Health Tip: Is Your Child Overloaded?

(Click Here!">HealthDay News) -- Everyone is under some stress. But too much stress can impair your child's well-being and emotional Click Here!">health.

The American Academy of Pediatrics mentions these warning signs that your child is under too much stress:

If there are physical pains, such as stomach aches or headaches.If the child appears agitated, restless and tired.If the child seems depressed, but is unwilling to talk about his or her feelings.If the child behaves irritably or negatively, or lacks excitement about daily activities.If the child chooses to stay home, rather than participate in activities once enjoyed.If the child's grades decline.If the child shows behavioral changes, such as lying or stealing, becoming forgetful, refusing your requests or depending on you more than usual.

-- Diana Kohnle
Copyright © 2013 Click Here!">HealthDay. All rights reserved.

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Fewer ER Visits for Kids After Cold Medicine Restrictions

By Serena Gordon
Click Here!">HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, Nov. 11 (Click Here!">HealthDay News) -- Restrictions placed on cough and cold medicines may be working, with fewer young children ending up in the ER because of bad side effects tied to the drugs, new research shows.

The drop in kids' illnesses came about after drug manufacturers voluntarily withdrew cough and cold medications for this age group from the market in 2007, and after drug labeling changes put in place in 2008. The labeling changes advised that the products were not for use in children under 4.

"The change [in ER admissions] was associated with those two events," said study author Dr. Lee Hamilton, a medical officer in the division of Click Here!">healthcare quality promotion at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"We saw that in children under 2 years old, adverse events from cough and cold medicines dropped from one in 25 of all emergency department visits for adverse drug events to about one in 40 [such visits]," Hamilton said. "In the 2- to 3-year-olds, adverse events from cough and cold medicines dropped from one in 10 of all emergency department visits for adverse drug events to about one in 15."

Results of the study were released online Nov. 11 in the journal Pediatrics.

Manufacturers of over-the-counter oral infant cough and cold medications voluntarily withdrew these products from the market in 2007 amid concerns that the drugs were causing significant numbers of emergency department visits -- and in rare cases, infant deaths. The following year, manufacturers changed the labeling on over-the-counter cough and cold medications to state that they should not be given to children under 4.

To see what effect these changes had on related emergency department visits, Hamilton and his colleagues reviewed information from a nationally representative injury surveillance project.

The researchers looked for any emergency department visit related to the use of a drug that didn't result in the patient's death. They collected information from January 2004 through December 2011 so they could see if the labeling changes and the withdrawal of the infant formulations of cough and cold medications had made an impact.

In children under 2, adverse events related to cough and cold medications made up 4.1 percent of all adverse drug event admissions before the changes took effect. After the changes, that rate dropped to 2.4 percent, according to the study.

In those aged 2 to 3, emergency room visits due to cough and cold medications made up 9.5 percent of all adverse drug event admissions before the change. After the changes, that proportion dropped to 6.5 percent.

The researchers also looked to see if rates of adverse drug events rose for other medications or alternative therapies, which might have indicated that parents were substituting another treatment for cough and cold medications. But, Hamilton said, they saw no shifts to other drugs or therapies.

They also wanted to understand how these young children who ended up in the emergency room were still getting the drugs, and found overwhelmingly that it was through unsupervised ingestion. In the under-2 group, 64 percent took these medications unsupervised. And, in the 2- to 3-year-old age group, 89 percent took the drugs without parental knowledge.

"The vast majority of emergency department visits in recent years was due to kids getting into them without supervision," Hampton said. He said that packaging changes, such as putting a low-flow filter on bottles to limit how much someone can consume could help, and he said parents have to remember to put the child-resistant cap back on the bottle every time and turn it till it clicks, and then put the bottle on a high shelf, out of sight.

Another expert explained why toddlers are at risk for accidental ingestion.

"Over-the-counter medications may seem benign to the average person, but they can be dangerous, especially in small children. The highest number of unsupervised ingestions was in 2- to 3-year-olds. These are kids that are beginning to be mobile and may start climbing and getting into more. And, these medications are sweet and good-tasting. This is the age group that parents really need to be monitoring," said Dr. Bradley Berg, medical director of Round Rock Pediatrics at Scott and White Click Here!">Healthcare, in Texas.

As for the parents who still choose to give their young children cough and cold medications, Dr. Allison Bartlett, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at La Rabida Children's Hospital in Chicago, said many people think these medications are safe because they're sold over the counter, and many parents may have taken these drugs when they were young, or they may have older children that to whom they gave the medications.

"Kids get so many colds; it's a frustrating problem. The temptation is there to give them over-the-counter medications that promise to make your kid feel better. But, under the age of 4, these medications are no better than giving a placebo and they carry a number of additional risks," Bartlett said.

"The discussion would be different if there was a benefit to these medications," she said. "But, they don't actually make kids better, and they expose children to unnecessary risks."

While these medications can ease symptoms in adults and older children, Bartlett said the nasal passages and airways in young children are so small that the slightest bit of inflammation from a cold or respiratory illness makes it harder to breath, and it also makes it harder to make an impact with any treatment.

Texas pediatrician Berg said that for children over 1 year of age, a teaspoon of honey several times a day can help quell a cough. You can give put it in tea or in water with lemon juice, he advised. The reason that children under 1 year old can't have honey is a risk of botulism in infants, he added.

Copyright © 2013 Click Here!">HealthDay. All rights reserved. SOURCES: Lee Hamilton, M.D., M.Sc., medical officer, division of Click Here!">healthcare quality promotion, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Allison Bartlett, M.D., infectious disease specialist, La Rabida Children's Hospital, Chicago; Bradley Berg, M.D., Ph.D., pediatrician and medical director, Round Rock Pediatrics, Scott and White Click Here!">Healthcare, Round Rock, Texas; December 2013 Pediatrics

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People With Autism May Recognize Faces in Different Way: Study

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 20, 2013 (Click Here!">HealthDay News) -- Neurons in the area of the brain responsible for face recognition respond differently in people with autism than in those without the disorder, a new, small study finds.

Autism is a complex disorder of brain development that affects social interactions, communication skills and behaviors.

For this study, published in the Nov. 20 issue of the journal Neuron, brain scientists collaborated to decipher why people with autism focus more on someone's mouth and less on the eyes to collect and process information.

The researchers examined the firing of individual nerve cells in the brains of two patients with a high-functioning form of autism and in people without autism as they looked at pictures of entire faces or parts of faces. Each face showed either fear or happiness, and the participants were asked to decide which emotion was being expressed.

The results showed that a specific type of neuron in the brain's amygdala performed differently in the autism patients than in those without the disorder.

In the amygdala -- which is important for emotional memory -- certain neurons fire when a person looks at a whole face, while other neurons are activated when a person looks at parts of faces or certain facial features such as an eye or mouth.

In the two patients with autism, "whole-face" neurons responded appropriately, but the "face-part" neurons were much more active when the patients were shown the mouth region compared to when they were shown the eyes, the researchers found.

"Many studies have found that people who have autism fail to focus on the eye region of others to gather social cues and process information about emotions," study first author Ueli Rutishauser, director of human neurophysiology research at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, said in a center news release.

"The amygdala -- which is critical for face recognition and processing of emotions -- is thought to be one of the principal areas where dysfunction occurs, but this is the first time single neurons in the structure have been recorded and analyzed in patients with autism," Rutishauser said.

The study offers new insights into mechanisms underlying the symptoms of autism and opens the door for further studies, said senior author Ralph Adolphs, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Caltech, the California Institute of technology, in Pasadena.

