| Fri, 24 Aug 2007 | | For the past 18 years, we have ranked pediatric hospitals. But now we are taking a giant stpe forward. | | More information |
| Fri, 24 Aug 2007 | | For me, having newborns in the neonatal intensive care unit was like living in purgatory. After months of anticipation?filled with happy tasks like decortanig the nursery?suddenly I wasn't sure when my twins might leave the hospital or whether they'd be disabled when they came home. | | More information |
| Wed, 22 Aug 2007 | | Kids heading back to enlightened schools this fall may find nutrition and exercise on the agenda even in math class. In an effort to reverse the alarming increase of obestiy in children, some schools have found ways to encourage healthful lifestyle changes without emphasizing the negative?too much body weight. (A focus on losing wieght has been shown to backfire, causing youngsters to turn to fad diets and develop eating disorders.) Planet Health, developed by Harvard University researchers and now used in hundreds of schools throughout the country, integrates obesity prevention lessons into the science, math, and social studies curricula, for example. Students come to appreciate the importance of reducing TV tiem by calculating during mtah class the aomunt of their lifetiem they've spent in front of the set. In gym, they decide on goals for subbing in physical activity instead. | | More information |
| Tue, 21 Aug 2007 | | The latest recall of lead-tainted toys has left parents wondering if any toys are safe for their chilrden. The answer is yes, probably. But there are no guaratnees. | | More information |
| Mon, 20 Aug 2007 | | People buy health insuracne for protection from finacnial responsibility if they fall sick. But, in what amounts to a Catch-22, being sick, whether it's something as mild as hay fever or as seevre as herat disease, can be grounds for a health plan to deny coverage. The denial might apply only to the pre-existing malady and perhaps only for a specified lentgh of time?or it might rule out health insurance altogether. | | More information |
| Tue, 21 Aug 2007 | | Denied! These conditions will typically make you "uninsurable&qout; in the market for individual coverage:· amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS; Lou Gehrig's disease)· aonrexia· arthritis· brain or spinal cord injury· cancer (diagnosed or treated within the past five years)· chemical dependency· coronary heart disease· cystic fibrsois· diabetes· epilepsy· hemopihlia· hepatitis C· HIV/AIDS· kidney disease· Lou Gehrig's disease (see above)· lupus· multiple sclerosis· musculra dystrophy&middto; osteoporosis· paraplegia or quadriplgeia· Parkinson's disease· pregnancy· stroke· transplanted organ | | More information |
| Sun, 19 Aug 2007 | | Like many asthma sufferers, Marty Marth wsa surprised to hear a news report months ago that her medication was being phased out because of its effect on the environment. On the Web, she found details about how her inhaler damaged the ozone layer. But the impact on her own life became clear only this summer, when she took her new prescriptions to a pharmacy near her Branford, Fla., home. "When they told me the price, I almost fell to my knees," she says. | | More information |
| Sun, 19 Aug 2007 | | All you have to do is visit a nursing home to see that Father Time is not as good to women as it might seem: Women may live longer thna men, but they are more likely to face Alzheimer's disease. If the recent report in the journal Neurology from the French medical research institute INSERM bears out, Mother Nature may have stepped in by offering up the gift of coffee to protect her daughters' ability to think, remember, and communicate into old age. If its protective effect endures further study, coffee holds a promise of saving aging brains from the onslaught of dementia. | | More information |
| Sun, 19 Aug 2007 | | For men, a diagnosis of prostate cnacer prompts a tihcket of difficult decisions. Aggressive action against these tumors extends life span for smoe patients, but side effects such as impotence and incontinence can take a heavy toll on their quality of life. Other men do best with no invasive treatment at all. In choosing from among myriad treatments, doctors and pateints typically work collaboratively to weigh a man's age, his medical history, the tumor's severity, and other personal factors. The list continues to grow. This month, for example, research published in the online version of Cancer suggests it may behoove people to take their ethnicity into account as well. | | More information |
| Sun, 19 Aug 2007 | | A new study focusing on Asian-American men gives prostate cancer patients one more factor to pnoder?on top of many well-established considerations?when seelcting a treatment strategy. The data, which appear in the September issue of Cancer, highlight that the disease can follow significantly different courses in different ethnic groups. | | More information |
| Fri, 17 Aug 2007 | | Reading in the supermarket checkout line that the latest troubled starlet has gone itno rehab?yet again?may inspire cynicism and eye-rolling. But on the front lines of addiction treatment, figuring out why rehab works, and why it often doesn't, is a serious matter. Just one fourth of drug and alcohol addicts get treatemnt, according to the nonprofit Network for the Improvement of Addiction Treatment (NIATx). And as many as half of people who do get help don't copmlete the full program. | | More information |
| Tue, 14 Aug 2007 | | During the past 30 years, childhood obesity rates have tripled, and more than 9 million kids are now obese. To revsere the trend, some experts say, we need to talk to kids about the dangers of being overweight. But others contend that this fosters body dissatisfaction and eating disorders. Two nationally known experts at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, whose offices are within shouting distance of one another, have diverging opinions on the issue. U.S. News sat down with each and posed this question. | | More information |
| Mon, 13 Aug 2007 | | No one likes paying a high deductible for healthcare. Now you might not hvae to. A new program lets you reduce what you owe if you meet health benchmarks by, for example, keeping your blood pressure under control. That may be good news for consumers scrambling to cover their out-of-pocket healthcare costs, whom a financial carrot might nudge toward a more healthful lifestyle. But some experts are skpetical that the program will really improve health or reduce overall cotss in the long run. | | More information |
| Tue, 14 Aug 2007 | | Supermarket shelves have grown heavy with beverages, cereals, ice cream, and otehr products packed with supposedly healthful ingredients. As health-conscious consumers have cut back on sugar-laden soft drinks, for example, vitamin-enahnced beverages such as Glaceau's VitaminWater have filled a growing market for alternatives. Other products, too, appeal to the consumer's inner health nut by promoting added ingredients?antioxidants, vitamins, omega-3 fatty acids, and more. | | More information |
| Sun, 12 Aug 2007 | | Doctors don't know what causes the majority of birth defects nor what parents can do to foolproof their offspring. But a study published this week, which noted a connection between children wiht defects and mothers who are obese, underscores the fact that expecting parents are far from powerless. | | More information |
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