Category: news-perspectives

Continuing to take the drug donepezil (Aricept) can help even people with more advanced Alzheimer’s disease, new research finds. The study included 295 people with moderate or severe Alzheimer’s. All of them had been taking donepezil for at least 3 months. They were randomly divided into 4 groups. One group kept taking donepezil. One switched to memantine. The other groups received either both drugs or placebo (fake pills) only. After a year, tests showed less decline in people who kept taking donepezil. The tests measured mental function and ability to do everyday tasks. The difference was equal to 3 to 4 months of decline compared with those who took the placebo, the lead author told HealthDay News. Memantine also showed a benefit, but not as much as donepezil. The study did not find any greater benefit from adding combining both drugs. But other research has disagreed.

About 92% of U.S. cases of a dangerous intestinal infection are related somehow to health care, a government study finds. About 3 out of 4 people began to show symptoms outside of hospitals. But most had recently been in a nursing home, hospital or doctor’s office. The study focused on Clostridium difficile (C. diff). The infection often occurs in people who recently took antibiotics for another reason. These drugs also kill “good” bacteria, allowing C. diff to grow and release toxins. Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) did the study. They used laboratory data on stool tests in 8 regions. Only 1 out of 4 patients was in a hospital when symptoms began. Another 1 out of 4 had been in a nursing home. But about 2 out of 3 nursing home cases had been in the hospital recently. Some hospital cases also had been in nursing homes recently.

Doctors should honestly discuss the downsides as well as the benefits of treatments for severe heart disease, a new report says. The new American Heart Association statement calls for shared decision making with patients. The advice focuses on people with advanced heart failure. Their hearts don’t pump blood efficiently. Many patients may face decisions about procedures that might extend life. These could include a pacemaker, automated defibrillator or pump to help the heart beat properly. Some people may get procedures to open clogged arteries or replace a failing valve. But these treatments don’t cure heart failure. Some people may live longer while symptoms continue or get worse. People who also have other conditions, such as failing kidneys, might not even live longer.

Babies and toddlers who snore or have other breathing problems when they sleep may develop more behavior problems, a study finds. The research was based on surveys filled out by parents of more than 11,000 children. The first survey was done when the children were 6 months old. Parents were asked whether their children snored, breathed through the mouth or had pauses during breathing (apnea) while asleep. The surveys were repeated 5 times, ending at age 69 months. The parents also were asked about children’s behavior at ages 4 and 7. Behavior problems were twice as common at age 7 in children who had the worst sleep-disordered breathing. Hyperactivity was the most common problem. Others included attention issues, depression, aggression and conflicts with other children. The study does not show that breathing issues during sleep actually caused the behavior problems.

Women who have regular Pap smears are less likely to die of cervical cancer if they ever develop it, new research finds. The Pap smear removes a bit of tissue from the cervix. The sample is examined under a microscope. Any precancerous cells found can be removed before they become cancer. The study found that women who do have cancer are also less likely to die if it is diagnosed after a routine Pap smear, rather than after symptoms develop. The study focused on more than 1,200 Swedish women. They were diagnosed with cervical cancer between 1999 and 2001. The researchers found that 92% of those who had regular Pap smears were cured. The cure rate was 66% for women diagnosed after they had symptoms. With cervical cancer, symptoms occur after the cancer has spread to other parts of the body. Women who had Pap tests, but not as often as recommended, also were more likely to die.

Taking selenium in pills may correct a deficit. But too much can be risky, a new study suggests. Much of the difference may depend on where people live and what they eat. Selenium levels in soil, and the food grown there, vary from place to place. The new study reviewed recent research on selenium. Low levels in the blood have been linked with a higher risk of death from all causes and from cancer. Selenium deficiency also has been linked with poor immune function and a greater risk of dementia. But too much selenium can be harmful, research suggests. High blood levels have been linked with a greater risk of type 2 diabetes. Other research has linked high selenium with increases in skin rashes, hair loss and skin cancers other than melanoma. The new review of research found that blood levels of selenium vary greatly by region. They tend to be high in North America.

People with stable heart disease do just as well with medicines as with stenting to open clogged arteries, a new evidence review finds. The study focused on stable angina. This is chest pain that occurs during exercise or stress, but not at other times. It is caused by deposits in coronary arteries that limit blood flow. Many Americans are treated with angioplasty. A tiny balloon is blown up inside the artery to crush the blockage. Usually a tube called a stent is put in to keep the artery open. The new review put together results from 8 prior studies. They included 7,229 people with stable angina. They were randomly assigned to receive stenting plus standard heart medicines or medicines alone. Researchers kept track of them for an average of 4 years. About 9% of each group died. About 8.9% of the stent group and 8.1% of the medicine group had nonfatal heart attacks.

You can give kids a Wii console and an active game, but you can’t make them use it. That’s the finding of a study that appears to dash hopes that active video games would get kids moving. Researchers gave a new Wii game console to each of 78 children, ages 9 to 12. Half of the kids received their choice of 5 active games, such as Wii Fit Plus. They could choose a second game 6 weeks later. They also received any accessories needed to play the games. Children in the other group were given their choice of inactive games. They also got a second game after 6 weeks. Everyone was required to wear an accelerometer to measure movement. The groups had about the same activity level before the study began. This did not change after 1, 6, 7 and 12 weeks. Kids who got the active games were no more active than kids who were given passive games.

A new study suggests that citrus fruits may help to reduce stroke risk. The research was based on information about diet collected for 69,622 women. They were part of the long-running Nurses’ Health Study. In a 14-year period, 1,803 strokes occurred. Researchers compared citrus intake to stroke risk. Women who took in the most citrus fruits and juices had a 10% lower stroke risk than those who consumed none. Citrus is the main dietary source of compounds called flavanones. In the study, women who consumed the most flavanones in all kinds of foods had a 19% lower risk of stroke than those who ate none. Both reductions in risk were for the most common type of stroke, which is caused by a blood clot. Flavanones are part of a broader group of compounds called flavonoids. These substances are also found in tea, red wine, dark chocolate and many fruits and vegetables.

Removing growths in the colon reduces colon cancer death rates by half, new research suggests. It’s the first study to show that a test called colonoscopy can save lives. This test looks inside of the colon using a long tube with an attached camera. The doctor can remove any cancers or growth called polyps that are found. Some polyps can develop into cancer. The new study kept track of 2,602 people who had precancerous polyps removed during a colonoscopy. In the next 16 years, 12 died of colon cancer. The estimated number of deaths was 25 for a similar group in the general population. The New England Journal of Medicine published the study. A second study in the journal compared results for 2 tests used for screening people without symptoms for colon cancer. One was colonoscopy, which is widely considered the best test. The other test looked for blood in a stool sample.