"Are there genetic mutations that lead to changes in this one population of neurons? Do the cell abnormalities originate in the amygdala or are they the result of processing abnormalities elsewhere in the brain?" Adolphs said.

Many questions remain unanswered, "but this study points us in a specific direction that we believe will help understand autism," he said in the news release.

-- Robert Preidt
Copyright © 2013 Click Here!">HealthDay. All rights reserved. SOURCE: Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, news release, Nov. 20, 2013

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PTSD Might Lead to Sizable Weight Gain in Women

By Steven Reinberg
Click Here!">HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 20 (Click Here!">HealthDay News) -- Women with post-traumatic stress disorder are more likely to be overClick Here!">weight or obese than women without the condition, a new study suggests.

According to the researchers, one in nine women will have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at some point in her life. That's twice as often as men. Women are more likely to experience traumatic events, such as rape, which carry a high risk for PTSD, the study authors said.

"PTSD is not just about mental Click Here!">health, but also has physical Click Here!">health consequences," said lead researcher Karestan Koenen, an associate professor of epidemiology at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Click Here!">Health, in New York City.

Women with PTSD gain Click Here!">weight faster than women who do not have the condition, Koenen said. "This, in turn, has consequences for the risk of heart disease and all the adverse outcomes associated with obesity," she said.

How PTSD is linked to Click Here!">weight gain isn't known, Koenen said, but it may be caused by the high levels of hormones released because of stress.

These hormones are involved in a range of body processes, including metabolism, she said.

"In addition, women with PTSD may change behaviors that lead to obesity," Koenen said. "There is evidence that people under stress crave high-calorie processed foods, so it could be Click Here!">diet." These women also are less likely to Click Here!">exercise, she said.

Koenen said the same problem may exist in men suffering from PTSD, but this hasn't been well studied.

The new report was published Nov. 20 in the online edition of the journal JAMA Psychiatry.

For their research, Koenen and her colleagues collected data on more than 50,000 women who took part in the Nurses' Click Here!">Health Study II between 1989 and 2009. Their ages ranged from 22 to 44 at the study's start.

The women were asked about the worst trauma they experienced and if they had symptoms of PTSD. Symptoms included re-experiencing the traumatic event, feeling threatened, avoiding social situations and feeling emotionally numb. PTSD was defined as having four or more symptoms over a month or more.

The researchers found that women originally of normal Click Here!">weight who developed PTSD had a 36 percent higher risk of becoming overClick Here!">weight or obese, compared to women who, despite experiencing trauma, didn't develop PTSD.

This finding held even after taking into account other factors, such as depression, that have also been considered major factors in Click Here!">weight gain, the researchers said.

In women who had PTSD before the study period began, Click Here!">weight increased more rapidly than it did among women without PTSD.

Although the study found an association between women having PTSD and a higher risk for obesity, it did not establish a cause-and-effect.

"This important study highlights, once again, the significant impact that psychological disorders can have on physical Click Here!">health," said Simon Rego, director of psychology training at the Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine, in New York City. He was not involved with the research.

Rego said trauma and obesity are both common in today's society. They can cause distress, difficulty in functioning and disability, he said, and all these conditions are hard to treat. That's why it's important for doctors to understand the impact of PTSD symptoms -- not only on mental Click Here!">health, but also on physical Click Here!">health.

Treating PTSD might also help in reversing Click Here!">weight gain, he said. "Doctors ... should be encouraged to screen for PTSD, especially in populations at high risk for trauma but also in patients presenting with obesity," he said.

If PTSD symptoms are found, the patient should be referred to a clinical psychologist or other mental-Click Here!">health professional with expertise in treating PTSD, Rego said.

Copyright © 2013 Click Here!">HealthDay. All rights reserved. SOURCES: Karestan Koenen, Ph.D., associate professor of epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Click Here!">Health, Columbia University, New York City; Simon Rego, Psy.D., director of psychology training, Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York City; Nov. 20, 2013, JAMA Psychiatry, online

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Quitting Smoking May Help Seniors' Hearts Sooner Than Thought

By Dennis Thompson
Click Here!">HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 20, 2013 (Click Here!">HealthDay News) -- Seniors who quit smoking cut their risk of death by heart disease much more quickly than previously thought, particularly if they were light-to-moderate smokers, a new study says.

Past estimates held that it takes smokers about 15 years after they quit to lower their risk of heart attack, heart failure or stroke to that enjoyed by people who never smoked, said lead author Dr. Ali Ahmed, senior study researcher. Ahmed is a professor of cardiovascular disease at the University of Alabama at Birmingham's School of Medicine.

But a new examination of 853 former smokers aged 65 and older found that many with a light-to-moderate smoking history can cut their risk in eight years or less, Ahmed said.

"Even though they quit only eight years ago, because they smoked less they were able to become like never-smokers in half the time," Ahmed said, citing findings he is scheduled to present Wednesday at the American Heart Association's annual meeting in Dallas.

Ahmed and his colleagues analyzed 13 years of medical information compiled by the U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to compare 853 people who had quit smoking 15 or fewer years ago with about 2,500 people who had never smoked. Half the smokers surveyed quit eight or fewer years before.

The researchers defined light smokers as people who had smoked less than 32 "pack years." This adds up to 3.2 packs a day for 10 years, or less than one pack a day for 30 years. About 37 percent of the former smokers fell into this category.

American Heart Association past president Dr. Gordon Tomaselli said that's a pretty generous definition of light smoking. "A pack a day for 32 years, that's not light," he said.

Light-to-moderate smokers who more recently quit had just a 14 percent chance of dying from heart disease, heart attack or stroke, compared with a 22 percent chance for former heavy smokers. People who never smoked had a 17 percent chance of death due to heart Click Here!">health problems.

These were somewhat surprising results, given the age of the patients and their smoking history, Tomaselli said. "The benefit was in a group we weren't sure would benefit as much as people who had smoked less or were younger," he said.

However, both light and heavy smokers continued to have a higher risk of death from other causes, including cancer and emphysema, Ahmed said.

Light smokers had a 29 percent chance of dying from a cause not related to their heart Click Here!">health, while heavy smokers had a 33 percent chance. Nonsmokers had a 22 percent chance, the investigators found.

"Yes, you get cardiovascular benefit [from quitting], but another part of your overall risk remains high even if you smoke at so-called light levels," Ahmed said.

Overall risk of death was 39 percent for nonsmokers, 43 percent for former light smokers and 55 percent for former heavy smokers in the study.

Ahmed and Tomaselli said smokers should heavily weigh the heart benefits of quitting. Heart disease is the number-one cause of death in the United States, taking nearly 600,000 lives a year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"Cardiovascular disease is the biggest killer, and you can reduce that risk by smoking less and quitting early," Ahmed said. "Smoking is the single most preventable risk for heart disease."

Tomaselli said this study gives doctors a leg up when seniors argue that they've been smoking for too long and it's too late for them to quit.

"You can say to them with confidence that if you quit now, you can realize some benefits for cardiovascular Click Here!">health," Tomaselli said. "It's a reason even in older patients for doctors to be aggressive in recommending smoking cessation."

Because this study was presented at a medical meeting, the data and conclusions should be viewed as preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

Copyright © 2013 Click Here!">HealthDay. All rights reserved. SOURCES: Ali Ahmed, M.D., senior researcher and professor of cardiovascular disease, School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham; Gordon Tomaselli, M.D., past president, American Heart Association; Nov. 20, 2013, presentation, American Heart Association annual meeting, Dallas

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Recessions May Contribute to Mental Decline Years Later: Study

THURSDAY, Nov. 21, 2013 (Click Here!">HealthDay News) -- Recessions can have long-lasting effects, and they may not be just financial.

