Health News

Health News for 08/02/10

August 02, 2010

Eye Disorder Screening May Get Boost From New Study Findings

Factors that increase the risk of severe myopia (nearsightedness) and related vision loss have now been discovered by researchers, and the findings may lead to improved screening and treatment of people with the eye disorder.

Review Suggests Bias in Drug Study Reporting

Drug studies paid for by the pharmaceutical industry are more likely to publish favorable results than those funded by sources with no financial interest in the findings, a new review has found.

Background Music May Play Havoc With Study Habits

Studying for an exam while listening to music is not smart, because background music can impair your ability to perform memory tasks, new research has found.

Meat Compounds May Boost Bladder Cancer Risk

Certain compounds used in meat processing may increase the risk of bladder cancer, a new study from the National Institutes of Health and the AARP shows.

Health Tip: Skateboard Safely

Skateboarding safely requires knowing how to protect yourself. The popular sport contributes to more than 15,000 injuries each year, U.S. government statistics show.

Health Tip: What May Trigger Neck Pain

The neck has the vital task of supporting the head, but since it isn't as protected as the rest of the spine, is it more susceptible to injury.

Hand Gestures Seem to Give Politicians' True Feelings Away

If you want to know the true thoughts of a politician, watch his or her hand movements, a new study suggests.

Sciatica Relief May Depend on How Steroid Shots Are Delivered

A new study suggests that injecting steroids straight into the spinal nerve might serve as an alternative to surgery for a kind of back pain known as sciatica when it's caused by herniated discs.

Ketamine Eased Depression in Treatment-Resistant Bipolar Disorder

The anesthetic drug ketamine helps ease depression in patients with treatment-resistant bipolar disorder, a new study finds.

Expectation May Affect Placebo Response in Parkinson's Patients

The expectation of receiving an active drug increases the likelihood of a strong brain chemical response when Parkinson's disease patients are given a placebo, finds a Canadian study.

Household Spray Cleaners Pose Greatest Danger to Toddlers

The number of injuries to young children caused by exposure to household cleaning products have decreased almost by half since 1990, but roughly 12,000 children under the age of 6 are still being treated in U.S. emergency rooms every year for these types of accidental poisonings, a new study finds.

Vaccine Shows Some Promise Against Advanced Cancers

Scientists have genetically tweaked a virus to fashion a therapeutic vaccine that appears to attack a variety of advanced cancers.

Vision Abnormality Seen in Close Relatives of Autism Patients

In another sign that autism is at least partly inherited, a new study reveals that close relatives of people with the disorder share something in common: their eyes are much more likely than those of other people to function abnormally.

Health Highlights: Aug. 2, 2010

Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:

Clinical Trials Update: Aug. 2, 2010

Here are the latest clinical trials, courtesy of ClinicalConnection.com:

Addictive Internet Use Tied to Depression in Teens

Teens who spend far too much time on the Internet run the risk of developing depression, a new Australian study suggests.

Low Carb-, Low-Fat Diets Tied for Long-Term Weight Loss

If you're overweight, should you cut carbs or fat?

Heart Health Can Help Predict Brain Health: Study

What's good for the heart is probably also good for the brain, suggests new research.

Western Diet Populates Kids' Stomachs With Bad Bacteria

Children in an African village who ate a largely vegetarian diet and were breast-fed until the age of 2 had vastly different gut bacteria than children in a European city who ate a Western diet and were breast-fed about only half that time.