Authorities in Tennessee reported a rare and tragic death after a hiker was bitten by a rattlesnake. Fatal snakebites are extremely uncommon in the United States, with a nationwide average of about five deaths annually, according to the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. The incident occurred on Aug. 8 in Savage Gulf State Park in Gruetli-Laager, Tennessee, a scenic area with some 60 miles of hiking trails that are home to various snake species, The New York Times reports. According to a witness, the man, who has not been publicly identified, picked up what is believed to be a timber rattlesnake and was bitten on his hand. Despite receiving immediate CPR from emergency medical workers who reached him about a half-mile along the trail, he later died at a hospital, according to the report. Why the hiker handled the snake remains unknown. Experts suspect the man’s death was not due to the effects of the snake’s venom, but rather to a severe allergic reaction.  “Some people just may be plain allergic to snake venom,” said William Sutton, an assistant professor of agricultural and environmental sciences at Tennessee State University in Nashville, who studies snakes. He noted that an allergic reaction to the venom could lead to anaphylaxis, a life-threatening condition that can cause the airways to narrow and blood pressure to drop.…  read on >  read on >

Wear-and-tear knee arthritis might be made less painful by a surgical procedure that limits blood flow to the joint, a new pilot study says. As a person’s knee breaks down, the pain is made worse by the growth of small blood vessels that increase blood flow to the joint, researchers said. The new procedure involves blocking this blood flow by placing hydrogel beads in arteries that feed the knee’s lining, researchers report in the Journal of Vascular Interventional Radiology. More than 60% of 25 men and women who underwent the procedure experienced significant improvements in their knee pain by one year later, results show. “This procedure is particularly suited to those patients who are either not yet ready for knee replacement surgery or for whom surgery is not an option because of age or other risk factors, such as obesity, uncontrolled diabetes or heart disease, or smoking,” senior researcher Dr. Ryan Hickey, section chief of vascular and interventional radiology at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, said in a news release. An estimated 24 million cases of knee arthritis are diagnosed each year in the United States, Hickey said, and that number is expected to grow with the aging population. The wear-and-tear of the knee joint causes inflammation, which in turn triggers the growth of new blood vessels, researchers said. This causes abnormal blood flow to…  read on >  read on >

Wear-and-tear knee arthritis might be made less painful by a surgical procedure that limits blood flow to the joint, a new pilot study says. As a person’s knee breaks down, the pain is made worse by the growth of small blood vessels that increase blood flow to the joint, researchers said. The new procedure involves blocking this blood flow by placing hydrogel beads in arteries that feed the knee’s lining, researchers report in the Journal of Vascular Interventional Radiology. More than 60% of 25 men and women who underwent the procedure experienced significant improvements in their knee pain by one year later, results show. “This procedure is particularly suited to those patients who are either not yet ready for knee replacement surgery or for whom surgery is not an option because of age or other risk factors, such as obesity, uncontrolled diabetes or heart disease, or smoking,” senior researcher Dr. Ryan Hickey, section chief of vascular and interventional radiology at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, said in a news release. An estimated 24 million cases of knee arthritis are diagnosed each year in the United States, Hickey said, and that number is expected to grow with the aging population. The wear-and-tear of the knee joint causes inflammation, which in turn triggers the growth of new blood vessels, researchers said. This causes abnormal blood flow to…  read on >  read on >

Exposure to a common pesticide during pregnancy can impair children’s brain development and motor function for years to come, a new study says. The widely used pesticide chlorpyrifos (CPF) is linked to altered brain function and poorer fine motor control among children exposed to it while in the womb, researchers report in JAMA Neurology. “The disturbances in brain tissue and metabolism that we observed with prenatal exposure to this one pesticide were remarkably widespread throughout the brain,” lead researcher Dr. Bradley Peterson said in a news release. He’s chief of child and adolescent psychiatry at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine. For the study, researchers conducted behavioral assessments and MRI scans of 270 kids in upper Manhattan whose mothers had been exposed to CPF during pregnancy when their apartments were fumigated. These assessments occurred between 1998 and mid-2005. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency banned CPF for residential use in 2001, but it’s still used as an agricultural pesticide for non-organic fruits, vegetables and grains such as apples, strawberries, asparagus, tart cherries, citrus and peaches, researchers noted. CPF is an organophosphate pesticide, in the same chemical family as nerve gas, researchers note. The chemical can cross the placenta to the fetus, and easily traverse the fetal blood-brain barrier. CPF has been used to control cockroaches, fleas and termites, and has been an active…  read on >  read on >

