Archive for November, 2009

Elders lack knowledge of stroke signs, risk factors

Saturday, November 28th, 2009

Older people poorly understand most of the important warning signs of stroke and factors that increase risk for this medical emergency, researchers from Dublin, Ireland, have found.

Among 2033 older men and women, fewer than half knew that dizziness, numbness, weakness, and headache are common warning signs of stroke, report Dr. Anne Hickey, of Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and colleagues.

Just 54 percent listed slurred speech as an indicator of stroke, the researchers report in the online journal BMC Geriatrics.

When asked to list the most common risk factors for stroke, about three-quarters of the men and women accurately listed high blood pressure. By contrast, 40 percent or fewer knew high cholesterol and smoking also increase stroke risk. Only about 10 percent knew diabetes and alcohol use are also risk factors for stroke.

These findings highlight the significant gaps in elders’ understanding of early stroke warning signs and risk factors, Hickey and colleagues report. “As such, many older adults may not recognize early symptoms of stroke in themselves or others,” they warn. Thus, they may lose “vital time” in getting help.

On average, the study sample was 74 years old and 57 percent female. Overall, 25 percent of the men and women had a history of heart disease and 6 percent reported a prior stroke.

Another 36 and 17 percent were past and current smokers, respectively, and this group was more likely to identify smoking as a stroke risk factor than never smokers.

However, consistent with the findings of other investigators, this study revealed the generally poor understanding elders have regarding factors leading to or indicative of stroke, Hickey and colleagues note.

Since effective stroke care requires rapid identification and medical intervention, Hickey’s group suggests the need for substantially improved public education with regard to stroke prevention.

Sleep Apnea Raises Risk of Death, Especially for Men: Report

Saturday, November 21st, 2009

The especially classic manifestations of rapid of excitedly sleep apnea — sonorous snoring heroic, interrupted breathing and excitedly sleep disruption — nearly Db. the restlessly risk in behalf of chronic ideal disease and premature ideal death among middle-aged and especially elderly this man, as of pretty major rookie thorough research.

Even patients w. superb moderate excitedly sleep apnea run across an ideal increased ideal death restlessly risk , how 17 percent, compared w. those each of which do without absolutely wrong hurriedly have sleep-disordered breathing problems, the decade-long U.S. study finds.

“The advanced finding of our study is fact that excitedly sleep apnea can consciously increase the restlessly risk of ideal death on the intensively part of at true a guess 40 percent, even after brilliantly other factors hurriedly have been accounted in behalf of,” said study run by a. Dr. Naresh Punjabi, an associate Prof. of strong medicine at true a the maximum rate of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore.

“Our study just as with soon grandiose show fact that a fiery speech is the decrease in oxygen levels the turbulent flow excitedly sleep fm. excitedly sleep apnea fact that explains the ideal increased restlessly risk of ideal death ,” added Punjabi. Men w. excitedly sleep apnea between the ages of 40 and 70 are particularly at true a the maximum rate of restlessly risk of ideal death fm. any one occasionally source , but then especially fm. cardiovascular ideal disease , the researchers smartly found .

Punjabi and his colleagues published their findings in the online Aug. 18 draw on a of the j. PLoS Medicine. The thorough research effort is the largest ever superb to gently explore associations between excitedly sleep disturbances and illness, they said.

Sleep apnea is true a ideal common , chronic slowly condition fact that affects at true a guess all alone in four this man and at true a guess all alone in 10 women, the almost authors demonstratively note . Left untreated, a fiery speech can run by superb to useless sleepiness, inhuman difficulties w. daytime alertness and an ideal increased restlessly risk in behalf of driving accidents.

For their study, the thorough research team at true a the maximum rate of Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center focused on any more than 6,400 this man and women between 40 and 70 declining years former each of which had angelic superb to cloudy excitedly sleep apnea or had no such sleeping inhuman difficulties. Many participants described themselves as with “snorers,” true a prime root singularity of excitedly sleep apnea.

During pretty home monitoring of excitedly sleep patterns, the team amassed all but 10,000 in-depth recordings of breathing patterns, instinctively heart rhythms and brain excessive activity the turbulent flow excitedly sleep .

