Harvard Health Content API

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.

Why do kids get little physical activity in child care and preschool? Researchers asked providers and got a long list of answers. Centers often lack play equipment because of cost or space problems. What they have may be safe but boring. And child care providers feel more pressure to stress ABCs than active play. Researchers found this out through focus groups that included 49 child care providers. They said state licensing rules limit the play equipment they can offer. And kids often lose interest in equipment that meets safety standards. Providers said parents also worry about injuries and don’t push for more physical activity. But they do push for more academic work. The journal Pediatrics published the study. HealthDay News and Reuters Health news service wrote about it January 4.

Spinal manipulation and home exercise may relieve neck pain better than medicines, new research suggests. The study included 272 people. They had felt neck pain for 2 to 12 weeks before the study began. They were randomly divided into 3 groups. One group received spinal manipulation treatments. The second group took over-the-counter pain medicines, or prescription drugs if needed. The third group was trained to do home exercises for the neck. The study lasted 12 weeks. By the end, 82% of the spinal manipulation group reported that their pain was reduced by at least half. This compares with 69% of those on medicines and 77% of those who did home exercises. At least 30% of the spinal manipulation and exercise groups said all of their pain was gone. About 13% of the medicine group reported no pain.