http://www.9wsyr.com/content/family_healthcast/default.aspx The latest health headlines, from the Family Healthcast. en-us Copyright 2012 Newport Television LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:00:01 -0500 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 20:50:52 -0500 Health Headlines http://www.9wsyr.com/sites/wsyr/images/9wsyrlogo.jpg http://www.9wsyr.com/content/family_healthcast/default.aspx 214 66 15 http://www.9wsyr.com:80/content/family_healthcast/story/Doctors-telling-more-adults-Get-out-and-exercise/K9Cx_0uM4k2lbwsD4idOzQ.cspx?rss=1421 http://www.9wsyr.com/s/K9Cx_0uM4k2lbwsD4idOzQ.cspx ATLANTA (AP) -- More and more U.S. adults are being told by their doctor to get out and exercise, according to government survey released Thursday.

Nearly 33 percent of adults who saw a doctor in the previous year said they were told to exercise. That was up from about 23 percent in 2000, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.

The report also found more women got that advice than men. And among people with chronic health problems, diabetics, were the most likely to get the advice and cancer patients were least likely.

The most dramatic - and surprising - increases were reported in patients age 85 and older. In 2000, about 15 percent were told by doctors to exercise. By 2010, almost 30 percent were getting such a recommendation.

"It's very encouraging that doctors feel people at that age still have time to live and can make their health better," said Pat Barnes, a CDC health statistician who was lead author of the report.

The report was based on a survey of nearly 22,000 adults in 2010. The CDC then compared the results to similar surveys done in 2000 and 2005.

The doctors' advice may be getting through to at least some people. Other CDC data has found that about 51 percent of Americans said they exercise regularly in 2009, up from about 46 percent in 2001.

However, more than one third of U.S. adults are obese, a statistic that's held steady for nearly a decade.
]]> WSYR_FH_Headlines Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:20:02 -0500 http://www.9wsyr.com:80/content/family_healthcast/story/Chemo-possible-for-pregnant-women-with-cancer/5zOslADgeEaWaOVL7aAjjg.cspx?rss=1421 http://www.9wsyr.com/s/5zOslADgeEaWaOVL7aAjjg.cspx LONDON (AP) - Researchers have encouraging news for women who find themselves in a very frightening situation: having cancer while pregnant. Studies suggest that these women can be treated almost the same as other cancer patients are, with minimal risk to the fetus.

Only about 1 in 1,000 pregnant women face this dilemma, but doctors fear that more will because the risk of cancer rises with age, and more women are delaying having children until they're older.

Doctors have long worried about how to balance treating a pregnant woman with cancer and the need to protect her fetus from the effects of toxic cancer drugs and radiation treatments, and whether it is safe to continue a pregnancy in certain situations. A series of papers in the journals Lancet and Lancet Oncology published Friday make several key contributions:

- A Belgian-led study of 70 children in Europe exposed to chemotherapy while they were in the womb found they developed just as well as other children, according to tests on their hearts, IQ and general health. They were assessed at birth, 18 months, and every few years until age 18.

- Chemotherapy after the first trimester is possible, using extra ultrasounds to ensure the baby is developing properly. Radiation therapy is best done in the first two trimesters, when the baby is small enough to be covered with a lead blanket, according to a review of previous studies, led by Belgian researchers.

- Ending the pregnancy doesn't improve chances for the mother, the same study found.

- The type of cancer seems to matter: An Israeli analysis of past research suggested pregnant women with blood cancers might want to terminate an early pregnancy when chemotherapy can't be delayed.

- Another review of previous studies by French and American researchers concluded doctors should aim to preserve pregnancy in women with cervical or ovarian cancers where possible.

"Many (doctors) aren't keen to give chemotherapy to pregnant women and may even recommend termination," said Dr. Frederic Amant of the Leuven Cancer Institute in Belgium, an author of two of the papers. "But treating a pregnant woman with cancer doesn't have to be so different from treating a cancer patient who isn't pregnant."

Amant, who led the study of 70 children, said most of the children with cognitive problems were born premature, and that was probably the primary cause of their delayed development.

"Doctors will often err on the side of caution and deliver a baby early to avoid the effects of chemotherapy," said Dr. Catherine Nelson-Piercy, an obstetric physician and spokeswoman for Britain's Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.

"These data don't say that chemotherapy is completely safe, but the baby is better off being in (the mother) as long as possible," she said. Nelson-Piercy was not linked to the Lancet series and often works with pregnant women diagnosed with cancer or other illnesses.

Dr. Richard Theriault, a professor of medicine at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Texas, said he hoped the papers would change how doctors treat pregnant cancer patients.

"Terminating a pregnancy is not always necessary," said Theriault, who heads a program to treat pregnant women with cancer. He said a minority of pregnant women with cancer still get abortions.

