Oral contraceptives increase risk for breast cancer in some women
A meta-analysis published in the October issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings indicts oral contraceptives as putting premenopausal women at significantly increased risk for breast cancer, especially women who use them prior to having a child.
The meta-analysis builds on many studies with similar findings. But even as the findings stack up, many women are unaware of the risks posed by oral contraceptive use prior to pregnancy, says lead study author Chris Kahlenborn, M.D., of Altoona Hospital in Altoona, Pa.
Massage May Help Dementia Patients With Agitation
Massage could offer a drug-free way to treat agitation and depression among dementia patients, but there are still too few studies about the practice to know for sure, according to a review of recent research.
In two studies, hand massage and gentle touching during conversation helped ease agitation and restore appetite in dementia patients over short periods of about an hour.
Sequencing of chemotherapy and radiation therapy for early breast cancer
For women who have had surgery for early breast cancer, it may not matter whether they receive follow-up chemotherapy before, after or during radiation therapy, according to a new review of studies.
A woman’s chances of survival or seeing the cancer return are similar in all three cases, if radiation therapy and chemotherapy begin within seven months after surgery, the review concludes.
However, the studies suggest that certain toxic side effects in the blood and esophagus—common in chemotherapy and radiation patients—may be up to 44 percent more likely when the two therapies are delivered at the same time, said Dr. Brigid Hickey and colleagues at the Southern Zone Radiation Oncology Service in Brisbane, Australia.
Stigma, discrimination in India hindering HIV/AIDS treatment, care
The stigma and discrimination associated with HIV/AIDS in India is delaying treatment and care for HIV-positive people, according to a study conducted by the Population Council’s Horizons program; Sharan, an Indian nongovernmental organization; and the New Delhi-based Institute of Economic Growth, IRIN/Kenya London News reports.
The study, titled “Reducing AIDS-Related Stigma and Discrimination in Indian Hospitals,” includes interviews with hospital administrators, physicians, nurses and HIV-positive people and their caregivers at two state-owned hospitals and one private hospital in New Delhi from 2002 through 2004.
Staph vaccine shows promise in mouse study
By combining four proteins of Staphylococcus aureus that individually generated the strongest immune response in mice, scientists have created a vaccine that significantly protects the animals from diverse strains of the bacterium that cause disease in humans. A report describing the University of Chicago study, funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health, appears online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
“This finding represents a promising step toward identifying potential components to combine into a vaccine designed for people at high risk of invasive S. aureus infection,” notes Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., NIAID director.
S. aureus, the most common agent of hospital-acquired infection, is the leading cause of bloodstream, lower respiratory tract and skin infections. These infections can result in a variety of illnesses, including endocarditis (inflammation of the heart), toxic-shock syndrome and food poisoning.
HIV/AIDS and poverty in Zambia threatens economic growth
HIV/AIDS and poverty in Zambia “are threatening” economic growth the country has achieved since gaining its independence in 1964, President Levy Mwanawasa said last week in a speech on the eve of Zambia’s 42nd anniversary of independence, Reuters reports.
According to official statistics, one in five of the country’s 11.5 million residents is HIV-positive, and 65% of the population lives on less than $1 per day.
“We must be aware that the (AIDS) pandemic is capable of reversing all the gains we have made since independence,” Mwanawasa, who was re-elected earlier in the month for a second term, said.
Fathers influence child language
In families with two working parents, fathers had greater impact than mothers on their children’s language development between ages 2 and 3, according to a study by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Frank Porter Graham (FPG) Child Development Institute and UNC’s School of Education.
Researchers videotaped pairs of parents and their 2-year-old children in their homes during playtime. The children whose fathers used more diverse vocabularies had greater language development when they were tested one year later. However, the mothers’ vocabulary did not significantly affect a child’s language skills.
