If pregnant women stop smoking, babies are happier
Mothers who stop smoking while pregnant tend to have cheerier, more adaptable babies, British researchers reported on Wednesday.
Babies of women who continued to smoke while pregnant were notably grumpy, and the researchers believe that mothers who can muster the effort to kick the habit are also caring more for their babies in other ways.
Babies of non-smokers also are more temperamental than babies born to quitters, the researchers found—which they said suggested that mothers who suspend smoking are doing something special.
Second study finds treating herpes won’t stop HIV
Another study has found that treating genital herpes infections does not protect people from the AIDS virus.
The study, published on Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, casts even more doubt on the once hopeful idea that treating the common infection might help put a dent in the AIDS pandemic.
Dr. Deborah Watson-Jones of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and colleagues reported on 659 workers aged 16 to 35 at recreational facilities in Tanzania.
Popcorn ingredient causes lung disease: U.S. study
A chemical used to give butter flavor to popcorn can damage the lungs and airways of mice, U.S. government experts reported on Thursday.
Tests on mice show that diacetyl, a component of artificial butter flavoring, can cause a condition known as lymphocytic bronchiolitis, said the team at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, part of the National Institutes of Health.
The condition can lead to obliterative bronchiolitis—or “popcorn lung”—a rare and debilitating disease seen in workers at microwave popcorn packaging plants and at least one consumer.
Doctor’s reminders boosts adherence to meds
Even after a heart attack, people don’t always take the medicine prescribed for them - but a reminder from their doctor helps keep them on track, a study shows.
Follow-up patient mailings stressing the importance of taking beta-blocker pills after a heart attack increased adherence to these medications, the researchers report.
“The main finding was that 17 percent more patients were adherent with beta-blocker therapy following the intervention—this translates into one additional adherent patient for every 16 mailings,” lead author Dr. David H. Smith told Reuters Health.
