Health Top Stories
Obama steps up call for health care reform
The struggle over health care reform intensified Thursday as President Obama sought to build on what administration officials hoped was new momentum generated by his prime-time address to Congress. More »
Suspected H1N1 flu outbreak hits 2,600 at WSU
An outbreak of flu at Washington State University shows few signs of slowing down as more students report symptoms suspected of being from the H1N1 virus, school officials said Thursday. More »
Yoga may ease chronic back pain
?Oh, my aching back!? may be heard less frequently as people with chronic lower back pain find some relief from a therapeutic form of yoga, a new study suggests. Yoga is often promoted as a way to ease lower back pain and other chronic body aches, but there have been few rigorously conducted studies on the subject. For the current study, published in the journal Spine, researchers randomly assigned 90 adults (average age 48, range 18-70) with chronic lower back pain to either stay with conventional care or take six months of Iyengar-style yoga classes. More »
Many elderly feel dizzy, but physical activity helps
If you?re elderly and you feel dizzy, you might want to take more walks, according to study findings from Sweden. Half of women 75 years and older report feeling dizzy, and 40 percent of men of that age, report Dr. Anna Ekwall, at Lund University, and colleagues in the journal Gerontology. To identify the effects of dizziness on quality of life, and how to fight those effects, Ekwall?s team surveyed 4,360 elderly people. Of these, 1,924 men and women (63 percent) reported dizziness during the previous 3 months. More »
Check obesity using waist, hips, not BMI
Do you like to blame your weight on being ?big-boned?? If you?ve ever thought that the body mass index (BMI) - a ratio of weight to height often used as a yardstick of obesity - doesn?t tell the true story of your relative weight and health, you may be onto something if you?re elderly, UCLA researchers say. A fundamental question is ?whether or not BMI is the appropriate measure of obesity in older adults,? Dr. Preethi Srikanthan and colleagues at David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California write in the Annals of Epidemiology. In these individuals, the authors write, ?changes in body size and composition that commonly occur with aging may limit the usefulness of BMI? for determining how much fat a person is carrying around - and also their risk of death in a given period. More »
Surgeons General, STOP Obesity Alliance announce America has reached tipping point on obesity
The two most recent Surgeons General of the United States, David Satcher, M.D., Ph.D., FAAFP, FACPM, FACP and Richard H. Carmona, M.D., M.P.H., FACS, today led the Strategies to Overcome and Prevent (STOP) Obesity Alliance in urging policymakers to take direct action in health reform to address obesity and the chronic diseases associated with it. ?We?ve reached the tipping point on obesity in the United States,? said Dr. Richard H. Carmona, 17th U.S. Surgeon General, Health and Wellness Chairperson of the STOP Obesity Alliance and President of Canyon Ranch Institute. ?Obesity now impacts every aspect of our lives, including the future of our health care system. Health reform that directly addresses obesity will save lives, save money, and improve the health and well-being of every American.? ?When I served as Surgeon General, obesity was a problem of epidemic proportions,? said Dr. David Satcher, 16th U.S. Surgeon General, who released the 2001 Surgeon General?s Call to Action To Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity. ?Today, we are in a state of emergency when it comes to obesity. The issues underpinning obesity are too complex and widespread for any one institution to effectively address it alone. Until we collaborate to address obesity through meaningful, population-based policies and programs, our nation will continue to be crippled by obesity and the chronic diseases it causes.? More »
Nicotine creates stronger memories, cues to drug use
Ever wonder why former smokers miss lighting up most when they are in a bar or after a meal with friends? Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine say nicotine, the addictive component in cigarettes, ?tricks? the brain into creating memory associations between environmental cues and smoking behavior. The findings appear in the current issue of the journal Neuron. ?Our brains normally make these associations between things that support our existence and environmental cues so that we conduct behaviors leading to successful lives. The brain sends a reward signal when we act in a way that contributes to our well being,? said Dr. John A. Dani, professor of neuroscience at BCM and co-author of the study. ?However, nicotine commandeers this subconscious learning process in the brain so we begin to behave as though smoking is a positive action.? More »
University of the Sciences H1N1 Swine Flu Experts
As students head back to school and flu season gets underway, experts from University of the Sciences in Philadelphia are available and ready to discuss various aspects of H1N1 flu, including vaccines and treatments, pandemic preparedness, medication-use systems, and more. H1N1 Vaccine Testing and Delivery, Flu Prevention, H1N1 Treatment Options, Antiviral Medications Daniel Hussar, PhD Expertise: New drugs, drug interactions, patient noncompliance, infectious diseases, antibiotic therapy, over-the-counter medications. Hussar, the Remington Professor of Pharmacy at the University?s Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, has written and spoken extensively on the topics of drug interactions, patient compliance, and new drugs. His publications include coverage of all the new therapeutic agents that have been marketed in the U.S. during the last 40 years. His recently published book, ?NDCR 2009? (Moore Road Press), provides a first-of-its-kind reference for pharmacists and healthcare practitioners. He is a member of the American Pharmacists Association, American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, Drug Information Association, Pennsylvania Pharmacists Association, and the Pennsylvania Society of Health-System Pharmacists. More »
St. Jude Experts Available to Discuss H1N1 Influenza
As home to the only World Health Organization (WHO) collaborating center focusing on the transmission of animal influenza viruses to humans, St. Jude Children?s Research Hospital is closely monitoring the H1N1 pandemic. The hospital has a long and storied history with influenza research and in 2007, was named one of six Centers of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, a part of the National Institutes of Health. The St. Jude faculty includes some of the world?s most renowned scientists studying infectious diseases. For information about a variety of topics related to the H1N1 pandemic, St. Jude has experts available. Richard Webby, Ph.D., is an associate member in the division of Virology in the Infectious Diseases department at St. Jude. His research lies in the study of the influenza viruses in birds and animals of the world?particularly in Asia?and explores the fundamental differences between the Eurasian and American lineages of influenza viruses. Additionally, Webby is interested in the production and storage of viruses, reagents and technologies to facilitate rapid characterization and the exchange of information. Last year, he was named director of the WHO Collaborating Center for Studies on the Ecology of Influenza Viruses in Lower Animals and Birds at St. Jude. Webby can offer expertise on an array of subjects, including international influenza surveillance, the movement of influenza from animals to humans as well as the evolution of pandemic influenza strains, including the current H1N1 virus. More »
Infections may speed Alzheimer?s memory loss
Catching a cold or the flu could speed memory loss in people with Alzheimer?s disease, researchers reported Tuesday. In a study of patients with mild to severe Alzheimer?s disease, they found that people who suffered acute or chronic infections, or even bumps and bruises from a fall, were much more likely to have high blood levels of a protein involved in inflammation and also experienced faster memory loss than people who did not have infections and who had low levels of this protein. It?s possible that finding a way to reduce inflammation in the body ?could be beneficial for people with Alzheimer?s disease,? study chief Dr. Clive Holmes, from the University of Southampton, UK, said in a prepared statement. More »