Adolescents who perceive that both parents would be very upset if they smoked are less likely to light up, according to a new study.
The rate of teenagers smoking climbed steadily in the 1990s. This fact begs the question of whether prevention programs need to be changed. Programs have generally focused on peer pressure to smoke. Researchers from Dartmouth Medical School wondered if parental disapproval of smoking could be the key to preventing adolescents from starting this habit.
Three groups of students were part of the study. The students were asked about their parents' reaction if they found out they smoked. Researchers felt those who selected the answer, "S/he would tell me to stop and be very upset," showed an indication of strong parental disapproval.
Students who perceived strong disapproval in both parents were half as likely to become smokers. Also, those parents who seemed to become more lenient over time with their attitude to smoking had kids who were more likely to start smoking.
Interestingly, researchers say that the effect of parental disapproval was as strong for preventing teenagers from smoking from parents who smoked as it was from parents who did not smoke.
Researchers conclude that intervention programs that include parental disapproval as a component of the program could be effective in reducing the number of adolescents who smoke.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Migraine-Free Adolescents
Migraine headaches affect more than just adults -- children can experience them, too. Yet there are currently no approved prescription drugs to treat children under 18. Now a new study is finding one drug is safe and effective for kids with migraines.
Fifteen-year-old Kyle loves playing sports. But when a migraine headache kicks in, his life is sidelined.
Kyle explains, "You just get this tremendous pressure in your head and then it explodes and you can't see, you can't concentrate, you just want to lie in a dark cold place and lay there for hours."
Up to 10 percent of all school aged kids, and 19 percent of all teenagers suffer migraines.
A pediatric neurologist, says, "It's a huge number of people who begin to have their migraines in this age group."
Many drugs have been approved to treat migraines in adults, but none have been available for children. Kyle and his doctor are taking part in a nationwide study of the drug sumatriptan (Imitrex®) for migraines in adolescents. It is already approved for adults.
Dr. says, "Sumatriptan, is a synthetic piece of serotonin; we give the brain what it needs to control the pain."
Results from the new study confirm the drug is safe and effective for teens, too.
Kyle says, "Recently it takes a maximum of two to three hours for a headache to be gone, and that's great. It's really going to help with my school work, because I've missed a lot of school over migraines."
And it will help him enjoy his life outside of school.
The study found for many people, sumatriptan provides pain relief within one hour. Another study is currently ongoing to look at the safety of the drug in a pill form.
Fifteen-year-old Kyle loves playing sports. But when a migraine headache kicks in, his life is sidelined.
Kyle explains, "You just get this tremendous pressure in your head and then it explodes and you can't see, you can't concentrate, you just want to lie in a dark cold place and lay there for hours."
Up to 10 percent of all school aged kids, and 19 percent of all teenagers suffer migraines.
A pediatric neurologist, says, "It's a huge number of people who begin to have their migraines in this age group."
Many drugs have been approved to treat migraines in adults, but none have been available for children. Kyle and his doctor are taking part in a nationwide study of the drug sumatriptan (Imitrex®) for migraines in adolescents. It is already approved for adults.
Dr. says, "Sumatriptan, is a synthetic piece of serotonin; we give the brain what it needs to control the pain."
Results from the new study confirm the drug is safe and effective for teens, too.
Kyle says, "Recently it takes a maximum of two to three hours for a headache to be gone, and that's great. It's really going to help with my school work, because I've missed a lot of school over migraines."
And it will help him enjoy his life outside of school.
The study found for many people, sumatriptan provides pain relief within one hour. Another study is currently ongoing to look at the safety of the drug in a pill form.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Safer Breast Implants
The solution to safer breast implants may be in the solution itself. Researchers believe they've found a way to get rid of the most common risk associated with breast implant surgery. Here's how the solution works.
Award-winning dog breeder Susie thought the time was right to make a change. Just before her 45th birthday, she got breast implants.
Susie says, "I wanted to be a 'C' rather than a 'B'. I wanted to be proportionate. I didn't want for someone to look at me and say, 'Oh, she's just had surgery.'"
Susie knew there were risks but says she felt safer about the operation because of a solution developed by William Adams, Jr., M.D., who explains, "It's a combination of three antibiotics, and it's mixed up precisely."
This mixture fights the bacteria doctors suspect causes a condition called capsular contracture, which hardens the scar tissue around the implant.
Dr. Adams says, "It can be an actual functional problem that hurts, and then as the capsule thickens it can interfere with detection or reading mammograms."
To prevent complications like these, Dr. Adams soaks the surgical site and the implant itself. He hopes using the solution will become standard practice. "Now we have a solution, no pun intended, to the problem and hopefully can now take that back to patients to give them safer and better results," he says.
