Nearly 3 in 4 Users Had Improved Quality-of-Life Scores By Salynn Boyles WebMD Health News Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD Aug. 27, 2012 -- A drug used to treat epilepsy and chronic pain after shingles also appears to be effective for another persistent condition: chronic cough. About 1 in 10 people suffers from chronic cough, and for many the cause is unknown. Chronic cough is a cough that lasts for longer than eight weeks. Treatment tends to focus on the underlying cause of the cough, which may be due to conditions like asthma, acid reflux, or postnasal drip. The condition is increasingly common, poorly understood, and difficult to treat, experts tell WebMD. "Chronic cough can have a profound impact on quality of life, but most people, including many physicians, know very little about it," says cough researcher Kian Fan Chung, MD, of Imperial College in London. He was not involved with the research. In the new study, published in the journal Lancet, researchers in Australia report that the epilepsy drug gabapentin (Neurontin) reduced cough severity in many people with chronic cough who did not respond to other treatments. The drug may work by calming overstimulated nerves believed to play a … Continue reading →

Public release date: 28-Aug-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Karen Finney karen.finney@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu 916-734-9064 University of California - Davis Health System This press release is available in Spanish. (SACRAMENTO, Calif.) Hispanic children often have undiagnosed developmental delays and large numbers of both Hispanic and non-Hispanic children who first were thought to have developmental delay actually had autism, researchers affiliated with the UC Davis MIND Institute have found. The study, one of the largest to date to compare development in Hispanic and non-Hispanic children, is published in the journal Autism. The results lead the study authors to recommend increased public health efforts to improve awareness, especially among Hispanics, about the indicators of developmental delay and autism. "Our study raises concerns about access to accurate, culturally relevant information regarding developmental milestones and the importance of early detection and treatment," said Virginia Chaidez, the lead author and a postdoctoral researcher in the UC Davis Department of Public Health Sciences when the study was conducted. "Autism and developmental delay tend to go undiagnosed when parents are not aware of the signs to look for, and the conditions are often misdiagnosed when parents don't have access to adequate developmental surveillance and screening." Developmental delay … Continue reading →

TUESDAY, Aug. 28 (HealthDay News) -- There is just not enough evidence to determine whether or not current treatments actually help adolescents and young adults with autism, researchers report. "Overall, there is very little evidence in all areas of care for adolescents and young adults with autism, and it is urgent that more rigorous studies be developed and conducted," report senior author Melissa McPheeters, director of Vanderbilt University's Evidence-Based Practice Center, said in a university news release. Her team reviewed 32 studies published between 1980 and 2011 on therapies for people aged 13 to 30 with autism. They found some evidence that treatments might boost social skills and educational outcomes such as vocabulary and reading, but the studies were generally small and had limited follow-up. There was little evidence supporting the use of drug therapy for people with autism in these age groups. The most consistent findings showed that antipsychotic medications might lessen problem behaviors such as irritability and aggression. However, harmful side effects linked to these medications included weight gain and sedation. Only five studies tested interventions involving work skills training for young people with autism. All of the studies suggested that vocational interventions may be effective for some … Continue reading →

Public release date: 28-Aug-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: European Society of Cardiology press@escardio.org 33-049-294-8627 European Society of Cardiology Munich, Germany August 28 2012: Patients who resume smoking after a stroke increase their risk of death by three-fold, according to research presented at ESC Congress 2012 by Professor Furio Colivicchi from San Filippo Neri Hospital. The researchers also found that the earlier patients resume smoking, the greater their risk of death with one year. "It is well established that smoking increases the risk of having a stroke," said Professor Colivicchi. "Quitting smoking after an acute ischemic stroke may be more effective than any medication in reducing the risk of further adverse events. However, on the other hand, our study shows that stroke patients resuming active smoking after leaving the hospital can raise their risk of dying by as much as three-fold." The purpose of the study was to gauge the effects of resuming smoking after a stroke, and to see how many patients are likely to relapse. Cardiologists from S. Filippo Neri Hospital in Rome, in collaboration with neurologists from the Santa Lucia Foundation of Rome, tracked 921 patients (584 men and 337 women, mean age 67 16 … Continue reading →

MONDAY, Aug. 27 (HealthDay News) -- A new generation of "retriever" devices, designed to mechanically remove blood clots from arteries and restore blood flow in stroke patients, could improve treatment, studies suggest. The most common treatment for stroke is taking a drug that dissolves the blood clot and reopens the blocked artery. The drug must be taken within three hours of the onset of stroke, however, and is not suitable for all patients. In addition, the drug often fails to dissolve large blood clots. A different approach involves the use of a mechanical blood flow restoration device or "stent-triever" that is inserted through the groin and then guided to the site of the blood clot. The device retrieves and removes the blood clot and restores blood flow to the brain. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first of these devices in 2004. The device, called the Merci retriever, has since been used in thousands of stroke patients worldwide. In two studies, researchers evaluated two new mechanical clot retrievers and found that they have the potential to better restore blood flow and lead to improved patient outcomes. One expert not connected to the studies explained how the new models, … Continue reading →