Health News and Scoops

DUBLIN–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Research and Markets(http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/3f0ef4/fetal_behaviour_a)
has announced the addition of John Wiley and Sons Ltd’s new book “Fetal
Behaviour: A Neurodevelopmental Approach” to their offering.

Fetal behaviour and movements not only give an insight into the
developing brain, as an expression of neural activity, but are also
necessary for the further development of neural structure and of other
organs. This book presents an account of our current understanding of
fetal behaviour as obtained through the assessment of fetal movements
and behavioural states. The approach is based on the premises of
developmental neurology, and provides important clues for the
recognition of the age-specific functional repertoire of the nervous
system. The companion DVD contains 26 movies using both ultrasound and
dynamic MRI to illustrate the text.

Key Topics Covered:

Introduction

1. Observation of fetal behaviour

2. Spontaneous motor behaviour

3. Prenatal laterality

4. Behavioural states

5. Fetal responsiveness

6. Fetal behaviour in twins

7. Determinants of fetal behaviour

8. Functional assessment of the nervous system and its relevance to
clinical syndromes

Author:

Christa Einspieler has been working in behavioural analysis for over 20
years. She is currently Associate Professor in Physiology at the Medical
University of Graz. Her main research topics are the ontogeny of
behaviour, fetal movements, motor development in preterm, term and young
infants, age-specific neurological assessments, neurolinguistics, and
development of laterality. She is author or co-author of more than 70
scientific papers in indexed journals, and has contributed to more than
20 books from international publishers.

Daniela Prayer is Professor of Neuroradiology at Vienna Medical School
and Director of the Clinical Department of Neuroradiology and
Musculoskeletal Radiology at the University Clinic of Radio Diagnostics,
one of the worldwide leading centres of prenatal MRI. She is a member of
the board of the Austrian Society of Perinatology as well as the
International Society of Prenatal Diagnosis. Her research focuses on
epilepsy, brain tumours, degenerative diseases and diffusion tensor
imaging (measuring the diffusion movement of water molecules in body
tissue using MRI) of peripheral nerves.

Heinz Prechtl was a pioneer in the evaluation of the quality of
spontaneous movements during early human development. He discovered that
the quality of spontaneous general movements in the fetus and young
infant could provide information on the integrity of the young nervous
system. His approach to the qualitative assessment of general movements
in newborn infants is a widely used, highly sensitive and specific tool
in the prediction of neurological impairments. For more information
visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/3f0ef4/fetal_behaviour_a

Article source: Read More

By David Beasley

ATLANTA |
Thu Sep 29, 2011 4:47pm EDT

ATLANTA (Reuters) – Cigarette smoking remains stubbornly high among workers in the mining, food services and construction industries despite dramatic overall declines in the United States in recent decades, a federal study released Thursday showed.

Thirty percent of workers in mining, hotel/motel and food services smoke, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which analyzed data from 2004-2010.

The construction industry had the next highest smoking rate at 29.7 percent.

“Since the first surgeon general’s report in 1964, we’ve almost cut the smoking prevalence in half overall,” said Ann Malarcher, senior scientific adviser at the CDC. “But then there are groups that are still at very high rates and are being left behind.”

The management and education sectors had among the lowest percentage of smokers. Only 9.7 percent of educators smoke, according to the study.

Low education levels are a factor in high smoking rates, along with poverty and gender, Malarcher said.

“One of the things that has been studied is that persons with lower levels of education tend to have less access to health information,” she said. “They tend to be less knowledgeable about the dangers of tobacco use.”

The CDC survey found the highest smoking rates among workers ages 18-24, males, those with high school or less education and those without health insurance. Midwestern workers had the overall highest rates.

The CDC recommends that employers increase their anti-smoking efforts, including imposing smoke-free workplace policies and providing health insurance coverage for smoking cessation treatments.

Adult smoking has decreased 42.4 percent since 1965, the CDC said. But the decline has slowed in the past five years, dropping to 19.3 percent of adults in 2010 from 20.9 percent in 2005.

Smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke is the leading cause of preventable death and disease in the United States, killing an estimated 443,000 Americans each year. Smoking costs about $193 billion annually in direct health care expenses and lost productivity.

(Editing by Colleen Jenkins, Greg McCune and Bill Trott)

Article source: Read More

Thu Sep 29, 2011 9:33pm EDT

(Reuters) – Middle-aged women encouraged to exercise at moderate intensity were much happier and more likely to continue working out than peers who exercised more intensely, according to a study.

Researchers led by Steriani Elavsky of Penn State University in Pennsylvania recruited 255 women between 40 and 60 years old to do either moderate or vigorous exercise, then followed the volunteers to monitor their reactions.

Overall, women who did moderate exercise were about twice as likely to feel energized and confident they could do more exercise in the future, and more of them also showed decreased feelings of sadness and anxiety than the vigorous-exercise group.

“Exercise makes you feel better but it is going to be more pleasant when performed at moderate intensity as compared to vigorous, especially when you have been previously inactive or may be overweight,” Elavsky told Reuters Health.

They were activities “that would allow you to talk in short sentences while you are doing them, but would not allow you to sing,” she added.

Middle-aged women are among the least active and their level of physical activity declines with age. Understanding whether exercise of different intensities has different effects on mood and whether these predict overall physical activity in midlife women is an important question to address, Elavsky added.

