Prevalence of visual impairment in US increases

Taxes on soft drinks and foods high in saturated fats and subsidies for fruit and vegetables could lead to beneficial dietary changes and potentially improve health, according to a study by experts from New Zealand published in this week's PLOS Medicine. Helen Eyles and colleagues from the University of Auckland and the University of Otago (Wellington) reached these conclusions by reviewing all relevant modelling studies that investigated the association between food pricing strategies, food consumption and chronic diseases (often referred to as non-communicable diseases, ...

CHICAGO – For individuals with obstructive sleep apnea traveling to higher altitudes (which may exacerbate symptoms), use of a combination therapy resulted in improvement in symptoms including reduced insomnia and better control of sleep apnea, according to a preliminary study published in the December 12 issue of JAMA. As travel to the mountains for professional and recreational activities is increasingly popular, involving millions of persons worldwide, the estimated number of patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) among mountain tourists is also high, and may ...

Outbreaks of infectious diseases, such as swine flu (H1N1) threaten global health and should be considered by funding agencies and humanitarian organizations as development issues rather than emergency situations, requiring long-term support and investment, according to US experts writing in this week's PLOS Medicine. The authors from several US institutions, led by Tiffany Bogich from Princeton University, reached these conclusions by reviewing nearly 400 serious international public health events. They found that the disruption to, or lack of, public health infrastructure ...

Studies reporting the results of industry sponsored clinical trials present a more favourable picture of the effects of drugs and medical devices than those reporting on non-industry sponsored trials, according to a new Cochrane systematic review. The researchers call for a rethink of the way that industry bias is handled in medical guidelines and reviews. The outcomes of clinical trials influence the recommendations that doctors make about drugs and other medical interventions. Therefore, it is important that trials are designed, carried out and reported on without bias ...

The sweet taste of sugar may provide some comfort for babies during immunisations, according to a new Cochrane systematic review. Researchers found babies did not cry for as long if they were given drops of sugar solution before injections. Between birth and 18 months, babies may have as many as 15 injections. It is not certain whether babies feel pain in the same way as older children and adults, or whether they are simply unable to express it. Recent evidence has proven they do feel pain and efforts have been made to reduce pain caused by injections through the use ...

Children suffering post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result of traumatic events, including child abuse, may benefit from psychological therapies, according to a review published in The Cochrane Library. In the first systematic review of PTSD in young people, researchers found that children and teenagers diagnosed with PTSD showed signs of improvement up to three months following treatment and called for more studies to assess long-term benefits. People who develop PTSD have usually experienced extreme traumatic events, such as abuse, war or natural disasters. ...

How does evolution innovate? We exist because our ancestors have had the ability to adapt successfully to changes in their environment; however, merely examining present-day organisms can limit our understanding of the actual evolutionary processes because the crucial events have been masked by the passage of aeons – what we need is a time machine. Scientists from VIB, KU Leuven, University of Ghent and Harvard have done the next-best thing; by reconstructing DNA and proteins from prehistoric yeast cells, they were able to directly examine the evolutionary forces that have ...

Women who are even light-to-moderate cigarette smokers may be significantly more likely than nonsmokers to suffer sudden cardiac death, according to new research in Circulation: Arrhythmia & Electrophysiology, an American Heart Association journal. The findings indicate long-term smokers may be at even greater risk. But quitting smoking can reduce and eliminate the risk over time. "Cigarette smoking is a known risk factor for sudden cardiac death, but until now, we didn't know how the quantity and duration of smoking effected the risk among apparently healthy women, nor ...

Washington, DC — Brain changes in children who have sustained a mild traumatic brain injury, or concussion, persist for months following injury — even after the symptoms of the injury are gone, according to a study published in the December 12 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience. The findings highlight the potential benefit of using advanced imaging techniques to monitor recovery in children following concussions. Despite growing concerns over the risk of concussions in youth, the majority of research examining their effects on the brain has involved adults. These ...

A Cochrane review of studies into manipulative therapies for colic, by the University of Southampton, suggests that the treatment technique may be of some benefit. Infantile colic is a distressing problem, characterised by excessive crying of infants and it is the most common complaint seen by physicians in the first 16 weeks of a child's life. It is usually considered a benign disorder because the symptoms generally disappear by the age of five or six months. However, the degree of distress caused to parents and family life is such that physicians often feel the ...