(HealthDay News) — Hiking in the chilly weather can be a fun way to stay active. But before you head out on the trail, it’s important to prepare for unexpected conditions. For safe winter hiking, the North Country Trail Association has this advice: Never go out alone. Always make sure someone knows where you are going. Beware of reduced visibility. Bring lights, a map and other safety items. Don’t forget food, water and a first aid kit. Always wear proper footwear, and dress in layers. Beware of hypothermia. Keep extra dry, warm clothes in your backpack.
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For Some, Follicular Lymphoma May Be Curable
Some patients in remission from the blood cancer called follicular lymphoma can be considered cured, a new small study suggests. Using DNA sequencing, researchers were able to test the patients’ blood to see if mutations that caused the cancer were still present two years after treatment. If these mutations aren’t found, the patient can be given a clean bill of health, the study authors said. “While follicular lymphoma is not one of the more aggressive types of cancer we treat, the majority of patients continue to experience disease recurrence over many years and have to receive different types of therapy,” explained researcher Dr. Maryam Sarraf Yazdy. She is a hematologist/oncologist at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, in Washington, D.C. “This disease has been considered incurable, but for some patients who have been disease-free for at least two years after remission, our pilot study gives hope that calling the disease incurable may no longer be accurate,” she said in an American Society of Hematology news release. Follicular lymphoma makes up about one-third of all non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas. About 20,000 people are diagnosed with the disease in the United States each year. The 68 people with follicular lymphoma in the study had all the usual treatments and had been in remission for more than two years. Of these patients, 43 were included in the final data. First, the researchers… read on >
Black Patients May Not Gain Heart Benefit From Low-Dose Aspirin
The daily use of low-dose aspirin against heart disease may have taken another knock. New research shows that the practice may not provide black Americans with any lowering of their heart attack risk. Researchers analyzed 11 years of data from more than 65,000 people, ages 40-79, living in the American Southeast. More than two-thirds of the participants were black, and about two-thirds were at high risk for heart attack or stroke at the start of the study period. Taking low-dose aspirin was associated with a reduced risk of a fatal heart attack in whites, particularly in white women, but it did not appear to lower the risk among blacks, even among those with the highest risk of heart disease, the research found. The reasons for the “race gap” in aspirin effectiveness are unclear, but “we think the reason aspirin use did not have a beneficial effect for African Americans could involve a different genetic response to aspirin therapy and poor control of other risk factors,” said study lead author Dr. Rodrigo Fernandez-Jimenez. He’s a cardiologist and researcher at National Center for Cardiovascular Research in Madrid, Spain. The researchers stressed that the study wasn’t designed to prove cause and effect, only showing associations between aspirin use and heart health. The findings were published Dec. 11 in the Journal of the American Heart Association. While millions of… read on >
Sometimes, Aspirin May Be Enough to Ease Migraines
A cheap, century-old drug in most Americans’ medicine cabinets — aspirin — may come to the rescue for people suffering from migraines, a new study finds. While there are effective prescription medications, many migraine patients in the United States don’t have access to them due to limited access to doctors or good insurance, or high insurance co-pays, said researchers at Florida Atlantic University, in Boca Raton. Aspirin might often be a viable option for these patients, said the research team, who reviewed 13 studies of migraine treatment involving more than 4,200 patients. The investigators also looked at data on the prevention of recurrent migraine in tens of thousands of patients. The results suggest that giving a high dose of aspirin — 900 to 1,300 milligrams (mg) — when migraine symptoms set in is an effective and safe treatment for acute migraine. There’s also evidence that daily aspirin doses of 81 to 325 mg may be an effective and safe treatment for prevention of recurrent migraine, the team said. The standard “low-dose” aspirin pill, taken by millions of Americans to help lower heart risks, contains 81 mg. The bottom line: “Our review supports the use of high-dose aspirin to treat acute migraine as well as low-dose daily aspirin to prevent recurrent attacks,” senior author Dr. Charles Hennekens, professor and senior academic advisor at the university’s College… read on >
Health Tip: The Importance of Hydration
(HealthDay News) — Though exercise and proper diet are essential to maintaining good health, the body’s basic need for water is often overlooked. Not drinking enough water can be dangerous and have a plethora of negative effects, says Texas Health and Human Services. Your body needs to be hydrated to work properly. Breathing, circulation, body temperature regulation and the senses all rely on sufficient water. Dehydration can also affect your mood, making you cranky, tired or irritable. In fact, sometimes when you feel hungry, your body is actually craving water, the school says.
Is Childbirth More Dangerous in Rural Areas?
