Category: news-perspectives

A guided home exercise program can help slow physical decline and reduce falls in people with Alzheimer’s disease, a new study suggests. The study included 210 people. All were living at home with a spouse who took care of them. They were randomly divided into 3 groups. One group did exercises at home twice a week with a physical therapist. Another group exercised in a group setting at a gym. The third group just received usual care and information about exercise. After a year, people in all 3 groups had declines in physical function. But people in the home-exercise group had only half the decline of those who got usual care. They also had only half as many falls. The gym group got stronger but had less benefit than the home-exercise group. Annual health care costs were about $34,000 for the usual-care group, $25,000 for the home-exercise group and $22,000 for the gym group.

Adding components found in fish oil doesn’t improve a pill that may help to slow down a blinding eye disease. But a new study found potential benefit in tweaking the pills’ contents in other ways. The study included about 1,600 people. All had macular degeneration in at least one eye. A supplement containing vitamins C and E, beta-carotene, copper and zinc has been shown to slow how rapidly the disease gets worse. The new study assigned people to receive those pills plus one of four other pills. They contained the vegetable pigments lutein and zeaxanthin, the omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA, all four, or none of the four (placebo). Overall, none of these extra pills helped to slow the disease. But some people received the original formula pill in a version that left out beta-carotene.

In a new survey, nearly 90% of parents admitted to being distracted by technology in the last month while driving with their kids. The activities ranged from talking on the phone or texting to fiddling with the GPS or DVD player. And there were old-style distractions, too, such as eating or picking up a toy. The top distraction was phone calls. Nearly 75% of parents talked on the phone while driving. About 600 parents took part in the survey. They answered questions while their children were being treated for a variety of reasons in an emergency room. The children’s ages ranged from 1 through 12. About 70% said they did something related to child care while driving. Examples included feeding the child or picking up a toy. Nearly as many reported self-care, such as eating or grooming. About half were distracted by seeking directions on a GPS or map.

Caffeine has been showing up recently in snack foods, candy and gum. Now U.S. food regulators are taking an interest. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says it will look at the effects of caffeinated foods on children’s health and take action if necessary. The Associated Press wrote about it April 30. The announcement came in response to a new product that went on the market this week, Wrigley’s Alert Energy Gum. The agency already is investigating the use of caffeine in energy drinks and energy shots. The FDA has given specific approval to the use of caffeine in a food or drink only once, for colas. That decision was in the 1950s.

A common antibiotic does not increase the risk of heart-related death for young and middle-aged adults without heart problems, a new study finds. Earlier research found an increased risk among people with heart disease who took azithromycin. This drug is also known by the brand names Zithromax or Z-Pak. The new study looked at 1.1 million people who took azithromycin for infections. They were compared with 1.1 million who did not take antibiotics and 7 million who took penicillin V. Patients were ages 18 through 64. People were 3 times as likely to die of heart disease or stroke while taking either antibiotic. Death rates were similar for both drugs. Researchers said the higher risk appeared to be related to the infection rather than to the treatment. The U.S. label for azithromycin and antibiotics similar to it carries a warning.

More than one-third of people having a stroke in the United States don’t call 911, a study shows. And that can make a big difference in their treatment. The most effective treatment for ischemic stroke, the most common type, is use of clot-busting drugs. But they work best when given within 3 hours of the start of symptoms. In the new study, people who called 911 arrived faster than those who got to the hospital on their own. They also got treatment faster. The study looked at treatment of about 200,000 stroke patients from 2003 to 2010. Not everyone is eligible to get clot-busting drugs. Among those who were, 67% of those who came by ambulance got the drugs within 3 hours of when their symptoms started. Only 44% of those who got to the hospital on their own met that timetable. About 79% of those who got to the hospital within 2 hours of the start of symptoms came by ambulance.

People who take medicines for depression may have an increased risk of bleeding with major surgery, a new study suggests. Researchers looked at medical records for about 500,000 Americans who had surgery in a 2-year period. People who took drugs known as SSRIs were 10% more likely to have excess bleeding after surgery than other patients. SSRI stands for selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor. These drugs are antidepressants. They include fluoxetine (Prozac), paroxetine (Paxil) and many others. People who took SSRIs also had a higher risk of dying in the hospital or being admitted again in the next month. This study does not show that the drugs caused the problems. Researchers said that people taking drugs for depression might have a higher risk of problems with surgery for other reasons, too. The journal JAMA Internal Medicine published the study.

Overweight women who drink too much alcohol greatly increase their risk of liver damage, a new study finds. The study included more than 107,000 women. Researchers divided them into groups based on weight and how much alcohol they drank. Overweight women who drank heavily had three times the risk of chronic liver disease (cirrhosis) and death as light drinkers of normal weight. Heavy drinking was defined as more than 15 units of alcohol per week. One unit is equal to 25 milliliters (ml) of whisky (about 1 ounce) or half of a 175 ml glass of wine. A second study also found a higher risk of liver cancer for people who had fatty liver disease and were overweight, obese or had type 2 diabetes. Both studies were presented at a conference. HealthDay News wrote about them April 27.

Young women with breast cancer don’t live as long if they delay treatment 6 weeks or more, a new study finds. These delays occur about twice as often for young women who are black, Hispanic, poor, on Medicaid or uninsured. About 6% of breast cancers occur in young women. These cancers are more likely to grow and spread quickly than breast cancers in older women. Researchers looked at medical records for 8,860 women, ages 15 to 39. About 8% of white women and 15% of black and Hispanic women received treatment at least 6 weeks after diagnosis. About 80% of those who delayed treatment lived at least 5 years. That compares with 90% survival for those treated within 2 weeks after diagnosis. Fewer than 10% of women with private insurance had delayed treatment, compared with 18% of those who had Medicaid or no insurance.

Taking a common heart drug before surgery may reduce death rates for some patients, a new study suggests. Researchers looked at non-heart surgeries involving almost 137,000 people. About 40% of the patients took a type of drug called a beta-blocker before surgery and for 30 days afterward. People with a high risk of heart or blood vessel problems were more likely to take these drugs. They slow the heart rate and are used to reduce blood pressure and treat heart rhythm problems. People who took beta-blockers were less likely to die in the 30 days after surgery than similar patients who did not take them. The drugs reduced the risk of death and problems such as heart attack most for higher-risk surgery patients. People with higher risk included those with prior heart disease, stroke, heart failure, diabetes and kidney disease.