Harvard Health Content API

A controversial new study suggests that rules barring air travel by people with tuberculosis (TB) are too strict. The study reviewed 13 previous studies. It found that there’s little risk of catching TB from another passenger. U.S. health officials disagreed with the conclusions. So did an expert interviewed by the Associated Press. Global and U.S. rules require testing fellow passengers when a TB infection is found later in someone who flew recently. The study looked at research on 4,300 people who were on a flight with someone who had TB. Only 10 TB infections later were diagnosed. No one had active TB disease. The study’s author said tests should be done only if the infected person has infected others. But he supported more caution in the case of drug-resistant TB. The study was published February 21 in the journal Lancet Infectious Diseases.

Birth defects are much more likely if the mother is diabetic, researchers say. The new study used birth records for 10 states. Researchers looked at 13,000 births involving a birth defect. They were compared with 5,000 healthy births. Birth defects were three to four times more common if the mother had diabetes before pregnancy. Nearly 40 types of birth defects were involved. Prior research had not linked this many types to diabetes. The Associated Press wrote about the study July 30. It was in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Generic drugs treat heart and artery disease just as well as brand-name drugs do, a study concludes. Yet some doctors and patients don’t think they are as good, the authors say. The article looked at studies that compared brand-name drugs and their generic copies. Nearly all found they were equally effective. But related editorials did not agree. Half of them discouraged using generics. Most editorials did not list whether the authors received drug company funds. HealthDay News wrote about the article December 2. It appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

An intense program that does not involve surgery can help some extremely obese people lose weight, a new study found. The study included 390 adults. They had a body mass index of 40 or more, which is very obese. People were randomly assigned to a weight-loss program or an Internet program. The program included medicine, a short-term liquid diet, a longer-term diet and group counseling. About half of each group stayed in the study for two years. In that time, 31% of those in the intensive program lost 5% or more of their body weight. About 7% lost at least 20% of their body weight. Those who received usual care lost less weight. About 9% of them lost at least 5% of their weight. About 1% of this group lost 20% or more. The study appeared January 26 in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine.

High cure rates are possible for a form of tuberculosis that resists most drugs, researchers report. The study looked at 651 people in Peru with TB. Of these, 48 had the extensively drug-resistant type. They were treated for an average of two years. In all, 29 completed treatment or were cured. The success rate for those with a less drug-resistant type of TB was slightly higher. Reuters Health news service wrote about the study August 6. It was in the New England Journal of Medicine.

A newer test is no better than the Pap smear at detecting possible cervical cancer, a study has found. The Pap test collects cells from the cervix. They are smeared on a slide for viewing under a microscope. The newer test is called liquid-based cytology. The cells are rinsed in a preservative solution before the laboratory examines them. The study included 89,784 Dutch women. They were randomly assigned to one of the two tests. Both tests detected cervical cancer and pre-cancerous changes to cells at about the same rate. Study results appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association. HealthDay News wrote about the study October 27.

Less strict control of the heart rate is fine for people with a common heart rhythm problem, a new study finds. Researchers looked at 2 ways of treating people with atrial fibrillation. With this condition, the heart’s upper chambers don’t beat normally. Instead, they quiver. Doctors treat this problem with medicines. They try to lower the heart rate to less than 80 beats per minute at rest or 110 beats with exercise. For the study, researchers randomly divided 614 people into 2 groups. One group was treated according to current guidelines. The other group had a more lenient goal — less than 110 beats per minute at all times. Researchers kept track of how many people had strokes, blood clots, hospital trips for heart failure, and other heart-related problems. In 3 years, about 13% of the group with the less strict target had such problems.

People who signed up for drug coverage under Medicare Part D increased their drug spending afterward, a study has found. But most of them also decreased their spending on other medical care. The study looked at 35,000 people on Medicare in Pennsylvania. It compared their drug spending 2 years before and 2 years after the Part D drug benefit took effect in 2006. The level of spending change depended on what kind of drug benefits they had before Part D, the study found. People with no prior drug plan increased their spending on drugs the most — about $41 a month. The study appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine. HealthDay News wrote about it July 1.

Vice President Dick Cheney was treated October 15 for an irregular heartbeat, the New York Times reported. Cheney was treated at George Washington University Hospital in Washington, D.C. He received electric shock to the heart and was sent home, a hospital spokeswoman said. She said Cheney had atrial fibrillation. This is the most common type of irregular heartbeat. It occurs when the heart’s top chambers quiver rapidly. This causes them to get out of sync with the bottom chambers. The heart is not able to pump efficiently.

Human growth hormone may help athletes sprint faster, new research suggests. But it doesn’t improve strength, endurance or fitness, the study found. Use of human growth hormone is banned in the Olympics and many other sports. But its effect on athletic performance has not been studied much. This is the largest and longest study so far. It included 96 young adult men and women. All were recreational athletes. They were randomly divided into two groups. For two months, one group received injections of human growth hormone. The other group got salt water injections. Researchers had them lift weights, jump and ride exercise bicycles to test their performance. People who got the real hormone improved only on the exercise bike. Their sprint capacity improved by 4%. Researchers said that’s enough to push an athlete from the back to the front of the pack in a 100-meter race.