But compared to other central venous catheters (CVCs), these commonly-used catheters (known as PICCs) more than double the risk of dangerous blood clots — especially among patients who are critically ill or who have cancer, according to a new University of Michigan Health System study published in The Lancet. …
Many parents are not aware that their teenage children abuse “study drugs,” a new poll suggests. In the poll, just 1 percent of parents said their teenage children had taken drugs such as Adderall or Ritalin without a prescription. That is much lower than the percentage of teens that surveys suggest are using the drugs. For example, a 2012 study of high schoolers found that about 10 percent of sophomores and 12 percent of seniors said they had used the drugs without a prescription. The new finding highlights the growing issue of stimulant drug abuse, or when teens take stimulant medication (or “study drugs”) to help them study for a test or stay awake to do homework. Such medications are prescribed for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Teens without the condition may fake symptoms in order to get a prescription, or obtain the drugs from friends. The new findings, from the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health, examined parents' awareness of the issue, surveying parents of U.S. children ages 13 to 17. About 11 percent of parents said their teens had been prescribed stimulant medication for ADHD. Among parents of children who were not prescribed ADHD medications, 1 percent said their teens had used these drugs for study purposes. About 4 percent said they didn't know if their teen had abused these drugs, and 95 percent said their teens had never abused the drugs. This disconnect between teen drug abuse and parents' awareness of drug abuse may be in part due to the fact that study drugs have more subtle effects than drugs such as heroin and cocaine, allowing teens to more easily hide their drug use, the researchers said. About half of parents polled said they were very concerned about teens in their communities abusing study drugs. And more than three-quarters supported school policies aimed at stopping this type of drug abuse, such as rules that would require children with prescription ADHD medications to keep the pills in a secure place like the school nurse's office. The findings “underscore the need for greater communication among public health officials, schools, parents, and teens regarding this issue,” the researchers said. Follow Rachael Rettner @RachaelRettner. Follow MyHealthNewsDaily @MyHealth_MHND, Facebook & Google+. Originally published on LiveScience.Copyright 2013 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/20/not-my-kid-most-parents-unaware-teen-is-using-study-drugs/
An extract from the kava plant can treat people with chronic anxiety, an study from Australia finds. Patients with generalized anxiety disorder who took kava extract tablets for six weeks showed a significant reduction in their symptoms, compared with a control group that took placebo pills, the results showed. The study confirms previous findings showing the anti-anxiety effects of kava, a psychoactive plant native to the Pacific region. Kava is culturally important among many Pacific Islanders, and is used in rituals and ceremonies. Consuming kava may induce a mild sedation and euphoria, a numbing effect and enhanced social interaction. It is prepared in various forms, such as grinding the plant or brewing its roots. It's believed the roots contain chemicals that may treat anxiety. The active ingredients of the plant are compounds called kavalactones. These chemicals have similar effects to medications such as Xanax, which are used to treat anxiety and panic disorders. In the new study, 75 patients with anxiety disorders were given either kava or placebo pills, and their anxiety levels were regularly assessed over the next six weeks. Patients who consumed kava tablets showed significant improvements in their symptoms, as measured by a commonly used psychological test. By the end of the experiment, 26 percent of kava-consuming patients were in remission from their symptoms compared with 6 percent of the placebo group, according to the study, which was published this month in the Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology. Kava is less addictive and has a lower risk of side effects compared with conventional anxiety medications, according to the study. In the study, some people taking kava reported headaches, but no other side effects were seen. Previous studies have suggested the plant may have negative effects on the liver, but liver tests in the study participants showed no problems. Researchers also found that peoples genetics may affect their response to kava. Genes that code for proteins that transport a brain chemical called GABA may play a role in this, . If this finding is replicated, it may pave the way for simple genetic tests to determine which