February 2, 2012
THURSDAY, Feb. 2 (HealthDay News) — A new medication that helps prevent strokes in people with the abnormal heart rhythm disorder known as atrial fibrillation poses less risk of bleeding in the brain than a commonly used drug, research comparing rivaroxaban (Xarelto) and warfarin suggests.
Anti-clotting medications, also called blood-thinners or anticoagulants, include warfarin (Coumadin) and aspirin, among others. In patients with atrial fibrillation, these drugs can reduce the risk of ischemic stroke, which occurs when a vessel becomes clogged by a blood clot. But the drugs can also cause excessive bleeding because they make it harder for blood to clot.
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January 19, 2012
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 18 (HealthDay News) — Antidepressants called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are associated with an increased risk of falls in nursing home residents with dementia, a new study finds.
Researchers in the Netherlands analyzed data about daily prescription medicine use and falls among 248 nursing home residents with dementia. The dataset collected between Jan. 1, 2006 and Jan. 1, 2008 included 85,074 person-days.
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December 29, 2011
THURSDAY, Dec. 29 (HealthDay News) — Researchers have identified six risk factors linked to blindness after spine surgery, a rare but devastating complication.
Known as ischemic optic neuropathy, or ION, the complication occurs when the optic nerve located behind the eyeball is injured. It is estimated to occur in as many as one in 1,000 spine surgeries. Though rare, it can happen to healthy patients at any age, according to researchers.
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December 21, 2011
WEDNESDAY, Dec. 21 (HealthDay News) — Starting aquatic therapy within days after total knee replacement appears to improve patient outcomes, but that’s not the case for those who’ve had a total hip replacement, according to a new study.
The number of patients having total knee and hip replacements is increasing, but there is a lack of agreement about the best type of post-surgical treatment, noted the German researchers.
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December 19, 2011
MONDAY, Dec. 19 (HealthDay News) — Knee pain is common in middle-aged and older women, a new study finds.
Researchers analyzed 12 years of data collected from nearly 500 women, ages 44 to 57, in Britain and found that 63 percent of those 50 and older reported persistent, incident or intermittent knee pain.
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December 14, 2011
WEDNESDAY, Dec. 14 (HealthDay News) — Decking the halls (and elsewhere) for the holidays may be getting more dangerous, a new government report finds.
In November and December 2010, more than 13,000 people were treated in U.S. emergency departments for injuries involving holiday decorations, up from 10,000 in 2007, and 12,000 in 2008 and 2009, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).
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December 9, 2011
FRIDAY, Dec. 9 (HealthDay News) — Many American soldiers who suffer burns and wounds during combat develop acute kidney injury, an abrupt or rapid decline in kidney function that is potentially deadly.
That’s the finding of a study that looked at acute kidney injury among 692 U.S. military casualties who were evacuated from Iraq and Afghanistan to burn units.
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December 8, 2011
THURSDAY, Dec. 8 (HealthDay News) — The brains of new taxi drivers change as they learn to navigate thousands of streets and places of interest over several years, a new study shows.
The finding offers more evidence that learning can lead to changes in the adult brain, which is good news for lifelong learning and also for rehabilitation after brain injury, according to the U.K. researchers.
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December 8, 2011
THURSDAY, Dec. 8 (HealthDay News) — Exercise is good medicine, and the number of American adults who did no physical activity in their leisure time decreased from 31 percent in 1989 to 25 percent in 2008, researchers have found.
But further gains may be difficult to achieve because certain subgroups of people are highly unlikely to exercise, such as those with arthritis, according to the report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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November 21, 2011
By Serena Gordon
HealthDay Reporter
MONDAY, Nov. 21 (HealthDay News) — When done by well-trained professionals, acupuncture can be a safe treatment for children, new research suggests.
In an analysis of 37 studies or case reports, Canadian researchers found that in over 1,400 children treated with acupuncture, just 168 experienced a mild adverse reaction, such as crying or pain. The investigators found 25 reports of serious adverse events.
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