He said the placenta seems to act as a kind of filter for chemotherapy drugs, restricting their effects on the fetus. "There's the phenomenon of the bald mother who gives birth to a baby with a full head of hair," he said. "It seems to suggest not as much gets to the baby as we thought."

That was certainly Caroline Swain's experience, who was diagnosed with breast cancer while pregnant with her second son. She had her left breast and many lymph nodes removed and had to wait until her fetus was 12 weeks old before starting chemotherapy.

"I was just so grateful it was possible to have treatment and keep my baby," said Swain, 45, who lives near London. "I was scared that my child wouldn't remember me if something happened to me."

Her son Luke, now 9, weighed in at 7.4 pounds (3.35 kilograms) when he was born, only slightly lighter than his older brother Max a year earlier.

"We had celebrations all around when Luke came out absolutely fine," Swain said of her and her husband Rowland's relief at the birth. "Luke is no different from his brother," she said. "They both love Legos and X-Box."

]]> WSYR_FH_Headlines Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:02:00 -0500 http://www.9wsyr.com:80/content/family_healthcast/story/Study-finds-MDs-not-always-honest-with-patients/S9YomQl23EyltGV6u9E7kg.cspx?rss=1421 http://www.9wsyr.com/s/S9YomQl23EyltGV6u9E7kg.cspx WASHINGTON (AP) -- Trust your doctor? A survey finds that some doctors aren't always completely honest with their patients.

More than half admitted describing someone's prognosis in a way they knew was too rosy. Nearly 20 percent said they hadn't fully disclosed a medical mistake for fear of being sued. And 1 in 10 of those surveyed said they'd told a patient something that wasn't true in the past year.

The survey, by Massachusetts researchers and published in this month's Health Affairs, doesn't explain why, or what wasn't true.

"I don't think that physicians set out to be dishonest," said lead researcher Dr. Lisa Iezzoni, a Harvard Medical School professor and director of Massachusetts General Hospital's Mongan Institute for Health Policy. She said the untruths could have been to give people hope.

But it takes open communication for patients to make fully informed decisions about their health care, as opposed to the "doctor-knows-best" paternalism of medicine's past, Iezzoni added.

The survey offers "a reason for patients to be vigilant and to be very clear with their physician about how much they do want to know," she said.

The findings come from a 2009 survey of more than 1,800 physicians nationwide to see if they agree with and follow certain standards medical professionalism issued in 2002. Among the voluntary standards are that doctors should be open and honest about all aspects of patient care, and promptly disclose any mistakes.

A third of those surveyed didn't completely agree that doctors should `fess up about mistakes. That's even though a growing number of medical centers are adopting policies that tell doctors to say "I'm sorry" up front, in part because studies have found patients less likely to sue when that happens.

Not revealing a mistake is "just inexcusable," said Dr. Arthur Caplan, a prominent medical ethicist at the University of Pennsylvania. Beyond decency, "your care now has to be different because of what happened."

The vast majority of those surveyed agreed that physicians should fully inform patients of the risks, not just the benefits, of treatment options and never tell a patient something that isn't true - even though some admitted they hadn't followed that advice at least on rare occasions in the past year.

Perhaps least surprising is that doctors give overly positive prognoses. It's hard to deliver bad news, especially when a patient has run out of options, and until recently doctors have had little training in how to do so. But Iezzoni said patients with the worst outlook especially deserve to know, so they can get their affairs in order, and patient studies have found most want to know.

What else might doctors not tell? There are shades of gray, said Caplan, the ethicist. For example, he's heard doctors agonize over what to tell parents about a very premature baby's chances, knowing the odds are really bad but also knowing they've seen miracles.

Doctors prescribe placebos sometimes, and telling the patient could negate chances of the fake treatment helping, he noted. Sometimes they exaggerate a health finding to shock the patient into shaping up.

And sometimes it's a matter of dribbling out a hard truth to give patients a chance to adjust, Caplan said: "OK, this looks serious but we're going to order some more tests," when the doctor already knows just how grim things are.

Withholding the full story is getting harder, though, Iezzoni said. Not only do more patients Google their conditions so they know what to ask, but some doctors who have embraced electronic medical records allow patients to log in and check their own test results.
]]> WSYR_FH_Headlines Wed, 08 Feb 2012 20:21:17 -0500 http://www.9wsyr.com:80/content/family_healthcast/story/CDC-Bread-beats-out-chips-as-biggest-salt-source/3_gZv0lRh0qfvfQTMuV_hg.cspx?rss=1421 http://www.9wsyr.com/s/3_gZv0lRh0qfvfQTMuV_hg.cspx ATLANTA (AP) -- Bread and rolls are the No. 1 source of salt in the American diet, accounting for more than twice as much sodium as salty junk food like potato chips.

That surprising finding comes in a government report released Tuesday that includes a list of the top 10 sources of sodium. Salty snacks actually came in at the bottom of the list compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"Potato chips, pretzels, and popcorn - which we think of as the saltiest foods in our diet - are only No. 10," said CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden.

