Month: July 2010

Vitamin A deficiency caused an eye problem in a young New York City woman, her doctors report. The woman was 24 and pregnant. She went to Columbia University Medical Center, complaining of a decline in vision. She said it had been getting worse for the last 7 weeks, especially at night. Doctors tested her blood and found that her vitamin A was extremely low. After she took supplements, she could see normally again. The woman had anorexia nervosa. She told doctors she had eaten little except white onions, white potatoes and red meat for the last 7 years. Doctors also said her body could have been taking vitamin A from her blood to nourish the fetus. The journal Lancet published the study online July 18.

New government rules will require insurance plans to offer preventive health care with no out-of-pocket cost to patients. The rules were released July 14, the Associated Press (AP) reported. They cover tests for colon and breast cancer, diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure. Pregnant women will get tests for vitamin deficiencies. Routine vaccinations will be covered. Children also will get routine doctor visits, plus hearing and eye tests. The rules also cover counseling to help children stay at a healthy weight and help people quit smoking. Further rules for women’s health screening are still being developed. The benefits take effect when plans are renewed, in most cases January 1. Some large employer plans will be exempt for now. But they could have to comply later as they make other changes to their plans, AP reported.

Current guidelines for cholesterol screening in children may miss many problems, a new study finds. The study used records for more than 20,000 West Virginia children. They had been tested as part of a heart disease prevention project in the state. The project tested all children in fifth grade. About 71% met standard guidelines to get cholesterol tests. They had parents or grandparents with early heart disease, or parents with total cholesterol levels above 240 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) of blood. Tests found that about 8.3% of these children had abnormal LDL (“bad cholesterol”), above 130 mg/dL. Researchers also looked at results for children who did not meet guidelines for testing. They actually had more problems than the other group. About 9.5% had high LDL. The authors said current guidelines should be changed. They said all children should be tested.

Vitamin D may help to protect the brain, two new studies suggest. One study looked at blood levels of vitamin D in 858 older adults. They also were given tests of various mental abilities. The study lasted 6 years. In that time, people with very low vitamin D levels were 60% more likely than others to have major declines in thinking, learning and memory. They were 31% more likely to have losses in executive function. This is the brain function that deals with organizing and planning. Study results appeared in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine. The other study was in the Archives of Neurology. It included nearly 3,200 older adults. They did not have Parkinson’s disease when the study began. During the next 29 years, 50 developed the disease. People with the highest vitamin D levels were 67% less likely to develop Parkinson’s than people with the lowest levels.