Category: news-perspectives

Some people have brain-scan abnormalities called white-matter hyperintensities. They show up as bright areas on an MRI. High levels of these abnormalities are linked with a future decline in brain function. A study of 167 older adults has found that exercise may counteract this decline. Researchers measured daily activity for 11 days. People also underwent multiple tests of motor function, and had brain scans. In people who were the most active, the number of hyperintensities had no effect on motor function test scores. In people with low to average amounts of exercise, high levels of hyperintensities were linked with poor motor-function scores. The study was published in the journal Neurology.

A review of many studies reinforces doctors’ current advice about hormone replacement treatment after menopause. It confirms that hormone treatment does not help most women’s hearts. But there may be a small benefit for women who take hormones soon after menopause. The review was done by an independent group, the Cochrane Collaboration. The group put together numbers from studies involving more than 40,000 women. Women taking heart disease did not have any reduction in the risk of death, including deaths from heart disease. There was also no difference in their risk of heart attack or chest pain. Hormone treatment was linked with a slight increase of stroke. But women who started treatment in the first 10 years after menopause seemed to have slightly lower risks of death and heart attack than other women.

Vegetarians may have a lower risk of colorectal cancer than meat-eaters, a new study concludes. Eating fish, but not meat, may reduce the risk even more, the study said. The study focused on more than 77,000 adults. They were part of a long-term health study. In 7 years of follow-up, 380 cases of colon cancer and 110 cases of rectal cancer were diagnosed. About half of those in the study ate meat at least weekly. The others were divided into 4 groups. Semi-vegetarians ate meat, but less than once a week. Pescatarians ate fish but no other meats. Lacto-ovo vegetarians ate eggs and dairy products, but not meat. Vegans also did not eat eggs or dairy. On average, these 4 groups had a 22% lower risk of colon or rectal cancer than non-vegetarians. Pescatarians had a 43% reduction in risk. Risk was 16% lower for vegans and 18% lower for lacto-ovo vegetarians.

A secure patient portal with information, decision support and tracking tools may help improve management of childhood asthma, a new study suggests. The study included 60 families. Each family had a child with moderate to severe asthma. Their ages were 6 to 12 years old. Families were randomly divided into 2 groups. One group received usual care. The other families were given access to a portal called MyAsthma. It was linked to the child’s electronic health records. The portal can be used to track treatment goals, symptoms and concerns. It also tracks medicine use and side effects. Doctors and patients can use it to support decisions about treatment. Of the 30 families assigned to use the tool, 57% used it in at least 5 of the study’s 6 months. These families reported fewer asthma flares than those getting usual care.

Men who take statin drugs to lower cholesterol may be more likely to develop diabetes than men who don’t take the drugs, a study published this week finds. The study included 9,000 men. None had diabetes when the study began. More than 1 out of 4 men took statins. During the next 6 years, men taking statins were 46% more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than other men. This was true even though researchers adjusted the numbers to account for other differences that can affect diabetes risk. The study also found that the bigger the dose of statin, the greater the increase in diabetes risk. All of the men received several blood tests. These included tests for insulin sensitivity. This is a measurement of how well the body uses insulin to turn blood glucose (sugar) into energy. In type 2 diabetes, insulin sensitivity is reduced.

A new vaccine protects against hepatitis E infection for at least 4½ years, a new study shows. Hepatitis E is uncommon in the United States. It is spread by poor sanitation, such as in refugee camps. In the developing world, it sickens 3 million people a year. About 1% to 3% die. Among pregnant women, the death rate is 20%. The new study was done in China. It included more than 100,000 adults. Half were given a series of 3 shots of the hepatitis E vaccine. In the comparison group, people received the hepatitis B vaccine instead. In the next 4½ years, 7 of those who got the hepatitis E vaccine and 53 who got the other vaccine developed hepatitis E infection. Almost 90% of the hepatitis E vaccine group still had antibodies against the disease at the end of the study. The New England Journal of Medicine published the study. HealthDay News wrote about it March 4.

A new study suggests that people with non-cancerous lumps on the thyroid may not need the close follow-up they get now. About half of people develop these lumps, called nodules, by age 60. Most are found when people get imaging tests for other reasons. More than 90% are found to be benign (not cancerous). But follow-up tests are recommended in case they do turn into cancer. The new study included nearly 1,000 people with thyroid nodules. Some had biopsies with a fine needle to make sure the nodules were not cancerous. Others skipped the biopsy because the nodules were less than 1 centimeter across and did not look like cancer. Everyone got an ultrasound scan each year for 5 years, as current guidelines recommend. In that time, most nodules didn’t change much. About 15% grew in size by at least half. About 19% of the nodules shrank.

Eating tree nuts, peanuts and peanut butter may help people live longer, a new study suggests. The study looked at diet and death rates for more than 200,000 people. They were part of 3 long-term studies in China and the southeastern United States. The 2 Chinese studies asked people about the amount of peanuts they ate. The U.S. study asked about all nuts, but half of the nuts people ate were peanuts or peanut butter. Overall, people who ate the most nuts consumed about 2 tablespoons a day. Researchers kept track of people for 5.4 to 12.2 years, depending on the study. During follow-up, people who ate the most nuts were 20% less likely to die than those who ate the least. These numbers were adjusted to account for other things that can affect death rates, such as diabetes and smoking. Researches also looked at specific causes of death.

More than 1 in 5 high school girls has been physically or sexually assaulted by someone she dated, a study finds. The study was based on a government survey that is repeated every 2 years. But in 2013, researchers added an extra question about dating violence. The new question dealt specifically with sexual violence. The result was that twice as many girls reported any type of dating violence — 21%, compared with 9% in 2011. About 10% of boys reported any assault. This was similar to the last survey. Among girls, 7% reported a physical assault and 8% reported a sexual assault by someone they dated. Among boys, 4% reported physical assault and 3% reported sexual assault. About 6% of girls and 3% of boys reported both types of assault. Most teens who had been assaulted said it happened more than once. Teens who were assaulted were more likely to do risky things.

The flu vaccine is even less effective than health officials thought against the strain of influenza making most people sick this season. Getting the vaccine has reduced the risk of illness from the H3N2 strain of flu by only 18%, a new report says. The report comes from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Officials said earlier in the season that the vaccine was about 23% effective. Among children, the vaccine offers even less protection, about 15%, the CDC said. The nasal spray vaccine may not protect children at all. One particular strain of H3N2 is causing most cases of flu in the United States so far this season. This strain was first seen in March 2014, the CDC said. That was too late to be included in the vaccine for this year. In most years, the flu vaccine is 50% to 70% effective. HealthDay News wrote about the CDC report February 26.