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Study shows Americans live longer, but in poor health

Americans are living longer but in poorer health, according to a new study. The USC-led study examined life expectancy trends and disability rates in a 40-year period, from 1970 to 2010. The analysis of U.S. vital statistics found that the average total lifespan increased for men and women in those 40 years, but so did the proportion of time spent living with a disability.

18 Apr 2016

Study shows noise impairs tactile abilities of premature babies

Premature birth is a harsh change of environment for a baby. Until birth, the baby is confined to the mother's womb, surrounded by soft lighting and filtered noise. When infants are born, they are attacked by several visual, sound, and tactile stimulations.

16 Apr 2016

New research suggests women need to wait until 30 to minimize career income losses

Working women who want to minimize career income losses related to motherhood should wait until they are about 30 years old to have their first children, suggests new research from Washington University in St. Louis.

15 Apr 2016

Johns Hopkins study suggests updated universal screening for hepatitis C virus

A review of blood samples for nearly 5,000 patients seen at The Johns Hopkins Hospital Emergency Department suggests that federal guidelines for hepatitis C virus (HCV) screening may be missing up to a quarter of all cases and argues for updated universal screening.

15 Apr 2016

Expanding insurance coverage for elective single-embryo transfer could result in ideal pregnancy outcomes

Expanding insurance coverage for a type of in vitro fertilization known as elective single-embryo transfer could lead to improved health outcomes and lower health care costs, according to a newly published study that included researchers from the University of Colorado School of Medicine.

15 Apr 2016

Taking antibiotics in early childhood can disrupt immune system function lifelong

Scientists want to know whether taking antibiotics early in life can disrupt your immune system function lifelong.

15 Apr 2016

Toddlers with mobility disabilities less likely to engage in physical activity

Typical toddlers simultaneously spend about three hours a day in physical activity, play and engagement with objects such as toys, while their peers with mobility disabilities are less likely to engage in all of those behaviors at the same time, new research from Oregon State University shows.

13 Apr 2016

Dr. Richard Baker and Angela MacMillan launch St. Luke’s OB/GYN at Eaton Pointe

St. Luke’s University Health Network is pleased to announce Richard Baker III, MD, has returned to St. Luke’s University Health Network as the head of St. Luke’s OB/GYN at Eaton Pointe. Angela MacMillan, CRNP, also joins the practice at 800 Eaton Ave., Suite 202, Bethlehem. The two have been in practice together for eight years.

13 Apr 2016

Obesity and diabetes during pregnancy can cause excessive growth of foetus

A recent study conducted by researchers at the University of Cambridge showed that obese women who develop gestational diabetes have a five-fold greater risk of excessive foetal growth at 6 months gestation. Furthermore, it revealed that such excessive growth starts before women are screened for gestational diabetes.

8 Apr 2016

Epilepsy drug exposure does not increase newborn orofacial cleft risk

Pregnant women with epilepsy should not rule out continuing lamotrigine therapy due to concerns that exposure could increase the risk of orofacial clefts in their babies, say investigators.

7 Apr 2016

Taking epilepsy drug during pregnancy may not increase risk of birth defects

Babies born to pregnant women taking the epilepsy drug lamotrigine may not be at an increased risk of birth defects, such as cleft lip, cleft palate or clubfoot, according to a study published in the April 6, 2016, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

7 Apr 2016

Mimicry may be useful tool to help Alzheimer's patients regain lost abilities

Alzheimer's disease is the sixth leading cause of death in the U.S., according to the Alzheimer's Association. There is no cure and no way to slow or prevent the illness. But, patients can still benefit from both physical and cognitive rehabilitation, and researchers are learning that mimicry may be a useful tool to help them regain lost abilities.

2 Apr 2016

Johns Hopkins expert offers tips on Zika virus relating to pregnancy, sexual transmission

No treatment or vaccine currently exists for Zika virus. For most people who contract the virus, the illness will be mild and pass on its own in about one week.

1 Apr 2016

Psychedelic compounds could treat patients with mental health issues

Psychedelic compounds have had a colorful past. Although initially investigated for medical uses, they were banned after cultural and political times changed in the 1960s and 1970s. Now, the compounds are getting another chance in the mainstream, according to the cover story of Chemical & Engineering News, the weekly news magazine of the American Chemical Society.

31 Mar 2016

New study links additional paid maternity leave to lower infant mortality rate

For each additional month of paid maternity leave offered in low- and middle-income countries, infant mortality is reduced by 13%, according to a new study by researchers from McGill University and UCLA Fielding School of Public Health.

31 Mar 2016

Opioids could be dangerous, deadly at high doses

Most people know that heroin is a dangerous drug, but its cousins, the legal, pharmaceutical opioids, such as codeine or hydrocodone, must be safe, right?Not so fast.Opioids—which include the illegal drug heroin as well as prescription medications, including hydrocodone (such as Vicodin), oxycodone (such as OxyContin and Percocet), morphine and codeine—can be dangerous, even deadly, at high doses.

31 Mar 2016

Embryos with abnormalities in initial stages of pregnancy may grow into healthy babies

Abnormal cells in the early embryo are not necessarily a sign that a baby will be born with a birth defect such as Down's syndrome, suggests new research carried out in mice at the University of Cambridge. In a study published today in the journal Nature Communications, scientists show that abnormal cells are eliminated and replaced by healthy cells, repairing - and in many cases completely fixing - the embryo.

29 Mar 2016

Higher rates of breastfeeding, vaccination use cut ear infection in babies

In what would be considered good news for many parents a new study from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston finds the rates of ear infections during a baby's first year have declined; the investigators suggested that higher rates of breastfeeding, use of vaccinations and lower rates of smoking may be the major contributors. The study was recently published in Pediatrics.

28 Mar 2016

Couple's caffeinated beverage consumption can increase risk of miscarriage

A woman is more likely to miscarry if she and her partner drink more than two caffeinated beverages a day during the weeks leading up to conception, according to a new study from researchers at the National Institutes of Health and Ohio State University, Columbus.

25 Mar 2016

Fatty acid supplement can help reduce early preterm births

Cupid was obviously a full-term baby. It's fitting then that a researcher named Valentine and her colleagues will oversee a new multicenter National Institutes of Health study to determine whether an over the counter fatty acid supplement, called DHA (Docosahexaenoic acid, an omega-3 fatty acid), can assist with reducing early preterm births.

24 Mar 2016