Doctors routinely record blood pressure levels that are significantly higher than levels recorded by nurses, according to the first thorough analysis of scientific data on the so-called “White Coat Phenomenon”. The study was done at at the University of Exeter Medical School in the UK and published in March 2014 in the British Journal of General Practice.
Tag: depressive symptoms
Health Concerns About E-Cigarettes
With sales of electronic cigarettes, or "e-cigarettes," on the rise and expected to hit $1.5 billion this year, concerns over potential health risks of using the trendy devices are also gaining momentum and political clout. An article in the March 2014 issue of Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), the weekly magazine of the American Chemical Society, delves into what scientists and regulators are doing about e-cigarettes, which are now being cleverly marketed under more appealing names such as hookah pens and vape pipes.
Repeat Aortic Valve Replacement Safe at 80+
Surgical aortic valve replacement generally improves patients' symptoms and prolongs survival. However, the perceived risk of surgical aortic valve replacement in patients over 80 may result in surgery being denied or a recommendation for alternative therapy. Investigators at the Mayo Clinic challenge the way these patients have been managed. They report that repeat sternotomy in patients over 80 who have previously had coronary bypass graft surgery can be done with low risk.
Hope for New Tx for Retinal Blindness
A report published online in in March 2014 in The FASEB Journal may lead the way toward new treatments or a cure for a common cause of blindness called proliferative retinopathies. Scientists at Harvard Medical Schools have shown that the body's innate immune system does more than help ward off external pathogens. It also helps remove sight-robbing abnormal blood vessels, while leaving healthy cells and tissue intact. This discovery is significant because the retina is part of the central nervous system and its cells cannot be replaced once lost.
How To Make Chores Pain-Free
From the Cleveland Clinic Brain & Spine Team
For some people, daily chores are a pain — literally. Up to 90 percent of people in the United States suffer from back pain at some point in their lives, and routine activities such as chores often cause flare-ups.
But the chores themselves aren’t to blame, says occupational therapist Michael Milicia, OT/L. It’s how you do them. Below, he offers tips to help you do your household scrubbing and yard work without triggering pain.
Task Force: Impairment Screening Shouldn’t Be Routine
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has issued a recommendation against routine cognitive-impairment screening for older adults who do not have symptoms.
The task force said there isn’t enough evidence to determine the effectiveness of screening all older adults.
[The evidence] “is insufficient at this time,” said Task Force co-vice chair Al Siu, M.D., M.S.P.H.
A More Effective Form Of Chemotherapy
Researchers have developed a drug that can manipulate the body’s signaling systems, triggering an attack and shutdown of deadly cancer cells.
The finding was published in the journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition.
The drug, called ZL105, is a compound based on the metal iridium. The study, by researchers from the University of Warwick in the UK, has found ZL105 could potentially replace currently used anticancer drugs. Those drugs become less effective over time, have a number of side effects and damage both healthy and cancerous cells.
Watch: 5 Reasons Getting Older Rocks
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Natural Migraine Prevention Tips
By Romie Mushtaq M.D.
Headaches are fifth-leading cause of emergency room visits among all Americans, according to a 2013 National Institutes of Health report that calls headaches a major public health problem.
The key to preventing headaches is, of course, to figure out what’s triggering them. While migraine and stress headaches can both be triggered by stress, migraines have many other possible triggers and they vary from one individual to the next.
Tweaking Electronic Alerts to Reduce Rx Errors
Changing how medication alerts are presented in electronic medical records resulted in safer prescribing, increased efficiency, and reduced workload for health care providers who placed drug orders, according to study published online in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association.
A release from Indiana Universoty quotes study leader said Alissa L. Russ, Ph.D as saying, "We are looking at ways to improve the alert system for providers and for patient care."
Mentally Challenging Job = Sharp Mind After Retirement
A mentally demanding job may seem stressful but data from the University of Michigan Health and Retirement Study show that you’re probably doing you brain a favor in the long run.
Gout Drug May Lower the Risk of Death
In a study slated to be published in Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, researchers from Boston University School of Medicine found that the use of the drug allopurinol was associated with a reduced risk of death in patients with gout. The research suggests that the overall benefit of allopurinol on survival may outweigh the impact of rare serious adverse effects.
Immune Booster Halts Lethal Sepsis
A breakthrough study done at the University of Leicester in the UK has shown that low dose injections of artificial properdin provide substantial protection against septic diseases in mice. The paper was published on March 24th 2014 in the online early edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Is It Smart To Buy A Condo?
Editor’s Note: As we get older, many of us think about downsizing from a house to a condo, because it’s easier to manage our lives in a simpler place. And we’d like to save as much money on home repairs as possible, because fixed incomes and Medicare don’t cover all essential expenses. Sometimes, though, the decision to buy or lease a condo isn’t as clear-cut as you’d like. Here, from a top expert, are some smart questions to ask yourself before making a move.
Brain Cell Malfunctions Could Be Stopped
Scientists have discovered a way to possibly halt the progression of dementia that’s caused by the malfunctioning of the protein tau.
In many forms of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s, tau goes awry. Instead of performing its normal cellular functions, it begins accumulating and interfering with cell-to-cell communications.
Hope For Treating A Deadly Breast-Cancer Gene
Researchers have discovered that a gene, previously not linked to breast cancer, plays a central role in the growth of triple negative breast cancer.
Targeting that gene, the research indicates, could lead to a new approach for treating that form of the disease. Triple negative breast cancer, which accounts for 20 percent of all breast cancer cases, often has few treatment options.
Nasal Spray Treats Depression
A nasal spray that delivers a peptide to treat depression holds promise as a potential alternative therapeutic approach, according to research done at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto. The study, led by CAMH's Dr. Fang Liu, is published online in Neuropsychopharmacology.
The Unconscious Mind Can Detect a Liar
When it comes to detecting deceit, your automatic associations may be more accurate than conscious thought in pegging truth-tellers and liars, according to research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
The findings suggest that conscious awareness may hinder our ability to detect whether someone is lying, perhaps because we tend to seek out behaviors that are supposedly stereotypical of liars, like averted eyes or fidgeting. But those behaviors may not be all that indicative of an untrustworthy person.