Cataract Surgery to Eliminate Reading Glasses?
Improvements in the lenses implanted in the eye during cataract surgery have led to a new - and controversial - surgical option for people with presbyopia, a common form of farsightedness that typically develops in middle age. But a new report from Harvard Medical School urges people considering this operation to weigh its risks, as well as its benefits.
The recently developed implantable variable-focus lenses, which enable people to see objects at varying distances by shifting their eyes slightly, are currently FDA-approved only for patients undergoing cataract surgery. But some ophthalmologists are also implanting them into the eyes of people without cataracts in order to correct presbyopia. This requires removing the eyes’ natural lenses, as is done in cataract surgery.
The Aging Eye: Preventing and Treating Eye Disease urges consumers to keep two things in mind before undergoing this surgery for presbyopia. First, it will not be covered by insurance unless you also have cataracts, and the cost can be $5,000 or more for each eye. Second, many ophthalmologists are reluctant to perform this procedure in people without cataracts because of the risks involved in any eye operation, as well as lack of information about long-term safety and effectiveness.
Female Athletes Limiting Calories More Likely to Get Stress Fractures
Female college athletes on low-calorie diets could be putting themselves at risk for stress fractures, according to new Saint Louis University research published in this month’s The American Journal of Sports Medicine.
Researchers studied risk factors for exercise-related leg pain, including stress fractures in women participating in four popular fall sports - cross-country running, field hockey, soccer and volleyball.
Women with “disordered eating,” which includes eating disorders such as bulimia and anorexia but more generally refers to insufficient caloric intake, were more likely to develop stress fractures as a result of decreased estrogen production, says researcher Mark Reinking, PT, Ph.D., chairman of the department of physical therapy at Saint Louis University’s Doisy College of Health Sciences.
Hip hop music fans have more sex
Fans of hip hop music are likely to have had more sexual partners in the last five years while many of those who prefer classical strains will have tried cannabis, according to a study released on Thursday.
Psychologist Adrian North from the University of Leicester surveyed 2,500 Britons to find out how their musical tastes related to their lifestyles and interests.
He said the results showed said it was possible to discover clues about what people were like simply from the music they liked.
Mobile phones, how addictive are they?
People can become very attached to their mobile phones and some may even show signs of addictive behaviour, a British researcher said on Thursday.
In a study that analysed how students feel about their phones, David Sheffield, of the University of Staffordshire in Stoke-on-Trent, found that some of their reactions were similar to symptoms associated with pathological gambling.
“Mobile phones have become a very significant part of everyday life and their use can have some detrimental effects,” he said.
Physician group warns of plastic surgery risks
Undergoing cosmetic surgery performed by someone who’s improperly trained can result in scarring, burning and, in some cases, even death, a group of dermatologic surgeons warns.
The American Society of Dermatologic Surgery (ASDS) has launched a public safety campaign in response to what it calls the “alarming national trend” of non-physicians performing procedures such as Botox injections, laser hair removal, microdermabrasion and chemical peels.
“What we’re seeing is an overwhelming preponderance at this point of these untrained people getting their hands on these devices and using them,” Dr. Renata Hirsch, a dermatologic surgeon in practice in Boston and ASDS spokesperson, told Reuters Health. “Top offenders are these pseudo medi-spas.”
Do You Know the Signs and Symptoms of Prostate Cancer?
September is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month and the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) is encouraging men to get educated when it comes to prostate cancer awareness, screening and their treatment options.
This year, an estimated 234,460 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed in the United States, according to the American Cancer Society. Fortunately, screening for prostate cancer is relatively easy.
Screening for prostate cancer is done through a simple blood test called a PSA test. The PSA blood test will detect a specific hormone called the prostate specific antigen. Your doctor will also administer a painless rectal exam in conjunction with the PSA blood test. Unlike screening tests like a colonoscopy or a mammogram, both these tests can be done by your primary care doctor in his or her office. If either is abnormal, you will need to undergo a biopsy to see if you have cancer.
High infant mortality seen with elective c-section
A new study has found a higher risk of infant deaths among infants born by cesarean section to mothers who have no medical need for the procedure.
While c-sections have saved the lives of “countless” women and babies, and the risk of infant death is still very low, it is crucial to determine the reasons for the higher infant mortality seen with c-section, because the rates of this surgery are becoming increasingly common, Dr. Marian F. MacDorman of the National Center for Health Statistics at the Centers for Disease Control in Hyattsville, Maryland and colleagues conclude.
Rates of cesarean have risen steadily in the US, from 14.6 percent of all first-time births in 1996, to 20.6 percent in 2004, MacDorman’s group notes in the September issue of Birth.
Bullying can persist into college
Bullying often doesn’t stop in high school, but continues into college - and this applies to the bullies as well as their victims, a new study shows.
“There are some serious, long-term consequences to being bullied for a long time,” Dr. Mark Chapell of Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey noted in an interview with Reuters Health, pointing to increased rates of depression and suicidal thoughts as possible results.
Chapell published the first study of bullying in college in 2004. The growing body of research on bullying among adults in the workplace got him interested in looking at the issue in college students, he explained in an interview.
Lung damage from chlorine can persist in children
Ten children who were accidentally exposed to chlorine at a swimming pool experienced substantial impairment of lung function that was still apparent to some degree several months later, according to a report from Italy.
Chlorine inhalation can cause several types of lung damage, depending on the extent of exposure, ranging from irritation of the mucous membranes to accumulation of fluid in the lungs that can cause respiratory failure. However, little information is available on the underlying process that causes these symptoms, Dr. Eugenio Baraldi, of the University of Padua, Italy, and colleagues report in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
Although most people do recover from the chlorine exposure, the possibility of long-term damage is still a concern, they add.
