Harvard Health Content API

A new recommendation from the American Academy of Pediatrics says that all children, 6 months through age 18, should have a yearly influenza vaccine. This is a change from the previous recommendation of just vaccinating all school-aged children. The CDC made a similar recommendation earlier this year. The policy statement also recommends annual flu vaccines for all pregnant women and all health care workers. The new recommendations were published November 5 in the journal Pediatrics.

Circumcision may help to prevent genital warts and herpes in men. That’s the conclusion of a new study reported March 26 by the Associated Press. Earlier research found that circumcision helped to protect against HIV. That research was done in three African countries. The new study focused on Uganda. It included 3,393 heterosexual teens and men. All were part of the original HIV study. About half were randomly chosen to be circumcised. After two years, herpes infection was detected in 114 men who had been circumcised and 153 who had not. Human papilloma virus causes genital warts. This virus was found in 42 circumcised and 80 uncircumcised men. There was no major difference in syphilis infections. The study appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Taking vitamin C and E pills won’t prevent cancer, a large study has found. The study included almost 15,000 male doctors. All were over age 50. They were randomly assigned to one of four groups. Two groups took real pills, either vitamin C or vitamin E. The other two groups took fake pills. The study lasted 10 years. In that time, slightly fewer people who took the real pills developed prostate cancer. But the difference was so small it could have been caused by chance. HealthDay News wrote about the study November 16. Results were presented the same day at a cancer conference.

Some drugs used to treat autoimmune diseases may increase the risk of a painful skin infection, a study finds. The study focused on people who take TNF blockers. These drugs suppress the immune system. They can help people with rheumatoid arthritis and some other diseases caused by the immune system attacking the body. The study tracked 5,040 people with rheumatoid arthritis. In a 3-year period, 82 developed shingles. This is a skin disease caused by the varicella-zoster virus. People were twice as likely to develop shingles if they took infliximab (Remicade) or adalimumab (Humira). Both drugs are TNF blockers. The study appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association. HealthDay News wrote about it February 17.

Health care spending rose 6.1% in 2007. But this increase was the smallest since 1998, the Associated Press reported January 6. The primary reason for a slower increase was more use of generic drugs. Several things swelled the use of generics. Insurers charged less for generics and more for brand names. Major retailers offered generics for very low prices. And a few major brand-name drugs lost patent protection. Competitors then offered generic copies for lower prices.

U.S. officials are warning about a serious side effect from two drugs taken together. The drugs are used to lower cholesterol and control heart rhythm. Some people taking both have had severe muscle damage. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning about the drugs August 8. The cholesterol drugs involved are simvastatin (Zocor) and Vytorin. They are from a group called statins. The heart rhythm drug is amiodarone (Cordarone, Pacerone). All statin drugs can lead to muscle damage. However, usually the risk is low. The FDA says doctors could switch people who take the risky combination to another statin. The Associated Press wrote about the warning August 8.

A vaccine against pneumonia also may reduce heart attack risk, a new study suggests. The vaccine protects against Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria. It is recommended for babies, older adults and some others. Researchers looked at data on nearly 5,000 people. They were not known to have plaque in their arteries. But they did have high blood pressure, high cholesterol or diabetes. All of these conditions increase heart attack risk. About 7% of those who received the pneumonia vaccine later had a heart attack. The rate was 11.6% for those who did not get the vaccine. Reuters Health wrote about the study October 6. It appeared in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

A high level of Lp(a), a form of LDL cholesterol is an important risk factor for heart disease. A new study suggests that it is a cause of – not just a risk factor for – coronary artery disease. Researchers studied the genes of 3,245 people with coronary arery disease and 3,352 people without disease. Having certain genes was associated with increased Lp(a) levels and cardiac risk. But it was the Lp(a) levels, not whether a person had the genes themselves, that was most strongly associated with heart disease. The study appeared in the December 24 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Many elderly people need someone to make decisions about their end-of-life health care, a new study finds. Researchers said it shows the need to write down what kind of care you want when you are still able to do so. The study included 3,746 elderly people. About 3 out of 10 were unable to make an important treatment decision before they died. Some developed dementia or had a stroke before dying. These are some of the reasons that people can’t make their own decisions. About 2 out of 3 of those who weren’t able to make a decision had a living will or had given someone a written proxy to decide on their behalf. The Associated Press wrote about the study April 1. It appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine.

A Maine lawmaker has proposed a law that would require cell phones to carry warnings that they may cause brain cancer. Maine would be the first state to have such a law. But research on cell phones and cancer has had mixed results, the National Cancer Institute says. No long-term studies have been completed. The Federal Communications Commission says cell phones are safe. Under the Maine bill, the warnings would urge users keep cell phones away from their head and body. The city of San Francisco also is considering a cell phone ordinance. It would require phones to display their “specific absorption rate.” This is the maximum amount of radiofrequency energy that the head absorbs from a particular type of phone. The Associated Press wrote about the proposed laws December 21.