Category: news-perspectives

A program developed in Maine aims to treat a syndrome that sometimes precedes schizophrenia. The Associated Press wrote about it July 27. The “prodrome” is a group of early symptoms. They sometimes lead to schizophrenia. For other people, they simply go away. People in the prodrome state may see or hear imaginary things. But they know these things are not real. The Portland Identification and Early Referral program (PIER) includes group meetings. People talk about the stresses of living in the prodrome state. Most take antipsychotic medicine. Families also take part in the meetings. One goal is to prevent withdrawal from social life, which can make things worse. Results of the Portland program have not been published. But the approach now is being tried in four other states.

Blood clots in veins near the surface of the legs may be a bigger problem than doctors thought, new research suggests. These clots are known as superficial venous thrombosis (SVT). They are considered less serious than blood clots in deeper veins. But a new study found that SVT may signal other problems as well. The study analyzed data on 844 older adults who had symptoms of SVT in the legs. Researchers found that nearly one-quarter of them also had a blood clot in the deep veins or the lungs. A clot in the lungs is very dangerous. Researchers also looked at how people with only SVT were doing later. Within three months, about 10% had further problems. These included deep vein thrombosis, a new or larger clot in a superficial vein, or a clot in the lungs. The study appeared in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine. HealthDay News wrote about it February 16.

Following an overall low-fat diet apparently does not raise or lower blood fats linked to the risk of heart disease. That’s the conclusion of researchers based upon a new study of women. But women who ate less saturated fat and trans fat did have a lower rate of heart disease. Researchers used data from the Women’s Health Initiative, large, long-term study. Women in the low-fat group consumed about 29.3% of their calories from fat. For other women, the fat intake was about 37% of total calories. Researchers kept track of them for an average of eight years. The low-fat diet did not affect blood triglycerides, HDL cholesterol or other levels of blood fats. The study was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. HealthDay News wrote about it March 18.

The U.S. government is looking for volunteers to test a new swine flu vaccine. This is for the type of flu formally known as H1N1. Tests will occur at 10 medical centers around the country, the Associated Press (AP) reported July 22. Meanwhile, the first human tests of swine flu vaccine began this week in Australia, AP said. The U.S. tests will be on a tight timetable, AP said. Healthy adults, including the elderly, will test the vaccine first. These shots will begin by the second week of August. Different doses will be tested. People will get two shots, three weeks apart. If there are no safety problems, such as allergies, tests will begin quickly in babies and children. The government wants to start a vaccination campaign in mid-October. The timing will be “very, very close,” an official told AP.

Gastric bypass surgery may help teenagers with type 2 diabetes. A small study compared 11 teens who had the surgery with 67 teens who didn’t. Those who had the surgery lost about one-third of their body weight. Those who didn’t lost almost no weight. One year later, the teens who had the surgery had no signs of diabetes. Type 2 diabetes can lead to kidney, heart, and eye problems. HealthDay News wrote about the study December 29. It appears in the January issue of the journal Pediatrics.

U.S. patients are getting a lot more high-tech imaging tests, a study has found. The study covered 377,000 people across a 10-year period. All were part of a managed care organization. Use of computed tomography (CT) scans doubled in 10 years. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) tests tripled. These images did not replace older tests. Rather, they were added to these tests. The study appeared in the journal Health Affairs. Reuters Health news service wrote about it November 10.

Men may be less able to father children as they get older, a study suggests. Researchers looked at data on more than 12,000 couples at a fertility clinic. Most were being treated because the man was infertile. If the men were over age 35, the pregnancy rate was lower. The miscarriage rate was also higher. HealthDay news wrote about the study July 7, 2008. Results were presented at a conference on reproductive health in Spain.

Researchers think that using two old drugs might cure tuberculosis that resists most antibiotics. The first drug they used was clavulanate. This is one of the two drugs in the antibiotic Augmentin for children. Clavulanate blocks an enzyme in TB bacteria. This enzyme keeps drugs in the penicillin family from working against TB. The new study was done in a laboratory, not with people. In a lab dish, clavulanate blocked the enzyme. Then the antibiotic meropenem was used to kill the TB bacteria. Meropenem is an injected drug that’s part of the penicillin family. The study was published in the journal Science. The Associated Press wrote about it February 26.

Using bar codes can help reduce hospital drug errors, a study shows. The study was done at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. The hospital is affiliated with Harvard Medical School. Under the hospital’s new system, each patient’s wristband has a bar code. So does each container of medicine. Prescriptions are put into the patient’s electronic chart. Before nurses give medicines, they scan the bar codes for the patient and the drug. The system tells them if it’s the wrong medicine or if they are giving it too soon. Nurses also get alerts if a dose is overdue. Researchers looked at hospital units that used the new system. They were compared with units that still used a system without bar codes. Errors dropped “dramatically” in units with the new system, a researcher told HealthDay News. Errors related to timing of medicines fell 27%. Other errors dropped 41%.

People infected with HIV through sex have no increased death rate within five years if they get the best treatment. That’s the conclusion of a British study of 16,000 people. But the death rate within 10 years was a bit higher for some age groups. Death rates also were higher, even within five years, for injection drug users, men, and people who were older when infected. HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus. This virus causes AIDS. HealthDay News wrote about the study July 2. It appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association.