people may be likely to have a beneficial anxiety-reducing effect from taking kava, said Jerome Sarris, study author from the University of Melbourne. The new study adds to the evidence of kava's medicinal potential. A 2010 reviewof 12 controlled trials concluded that kava is likely to be an effective treatment for anxiety, and its short-term use is likely to be safe. The reviewers, however, called for larger studies to bolster these results. Kava is a major export of the Pacific. It was once banned in some Western countries, primarily out of concern for its alleged effects on the liver. It is now legal in most places and available in various forms, such as in relaxation supplements and anti-energy drinks. Copyright 2013 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/20/kava-plant-may-treat-anxiety/
"Our findings will eventually allow better matching of treatments to individual patients, based on this characteristic of their tumors," says Edmund Mroz, PhD, of the MGH Center for Cancer Research, lead author of the Cancer report. "This method of measuring heterogeneity can be applied to most types of cancer, so our work should help researchers determine whether a similar relationship between heterogeneity and outcome occurs in other tumors." For decades investigators have hypothesized that tumors with a high degree of genetic heterogeneity — the result of different subgroups of cells undergoing different mutations at different DNA sites — would be more difficult to treat because particular subgroups might be more likely to survive a particular drug or radiation or to have spread before diagnosis. While recent studies have identified specific genes and proteins that can confer treatment resistance in tumors, there previously has been no way of conveniently measuring tumor heterogeneity. …
Britain launched a research program on Monday that should eventually allow all cancer patients to have access to the kind of genetic analysis that led Hollywood star Angelina Jolie to decide to undergo a double mastectomy. The project, involving the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) in London, the U.S. gene sequencing firm Illumina, geneticists and cancer doctors, aims to find a way to allow more cancer genes be tested in more people. Researchers announcing the 2.7 million pound ($4 million) project, funded by the Wellcome Trust medical charity, stressed this was not a response to reports last week of Jolie's decision to undergo surgery to reduce her breast cancer risk. “What we're trying to do here is develop processes that will allow comprehensive and systematic use of genetic information in cancer medicine so that (more people) will be able to benefit from the types of information and situations we were hearing about last week (with the Jolie story),” said Nazneen Rahman, head of genetics at the ICR and a leader on the new project. Mutations in some genes, known as cancer predisposition genes, greatly increase the risk that a person will get cancer. Jolie tested positive for a high risk gene mutation that made her about five times more likely to develop breast cancer than women who do not carry this mutation, according to the U.S. National Cancer Institute. There are nearly 100 other known cancer predisposition genes, but in Britain - where most healthcare is part of the taxpayer-funded National Health Service - testing for them is currently very restricted. Yet recent advances in reading the genetic code, known as gene sequencing, mean that looking for gene mutations is now faster and cheaper than ever - paving the way for gene testing eventually to become routine for all cancer patients. “It is very important to know if a mutation in a person's genetic blueprint has caused their cancer,” Rahman told reporters at a briefing in London. “It allows more personalized treatment, so for example such people are often at risk of getting another cancer and may choose to have more comprehensive surgery, or may need different medicines, or extra monitoring.” The program, called Mainstreaming Cancer Genetics, will use a new Illumina test called TruSight that can analyze 97 cancer predisposition genes within a few weeks for a few hundred pounds, Rahman said. The new model will be piloted initially in women with breast or ovarian cancer at London's Royal Marsden hospital, but the team hopes it will in future be used across the country and in many more types of cancer.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/20/uk-tries-out-new-model-for-gene-testing-in-cancer-patients/
