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Typical warning signs for sleep apnea

Twenty percent of Americans have trouble sleeping. Millions of them have a common condition called obstructive sleep apnea, a respiratory disorder marked by upper airway obstruction, which causes brief interruptions of breathing during sleep.

31 Jul 2004

Key to detecting Asperger’s syndrome, a milder yet little-understood form of autism, lies in analyzing infants’ movements

Home videos of infants' movements can be used to help detect a form of autism in a child’s first year of life, years earlier than the disorder typically is identified, University of Florida researchers have discovered.

29 Jul 2004

Botox for the treatment of severe underarm sweating

Botox, or botulinum toxin type A, is commonly known as a wrinkle treatment, but recently the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also approved it for the treatment of severe underarm sweating, a debilitating condition called primary axillary hyperhidrosis.

29 Jul 2004

Women with epilepsy should not let their condition stop them from planning a family

Generally speaking, women with epilepsy should not let their condition stop them from planning a family, according to doctors and epilepsy researchers.

27 Jul 2004

Millions of American osteoporosis sufferers remain undiagnosed and untreated

Osteoporosis is a serious health condition that affects over 44 million Americans. The human and economic costs for this condition may account for some $17 billion in direct expenditures in hospitals and nursing homes and that annual expense is expected to triple by 2040.

26 Jul 2004

Study to investigate carpal tunnel syndrome

Carpal tunnel is a painful progressive condition caused by compression of a key nerve in the wrist. Approximately two out of every 1,000 workers will experience carpal tunnel syndrome every year, leading to significant medical expenditures and lost time from work.

26 Jul 2004

Understanding the face of autism

A multidisciplinary group of researchers, affiliated with HMRI and based at the University of Newcastle, are conducting a groundbreaking study which aims to identify whether the difficulties with social interaction often experienced by individuals with autism are related to a difficulty in interpreting the emotional content of faces.

23 Jul 2004

Women with epilepsy may wonder what their chances are of having a healthy baby

Women with epilepsy may wonder what their chances are of having a healthy baby. They can relax with the knowledge that their chances of having a normal, healthy child are greater than 90 percent.

23 Jul 2004

Call for measures to counter under-diagnosis of angina

There is a glaring need for better objective guidance for GPs in the diagnosis and management of chest pain, according to a multi-disciplinary working group of the Angina Forum. The group agreed that a worrying over-dependence on subjective judgment by GPs in identifying suspected angina patients means that many cases may go undiagnosed.

22 Jul 2004

New measurement tool to help treat vitiligo

Superstar Michael Jackson and more than 40 million others who suffer from a de-pigmenting skin disease now have a better way to predict the effectiveness of treatment, thanks to a clinical measurement tool created by a University of British Columbia dermatology researcher.

21 Jul 2004

Exercise therapy looks promising for alleviating symptoms of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) is persistent, medically unexplained fatigue lasting more than six months.

21 Jul 2004

Tai Chi helps keep arthritis sufferers on their feet

The traditional Chinese martial art of Tai Chi has been said to produce a variety of health benefits for older adults.

21 Jul 2004

New test to help detect and treat chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

Australian doctors are pioneering a new test to help detect and treat one of the world's biggest killers - chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

20 Jul 2004

Botox approved as treatment for severe underarm sweating

The FDA has approved Botulinum Toxin Type A (Botox) to treat severe underarm sweating known as “primary axillary hyperhidrosis” that cannot be managed by topical agents such as prescription antiperspirants. Botox has already been approved for several other purposes.

20 Jul 2004

Stroke severity is the predominant predictor of discharge destination

An article in the July issue of the Archives of Neurology reports that increasing stroke severity, as measured by the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale, increases the likelihood that stroke patients who are treated with the rt-PA clot-dissolving drug will be discharged to rehabilitation or nursing homes, rather than to their own homes.

20 Jul 2004

New research into what causes endometriosis

Researchers know what causes endometriosis, but how the cysts that are characteristic of the disease maintain themselves and produce severe pain in some women has remained a mystery.

15 Jul 2004

Surgical flight syndrome: how to reduce the risks

“Most people know that all surgery carries some risk,” says Peter Fodor, President of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS). “What is less well known is that airline travel carries risk. So people who combine the two need to take extra precautions,” he says.

15 Jul 2004

Updated guidelines for treatment of blood cholesterol

The National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) has updated its guidelines for treatment of blood cholesterol, suggesting that people at risk for heart attack and stroke would benefit from more intensive cholesterol-lowering therapies.

13 Jul 2004

Cataract more prevalent in African American nursing home residents than white residents

A cataract is a cloud or film that can form on the lens of a person's eye. The presence of a cataract can degrade the quality of one's vision by blocking and scattering light as it enters the eye. It is often associated with chronic exposure to ultraviolet radiation.

13 Jul 2004

Latanoprost is safe as adjunctive therapy for long-term treatment of common form of glaucoma

Glaucoma is a condition in which the pressure inside the eyes rises. If untreated, glaucoma may damage the optic nerve and other parts of the eye, and my lead to blindness. According to information in the article, latanoprost is a derivative of the chemical prostaglandin F2-alpha. Prostaglandin derivatives have been shown to help lower intraocular pressure (IOP).

13 Jul 2004