Category: news-perspectives

Health officials no longer recommend that preference be given to the four-vaccine combination called MMRV (measles, mumps, rubella, varicella). Although it requires two separate injections, rather than just one, the parents of children should first be offered the MMR vaccine and a separate varicella (chicken pox) shot. That’s because fever-related seizures are seen more often in children who receive MMRV instead of the two separate shots. The change was published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report on March 14.

Prostate cancer treatment affects each man differently. It also affects spouses and partners. Researchers studied 1,201 men and 625 of their spouses or partners. They found that certain treatments caused more quality-of-life issues. These included problems with sexual function, urination, mood/energy, and bowel function. These quality-of-life issues also often affected spouses and partners. The study is published in the March 20 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease. It has become so rare in the United States that many younger doctors have never seen it. But a government report says that syphilis is becoming more common. Cases of the disease have increased every year since 2000. Last year, 20,000 people were diagnosed with syphilis. Doctors may need to be retrained to recognize symptoms. The report is published in the April issue of the journal Lancet Infectious Diseases.

An advisory committee to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has new recommendations about who should receive drugs that increase red blood cells. The group said that only people with incurable cancers should get these drugs. Some studies have reported lower survival rates and more tumor growth in people who are given these medicines. The drugs include Aranesp, Epogen and Procrit. The Associated Press reported March 17 on the FDA recommendations.

About 1 in 4 U.S. teenage girls has a sexually transmitted disease, a study has found. About half the girls in the study said they had had sexual intercourse. The rate of STDs was about 4 in 10 for those girls. The study was conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It included 838 teen girls who had taken part in a national health survey. They were tested for four infections. About 18% had human papillomavirus. This infection can cause cervical cancer. Chlamydia affected 4%. About 2.5% had trichomoniasis, and 2% had herpes simplex virus. The Associated Press wrote about the study March 11.

Monthly personal counseling helped people keep off about half of the weight they lost for 2½ years, a study has found. A group that received Web-based counseling did almost as well, but results fell off by the end of the study. More than 1,000 people were in the study. They began with a six-month weight loss program. They lost an average of 18.7 pounds. Then they were randomly assigned to personal, Web-based or no counseling. After 2½ years, those who got personal counseling had kept off an average of 9.2 pounds. The average was 7.3 pounds for the Web program and 6.4 pounds for the other group. The study was published March 12 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Smokers who improve their diets may reduce their risk of stroke, a study suggests. Researchers kept track of 26,556 Finnish male smokers for more than 13 years. Some of the men ate an average of 589 milligrams of magnesium each day. These men had a 15% lower risk of strokes caused by a blockage of blood flow to the brain. Magnesium is found in whole grains, beans and some types of seafood and vegetables. Reuters Health news service reported on the study March 10. It was published in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine.

A new study looks at the increased risk for children if both parents have Alzheimer’s disease. The study included 111 Alzheimer’s couples. More than 2 in 10 of their adult children also developed the disease. The rate was about 3 in 10 for adult children over age 60. It was 4 in 10 for those over 70. On average, 6% to 13% of U.S. adults older than 65 have Alzheimer’s disease. The Associated Press wrote about the study March 11. It was in the journal Archives of Neurology.

A vaccine may help to reduce high blood pressure, a small study suggests. The new vaccine fights a body chemical called angiotensin II. This chemical tightens blood vessels and increases blood pressure. The study included 72 people with mild to moderate high blood pressure. They received 100 micrograms or 300 micrograms of the vaccine, or a placebo. The shots were repeated one month and three months later. The vaccine was found to be safe. Blood pressure fell in people who received the larger doses. The Guardian newspaper wrote about the study March 7. It was published in the journal Lancet.

A gene that affects how sensitive someone is to the drug warfarin can help determine the best starting dose, researchers say. Warfarin (Coumadin) is a blood thinner. It is used to prevent dangerous clots. But different people need very different doses. Researchers looked at two genes in 297 people who were starting to take warfarin. The VKORC1 gene affects sensitivity to the drug. CYP2C9 governs how fast the body removes the drug. Warfarin thinned the blood faster in people with a different version of VKORC1. CYP2C9 did not affect this early response. HealthDay News reported on the study March 5. It was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.