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Burning a bit of heart tissue can help to stop one type of abnormal rhythm, a study found. The study evaluated a treatment for atrial fibrillation. In this type of heart rhythm, the upper chambers quiver rather than beat normally. The study included 167 people who had not been helped by drug treatment. Most received catheter ablation. This treatment uses radiofrequency energy to destroy the small section of heart tissue that causes the abnormal rhythm. Other patients were given a drug they had not tried before. About 66% of those who had catheter ablation returned to a normal heart rhythm within 9 months. Only 16% of those on a new drug regime had this result. The difference was so large that researchers stopped the study early. The study was in the Journal of the American Medical Association. HealthDay News wrote about it January 26.

Children who spend more time on TV and other types of screen time may be more likely to have psychological problems, a new study found. The problems may include emotions, conduct and relationships with other kids. They also are more common among kids who don’t exercise much, the study found. And kids who watch a lot of TV and don’t exercise have the most psychological problems of all. The study was based on a survey of parents of nearly 1,500 kids. Their ages ranged from 4 to 12. The journal Pediatrics published the study April 27.

More than 35 million people around the world have Alzheimer’s disease or another type of dementia, a new report says. And the numbers are growing. The report includes a projection for 2050. By then, it says, 115.4 million people will have dementia. The report comes from the group Alzheimer’s Disease International. It updates a 2005 report from a British group. But it also takes into account newer research. As a result, the new projections are higher than those in the earlier report. The report especially aims to raise awareness in poorer countries, the Associated Press said. Lifespan is increasing in many of these countries. For the first time, they have many people who live to be over 65. That means many more people have dementia.

Even low levels of ozone can kill over time, new research shows. The study found that breathing ozone raises the risk of death from asthma and other lung diseases. The study lasted 18 years. It included nearly half a million people in 96 U.S. urban areas. Deaths from lung diseases rose along with ozone levels. The average increase was 4% for each 10 parts per billion of ozone in the air. Overall, ozone increased deaths from lung diseases 25%. Some California cities have very high ozone levels. The increase was 40% to 50% in those cities. The study appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine. The Los Angeles Times wrote about it March 12.

Keeping sick Medicare patients out of the hospital is really hard, a U.S.-funded study has found. The study included 15 pilot projects that tried to help older adults manage long-term conditions better. The conditions included diabetes, heart disease and lung disease. Only two projects reduced hospital stays. They provided more contact with a nurse than other programs. But even these two didn’t save Medicare any money. Researchers said big changes can occur only if doctors and patients change their habits. People need to exercise, eat better and stop smoking. Doctors may need to change how they care for some patients. The study appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The Associated Press wrote about it February 11.

The typical Western diet accounts for about 30% of the world’s risk of heart attack, researchers have concluded. This diet includes large amounts of meat, fried food and salty snacks. The study included about 16,000 people in 52 countries. They answered questions about their eating habits. Those who followed the Western diet had a 35% higher risk of heart attack than those who did not. Other people followed a “prudent” diet, with many fruits and vegetables. Their heart attack risk was 30% lower than for those who ate few of these foods. The Oriental diet, which included tofu and soy sauce, had no effect on risk. HealthDay News wrote about the study October 20. It was in the journal Circulation.

Expanding public access to machines that can restart the heart leads to more and better survival, a new study concludes. Researchers looked at the use of automated external defibrillators in Japan. These machines deliver an electric shock to hearts that have stopped beating (cardiac arrest). In some cases, this can restore a normal heartbeat. The study looked at three years when the supply of these machines in public places in Japan increased more than eight-fold. Researchers focused on 12,631 cardiac arrests that were caused by a heart rhythm called ventricular fibrillation. All of them occurred outside a hospital but around witnesses. As the number of machines increased, bystanders were much more likely to use them. The shocks also were delivered faster. About 14% of the overall group survived cardiac arrest with little brain or nerve damage.

For adults, shots are nearly twice as effective as spray vaccine in preventing seasonal flu, a study has found. But that finding may not apply to the new swine flu vaccines that will be available soon. Experts said both kinds may be equally effective in children and adults. The new study looked at the effects of vaccine in 2,000 healthy adults in the last flu season. They were randomly divided into four groups. The groups received flu shots, the FluMist nasal spray, or a placebo (fake) dose of the shot or spray. The flu shot was 68 percent successful at preventing the flu. The spray was about 36 percent effective. The study appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine. The Associated Press wrote about it September 24.

A new way of doing bone marrow transplants has cured sickle cell anemia in 9 out of 10 adults in a study, researchers say. Bone marrow transplants have been used for some time on children. But adults were thought to be too sick. Before a transplant, powerful drugs and radiation are used to kill the person’s own marrow. Then stem cells are transplanted from a donor’s bone marrow. They begin to make healthy blood cells that replace the abnormally shaped “sickle” cells. The study used a new, less harsh method of preparing people for transplant. Therefore, these sick adults were able to tolerate the treatment. Study results were published in the New England Journal of Medicine. HealthDay News wrote about the study December 9.

Excess drinking makes it more likely you’ll become depressed, a new study finds. The study from New Zealand enrolled 1,055 teenagers. Researchers kept track of them for the next 25 years. People in the study who abused alcohol were twice as likely as average to become depressed. Researchers said the abuse appeared to come first, then the depression. They were not sure why this occurred. The study appeared in the journal Archives of General Psychiatry. Reuters Health news service wrote about it March 2.