Archive for October, 2008
October 13th, 2008 by Nina Thompson, ARNP
Moderate exercise for two-and-a-half hours a week has been recommended by new federal guidelines for all adults ages 18 through 64. This activity should be done in at least 10-minute sessions divided throughout the week, the guidelines said.
Additional health benefits can be achieved by increasing moderate exercise to five hours a week. Also muscle-strengthening exercises at least two days a week yields substantial improvement in health.
Children benefit from an hour or more of physical activity a day, the researchers also concluded.
These recommendations came from an analysis by the 13-member Physical Activities Guidelines Committee which concluded that exercise reduces the risk of early death, coronary heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, colon and breast cancer, and depression, and can improve thinking ability in older adults.
Read about how to get started on an exercise program from Bay Area Medical Information
via Department of Health and Human Services “Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans” HHS 2008
October 10th, 2008 by Nina Thompson, ARNP
These alarming statistics were recently discovered by a recent study from the CDC. The heaviest burden lies in the African-American teenagers where about one in two were affected compared to one in five white teens. The most common STDs include human papillomavirus (HPV), chlamydia, herpes simplex virus and trichomoniasis.
HPV and chlamydia are the most common with almost one in five overall infected with a strain of HPV associated with cervical cancer or genital warts. In this study, four percent of the teenaged girls had chlamydia which is usually without symptoms. If left untreated, chlamydia can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease, a common cause for ectopic pregnancy, chronic pelvic pain, and infertility. Also, the CDC study found that 2.9 percent of young women had trichomoniasis, and 2 percent were infected with genital herpes.
These statistics underline the CDCs important recommendation: If teens choose to be sexually active, they need to protect themself and be screened for these infections. Also, all girls between the ages of 11 and 26 should get vaccinated for HPV.
via CDC, March 2008
October 10th, 2008 by Nina Thompson, ARNP
About 2.5 million girls ages 13 through 17 started the vaccination series against human papillomavirus in 2007, according to a recent survey by the CDC. Specifically 25% of surveyed teen girls had been given at least one of the three HPV vaccine shots and many were in the process of completing the series at the time of the survey.
Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is a very common virus that is spread through sexual contact. Most of the time, HPV has no symptoms so people don’t even know that they have it. The HPV vaccine is given in 3 separate doses over a 6-month period, and it works by preventing the most common types of HPV that cause cervical cancer and genital warts.
Underlining the prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases in America’s teens today, 25 percent of teen girls were found to have a sexually transmitted disease, in an earlier study by the CDC. The most common of these diseases included human papillomavirus (HPV), chlamydia, herpes simplex virus and trichomoniasis.
Read more about HPV from Bay Area Medical Information
via CDC, October 2008
October 9th, 2008 by Nina Thompson, ARNP
There is a new a blood test to aid in the diagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome, but the test’s accuracy is far from perfect. The sensitivity of the test was only 50% with specificity of 88%. In other words, if you have irritable bowel syndrome, the test will detect it 50% of the time. The blood test is still in early-stage development, even though Prometheus Laboratories in San Diego is already offering it clinically.
via Bruce Neri, Ph.D., of Prometheus Laboratories in San Diego, American College of Gastroenterology meeting, October 2008
via MedPage Today, October 2008
October 8th, 2008 by Nina Thompson, ARNP
People of all ages can have gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and it can be the cause of wheezing, rather than asthma. A new study from Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington confirms the growing body of literature surrounding reflux as a cause for wheezing.
Gastroesophageal reflux (GERD) occurs when the sphinctor between the esophagus and stomach either relaxes inappropriately or is weak. This allows stomach juices to back up, or reflux, into the esophagus, creating heartburn. When the stomach fluid backs up into the esophagus and overflows into the breathing tubes, this can result in airway blockage which can lead to wheezing that can be misdiagnosed as asthma. Wheezing from GERD often occurs at night when a person is lying down.
When asthma-medication doesn’t resolve the wheezing, the question of potential underlying GERD should always be raised.
The symptoms of GERD include one or more of the following symptoms:
- Heartburn, chest pain Frequent or constant heartburn is the most common symptom of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). When refluxed stomach acid touches the lining of the esophagus it may cause a burning sensation in the chest or throat called heartburn or acid indigestion. Heartburn is a common condition experienced by millions of Americans. Anyone experiencing heartburn twice a week or more may have GERD. An occasional episode can be insignificant, but regular episodes of heartburn can be a sign of a serious problem and deserves medical attention. The burning and pressure symptoms of heartburn can last for several hours and often worsen after eating food. Many people describe their symptoms as burning discomfort which is localized behind the breastbone. You can actually have GERD without having heartburn.