When Wes Schlauch, of Breinigsville, PA, was 16 years old, he suffered a stroke that paralyzed the entire right side of his body. Miraculously, three years later, Wes is not only walking and talking – he’s even sending text messages, attending college and going on fishing trips with friends. Wes’ positive attitude, devotion to rehabilitation and strong support system has had much to do with his success. But Wes has also benefitted tremendously from a cutting-edge technology that is revolutionizing therapies for patients suffering from brain injuries and neurodegenerative diseases: a new treatment known as functional electrical stimulation (FES). FES has been pioneered by companies like Bioness Inc., based in Valencia, CA., which created the devices that Wes uses. The devices – which Wes wears on both his right hand and leg – use electricity to stimulate the damaged portions of his brain and the neural connections between the brain and muscles. “The idea is that by using the electrical stimulation to make the muscle fire, his brain will retrain and relearn, and his muscles will fire more automatically without it in the long term,” Jolene Hammer, a physical therapist at Lehigh Valley Hospital in Bethlehem, PA., who works with Wes, told FoxNews.com. FOUR IN 100,000 Strokes are incredibly rare among children and teenagers like Wes. “From after the newborn period through age 18, the incidence (of stroke) that we estimate is about four in 100,000 children per year,” Dr. Rebecca Ichord, director of the pediatric stroke program at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, who treated Wes, told FoxNews.com. According to Ichord, Wes’ stroke was likely triggered after he experienced whiplash while playing hockey. Doctors believe that one of the arteries in Wes’ neck twisted and dissected, causing the walls of the artery to separate. This caused a blockage in Wes’ blood flow that led to the formation of a clot – resulting in a stroke. Wes’ stroke was particularly devastating because it occurred in his baseline artery, which facilitates blood flow to critical parts of the brain. “(His) was one of the most severe types of strokes; when you block the baseline artery, you block critical parts of brain systems that control all elements of function,” Ichord said. “The mortality is relatively higher than in other types of stroke and long term handicap can be devastating.” Luckily, Wes was able to receive a clot-dissolving therapy within eight hours of his stroke, which restored blood flow to the injured part of his brain. However, Wes still had a long journey ahead of him. The right side of Wes’ body was paralyzed – a condition called hemiparesis. “I remember lying in the hospital bed and looking up at the ceiling, because that’s all I could do,” Wes told FoxNews.com. “My respiratory therapist told me to visualize myself getting better so I just visualized myself getting out of that situation.” Eventually, Wes stabilized and was moved to a rehabilitation facility where he had to relearn basic daily tasks, like dressing himself and eating – all the while confined to a wheelchair. THE RECOVERY PROCESS Fortunately, Wes didn’t stay in his wheelchair for long.  He soon progressed to a walker and then to a cane. As Wes regained his strength, he was able to begin FES treatments, with the help of his rehabilitation team.   To regain the use of his right hand, Wes eventually began using the Bioness NESS H200® Hand Rehabilitation System – an external device that Wes wears on his hand and arm. “That’s helped me be able to be more dexterous with my movements and has overall helped my hand big time,” Wes said. “It used to be that my hand was in a fist, and I wasn’t able to use it at all. I got the H200 device and I was able to use my hand nicely.” “I’ve even been known to text with my right hand,” Wes added. Later, Wes progressed to the NESS L300™ Foot Drop System, which allowed his foot to move more freely. “As he’s been using it, I see that he’s now able to start to actively move those muscles without it that he wasn’t before…Now, he can lift his foot and be aware of it and pull it up on his own,” Hammer said. “He has gotten to be able to lift his toe up and to be able to activate his hamstring.  Just last week, Wes took home a new device – the L300 Plus – which he will wear on his thigh to stimulate his hamstring. Wes will use this in conjunction with the L300 in order to gain further control over his leg, bolstering his ability to walk and even maneuver stairs. Though Wes gets fatigued easily (especially when using the devices), he is building up his tolerance and strength, and he eventually hopes to be able to wear both the L300 and L300 Plus for full days. “It’s helped my walking a ton and being able to walk around the community is a lot better for me as opposed to just being in a wheelchair like I was before. Now I’m on a cane. It’s helped me a lot,” Wes said. Wes’ doctors hope that technology like the Bioness devices will eventually help repair the damaged parts of Wes’ brain to some extent. “I think it’s a cutting edge way to start to work on retraining the muscle and hopefully to play into neuroplasticity, to activate the brain to make new connections and to activate these muscles,” Hammer said. ‘AN EXTRAORDINARY YOUNG MAN’ Wes continues to make extraordinary advances in his treatment and personal life – even making the dean’s list at college. “His speech is also a little affected, but he can still communicate,” Ichord said. “And his cognitive learning abilities, personality and sense of humor (were) all preserved; the thinking part is doing well and was never directly affected.” Wes credits his experience as a hockey player for giving him his strong work ethic.   “I work hard, I always did – back from when I was 16 on. I worked as hard as I could and…I really want to get back on the ice. That’s my main motivating factor,” Wes said. Wes continues to impress his physical therapists and doctors every day, and Hammer said she has high hopes for Wes’ future progress.   “I’ve been a therapist for a long time and he’s an extraordinary young man – one of the most motivated people I’ve met. If every patient worked as hard as him, I’d be out of a job,” Hammer said.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/20/electric-stimulation-treatments-help-young-stroke-victim/
Women’s health care has a big problem, and we women are the cause of it.  That sounds like a broad statement, but I believe for the majority of women it is the truth.   When it comes to women’s health care, we have a pretty easy time talking about the big picture. We discuss statistics and trends and how women don’t receive the same levels of service as men when it comes to research studies and early diagnosis in the United States. But that kind of talk doesn’t get down to the nitty-gritty problem that each one of us faces when it comes to our health.  I’m not saying there is one universal condition or illness, as we each have unique issues to confront.  But as a gender, we women just don’t put the same effort into caring for ourselves as we put into caring for our families. As a women’s health advocate, that raises a giant red flag for me – and it for all of us. One of the first symptoms of this problem is that we don’t take ownership of our own health. We put it into the hands of others and hope for the best.  When we actually get around to going to the doctor, we don’t tell him or her the complete truth.  Sometimes it’s an accident, as we just don’t remember to talk about certain things or we don’t realize something might be significant. Other times – and these are the worst – we choose not to talk about things because we are embarrassed or afraid of what the doctor will say.   We see this kind of thing on EmpowHer.com all the time.  Women come to us and post anonymous questions about being gassy or bloated or incontinent.  They know they might have a problem, but for whatever reason, they don’t want to talk to the doctor about it. Don’t get me wrong: Anonymous questions are always welcome. In fact, we encourage our visitors to choose screen names that don’t give away who they really are.  But the fact that women are ashamed or afraid to have a one-on-one conversation with their doctors about these issues is a symptom of how we collectively don’t do everything we can to safeguard our own health.   Stress is another issue for us as women.  We know that stress taxes every aspect of our bodies – from our hormones to our cells.  But instead of doing things for ourselves to relieve stress, we try to be wonder-women and take on the weight of the world.  And in the process, we put our own health at risk and potentially damage our ability to take care of our families. Of course, some types of stress can’t be avoided.  I’m thinking in particular of financial concerns.  When money is tight, we women often cut our own “indulgences” so we can keep funding the things our families enjoy doing. Ladies, listen up when I tell you that going to the doctor is not an indulgence.  Getting your annual exam is not something extra that you should put off until it’s convenient or until you have some extra money lying around.  Don’t let the economy dictate your health.   It’s a simple fact that no matter how much disposable income you have, you cannot buy your way out of being sick.  There isn’t enough money in the world to buy your way out of a hard diagnosis like cancer.  And there isn’t enough money in the world to turn back the clock to get an earlier diagnosis or restore treatment options if you waited too long to get tested. It’s time for women in this country to stand up for themselves, and if you won’t do it for yourself, do it for your mother or your sister, your best friend or your daughter.  Be the brave one, or the smart one.  Be the one who sets the example of taking care of your family by taking care of yourself.   And don’t stop with yourself.  Share this with other women you care about and encourage them to take better care of themselves.  Your family and everyone who loves you will be glad you did.Michelle King Robson (pronounced robe-son) is one of the nation's leading women's health and wellness advocates. She is the Founder, Chairperson and CEO of EmpowHER, one of the fastest-growing and largest social health companies dedicated exclusively to women's health and wellness. & In 2011 EmpowHER reached more than 60 million women onsite and through syndication expects to reach more than 250 million in 2012.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/20/women-break-trend-take-care-yourself/
