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Why So Many Babies Are Born Addicted

Nov
20

Date: November 20th, 2016

The study done by researchers from the University of Michigan and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found out the rates of children being born addicted to opiate-based painkillers such as morphine or heroin has increased. The study noted that Florida is much worse with some people already referring to the state as the home of “Oxy-Express.”

There is a substantial increase of 500 percent in the occurrence of babies born addicted to drugs. According to the Tennessee Department of Human Services, within the first decade of the millennium, children born addicted to opiate-based drugs multiplied almost 10 times. The study estimates that about 13,539 U.S. babies are born addicted on a yearly basis.

Sick children live with medication error threat

Nov
18

Date: November 18th, 2016

Jamie Harris, a former nurse at Boston Children’s Hospital, says that some of the things that always occupied her thoughts included medication error. She says that most of her young patients depended on potent drugs. Upon being discharged, they would be left at the hands of their parents to handle everything pertaining to their health.

The time for giving a dose, the quantity of the dosage needed, and the tools to be used in administering the drug are some of the things the parents have to do. That is quite a challenge, especially for parents with tight schedules and gets back home exhausted. The most dangerous part arises when the drug turns lethal, when administered incorrectly.

Peanuts May Cut Kids’ Allergy Risk

Nov
16

Date: November 16th, 2016

When it comes to eggs, letting the babies enjoy a teaspoon at the age of 4 or 6 months indicates a reduction in allergy levels by 46 percent. This is suggested to be better than waiting for to do so later on in their lives. With peanuts, infants tasting it at 4 months to 11 months were linked with a 71 percent reduction in the development of allergies.

Dr. Robert Boyle said that the suggestion posted by these findings is that eggs and peanut should be among the first foods a baby encounters. He is from Imperial College London where he works as a pediatric allergy researcher. He did not shy away from adding that most doctors wouldn’t recommend this.

Tourettes syndrome and other tic disorders of childhood

Nov
14

Date: November 14th, 2016

How the study was done

For the researchers to conduct the study, they brought on board data of more than 73,000 Denmark births. They analyzed this data and found out that the possibility of children whose mothers smoked 10 or more cigarettes during pregnancy stood a higher chance of developing a chronic tic disorder. Their risk was calculated to be 66 percent.

Tics are sudden, repeated, non-rhythmic muscle movements, which are accompanied by sounds or vocalizations. After one has suffered both motor and vocal tic for more than a year, the Tourette syndrome is usually diagnosed. Treatment of tics is only done when they begin to interfere with the child’s self-image or activities. Some of the treatment options available are antipsychotic, clonidine or cognitive behavioural therapy.

Bipolar Disorder and Drug Addiction

Nov
12

Date: November 12th, 2016

The study consisted of two groups: 98 young people who did not have bipolar disorder – the control group and another one o 105 young people with Bipolar disorder. The average age of the participants who enrolled for the study was 14 at the time of enrollment. Bipolar disorder is a condition that leads to a significant shift in the patient’s mood, energy, activity levels and in the process impedes one’s ability to conduct everyday duties.

At the start of the experiment, 34 percent of the young men suffering from bipolar disorder also showed a disorder in substance abuse. This suggested that they had a problem with the abuse of drugs or alcohol. On the other hand, only 4 percent of the control group kids abused drugs.

Preterm Infants may get High Blood Pressure as Adults

Nov
10

Date: November 10th, 2016

One research found out that the risk of high blood pressure was linked to kidneys that are smaller-than-normal at birth. A different study done within the same field arrived at the finding that high blood pressure and impaired cells had some form of association.

Dr. Anne Monique Nuyt, who co-authored both studies, studies said that these studies are a pointer of how vital it is to follow up the health of preterm babies. Anne is a University of Montreal professor working within the department of pediatrics.

Experimental shingles vaccine looks effective

Nov
08

Date: November 8th, 2016

People who were given the 2-dose Shingrix vaccine recorded an 88 percent reduction in the risks of developing shingles, four years after vaccination. When the stage was approaching its final trial, there was a reduction of 91 percent. That is according to results published in the New England Journal of Medicine. People aged more than 70 years recorded effectiveness of 90 percent after they received the injection.

Clinical trials of GSK indicated greater protection of elderly patients compared to the patients injected with Merck & Co’s rival Zostavax vaccine. This drug is one of those that GSK has placed most of its hope. It has plans to make an application for the U.S., European and Japanese approval later on this year. The first the market may start getting it will be in 2017.
The New England Journal of Medicine has got the latest four-year data on Shingrix. This data may be a big boost in offering an additional significant advantage as its effectiveness is kept constant overtime.

Type 2 diabetes risks linked to long naps

Nov
06

Date: November 6th, 2016

According to the study, contrary to short naps or failing to nap, the sugar level in the blood goes up by 45 percent if you take a nap of more than one hour. The researchers further suggest that for a nap lasting less than one hour, all these risks disappear.

The director of the Clinical Diabetes Center at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City, Dr. Joel Zonszein, said that it is interesting to discover the possibility of long daytime naps and type 2 Diabetes being related. Zonszein went on to add that people should be notified of this study and the findings. They should understand that the results are just makers of lifestyles and not the cause of diabetes. He did not take part in the study.

The research findings were presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes meeting in Munich, Germany.

Maternal Death Rate is rising in the US

Oct
25

Date: October 25th, 2016

According to a the research, the period from 2000 to 2014 saw a significant increase in the maternal death rate by about 27%. In 2000, each 100,000 live births witnessed the death of 19 women during or within 42 days after delivery. This number increased to 24 women for each 100,000 live births in 2014. This new finding is much worse than it was thought previously. The federal health officials had already reported that the maternal death rate is increasing, but their figures were lower – 16 % per 100,000.

Liraglutide Makes Diabetic HF Patients Cautious

Oct
23

Date: October 23rd, 2016

MD Kenneth Margulies from the Perelman School of Medicine in Philadelphia and a lead author said that the group getting GLP-1 agonist liraglutide treatment showed insignificant differences (12% vs. 11%). The type 2 diabetes patients were included here. Margulies and colleagues reported that rehospitalizations for patients with heart failure similarly had no significant difference. In addition, the study could not locate any difference between placebo and treatment of any of the said prespecified endpoints. But the researchers noted that the type 2 diabetes group showed the possibility of worse outcomes.