Is there a difference between the prescription Zoloft and the generic version? I think the generic version is causing me to gain weight. Does that happen?
If you have epilepsy, sleeping on your stomach may increase the risk of sudden death, a new study suggests. Researchers reviewed 25 earlier studies about unexplained deaths among people with epilepsy. Such deaths are rare. The new study focused on 253 deaths with records that included the person’s position when found. The people who died had been in good health. Autopsies could not find a clear cause of death. About 73% of them died while sleeping on their stomachs. That included 86% of those under 40 and 60% of those who were older. People with epilepsy have seizures related to a disruption in the brain’s electrical activity. The study’s author told HealthDay News that it’s possible people who died had an airway obstruction and could not rouse themselves. This study was not designed to show whether sleeping chest-down actually causes sudden death.
Adults over 70 might not need to tightly restrict salt, a new study suggests. U.S. guidelines recommend no more than 2,300 milligrams (mg) of sodium daily for most adults. That’s the amount in a teaspoon of salt. But the American Heart Association says that adults over 50 should aim for less, about 1,500 a day. The average American consumes about 3,400 mg a day. The new study included 2,600 adults, ages 71 to 80. They all filled out diet questionnaires. Researchers kept track of them for the next 10 years. In that time, 881 died, 572 developed heart disease or had a stroke, and 398 developed heart failure. The death rate was lowest, 30.7%, for those who consumed 1,500 to 2.300 mg of salt a day. So people did just as well with a moderate amount of salt as with a stricter limit. With less than 1,500 mg of sodium, the death rate was 33.8%.
Kids eat a lot of pizza. And on the days when they do, chances are they take in more calories, fat and sodium than usual, a new study finds. The study looked at data from a national health and nutrition survey. The numbers used were from 4 surveys, done between 2003 and 2010. They included families of almost 14,000 children and teens. People were asked what their kids had eaten in the last 24 hours. From the first to last surveys, calories from pizza declined somewhat. But on the days children under 12 ate pizza, they took in 84 more calories than usual. They also ate 3 grams more saturated fat and 134 milligrams more sodium. For teens, with their larger size and appetite, pizza days brought 230 extra calories. Saturated fat rose by 5 grams and sodium by 484 milligrams. When kids ate pizza, it provided more than 20% of the day’s calories.
I’ve never had children. Does this mean that I will go through menopause later than women who’ve had children?
I have pounding in my ear when I lay my head down. What can cause this?
U.S. regulators have approved a device to help control appetite in very obese adults by stimulating a stomach nerve. The device is called the Maestro Rechargeable System. It is made by EnteroMedics Inc. It is implanted in the chest, usually in an outpatient procedure. The device has electrical wires that are placed around the vagus nerve. This nerve helps to control hunger. Signals are sent to the nerve at fixed times to decrease hunger pangs and make the person feel full. The Food and Drug Administration approved the device for use in severely obese adults. They may have a body mass index (BMI) of at least 35, plus at least one medical condition linked with obesity, or at least 40 without another condition. In a study, people with the Maestro implant lost about 8.5% more weight than those with fake implants.