Mom’s attitude affects teen’s dieting
Teenagers who think their mothers put a high value on thinness may be more likely to worry about their weight and frequently diet, new research suggests.
The study, of more than 9,200 U.S. teenagers and their mothers, found that those who believed their weight was important to their mothers were more likely than other teens to be preoccupied by their weight and to diet repeatedly.
New Sleeping Pills Are Effective, but None Stands Out as the Best
The spate of new sleeping pills on the market are effective treatments for insomnia, but they have different effects and no one drug stands out as the best, according to a new review of studies on drugs including Sonata, Ambien and Lunesta.
Reviewers from the Oregon Evidence-based Practice Center at the Oregon Health and Science University concluded that the drugs were better than placebo pills at treating insomnia symptoms such as trouble falling asleep and staying asleep.
Early results suggest Paxil birth defect risk
Early results of new studies suggest GlaxoSmithKline Plc’s antidepressant Paxil increases the risk of birth defects when women take it during the first three months of pregnancy, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Thursday.
“FDA is advising patients that this drug should usually not be taken during pregnancy, but for some women who have already been taking Paxil, the benefits of continuing may be greater than the potential risk to the fetus,” the FDA said in a statement.
Most Tolerable Antidepressant May Not be Most Efficacious
When it comes to antidepressants, popularity may translate into tolerability more than efficacy, suggests a systematic review of clinical trials by the Cochrane Collaboration. Consider Prozac (fluoxetine), for instance.
According to the Cochrane analysis, Zoloft (sertraline) and Effexor (venlafaxine) may be somewhat better than more popular Prozac for treating depression, reported Andrea Cipriani, M.D., of the University of Verona, and colleagues. However, patients seemed to tolerate Prozac better than other antidepressants.