A new study has found that people affected by an economic downturn in middle age may be at risk for mental decline later in life.

Researchers examined data from 12,000 people aged 50 and older in 11 European countries.

Men aged 50 to 74 who lived through four or more recessions by the time they were in their mid- to late-40s had lower scores on mental abilities such as memory, speech and math than those who did not experience a recession, the investigators found.

Their findings were published online Nov. 20 in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Click Here!">Health.

The impact of recessions on women appeared to occur at an earlier age, according to a journal news release.

Job loss and having to take part-time work or lower-paying, lower-status jobs may explain the toll that recessions can take on people's mental abilities, suggested researcher Anja Leist, at the University of Luxembourg, and colleagues.

Previous research has suggested that good working conditions may help people build up a mental "reserve," which in turn affects mental performance at a later age.

Although the study found an association between economic recessions in mid-life and later declines in thinking skills, it did not prove a cause-and-effect relationship.

-- Robert Preidt
Copyright © 2013 Click Here!">HealthDay. All rights reserved. SOURCE: Journal of Epidemiology and Community Click Here!">Health, news release, Nov. 20, 2013

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See Doctor Before Buying Hearing Aid, FDA Advises

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 20 (Click Here!">HealthDay News) -- Feel like you're losing your hearing? It's important to see a doctor before you start looking for a hearing aid or amplifier, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says.

"The problem might be as simple as a wax impaction blocking the ear canal, which is easily treated, or at the other end of the spectrum, it could be something as serious as a tumor pressing on the hearing nerve," Dr. Eric Mann, clinical deputy director of the FDA's division of ophthalmic, and ear, nose and throat devices, said in an agency news release.

Many cases of hearing loss are related to aging and exposure to loud noises, and a hearing aid might be the solution. While a prescription is not required for most kinds of hearing aids, it's wise to see a Click Here!">health care professional to rule out other medical causes of hearing loss, and to ensure that hearing aids are properly fitted and come with follow-up care.

Your primary care doctor may refer you to an ear, nose and throat specialist -- an otolaryngologist -- for evaluation and diagnosis of hearing loss, the FDA said. It also noted that two types of hearing Click Here!">health professionals are authorized to measure hearing loss and dispense hearing aids:

Audiologists, who must have at least a master's degree and specialized training in hearing loss.Hearing aid dispensers, who are licensed by states under varied requirements.

Consumers shouldn't deal with businesses that say there is no need for a medical exam before buying a hearing aid.

If you're shopping for a hearing aid, the FDA says you should:

Find a licensed hearing aid professional who offers products from several manufacturers.Ask whether there is a trial period. Most states require 30-60 day trial periods. Find out what exactly is refundable if you return the hearing aid during the trial period.Examine the details of the warranty, including whether you'll get a free loaner if your device needs serving and repair.Check whether the price quoted includes testing and follow-up services.

-- Robert Preidt
Copyright © 2013 Click Here!">HealthDay. All rights reserved. SOURCE: U.S. Food and Drug Administration, news release, Nov. 6, 2013

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Too Much Testosterone May Be Unhealthy for Older Men

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 20, 2013 (Click Here!">HealthDay News) -- Older men with higher or lower testosterone levels are more likely to die early than those with mid-range levels of the male sex hormone, a new study suggests.

It was already known that low testosterone levels were associated with Click Here!">health problems, but this study suggests that high levels of the hormone are also a problem.

Researchers measured the testosterone levels of nearly 3,700 Australian men, aged 70 to 89, between 2001 and 2004. They then checked to see how many were still alive in December 2010. Those with the lowest testosterone levels had the highest death rate, followed by those with the highest levels.

Men with mid-range levels of testosterone had the highest survival rate, according to the study, which was published recently in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

"When the body metabolizes testosterone, it produces dihydrotestosterone (DHT), which is tied to a lower risk of dying from ischemic heart disease," study author Bu Beng Yeap, of the University of Western Australia, said in a journal news release. In ischemic heart disease, there is reduced blood supply to the heart.

"Having the right amount of testosterone and higher levels of DHT might indicate that these men are in better Click Here!">health overall, or it could help them maintain good Click Here!">health as they grow older," he said.

Although the study found an association between high or low testosterone levels and increased death rates in men, it did not establish a cause-and-effect relationship.

"Sex hormones are an important predictor of mortality in older men, but we haven't determined if treatments to change testosterone and DHT levels can alter these outcomes," Yeap said.

He said additional research could help find ways to use this information to improve older men's Click Here!">health.

-- Robert Preidt
Copyright © 2013 Click Here!">HealthDay. All rights reserved. SOURCES: Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, news release, Nov. 20, 2013

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What Not to Do for Migraines

By Mary Elizabeth Dallas
Click Here!">HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, Nov. 21, 2013 (Click Here!">HealthDay News) -- Prescription pain medications should not be the first treatment for migraines. And doctors shouldn't routinely order brain scans for patients with these debilitating headaches, according to new guidelines.

Taking a stand on common but often unnecessary or potentially risky tests and treatments for migraine, the American Headache Society published new recommendations in the November-December issue of the journal Headache.

"Our aim is to encourage doctors and patients to think carefully about medical care that can be harmful or unnecessary," said Dr. Elizabeth Loder, president of the American Headache Society. "We didn't approach this with cost uppermost in mind. The goal is to help address the problems of low-value care."

Opioid painkillers, such as OxyContin and Vicodin, and the barbiturate butalbital pose serious long-term risks, the society said.

"The effectiveness of opioids is not the question," explained Loder, chief of the division of headache and pain in the neurology department at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. "The problem is that even if they are effective in a single attack, for many people migraine is a chronic disorder that they will have for many decades."

The risk of dependency associated with these drugs is evidenced by the growing epidemic of prescription painkiller abuse in the United States. Nearly three out of four prescription drug overdoses are caused by opioid painkillers, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"This ends up being a second problem patients have," Loder noted.

Using too much of these pain medications can also lead to a condition called medication overuse headache, said another expert.

"There is a lot of research that opioids actually increase the sensitivity to pain in the head," said Dr. Rebecca Erwin Wells, assistant professor of neurology at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C. Medication overuse headaches are difficult to treat, Wells added.

In addition, the guidelines indicate that brain scan studies should not be performed on patients with stable headaches that meet criteria for migraine. And CT scans should not be used in a non-emergency situation as a diagnostic tool for headache patients when MRI is available.

"MRI can diagnose more conditions that may cause headache that CT scans can miss," Loder explained.

Also, unlike CT scans, MRIs use powerful magnets and do not expose patients to radiation. "MRI is better value and safer," Loder concluded.

The headache specialists also said that surgery targeting migraine trigger points is still experimental and not recommended outside of a clinical trial.

"We lack sufficient evidence to say the benefits of surgery outweigh the potential harms or that it is even helpful," Loder cautioned. Before new drugs can be approved for use, they must go through rigorous testing that meets a certain standard, she noted, "and the standard for surgical interventions that are irreversible should not be lower."

Finally, prolonged or frequent use of over-the-counter pain medications for headache is also unwise, the guidelines state. People shouldn't take these drugs more than twice a week, noted Wells.

Loder agreed. "It's not good for the kidneys, liver or stomach to be taking these medications on a daily basis," Loder said. "There are a lot of strategies that can work that are better than just grabbing handfuls of Motrin."

