January 27, 2012
FRIDAY, Jan. 27 (HealthDay News) — Positive reinforcement, such as receiving small, unexpected gifts and introducing upbeat thoughts into daily routines, seems to help patients with high blood pressure take their medication as directed, according to a new study of black Americans.
The findings are significant because poor blood pressure control can lead to heart problems and death, the researchers from the Center for Healthful Behavior Change at NYU School of Medicine noted in the report published online Jan. 23 in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
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January 27, 2012
FRIDAY, Jan. 27 (HealthDay News) — Folks might fib more frequently when text messaging, a new study suggests.
Researchers say it may be easier for people to lie in a text message than when they communicate through video or in person because they don’t feel as scrutinized.
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January 27, 2012
By Serena Gordon
HealthDay Reporter
FRIDAY, Jan. 27 (HealthDay News) — When a couple is trying to have a baby and can’t, it can be emotionally and financially draining. But help may be available in an unexpected form: acupuncture.
Medical experts believe that this ancient therapy from China, which involves placing numerous thin needles at certain points in the body, can help improve fertility in both men and women.
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January 26, 2012
By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter
THURSDAY, Jan. 26 (HealthDay News) — More than 40 percent of rheumatoid arthritis patients live a sedentary life, a new study finds.
It used to be thought that medication and rest was the best treatment, but now experts believe physical activity is important to keep joints flexible, improve balance and strength and reduce pain, the researchers noted.
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January 26, 2012
THURSDAY, Jan. 26 (HealthDay News) — Infant boys exposed to high levels of the male hormone testosterone before birth have double the risk for language delay as females, according to a new study.
“An estimated 12 percent of toddlers experience significant delays in their language development,” said study lead author Professor Andrew Whitehouse at the University of Western Australia. “While language development varies between individuals, males tend to develop later and at a slower rate than females.”
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January 26, 2012
By Alan Mozes
HealthDay Reporter
THURSDAY, Jan. 26 (HealthDay News) — Almost 7 percent of American men and women are infected orally with the human papillomavirus (HPV), new research reveals, with men showing significantly higher infection rates than women.
In fact, the study found that among those between the ages of 14 and 69, men seem to face a nearly threefold greater risk than women for oral HPV infection.
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January 26, 2012
THURSDAY, Jan. 26 (HealthDay News) — Infants younger than a year old who are at risk of developing autism may already have telltale brain responses when another person looks at or away from them, the results of a new study indicate.
The researchers say that the findings suggest that assessing brain responses in infants as young as 6 months may one day help predict whether they’ll develop autism at a later age. Currently, firm diagnoses of autism are made only after a child is 2 years old, according to the study in the Jan. 26 online edition of Current Biology.
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January 26, 2012
THURSDAY, Jan. 26 (HealthDay News) — The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine Gardasil does not trigger autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, type 1 diabetes or multiple sclerosis, according to a two-year study that included nearly 190,000 girls and women.
Gardasil is recommended in the United States for girls and young women to protect them against HPV infection, which is the most common sexually transmitted disease in the United States and can lead to cervical cancer. A second HPV vaccine, GlaxoSmithKline’s Cervarix, is also approved to prevent infection with the virus.
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January 26, 2012
By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter
THURSDAY, Jan. 26 (HealthDay News) — The rate of home births in the United States has made a dramatic upturn since 2004, reversing a trend of decline throughout the 1990s, government health officials said Thursday.
Births taking place outside of the traditional hospital setting increased 29 percent between 2004 and 2009, from 0.56 percent of all births to 0.72 percent — almost 30,000 births — according to a new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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January 26, 2012
THURSDAY, Jan. 26 (HealthDay News) — The typical victim of gang-related homicide is a young minority male killed with a gun, but most of these murders aren’t drug-related, according to a new U.S. government report.
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention researchers analyzed 2003-2008 data from large cities in 17 states. They say five cities have the highest levels of gang murders — Los Angeles; Oklahoma City; Long Beach, Calif.; Oakland, Calif.; and Newark, N.J.
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