Living Healthy News

California OKs Anthem Blue Cross Rate Hike

2010-08-28T15:29:00.005-07:00

California state regulators find that Anthem Blue Cross' proposal meets the requirement that 70% of premiums go for medical care. As a result, they can't stop the increases, which average 14%. Blue Shield also is cleared to raise its rates.

Read the entire article by LA Times.

Spouses Do Not Grow Alike as Time Passes

2010-08-28T15:29:00.003-07:00

Married couples tend to start off with similar traits, rather than their personality characteristics gravitating towards each other with time; individuals tend to select their spouses based on shared personality traits.

Read the entire article by WebMD.

Black Rice: Healthy Antioxidants and Vitamin E

2010-08-28T15:29:00.001-07:00

Inexpensive black rice contains health-promoting anthocyanin antioxidants, similar to those found in blackberries and blueberries. Black rice contains more antioxidants and vitamin E then blueberries.

Read the entire article by CBS News.

Large Weight Gain in Pregnancy Makes for Bigger Babies

2010-08-28T15:28:00.003-07:00

The degree of maternal weight gain during pregnancy was directly associated with babies' birth weight, researchers said.

Read the entire article by MedPage Today.

Breastfeeding May Help Prevent Diabetes

2010-08-28T15:28:00.001-07:00

Breastfeeding for a month or longer appears to reduce a woman's risk of getting diabetes later in life, according to a new study. The breastfeeding and diabetes link has been reported in other studies, according to researcher Eleanor Bimla Schwarz, MD, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

Read the entire article by Time.

Large Weight Gain in Pregnancy Makes for Bigger Babies

2010-08-06T10:44:00.003-07:00

The degree of maternal weight gain during pregnancy was directly associated with babies' birth weight, researchers said.

Read the entire article by MedPage Today.

Miscarriage? Try Again Soon

2010-08-06T10:44:00.001-07:00

A study in the British Medical Journal reports that women who conceive within six months of their miscarriage have the best chance of having a healthy, successful pregnancy.

Read the entire article by Los Angeles Times.

Evamist Exposure May Spark Early Puberty in Children

2010-07-30T11:11:00.005-07:00

Federal drug safety regulators are warning that unintentional exposure to Evamist, a spray used to treat symptoms of menopause, may cause children as young as three years old to experience premature puberty. The FDA also warns that the spray has had hormonal side effects on pets as well.

Read the entire article by MedPage Today.

Weight-Loss Combo Appears Effective

2010-07-30T11:11:00.003-07:00

A sustained-release formulation combining bupropion and naltrexone (Contrave) appears to be an effective treatment for weight loss in obese patients, researchers have found. The drug also brought significant improvements in HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein compared with placebo, but comparable reductions were not found in LDL cholesterol and blood pressure.

Read the entire article by MedPage Today.

Calcium Supplements Linked to Heart Attacks

2010-07-30T11:11:00.001-07:00

Some researchers are convinced that calcium supplements not only provide no benefit for post-menopausal women, but that they can even be harmful, increasing the risk of heart attacks by nearly a third.

Read the entire article by Los Angeles Times.

Wireless sensor watches blood sugar for diabetics

2010-07-29T14:00:00.009-07:00

Researchers have developed an implantable sensor that measures blood sugar continuously and transmits the information without wires; taking the diabetes field a step closer to development of an "artificial pancreas" — a device that can replace natural functions to control how the body handles blood sugar.

Read the entire article by Reuters.

Mother's affection prevents anxiety in adulthood

2010-07-29T14:00:00.007-07:00

Babies who receive above-average levels of affection and attention from their mothers are less likely than other babies to grow up to be emotionally distressed, anxious, or hostile adults, a new study suggests. The link between the emotional health of adults and their mothers' affection was evident even though the mothers and babies were observed for a single day, when the babies were just 8 months old.

Read the entire article by CNN.

