Harvard Health Content API

A guided home exercise program can help slow physical decline and reduce falls in people with Alzheimer’s disease, a new study suggests. The study included 210 people. All were living at home with a spouse who took care of them. They were randomly divided into 3 groups. One group did exercises at home twice a week with a physical therapist. Another group exercised in a group setting at a gym. The third group just received usual care and information about exercise. After a year, people in all 3 groups had declines in physical function. But people in the home-exercise group had only half the decline of those who got usual care. They also had only half as many falls. The gym group got stronger but had less benefit than the home-exercise group. Annual health care costs were about $34,000 for the usual-care group, $25,000 for the home-exercise group and $22,000 for the gym group.

If your friends don’t follow standard vaccine schedules, chances are you won’t either. That’s the conclusion of a study that surveyed 196 parents. All of them had children 18 months old or younger. They took online surveys that asked their opinions on vaccines and what schedules they followed for their kids’ shots. They also were asked about their sources of vaccine information and what the sources recommended. In all, 70 people skipped some recommended shots for their children, or delayed some of them. Researchers called this group “nonconformers.” They tended to ask more people for advice than conformers (those who followed standard schedules) did. About 72% of the nonconformers’ advice networks recommended skipping or delaying vaccines. Only 13% of the conformers’ networks gave this advice.

Adding components found in fish oil doesn’t improve a pill that may help to slow down a blinding eye disease. But a new study found potential benefit in tweaking the pills’ contents in other ways. The study included about 1,600 people. All had macular degeneration in at least one eye. A supplement containing vitamins C and E, beta-carotene, copper and zinc has been shown to slow how rapidly the disease gets worse. The new study assigned people to receive those pills plus one of four other pills. They contained the vegetable pigments lutein and zeaxanthin, the omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA, all four, or none of the four (placebo). Overall, none of these extra pills helped to slow the disease. But some people received the original formula pill in a version that left out beta-carotene.

In a new survey, nearly 90% of parents admitted to being distracted by technology in the last month while driving with their kids. The activities ranged from talking on the phone or texting to fiddling with the GPS or DVD player. And there were old-style distractions, too, such as eating or picking up a toy. The top distraction was phone calls. Nearly 75% of parents talked on the phone while driving. About 600 parents took part in the survey. They answered questions while their children were being treated for a variety of reasons in an emergency room. The children’s ages ranged from 1 through 12. About 70% said they did something related to child care while driving. Examples included feeding the child or picking up a toy. Nearly as many reported self-care, such as eating or grooming. About half were distracted by seeking directions on a GPS or map.

Caffeine has been showing up recently in snack foods, candy and gum. Now U.S. food regulators are taking an interest. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says it will look at the effects of caffeinated foods on children’s health and take action if necessary. The Associated Press wrote about it April 30. The announcement came in response to a new product that went on the market this week, Wrigley’s Alert Energy Gum. The agency already is investigating the use of caffeine in energy drinks and energy shots. The FDA has given specific approval to the use of caffeine in a food or drink only once, for colas. That decision was in the 1950s.

A common antibiotic does not increase the risk of heart-related death for young and middle-aged adults without heart problems, a new study finds. Earlier research found an increased risk among people with heart disease who took azithromycin. This drug is also known by the brand names Zithromax or Z-Pak. The new study looked at 1.1 million people who took azithromycin for infections. They were compared with 1.1 million who did not take antibiotics and 7 million who took penicillin V. Patients were ages 18 through 64. People were 3 times as likely to die of heart disease or stroke while taking either antibiotic. Death rates were similar for both drugs. Researchers said the higher risk appeared to be related to the infection rather than to the treatment. The U.S. label for azithromycin and antibiotics similar to it carries a warning.