Latest Health News

1Jun
2022

Could Beating Drums Help Beat Autism?

Could Beating Drums Help Beat Autism?WEDNESDAY, June 1, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- The percussive skill needed to bang out rhythms on a drum may help improve socializing, inhibition control and focus among teens with autism, new research suggests.The finding follows work with 36 teens with an autism spectrum disorder.Half were randomly chosen to receive two months' worth of drum training, based on a standard electronic drum kit program.Designed so that it could track each teen's motor performance and timing accuracy, the program "consisted of learning to perform a series of repetitive rhythm patterns," explained lead author Marie-Stephanie Cahart.The upshot: Learning to drum appeared to reduce hyperactive behavior and improve teens' ability to focus and pay attention, she said. The activity also seemed to enhance...

Is Slowed Walking a Sign Dementia Is Near?

1 June 2022
Is Slowed Walking a Sign Dementia Is Near?WEDNESDAY, June 1, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- If you're a senior and walking to the mailbox takes longer than it used to, new research suggests you might want to ask your doctor to check your thinking skills.The study included nearly 17,000 adults over 65 and found those who walk about 5% slower or more each year and also had memory declines were the most likely to develop dementia.The findings were published May 31 in the journal JAMA Network Open."These results highlight the importance of gait in dementia risk assessment," corresponding study author Taya Collyer, a research fellow at Peninsula Clinical School at Monash University in Victoria, Australia, told CNN.The findings echo those of a 2020 study of nearly 9,000 U.S. adults that found an association between slowed walking speed...

'Frailty Exams' for Older Cancer Patients May Not Need...

1 June 2022
`Frailty Exams` for Older Cancer Patients May Not Need Office VisitWEDNESDAY, June 1, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Frailty exams are recommended for older adults who have blood cancer, and new research shows they can be done virtually, not just in person.While the screenings are typically conducted at a clinic or doctor's office, that became a challenge during the pandemic because people with blood cancers are at high risk of infection. A new study assessing telehealth-based exams as a possibility found them to be a good substitute."Doing our 42-item assessment in the clinic required a lot of person-to-person contact," explained study author Dr. Clark DuMontier, of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. "We decided to adapt our in-person evaluation to a virtual format to prevent unnecessary viral exposure, but we still wanted to maintain our objective...

Your Liver Is Just 3 Years Old

1 June 2022
Your Liver Is Just 3 Years OldWEDNESDAY, June 1, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- No matter how old you are, your liver is always roughly less than three years old, according to a new study.That's because the liver is constantly renewing itself and replaces its cells equally well in young and old people, the German study explained.The liver clears toxins from our bodies, putting it at risk of regular injury. To overcome this problem, it has a unique ability to regenerate itself after damage. But it was unclear if the liver's capacity to renew itself diminished with age."Some studies pointed to the possibility that liver cells are long-lived while others showed a constant turnover. It was clear to us that if we want to know what happens in humans, we need to find a way to directly assess the age of human liver cells," said...

Why Treatment Helps Some Asthma Patients More Than Others

1 June 2022
Why Treatment Helps Some Asthma Patients More Than OthersWEDNESDAY, June 1, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- New research reveals why popular treatments for asthma attacks are often ineffective.Corticosteroids are used as an emergency treatment during asthma attacks to decrease airway swelling and irritation. While effective in people with moderate asthma, they often fail to help those with severe asthma.“Our study has uncovered a potential mechanism to explain why patients with severe asthma are unresponsive to conventional therapy,” said study co-author author Reynold Panettieri Jr., vice chancellor of Clinical and Translational Science at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J. “If we could uncover new approaches to treatment that directly affect that mechanism, we may be able to restore a sensitivity to the steroid and improve...

Reading Aloud to Your Kids Might Make Them Smarter

31 May 2022
Reading Aloud to Your Kids Might Make Them SmarterTUESDAY, May 31, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Reading to little ones builds bonds with their caregivers and boosts their language and literacy skills, but story time also benefits older kids, a new study reports.Reading to 6- to 12-year-olds for an hour a day in school can boost their intelligence, Italian researchers report."Does it work? Yes, we found some compelling evidence that it does," said researcher Emanuele Castano during a recent news briefing about the new findings. He's a professor of psychology and cognitive science at the University of Trento. The experiment was conducted in 32 Italian elementary schools, where children typically have about six hours of lessons in an eight-hour school day, Castano said.In the interventional group, the teacher read age-appropriate fiction...

Type 2 Diabetes Speeds Aging in the Brain

31 May 2022
Type 2 Diabetes Speeds Aging in the BrainTUESDAY, May 31, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Type 2 diabetes is linked to memory and thinking problems, and a new study suggests it's because the disease makes the brain age faster.Looking at data from 20,000 middle-aged and older adults, researchers found that -- consistent with past studies -- people with type 2 diabetes generally did worse on tests of memory and thinking skills than those without diabetes.Beyond that, MRI scans revealed differences in brain regions related to those skills: People with diabetes had more tissue shrinkage -- akin to a 26% acceleration in normal brain aging.It's well-known that brain tissue gradually shrinks as we age, with certain areas withering more and faster than others.The new findings show that people with diabetes have atrophy in the same brain...

Parents Often Ignore Safe Sleep Advice After Baby Wakes at Night

31 May 2022
Parents Often Ignore Safe Sleep Advice After Baby Wakes at NightTUESDAY, May 31, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Most parents know that placing newborns on their backs to sleep can slash the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), but a new study suggests that many may forget that rule when baby wakes up wailing in the middle of the night.It's very common for babies to wake up in the wee hours, and parents of newborns are often sleep-deprived, the researchers explained. "Our findings reflect that caregivers may be making different decisions in the middle of the night when they are exhausted than they do when they are first putting their baby to sleep," said study author Dr. Mersine Bryan. She is a pediatrician at the University of Washington and Seattle Children's Hospital."When you as the caregiver are going to go to sleep or fall asleep, it is...

Organic Strawberries Linked to Hepatitis Cases, FDA Warns

TUESDAY, May 31, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Fresh, organic strawberries may be linked to a hepatitis A outbreak that's affected 17 people in three states, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration...

AHA News: In Secondhand Vape, Scientists Smell Risk

TUESDAY, May 31, 2022 (American Heart Association News) -- Available in an enticing array of flavors, electronic cigarettes have exploded in popularity since they hit the market about 15 years...
RSS
First376377378379381383384385Last