Tag Archives: harvard-medical

New app provides health info straight from doctors

Being in the dark about your health can be very unsettling, so people often turn to the Internet for answers. But sometimes, it can be difficult to separate fact from fiction on web sites. To help people get better answers to their biggest health questions, two physicians developed a free new app called iTriage. The app’s content is written by a team of doctors and health professionals, and the information available on the app has been reviewed by Harvard Medical School, according to iTriage’s web site. The app includes tools to check symptoms, explore possible causes, research medications and even find a doctor. Additionally, a section on the app called My iTriage allows users to store their personal health records and insurance information. The iTriage app is a useful tool, but if you’re sick, be sure to seek professional help. For more information go to iTriageHealth.comsource : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/06/05/new-app-provides-health-info-straight-from-doctors/

Small cancer risk following CT scans in childhood and adolescence confirmed

CT (computed tomography) scans have great medical benefits, but their increasing use since the 1980s has raised some concerns about possible cancer risks, particularly following exposures in childhood. Most previous studies have estimated risks indirectly, and some radiation experts have questioned the validity of these estimates. There is currently much uncertainty and as such, researchers from Australia and Europe carried out a study comparing cancer rates in patients exposed to CT scans at ages 0-19 years compared with unexposed persons of a similar age. All participants were born between 1985 and 2005 with total follow-up ending at the end of 2007. …

Bunions should be blamed on genes, not shoes, study shows

Bunions are likely inherited and not caused by faulty footwear, Counsel and Heal reported. Bunions are a painful foot condition characterized by bony bumps that form on the joint at the base of the big toe.  Earlier research indicates that 23 percent of people 18 to 65 years of age and 36 percent of people over the age of 65 have bunions. The new study, published in the journal Arthritis Care and Research, analyzed information from 1,370 people, with an average age of 66 years old, who were enrolled in the Framingham Foot Study. Each participant received a foot exam between 2002 and 2008 to screen for bunions, toe deformities or plantar soft tissue atrophy, a breakdown of the fatty “cushion” under the ball of the foot, Counsel and Heal reported. The study found that 31 percent of participants had bunions and 30 percent had toe deformities like “hammer toes,” both of which were highly inheritable, depending on age and sex, especially among people of European descent. Twenty-eight percent had plantar soft tissue atrophy, but this condition was not found to inheritable.                 “Our study is the largest investigation of the heritability of common foot disorders in older adults, confirming that bunions and lesser toe deformities are highly inheritable in Caucasian men and women of European descent,” Dr. Marian Hannan from Hebrew SeniorLife and Harvard Medical School in Boston said in a news release. “These new findings highlight the importance of furthering our understanding of what causes greater susceptibility to these foot conditions, as knowing more about the pathway may ultimately lead to early prevention or early treatment,” she concluded. Click for more from Counsel and Heal.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/20/bunions-should-be-blamed-on-genes-not-shoes-study-shows/