Study: Electric boost helps brain to learn better

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Updated 02:20 p.m., Wednesday, February 8, 2012

NEW YORK (AP) — People learned better when a key part of their brains got mild zaps of electricity, a finding that may someday help Alzheimer's patients keep more of their memories. In a small but tantalizing study, participants played a video game in which they learned the locations of stores in a virtual city. In the future, that strategy might help curb memory loss for people in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease, suggested Dr. Itzhak Fried, a neurosurgeon at the University of California, Los Angeles. The new work shows stimulation can modify the workings of brain circuits that control memory in people, he said. The study participants were seven epilepsy patients who had the electrodes implanted to help surgeons identify the source of their seizures. When researchers looked at how much extra wandering they did beyond the shortest possible path, they found that stimulation reduced this excess by an average of 64 percent.

Study: Tai chi helps ease symptoms of Parkinson's

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Updated 02:36 p.m., Wednesday, February 8, 2012

NEW YORK (AP) — The ancient Chinese exercise of tai chi improved balance and lowered the risk of falls in a study of people with Parkinson's disease. Symptoms of the brain disorder include tremors and stiff, jerky movements that can affect walking and other activities. Tai chi (ty-CHEE'), with its slow, graceful movements, has been shown to improve strength and aid stability in older people, and has been studied for a number of ailments. The participants attended twice-weekly group classes of either tai chi or two other kinds of exercise — stretching and resistance training, which included steps and lunges with ankle weights and a weighted vest. The tai chi routine was tailored for the Parkinson's patients, with a focus on "swing and sway" motions and weight-shifting, said Li, who practices tai chi and teaches instructors.

Study finds MDs not always honest with patients

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Updated 01:40 p.m., Wednesday, February 8, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) — Trust your doctor? A survey finds that some doctors aren't always completely honest with their patients. [...] it takes open communication for patients to make fully informed decisions about their health care, as opposed to the "doctor-knows-best" paternalism of medicine's past, Iezzoni added. The vast majority of those surveyed agreed that physicians should fully inform patients of the risks, not just the benefits, of treatment options and never tell a patient something that isn't true — even though some admitted they hadn't followed that advice at least on rare occasions in the past year. [...] he's heard doctors agonize over what to tell parents about a very premature baby's chances, knowing the odds are really bad but also knowing they've seen miracles. Not only do more patients Google their conditions so they know what to ask, but some doctors who have embraced electronic medical records allow patients to log in and check their own test results.

CDC: Fewer smokers go to the dentist

Associated Press Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Updated 05:16 p.m., Tuesday, February 7, 2012

More than a third of smokers reported having three or more dental problems, ranging from stained teeth to jaw pain, toothaches or infected gums. [...] another CDC survey found smoking rates are higher among those with low incomes — nearly 30 percent of Americans with incomes below the federal poverty level say they are current smokers, while fewer than 19 percent of people with higher incomes are smokers. A 2000 Surgeon General's report found that smoking can lead to poorer dental health by, for example, impairing the body's ability to fight off infections in the mouth.

Vienna mayor promises redress for malaria victims

Associated Press Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Updated 04:47 p.m., Tuesday, February 7, 2012

VIENNA (AP) — Vienna's mayor on Tuesday promised compensation for anyone injected with the parasite that causes malaria after two former foster home children claimed to have been given such shots in the 1960s. [...] injections were an accepted method in the early 20th century to treat syphilis, with the resulting high fever killing the bacteria that caused the disease, while the malaria was kept under control by doses of Quinine. Bernd Kuefferle, a psychiatrist at the Vienna University Clinic during the 1960s, told the Austria Press Agency that some psychiatric patients were forced to undergo such "fever cures" to keep malaria pathogens alive for possible syphilis treatment.

