Harvard Health Content API

The U.S. government is developing a national strategy on Alzheimer’s disease. Its target is to find effective treatments by 2025. The Obama administration announced the effort January 17. Congress approved the campaign last year. Now an advisory group is writing the final plan. It will include more funding for research on prevention and treatment. Today’s treatments can relieve symptoms for only a short time. Experts believe that as many as half of those with the disease have not been diagnosed. Therefore, the new strategy will include a public awareness campaign. Officials hope this will encourage earlier diagnosis. Doctors will be given tools to assess Medicare patients for the disease during their annual checkups. The government also wants to support caregivers. It plans to spread the word about resources and programs that can help to improve care.

The number of children treated in hospitals for drowning injuries has dropped by half since 1993, a new study finds. Researchers said it appears that water safety campaigns have made the difference. Drowning means that a person can’t breathe because the airways have filled with water. Some survive but may have long-lasting disabilities. Researchers used a large hospital database. The study focused on children under age 20. The number treated at hospitals for drowning fell 51% between 1993 and 2008. The number who died dropped 42%. Boys were 4 to 6 times more likely to suffer drowning injuries than girls. Children under 4 drowned most often in bathtubs. Hospital visits for these accidents dropped 40%. Older children drowned most often while swimming. Hospital trips related to drowning while swimming fell by half for kids ages 10 to 14.

People who take a newer blood thinner to prevent strokes may have a slightly higher risk of heart attack, a review of research finds. The overall heart attack rate was small, however. The new review combined results of 7 prior studies. The studies included 20,000 people who used dabigatran (Pradaxa). They were compared with about 10,500 people who used older drugs, warfarin (Coumadin) or enoxaparin (Lovenox). Everyone in these studies had atrial fibrillation. This is a heart rhythm problem that increases formation of blood clots. People were taking blood thinners to prevent strokes caused by a clot. Among those taking dabigatran, 1.2% had a heart attack or had chest pain that occurred with little exertion. For those taking the other drugs, the rate of these heart events was 0.8%.

People with a very fast heartbeat that is not causing symptoms may still have a higher risk of stroke, new research finds. The study included 2,580 older adults with high blood pressure. All of them had a pacemaker or defibrillator implanted to help control their heart rhythm. This device kept a record of the speed and rhythm of their heart over time. None of the people had a known history of atrial fibrillation. This is a very fast, irregular rhythm in the heart’s upper chambers. It causes them to quiver rather than beat normally. Soon after the study started, the devices recorded a very rapid heartbeat that lasted several minutes in about 1 out of 10 people. They usually had no symptoms. But in the next 2 ½ years they were more likely to develop lasting atrial fibrillation. They also were more likely to have a stroke.

Women who use statin drugs may have a higher risk of developing diabetes, a large study finds. The results reinforce smaller studies that found a similar link for both women and men. But experts say people at risk of heart attacks should still take the drugs because the benefits clearly outweigh the risks. Statins lower LDL cholesterol in the blood. Studies show they reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke and early death for high-risk people. The new study included more than 153,000 women. All were in their 50s or older. They were part of a long-running health study. When the study began, about 7% took statins. Researchers collected health information from them for 7 to 15 years. By 2005, about 10% of the statin users had developed diabetes. Only 6.4% of those who did not use statins had developed the disease. The journal Archives of Internal Medicine published the study.

U.S. cancer deaths have continued to drop, a report says. The American Cancer Society releases a new report each year. Between 2004 and 2008, cancer death rates dropped 1.8% a year for men, the new report says. For women, the decline was 1.6% a year. Minority men had the largest declines in death rates among adults. Rates fell 2.4% a year for African-American men and 2.3% a year for Hispanic men. In all, death rate declines led to about 1 million fewer cancer deaths since the early 1990s, the report says. Among children, cancer death rates have fallen by more than half since 1975. But black men and women are still more likely than whites to get cancer and to die from it. New cases of some cancers also increased. They include cancers of the pancreas, liver, thyroid and kidney and some skin, head and neck cancers. The report appeared in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.

Wearing a nicotine patch may provide a small boost for older adults with mild losses in attention and memory, a study suggests. The study included 67 older adults with mild cognitive impairment. This is a decline in mental function that is not severe enough to be called dementia. People with this condition are more likely to develop dementia, however. People in the study were randomly assigned to wear either a nicotine patch or a placebo (fake) patch for 6 months. Test scores for reaction times, attention and long-term memory improved among those wearing the nicotine patch. Their short-term memory did not improve as much. Test scores went down for people wearing the placebo patch. The journal Neurology published the study. The New York Times and HealthDay News wrote about it January 9.

People who live to be at least 110 may be protected from disease by rare differences in some genes, a new study suggests. Researchers analyzed the entire genetic makeup (genome) of two people. The man and woman had both lived past the age of 114. Both had about as many gene mutations linked to disease as most people. But each of them also had other gene mutations that had not been seen before. Researchers said it’s possible these gene differences are linked with longer life. The journal Frontiers in Genetics published the study. HealthDay News wrote about it January 8.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has taken a first step to limit use of antibiotics in some animals raised for food. The FDA said it would restrict use of cephalosporin antibiotics. They are injected into some cattle, pigs and poultry just before slaughter. These antibiotics are not used as often in animals as some others. But they are frequently needed to treat serious human infections. The number of infections that “resist” one or more antibiotics has been increasing rapidly. Many experts say one reason is the routine use of antibiotics in animals raised for food. The FDA said in 2010 that this use of antibiotics was “a serious health threat.” But this week’s action is the agency’s first to address the threat. The Associated Press wrote about it January 4.

A shorter treatment can prevent active infection in people who have tuberculosis (TB) bacteria in their bodies, a new study finds. Standard treatment is 9 months of taking a daily pill, isoniazid. The new study included 7,731 people. Some had tests that showed TB bacteria in their bodies. Some were in close contact with someone with an active infection. Half were randomly assigned to receive standard treatment. The other half received isoniazid plus a second drug, rifapentine (Priftin). But they took both drugs only once a week, for 3 months. Weekly doses were taken in a doctor’s office. Researchers kept track of people for nearly 3 years. Very few developed active TB. But the numbers were lower for those who got the shorter treatment with 2 drugs. They also were more likely to complete treatment. The New England Journal of Medicine published the study December 8.