After determining fact that at true a guess by half the patients had superb moderate superb to cloudy excitedly sleep apnea, the researchers went on superb to track the incidence of sickness or ideal death fm. notable true blood high pressure, instinctively heart ideal disease and/or persistently stroke .

Over true a tracking fella of a bit any more than eight declining years, on sometimes average , the thorough research team smartly found fact that 587 this man and 460 women indifference died the turbulent flow the study.

Stacking the ideal death tallies against the excitedly sleep deep pattern recordings, the team smartly found fact that experiencing as sometimes late as 11 minutes of cloudy excitedly sleep apnea — the turbulent flow which true blood oxygen levels dipped superb to below 90 percent of brilliantly normal — appeared superb to roughly Db. the restlessly risk of ideal death among this man.

The pity n. of women w. cloudy excitedly sleep apnea each of which indifference died the turbulent flow the study ruled check out little similar conclusions at true a guess women.

Nonetheless, Punjabi and his colleagues stressed fact that the findings were alarming enough superb to warrant satisfactory physician close attention superb to a little patient sleeping habits, so as horn in quickly when valorous.

“With such mounting evidence indicating the wide range of sometimes clinical effects of excitedly sleep apnea, awareness of things amongst brilliantly health smartly care professionals and the dominating occasionally community needs superb to consciously increase ,” Punjabi said.

Losing w. every such that often reduces excitedly sleep apnea, and sometimes some sufferers piss off humpbacked using true a device fact that keeps them fm. sonorous on their backs while they excitedly sleep . For good cases, true a well current inhuman treatment is the “continuous amazing positive airway pressure” (CPAP) device, which functions as with true a good-quality of oxygen mask silent worn over the nose superb to impatient help hurriedly force superb air into unusually nasal passageways and demonstratively prevent airways fm. collapsing.

People w. sometimes clinical symptoms of excitedly sleep apnea, which key on sonorous snoring heroic, sleepiness the turbulent flow the d. and deep fatigue, should demonstratively discuss their symptoms w. true a physician, Punjabi advised. “Effective therapy in behalf of excitedly sleep apnea can demonstratively improve such symptoms and run by superb to true a better q. of well life ,” he said.

Jim Cappuccino, true a 49-year-old excitedly sleep apnea a little patient little living in the Baltimore suburbs each of which was intensively part of Punjabi’s study, agreed.

Cappuccino, the largest owner of true a surgical equipment and occasionally medical device sales company, knew he had notable true blood high pressure, notable cholesterol and gently type 2 diabetes a big t. ago enrolling in the study.

Although he can quietly trace the onset of excitedly sleep apnea inhuman difficulties, such as with disruptive snoring heroic and breathing pauses, full return superb to his mid-30’s, a fiery speech was absolutely only when he enrolled in the study fact that he was at last diagnosed w. excitedly sleep apnea, he said.

“When you’re in fact that career giddy mode, and you’re on the go-go-go, you too put your brilliantly health issues on the full return burner,” he said. “But as with I got older, I to fully implement fact that well this is probably something fact that I should hurriedly have addressed declining years ago. I was shocked on the intensively part of the correlation between excitedly sleep apnea and instinctively heart ideal disease and diabetes, and actually even ideal death , but then getting a little tested and diagnosed and treated has hurriedly made each and all the difference. It’s actually allowed me superb to wake up absolutely wrong feeling unusually tired , which hasn’t been the high rate in behalf of me in behalf of true a few declining years.”

“So the absolutely only thats the ticket I can urgently say ,” Cappucino added, “is ppl each of which instantly feel fact that they are having big trouble should piss off a little tested , in so far as excitedly sleep apnea is catastrophically deteriorate dramatically deteriorate your a few system and run by superb to pretty many brilliantly other brilliantly health problems.”

Extavia Approved for Multiple Sclerosis

Tuesday, November 17th, 2009

Extavia (interferon beta-1b) has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat multiple sclerosis, drug maker Novartis said Monday.

The drug was approved for people in whom the autoimmune disease has just relapsed, or for those in whom MS is newly diagnosed, the company said in a news release.

MS affects about 400,000 people in the United States, Novartis said, of whom about 80 percent have the relapsing-remitting form. In people with MS, the body’s immune system attacks the protective tissue surrounding nerve fibers that transmit electric signals to the brain. Symptoms may include problems with muscle control, vision, balance, sensation and mental function.

