Category: news-perspectives

Rates of heart disease, strokes and limb amputations are down sharply among older adults with diabetes today, compared with the 1990s, a study finds. But now hypoglycemia (episodes of low blood sugar) is one of the top problems for this group. Researchers said doctors may need to adjust drug doses as people get older in order to prevent low blood sugar. The study included more than 72,000 adults age 60 or older. They were all patients of the same managed care system. Cases of heart and blood vessel disease increased with age, and with how long people had diabetes. Overall, though, heart problems were only about one-seventh as common as another study found in the 1990s. Dangerous levels of high blood sugar and amputations also declined. But in the new study, low blood sugar became a more common problem among those who had diabetes longer.

A vaccine used to prevent tuberculosis might also help people at high risk of developing multiple sclerosis, a new study suggests. Multiple sclerosis (MS) occurs when the immune system attacks the sheath that surrounds the body’s nerve cells. Some people first are diagnosed with “clinically isolated syndrome.” Symptoms include numbing and problems with vision, hearing and balance. About half of those with this syndrome will develop MS within 2 years. The new study included 73 people with this syndrome. They were randomly divided into 2 groups. One group received injections of a vaccine against tuberculosis that contained live but weakened bacteria. The other group received placebo (fake) injections. In the next 6 months, brain scans showed an average of 8 lesions (possible signs of MS) in those who got the placebo and 3 lesions in those who got the vaccine.

The U.S. stroke death rate has dropped 30% in the last 11 years, and a new report takes a look at the reasons. Because of the decline in deaths, stroke has slipped from third to fourth place among U.S. causes of death. Several causes appear to have had a role in this decline, a co-author of the report said. George Howard, Dr.P.H., is quoted in a December 3 article from HealthDay News. He said the most important reason may be improvements in control of high blood pressure. Another reason may be the reduction in smoking rates, he said. Cholesterol levels have declined as a result of better medicines. Treatments for stroke patients also have improved, Howard said. Howard teaches in the School of Public Health at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He is a professor of biostatistics.

Some studies have found low vitamin D levels among people with illnesses such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease. But a new review of medical evidence says it’s unlikely that low vitamin D caused the diseases. Researchers looked at almost 500 studies. They fell into 2 main types. The observational studies took a look at people who had high or low levels of vitamin D in their bodies. They found higher rates of heart disease, cancer, diabetes and other diseases among people with low vitamin D. The other type of study compared people who were randomly assigned to receive vitamin D pills or placebo (fake) pills. These studies did not find any health effects for the people who received the real vitamin D pills. The only exception was for older adults, especially women. Those who took vitamin D were less likely to die during the studies.

Some problems in pregnancy and birth increase a child’s odds of having an attention disorder, a new study suggests. Researchers from Australia did the study. They used data on nearly 13,000 children. Records showed that they were taking medicine for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Researchers also looked at information from a pregnancy database. Then they randomly chose another 30,000 children from that database. This group was used for comparison. Mothers of children with ADHD were more likely to have smoked or had a urinary tract infection while they were pregnant. Some problems related to labor also occurred more often for children with ADHD. They were more likely to have been born after induced labor. Threats of going into early labor also were more common. Their mothers also were more likely to have had a problem called preeclampsia during pregnancy.

People with rheumatoid arthritis today feel better and have an easier time with daily life than those diagnosed 20 years ago, a study finds. The study included 1,151 people. They were diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis between 1990 and 2011. Researchers kept track of them for 3 to 5 years. After those few years of treatment, about 23% of people diagnosed 20 years ago reported anxiety. About 25% were depressed. Just over half reported physical disability. These problems were cut in half for people diagnosed just a few years ago. In this group, about 12% reported anxiety and 14% were depressed after 3 to 5 years of treatment. About 31% were disabled. Researchers noted that patients today receive earlier and more intensive treatment. They are encouraged to be physically active. Medicine options also have expanded.

The H1N1 “swine flu” pandemic of 2009 killed about 11 times as many people as previously reported, a new study finds. The World Health Organization (WHO) had said there were 18,500 deaths. But this included only people whose infection with H1N1 was confirmed by a laboratory. Many other flu deaths may not have been confirmed. The new study involved 60 researchers in 26 countries. They looked at numbers for virus activity and deaths caused by respiratory illness in 20 countries. These countries totaled more than one-third of the world’s population. They found that these deaths were far above normal in 2009. They also were much more likely than usual to occur among young adults. H1N1 tended to cause the most severe illness among younger people. Based on these numbers, the researchers estimated that H1N1 caused 123,000 to 203,000 deaths worldwide.

A new study finds that most men and women have similar chest pain or discomfort when they are having a heart attack. But there are other conditions that can cause chest pain. The study did not find any details about the type of pain that could help doctors tell whether a heart attack is the cause. The study included about 800 women and 1,700 men who went to emergency rooms with severe chest pain. Researchers asked detailed questions about their pain. The questions included where exactly the pain was located, whether it spread beyond the chest and what it felt like. About 18% of the women and 22% of the men were actually having a heart attack. Men’s and women’s answers to the detailed questions about symptoms also were mostly similar. No specific details about the chest pain were definitely linked with a greater chance of having a heart attack.

New recommendations for migraine treatment focus on avoiding harmful and unnecessary care. The recommendations were made by the American Headache Society. They say that opioid painkillers used to treat migraines pose a danger of addiction. Long-term use of over-the-counter pain relievers is not wise, the recommendations say. People should take them no more than twice a week. Regular, frequent use poses risks to the kidneys, liver and stomach. The group recommends MRIs over CT scans to help diagnose migraine. About 12% of Americans get migraines. They are three times as common in women as in men. The recommendations were published in the November-December issue of the journal Headache. HealthDay News wrote about them November 21.

New guidelines aim to rein in excess use of antibiotics in children. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) developed the guidelines with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The goal is to educate parents and doctors about the risks of using antibiotics for upper respiratory infections when they are not needed. Experts say more careful use will help stem the tide of antibiotic resistance. A CDC report in September noted that 2 million people in the United States each year get infections that are resistant to antibiotics. That means the drugs are no longer effective. The report also said that at least 23,000 people die each year as a result. The AAP published the guidelines in its journal Pediatrics. Their release was part of the Get Smart About Antibiotics Week campaign. HealthDay news wrote about the guidelines Nov. 18.