Month: September 2013

Clusters of children who didn’t get shots contributed to a major outbreak of pertussis in California, a study suggests. Pertussis is also called whooping cough. The 2010 outbreak was the largest in more than 60 years. More than 9,000 cases and 10 deaths occurred. All states require children to get vaccines before they enter kindergarten. One of the vaccines helps prevent whooping cough. But California allows exemptions for many non-medical reasons. Researchers looked at patterns of non-medical exemptions in the state. They focused on the years 2005 through 2010. They found 39 areas of the state with large clusters of exemptions. They also found 2 areas of the state that had high rates of whooping cough in 2010. Census districts in exemption clusters were 2.5 times as likely to have high rates of whooping cough as areas with fewer exemptions.

E-cigarettes may help people quit smoking, a small study suggests. The study included 657 adults who wanted to quit smoking. They were randomly divided into 3 groups. One group received nicotine patches. The others received either real or fake (placebo) e-cigarettes. E-cigarettes produce a vapor that contains nicotine. They do not burn tobacco. The placebo e-cigarettes did not contain nicotine. After 6 months, 7.3% of those using the e-cigarettes had quit smoking. That was slightly better than the 5.8% who quit with the patch, an established quit-smoking aid. About 4.1% quit with only the fake e-cigarettes. Researchers said more study is needed to establish the benefits and long-term harms of e-cigarettes. The journal Lancet published the study. CNN.com and HealthDay News wrote about it.

Fish oil may not help to protect the brain, a new study suggests. Some prior research had found a protective effect. The new study looked at levels of one omega-3 fatty acid in the blood of more than 2,100 women. These fats are found in fish and fish oil supplements. The women were age 65 or older when the study began. They had normal brain function. Omega-3 levels were tested at the beginning of the study. The women took tests of thinking and memory each year for 6 years. Researchers found no link between their blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids and changes in brain function. Women with higher omega-3 levels were not less likely to develop dementia. Specific aspects of thinking or memory also did not decline more slowly in women with higher omega-3 levels. The journal Neurology published the study. HealthDay News wrote about it September 25.