Category: news-perspectives

Active teens are more likely to eat fruits and vegetables than other teens, and they tend to drink more sports drinks, a new study finds. In contrast, teens who spend more time watching TV or playing video games drink more soda. Health.com wrote about the study. It was published online September 27 by the journal Pediatrics. The study looked at data from a survey of more than 15,000 middle- and high-school students in Texas. More than 60% of boys and 50% of girls drank at least one sweetened beverage per day. The study asked about soda, sports drinks, sweetened iced tea and other sugary drinks. Sports drinks do contain a little less sugar than soda. But that doesn’t make them healthful, a researcher who did the study told Health.com.

People too frail for heart valve surgery may have another option, researchers say. A new study found that a new aortic valve can be put in place using a thin tube threaded through an artery. The old valve is propped open and the new one is wedged into the opening. The study included 358 people with a diseased aortic valve. They were judged to be too sick to have open-heart surgery to get an artificial valve. People were randomly assigned to receive the new “transcatheter” valve or just comfort care. Within a month, 5% of those with the new valve died, compared with 2.8% of the others. Within a year, about 30% of those with the new valve died. But the one-year death rate was higher, 50%, for those who did not get a valve. Edwards Lifesciences Corp. plans to seek approval to market the valve in the United States. The study appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine.

After this week, new health insurance policies must pay for all of the cost of preventive care. The new rules were part of the health care reform bill passed earlier this year. They took effect September 23, the Associated Press reported. The coverage rule applies to services that the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force strongly recommends. This is an independent advisory group. Its decisions are based on research about whether care is effective in preventing disease or deaths. Covered services for adults will include tests for high blood pressure, depression and colon cancer, among other things. Vaccines for children also are included.

Mammograms may play a smaller role in preventing breast cancer deaths than experts had thought, a new study finds. Better treatments and early diagnosis through mammography both have improved survival. The study’s design allowed researchers to separate the effects of each one. The study focused on Norway. The country began a mammogram screening program in 1996. It included women ages 50 through 69 in certain counties. They were tested every 2 years. The program later was expanded to the whole country. The study included about 40,000 women with breast cancer. Researchers looked at death rates among those women in counties that did and did not offer screening. They also looked at breast cancer death rates for the same counties 10 years before screening started. Death rates from breast cancer fell in the counties that had screening.

Some women may be better off delaying breast reconstruction after mastectomy, a study suggests. Researchers looked at 302 breast cancer cases. All of the women had mastectomies. Of these, 152 had reconstruction. This includes 131 who had it right away. In all, 100 women had radiation treatment. Further problems (complications) occurred in 44% of the women who had radiation after reconstruction. About 31% of them had to have their implants removed. But complications occurred in only 7% of women who had radiation but did not have immediate reconstruction. About 6% had their implants removed. One study author told HealthDay News that he has changed patient care because of this research. He now recommends a biopsy of the lymph node closest to the cancer before women decide about reconstruction. If this lymph node is cancer-free, a woman probably won’t need radiation.

A procedure used to control an abnormal heartbeat works just as well in younger adults as in older ones, a study has found. And the younger adults had fewer serious side effects. The procedure is called catheter ablation. It uses heat to destroy sections of heart muscle that are causing the rhythm problem. The study included 1,548 people. All had frequent atrial fibrillation. This is an abnormal heart rhythm. The top chambers of the heart quiver instead of beat normally. The patients had tried medicine, but it didn’t control the problem. After catheter ablation, the problem stopped or seldom occurred in 82% to 88% of patients. Age made little difference in the success rate. People under age 45 also did not have any strokes or other major problems after the procedure. But 2% to 3% of older groups had these problems.

Researchers say they have found 5 areas of DNA that are linked to ovarian cancer risk. The study included 10,200 women with ovarian cancer. Their DNA was compared with that of 13,185 women who did not have the disease. Scientists found differences in 5 areas of DNA linked to ovarian cancer risk. Four were more common among women with the fastest-growing form of ovarian cancer. A blood test can show which women have these differences. The increase in risk was small, one researcher told Postmedia News. But the study helps us to know more about this type of cancer, another researcher told HealthDay News. Doctors hope that someday they will be able to predict each woman’s risk based on her DNA. The journal Nature Genetics published the study September 19.

Diet drugs did not fare well in the U.S. regulatory process this week. A panel of experts voted September 16 not to recommend approval of the drug lorcaserin. They said they were concerned about tumors in rats tested with the drugs. The panel provides advice to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA is reviewing 3 new diet drugs now. Lorcaserin had been considered the safest one. But FDA scientists questioned that in a report released before the expert panel met. They said lorcaserin produced little weight loss. They also cited side effects. Concerns include possible heart valve damage, depression and other psychiatric problems. The expert panel also voted September 14 on whether to allow an approved drug, Meridia, to stay on the market. The vote was an 8-8 tie.

Most doctors in training have worked while sick, a study suggests. The study was based on a survey of 537 medical residents at 12 U.S. hospitals. Nearly 58% of those who responded said they had worked at least once while sick. About 31% said they had done it more than once. The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education conducted the survey. This is the group that accredits hospital residency programs. Its top executive told the Associated Press (AP) that residents need to realize that if they are sick, then their patients would be better off in the care of another doctor. The council has proposed new rules for residents. They include changes related to work hours. They also say that residents should not ignore signs of illness in themselves and coworkers. The Journal of the American Medical Association published the study. AP wrote about it September 15.

One NFL team’s handling of a concussion raises questions about how to protect players, the New York Times reported September 15. Stewart Bradley of the Philadelphia Eagles collapsed during a game September 12. A sideline exam found no serious injury, the Eagles said. Bradley went back into the game. But at halftime he was diagnosed with a concussion. The incident suggests that many concussions in high school and youth games may be missed, the Times said. Earlier in the week, the Times wrote about a college player who killed himself in the spring. An autopsy found that Owen Thomas had early chronic traumatic encephalopathy. This brain injury is linked to depression and impulse control. At least 10 former NFL players were diagnosed with it. Two committed suicide. The cause is believed to be repeated brain injury.