Category: news-perspectives

A study has found no link between stroke and dementia rates and the amount of antioxidants people get from their diets. That’s a different conclusion from some other studies. Researchers suggest that the new results show the source of antioxidants is important. The study included about 5,400 people, age 55 or older. They didn’t have dementia when the study began. Only about 100 had ever had a stroke. People filled out questionnaires about what they usually ate and drank. In the next 14 years, 599 developed dementia and 601 had a stroke. There was no difference in stroke or dementia rates between people who consumed more or fewer antioxidants. Coffee and tea drinking was the main difference in diet for people who consumed the most antioxidants. These drinks contain antioxidants known as flavonoids.

In a new survey, about 60% of new mothers who started breastfeeding said they had stopped before they planned. The study included 1,177 U.S. women. They responded to monthly surveys that began when their babies were 2 months old and ended at age 1 year. Women were asked each time whether they had stopped breastfeeding. If the answer was yes, they were asked whether they breastfed as long as they wanted. They also rated the importance of 32 possible reasons for stopping. Problems with breastfeeding ranked at the top of the list. These included difficulties with getting the baby to latch on, cracked or bleeding nipples and infected breasts. The other most common reasons were concerns about the baby’s nutrition and weight, the mother’s illness or need to take medicine, and the effort required to pump milk.

Damage to small blood vessels in the brain may play a role in causing Alzheimer’s disease, a small study suggests. The study included 20 people who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and 21 who did not have it. It also included 59 people who had mild cognitive impairment. People with this milder memory problem have an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers looked at information from brain scans. In some people, the scans showed amyloid plaque deposits in the brain. This has long been considered a sign of Alzheimer’s disease. Some people also had areas of intense white matter in the brain. These areas indicate damage in small blood vessels. People with amyloid deposits who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s had larger areas of intense white matter than normal subjects.

Alcohol causes about 3.5% of all U.S. cancer deaths and 15% of breast cancer deaths, a new report says. Most of the increased cancer risk is among people who have more than 3 drinks a day. But those who had an average of 1.5 drinks a day accounted for nearly one-third of the deaths, the report says. Researchers from the National Cancer Institute did the study. It’s the first thorough look at the links between alcohol and cancer in more than 30 years. They used information from several databases and surveys. The study estimated that alcohol caused 18,000 to 21,000 cancer deaths in 2009. Breast cancer was the most common type linked with alcohol in women. Among men, cancers of the mouth, pharynx, larynx and esophagus accounted for the most deaths. An expert interviewed by the New York Times News Service said the report failed to account for the effect of drinking patterns.

The specific treatment for a stomach infection may be less important than how well people stick with it. That’s one conclusion of a new study on treatment of Helicobacter pylori infection. H. pylori bacteria are linked with stomach inflammation (gastritis) and ulcers. Long-term infection also increases the risk of stomach cancer. The new study included 1,463 adults from Latin America. All were infected with H. pylori. They were randomly divided into groups. The groups took different combinations of antibiotics for 5 to 14 days. Tests one year later showed nearly 80% were free of the infection. Rates were similar for all treatment groups. For about 11% of those who had successful treatment at first, the infection came back. H. pylori was most likely to return if people didn’t take their medicines exactly as prescribed.

A new antibiotic may treat skin infections as well as an older pill, a new study finds. The new drug, tedizolid, also did well against drug-resistant infections. It required fewer pills than the older drug as well. The new study included 667 adults. All had cellulitis or other wound infections. People were randomly divided into 2 groups. One group received tedizolid once a day for 6 days. The other got a standard antibiotic, linezolid, twice a day for 10 days. The two drugs worked equally well. Side effects were similar in both groups. New antibiotics are needed because so many types of bacteria now resist older ones. In this study, about one-quarter of the infections were caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). These bacteria are difficult to kill. Linezolid is one of the few antibiotics that works.

How you praise a young child may affect the way he or she faces challenges later, a new study suggests. Praising effort may boost motivation more than praising brains or talents, the authors said. The study included 53 children, ages 1 through 3. Parents were videotaped interacting with them at home for 90 minutes. Researchers analyzed the praise that parents gave. They divided it into “process” praise and “person” praise. Process praise focuses on how the child does something. For example, the parent might say: “You really worked hard on that.” Person praise is directed at a child’s personal qualities. So a parent might say: “You’re really good at that.” Boys on average received more process praise than girls. Researchers came back to the same families 5 years later, when the children were 7 or 8 years old.

Four people died from suspected carbon monoxide poisoning during the weekend in cars where a tailpipe was blocked after a major snowstorm. The Associated Press (AP) wrote about the deaths, which were in the Boston area and in Meriden, CT. Two children were hospitalized in Boston after a similar incident. They are expected to recover, AP said. Parts of New England and New York received 2 to 3 feet of snow February 8 through 9. In all, the storm was blamed for at least 15 deaths in the Northeast and Canada, AP reported. They included heart attacks while shoveling snow, at least one of them fatal. A New York man died after his tractor drove off an embankment while he was plowing snow, AP said. Boston police warned that people should clear the snow around the tailpipe of a car before starting the engine. Otherwise, deadly fumes back up into the car.

About 8% of stroke survivors have thought about suicide or thought they’d be better off dead, a survey suggests. Researchers said the percentage of those pondering suicide after stroke was higher than for people who had heart attacks, cancer or other health problems. The study was based on a large national health survey taken during the years 2005 through 2010. It included a total of 17,000 people. In all, 678 reported having a stroke at some time in the past. People were asked: “Over the last two weeks, how often have you been bothered by thoughts that you would be better off dead, or of hurting yourself?” About 6% of heart attack survivors, 5% of people with diabetes and 4% of people with cancer reported such thoughts. A stroke damages the brain.

The number of people with Alzheimer’s disease will nearly triple in the next 40 years, a new report predicts. The study estimates that there will be 13.8 million people with the disease by 2050. Nearly 5 million Americans are affected now. The U.S. government and the Alzheimer’s Association funded the study. A future study will estimate the health care costs. The Alzheimer’s Association predicts they will rise to more than $2 trillion. The new study is based on information from 10,802 Chicago residents. All were ages 65 or older when the study began. Researchers kept track of them up to 18 years. They were assessed for dementia every 3 years. The estimates also include data from the 2010 census. Much of the increase in Alzheimer’s is tied to the aging of the huge baby boomer generation. The census estimated that the population of people 65 and older will more than double by 2050.