase in the transport of patients by ambulance, can be achieved through a community-wide coordinating effort, finds the American College of Emergency...

Going to the gym.(Health Beat)(tips on working out)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Going to the gym for regular workouts is a common resolution. Myogenics Fitness, West Hollywood, Calif., offers the following tips for keeping up your resolve: go for intensity, not time; work through the burn of muscle fatigue; maintain proper...

Sunscreens.(Health Beat)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Sunscreens may help prevent cancer in healthy skin, but individuals also should be diligent in applying the substance to scar tissue. "Most scars lack pigmentation, offering little or no sun protection," warns David Leffell, professor of...

Females in dark concerning basic care.(Gynecology)
February 1, 2004... Despite high numbers of women in their 40s having babies, many are ill informed about their ability to safely conceive in these later years, maintains a survey by the Vagisil Women's Health Center, White Plains, N.Y. It shows that 39% believe...

Hormone therapy needs replacing.(Osteoporosis)
February 1, 2004... For a time, hormone replacement therapy (the administration of estrogen either alone or in combination with other hormones) served as the preferred treatment for postmenopausal women hoping to reduce the progression of osteoporosis, a...

Loss of tresses depresses.(Female Baldness)
February 1, 2004... Hair loss is most commonly associated with male-pattern baldness, but women can have alopecia, too, and it may have significant impact on their quality of life. Too often, women suffer psychological and emotional effects that can range from...

Bottoms up means bottoming out.(Women's Health)(researchers find that health risks posed by alcoholism are worse for women than men)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Drinking alcohol may pose more health risks for women than men. Because females generally are smaller and have a higher percentage of body fat than males, they metabolize alcohol less efficiently. Researchers, however, have found the effects of...

Novel compound deters drinking in mice.(Alcoholism)(L-152,804 found to block actions of key neurotransmitter called neuropeptide Y)
February 1, 2004... Relapses remain among the toughest hurdles alcoholics face while trying to avoid the drinking that often ruins their lives and indelibly scars their families. The urge to drink excessively, which most people do not feel at all, is enormously...

Genetic disorder traced to cilia.(Obesity)(Bardet-Biedl syndrome)
February 1, 2004... A potential new contributor to obesity--faulty cilia--has been discovered by researchers at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md. Many a high school biology student has glanced into a microscope to see the planet's smallest...

Users report depression and injuries.(Substance Abuse)(researchers find high incidence of comorbidity among substance abusers)
February 1, 2004... People with substance abuse disorders often have accompanying medical or psychiatric conditions that can include bone fractures, muscle injuries, pain disorders, depression, anxiety, and even psychoses, maintain two studies by the National...

Hunger, obesity: two sides of same coin.(Weight Control)(research links poverty to obesity)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Hunger and obesity not only pose separate and distinct health risks, but can coexist in the same household, relates a joint analysis released by the Center on Hunger and Poverty at Brandeis University, Waltham, Mass., and the Food Research and...

Rapid recuperation for dementia caregivers.(Bereavement)
February 1, 2004... Home caregivers showed rapid recuperation from depression within three months of the death of their relatives suffering from dementia, and the improvements continued for a year, notes a study of caregivers and the end of life. "Depression often...

Making Alzheimer's treatment decisions.(Caregiving)
February 1, 2004... A caregiver's assessment of an Alzheimer's patient's quality of life is the key factor in determining if and why some caregivers decline to use a treatment that slows progression of the patient's disease, according to a study from the Institute...

Combination therapy increases dementia.(Hormones)
February 1, 2004... Older women taking combination hormone therapy have twice the rate of dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, compared with those who do not take the medication, according to the Women's Health Initiative Memory Study conducted by the National...

Alzheimer's linked to insulin enzyme.(Brain)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Low levels of an enzyme that degrades insulin could increase the risk for Alzheimer's disease, according to a study in mice by doctors at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. The discovery targets a new correlation...

Calcium key provider of good health.(Nutrition)
February 1, 2004... Obesity rates are higher than ever, with an estimated 61% of U.S. adults overweight or obese and 13% of children and adolescents carrying extra pounds, according to the latest government statistics. The good news from the National Dairy...

Bipolar kids respond to mood stabilizers.(Drug Therapy)
February 1, 2004... Children with psychiatric problems who also have a high risk of developing bipolar disorder respond well to a mood-stabilizing drug, maintains a study that is the first to examine the drug's effect on youngsters predisposed to manic depression....

The picture of health: the art of Norman Rockwell immortalizes the family doctor.(Marketing Medicine)
February 1, 2004... In 1916, 22-year-old Norman Rockwell painted his first cover for The Saturday Evening Post, the magazine he Considered to be the "greatest show window in America." As his commercial career flourished, Rockwell was contracted to create images...