- Bitter or sour taste of acid in the back of the throat especially when bending over or lying down. This can occur due to acid reflux which can be tasted in the back of the mouth.
- Throat symptoms: persistent sore throat, burning of the throat, chronic hoarseness, excessive clearing of the throat, problems swallowing, or a feeling of a lump in the throat
- Lung or airway symptoms: chronic cough or asthma (Lung problems can develop when reflux causes stomach fluid to overflow into the breathing tubes. This often occurs at night when a person is lying down and may cause wheezing, bronchitis and pneumonia.)
Persistent reflux that occurs more than twice a week is considered GERD. The condition is treatable and most people find relief if they follow a consistent plan, but it is important to see your doctor or health care provider for diagnosis, treatment, and to rule out a more serious underlying condition. Ignoring persistent heartburn symptoms can lead to severe consequences, even cancer.
via Bay Area Medical Information, Reflux–GERD
via MedPage Today, October 7, 2008
via Medline Plus, GERD,
October 6th, 2008 by Nina Thompson, ARNP
A new report from the CDC says that 1.1 million people in the U.S. are living with HIV/AIDS, and about 20% of that group are not aware that they have the disease. The incidence is on the rise since more people are becoming infected and the patients are surviving longer, the report also estimated .
The majority of those living with HIV are nonwhite (65.4%), and nearly half (48.1%) are men who have sex with men (MSM).
via CDC, October 2008
October 2nd, 2008 by Nina Thompson, ARNP
Urban growth in central Africa in the early 1900’s may have been the key that opened the door to the spread of HIV, say researchers from the University of Arizona.
The findings of this new study point to the probability that an AIDS epidemic was jump-started in the early 1900’s when seeded by urban growth. Before the 1900’s most cities in central Africa were small and provided only a small pool in which HIV could spread. But as the cities grew, HIV spread and diversified, the researchers suggested.
In its origins, the virus is thought to have jumped to humans through exposure to the blood of infected chimps. And because AIDS has a variety of symptoms and often a long period without any symptoms at all, the epidemic went unrecognized. By 1960 the virus had spread and became widely diversified in central Africa, with probably a few thousand HIV-infected individuals at that time. The virus was not recognized until the 1980’s when exponential spread was well underway.
In 2006 researchers found a chimpanzee with an animal match to HIV in Cameroon, about 440 miles from Kinshasa, which is the area marked above in west-central Africa. Leopoldville in Kinshasa is the city where the AIDS virus is thought to have originated.
via Worobey M, et al “Direct evidence of extensive diversity of HIV-1 in Kinshasa by 1960″ Nature 2008; 455: 661-665.
via MedPage Today, October 1, 2008
October 1st, 2008 by Nina Thompson, ARNP
Some women are missing out on healthy, active sports because of symptoms related to a weak bladder. In a recent survey of 679 women of childbearing age, sports that involve repetitive bouncing, such as tennis, squash and basketball, were associated with the highest incidence of urinary stress incontinence episodes according to Italian researchers from University of Insubria, Del Ponte Hospital, Varese.
Stress incontinence is characterized by an involuntary loss of small amounts of urine in response to increased pressure on the bladder. This occurs during coughing, sneezing, lifting, bending or exercise. It is the most common type of urinary incontinence in women. About half of all women suffer from this problem at some point, and it becomes more prevalent with age. It is often caused by damage to the pelvic floor muscles and support system of the bladder as a result of pregnancy and childbirth, or possibly the effects of aging. In this study, the researchers found that obesity also increased the incidence of having the condition.
In this study, 1 in 7 women were bothered by urinary stress incontinence and nearly half of those affected said the condition occurred during routine activities, while almost a third said they leaked urine only during sports activities. One in 10 women said the problem led them to give up their favorite sport, while one in five women said they limited the way they played the sport in an effort to decrease leakage episodes.
Although this condition was bothersome and disruptive to their lives, few of the women in the study had ever sought help. Only 5 percent of the women with episodes of stress incontinence said they regularly performed pelvic floor exercises (Kegals) which have been shown to be effective in alleviating the symptoms of this condition. People are often reluctant to seek help for this troubling problem partly because it is an awkward and embarrassing subject, but also because there is a prevailing misconception that nothing can be done. Ask your doctor or health care provider for help. In most cases, the symptoms can be controlled or cured.
via British Journal of Sports Medicine, September 2008