A proposed state ballot measure would require doctors to be randomly subjected to drug and alcohol testing. The San Francisco Chronicle reports the so-called “Pee in the Cup” initiative is being pushed by Bob Pack, a technology mogul and former executive at AOL and NetZero. Pack's campaign, already armed with $2 million in funding, will be launched this summer. He is touting a new poll showing 85 percent of California voters would support random testing of physicians. The newspaper says the initiative might also seek to lift the cap on damages in medical malpractice cases. The goal is to get the measure on the November 2014 ballot. A spokesperson for the California Medical Association calls the effort by Pack a “publicity stunt.”source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/20/proposed-measure-would-require-doctor-drug-tests/
If you underwent a genetic test for a heart condition, but the test also revealed that you have a high risk of colon cancer, would you want to know? A respected scientific society says your doctor should tell you, but the group is receiving criticism for its recommendation that “incidental findings” of genetic tests be shared with patients. Incidental findings are unexpected results, unrelated to the reason for testing. What to do with these findings has been a controversial issue for adults undergoing genetic testing, as well as children. In March, the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) released guidelines saying that when patients receive genetic testing for any medical reason, they should be screened for mutations in an additional 57 genes, including mutations that strongly increase the risk of breast, ovarian and colon cancer. The ACMG argues that doctors have an obligation to look for and report these mutations because there are ways that people can act to reduce their of developing a medical disorder. However, some researchers and bioethicists say the new recommendations go too far, and take away patients' rights to refuse medical information they do not wish to know. Informed consent A crucial part of genetic testing ethics is ensuring that patients understand what a test might find, and what those findings could mean for future treatment. Under the new recommendations, a patient who consents to any genetic test is consenting to be screened for mutations in an additional 57 genes. Some bioethicists take issue with this approach, because patients may not wish to know their results for all of these genes. A positive result for any one of these mutations may increase patients' anxiety, or cause them to live their life differently, said Susan Wolf, a professor of law, medicine and public policy at the University of Minnesota. Under the new guidelines, “unless they are willing to have this extra analysis done, the only option is to walk away from the sequencings altogether,” Wolf said. “It's all or nothing.” Arthur Caplan, a bioethicist at New York University School of Medicine's Division of Medical Ethics, agreed that patients should have an opportunity to refuse. “People do not have any obligations to accept any findings that they hadnt been expecting,” Caplan said. And even calling such findings “incidental” is a misnomer, Wolf said, because under the new guidelines, researchers have to actively test for these gene mutations. What about kids? Earlier this year, both the American Academy of Pediatrics and the AMCG advised that children not be screened for genetic conditions that occur in adulthood (such as breast cancer), unless some action in childhood can lower the risk of disease or death. Children should wait until they are at least 18 years old to decide if they want to know their risk, the guidelines say. But under the new recommendations, children should be informed about any findings from the extra screening, including those that relate to adult disorders. Supporters of the new recommendations say that they are not at odds with earlier guidelines. Dr. Robert Green, of Harvard Medical School, and colleagues, wrote in the May 16 issue of the journal Science that if doctors are screening a child for a genetic disease that occurs in adulthood, the child would presumably have a family history of the disease. With incidental findings, no other family members, including the child, would be known to be at risk. So reporting an incidental finding could alert the child, as well as other family members including adults, to their risk of a certain condition, Green said. But others disagree, saying the new recommendations contradict earlier guidelines, and are not in children's best interest. “You've deprived the child of their own choice later as an adult,” Wolf said. Practical issues The guidelines also say that patients should be counseled