Harvard Health Content API

About 1 out of 7 strokes occurs during sleep, a new study suggests. In the United States, that would equal about 58,000 strokes a year. Most of these strokes can’t be treated with clot-dissolving medicines because no one knows when symptoms started. These medicines must be given within 3 hours of the first symptoms. The new study looked at records for 1,854 people who had an ischemic stroke. This is the type caused by blockage of blood flow to the brain. All of these patients were treated at hospitals in the Cincinnati area in 2005. Out of this group, 273 people showed the first symptoms of stroke when they woke up. In this situation, it’s always best to call 911, experts told HealthDay News and USA Today. Even if clot-dissolving drugs can’t be given, other treatments may help, they said. The journal Neurology published the study May 10.

Observing children in the emergency room for a while may reduce the need for computed tomography (CT) scans after a head injury, a new study concludes. CT scans use radiation. Repeated doses can increase the long-term risk of cancer, especially in children. Researchers looked at records on 40,000 children who had a minor head injury. All were treated in emergency departments. ER staff kept an eye on about 5,400 of the children for a few hours before deciding whether to do a CT scan. Of this group, 31% ended up getting a scan. The CT rate was 35% when doctors did not observe the child before deciding whether to do a CT. The rate of serious brain injury found was about the same in the two groups. Some children who did not get a CT scan at first did come back for one later. Only one serious brain injury was detected in these later tests.

Exercise boosts the risk of a heart-stopping problem, cardiac arrest. But if your heart stops in a place where people exercise, you’re more likely to survive than if you collapsed in another kind of public place. So says a new study presented at a conference. Researchers studied 960 cases of cardiac arrest. All of them took place in indoor public places. Of these cases, 150 occurred at places where people get exercise. These ranged from gyms to bowling alleys. People who had a cardiac arrest in an exercise facility were more likely to get CPR. About 77% received it, compared with 55% in other public places. About 16% were given a shock from an automated defibrillator machine. This is used to restart the heart. Only 7% got this treatment in other places. And more people survived a cardiac arrest in an exercise facility — 50% compared with 36% elsewhere.

Men under 65 who have early-stage prostate cancer are less likely to die of the disease if they have surgery right away, a long-term study finds. The study focused on about 700 men in Sweden. All were under age 75. The men were randomly divided into two groups. One group had surgery to remove the prostate. The other men had close follow-up by their doctors. They were treated if the cancer got worse. Researchers kept track of everyone for 15 years. In that time, 15% of the surgery group and 21% of the other group died of prostate cancer. Surgery saved 1 life for every 15 men treated. But only 7 men needed to be treated to save a life among men under 65. Study results may not apply to cancers diagnosed after a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test. This is often what happens in the United States. But few of the Swedish men had this test.

The number of Americans with asthma increased 12% between 2001 and 2009, a new report says. Now about 25 million Americans have the disease. The U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention released the report. It says the increase was especially sharp among black children. Their asthma rate jumped almost 50%. Now about 17% of U.S. black children have asthma. That’s the highest for any racial or ethnic group. Drugs to treat the disease are available. But still 50% of those with asthma have severe attacks. And only 1 out of 9 people without health insurance can afford to buy medicine, the report says. Health officials don’t know why rates are rising. But the report listed steps that may help. These include laws to prevent indoor smoking, education on how to avoid asthma triggers and more use of appropriate medicines. HealthDay News wrote about the report May 3.

Many U.S. mothers give their babies herbal teas or supplements, a new study finds. The study was based on a survey of 2,600 mothers. About 9% said they gave such supplements to their infants. The study included a higher percentage of white mothers than the country’s population. Researchers estimated that the true proportion of babies getting these products is 3% to 10%. Supplements were used most often for colic. These included chamomile tea and gripe water. Products also were used for fussiness, stomach problems and other conditions. The authors said there is a potential for harm in these products. The United States has little regulation of their quality or safety. The journal Pediatrics published the study. The Associated Press wrote about it May 2.

An older, cheaper drug helps a serious eye disease just as much as a newer, more costly drug, a study released this week says. The research compared two injectable drugs for treating wet macular degeneration. This disease gets worse quickly and can lead to blindness. The drugs are injected directly into the eye. The study included 1,200 people. They were randomly divided into 4 groups. One group received a monthly shot of ranibizumab (Lucentis). A second group got this drug, which costs $2,000 a shot, as needed. The other two groups were given bevacizumab (Avastin), which costs $50 a shot. One group got the drug once a month. The other group got it as needed. A year later, people who got their shots once a month had similar gains in vision, no matter which drug they received. And as-needed Lucentis preserved vision nearly as well as monthly Avastin or monthly Lucentis.