December 15th, 2011 by HarvardHealth in Research
Tags: Ache, Back Pain, Chronic Pain, Exercise, Harvard, Neck Pain, Pain Management, Study, Treatment, Whiplash
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Do your neck and shoulders ache? Not long ago, you would have been told to rest, maybe use a neck brace, and wait until the pain had ebbed away. Doctors have changed their song about the best treatment for neck and shoulder pain. They now recommend movement instead of rest.
As described in Neck and Shoulder Pain, a newly updated Special Health Report from Harvard Health Publications, there is mounting scientific evidence for the role of stretching and muscle strengthening in treating people with neck and shoulder pain. After a whiplash injury, for example, people heal sooner and are less likely to develop chronic pain if they start gentle exercise as soon as possible. For those with long-term pain (called chronic pain), results from controlled studies show that exercise provides some relief.
One review of the research found that Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Harvard Health Blog*
December 14th, 2011 by RyanDuBosar in Research
Tags: CDC, Clinical Infectious Diseases, E. Coli, enteric illnesses, Epidemiology, FDA, Gastroenterology, Infectious Disease, Outbreak, PulseNet, Research, Salmonella, Shiga toxin, Study
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The investigation of a multistate outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O157:H7 (STEC) that sickened 77 people and hospitalized 35 was traced back to ready-to-bake cookie dough, prompting infectious disease specialists to ask for stronger pasteurization and more consumer warnings.
A report in Clinical Infectious Diseases outlined the outbreak and the work done by national and local health officials to track down the source.
No single source could be identified for certain for the outbreak. But one brand of dough was present in 94% of cases, and three nonoutbreak STEC strains were isolated from it, leading to a recall of 3.6 million packages of the cookie dough.
The detective work began with May 19, 2009, through PulseNet, the network of public health and food regulatory agency laboratories coordinated by the CDC. It identified Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at ACP Internist*
December 14th, 2011 by PJSkerrett in Research
Tags: 50-year, 75-year, Beta Cells, Blood Sugar, Complications, Diabetes, Diabetes Care, Glucose, Harvard Medical School, insulin, Joslin, Joslin Diabetes Center, Long-term survivors, Longevity, Malfunctioning Pancreas, Medalists, Research, Type 1
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It’s hard to imagine what it was like to live with type 1 diabetes 80 years ago. Insulin was a brand new and relatively untested drug, the only way to check blood sugar levels was by testing boiled urine, syringes had to be sterilized, and needles sharpened by hand. Couple those challenges with the common complications of diabetes—heart disease, kidney failure, nerve damage, blindness, and more—and life expectancy for someone with type 1 diabetes wasn’t that long.
Spencer M. Wallace, Jr., was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 1931, at age 7. He’s now an active 87-year-old who plays golf several times a week. He isn’t alone as a long-term survivor. Since 1970, almost 3,500 men and women who have lived with the disease for a half century have been recognized by the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston with bronze 50-year medals. Forty-five of them Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Harvard Health Blog*
December 14th, 2011 by Dr. Val Jones in Expert Interviews, Health Policy, Research
Tags: ADD, ADHD, Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Capitol Hill, Cost, Economic Burden, Economy, Peter Neumann, Shire, Tim Murphy
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It is estimated that as many as 10 million U.S. adults have ADHD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder). A recent research study (publication-pending) suggests that the economic burden of ADHD on America could be as high as $250 billion annually. I attended a recent briefing on Capitol Hill and interviewed one of the study’s co-authors: Tufts economist, Dr. Peter Neumann as well as congressman (and psychologist) Tim Murphy about ADHD in America.
I learned from Dr. Neumann that cost these high cost estimates are most strongly influenced by reduced productivity in adult workers with ADHD rather than direct costs of treating children with the disorder. Productivity costs include absenteeism, and reduced work output due to difficulty focusing. Dr. Neumann explained that ADHD has many “spill over effects” in that it impacts the educational system, the justice system, the healthcare system, and our work environments. Please check out our interview video for the full story.
Congressman Tim Murphy is a clinical psychologist with three decades of experience in treating people with ADHD. He is also Co-chair of the Mental Health Caucus and GOP Doctors Caucus where he regularly works to raise awareness of healthcare accessibility needs. I had the chance to interview him also at the event.
I learned from Rep. Murphy that the costs of ADHD multiply when patients are untreated. Getting the correct diagnosis is critical, because impulsivity and problems with focusing are not always caused by ADHD. These symptoms can be caused by lead poisoning, damage to the limbic system of the brain, metabolic disorders, or even sleep apnea. Children who are inattentive should not be put on medications for ADHD without first confirming the diagnosis by ruling out other possible causes.
Rep. Murphy recommends a team approach to the management and treatment of ADHD and he believes that costs related to ADHD are escalating because some physicians are not managing children holistically, but resorting to prescribing medications without involving counselors and family directly. He sees lack of health insurance coverage for behavioral health services as a threat to comprehensive and effective ADHD treatment.
Please watch the video for the full interview with congressman Murphy.
*Please note that the panel event, and Better Health’s participation, was made possible by a grant from Shire Pharmaceuticals.
December 13th, 2011 by Toni Brayer, M.D. in Research
Tags: Academic Pediatrics, Burgers, Cafeteria, Carbohydrates, Children's Hospitals, Diet, food, Fried food, Health, High-Calorie, High-sugar, Ice Cream, Nutrition, Obesity, Research, Snacks, Study, Sweetened Beverages, Unhealthy, Weight Gain, Wellness
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A study published in the journal Academic Pediatrics reveals that 93% of California children’s hospitals offered unhealthy food to outpatients, visitors and staff in the cafeteria and snack bars. Said another way, only 7% offered healthy food. What did these foods consist of to be called “unhealthy”? Try fried food, sweetened beverages, burgers and lots of sugary sweets.
The study found that 81% of the cafeterias placed high-calorie, high-sugar items like ice cream right by the cash register, a well known marketing plan to tantalize and increase selection. Forty four percent didn’t even offer low calorie salad dressing and fewer than 1/3 had no nutrition information.
Health care workers, like the rest of America, suffer from increasing obesity. One study showed over 54% of Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at EverythingHealth*