Exposure to a common pesticide during pregnancy can impair children’s brain development and motor function for years to come, a new study says. The widely used pesticide chlorpyrifos (CPF) is linked to altered brain function and poorer fine motor control among children exposed to it while in the womb, researchers report in JAMA Neurology. “The disturbances in brain tissue and metabolism that we observed with prenatal exposure to this one pesticide were remarkably widespread throughout the brain,” lead researcher Dr. Bradley Peterson said in a news release. He’s chief of child and adolescent psychiatry at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine. For the study, researchers conducted behavioral assessments and MRI scans of 270 kids in upper Manhattan whose mothers had been exposed to CPF during pregnancy when their apartments were fumigated. These assessments occurred between 1998 and mid-2005. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency banned CPF for residential use in 2001, but it’s still used as an agricultural pesticide for non-organic fruits, vegetables and grains such as apples, strawberries, asparagus, tart cherries, citrus and peaches, researchers noted. CPF is an organophosphate pesticide, in the same chemical family as nerve gas, researchers note. The chemical can cross the placenta to the fetus, and easily traverse the fetal blood-brain barrier. CPF has been used to control cockroaches, fleas and termites, and has been an active…  read on >  read on >

Taking acetaminophen while pregnant might increase a child’s risk of autism or ADHD, a new evidence review says. Analysis of 46 prior studies involving more than 100,000 participants found “strong evidence” that prenatal exposure to acetaminophen could increase the risk of developmental brain disorders like autism and ADHD, researchers reported Aug. 13 in the journal BMC Environmental Health. “Our findings show that higher-quality studies are more likely to show a link between prenatal acetaminophen exposure and increased risks of autism and ADHD,” said lead researcher Diddier Prada, an assistant professor of population health science and policy at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. This potential link could explain the ongoing surge in developmental disorders among children, the research team said. “As acetaminophen has become the recommended pain reliever for pregnant mothers, the rates of ADHD and ASD have increased more than  20-fold over the past decades,” the researchers concluded in their paper. “Given the widespread use of this medication, even a small increase in risk could have major public health implications,” Prada added in a news release. However, he said expecting mothers should consult with their doctor before they stop taking acetaminophen. “Untreated pain or fever can also harm the baby,” Prada said. “Our study highlights the importance of discussing the safest approach with health care providers and considering non-drug…  read on >  read on >

Taking acetaminophen while pregnant might increase a child’s risk of autism or ADHD, a new evidence review says. Analysis of 46 prior studies involving more than 100,000 participants found “strong evidence” that prenatal exposure to acetaminophen could increase the risk of developmental brain disorders like autism and ADHD, researchers reported Aug. 13 in the journal BMC Environmental Health. “Our findings show that higher-quality studies are more likely to show a link between prenatal acetaminophen exposure and increased risks of autism and ADHD,” said lead researcher Diddier Prada, an assistant professor of population health science and policy at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. This potential link could explain the ongoing surge in developmental disorders among children, the research team said. “As acetaminophen has become the recommended pain reliever for pregnant mothers, the rates of ADHD and ASD have increased more than  20-fold over the past decades,” the researchers concluded in their paper. “Given the widespread use of this medication, even a small increase in risk could have major public health implications,” Prada added in a news release. However, he said expecting mothers should consult with their doctor before they stop taking acetaminophen. “Untreated pain or fever can also harm the baby,” Prada said. “Our study highlights the importance of discussing the safest approach with health care providers and considering non-drug…  read on >  read on >