Infectious health behaviors
Two researchers believe that patterns of healthy or unhealthy behavior can spread among proximity groups such as family, close friends, or neighbors.
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Making the most of psychiatric advance directives
Psychiatric advance care directives establish a person’s wishes so that appropriate mental health care can be provided if needed. It may also be advisable to appoint a health care agent to ensure the patient’s treatment choices are followed.
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Combination therapy for panic disorder
Research on treatments for panic disorder has found that the combination of medication and therapy, or therapy on its own, is more likely to achieve results than medication alone.
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What are the long-term risks of taking the biologic treatment Humira?
Humira can control autoimmune disease, such as psoriatic arthritis. But it also alters immune defenses. Learn about infection, cancer, and other potential long‑term risks.
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Male Heart Risk Rises in Teen Years
Men’s higher risk of heart disease begins while they are still boys, a study finds. The study kept track of 507 children from ages 11 to 19. At the beginning, boys and girls had similar levels of blood pressure, blood fats and overall body fat. But by the end of their teens boys had higher blood pressure. They also had higher triglycerides and lower HDL cholesterol — two types of blood fats. All of these trends increase the risk of heart disease in adulthood. The changes occurred even though boys lost and girls gained body fat as a percentage of weight. HealthDay News wrote about the study April 21. It appeared in the journal Circulation.
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Concerns Hold Down Doctors’ Use of E-mail
Most U.S. doctors don’t use e-mail with their patients, the Associated Press (AP) reported April 23. The AP cited recent studies that show fewer than one-third of doctors e-mail patients, but when they do it can save time. Patients who used e-mail were less likely to phone or visit. Doctors also responded faster to e-mails than to phone calls. But doctors are concerned that e-mail may increase their work without payment, AP reported. They also worry about privacy and getting e-mails about problems that are urgent. Experts told AP that training can help expand e-mail use between patients and doctors.
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Adult Asthma
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Commentary: Providing rewards for smokers who want to quit
Researchers used rewards and enticements to demonstrate that smokers might be more likely to quit if they were offered something that they percieved as more valuable than the pleasure derived from smoking.
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In Brief: Bright lights may improve dementia symptoms
Elderly patients with dementia who were exposed to bright light for several hours each day showed a slight improvement in symptoms.
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In Brief: Psychotherapy for early childhood obsessive-compulsive disorder
Young children with obsessive-compulsive disorder may benefit from family-based cognitive behavioral therapy.
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