CDC recommends hepatitis C tests for baby boomers

Sat, 19 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

Infection kills more in U.S. than AIDS

The federal government yesterday called for all baby boomers to be tested for hepatitis C, which kills more Americans each year than AIDS and is the leading reason for liver transplants.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention made the recommendation to find hundreds of thousands of people who have the infection, which greatly increases their chances of developing cirrhosis and liver cancer, but don't know it.

The hepatitis C virus is transmitted by blood, usually through intravenous drug use or transfusions, before a blood test for it became widely available in 1992. Extremely small amounts of the virus are able to cause infection. Some experts believe that rolled-up dollar bills used to snort cocaine and passed person-to-person can carry enough infected blood to transmit the virus.

"Many baby boomers may not even remember the behaviors that put them at risk," said John Ward, head of the CDC's division of viral hepatitis.

Report: Health linked to education gaps

Thu, 17 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

HHS: Programs so far unsuccessful

Higher levels of education in the United States correlate with longer life expectancy and less obesity, according to the government's annual health report.

Obesity, which leads to chronic ailments such as diabetes and heart disease, was twice as high among boys and three times as high for girls in families whose head of household lacked a degree compared with more educated households. The report, which included a special feature on socioeconomic status and health, was released yesterday by the National Center for Health Statistics.

Health disparities persist even in the face of efforts to lower them, Amy Bernstein, a health services researcher and lead study author, said in a telephone interview. The Department of Health and Human Services has created programs to help reduce the illness inequalities that appear for certain racial and economic groups. Yesterday's report suggests the programs haven't been successful, she said.

Study hopes to stall Alzheimer's earlier

Thu, 17 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

Government launches website

Look for a fundamental shift in how scientists hunt ways to ward off the devastation of Alzheimer's disease - by testing possible therapies in people who don't yet show many symptoms, before too much of the brain is destroyed.

The most ambitious attempt: An international study announced this week will track whether an experimental drug can stall the disease in people who appear healthy but are genetically destined to get a type of Alzheimer's that runs in the family. If so, it would be exciting evidence that maybe regular Alzheimer's is preventable too.

A second study will test whether a nasal spray that sends insulin to the brain helps people with very early memory problems, based on separate research linking diabetes to an increased risk of Alzheimer's.

Kiosk recruitment

Maddie Hanna — Mon, 14 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

When Michael Guglielmo was asked how to find more bone marrow donors, his idea had a high-tech edge

Embed multimedia (photos, galleries, audio, map):

Concord YMCA, bone marrow kiosk

The idea started with a trip to the doctor's office, where patients were registering for their appointments at kiosks. Brilliant, Michael Guglielmo thought.

So when Guglielmo's bosses at DKMS, a bone marrow donor center, asked how they could recruit donors at multiple locations, he was ready with a response.

"You know what would work? A kiosk," Guglielmo, who lives in Belmont, recalls saying. He said the center's CEO was immediately interested - "Just like at the airport," she told Guglielmo - and Guglielmo offered to draft a proposal and find a manufacturer.

That happened in September. Since then, the concept has become reality, with three kiosks installed in Concord, two in Manchester, and several more on the way to other places in New England. If successful, the center hopes to expand the initiative, partnering with a national franchise Guglielmo said is interested in registering its customers.

Saving mothers

Sarah_Palermo — Sun, 13 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

Lesotho

Concord native works to cut maternal mortality in Africa

Embed multimedia (photos, galleries, audio, map):

Jennie Riley in Lesotho

Lesotho Maternal Mortality

Lesotho at a Glance

The pregnant women who till the soil and plant the seeds will not be there to gather the harvest. The small garden will feed other women like themselves later, women who stay at the house in Nohana, Lesotho, for two or three weeks, waiting to give birth.

By donkey, by horse, or more often, by foot, they have trekked for hours from their homes in the isolated mountains of the southern African country to spend the last few weeks of their pregnancies in closer proximity to medical care.

