Health News

Health News for 09/21/11

September 21, 2011

Health Tip: Ease In-Flight Ear Pain

Flying can cause discomfort in the ears, and can be especially painful to children with an ear infection.

Health Tip: Keeping a Food Diary

Keeping a food diary can help you stick to a healthy diet, develop healthy eating habits and monitor caloric intake, which are important in maintaining a healthy weight.

Kids With Psoriasis Get Inconsistent Care

How children are treated for psoriasis may depend on whether they see a pediatrician, dermatologist or internist, a new study suggests.

Many Unaware of Plastic Surgery Options After Weight Loss Procedures

Most of the 220,000 people who undergo weight loss surgery every year are not aware of the follow-up procedures they could have to remove any loose skin they may have, according to a new study by plastic surgeons.

Anti-Wrinkle Gel Might Work Like Botox Without Needles

Preliminary industry-funded research suggests that a gel based on the active ingredient of the injectable Botox wrinkle treatment could help reduce the lines around the eyes known as crow's feet -- without the pain of needles.

Previous Infant Death Linked to Raised Risk of Stillbirth

Women whose first baby died within a year of birth are at increased risk for stillbirth in subsequent pregnancies, and the risk is especially high among black women, researchers report.

Mother-Child Death Rates Down But Still Short of 2015 Goal

Mother and child death rates are declining faster than in the previous decade in more than half the countries around the world, an indication that international efforts to improve mother and child health are having an effect, researchers say.

Could Divorce Trigger Hair Loss in Women?

As if the heartache of divorce wasn't hardship enough, it appears that women enduring marital break-up may also have to deal with hair loss.

Drug Shows Promise Against Deadly Lung Disease

An experimental drug may offer a thin ray of hope to people suffering from the rapidly fatal lung disease known as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

Traffic Pollution May Raise Short-Term Heart Attack Risk

Exposure to high levels of traffic-related air pollution appears to temporarily boost the risk for experiencing a heart attack, new British research suggests.

Scientists Discover Key Gene Mutation Behind Lou Gehrig's Disease

Researchers have identified a genetic mutation common to roughly one-third of two devastating neurological disorders, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD).

Two-Day Dialysis Interval Could Pose Danger: Study

Waiting more than a day between dialysis treatments ups the risk of death and hospitalization in people with kidney disease, new research suggests.

Japan Reactor Fallout Reached San Francisco Bay Area: Study

Traces of radioactive fallout from the Japanese nuclear reactor damaged in the March earthquake were detected around San Francisco Bay, scientists report, but at such low levels they posed no health risk to residents.

Quitting Smoking Could Give Memory a Boost

In addition to the many known health benefits of quitting smoking, researchers have now discovered another good reason to kick the habit -- it may help improve your everyday memory.

CDC Moves to Make Organ Transplantation Safer

More thorough donor screening and more advanced organ testing to help protect transplant patients from infectious diseases are recommended in a draft of an updated organ transplant guideline released Wednesday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

CDC Urges Americans: Get Your Flu Shot

With plenty of influenza vaccine available, U.S. health officials urged Americans Wednesday to get a flu shot.

Movement Disorders on YouTube Not What They Seem, Experts Warn

Most depictions of movement disorders on the popular video-sharing website YouTube are not what they claim to be, warn a group of neurologists who reviewed them.

Vaccine for Childhood Diarrhea Helps Kids, Saves Dollars

Since the 2006 introduction of routine inoculation against rotavirus -- a leading cause of diarrhea in infants and young children -- almost 65,000 fewer American children have been hospitalized and about $278 million in healthcare costs have been saved, according to new research.