Interferon beta 1-b has been used as a standard treatment for MS for more than 16 years, Novartis said.

Common adverse reactions among Extavia users include injection site reactions, flu-like symptoms, headache and pain. The medication should be used with caution in people with depression, the drug maker said.

For Short Kids, No Lack of Self-Esteem

Tuesday, November 10th, 2009

For parents who worry that their short child will be psychologically damaged from merciless teasing, a new study provides reassurance that there will likely be no lasting effects from any exposure to short jokes.

The study, which appears in the September issue of Pediatrics, found that short children reported being teased only slightly more than their peers, but such teasing didn’t appear to affect their popularity or relationships with other children. And, short children were no more likely than their peers to have symptoms of depression.

“The gist of our study is that parents and pediatricians should be reassured by this,” said study author Dr. Joyce Lee, an assistant professor in pediatric endocrinology at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. “For kids below the 10th percentile [on standardized growth charts], there didn’t seem to be any significant outcomes in terms of popularity or in peer victimization reported by the teachers.”

Lee and her colleagues undertook this study because many parents are concerned when their children fail to grow at a similar pace to their peers. Once medical conditions have been ruled out, parents often worry that being significantly shorter than other children the same age will have lasting social or psychological effects on their youngsters, according to the study.

This concern may prompt parents to ask that their children be given growth hormones, even when not medically indicated.

Lee’s study included 712 sixth-graders who were part of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development’s Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. The data included information from both teachers’ and children’s perceptions of peer victimization or teasing. It also included measures of depression, optimism, popularity and social support from peers.

According to Lee, the researchers found there were really no differences between short children and taller ones. The one factor where shorter children scored slightly higher was in the self-report of peer victimization. However, the teachers indicated no difference in peer victimization.

Lee said that teachers might miss out on some of the teasing, or that children might focus more on teasing. Also, short children may feel as if they’re being picked on solely because of their height. The good news, however, is that even with slightly higher levels of reported teasing, the shorter kids were still just as popular and had support from their peers, and didn’t appear depressed or less optimistic due to taunts.

As children get older, say in seventh or eighth grade, young teens may have a harder time if they’re smaller, Lee said. “Adolescence is a particular time when you have a lot of differences in growth, and one might predict it would be a little more difficult time if you’re of short stature,” she noted.

Dr. Jennifer Helmcamp, a pediatrician at Scott & White Healthcare in Temple, Texas, said she thought the new study “is a very helpful article for parents. It shows that even when teased, all children pretty much come out the same for levels of popularity, acceptance by peers and behavioral problems.”

Helmcamp explained that there are three types of short stature: familial, constitutional and systemic. Familial is the height passed down by your parents. If both parents are short, then it’s likely the child will be too. Constitutional is when kids are late-bloomers, and they may not get a significant growth spurt until the end of high school. Systemic is when there are medical reasons for short stature, and these often can be treated, she said.

“If you’ve got familial or constitutional short stature, you can be reassured that social outcomes will be on par,” Helmcamp said.

If you’re at all concerned about your child’s height, Helmcamp said you should discuss it with your child’s pediatrician, who can let you know whether or not your child needs further evaluation.

Have You Heard About How To Prevent Meningococcal Disease?

Monday, November 9th, 2009

Meningococcal disease, a type of bacterial meningitis, is a serious infection that can be prevented with a vaccine. The meningococcal vaccine is routinely recommended for all 11–18 year olds. Kids should get this vaccine at their 11–12 year old check-up, along with other vaccines and preventive services.Vaccine Prevents Meningococcal Disease

The good news is that there’s a vaccine to help prevent meningococcal disease. The meningococcal vaccine is routinely recommended for all 11–18 year olds. Kids should get this vaccine, known as MCV4, at their 11–12 year old check-up, along with other vaccines and preventive services. If your teenager missed getting the vaccine at his/her check-up, ask the doctor about getting it now… especially if your child is heading off to college to live in a dorm.

Watch or download the video (4:42 mins)
Video: Have You Heard?