If you are pregnant and live in a rural area of the United States, new research shows that you’re at higher risk of life-threatening complications or death during or after childbirth. “Our study suggests that geographic disparities may put rural women at an increased risk of requiring lifesaving interventions during or immediately after delivering a baby,” said study senior author Dr. Lindsay Admon. She’s an obstetrician-gynecologist at Michigan Medicine’s Von Voigtlander Women’s Hospital, in Ann Arbor. “Policies and programs aiming to improve maternal health and reduce adverse events associated with delivery must address the unique health needs and challenges faced by rural women,” Admon added in a University of Michigan news release. In the study, her team analyzed 6.8 million births nationwide between 2007 and 2015, and found that deliveries requiring emergency lifesaving treatment and mothers’ deaths rose from 109 to 152 per 10,000 childbirth hospitalizations during that time. The researchers also found that rural women were 9% more likely to have a dangerous childbirth situation than urban women, with about 4,400 more cases among rural women during the study period. The findings were published in the December issue of the journal Health Affairs. The study’s lead author, Katy Kozhimannil, said, “Where you live shouldn’t dictate the outcome of your pregnancy.” Kozhimannil is director of the University of Minnesota’s Rural Health Research Center. “In rural… read on >
CBD Medicine May Help Ease Another Form of Seizure
Prescription-grade CBD may help control hard-to-treat seizures caused by a rare genetic disorder, a preliminary study suggests. The study involved 224 patients with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) — a genetic condition that affects about one in 6,000 people, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health. It causes noncancerous tumors to arise throughout the body, and — in 90% of patients — seizures that are often resistant to standard drugs. Researchers wanted to know whether these patients might respond to Epidiolex, a liquid medication that contains purified CBD (cannabidiol). Last year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Epidiolex for two other rare seizure disorders: Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. That made it the first approved medication to contain an ingredient derived from cannabis plants. CBD is one of hundreds of chemicals found in cannabis, better known as marijuana. CBD differs from THC, the source of the famous marijuana “high.” CBD is present in marijuana but is more abundant in hemp — cannabis plants that have little THC. Despite the Epidiolex approval, researchers still aren’t sure why prescription-grade CBD can help control severe seizures. But standard antiseizure drugs all work by similar mechanisms — and CBD apparently tackles them in a different way, according to Dr. Elizabeth Thiele, who led the new study. “CBD works by a novel mechanism, but we don’t know exactly what… read on >
Playing Sports Might Sharpen Your Hearing
Playing sports may improve the brain’s ability to process sounds, a finding that could lead to new therapies for people who struggle with hearing, researchers report. “No one would argue against the fact that sports lead to better physical fitness, but we don’t always think of brain fitness and sports,” said study senior author Nina Kraus. She’s a professor of communication sciences and neurobiology at Northwestern University, in Evanston, Ill. “We’re saying that playing sports can tune the brain to better understand one’s sensory environment,” added Kraus, director of the university’s Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory. The study included 495 female and male Northwestern student athletes and a control group of 493 age- and sex-matched non-athletes. The participants’ brain activity was monitored while they wore earbuds that delivered speech sounds. The athletes were more adept than those in the control group to tune out background noise to better process the speech sounds, according to the study published Dec. 9 in the journal Sports Health. That skill can be useful for athletes when they’re trying to hear a teammate or coach calling to them during a game. Kraus equated it to listening to a DJ on the radio. “Think of background electrical noise in the brain like static on the radio,” Kraus said in a university news release. “There are two ways to hear the DJ better: minimize… read on >
Good Workouts Might Extend a Woman’s Life
If you can tackle a tough workout, that may bode well for your longevity, new research suggests. A woman’s risk of dying from heart disease, cancer or other causes is much lower if she can engage in vigorous exercise, scientists report. The new study included more than 4,700 middle-aged and older women, average age 64, who were referred for treadmill exercise echocardiography because they had known or suspected coronary artery disease. The women walked or ran on a treadmill with a gradual increase in intensity, and continued until they were exhausted. During a median follow-up of 4.6 years, there were 345 heart-related deaths, 164 cancer deaths and 203 deaths from other causes. After adjusting for other factors, the researchers concluded that high exercise capacity was significantly associated with lower risk of death during follow-up, though the study didn’t prove a cause-and-effect link. The annual rate of death from heart disease was nearly four times higher in women with poor exercise capacity (2.2%) than in those with good exercise capacity (0.6%), the investigators found. The annual rate of cancer deaths was twice as high among women with poor exercise capacity (0.9%) than those with good exercise capacity (0.4%), and the annual rate of death from other causes was more than four times higher among those with poor exercise capacity (1.4%) than those with good exercise capacity… read on >
Health Tip: Managing ADHD in Adults
(HealthDay News) — About 4 percent of adults have attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), says Harvard University Medical School. Adults with ADHD tend to have more difficulty with attention and memory, rather than with hyperactivity, as with children. To help manage ADHD in adults, the school suggests: Consider medications such as stimulants, non stimulants and antidepressants. Learn more about ADHD and encourage your family and spouse to learn, too. Establish realistic expectations and achievable goals. Avail yourself of cognitive behavioral therapy or coaching.