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A doctors’ group says that a plasma treatment can help some cases of multiple sclerosis (MS). The treatment is known as plasma exchange. It’s also called plasmapheresis. It involves removing plasma from the blood and replacing it with plasma from a donor. Plasma exchange requires a hospital stay. Problems can occur, such as infections. Old guidelines from the American Academy of Neurology said it was “promising” as a treatment for MS. The new guidelines say it is “probably effective” if MS symptoms flare up and steroid drugs don’t help. Most people with MS start out having flare-ups. At other times, they have no symptoms. This is called relapsing-remitting MS. Most people end up having progressive MS. This form just gets worse. People have symptoms most or all of the time. Plasma exchange does not help progressive MS, the guidelines say.

As Congress debates changes to the health care reform bill this week, Americans remain divided on the bill, a poll finds. The Associated Press-GfK poll was done January 5 through 10. It found that support for the bill increased from 38% after the November election to 40% now. Opposition has dropped from 47% to 41%. Still, fewer than 20% want the law to stay the same. About 43% want it to do more to change the health care system. About 25% want to repeal it. About 60% oppose the requirement for people to buy health insurance. The Associated Press wrote about the poll January 17. A New York Times article on January 15 outlined the debate about effects of the law on jobs. Experts interviewed by the Times disagreed. Some said the new requirement for larger employers to provide health insurance will lead to less job growth. Others said the effect will be small.

Mothers may start solid foods earlier with “fussy” babies, a new study suggests. The study included more than 200 mothers. All were low-income black women having their first baby. Children’s doctors recommend giving babies only breast milk for the first 4 to 6 months of life. But in the study, only 25% got any breast milk by age 3 months. About 70% were also getting solid foods or juice. Babies that mothers described as “fussy” were twice as likely to get solid foods early as other babies. So were the children of obese mothers. Depressed women were more likely to give their babies juice. The journal Pediatrics published the study online. Fox News reported on the research January 10.

People who take a home gene test for multiple conditions don’t worry a lot about the results, a study suggests. Most of them also don’t get more tests or adopt healthier lifestyles, the study found. The study included about 2,000 people who wanted to take a home DNA saliva test. The test was made by Navigenics Inc. It looked for genes linked to 23 conditions. They included Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, glaucoma and lung, breast and prostate cancers. People were offered a discount for taking part in the study. Most paid less than $250. The test usually costs $2,500. Researchers kept track of them for about 6 months. On average, people were not more anxious after taking the test. This was true even if they were shown to have a higher risk of disease. People did not exercise more or eat less fat after the test.

Behavioral treatments can help urine control in men after prostate cancer surgery, a new study finds. The study included 208 men. Their ages ranged from 51 to 84. All of them had prostate cancer surgery at least a year before the study began. They still had urinary incontinence — problems with urine leaking. The men were randomly divided into three groups. One group learned exercises to strengthen the muscles in the pelvic floor. They practiced stopping and starting urine flow. They also practiced delaying bathroom trips. The second group did the same exercises. They also got biofeedback training in the doctor’s office. And they used a home machine that stimulated pelvic floor muscles. Both groups were told to spread out fluids during the day and avoid caffeine. The third group got no special treatment.

A pill used to treat depression may also help people move better after a stroke, a small study suggests. The study included 118 people. All had suffered the type of stroke caused by a blood clot. They were either paralyzed or weaker on one side of the body. Researchers gave them scores based on tests of body movement. People were randomly divided into two groups. One group took fluoxetine for 3 months. This drug is best known by the brand name Prozac. The other group took placebo (fake) pills. Everyone got physical therapy. Scores on movement tests rose by 34 points in the fluoxetine group. The increase was 24 points for the placebo group. One expert interviewed by HealthDay News said the drug may help build new connections in the brain. Another expert noted that there was less depression in this group. Better mood could help people stick with physical therapy.