Health News

Road to Alzheimer's Research Paved with Good Intentions
A number of factors prevent Alzheimer's disease research from reaching its optimal potential, according to a new report.
Saving All the "Bubble Boys"
Researchers have found that screening newborns for severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) substantially improves their survival.
Running Injuries Running High
Over the course of a 14-year study, researchers saw a rise in the number of running-related injuries among children 6 to 18 years old.
Job Training: Preparing for the Worst
Hands-on safety training for workers in highly dangerous jobs helps to reduce the risk of injury and death, according to a study published in the January issue of the Journal of Applied Psychology .
Kids Need Z's
Insufficient and disorganized sleep puts kids at higher risk of developing obesity and other health conditions, which may be able to be mitigated by "catch up" sleep on weekends and holidays.
Improving Quality of Pediatric Surgery
A new program designed to improve surgical quality for children helps reduce complications and saves lives, according to findings that appear in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons .
Further From Help Than They Need To Be
People who are most likely to need trauma care may have less access to hospitals that provide that care, according to a research article in the journal Archives of Surgery .
Blood Pressure Breakthrough?
Financial reward incentives for general practitioners in the United Kingdom who successfully treat a number of patients with high blood pressure have not proven effective. Researchers found that nationally set targets for treating patients with hypertension (consistent blood pressure measuring 140 mmHg over 90 mmHg or higher) did not make a discernible difference in care improvements. About half of the UK population over age 50 has hypertension (that number correlates to about two out of three patients of the same age in the United States), which is one of the most treatable -- yet unde...
Lupus Loophole Turns Out to be Dead-End
Even though pediatric lupus patients are at increased risk of developing heart disease as adults, statin drugs, which lower cholesterol, do not provide enough benefit to warrant use in these patients. Children with lupus, an autoimmune disease that causes widespread inflammation and organ damage, often exhibit early signs of atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) putting them at risk of heart attack and stroke. Researchers at Duke University Medical Center wanted to find a way to lower this risk and turned to statin drugs for the study. The randomized trial included 221 partici...
Location, Location, Location
Patients who experienced ischemic stroke (IS) who were admitted to hospitals with designated stroke centers were less likely to die than those who were not, according to new research. The study found that ischemic stroke patients fared better and had less chance of dying at 30 days follow up if admitted to one of the nearly 700 acute care hospitals in the U.S. that are designated by the Joint Commission as stroke centers, based on recommendations from a team of physicians and researchers comprising the Brain Attack Coalition (BAC). Researchers from Duke Clinical Research Institute i...