WASHINGTON (October 5, 2009) – To help draw attention to National Child Health Day (today), the Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association (PCNA) has released findings from a new national consumer survey and launched a campaign to educate families about heart disease, the leading cause of death in the U.S.
The national survey revealed that more than three in five (61%) Americans incorrectly believe that the processes related to heart disease do not begin until adulthood.
In the next 60 seconds, another child will be on his/her way to the hospital to be treated for serious burns; it happens more than 300 times a day in this country.* Now, one of the largest studies ever done on burn injuries in kids is out from experts at Nationwide Children's Hospital and the results are mixed: while overall injuries are down, there are some kids who are still at serious risk.
Washington, D.C. - October 5, 2009—Today, The Lewin Group, a national health care consulting firm, issued recommendations on ways to overcome the barriers that have obstructed lupus drug development resulting in no new drug approval for this disease in more than 50 years – since the Eisenhower Administration. The recommendations are included in the report, "Overcoming Barriers to Drug Development in Lupus," which is the outcome of a 9-month study commissioned by the Lupus Foundation of America, Inc. (LFA).
San Diego, CA – Standard ideals of facial beauty and harmony may differ depending on geographic location, with a specific difference between North American beauty ideals and those of Brazilians.
There is no strong evidence that the popular smoking cessation drug varenicline increases the risk of self harm or depression compared to other cessation products, according to new research published on bmj.com today.
Varenicline is a recently introduced smoking cessation product of proven effectiveness, but there have been concerns that it may increase the risk of suicidal behaviour and suicide. Despite warnings about the possible increased risks issued by regulatory authorities worldwide, varenicline continues to be used widely.
College students make strategic choices about where to vote, prefer absentee ballots and are especially likely to vote absentee if their homes are in swing states, according to a new Northwestern University study of student absentee voting in the 2008 presidential election.
A 2005-2007 dry spell in the southeastern United States destroyed billions of dollars of crops, drained municipal reservoirs and sparked legal wars among a half-dozen states—but the havoc came not from exceptional dryness but booming population and bad planning, says a new study. Researchers from Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory defied conventional wisdom about the drought by showing that it was mild compared to many others, and in fact no worse than one just a decade ago.
Scientists at Rothamsted Research and Warwick University have been awarded £1M by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) in partnership with Syngenta, to research the decline of honeybees.
UK government figures suggest bee numbers have fallen by 10-15% over the last 2 years; the British Beekeepers' Association (BBKA) quotes a figure nearer 30% for 2008. Since the declines were first reported a number of factors have been suggested. Most scientists now believe that a complex of interacting factors is the most likely cause.
A new study reports that transplanted pigment-containing visual cells derived from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) successfully preserved structure and function of the specialized light-sensitive lining of the eye (known as the retina) in an animal model of retinal degeneration. The findings, published by Cell Press in the October 2nd issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell, represent an exciting step towards the future use of cell replacement therapies to treat devastating degenerative eye diseases that cause millions of people worldwide to lose their sight.
Patients who have their anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstructed are more likely to have subsequent knee surgery if they are women or are treated by a surgeon who does a low volume of ACL reconstructions, according to a study in the October 2009 TK issue of The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery. The study, conducted by investigators at Hospital for Special Surgery, also found that overall, 6.5% of patients undergoing ACL surgery had to undergo another knee operation within one year.
St. Louis, MO, October 1, 2009 – Both household food insecurity (HFInsec) and childhood overweight are significant problems in the United States. Paradoxically, being food-insecure may be an underlying contributor to being overweight. A study of almost 8,500 low-income children ages 1 month to 5 years, published in the October 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, suggests an association between household food insecurity and overweight prevalence in this low-income population.
Westchester, Ill. —A study in the Oct.1 issue of the journal Sleep shows that elderly women sleep better than elderly men even though women consistently report that their sleep is shorter and poorer.
(Boston) – Community health centers have become the centerpiece of the nation's efforts to provide access to primary care for all and therefore experience a greater need for primary care providers, who already are in short supply. According to researchers at Boston Medical Center (BMC) and Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) medical education must become a core part of the community health center mission to address this need. This call to action appears as a commentary in the October 2009 issue of Association of American Medical Colleges.
DURHAM, N.C. -- Government subsidies persuade some people to change habits, but social shame works even better, suggests a recent study of efforts to reduce elevated childhood death and disease rates blamed on the microbial pathogens that cause diarrhea in rural India.
"All this started with public health workers there just beating their heads against the reality of how sticky human behavior is and how hard it is to change it," said Subhrendu Pattanayak, an associate professor at Duke University's Sanford School of Public Policy and Nicholas School of the Environment.
NEW YORK (Sept. 30, 2009) -- New research by Weill Cornell Medical College researchers looks at the specific ways parents and peers influence teenagers to smoke, drink and use marijuana in combination. Among their findings: attitudes toward smoking influenced teenagers' use of multiple drugs (smoking, drinking and marijuana), and that this manifested itself differently in boys and girls.