Harvard Health Content API

Women with certain gene differences may be less likely to benefit from a breast cancer drug, a study finds. The genes affect the action of an enzyme called CYP2D6. This enzyme converts the drug tamoxifen into a form that combats breast cancer. But the process doesn’t work well in women who have variations in some genes. Researchers used records of 1,325 women with breast cancer who had received gene tests. All of the women took tamoxifen. In the next nine years, cancer was much more likely to come back in women whose genes kept the body from making good use of the drug. Cancer returned in 29% of these women. This compares with 14.9% of women whose bodies used tamoxifen well. The study was in the Journal of the American Medical Association. HealthDay News wrote about it October 6.

Counseling from doctors can help to reduce children’s exposure to violence and guns, a study found. Just before well-child visits, parents answered a survey. Questions dealt with discipline, media use, and home storage of guns. Then doctors talked about the survey. They advised parents to put cable locks on any guns kept at home. They advised using timeouts instead of spanking. They said kids should have a two-hour daily limit on media use. Parents were surveyed again one month and six months later. More of them reported use of gun locks and media limits. Timeout use did not change. The study was published July 7 in the journal Pediatrics.

The U.S. Senate has taken up a bill to expand an insurance program for children in working families. The House passed the bill January 14. The expansion will be funded by an increase in the tax on cigarettes. President Bush vetoed a similar bill twice. If the Senate passes it, President Barack Obama is expected to sign it. He also pledged January 12 to establish a national system to put medical records on computer. The Associated Press reported on both of these developments.

Computed tomography (CT) scans of the heart are becoming more popular. The scans also are called CT angiograms. Like an angiogram, they allow an inside view of blood vessels. But the test is not invasive. Advocates say it can find heart disease in people with no symptoms. But critics say there’s no proof it improves care or saves lives, the New York Times reported June 30. The test also is costly and exposes the patient to many times the radiation of a regular X-ray. Experts told the Times that this test is an example of the growth of new technology before its benefits have been proven.

Watching TV and videos does not improve babies’ brain development, a new study finds. The study included 872 children. At age 6 months, they were given tests of language and motor skills. They also took tests at age 3. Their mothers were asked about how much TV the children watched at ages 6 months, 1 year and 2 years. The average was about 1.2 hours a day. Researchers adjusted the data because of differences in the parents’ education, income and other factors. They found that watching more TV as babies had no effect on kids’ test scores at age 3. The study appeared in the journal Pediatrics. HealthDay News and Reuters news service wrote about it March 2.

About 50 million Americans have had H1N1 (swine) flu, health officials said December 10. That’s about 1 out of 6. Deaths have totaled about 10,000, the officials said. The new estimates came from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). They cover the months of April through mid-November. In that period, nearly 200,000 people were hospitalized with swine flu, the report said. That’s about the same number as for an entire typical winter flu season. Unlike seasonal flu, older adults have not been the people most affected. About 3 out of 4 deaths were adults ages 18 through 64, the CDC said. The Associated Press wrote about the report.

Fewer U.S. children get rotavirus infections these days, a study has found. Researchers gave credit to a new vaccine. Rotavirus causes diarrhea. Most cases occur in winter. Some are severe and need hospital care. Data for the study came from 33 laboratories. Researchers looked at the years 2000 through 2006. Then they looked at 2007 and 2008, after the vaccine was introduced. The rotavirus season started 15 weeks later in the years after the vaccine. Total cases also dropped by two-thirds, tests showed. The study was published online July 6 by the journal Pediatrics.

Some drugs for depression may increase the risk of stomach or intestinal bleeding, a study suggests. Researchers looked at data on 1,321 people with bleeding. They compared them to 10,000 people who did not have bleeding. About 5.3% of those with bleeding took certain depression drugs. About 3% of those who did not have bleeding took the drugs. The drugs are called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. They include Prozac, Paxil and Zoloft. Also, 1.1% of those with bleeding took a related drug called Effexor. Only 0.3% of the other group took this drug. Bleeding was even more common for those who also took certain pain-relievers, such as aspirin and ibuprofen. HealthDay News wrote about the study July 7. It was published in the journal Archives of General Psychiatry.

How quickly does your risk of death fall after you quit smoking? It depends on the disease. That’s the conclusion of a new study based on data from the Nurses’ Health Study. This study tracked 100,000 women for 24 years. Women who quit smoking reduced their risk of death from heart and artery disease by half within five years. But it took 20 years for the risk of death from emphysema to return to normal. It took 30 years for lung cancer. The study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Reuters Health news service wrote about it May 7.

Teens often don’t recognize the risks of inexperience and distractions while driving, a study has found. Researchers surveyed 5,665 U.S. high school students. About 60% said that experience is important in driving. But only 15% recognized that they rode with drivers who were inexperienced. About 2 out of 3 teens rode with passengers in the car. Only 1 in 10 saw this as a distraction. Most did not see cell phone use as distracting, either. HealthDay News reported on the study May 6. It appeared in the journal Pediatrics.