Ecstasy babies likely abnormal.(Chemical Imbalances)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... A study shows that 21-day-old rat pups exposed in the womb to the drug MDMA (methylenedioxymethamphetamine, often called Ecstasy) during a period corresponding to the first trimester in human pregnancy exhibit changes in brain chemistry and...

Thrill-seeking teens more likely to puff.(Smoking)
February 1, 2004... Adolescents who demonstrate impulsive and risk-taking behavior and an increased need for stimulation, a personality trait known as "novelty-seeking," are more receptive to tobacco advertising and are at high risk for smoking initiation,...

Antihistamines may prolong infection.(Ears)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Parents should think twice before administering antihistamines to relieve their child's ear infection symptoms, report researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, as this common remedy not only increases recovery time,...

Milk in childhood cuts osteoporosis risk.(Skeletal System)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Women who had a low milk intake during childhood and adolescence have lower bone mass in adulthood and greater risk of fracture--independent of their current milk or calcium intake, documents a Cincinnati (Ohio) Children's Research Foundation...

Ammonium nitrate a possible source.(Carcinogens)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Farmers use ammonium nitrate as a crop fertilizer and plants produce it to use as an energy source in the absence of light. The problem is that nitrate could be responsible for starting a chain of events in the body that leads to the formation...

Proteins "whey" in against free radicals.(Prostate Cancer)
February 1, 2004... Whey, a liquid by-product from cheese production, may play a role in helping prevent prostate cancer. When Ohio State University, Columbus, food scientists treated human prostate cells in the lab with whey protein, cellular levels of the...

Good night's sleep may slow disease.(Cancer Therapy)
February 1, 2004... A good night's rest may be one weapon in the fight against cancer, say researchers at Stanford (Calif.) University Medical Center. Their work is among the first to piece together the link between mental well-being and cancer recovery. Previous...

Those afflicted usually unaware.(Herpes)
February 1, 2004... It is a prevalent disease but nearly 90% of people infected do not know they have it. That is one of the sobering statistics associated with genital herpes, a sexually transmitted disease (STD) that affects one in five adults in the U.S. "It...

Computer model tracks SARS.(Public Health)(research into technology that can predict spread of infectious diseases)
February 1, 2004... A computational method for simulating the spread of flu-like illnesses such as SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) that is being developed by a University at Buffalo (N.Y.) geographer may provide policymakers and analysts with new...

Genital warts have no cure.(Sexually Transmitted Diseases)
February 1, 2004... More than 24,000,000 Americans are infected with the human papillomavirus (HPV), which can cause one of the most common, yet least recognized, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs)--external genital warts (EGWs). In fact, nearly three out of...

Possible cure for Ebola virus.(Vaccines)
February 1, 2004... A single injection of a fast-acting, experimental Ebola vaccine successfully protects monkeys from the deadly virus after only one month. If this vaccine proves similarly effective in humans, it may allow scientists to contain life-threatening...

Physicians' computer use speeds patient care.(Hospitals)(Use of computerized physician order entry systems improves workflow and patient care)
February 1, 2004... Hospitals significantly may be able to reduce the time it takes to dispense medications to patients and complete X-rays and lab tests by having physicians fill out orders via computer rather than by hand, suggests an Ohio State University,...

PAs provide more health care access.(Physician Assistants)(Growth in the usage of physician's assistants)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... The number of physician assistants in clinical practice continues to increase, as the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) estimates there will be more than 50,000 by the middle of this year. This projection more than doubles the...

Less toxic therapies on the horizon.(Autoimmune Diseases)
February 1, 2004... Autoimmune diseases--which include lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, myasthenia gravis, Grave's disease, and small vessel vasculitis--are caused when antibodies produced by an individual's immune system mistakenly are directed to attack the body's...

Mites might cause mighty problems.(Skin Disorders)(Demodex mites linked to human skin diseases)
February 1, 2004... You are not alone. Most individuals have millions of mites living in their hair and on their skin. These microscopic bugs may be linked to thinning hair, acne, and other skin conditions. "Many people don't like the idea of bugs living in their...

Inflamed blood vessels key risk factor.(Cardiovascular Disease)
February 1, 2004... For more than two decades, health professionals and medical researchers have pointed to cholesterol as a major culprit in the fight against coronary artery disease and heart attack. Public awareness has been raised, and today most Americans at...

Sudden cardiac death still a mystery.(Heart Disease)
February 1, 2004... Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is a catastrophic disruption of the heart rhythm that can cause a seemingly healthy human to drop dead without warning. More people die from SCD each year than from AIDS, breast cancer, and lung cancer combined. The...

Warning signs differ in women.(Heart Attack)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... A study of women's symptoms prior to heart attack indicates that about 95% say they knew their symptoms were new or different a month or more before experiencing their Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI). This was true even when the precursors...