One in five Californians say they need mental health care

2010-07-29T14:00:00.005-07:00

Almost 5 million California adults say they could use help with a mental or emotional problem. About 1 million of them meet the criteria for "serious psychological distress." However, only one in three people who perceive a need for mental health services or are in serious distress have seen a professional for treatment. The survey showed that lack of health insurance coverage was a major reason why people didn't seek help.

Read the entire article by Los Angeles Times.

Having friends increases survival odds by 50 per cent

2010-07-29T14:00:00.003-07:00

People with strong social relationships were 50 percent less likely to die early than people without such support, according to researchers who insist a lack of social relationships is on par with being an alcoholic, or smoking 15 cigarettes a day, is more harmful than not exercising and is twice as harmful as obesity.

Read the entire article by The Star.

Heart Attack & CPR Without Rescue Breathing OK

2010-07-29T14:00:00.001-07:00

Bystanders who perform CPR on patients with suspected heart attacks can safely skip the rescue breathing — typically called mouth-to-mouth resuscitation — and just perform the chest compressions, according to two new studies. The mouth-to-mouth part of CPR does not apply to emergency medical personnel, but only to laypeople who may be able to provide CPR after a suspected heart attack while waiting for professional medical help to arrive.

Read the entire article by WebMD Health News.

Website helps maintain weight loss

2010-07-27T12:12:00.005-07:00

People who lose weight are better able to keep it off by consistently checking an interactive website, a new U.S. study suggests. They were able to maintain an average of nine pounds of their original 19-pound weight loss, compared with five pounds of weight loss among those who checked in regularly for only 14 months. The findings are important, since keeping lost weight from coming back often seems to be harder than losing it.

Read the entire article by CBC News.

Grocery Receipts a Health Hazard?

2010-07-27T12:12:00.003-07:00

Receipts and little printouts from grocery and big box stores, fast food joints, and other consumer outlets actually contain high levels of the chemical bisphenol-A, a chemical which has been linked to several types of health problems in animals including abnormal reproductive system development, diminished intellectual capacity and behavioral abnormalities. When handled by humans, BPA can contaminate fingers, and seep into the skin even to a point where it can't be removed, thus entering the bloodstream.

Read the entire article by Time.

Medical Device Problems Hurt 70,000+ Kids Annually

2010-07-27T12:12:00.001-07:00

More than 70,000 children and teens go to the emergency room each year for injuries and complications from medical devices, and contact lenses are the leading culprit because of things things like infections and eye abrasions. Other common problems found were puncture wounds from hypodermic needles breaking off in the skin while injecting medicine or illegal drugs; infections in young children with ear tubes; and skin tears from pelvic devices used during gynecological exams in teen girls.

Read the entire article by National Public Radio.

Gel for women shows promise in preventing AIDS

2010-07-26T10:28:00.001-07:00

Scientists may have finally come up with the first product to block HIV infection since the condom; a gel developed for women that incorporates the antiretroviral drug tenofovir, which is already used as part of the "cocktail" given to AIDS patients.

Read the entire article by The Philadelphia Inquirer.

AAP Updates Head Lice Guidance

2010-07-26T10:25:00.001-07:00

Children should not be kept home from school because they have head lice. Although many schools still have "no-nits" policies, they have not been shown to be effective for reducing the spread of head lice because head lice are primarily transmitted through direct head-to-head contact, which is more likely to occur at sleepovers and sleep-away camps than in schools. First-line treatment should still be 1% permethrin lotion, which is available over the counter, or pyrethrins when resistance to these products is not suspected. In cases where resistance is confirmed or treatment fails, prescription malathion 0.5% can be used in children 2 years of age or older. Benzyl alcohol 5% is another option.

Read the entire article by MedPage Today.

Pregnant women can enjoy a cup of coffee

2010-07-24T11:34:00.001-07:00

Pregnant women now can enjoy their morning coffee as researchers in the US claim that one cup a day is unlikely to cause any harm at all, that 200 mg of caffeine - the equivalent of two cups of instant or one of filter - will not increase the risk of miscarriage or premature birth in pregnancy.

Read the entire article by The Times of India.