So what does work for most migraine sufferers? Triptans are a family of drugs used to stop migraines once they start, Loder said. And preventive therapies such as biofeedback can be used on a regular basis by people who experience frequent migraines, she added. Biofeedback is a technique that people can learn to use to help change how their body responds to physical symptoms.

Getting enough sleep and not skipping meals can also help keep migraine pain at bay, she suggested.

Migraine treatment and perceptions of the condition itself have changed dramatically over the years. Scientists now believe migraine has a genetic link and that the disorder involves brain chemistry and nerve pathways.

"We understand a lot more about different kinds of headache and have specific treatments that work," Loder said.

It's estimated that 12 percent of Americans get migraine headaches, three times as many women as men.

Copyright © 2013 Click Here!">HealthDay. All rights reserved. SOURCES: Elizabeth Loder, M.D., M.P.H., president, American Headache Society, chief, division of headache and pain, department of neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston; Rebecca Erwin Wells, M.D., M.P.H., assistant professor, neurology, Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, Winston-Salem, N.C.; November-December 2013, Headache

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Health Tip: Should I Work During Pregnancy?

(Click Here!">HealthDay News) -- Some pregnant women worry if it's safe to continue working. The answer, experts say, depends on your Click Here!">health and the type of work you do.

The American Academy of Family Physicians says there may be cause for concern if your job forces you to:

Stand for long periods.Lift very heavy objects.Be exposed to lead or other heavy metals, such as copper or mercury.

The good news: Working at a computer is thought to pose no danger, the academy says. But you should consult your doctor about your work environment, the group advises.

-- Diana Kohnle
Copyright © 2013 Click Here!">HealthDay. All rights reserved.

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Obama 'Sorry' Some People Losing Health Coverage

By Karen Pallarito
Click Here!">HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, Nov. 8 (Click Here!">HealthDay News) -- President Barack Obama said he's "sorry" some Americans are losing their insurance coverage as a result of his signature Click Here!">health-reform law, but his administration is pressing ahead with the law's implementation.

That implementation includes a barrage of fixes to the troubled Click Here!">HealthCare.gov website.

It's estimated that 5 percent of Americans have individual Click Here!">health insurance policies, and many of these people are receiving cancellation notices as insurers switch to plans that comply with new Click Here!">health-reform requirements.

Asked about his promise that people who like their Click Here!">health-care coverage can keep it, Obama on Thursday told NBC News: "I am sorry that they are finding themselves in this situation based on assurances they got from me. We've got to work hard to make sure that they know we hear them and we are going to do everything we can to deal with folks who find themselves in a tough position as a consequence of this."

The president's admission followed a week of turmoil over the continued rollout of the Affordable Care Act, his signature domestic policy achievement.

Starting in 2014, the law is intended to help 30 million people get Click Here!">health insurance. It is also designed to protect all Americans from abusive Click Here!">health insurance practices, like being dropped from coverage due to pre-existing Click Here!">health conditions.

Under the law, most Americans must have Click Here!">health insurance coverage or pay federal tax penalties.

The administration insists that the federal Click Here!">health insurance website, Click Here!">HealthCare.gov, will be "running smoothly" for a majority of Americans by Nov. 30. The site is where consumers in 36 states can shop for insurance plans that best suit them. The remaining 14 states and the District of Columbia run their own sites, and they've reported fewer problems.

But nearly six weeks after its Oct. 1 launch, fixes to Click Here!">HealthCare.gov continue day and night, the administration reported. And the Click Here!">health-reform law, sometimes referred to as Obamacare, continues to face intense scrutiny. In the past week:

U.S. Click Here!">Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Marilyn Tavenner appeared before two separate Senate committees, responding to pointed questions on Click Here!">health policy cancellations, continuing snafus with the federal Click Here!">health insurance website and concerns about data security.House Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp, R-Mich., subpoenaed CMS to provide data on enrollment in the new Click Here!">health insurance exchanges by the close of business on Friday, Nov. 8.Internal Obama administration memos released by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee described confusion and chaos behind the screens of the troubled roll-out, ABC News reported. A bipartisan bill introduced in the Senate would delay implementation of the so-called "individual mandate" for insurance coverage for one year. But a letter to members of Congress from the American Academy of Actuaries warned that delaying the mandate or extending the open-enrollment period could increase Click Here!">health insurance premiums in 2015. The CMS reconfigured its information technology response so that multiple teams of experts can make repairs on the Click Here!">HealthCare.gov website simultaneously, Julie Bataille, director of CMS' Office of Communications, said at a news briefing on Thursday.

Next Wednesday, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will hear from the administration's information technology experts. One issue that's likely to come up: the security of Americans' private information.

Documents released by the oversight committee indicate that Click Here!">HealthCare.gov went live Oct. 1, despite insufficient privacy testing.

"For an online system like an exchange that captures highly sensitive information -- like Social Security number, address, income -- data security is of the utmost importance," said Kev Coleman, head of data research and security at Click Here!">HealthPocket, a Sunnyvale, Calif.-based website operator that ranks Click Here!">health insurance plans.

"My advice for consumers who are watching this process is they should wait for a public announcement of the completion of all security testing of the exchange prior to providing confidential information within the system," he said.

But people still need to comparison shop to find the best Click Here!">health plan, and they can do that within and outside of the exchange, Coleman added.

Mark Colwell, director of consumer marketing at Chicago-based GoClick Here!">Health, which operates an online Click Here!">health insurance portal, agreed that consumers should not wait to review their options.

"It's honestly too hard to tell if all of the [federal government's] technology issues will be solved by the end of the month, so we'll be focused on helping people choose the best plan option and get them ready to enroll when it's available," he said.

Copyright © 2013 Click Here!">HealthDay. All rights reserved. SOURCES: Kev Coleman, head, data research and security, Click Here!">HealthPocket, Sunnyvale, Calif.; Mark Colwell, director, consumer marketing, GoClick Here!">Health, Chicago; Nov. 7, 2013, news briefing with: Julie Bataille, director, office of communications, U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; Nov. 5 and 6, 2013, hearings, U.S. Senate Finance and Click Here!">Health, Education, Pensions and Labor commitees; ABC News; Nov. 5, 2013, news release, House Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp; Nov. 7, 2013, news release, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.); Nov. 5, 2013, letter, American Academy of Actuaries, Washington, D.C.

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Poorer Women Delay Examination of Breast Lumps, Study Suggests

MONDAY, Nov. 11 (Click Here!">HealthDay News) -- Younger women with limited finances are more likely than others to delay seeking medical attention after finding an abnormality in their breast, according to a new study.

The study of nearly 600 women recently diagnosed with breast cancer suggested that strategies to improve early diagnosis of breast cancer should take a woman's financial situation into account.

"Because we discovered that women who are less financially comfortable are more likely to delay seeking medical attention for breast abnormalities that later are diagnosed as breast cancer, it appears that economic disparity may be an important consideration in future development of interventions to reduce delays," said study leader Dr. Kathryn Ruddy, of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

The study was published online Nov. 11 in the journal Cancer.

"The findings may lead to research focusing on whether reducing co-pays and hidden costs of seeking medical care -- such as parking charges, child-care expenses and lost wages -- may improve the timeliness of diagnosis in this population," Ruddy said in a journal news release.

The survey of women aged 40 and younger revealed that 80 percent of them found an abnormality in their breast on their own. Seventeen percent waited at least three months before seeing a doctor.

