Month: December 2014

Two experimental vaccines against Ebola and Marburg viruses are safe and produced an immune response in adults in Uganda, a new study finds. This is the first time these vaccines were tested in Africa. Earlier this year, similar results were reported in healthy U.S. adults. Researchers at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases developed the vaccines. In the study, 108 healthy adults between the ages of 18 and 50 were randomly divided into four groups. One group got placebo injections. The other three groups got the Ebola vaccine, Marburg vaccine or both vaccines. The injections were given over eight weeks. Researchers followed the participants for two years. They found antibodies against the strain of the Ebola virus that caused the outbreak in West Africa in 17 of the people who got the Ebola vaccine alone and in 14 people who got both vaccines.

Teenagers whose mothers were depressed when the teens were between 6 and 10 years old are more likely to show signs of risky behavior, a new study finds. This included smoking, drinking, using marijuana and violent behavior. The study followed 2,910 pairs of mothers and their children in Canada, starting in 1994, when the children were between ages 2 and 5. The study continued until the children were ages 16 to 17. Every 2 years, mothers filled out questionnaires about themselves and their children. The children also filled out questionnaires beginning at age 10. Teens with depressed mothers in the teens’ middle childhood years were twice as likely to smoke cigarettes or use marijuana. They were also 1.4 times more likely to use alcohol and over 3 times more likely to use hallucinogens (for example, LSD).

Despite the risks of sedative drugs for older people, they are more likely to take these medicines than younger adults, a new study shows. The study focused on benzodiazepines. These drugs are used to treat anxiety and insomnia. Examples include alprazolam (Xanax), diazepam (Valium) and lorazepam (Ativan). The study was based on a U.S. prescription database for 2008. In that year, these medicines were prescribed for about 5% of adults ages 18 through 80. But among the oldest group, ages 65 through 80, nearly 9% took them. In all age groups, women were twice as likely as men to take sedatives. Almost one-third of older adults who used these medicines took them for at least 4 months. Long-term use may make them less effective. It also may increase the risk of addiction. Sedatives are known to increase the risk of falls, car accidents and confusion.

Being fit reduces the risk of high blood pressure, a large new study finds. The study included more than 57,000 adults who were part of a large, long-term exercise study. Their average age was 53. They were referred by their doctors for a treadmill stress test because they had chest pain or shortness of breath. Researchers looked at the level of fitness for each person, as measured by the treadmill test. About 35,000 people in the group had been diagnosed with high blood pressure. More than 70% of those with low fitness levels had high blood pressure, compared with less than 50% of those with high fitness. After the tests, researchers kept track of people for a median of 4.4 years. More than 8,000 people were diagnosed with high blood pressure during this follow-up period. About 49% of them were in the lowest fitness group. About 21% were in the top fitness group.

E-cigarettes may help smokers to quit, a new report concludes. But it noted that there’s not much research so far about these new devices. The report comes from the Cochrane Collaboration. This is an independent group that evaluates medical evidence and gives advice. Cochrane reviewers looked at 2 clinical trials. They included a total of 662 smokers. People were randomly assigned to try quitting with either e-cigarettes or fake devices that contained no nicotine. After a year, 9% of those who used e-cigarettes were tobacco-free. About 4% of those who used the fake devices were able to quit. About 36% of e-cigarette users cut in half the number of regular cigarettes they smoked. About 28% of those using the fake devices were able to do this. One of the trials also compared e-cigarettes and nicotine patches. They were about equal in helping people quite.