How smog harms the heart

2010-07-24T11:31:00.001-07:00

People who live in excessively smoggy areas tend to have higher rates of heart disease, according to several studies. Scientists exposed rats to ozone — a major component of smog when it forms near the ground from hydrocarbons — for various periods of time. The rats exposed to ozone had increased levels of inflammation, decreased levels of proteins that protect the heart which is though to trigger a process that causes heart cells to die.

Read the entire article by Los Angeles Times.

CDC Confirms Danger in Airborne Fungal Infection

2010-07-24T11:27:00.001-07:00

Infections of the fungus Cryptococcus gattii have reported through July 1 in the northwestern U.S., making the fungus enough of a danger that clinicians should be alert for it, according to the CDC. A total of 60 cases have now been reported in California, Idaho, and Washington as well as in Oregon.

Read the entire article by MedPage Today.

Childhood radiotherapy could harm chances of a healthy pregnancy

2010-07-24T11:23:00.001-07:00

Radiotherapy to the womb or ovaries as a child could cause problems when women later try to have a baby, increasing the risk of a stillbirth or infant death, according to a study, which looked at more than 1,600 women.

Read the entire article by Guardian.

Idling Toward Death: Sitting Linked to Dying Early

2010-07-23T10:27:00.001-07:00

Sitting around too much in one's spare time appears to increase the risk of dying, regardless of physical activity or exercise, a new study finds. Among more than 120,000 adults, those who sat more than six hours a day in their leisure time were significantly more likely to die in a 14-year period than those who sat less than three hours.

Read the entire article by ABC News.

African Ancestry, Breast Cancer Linked

2010-07-23T10:22:00.001-07:00

A new study finds that African ancestry is linked to a deadlier, more aggressive type of cancer called "triple negative." Among women with breast cancer, 82 percent of African women had the breast cancer called "triple negative," 26 percent of African-Americans had the variety, and 16 percent of white Americans had it.

Read the entire article by LA Times.

Bones May Hold Key to New Diabetes Drugs

2010-07-23T10:13:00.001-07:00

Bone cell responses to insulin, a common medication for diabetes patients, may control how the rest of the body responds; insulin receptors in osteoblasts mediate release of the hormone osteocalcin, which speeds up glucose metabolism elsewhere in the body in what one of the groups called a "feed-forward loop."

Read the entire article by Medpage Today.

Whooping Cough Epidemic Hits California

2010-07-23T00:43:00.001-07:00

Six infants have died in California in what looks like the state's worst whooping cough epidemic in 50 years. After declaring an official epidemic of pertussis, the medical term for whooping cough, California health officials announced a broadened vaccination campaign for teens and adults of all ages. Anyone who comes into contact with babies is particularly urged to get the vaccine -- even pregnant women and the elderly.

Read the entire article by WebMD Health News.

Cholesterol Study: Low HDL May Not Be So Bad

2010-07-23T00:39:00.001-07:00

Patients on statin drugs who reduce their LDL ''bad'' cholesterol to very low levels may not need to be so concerned about boosting their HDL ''good" cholesterol levels for protection against cardiovascular disease, according to a new study.

Read the entire article by WebMD Health News.

Drugging kids for parents' relief called abusive

2010-07-23T00:33:00.001-07:00

If the kids become too much to handle, slip 'em a little cold medicine, may be an often repeated joke but drugging children with over-the-counter or prescription medications can have unintended consequences, said the author of a research published Thursday, who likened the practice to child abuse.

Read the entire article by CNN.

Magnetic activity in brain 'diagnoses stress disorder'

2010-07-22T18:49:00.015-07:00

A one-minute test that measures tiny magnetic fluctuations that occur as groups of neurons fire in synchrony, even when subjects are not thinking of anything appears to diagnose post-traumatic stress disorder with an accuracy of 90%.

Read the entire article by BBC News.

First tablets to fight multiple sclerosis 'dramatically reduce relapse'

2010-07-22T18:49:00.013-07:00

The first tablets to fight multiple sclerosis dramatically reduce the chances of symptoms returning, reducing painful and time consuming injections or regular hospital infusions, and cut the worsening of symptoms by around a third.