Moreover, 12 percent of the women who delayed seeing a doctor experienced a lapse of at least 90 days between that appointment and receiving their diagnosis.

Major delays in seeking treatment affect only a minority of women who detect their own breast cancer, the researchers said. As a result, other factors, such as the type of tumor, likely have a bigger influence on breast cancer results.

-- Mary Elizabeth Dallas
Copyright © 2013 Click Here!">HealthDay. All rights reserved. SOURCE: Cancer, news release, Nov. 11, 2013

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Estrogen After Menopause May Blunt Stress' Effects on Memory

By Kathleen Doheny
Click Here!">HealthDay Reporter

SUNDAY, Nov. 10 (Click Here!">HealthDay News) -- Estrogen therapy after menopause may help reduce the memory problems associated with stress in some older women, a small new study suggests.

"Those higher levels of estrogen are related to less release of stress hormone after a stressful event," said study researcher Alexandra Ycaza, a doctoral candidate in psychology at the University of Southern California.

Ycaza is scheduled to present the findings Sunday at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, in San Diego.

The use of hormone-replacement therapy after menopause declined sharply in the United States after a clinical trial looking at estrogen and progestin therapy was halted in 2002. The researchers found that the benefits (reductions in colon cancer, hot flashes and hip fractures) were outweighed by the risks (heart attack, stroke and blood clots).

Many experts recommend women in menopause take the lowest dose of hormone therapy possible for the briefest time only if they are having bothersome symptoms.

For the study, Ycaza evaluated women who were part of a larger study that looked at the differences between taking hormone-replacement therapy soon after menopause versus later, as well as the therapy's effect on the cardiovascular system. That study assigned women to one of two groups -- those taking hormone replacement and those not -- and then followed them for nearly five years. For her research, Ycaza focused on 42 of these women.

In random order, she exposed them either to a stressful situation -- putting their hand in ice water for three minutes -- or a non-stressful situation. During each of the sessions, she measured levels of estrogen and the stress hormone cortisol.

After each situation, the women took tests to gauge their working memory, such as remembering lists of words while reading sentences and making decisions on whether sentences were grammatically correct.

Ycaza looked at the performance and then looked to see if estrogen and cortisol levels were a factor. "Our women in the bottom level [of estrogen] showed a decrease in the number of words they could remember after the stress [situation]," she said.

They remembered about 50 percent of the words after being stressed. "If they are not being stressed, they remember about 60 percent."

The higher-estrogen women remembered 55 percent of the words each time, whether stressed or not before the test.

The cortisol levels of the lower-estrogen women doubled from before the stressful exposure to after. The cortisol levels in the higher-estrogen women increased very little after the stressful exposure.

It wasn't known in the new study which women were taking hormone-replacement therapy. The research did not prove a cause-and-effect relationship between a woman having higher hormone levels and not having a reduction in memory.

Older women can turn to other approaches besides hormone therapy to protect memory, said Dr. James Burke, director of the Memory Disorders Clinic at Duke University Medical Center, in Durham, N.C. Burke was not part of the study.

"Research generally supports daily Click Here!">exercise, intellectual stimulation, social engagement and a Mediterranean Click Here!">diet," Burke said.

"The results are intriguing, but the study was small," he said. The ice-water plunge, he added, "is not the same as real-life stressors."

Another expert said hormone treatment would only be viable for certain women.

"The established risks of hormone-replacement therapy for the average post-menopausal woman are not worth the potential benefits," said Dr. Gary Kennedy, director of geriatric psychiatry at the Montefiore Medical Center in New York City, who reviewed the study findings. "However, for that minority of women who are experiencing severe symptoms, it is worth the risk to maintain function."

Click Here!">Exercise would help women withstand the effects of stress, he said.

The study received funding from the U.S. National Institute on Aging. Because it was presented at a medical meeting, the conclusions should be viewed as preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

Copyright © 2013 Click Here!">HealthDay. All rights reserved. SOURCES: Alexandra Ycaza, Ph.D. candidate in psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles; Gary Kennedy, M.D., director, geriatric psychiatry, Montefiore Medical Center, New York City; James Burke, M.D., Ph.D., director, Memory Disorders Clinic, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, N.C.; Nov. 10, 2013, presentation, Society for Neuroscience annual meeting, San Diego

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Can Meditation Help Paralyzed People Sync Their Brains to Computers?

SUNDAY, Nov. 10 (Click Here!">HealthDay News) -- Yoga and meditation may help paralyzed people learn how to link their brain with a computer, according to a new study.

Systems that connect brains with computers are increasingly used to help patients with physical disabilities like paralysis. But the length of training has been a major obstacle to success, study lead author Bin He, director of the Center for Neuroengineering at the University of Minnesota, said in a Society for Neuroscience news release.

"This research tells us that we can significantly cut this time with practices like yoga and meditation to make these tools more successful for more patients who need these devices," He said.

The study was scheduled for presentation this weekend at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, in San Diego.

Researchers studied 12 people who practiced techniques such as yoga and meditation and a control group of 19 people who did not. All of the participants were trained to use an electroencephalography-based brain computer program, which used sensors on the scalp to pick up electrical impulses from the brain.

The volunteers imagined moving their hands, and the computer program translated that brain activity into the movement of a cursor on the computer screen.

The participants who practiced yoga and meditation learned the brain-computer interface faster than the control group. Also, 75 percent of them became competent with the program, compared to 42 percent of people in the control group.

The researchers said their findings suggest that training in yoga and meditation techniques could help people master the computer-assisted technology in order to help them regain functions lost to injury or disease.

Data and conclusions presented at meetings typically are considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed medical journal.

-- Robert Preidt
Copyright © 2013 Click Here!">HealthDay. All rights reserved. SOURCE: Society for Neuroscience, news release, Nov. 10, 2013

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White House Boosts Insurance Coverage for Mental Illness

By Steven Reinberg and Margaret Farley Steele
Click Here!">HealthDay Reporters

FRIDAY, Nov. 8 (Click Here!">HealthDay News) -- U.S. Click Here!">health officials unveiled long-awaited rules Friday that require insurance companies to cover treatment for mental illnesses and addiction the same way they cover physical illnesses.

Secretary of Click Here!">Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, who announced the regulations at a Click Here!">health conference in Atlanta, said this is "the largest expansion of behavioral Click Here!">health benefits in a generation."

The regulations will make the 2008 Mental Click Here!">Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act a reality, and fulfill a generation-long effort to improve benefits and treatment for people with mental Click Here!">health issues or substance abuse problems.

Co-pays, treatment limits and deductibles can't be more stringent for people with mental illness than for people with a physical illness, under the new rules. This means insurance providers "can't say you can only get substance-abuse treatment in state but you can go anywhere for medical/surgical" treatment, a senior Obama administration official told The New York Times, which broke the story on Friday.

Nor can insurers deny coverage for someone with a history of depression, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, anxiety or other common conditions, mental Click Here!">health experts said.

An estimated one-quarter of Americans have some form of mental illness, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

This "incredibly important law, combined with the Affordable Care Act, will expand and protect behavioral Click Here!">health benefits for more than 62 million Americans," Sebelius said. "People who either have insurance coverage now and have no mental Click Here!">health coverage or where the Affordable Care Act fills in those gaps for people who have no insurance at all, they will be able to access affordable care."

Mental Click Here!">health advocates welcomed Sebelius' announcement.