Blood clot guidelines challenge economy class risk

Associated Press Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Updated 11:57 a.m., Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Most people who develop these clots have risk factors, including obesity, older age, recent surgery, a history of previous blood clots or use of birth control pills. Long-haul travel doubles the chance, but still, the small risk should reassure healthy travelers that they're unlikely to develop clots, said Dr. Susan Kahn, a co-author of the new guidelines and a professor of medicine at McGill University in Montreal. Traveling by bus, train and car may also increase the risks, the guidelines say. Besides taking a stroll down the aisle during flights, doing calf exercises including flexing and extending the ankles while seated can help prevent clots, Kahn said.

CDC: Bread beats out chips as biggest salt source

Associated Press Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Updated 07:35 p.m., Tuesday, February 7, 2012

ATLANTA (AP) — Bread and rolls are the No. 1 source of salt in the American diet, accounting for more than twice as much sodium as salty junk food like potato chips. "Potato chips, pretzels, and popcorn — which we think of as the saltiest foods in our diet — are only No. 10," said CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden. Salt is the main source of sodium for most people, and sodium increases the risk of high blood pressure, a major cause of heart disease and stroke. According to the CDC, breads and rolls account for about 7 percent of the salt that the average American eats in a day. Rounding out the list — and accounting for about 3 percent each — are spaghetti and other pasta dishes; meatloaf and other meat dishes and snacks like potato chips and pretzels. A cup of canned chicken noodle soup has between 100 and 940 milligrams and 3 ounces of luncheon meat has between 450 and 1,050 milligrams.

Deaths of 11 newborns investigated in Venezuela

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan health authorities are investigating the deaths of 11 newborns within four days at a single public hospital. Regional health officer Angel Melchor says the babies died from Thursday to Sunday at Central Hospital in the city of Maracay in the central state of Aragua.

Pa. vending machine dispenses 'morning-after' pill

Associated Press Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Updated 06:22 p.m., Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Students at Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania can get the "morning-after" pill by sliding $25 into a vending machine, an idea that has drawn the attention of federal regulators and raised questions about how accessible emergency contraception should be. The student health center at Shippensburg, a secluded public institution of 8,300 students tucked between mountain ridges in the Cumberland Valley, provides the Plan B One Step emergency contraceptive in the vending machine along with condoms, decongestants and pregnancy tests. An official resigned from the nation's largest breast cancer charity Tuesday over Planned Parenthood funding, and Republican presidential candidates attacked the Obama administration for a recent ruling requiring church-affiliated employers to provide birth control. [...] some experts see a worrisome trend in making drugs like Plan B, which is kept behind the pharmacy counter, available in a vending machine. Denise Bradley, a spokeswoman for Teva Pharmaceuticals, which makes Plan B, said in a statement that it sells the product only to "licensed pharmacies or other licensed healthcare clinics, which are required to follow federal guidelines for the distribution of pharmaceutical products." Deanne Hall, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy, noted that the ease of access to such a machine could be positive for many women, but she wondered whether self-treatment might deter sexual assault victims from seeking medical attention. Rob Maher, a professor at the Duquesne University School of Pharmacy in Pittsburgh, said he had never heard of a vending machine dispensing Plan B, but noted that there have been vending machines in doctor's offices, and even a specialized machine designed to fill prescriptions.

Obama to seek more Alzheimer's research money

Associated Press Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Updated 02:53 p.m., Tuesday, February 7, 2012

"The science of Alzheimer's disease has reached a very interesting juncture," with promising new findings to pursue after years of false starts, NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins told The Associated Press. The move is part of the administration's development of the first National Alzheimer's Plan, to combine research toward better treatments — the goal is to have some by 2025 — along with steps to help overwhelmed families better cope today. "Reducing the burden of Alzheimer's disease on patients and their families is an urgent national priority," Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said. Collins also said he will determine whether the extra money is enough to start some clinical trials that otherwise would have to wait, including one to test whether an intranasal form of insulin might reach and protect the brain cells of people with early dementia symptoms.