PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Vigorous physical activity may increase risk of bleeding for children with hemophilia

2012-10-10
(Press-News.org) CHICAGO – In children and adolescents with hemophilia, vigorous physical activity was associated with an elevated risk of bleeding, although it appears the absolute increase in risk may be small, according to a study in the October 10 issue of JAMA.

Hemophilia is a bleeding disorder that, if untreated, causes recurrent bleeding into joints. "Vigorous physical activity is thought to increase risk of bleeds in children with hemophilia, but the magnitude of the risk is unknown," according to background information in the article. Information about risks associated with physical activity is needed to help inform decisions regarding participation in physical activity, the authors write.

Carolyn R. Broderick, M.B.B.S., of the University of Sydney, Australia and colleagues conducted a study to quantify the transient (short duration) increase in risk of bleeding associated with vigorous physical activity in children with hemophilia. The study was conducted at three pediatric hemophilia centers in Australia between July 2008 and October 2010 and included 104 children and adolescent boys ages 4 through 18 years with moderate or severe hemophilia A or B who were monitored for bleeds for up to 1 year. Following each bleed, the child or parent was interviewed to determine exposures to physical activity preceding the bleed. Physical activity was categorized according to expected frequency and severity of collisions. The risk of bleeds associated with physical activity was estimated by contrasting exposure to physical activity in the 8 hours before the bleed with exposures in two 8-hour control (non-bleed) windows, controlling for levels of clotting factor in the blood. The median (midpoint) duration of follow-up was 52 weeks.

There were 436 bleeds, of which 336 were study bleeds (i.e., bleeding episodes without another bleeding episode in the preceding 2 weeks). Eighty-eight participants (84 percent) reported at least 1 bleed. The most frequent sites of bleeding were the knee (15 percent), ankle (14 percent), and elbow (10 percent). Compared with inactivity and category 1 activities (e.g., swimming), category 2 activities (e.g., basketball) were associated with a transient increase in the risk of bleeding (30.6 percent of bleed windows vs. 24.8 percent of first control windows; odds ratio, 2.7). Category 3 activities (e.g., wrestling) were associated with a greater transient increase in risk (7.0 percent of bleed windows vs. 3.4 percent of first control windows; odds ratio, 3.7). These odds of bleeding suggest that for most children, the absolute increase in risk associated with physical activity is low. "To illustrate absolute risk increase, for a child who bleeds 5 times annually and is exposed on average to category 2 activities twice weekly and to category 3 activities once weekly, exposure to these activities was associated with only 1 of the 5 annual bleeds," the authors write. Most bleeds associated with physical activity were present within an hour of activity.

"This study confirms that physical activity is associated with an increased risk of bleeds in children and adolescents with moderate or severe hemophilia A or B. It demonstrates that the relative increase in risk is moderate. However, for most children, the absolute increase in risk is likely to be low," the researchers conclude.

(JAMA. 2012;308[14]:1452-1459. Available pre-embargo to the media at http://media.jamanetwork.com)

Editor's Note: This study was supported by a project grant from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC). Dr. Herbert is supported by a research fellowship from the Australian NHMRC, and Dr. Latimer is supported by a Future Fellowship from the Australian Research Council. Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, etc.

Editorial: Collision Sports and Risk of Bleeding in Children With Hemophilia

Marilyn J. Manco-Johnson, M.D., of the University of Colorado and Children's Hospital Colorado, Aurora, writes in an accompanying editorial that participation in sports can be important to help reduce the sense of isolation experienced by many children with hemophilia, and that "guidelines focused on children with hemophilia and participation in collision sports are needed."

"These recommendations should include educating parents and athletes about potential short and long complications related to sports participation, risk reduction measures with prophylaxis regimens, conditioning and strengthening programs, and the healthful contributions of sports participation toward physical, social, and emotional development as well as the prevention of obesity."

(JAMA. 2012;308[14]:1480-1481. Available pre-embargo to the media at http://media.jamanetwork.com)

Editor's Note: The author has completed and submitted the ICMJE Form for Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest and reported having received honoraria for advisory board participation from Baxter Bioscience, Bayer HealthCare, CSL Behring, NovoNordisk, and Octapharma and having received research funding from Bayer Healthcare and CSL Behring.

###

To contact Carolyn R. Broderick, M.B.B.S., email c.broderick@unsw.edu.au. To contact Marilyn J. Manco-Johnson, M.D., call Jacque Montgomery at 303-928-9093 or email Jacque.Montgomery@ucdenver.edu.

END



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Rates of procedures such as angioplasty lower in states with public reporting of outcomes

2012-10-10
CHICAGO – In an analysis that included nearly 100,000 Medicare patients who had experienced a heart attack, the use of a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI; procedures such as balloon angioplasty or stent placement used to open narrowed coronary arteries) was lower for patients treated in states with public reporting of PCI outcomes compared with patients treated in states without public reporting, with these differences being particularly large in the highest-risk patients, according to a study in the October 10 issue of JAMA. However, the researchers found that there ...

Hormone level linked with increased risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, breast cancer, death

2012-10-10
CHICAGO – Plasma levels of proneurotensin are associated with the development of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cardiovascular and total mortality, and breast cancer in women during long-term follow-up, according to a study in the October 10 issue of JAMA. Neurotensin, an amino acid peptide primarily expressed in the central nervous system and gastrointestinal tract, regulates both satiety and breast cancer growth in the experimental setting, but little is known about its role in the development of breast cancer or cardiometabolic disease in humans, according to background ...

Heart attack patients in states with public reporting less likely to receive angioplasty

2012-10-10
Boston, MA — Patients entering hospitals with heart attacks in states with mandatory public reporting are less likely to receive angioplasties to fix heart blockages than patients in states without public reporting, according to a new study from Harvard School of Public Health. The patients most affected were those considered "high-risk," that is, those who were extremely sick when they arrived at the hospital. It is the first study to look at public reporting for these interventions on a national level. The study appears in the October 10, 2012 edition of the Journal of ...