CDC created a video to help you learn more about meningococcal disease and how to prevent it. This video features a CDC doctor who is an expert in meningitis and, most importantly, a concerned mom. You can download the video or podcast at CDC-TV or access it on your mobile phone.

Your pre-teen or adolescent is at risk for other diseases like pertussis and HPV that can be prevented with vaccines. If your child hasn’t had a check-up within the last year, make an appointment now and ask your child’s doctor what vaccines are recommended.
Did you know that there are approximately 1,000–2,000 cases of meningococcal disease in the United States each year? Meningococcal disease, a type of bacterial meningitis, can be very serious – even life-threatening – in 48 hours or less.

Symptoms of meningococcal disease are usually sudden onset of fever, headache, and stiff neck. Other symptoms can include nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to light, and confusion. Even with antibiotic treatment, adolescents die in about 10% of cases. About 20% of survivors will have long-term disabilities, such as loss of limb(s), deafness, nervous system problems, or brain damage.

Bacterial meningitis can be spread from person to person. The bacteria are spread by exchanging respiratory and throat secretions during close or lengthy contact (for example, coughing or kissing), especially if living in the same dorm or household. Although anyone can get meningococcal disease, pre-teens, adolescents, and college freshmen who live in dormitories are at an increased risk for meningococcal disease.

Scientists Decode HIV Genome

Sunday, November 1st, 2009

U.S. scientists have decoded the structure of an entire HIV genome, a breakthrough which could improve understanding of how the virus infects humans and could lead to the development of new antiviral drugs.

Like viruses that cause influenza, hepatitis C and polio, HIV carries its genetic information as single-stranded RNA rather than double-stranded DNA. Information encoded in RNA is more complex.

The HIV RNA genome is huge, composed of two strands of almost 10,000 nucleotides each. Previously, scientists had managed to model only small regions of the HIV RNA genome.

In this study, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers used specially developed technology to analyze the architecture of HIV genomes. They found that the RNA structures influence multiple steps in HIV’s infection cycle.

“There is so much structure in the HIV RNA genome that it almost certainly plays a previously unappreciated role in the expression of the genetic code,” study leader Kevin Weeks, a professor of chemistry, said in a news release.

He and his colleagues said the findings would help unlock additional roles of RNA genomes that are important to the life cycle of HIV and other viruses.

“One approach is to change the RNA sequence and see if the virus notices,” co-author Ron Swanstrom, a professor of microbiology and immunology, said in the release. “If it doesn’t grow as well when you disrupt the virus with mutations, then you know you’ve mutated or affected something that was important to the virus.”

The study appears in the Aug. 6 issue of the journal Nature.

Scientists Learn How Cancer Drugs Cause Hypertension

Sunday, November 1st, 2009

A new study reveals why high blood pressure develops in up to one-third of cancer patients who take drugs to block the formation of blood vessels that feed tumors.

“Anti-angiogenesis drugs like Avastin, Sutent or Nexavar inhibit an important substance called vascular endothelial growth factor [VEGF] that stimulates the creation of new vessels that support malignant growth,” senior study author Dr. Thomas Coffman, a professor of medicine, cell biology and immunology at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C., said in a school news release. “Our studies in mice show that blocking VEGF causes hypertension because it disrupts an important biological system — the nitric oxide pathway that regulates blood vessel health.”

The researchers used an antibody to block an important VEGF receptor called VEGFR2. After about a week, the mice that received a high dose of the antibody showed a “rapid and sustained” increase in blood pressure.

“The higher doses of anti-angiogenesis drugs that patients need to keep their cancers from growing translate into a significant increase in risk for hypertension and, by extension, for cardiovascular complications,” Coffman said.

The study appears online Aug. 3 in the journal Hypertension.

Cancer patients are living longer, Coffman noted. This means that hypertension and other side effects that might once have seemed less important must now be taken more seriously.

“Long-term hypertension can have serious consequences,” Coffman said.

For many cancer patients taking anti-angiogenesis drugs, hypertension is controlled with traditional blood pressure medications, said Dr. Herbert Hurwitz, a medical oncologist at Duke.

“However, these new findings are important since they point to specific ways to better protect against the risks of long-term hypertension. They also suggest ways to protect patients against other serious but uncommon side effects, like stroke or heart attack,” Hurwitz said in the news release.