A long-established treatment used around the world to help troubled young people and their families tackle behavioural problems may not be as effective as its practitioners claim—a new study reveals. Functional Family Therapy (FFT) is a short-term, evidence-based intervention provided at over 270 sites worldwide—mostly within the US, but also in Belgium, Ireland, The Netherlands,
Chronic pain may be an important contributor to suicide. Nearly 9 percent of people who died by suicide in 18 states from 2003 to 2014 had documentation of chronic pain in their incident records. Findings from the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) are published in Annals of Internal Medicine. More than 25 million adults
MONDAY, Sept. 10, 2018 — The ancient practice of tai chi may beat strength training and aerobics for preventing falls among seniors, a new trial shows. A modified senior-centered tai chi program reduced falls nearly a third better in a head-to-head comparison with an exercise regimen that combined aerobics, strength training and balance drills, the
A recent Finnish study conducted at the University of Jyväskylä showed that adolescents with better aerobic fitness have more compliant arteries than their lower fit peers do. The study also suggests that a higher anaerobic threshold is linked to better arterial health. The results were published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology. Arterial stiffness
A varied, quality diet could help prevent hospitalizations and even death among patients with heart failure, a new study suggests. Researchers investigating nutritional deficiencies found that people with heart failure who lack seven or more micronutrients had nearly double the risk of dying or being hospitalized than those who didn’t have any or only a
FRIDAY, Aug. 31, 2018 — Medicaid expansion through the Affordable Care Act, also called Obamacare, may close a big gap in women’s access to reproductive health care, a new study suggests. In a survey of nearly 1,200 women of childbearing age enrolled in Michigan’s expansion of Medicaid for low-income adults, one in three said the
(HealthDay)—An allergen in red meat may be tied to heart disease, according to a study published in the July issue of Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology. Jeffrey M. Wilson, M.D., Ph.D., from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, and colleagues analyzed blood samples for total immunoglobulin E (IgE) and specific IgE to galactose-α-1,3-galactose (α-Gal) among
Chiggers, redbugs, harvest mites—whatever you call them, they are pesky little bugs whose bites cause really itchy rashes, usually around the ankles and waistline. In addition to being uncomfortable and annoying, these bites may also cause a relatively rare allergic reaction to red meat known as alpha-gal, according to doctors at Wake Forest Baptist Medical
THURSDAY, Aug. 30, 2018 — A self-management intervention facilitated by peer support workers may reduce the rate of readmissions to acute care for people discharged from mental health crisis resolution teams, according to a study published in the Aug. 4 issue of The Lancet. Sonia Johnson, D.M., from University College London, and colleagues conducted a
Are wrinkles just an inevitable consequence of ageing, or could they signal something more sinister? According to research presented in Munich today at the ESC Congress 2018, the annual conference of the European Society of Cardiology, people who have lots of deep forehead wrinkles, more than is typical for their age, may have a higher
In a rare study of its kind, new University of Toronto research has identified how vitamin D3 and periodontitis influence Type 2 diabetes. Aleksandra Zuk, a PhD candidate in epidemiology at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, found increased odds of developing Type 2 diabetes among people with gum disease who are also lacking in
Eating healthy cereals in moderation can contribute to a balanced diet. However, many breakfast cereals on offer in the UK contain very high levels of sugar. In fact, based on total product weight, some are made up of more than a third of the sweet stuff. For children, breakfast cereals can be more than just
While people with autism may avoid eye contact in one-on-one conversations, they may not avoid looking at people in photos, according to Penn State researchers. Krista Wilkinson, professor of communication sciences and disorders, said previously it was thought that people with autism had a hard time focusing on humans in photos, which could make it
(HealthDay)—For patients with newly diagnosed head and neck cancer (HNC), quality of life may improve with marijuana use, according to a study published online Aug. 2 in JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery. Han Zhang, M.D., from McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada, and colleagues conducted a prospective cohort study involving patients enrolled at the time of
When the Ebola virus struck West Africa in 2014, it resisted early attempts at control. It took more than two years to overcome, claiming more than 11,000 lives. Volunteers from the West who were infected were flown home and treated with experimental therapies, while those on the ground in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea were
New research illuminates how some men and boys who are contemplating suicide are finding emotional support in an unexpected place: Reddit. Sometimes referred to as the “front page of the Internet,” Reddit is a social news aggregation and discussion website that’s especially popular among young adult males. The website includes several topic-specific subreddit discussion forums,
When parents think of hidden dangers in their home, they rarely (if ever) consider… crayons?! But a consumer interest group — the U.S. Public Interest Research Group Education Fund — is warning parents to do just that. The group recently discovered that some green crayons packaged and sold under the name Playskool Crayons contained tremolite,
A team from the Institute of Medicine, RUDN University discovered that light therapy (treating mental disorders with bright light) increased blood pressure in animals with inherited hypertension. It will help to make light therapy safer for patients with essential hypertension. The report was presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Light Treatment and
Some people respond well to both aerobic exercise and strength training, while others don’t. And some of us respond well to only one of those things, but not both. Scientists at Joslin Diabetes Center now have uncovered a surprising molecular “switch” that may help to explain why this happens. “We’ve identified an exercise-activated biological pathway
(HealthDay)—Sorry, new moms, although you’ve already waited at least nine months, it’s not time for a glass of wine just yet: New research suggests it might be best for baby’s brain to wait until you’ve stopped breast-feeding. That’s because exposure to alcohol in breast milk was linked to a reduction in thinking and reasoning skills