People with mental illness have long faced discrimination in Click Here!">health care through unjust and often illegal barriers to care, Dr. Jeffrey Lieberman, president of the American Psychiatric Association, said in a statement. This final rule "provides a crucial step forward to ensure that patients receive the benefits they deserve and are entitled to under the law," he said.

Lieberman added he is hopeful there will be strong monitoring and enforcement of the law by states and the federal government.

Dr. Victor Fornari, director of the division of child/adolescent psychiatry at North Shore-LIJ Click Here!">Health System in New Hyde Park, N.Y., said, "We have been fighting for parity for a very long time."

The way Fornari views it, "Every effort to have increased access to Click Here!">health care, including mental Click Here!">health care, is progress in a civilized society."

The rules will affect most Americans with Click Here!">health insurance, including Click Here!">health plans bought under the Affordable Care Act of 2010. However, the regulations may not apply to people covered by Medicaid, the publicly funded insurance program for the poor, or Medicare, which provides coverage for seniors, the Times reported.

Simon Rego, director of psychology training at Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City, said the effects of the new rules will be wide-reaching.

"Ultimately issuing these regulations is a wise investment that should pay dividends down the road in terms of improved quality of life for the population and cost-savings for the insurers," said Rego.

"We in the mental Click Here!">health field have known for some time that providing patients with mental Click Here!">health and substance abuse disorders the care they need can have tremendous benefits in a number of other key areas," he said. Decreased absenteeism and increased productivity at work, greater satisfaction in relationships and housing situations, and more successful treatment of physical/medical illnesses are just some of these benefits, Rego said.

While Fornari applauded the effort to attain parity, he said he was concerned that improved access to mental Click Here!">health care might strain the system. "We do not have enough mental Click Here!">health practitioners in the country," he said.

"At least this would allow people the equal possibility to seek care, and now the question is going to be finding the appropriate care," he added.

Expanding access to mental Click Here!">health coverage is also part of President Obama's strategy for reducing gun violence in the United States. In the wake of the mass shootings last year in Connecticut and Colorado, the Obama administration sought support to improve mental Click Here!">health benefits as part of the effort to curb killings.

Former Rep. Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island, son of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts, co-sponsored the 2008 law. He said the rules will also provide much-needed help to veterans "for the invisible wounds they have brought home from Iraq and Afghanistan," according to the Times.

Copyright © 2013 Click Here!">HealthDay. All rights reserved. SOURCES: Victor Fornari, M.D., director, division of child/adolescent psychiatry, North Shore-LIJ Click Here!">Health System, New Hyde Park, N.Y.; Simon Rego, Psy.D., director of psychology training, Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York City; Nov. 8. 2013, news release, U.S. Department of Click Here!">Health and Human Services; The New York Times

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Sugary Soda Habit May Harm Kidneys, Study Suggests

By Denise Mann
Click Here!">HealthDay Reporter

SATURDAY, Nov. 9 (Click Here!">HealthDay News) -- If you have a penchant for drinking sugary sodas, you might be raising your risk for kidney disease, new research suggests.

Employees at a university in Japan who consumed more than two sodas a day were more likely to have protein in their urine when compared to those who had fewer or no sodas on a daily basis. Protein in the urine is considered an early, but reversible, marker of kidney damage.

The new study showed an association between drinking soda and an increased risk of kidney damage, but it didn't necessarily prove that soda is the culprit.

The study included more than 12,000 university employees who underwent their annual check-ups at their Click Here!">health center. As part of the exam, their urine was tested for evidence of protein.

Nearly 11 percent of employees who said they drank two or more soft drinks per day had protein in their urine during three years of follow-up. In contrast, 8.4 percent of those who did not any drink soda and roughly 9 percent of those who drank about one can a day tested positive for protein in their urine.

A related study in rats found that moderate consumption of a sugar called fructose increases the kidney's sensitivity to a protein that regulates salt balance. According to the Case Western Reserve University researchers, this leads to increased salt reabsorption by cells in the kidneys, which might explain why soda consumption has been linked to diabetes, obesity, kidney failure and high blood pressure.

Both studies were scheduled for presentation Saturday at the annual meeting of the American Society of Nephrology, in Atlanta. Research presented at meetings typically is considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed medical journal.

Experts said the new findings add to a growing body of evidence on the unClick Here!">healthy side effects of drinking too much soda.

Protein in the urine may be a marker for more than just kidney disease, said Dr. Orlando Gutierrez, a kidney specialist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. "We now understand that protein in the urine may be a really early marker for heart disease, stroke and heart failure," he said.

"We can assume that this is a Click Here!">healthy population, so I think the results are relative to Click Here!">healthier people, not just those with kidney disease," Gutierrez said.

Dr. Anil Agarwal, a kidney specialist at Ohio State University, agreed. "The new study suggests that even individuals with normal kidney function are at risk for damage if they drink too much soda," he said.

And soft drinks sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup may be the most dangerous.

"Fructose is sweeter than glucose, and doesn't cause feelings of satiety," he said. It may cause damage via a different pathway than glucose. Instead of increasing blood-sugar levels, fructose may affect the kidneys, he said.

"There is no safe amount of soda," Agarwal said. "If you look at the recommended amounts of sugar we can safely consume every day, one can of soda exceeds the maximum level."

American Heart Association guidelines state that the recommended daily sugar intake is 9 teaspoons for adult men, 5 teaspoons for adult women and 3 teaspoons for children. A 12-ounce can of non-Click Here!">diet soda has about 7 teaspoons of sugar, Agarwal said.

Dr. Jaime Uribarri, a kidney specialist at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City, said the new findings "reaffirm an association between soda and Click Here!">health problems." He added that Click Here!">diet soda also can cause Click Here!">health problems.

The bottom line? "Drink water instead of soda," Uribarri said.

More information

The National Kidney Foundation has more on kidney disease.

Copyright © 2013 Click Here!">HealthDay. All rights reserved. SOURCES: Orlando Gutierrez, M.D., nephrologist, University of Alabama at Birmingham; Anil Agarwal, M.D., nephrologist, Ohio State University, Columbus; Jaime Uribarri, M.D., professor, medicine and nephrology, Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York City; Nov. 9, 2013, presentations, American Society of Nephrology annual meeting, Atlanta

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Earlier Onset of Periods May Not Mean Earlier Sex

By Amy Norton
Click Here!">HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, Nov. 11 (Click Here!">HealthDay News) -- Girls who start menstruating at a younger-than-average age do not have sex earlier than their peers, according to a new study.

Australian researchers found that among 554 girls followed through childhood, those who started their monthly periods before age 12 did not get an earlier start on their sex lives.

One-quarter had had sexual intercourse by the time they were 15 years old, versus about 29 percent of girls who'd started their menstrual periods at age 12 or 13 -- which is considered the average age range.

Typically, the study found, girls who got their first period early waited longer before having sex -- about five years versus less than four years among girls who started menstruating at the average age.

"Our study shows that earlier physical maturation doesn't necessarily mean a younger girl will initiate sexual behavior," said lead researcher Jennifer Marino, a research fellow at the University of Melbourne in Australia.

Some past studies have linked earlier menstruation to earlier sexual activity. But, Marino said, those have generally been of older girls and women who were asked to recall how old they were when they started their periods and started having sex.

In this study, girls were followed from childhood to age 20, and they and their parents answered periodic questionnaires; some girls kept diaries to record their periods.

Still, the findings, reported online Nov. 11 in Pediatrics, do not prove there's no link between earlier puberty and earlier sexual activity, one expert says.

"The age of menarche and the age of onset of puberty are not the same thing," said Dr. Renee Boynton-Jarrett, an assistant professor of pediatrics at Boston University School of Medicine who studies pubertal development.

