Archives
Posted by Kristal Roberts
Ever thought men should be able to shoulder the responsibility of birth control for a change?
Well now that's a real possibility, but it still may be a long way off before it ever hits the market.
An injectable birth control, similar to the depot shot, was tested in a new study sponsored in part by the United Nations and the results were published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. The birth control was over 96 percent effective in preventing pregnancy, but the study, conducted from 2008 - 2012, was cut short because some participants couldn't handle the side effects. Some of the participants complained side effects, such as experiencing mild to moderate depression, increased libido, pain at the injection site and acne. In some extreme cases, it took longer for the participants to return to normal fertility levels and one person's sperm count still hasn't returned to its original levels, but it's unclear whether he's infertile o...
Posted by Kristal Roberts
Exercise may do more than keep a healthy brain fit: New research suggests working up a good sweat may also offer some help once memory starts to slide — and even improve life for people with Alzheimer's.
The effects were modest, but a series of studies reported Thursday found vigorous workouts by people with mild memory impairment decreased levels of a warped protein linked to risk of later Alzheimer's — and improved quality of life for people who already were in early stages of the disease.
"Regular aerobic exercise could be a fountain of youth for the brain," said cognitive neuroscientist Laura Baker of Wake Forest School of Medicine in North Carolina, who reported some of the research at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference.
Doctors have long advised that people keep active as they get older. Exercise is good for the heart, which in turn is good for the brain. Lots of research shows physical activity can improve cognition in...
Posted by Kristal Roberts
When it comes to child abuse, a Congress-spurred commission found that the United States didn't have coherent, effective strategies for reducing the high number of children who die each year from abuse and neglect.
The official federal data states these deaths fall between 1,500 to 1,600 annually in recent years, but with the gaps in how the data is complied, the true number may be as much as 3,000 a year.
Commission chairman David Sanders, who is the executive vice president of Casey Family Programs, believes that number can be reduced to zero.
"We looked at the airline industry — no one accepts a plane crash anymore. We can get that way with child fatalities," he said.
The report's recommendations for addressing the issue include expanding safe-haven programs for abandoned infants and enlisting a broader range of community organizations to help often-overburdened child protection service workers.
Still, the commission, comprised of s...
Posted by Kristal Roberts
What if a drug was flexible enough to reach the site of a wound or illness, give relief when necessary, stop releasing medicine when pain is gone, and start releasing it again if an illness progresses or discomfort re emerges? Well, it’s here, and this gel substance, a hydrogel likened to Jello, is showing a lot of promise.
Researchers at the Laboratory for Accelerated Medical Innovation at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital developed the substance and it works by being drawn to inflammations sites in the body. The gel senses inflammation and slowly delivers medicine to fight ailments such as arthritis, ulcerative colitis and mucositis, for example.
The beauty about the gel is it can be injected directly the site of pain and it responds to the level of inflammation around it, delivering the appropriate dosage. So if an arthritic patient gets injected with this gel, the medication will activate only in response to the site causing an episode, pain or swelling...