Read the entire article by The Telegraph.

One-fifth of U.S. teens have unhealthy cholesterol

2010-07-22T18:49:00.011-07:00

One in five American teens has unhealthy cholesterol levels, a major risk factor for heart disease in adult. The heavier teens were, the more likely they were to have high cholesterol but even 14 percent of teens with normal body weight and 20.3 percent of young people aged 12 to 19 and more boys than girls were found to have unhealthy cholesterol levels.

Read the entire article by Reuters.

FDA approves heart pump developed in Houston

2010-07-22T18:49:00.009-07:00

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved use of a continuous-flow heart pump that aids the heart's left ventricle. The new pump can now be used in all patients with advanced heart failure, not just those awaiting a heart transplant, the regulatory agency said. The continuous flow innovation makes for a smaller pump that allows users to have a more active lifestyle. The pump also fits into smaller patients.

Read the entire article by Houston Chronicle.

Salt reduction could save lives

2010-07-22T18:49:00.007-07:00

Shaving 3 grams off the daily salt intake of Americans could prevent up to 66,000 strokes, 99,000 heart attacks and 92,000 deaths in the United States, while saving $24 billion in health costs per year. A reduction of 1 gram would prevent 11,000 to 23,000 strokes, 18,000 to 35,000 heart attacks and 15,000 to 32,000 deaths from any cause, the researchers reported in New England Journal of Medicine.

Read the entire article by Reuters.

Herb May Counter Liver Damage From Chemo

2010-07-22T18:49:00.005-07:00

Placebo tests on the medicinal herb, milk thistle, proved to be more effective in reducing inflammation and liver damage resulting from chemotherapy among 50 randomly assigned children. Milk thistle, a longtime folk remedy, is often recommended to treat liver damage and mushroom poisoning. No other treatment for liver toxicity exists. Twenty-eight days later, the children who had received milk thistle had improved liver enzymes, compared with the children who received a placebo, the researchers said.

Read the entire article by US News.

Study: Looking young may mean living longer

2010-07-22T18:49:00.003-07:00

Research conducted on 1,800 pairs of twins over aged 70 — published online Monday in the British medical journal BMJ — suggests that people who look younger than their years also live longer. A possible biological explanation: people who looked younger also tended to have longer telomeres, a key DNA component that is linked to aging. The authors said that perceived age, which is widely used by doctors as a general indicator of a patient's health, is a good biomarker of aging that predicts survival among people over age 70.

Read the entire article by Google.

Prostate Cancer Diagnosis May Bring Suicide, Heart Risks

2010-07-22T18:49:00.001-07:00

A collaboration of researchers found that the diagnosis of prostate cancer increased the relative risks for fatal heart problems 11 times and suicide by eight times in the week after diagnosis. Doctors say these findings suggest a need for more careful monitoring and communication with patients following a diagnosis.

Read the entire article by ABC News Medical Unit.

Health care reform bill and your current insurance

2010-07-22T18:48:00.001-07:00

People who get insurance coverage through their employers today will likely see lower premiums. The health reform bill does not require you to change your coverage. The health care reform bill does not change whether you can choose any doctor you have available today. Health reform bill requires health plans to use clear and plain language on insurance forms so that you can easily understand what benefits and what doctors are covered in your plan. Insurers will be prohibited from placing lifetime limits on what they will pay for your medical care, and they can only apply restricted annual benefit limits. Insurers will no longer be able to arbitrarily cancel your insurance policy when you get sick, except in cases of fraud. It will be illegal for health insurance companies that cover children to deny coverage to your child based on a pre-existing condition.

Read the entire article by FoodConsumer.org.

Do hospitalists improve hospital care?

2010-07-22T18:47:00.001-07:00

Researchers affiliated with Harvard Medical School have evidence that hospitalists - specialists who care for patients while being treated in a hospital - improve patient care. Data from 3,619 general medical and surgical hospitals that are part of the Hospital Quality Alliance supports that care was 21% better for heart attacks and 11% better for pneumonia when hospitalists were involved.

Read the entire article by LA Times.