about the implications of genetic testing before the test is ordered. But some argue that discussing all 57 genes would be demanding. “That is going to be a rather time consuming process,” said Dr. Harry Ostrer, a medical geneticist at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City. Wolf and others are calling on the AMCG to reconsider the new guidelines. The AMCG says that the guidelines will be reviewed yearly and updated in light of new evidence. But in the meantime, doctors are in a bind about what to do when screening patients. “It really creates a big dilemma because, when an organization like the AMCG makes a recommendation, it's seen as establishing a standard of care,” Ostrer said. If doctors don't follow the guidelines, patients could sue for malpractice if it turns out they are a carrier of a mutation that the additional screening would have caught, Ostrer said. Ostrer said he would like to see more evidence about how patients respond to being told about incidental findings. Studies looking at this question are being carried out now, he said. Copyright 2013 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/20/genetic-testing-guidelines-under-fire/
A newer version of the whooping cough vaccine doesn't protect kids as well as the original, which was phased out in the 1990s because of safety concerns, according to a new study. During a 2010-2011 outbreak of whooping cough in California, researchers found that youth who had been vaccinated with the newer, so called acellular vaccine were six times more likely to catch whooping cough than those who had received a series of the older whole-cell vaccine. “This is an ongoing saga,” said Dr. H. Cody Meissner, a pediatric infectious diseases specialist from Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston. The rate of whooping cough, or pertussis, has been climbing in recent years, he said - to the point where “we're worried about losing control of pertussis in the United States.” The pertussis vaccine is given in combination with vaccines for diphtheria and tetanus. Originally the shot contained whole pertussis bacteria, which triggered reactions in some babies - including prolonged crying, fever and a “shock-like state,” said Meissner, who wasn't involved in the new research. So in the 1990s, the U.S. switched over to an acellular version of the vaccine, which has reduced the rate of side effects. “But the price we've paid to get more safety is that we have less effectiveness,” Meissner told Reuters Health. “It doesn't protect as well against pertussis.” The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends four doses of the diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccine (DTaP) be given to babies between two and 18 months, and a fifth dose by age six. A booster was recently added to the vaccine schedule for 11- to 12-year-olds. For the new study, researchers from the Kaiser Permanente Northern California health system compared the vaccination history of 138 teenagers and preteens who tested positive for whooping cough and about 55,000 who did not during the state's 2010-2011 outbreak. Over the course of the outbreak, 78 out of every 100,000 adolescents were infected per year. Almost all of the kids had received the newer acellular vaccine as their fifth DTaP dose. But Dr. Nicola Klein and her colleagues found that teens who'd been vaccinated with the acellular version for each of their first four doses as well were six times more likely to contract whooping cough than those who'd received four doses of the whole-cell vaccine. Each extra acellular rather than whole-cell dose increased a child's risk of later developing whooping cough by about 40 percent, the researchers reported Monday in Pediatrics. Klein said there seem to be some differences in the initial immune response to the whole-cell vaccine versus the acellular vaccine, which may persist as children get older. Her team's study, she said, suggests there needs to be more of a focus on developing a third pertussis vaccine. But any new shot for whooping cough that could address both safety and effectiveness concerns is still years away, Meissner said. “So now we're confronted with this difficult problem,” he said. “It's very hard to recommend a vaccine that is known to be associated with more side effects than another vaccine that's safer, even though the first vaccine gives better protection. It's a dilemma.” The findings do not mean parents shouldn't get their children fully vaccinated against pertussis, the researchers agreed. “In the short run, we have to keep vaccinating kids on the recommended schedule because that's definitely the best way to protect kids,” Klein told Reuters Health. “The acellular vaccine does work, it just doesn't last as long as we hoped,” she said. “It's the best tool we have right now to protect against pertussis.”source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/20/newer-whooping-cough-vaccine-not-as-protective/