FGM significantly reduces sexual quality of life, suggests new study

2012-10-10
Women who have undergone female genital mutilation (FGM) have a significantly lower sexual quality of life finds a new study published today (10 October) in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. FGM is defined as any procedure 'involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia without medical reasons'. This study, carried out by researchers at King's College London, looks at the impact of FGM on the sexual quality of life of women who have undergone this procedure and compares them to a similar group of women who have not undergone ...

Rare genetic disorder points to molecules that may play role in schizophrenia

2012-10-10
Washington, DC — Scientists studying a rare genetic disorder have identified a molecular pathway that may play a role in schizophrenia, according to new research in the October 10 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience. The findings may one day guide researchers to new treatment options for people with schizophrenia — a devastating disease that affects approximately 1 percent of the world's population. Schizophrenia is characterized by a multitude of symptoms, including hallucinations, social withdrawal, and learning and memory deficits, which usually appear during late ...

HRT taken for 10 years significantly reduces risk of heart failure and heart attack

2012-10-10
HRT therapy has been subject to much discussion due to both positive effects (reduced risk of cardiovascular disease) and negative effects (increased risk of breast cancer). A paper published in the BMJ Group's Journal of Family Planning and Reproductive Healthcare back in January cast doubt on the "unreliable" Million Women Study which associated HRT with an increased risk of breast cancer. Conflicting results have led clinicians to believe that time since menopause until HRT is initiated can account for differences in cardiovascular outcome. So authors from Denmark ...

Is delaying premature delivery safe?

2012-10-10
Professor Alfirevic from the Department of Women's and Children's Health at the University of Liverpool argues that although premature children tend to have lower cognitive ability than their peers and 14.9 million are born prematurely each year worldwide, is it really possible to stop spontaneous preterm labour? In an accompanying research paper, Haas and colleagues carried out a review of several controlled trials to determine the most cost-effective tocolytic agent. Tocolytic drugs are used to delay delivery for up to 48 hours. This allows time for doctors to give ...

Strategies proposed to improve impact of comparative effectiveness studies

2012-10-10
Comparative effectiveness research conducted over the past decade has had a limited impact on the way medical care is delivered, but many opportunities exist to help doctors and others in the medical system translate such research into better patient care, according to a new RAND Corporation study. Comparative effectiveness research is designed to improve health care decisions by providing evidence on the effectiveness, benefits and harms of different treatment options. The studies may compare drugs, medical devices, tests and surgical procedures to determine whether ...

USC develops software to facilitate large-scale biological inquiry

2012-10-10
The world's leading mass spectrometer manufacturers have agreed to license technology that enabled University of Southern California (USC) researchers to develop software that, for the first time, allows scientists to easily use and share research data collected across proprietary platforms. The ProteoWizard Toolkit, a cross-platform set of libraries and applications designed to facilitate the sharing of raw data and its analysis, is expected to bolster large-scale biological research and help improve the understanding of complex diseases like cancer. "Think of it like ...

Swimming with hormones: Researchers unravel ancient urges that drive the social decisions of fish

Swimming with hormones: Researchers unravel ancient urges that drive the social decisions of fish
2012-10-10
Researchers have discovered that a form of oxytocin—the hormone responsible for making humans fall in love—has a similar effect on fish, suggesting it is a key regulator of social behaviour that has evolved and endured since ancient times. The findings, published in the latest edition of the journal Animal Behaviour, help answer an important evolutionary question: why do some species develop complex social behaviours while others spend much of their lives alone? "We know how this hormone affects humans," explains Adam Reddon, lead researcher and a graduate student ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Intra-arterial tenecteplase for acute stroke after successful endovascular therapy

Study reveals beneficial microbes that can sustain yields in unfertilized fields

Robotic probe quickly measures key properties of new materials

Climate change cuts milk production, even when farmers cool their cows

Frozen, but not sealed: Arctic Ocean remained open to life during ice ages

Some like it cold: Cryorhodopsins

Demystifying gut bacteria with AI

Human wellbeing on a finite planet towards 2100: new study shows humanity at a crossroads

Unlocking the hidden biodiversity of Europe’s villages

Planned hydrogen refuelling stations may lead to millions of euros in yearly losses

Planned C-sections increase the risk of certain childhood cancers

Adults who have survived childhood cancer are at increased risk of severe COVID-19

Drones reveal extreme coral mortality after bleaching

New genetic finding uncovers hidden cause of arsenic resistance in acute promyelocytic leukemia

Native habitats hold the key to the much-loved smashed avocado’s future

Using lightning to make ammonia out of thin air

Machine learning potential-driven insights into pH-dependent CO₂ reduction

Physician associates provide safe care for diagnosed patients when directly supervised by a doctor

How game-play with robots can bring out their human side

Asthma: patient expectations influence the course of the disease

UNM physician tests drug that causes nerve tissue to emit light, enabling faster, safer surgery

New study identifies EMP1 as a key driver of pancreatic cancer progression and poor prognosis

XPR1 identified as a key regulator of ovarian cancer growth through autophagy and immune evasion

Flexible, eco-friendly electronic plastic for wearable tech, sensors

Can the Large Hadron Collider snap string theory?

Stuckeman professor’s new book explores ‘socially sustainable’ architecture

Synthetic DNA nanoparticles for gene therapy

New model to find treatments for an aggressive blood cancer

Special issue of Journal of Intensive Medicine analyzes non-invasive respiratory support

T cells take aim at Chikungunya virus

[Press-News.org] Vigorous physical activity may increase risk of bleeding for children with hemophilia