Depression and Anxiety Improve After Epilepsy Surgery
Depression and anxiety are common problems for people whose epilepsy cannot be controlled by medication. A new study found that depression and anxiety improve significantly after epilepsy surgery.
The study, which is published in the December 13, 2005, issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology, found that the rate of depression and anxiety disorders decreased by more than 50 percent up to two years after the surgery. People who no longer experienced any seizures after surgery were even more likely to be free of depression and anxiety.
UVa Health System Opens Clinical Trial of Emphysema Treatment
Doctors at the University of Virginia Health System have opened a new clinical trial to try and help people with emphysema breathe better. The study will test the safety and effectiveness of a bronchoscopic valve, an experimental device designed to channel air to healthier portions of the lung. The idea is to improve a patient’s physical functioning, tolerance for exercise and general quality of life.
The study device works by limiting airflow to a selected portion of the lung in patients with emphysema. The bronchoscopic valve is implanted without an incision, hopefully providing an alternative to lung volume reduction surgery. The device is a small valve shaped like an umbrella. It’s placed in the bronchial tree to prevent air from entering targeted sections of the lung. Doctors successfully implanted the device in UVa’s first patient Dec. 2, the first time the device has been used in a clinical trial in the Southeast.
Some Leukemia Patients May Improve by Taking a Green Tea Extract
A new case study by Mayo Clinic researchers provides preliminary evidence to suggest a component of green tea may lead to clinical improvement in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Findings are published online in Leukemia Research.
In the small case study, the researchers report on four patients who appeared to have an improvement in the clinical state of their disease after starting over-the-counter products containing epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), an extract of green tea. Three of the four patients met the standard criteria used to define a response treatment for clinical trials. These same investigators had previously shown that EGCG kills leukemia cells from patients with CLL in the test tube by interrupting the communication signals they need to survive. That study was published in Blood in 2004.
Surprising autism finding
New brain imaging research at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill indicates that when people with autism look at a face, activity in the brain area that responds is similar to that of people without autism.
The finding is surprising, as it is widely known that autistic individuals tend to avoid looking directly at faces. The research also counters previous published reports that the face-processing area at the back of the brain is under-responsive in people with autism, and it suggests that specific behavioral interventions may help people with autism improve their ability to interact socially.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Not Caused by Workplace Computer Use
A new Special Health Report from Harvard Medical School refutes the common assumption that computer use causes carpal tunnel syndrome. Instead, says this report edited by Harvard-based hand experts, carpal tunnel syndrome is caused by the compression of the median nerve in the wrist. This compression may occur because of heredity, body weight, fracture, or even pregnancy—but not computer use.
This 40-page report, “Hands: Strategies for strong, pain-free hands,” also explains the many causes of hand pain and describes the exercises, therapies, and medications used to treat them.
Evidence Links Cocaine Abuse and Parkinson’s Disease
Adults who abuse cocaine might increase their risk of developing Parkinson’s disease (PD), and pregnant women who abuse cocaine could increase the risk of their children developing PD later in life, according to results of laboratory studies performed by investigators at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
The study’s findings are important because there are currently more than 2 million cocaine abusers in the US today, the researchers said. Many individuals who abused the drug during the height of the cocaine abuse epidemic of the 1970s and 1980s are now entering their older years, when symptoms of PD are likely to emerge.
