Study Links Parasite with Self-Harm Risk

Women infected with a common parasite may be more likely to harm themselves, a study suggests. The study was based on records for 45,788 new mothers in Denmark. All of them had been part of a study that tested newborn babies for antibodies against the Toxoplasma gondii parasite. The antibodies come from the mother, cross the placenta and get into the newborn. This parasite causes the infection toxoplasmosis. People can become infected by handling cat litter. Other causes include eating undercooked meat or unwashed vegetables. The infection may remain in a person’s brain or body for years and cause no symptoms. However, it can be dangerous for a fetus or someone with a weak immune system. Newborns can’t make these antibodies, so testing the newborns identified which mothers had toxoplasmosis some time in their lives.

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Study Offers Guide for Better Life at End

What leads to a better quality of life right before death? A new study of advanced cancer patients finds that it helps to die at home, avoid aggressive treatment, and have a close relationship with your doctor. Spiritual factors also made a difference. Prayer, meditation and a visit from a pastor helped people feel more peace at the end. So did relief from worry and anxiety. The study included about 400 people with cancer. All had been told they had less than 6 months to live. They were surveyed an average of 4 months before they died. They were asked about their quality of life. Caregivers were surveyed after the person’s death. They were asked about the person’s quality of life at the end. Dying in a hospital, especially intensive care, was linked with lower quality of life. So was having a feeding tube or aggressive treatment, such as chemotherapy.

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Bigger Vitamin D Dose May Lower Fractures

Taking larger doses of vitamin D may reduce the risk of hip fractures in older women by 30%, a new study finds. The study combined the results of 11 prior studies. They included a total of 31,022 people. More than 90% were women. All were 65 or older. People were randomly assigned to take vitamin D pills or placebo (fake) pills. The new analysis found that the risk of hip fracture was 10% lower for those assigned to receive the real vitamin D pills. That difference was so small it could have been caused by chance. But the researchers also looked at measurements of how much vitamin D people actually took. This included extra vitamin D that people took on their own. Hip fracture risk was 30% lower in those who took at least 800 international units a day. The New England Journal of Medicine published the study. HealthDay News wrote about it July 4.

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CDC: Methadone Overdose Deaths Falling

The number of overdose deaths from the painkiller methadone appears to have peaked, U.S. health officials say. But it still accounts for 30% of all painkiller overdose deaths. This happens even though only 2% of painkiller prescriptions are for methadone, officials said. The numbers are from 2009, the most recent available. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released the report. The CDC said most people who died from methadone overdose had been taking it for pain. Methadone is best known as a treatment for heroin addiction. But it has been used more often for pain in recent years. Some doctors have chosen it because of growing problems with abuse of oxycodone. Some believed methadone was safer. The low cost of methadone has also increased its use. The CDC said there were fewer than 800 methadone-related deaths in 1999. That rose to more than 5,500 in 2007.

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Positive Results for Combination COPD Drug

A drug that combines two types of medicines for chronic lung disease showed positive results in four studies, drug maker GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) said. The drug is a dry powder inhaler for treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). It contains two types of drugs that often are used for COPD. One is an anticholinergic called umeclidinium bromide. The other is a beta agonist, vilanterol. These two types of drugs relax airways, but in different ways. The new combination drug is long-acting. It is taken once a day. In a 24-week study, the inhaler showed better results than its two component drugs given separately, GSK said. A separate study compared the new inhaler with tiotropium (Spiriva), a rival anticholinergic drug. The new inhaler also provided better results in this study, GSK said. GSK is developing the new drug along with the British drug maker Theravance.

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