They are not just tending a garden but helping turn around a deadly statistic in their country.

Halfway around the world, in an office in Boston, a Concord High School graduate works to support the waiting-in house for expectant mothers, and other missions to improve health services in Lesotho.

Coping with the aches and pains

Sun, 13 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

One in five adults and nearly 300,000 children in the United States suffer from arthritis, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. If you are one of those people, clinical psychologist Jane Delgado believes that better understanding of the condition will help you cope with it more easily.

In the first part of her book, The Buena Salud Guide to Arthritis and Your Life, she covers the cartilage and joint damage that leads to arthritis and how a healthy diet and low-impact exercise can ease the discomfort. The second part looks at specific conditions such as osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia. Delgado also provides a wellness journal where you can track your visits to the doctor, your prescriptions, exercise, diet and sleep.

'The Doctor Will Skype You Now'

Emerging 'superbugs' threaten global health

Sun, 13 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

India

Lill-Karin Skaret, a 67-year-old grandmother from Namsos, Norway, was traveling to a lakeside vacation villa near India's port city of Kochi in March 2010 when her car collided with a truck. She was rushed to the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, her right leg broken and her artificial hip so damaged that replacing it required 12 hours of surgery.

Three weeks later and walking with the aid of crutches, Skaret was relieved to be home. Then her doctor gave her upsetting news. Mutant germs that most antibiotics can't kill had entered her bladder, probably from a contaminated hospital catheter in India. She risked a life-threatening infection if the bacteria invaded her bloodstream - a waiting game over which she had limited control.

"I got a call from my doctor who told me they found this bug in me and I had to take precautions," Skaret remembers. "I was very afraid."

FDA reviews first take-home test

Sat, 12 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

FDA reviews first rapid, take-home test for HIV

The Food and Drug Administration is considering approval of the first over-the-counter HIV test that would allow consumers to quickly test themselves for the virus at home, without medical supervision.

FDA reviewers said yesterday the OraQuick In-Home HIV test could play a significant role in slowing the spread of HIV, according to briefing documents posted online. But they also raised concerns about the accuracy of the test, a mouth swab that returns results in about 20 minutes.

The review comes one day after an FDA advisory panel endorsed the HIV pill Truvada for preventive use. If FDA follows the group's advice, the daily medication would become the first drug approved to prevent healthy people from becoming infected with the virus that causes AIDS.

AIDS battle evolves

Sat, 12 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

HIV treatment pill now being used to prevent infection

Condoms and other safe-sex practices have accomplished only so much. Now the 30-year battle against AIDS is on the verge of a radical new phase, with the government expected to endorse a once-a-day pill to prevent infection with the virus.

Some doctors are already giving patients the drug, Truvada, to ward off infection. But Food and Drug Administration approval would expand that practice and could make the highly expensive medicine more affordable. Truvada costs about $11,000 to $14,000 a year.

Approval seems likely after an FDA advisory panel Thursday endorsed the use of Truvada for prevention.

In the generation-long fight against AIDS, "it's the first time we have talked about a medication for prevention of HIV," said Dr. Lisa Sterman of Francisco, who treats HIV-positive patients.

Mayans: World won't end in 2012

Fri, 11 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

Archaelogists find calendar in ruins

The ancient Mayans were masters of time, keepers of good calendars. And now one of their timekeepers' workrooms proves it.

In a striking find, archaeologists in Guatemala report the discovery of a small building whose walls display not only a stunningly preserved mural of a brightly adorned Mayan king, but also calendars that destroy any notion that the Mayans predicted the end of the world in 2012.

These deep-time calendars can be used to count thousands of years into the past and future, countering pop-culture and New Age ideas that Mayan calendars ended on Dec. 21, 2012, (or Dec. 23, depending on who's counting), thereby predicting the end of the world.

The newly found calendars, which track the motion of the moon, Venus and Mars, provide an unprecedented glimpse into how these storied sky-gazers - who dominated Central America for nearly 1,000 years - kept such accurate track of months, seasons and years.