So far, surgeons in Dallas have used the solution on more than 200 women with no reported problems.
Susie says, "It was easy, I was back lifting weights, working out, and chasing my dogs in a limited amount of time."
Researchers say the solution seems to be effective in both breast augmentation and reconstruction. Final evaluation of the solution will take three to five years.
Source: Ivanhoe @ 2000
Award-winning dog breeder Susie thought the time was right to make a change. Just before her 45th birthday, she got breast implants.
Susie says, "I wanted to be a 'C' rather than a 'B'. I wanted to be proportionate. I didn't want for someone to look at me and say, 'Oh, she's just had surgery.'"
Susie knew there were risks but says she felt safer about the operation because of a solution developed by William Adams, Jr., M.D., who explains, "It's a combination of three antibiotics, and it's mixed up precisely."
This mixture fights the bacteria doctors suspect causes a condition called capsular contracture, which hardens the scar tissue around the implant.
Dr. Adams says, "It can be an actual functional problem that hurts, and then as the capsule thickens it can interfere with detection or reading mammograms."
To prevent complications like these, Dr. Adams soaks the surgical site and the implant itself. He hopes using the solution will become standard practice. "Now we have a solution, no pun intended, to the problem and hopefully can now take that back to patients to give them safer and better results," he says.
So far, surgeons in Dallas have used the solution on more than 200 women with no reported problems.
Susie says, "It was easy, I was back lifting weights, working out, and chasing my dogs in a limited amount of time."
Researchers say the solution seems to be effective in both breast augmentation and reconstruction. Final evaluation of the solution will take three to five years.
Source: Ivanhoe @ 2000
Public Defibrillators
You've seen it in the movies. A patient is having a cardiac arrest, and a doctor shouts "clear" and shocks the heart back into rhythm. Those machines are called defibrillators. Some are so simple nowadays that six states allow non-medical people to use them. Doctors say it's a life-saving idea.
Reverend Raleigh Carroll is alive today because of emergency medical specialists and a defibrillator. One day on the golf course, he collapsed in cardiac arrest. "They used their defibrillator on me," says Rev. Carroll. With a jolt, the machine started Carroll's heart.
Dr. Cary McDonald keeps a defibrillator handy in his emergency clinic, but it must be used within minutes of an attack. That's why he believes all police cars and fire trucks should have them. Many airlines are already putting them on planes, and California, Florida, Maine, Maryland, North Dakota and Texas allow non-medical people to use them.
"I believe it is even more valuable than CPR," says Dr. McDonald, an emergency medicine specialist in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Some defibrillators are highly-automated. Anyone can learn to attach these pads to a victim. Then the machine decides if a jolt is needed. "I think the benefits of using the machine are high, and the risks are low," says Dr. McDonald.
Rev. Carroll's spreading the word. He shared his story at an awards ceremony honoring the rescue crew and the device that saved his life. "If people could afford it, I would recommend they have one in every home," he says.
Dr. McDonald has seen the survival rate of cardiac patients double in areas where fire crews have defibrillators. Right now, many states don't allow non-medical personnel to handle defibrillators. However, as technology has changed, many people in the medical community think it's time those laws be rewritten. So these life-saving devices are more common, and the people who use them are protected by good Samaritan laws. Defibrillators cost about $3,000.
Source: Ivanhoe @1999
Reverend Raleigh Carroll is alive today because of emergency medical specialists and a defibrillator. One day on the golf course, he collapsed in cardiac arrest. "They used their defibrillator on me," says Rev. Carroll. With a jolt, the machine started Carroll's heart.
Dr. Cary McDonald keeps a defibrillator handy in his emergency clinic, but it must be used within minutes of an attack. That's why he believes all police cars and fire trucks should have them. Many airlines are already putting them on planes, and California, Florida, Maine, Maryland, North Dakota and Texas allow non-medical people to use them.
"I believe it is even more valuable than CPR," says Dr. McDonald, an emergency medicine specialist in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Some defibrillators are highly-automated. Anyone can learn to attach these pads to a victim. Then the machine decides if a jolt is needed. "I think the benefits of using the machine are high, and the risks are low," says Dr. McDonald.
Rev. Carroll's spreading the word. He shared his story at an awards ceremony honoring the rescue crew and the device that saved his life. "If people could afford it, I would recommend they have one in every home," he says.
Dr. McDonald has seen the survival rate of cardiac patients double in areas where fire crews have defibrillators. Right now, many states don't allow non-medical personnel to handle defibrillators. However, as technology has changed, many people in the medical community think it's time those laws be rewritten. So these life-saving devices are more common, and the people who use them are protected by good Samaritan laws. Defibrillators cost about $3,000.
Source: Ivanhoe @1999
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