Cocaine Users Face Greater Risk of Aneurysm
Cocaine users face a newly discovered and possibly fatal risk: coronary aneurysms, a ballooning of the walls of coronary arteries. The condition increases the chance of suffering a heart attack, even years after users stop the drug, researchers in Minnesota are reporting.
The risk of developing an aneurysm was four times as high among cocaine users in their mid-40’s as among nonusers in the same age group, according to the study, reported yesterday in the journal Circulation, which is published by the American Heart Association.
Bangladesh child accidents shock
About three children die every hour in Bangladesh from serious injuries and accidents such as drowning the UN children’s agency, Unicef, says.
Unicef’s report, published in Dhaka on Monday, said more than 30,000 children were killed this way each year.
Accidents accounted for 38% of child deaths, with drowning the leading cause. Most of the drowning victims were under three years of age.
The nation’s health minister said he was shocked and vowed to take action.
Foam treatment for varicose veins
Injecting patients with a foam that expands in the blood vessels can successfully treat troublesome varicose veins, say doctors.
Between 20% and 30% of adults develop varicose veins, usually later in life or during pregnancy.
As well as looking unpleasant, varicose veins can ache, throb and itch.
More than 50 patients at Ealing Hospital in London have received the foam therapy with good results, says consultant Mr George Geroulakos.
Race of face sets brain activity
The brain reacts differently to the faces of people from different races, research shows.
When volunteers looked at pictures of African-Americans, the brain area that processes emotions became active, a study in Nature Neuroscience found.
When they looked at photos of Caucasian faces, the activity was much less.
Effort to improve kids’ asthma care falls short
For inner-city kids with Asthma, a school-based initiative to let their doctors know about the severity of the children’s asthma didn’t seem to make much difference, New York researchers report.
“Unfortunately,” Dr. Jill S. Halterman told Reuters Health, “provider notification of symptoms did not increase the likelihood of these children receiving enhanced preventive care, and many of the children were still inadequately treated at follow-up.”
WHO lists approved websites for vaccine safety
The World Health Organisation (WHO), warning of one-sided and alarming reporting of vaccine safety on websites, on Tuesday issued a list of 23 sites it deemed reliable.
The approved sites meet the WHO’s criteria including credibility, content and disclosure of the group’s funding, according to a statement.
“We want to help Web readers and governments have access to reliable information. These sites have passed the criteria for good practices and will be reviewed every 18 months,” told Philippe Duclos, WHO medical officer.
U.S. group launches online medical record program
Patients will be able to see, change and share medical records on the Internet with a service launched on Monday by a company set up by a coalition of professional medical groups.
They say the service, called iHealthRecord, will let patients control their own records, while allowing doctors vital access when they need it, eventually reducing the risks of mistakes such as prescribing errors.
And, they hope, it could provide a way for doctors and patients to replace thick medical charts and swap information without the need for costly and time-consuming office visits.
French surgeons begin UK ‘exile’
Hundreds of French surgeons have begun a symbolic “exile” in Britain to demand the right to charge higher fees.
The private sector doctors plan to spend four days at the southern English resort of Camber Sands.
The group Surgeons of France says fees have remained static for 15 years while insurance rates have soared tenfold because of an explosion in lawsuits.
The group says the French government promised extra funds last year, but the money has not materialised.