"Menarche" refers to a girl's first menstrual period, and that actually happens late in puberty, Boynton-Jarrett explained. For girls, the first sign of puberty is the beginning of breast development.

"In the U.S., the age of onset of breast development is declining," Boynton-Jarrett noted. "And it would be interesting to see if the age of pubertal onset is associated with first sexual activity."

Just last week, a U.S. study found that black girls typically start developing breasts at about age 8, while other girls start at around age 9. The researchers found that among white girls, breast development is happening sooner now than in the 1990s -- and a rising rate of obesity seemed to largely explain the shift.

It's important to understand whether that earlier development is related to earlier sexual activity, Boynton-Jarrett said. If it is, she noted, it might be wise to start sex education in schools a bit sooner.

Another limit of the current study is that it looked at a group of mostly white girls from Western Australia, and it's not clear if the findings would extend to more diverse groups, said Boynton-Jarrett.

Marino agreed. "It's possible that the U.S., which has a different racial, ethnic and cultural composition than Australia, could have different findings," she said. Race and ethnicity influence the timing of puberty, Marino noted, and a whole host of factors -- including family and social influences -- would affect girls' sexual activity.

But that's also good news for parents. Even if earlier puberty were to be generally linked to earlier sex, that would be far from the only factor in any one girl's odds of becoming sexually active at a young age, Boynton-Jarrett said.

Regardless of when a child starts physically maturing, parents should talk to their kids about sex, Marino said.

"Although some people think that teaching kids about sex will 'give them ideas,' decades of data show otherwise," Marino said. "Starting conversations early makes it more likely that teenagers will talk to their parents if they have questions later on, or find themselves in a tricky situation."

Most of the research on the timing of puberty and sexual activity has focused on girls. Judging the stages of puberty in boys is simply more difficult from a practical standpoint, Marino noted.

But, she said, a couple of small studies involving boys have suggested a link between earlier puberty and earlier sexual activity.

Copyright © 2013 Click Here!">HealthDay. All rights reserved. SOURCES: Jennifer Marino, Ph.D., M.P.H., research fellow, obstetrics and gynecology, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia; Renee Boynton-Jarrett, M.D., Sc.D., assistant professor, pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine; December 2013, Pediatrics

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Gun Violence in PG-13 Movies Tripled Since 1985, Study Finds

By Randy Dotinga
Click Here!">HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, Nov. 11 (Click Here!">HealthDay News) -- The amount of gun violence in PG-13 movies has tripled since 1985, the year the film rating category was introduced, a new study shows.

Not only that, violent gun scenes have become more common in PG-13 movies, where children aged 13 and under can only see the film with a parent, than they are in R-rated movies, the researchers added. R-rated movies require people under 17 to be accompanied by an adult.

But experts noted that the findings do not definitively link more exposure to gun violence on the screen to more violent behavior among kids.

"Guns are becoming more prevalent in films, but there is no evidence to suggest this portrayal is related to violence in the real world," said Patrick Markey, an associate professor of psychology at Villanova University in Pennsylvania.

Complicating the picture, other studies have shown that homicides, robberies and the most severe types of assaults have actually declined in recent years even as research suggests gun violence in films grew over the same time period, added Markey, who was not involved with the new study.

In this latest study, the researchers examined a database that details violent scenes in 945 films, all selected from the most profitable 30 movies from each year between 1950 and 2012. The investigators found that 94 percent of 420 movies made since 1985, the year the PG-13 rating was introduced, included scenes that they defined as violent because a person tried to physically hurt another.

Then the researchers counted incidents of gun violence, which they defined as using hand-held weapons that fire bullets or energy beams.

"Maybe movies that display gun violence should be rated R instead of PG-13," said study author Brad Bushman, a professor of communication and psychology at Ohio State University. "That's a possible policy decision that could be made based on such findings."

The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) has come under fire in recent years for being much more accepting of violence in movies than sexual content. An MPAA spokeswoman declined to comment for this story.

The study doesn't describe the context of the scenes of gun violence or address the consequences of gun use, for instance. But Bushman pointed to research that suggests people become more aggressive after just reading about guns.

However, more than 200 people from the academic world signed and sent a statement to the American Psychological Association in September saying the group has wrongly relied upon "inconsistent or weak evidence" in its attempts to connect violence in the media to real-life violence.

"There's very little good evidence linking media violence to violence in real life," said Chris Ferguson, chair of the department of psychology at Stetson University in Florida and one of the statement's signers. "I've conducted a number of studies myself, and have found no evidence linking media violence to actual youth violence. The same has been true for studies by other groups."

Ferguson added that "youth violence is at its lowest level in 40 years, no matter what age of child we are talking about."

Still, a recent study suggested that while it's fairly rare for emergency rooms to treat gunshot wounds in kids, 8 percent of the children who are wounded by guns die.

Ferguson called the new study "quite alarmist," although he thinks it's likely that movies have indeed become more violent.

"The question for me is 'so what?'" he said. "In the face of massive declines in violence in our society, I have trouble seeing the 'so what.' There's not much here for parents or Hollywood to worry about."

The study appears online Nov. 11 and in the December print issue of the journal Pediatrics.

Copyright © 2013 Click Here!">HealthDay. All rights reserved. SOURCES: Patrick Markey, Ph.D., associate professor, psychology, Villanova University, Villanova, Pa.; Brad Bushman, Ph.D., professor, communication and psychology, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio; Chris Ferguson, Ph.D., associate professor and chair, department of psychology, Stetson University, DeLand, Fla.; December 2013, Pediatrics

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Gelatin Allergy May Mean Extra Care Is Needed With Flu Shot

FRIDAY, Nov. 8 (Click Here!">HealthDay News) -- If you're allergic to gummy bears or marshmallows, you may need to be careful when getting a flu shot.

Those sweet treats contain gelatin and can trigger a reaction in people with gelatin allergy. Flu shots also contain gelatin and can cause a mild to severe reaction in people with a gelatin allergy, one expert said.

"Gelatin is used in the flu shot, as well as other vaccines, as a stabilizer. Because it is found in the vaccine, those with a known allergy to gelatin can experience allergic reactions, such as hives, sneezing and difficulty breathing," allergist Dr. Stephanie Albin said in an American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) news release.

"Because of this, precautions should be taken, such as having a board-certified allergist administer the vaccine in a person with known gelatin allergy in case a reaction occurs," Albin added.

The problem was highlighted in a case report presented Friday at the ACAAI's annual meeting. Research presented at medical meetings should be viewed as preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

Gelatin can contain proteins derived from cows, pigs or fish. It is found in a variety of foods and drugs.

"Gelatin allergy is very rare," ACAAI President Dr. Richard Weber said in the news release. "Many food intolerances can be mistaken as allergies. Those who believe they might have an allergy should be tested and diagnosed by an allergist before taking extreme avoidance measures or skipping vaccinations. The flu shot is an important vaccine and can even be lifesaving for individuals that are at an increased risk for severe side effects associated with the flu."

Many people mistakenly believe that people with an egg allergy should not get a flu shot. However, the ACAAI says that even people with a severe egg allergy can receive a flu vaccination without special precautions.

-- Robert Preidt
Copyright © 2013 Click Here!">HealthDay. All rights reserved. SOURCE: American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, news release, Nov. 8, 2013

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Steaming Broccoli Preserves Potential Power to Fight Cancer: Study

FRIDAY, Nov. 8 (Click Here!">HealthDay News) -- The way you prepare broccoli and related vegetables can alter their potentially cancer-fighting powers, new research shows.

Broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables are a good source of sulforaphane, a phytochemical (naturally occurring plant compound) that has shown strong anti-cancer properties in lab studies.

However, the enzyme myrosinase in broccoli is needed for sulforaphane to form. If the myrosinase is destroyed, sulforaphane cannot form.

Researchers compared boiled, microwaved and steamed broccoli, and found that steaming broccoli for up to five minutes was the best way to retain its myrosinase. Boiling and microwaving broccoli for one minute or less destroyed the majority of the enzyme, according to Elizabeth Jeffery, a researcher at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Jeffery also found that if you do eat well-cooked broccoli, you can still get sulforaphane to form by adding raw foods containing myrosinase to your meal. Study participants ate a broccoli supplement with no active myrosinase. When some of them ate a second food with myrosinase, their blood and urine levels of sulforaphane were significantly higher than those who did not eat the second food with myrosinase.

The findings were presented Thursday at the annual meeting of the American Institute for Cancer Research in Bethesda, Md. Findings presented at medical meetings should be viewed as preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

"Mustard, radish, arugula, wasabi and other uncooked cruciferous vegetables such as coleslaw all contain myrosinase, and we've seen this can restore the formation of sulforaphane," Jeffery said in an institute news release.

Previous research has found that:

Crushing or chopping garlic, and then waiting 10 to 15 minutes before exposing it to heat allows its inactive compounds to convert into the active, protective phytochemical known as allicin.Cooking tomatoes and other foods that contain lycopene allows our body to more easily absorb the beneficial phytochemical.Boiling vegetables for a long time means you lose water-soluble vitamins, such as vitamin C, folate and niacin that leach into the water.

"As we're learning, food processing isn't just what happens to food before it reaches the grocery shelves," AICR associate director of nutrition programs Alice Bender said in the news release. "This research highlights that what you do in your kitchen can make those fruits and vegetables on your plate even more cancer-protective."

-- Robert Preidt
Copyright © 2013 Click Here!">HealthDay. All rights reserved. SOURCE: American Institute for Cancer Research, news release, Nov. 7, 2013

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Certain Allergies Plus Blood Pressure Meds Could Be Bad Mix

By Brenda Goodman
Click Here!">HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, Nov. 8 (Click Here!">HealthDay News) -- Doctors are warning people who take certain drugs for high blood pressure to watch out for a rare but sometimes serious side effect.

Patients who take ACE inhibitors may be more likely to experience oral allergy syndrome. And the drugs may increase the severity of their symptoms.

ACE inhibitors are drugs that end in the suffix "pril," and they include the drugs benazepril (Lotensin), enalapril (Vasotec) and lisinopril (Prinivil). Millions of people take lisinopril. It was among the top five most commonly prescribed medications in the United States in 2011, according to the market research firm IMS Click Here!">Health.

In oral allergy syndrome, the body confuses proteins in some fruits and vegetables for the proteins in irritating pollen grains. People who suffer from allergies to birch, grass, and ragweed pollen seem to be especially susceptible. A bite of cucumber or apple can cause the lips to tingle, itch and sometimes swell.

Symptoms are usually more annoying than dangerous. But add an ACE inhibitor to the mix, and the reaction may become more severe.

In cases presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology this week in Baltimore, doctors recount how two patients experienced sudden itching and swelling of the lips, tongue and throat after eating fruit.

Both had been taking the drug lisinopril to treat high blood pressure. One woman had been taking the medication for 10 years without a problem before a bite of an apple landed her in the hospital.

"These reactions can be dangerous," said study author Dr. Denisa Ferastraoaru, an allergist at the Montefiore Medical Center, in New York City. "One of our patients received epinephrine in the emergency department," she said.

The problem is thought to be a chemical called bradykinin, produced in the body, that causes blood vessels to expand, lowering blood pressure. It's also known to trigger sudden swelling. Researchers believe bradykinin may prime the body to react to otherwise harmless proteins in fruit.

"There's a subset of people who genetically don't metabolize bradykinin very well, and those are the people who are at higher risk of having that reaction," said Dr. Joseph Diamond, a cardiologist at Long Island Jewish Medical Center, in New Hyde Park, N.Y., who was not involved with the case studies.

Diamond said previous studies have shown that women and African Americans have higher risks for developing an oral allergy while on an ACE inhibitor.

Diamond pointed out, however, that even in higher-risk groups, the strange side effect is uncommon, affecting less than 1 percent of patients who take the drugs.

"It's rare. It falls well within what's considered acceptable safety," he said.

Nonetheless, Diamond said that patients who are taking ACE inhibitors should be aware of the possibility that food could trigger a reaction. And if it happens, they should seek medical attention.

For some patients, allergists may advise switching blood pressure medications and avoiding raw produce to prevent future episodes.

Copyright © 2013 Click Here!">HealthDay. All rights reserved. SOURCES: Denisa Ferastraoaru, M.D., allergist, Montefiore Medical Center, New York City; Joseph Diamond, M.D., director, nuclear cardiology, Long Island Jewish Medical Center, New Hyde Park, N.Y.; presentation, American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology annual meeting, Nov. 7-11, 2013, Baltimore

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Did Bone Marrow Transplant Cure Peanut Allergy?

FRIDAY, Nov. 8 (Click Here!">HealthDay News) -- Bone marrow transplants may help cure peanut allergies, a new case study suggests.

The study involved a 10-year-old boy who no longer had a peanut allergy after undergoing a bone marrow transplant for leukemia.

"It has been reported that bone marrow and liver transplants can transfer peanut allergy from donor to recipient," study author Dr. Yong Luo said in a news release from the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI). "But our research found a rare case in which a transplant seems to have cured the recipient of their allergy."

The case involved a boy who was diagnosed with a peanut allergy when he was 15 months old. He had the bone marrow transplant at age 10 and received his new marrow from a donor with no known allergies.

Soon after the transplant, it appeared that the boy no longer had a peanut allergy. That discovery was confirmed by allergists through an oral food challenge, in which the boy ate a small amount of peanut and showed no allergic reaction.

The research was scheduled for presentation this week at the ACAAI annual meeting in Baltimore. Research presented at medical meetings should be viewed as preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

Study co-author Dr. Steven Weiss said this and previous research indicates that "genetic modification during the early stages of immune cell development in bone marrow may play a large role in causing allergy."

Peanut allergy is the most common food allergy among school-aged children in the United States, affecting about 400,000 youngsters, according to the ACAAI. Unlike milk or soy allergies, peanut allergies tend to last a lifetime.

Even if a parent thinks their child may no longer have an allergy, proper testing should be done to confirm if the child is still sensitive to any particular allergens, according to the ACAAI.

-- Robert Preidt
Copyright © 2013 Click Here!">HealthDay. All rights reserved. SOURCE: American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, news release, Nov. 8, 2013

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Health Tip: Avoid Mishaps at Restaurants

(Click Here!">HealthDay News) -- A restaurant table isn't always designed for kids, so it's important for parents to help little ones enjoy a safe meal.

The American Academy of Pediatrics offers this advice:

Clear any candles from the table.Remove knives and other sharp utensils from your child's reach.Move packets of sugar, as well as salt and pepper shakers, away from your child.Keep drinks out of your child's reach, except those in a child-friendly cup with a lid.

-- Diana Kohnle
Copyright © 2013 Click Here!">HealthDay. All rights reserved.

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