Elavsky and colleagues at the Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey studied the 255 women, who were not on hormone therapy and who kept a daily diary of activities and feelings for two weeks. She presented their findings at the North American Menopause Society meeting in Washington D.C.

At the beginning of the study, the women completed two bouts of moderate or vigorous exercise. The vigorous workout involved exercising on a treadmill to the point where they could no longer tolerate the intensity, and moderate exercise involved a 30-minute session, also on a treadmill, at a pace the women selected for themselves but could be considered moderate.

All women also wore an accelerometer, a small device the size of a match box, to track their energy expenditure and their time spent in activities of different intensities.

The study found that moderate intensity exercise caused more women to report later that they were in a better mood and to have greater feelings of energy, psychological wellbeing and “self-efficacy.”

Moderate physical activity was also much better in these terms for obese and out of shape women, Elavsky said.

Vigorous exercisers showed smaller benefits to mood, and those who were overweight or had symptoms of illness reported “significant decreases in calmness” after the exercise bouts.

Examples of moderate intensity exercise include brisk walking, ballroom and line dancing, biking on level ground or with few hills, canoeing, general gardening including raking, trimming shrubs, sports such as baseball, softball, volleyball, tennis (doubles) and water aerobics.

Elavsky added she hopes her study will reaffirm to women that exercise can be a powerful way to enhance their wellbeing, and that they don’t have to go all out with their level of exertion.

“The effects we observed were large and moderate intensity is sufficient, in fact it is optimal,” she said.

“We also hope that clinicians will realize the importance of considering the proper exercise intensity when making recommendations about exercise.”

(Reporting from New York by Fran Lowry at Reuters Health; editing by Elaine Lies)

Article source: Read More

WASHINGTON |
Thu Sep 29, 2011 9:56pm EDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A key recommendation for medical coverage standards under President Barack Obama’s healthcare overhaul will be released on October 7, according to the organization preparing the report.

The Department of Health and Human Services has asked the influential Institute of Medicine, an independent agency in Washington, to recommend how HHS should determine the basic health benefits for millions of Americans who will qualify for coverage sold through insurance exchanges beginning in 2014.

IOM spokeswoman Christine Stencel on Thursday said the agency will release the report on October 7, just a week later than the self-imposed deadline of the end of September.

Stencel has previously told Reuters that IOM will not produce specific benefits standards for the exchanges. Instead, the group is working toward recommendations on criteria and methods that would allow HHS to determine and update the essential health benefits package.

The findings will inform the final HHS decision expected by the end of the year. HHS has been subject to intense lobbying over which health services should be mandated by the government.

(Reporting by Alina Selyukh in Washington; editing by Carol Bishopric)

Article source: Read More

Removing Dated Ceiling Treatment May Release Deadly Toxins

LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–John
Langdoc, a mesothelioma lawyer at the law firm of Baron
and Budd, is warning homeowners and other residents about the potential
hazards of asbestos in popcorn ceilings, a type of spray-on treatment
that was once popular for its highly textured look. Left alone and
intact, the ceiling material is not dangerous, but replacing a popcorn
ceiling requires expert skill and abatement so that asbestos fibers are
not released and inhaled.

“I especially hope that young homeowners who
want to restore older homes understand the danger and take the
appropriate precautions.”

“People need to be incredibly careful when they remodel and decide
to change the look of a popcorn ceiling, because some of the materials
used in these ceilings prior to 1979 contained asbestos,” said John
Langdoc, mesothelioma attorney at Baron and Budd. “Any
sanding or scraping of the materials risks the release of asbestos
fibers if the work is not done by technicians trained to asbestos
abatement procedures. We’re talking Tyvek space suits, respirators, and
air sealed barriers.”

“Popcorn ceiling” is the name given to a spray-on or paint-on
ceiling treatment used in homes and other residences built between the
1950s and the 1980s. Since it was less expensive than painting, the
technique was popular in residential construction. The treatment could
be quickly and easily sprayed on during new construction and was very
useful in hiding stains, uneven ceilings, poor workmanship or other
defects.

Unfortunately, the texture often contained asbestos, a known toxin
that has been linked to cancer and other diseases. However, many
homeowners are not aware of the risk associated with popcorn ceiling
remodeling and do not take proper safeguards.

“Replacing a popcorn ceiling yourself is just not worth the
terrible health risks, like mesothelioma, associated with sanding,
cutting or otherwise disturbing the ceiling,” said John
Langdoc. “I especially hope that young homeowners who
want to restore older homes understand the danger and take the
appropriate precautions.”

For additional information on asbestos testing or asbestos
removal, check out the Environmental Protection Agency’s guide to
asbestos, or call Baron and Budd at 1.866.855.1229.

About Baron Budd, P.C.

The national mesothelioma law firm of Baron Budd, P.C. has a
more than 30-year history of “Protecting What’s Right” for asbestos
sufferers and their families. As one of the first law firms to
successfully litigate an asbestos lawsuit, Baron Budd continues to
actively represent veterans, industry workers and others who are
suffering as a result of exposure to asbestos. Baron Budd achieved the
largest mesothelioma verdict ever in the state of Texas, a $55 million
verdict for an asbestos sufferer and his family in El Paso, Texas.
Contact Baron and Budd at 1.866.855.1229 for additional information on
medical treatments, mesothelioma cancer doctors and treatment centers,
high risk jobs, veterans issues and financial assistance for asbestos
cancer care.

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/johnlangdoc

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/johnlangdoc

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/johnlangdoc

Article source: Read More