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Health News:What’s New

Lots of Exercise in Midlife May Lead to Osteoarthritis

November 30, 2009

MONDAY, Nov. 30 (HealthDay News) — If you’re a middle-age weekend warrior who likes to hit the basketball court or hockey rink, take note: A new study suggests that high levels of physical activity boost the risk of internal knee damage that could lead to osteoarthritis.

The study found that the injuries occurred in middle-age people who showed no symptoms and had a healthy weight. They were more common and more severe in those who exercised more, although lower-impact activities such as swimming and cycling might actually be beneficial, according to the researchers. Read More


Taxol Boosts Odds of Chronic Pain

November 30, 2009

MONDAY, Nov. 30 (HealthDay News) — The chemotherapy drug paclitaxel (Taxol) increases the risk of chronic neuropathic pain in breast cancer survivors, a new study shows.

It included 240 women who took part in clinical trials of Taxol between 1994 and 2001. Those who experienced chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy during their treatment with Taxol were three times more likely to eventually be diagnosed with chronic neuropathic pain. Read More


Birth in South Raises Stroke Risk for Life

November 30, 2009

MONDAY, Nov. 30 (HealthDay News) — People born in the “stroke belt” of the southern United States have a lifelong higher risk of dying of stroke than others, even if they live elsewhere later, a new study shows.

Data on both black and white people born in the North and South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi and Alabama show a consistently higher incidence of stroke compared to those born elsewhere, according to a report in the Dec. 1 issue of Neurology. Read More


Exercise Guards White Blood Cells Against Aging

November 30, 2009

MONDAY, Nov. 30 (HealthDay News) — Studies have shown that exercise can help ward off heart disease and cancer, and now new research shows that the reason why may be found within cells themselves.

Endurance athletes had longer telomeres — DNA at the tips of chromosomes that protect the cell — in their white blood cells than healthy, nonsmoking adults who did not exercise regularly, German researchers report. Read More


U.S. Swine Flu Cases Chart Sharp Decline

November 30, 2009

MONDAY, Nov. 30 (HealthDay News) — U.S. health officials said Monday that H1N1 swine flu infections appear to be on the wane nationally, even as the number of American children dying from the illness continues to rise.

The latest report, released Monday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), finds that “visits to doctors for influenza-like illness nationally decreased sharply this week over last week with all regions showing declines.”

The ebb in cases means that 32 states are now reporting widespread flu activity, down from 43 states the week before. Read More


Psychotherapy Can Boost Happiness More Than Money: Study

November 30, 2009

SATURDAY, Nov. 28 (HealthDay News) — Psychological therapy may be much more effective at making people happy than getting a raise or winning a lottery prize, suggests an English study.

Researchers analyzed data on thousands of people who provided information about their mental well-being and found that the increase in happiness from a $1,329 course of therapy was so significant that it would take a pay raise of more than $41,542 to achieve an equal boost in well-being. Read More


Osteoarthritis Costs U.S. Over $185 Billion a Year

November 30, 2009

MONDAY, Nov. 30 (HealthDay News) — Medical care for osteoarthritis patients in the United States costs $185.5 billion a year, according to a new study.

Of that amount, insurers pay $149.4 billion while patients pay $36.1 billion in out-of-pocket costs. Annual insurer costs are $4,833 per female patient and $4,036 per male patient. Women also have higher out-of-pocket expenses than men — $1,379 versus $694. The total cost for female patients is $118 billion, compared with $67.5 billion for male patients. All figures are in 2007 dollars. Read More


U.S. Records Increase in Kids With Down Syndrome

November 30, 2009

MONDAY, Nov. 30 (HealthDay News) — A growing number of children in the United States are being born with Down syndrome, federal researchers say.

The overriding reason, experts add, is that more older women are having babies.

Data from 10 regional registries of birth defects show that the incidence of Down syndrome among U.S. children increased by 31 percent between 1979 and 2003, from 9.0 to 11.8 per 100,000 live births. Read More


Health Reform: What’s in It for You?

November 30, 2009

MONDAY, Nov. 30 (HealthDay News) — The two health reform bills moving through the U.S. Congress differ in a number of ways but achieve the same goal: a dramatic reduction in the number of uninsured Americans.

Legislation approved by the House of Representatives earlier this month would expand coverage to 96 percent of Americans. The Senate is preparing to debate a proposal to expand coverage to 94 percent of Americans. Read More


Swine Flu Tied to Rise in Pneumonias Among Young

November 30, 2009

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 25 (HealthDay News) — The ongoing H1N1 swine flu pandemic may be driving a recent spike in dangerous pneumonias among younger patients, a U.S. health official said Wednesday.

“We are seeing an increase in serious pneumococcal infections around the country,” Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said during a press conference. “Pandemics put us at risk for not just flu problems, but also bacterial pneumonia problems,” she added. Read More



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