Breads and rolls aren't really saltier than many of the other foods, but people tend to eat a lot of them, said Mary Cogswell, a CDC senior scientist who co-authored the report.

Salt is the main source of sodium for most people, and sodium increases the risk of high blood pressure, a major cause of heart disease and stroke. Health officials say most Americans get too much salt, mostly from processed and restaurant foods - not added from the salt shaker.

Experts have known that the sodium in breads and certain other foods can add up, but even CDC officials were amazed that just 10 foods are responsible for 44 percent of the sodium consumed.

"It's possible to eat a whole bunch of sodium without it seeming salty," noted John Hayes, an assistant professor of food science at Penn State, who was not involved in the report.

According to the CDC, breads and rolls account for about 7 percent of the salt that the average American eats in a day. Next on the list: cold cuts and cured meats; pizza; fresh and processed poultry; soups; fast-food hamburgers and sandwiches and cheese.

Rounding out the list - and accounting for about 3 percent each - are spaghetti and other pasta dishes; meatloaf and other meat dishes and snacks like potato chips and pretzels.

Dietary guidelines recommend no more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium a day, equal to about a teaspoon of salt. Certain people, such as those with high blood pressure, should eat even less. But average sodium consumption in the U.S. is around 3,300 milligrams, the CDC study found. Only 1 in 10 Americans meet the teaspoon guideline.

The amount of sodium in food types can vary. For example, a slice of white bread can have between 80 and 230 milligrams of sodium. A cup of canned chicken noodle soup has between 100 and 940 milligrams and 3 ounces of luncheon meat has between 450 and 1,050 milligrams. A small 1 ounce bag of potato chips ranges from 50 to 200 milligrams.

The new CDC report is based on surveys of more than 7,200 people in 2007 and 2008, including nearly 3,000 children. Participants were surveyed twice, each time answering detailed questions about what they had eaten over the previous day. Researchers then broke down what they ate into categories, and assigned sodium amounts.

Salt reduction has become a recent focus of public health campaigns, and some major food makers have taken steps or announced plans to gradually reduce sodium in their products.

CDC officials - who have long encouraged people to eat more fruits and vegetables - stopped short of advising people to lay off the bread. But they are encouraging consumers to read labels and, for example, buy brands of bread that have lower sodium.

"People can choose how much salt to add to their food at the table. They can't take it out once it's there," Frieden said.

There's another way to consume less sodium. "Eat smaller portions," Hayes said.

---

Online:

CDC
]]> WSYR_FH_Headlines Tue, 07 Feb 2012 20:32:01 -0500 http://www.9wsyr.com:80/content/family_healthcast/story/No-proof-that-flying-economy-class-increases-your/xHfwh1BW40azuiGBTP0g8Q.cspx?rss=1421 http://www.9wsyr.com/s/xHfwh1BW40azuiGBTP0g8Q.cspx CHICAGO (AP) -- Good news for budget-minded travelers: There's no proof that flying economy-class increases your chances of dangerous blood clots, according to new guidelines from medical specialists.

Travelers' blood clots have been nicknamed "economy class syndrome" but the new advice suggests this is a misnomer.

The real risk is not getting up and moving during long flights, whether flying coach or first-class. Sitting by the window seems to play a role, because it makes people less likely to leave their seats, the guidelines say.

Still, even on long flights, lasting at least four hours, the risk for most people is extremely low and not something to be alarmed about, said Dr. Gordon Guyatt, chairman of an American College of Chest Physicians' committee that wrote the new guidelines.

The group, based in Northbrook, Ill., represents more than 18,000 physicians whose specialties include lung disease and critical care. The guidelines were released online Tuesday in the group's journal, Chest. They're based on a review of recent research and other medical evidence on deep vein thrombosis, blood clots that form deep in leg veins.

Flights lasting at least eight hours are riskiest, the guidelines say.

Muscles in the lower legs help push blood in the legs and feet back to the heart. Sitting still for extended periods of time without using these muscles puts pressure on leg veins and blood "tends to sit there," which can increase chance for clots to form, said Guyatt, a researcher at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. These clots can cause leg pain, swelling and redness, and can be life-threatening if they travel to the lungs. They can be treated with blood-thinning drugs, but may cause permanent damage to leg veins.

Most people who develop these clots have risk factors, including obesity, older age, recent surgery, a history of previous blood clots or use of birth control pills.

The average risk for a deep vein blood clot in the general population is about 1 per 1,000 each year. Long-haul travel doubles the chance, but still, the small risk should reassure healthy travelers that they're unlikely to develop clots, said Dr. Susan Kahn, a co-author of the new guidelines and a professor of medicine at McGill University in Montreal.

Traveling by bus, train and car may also increase the risks, the guidelines say.

Besides taking a stroll down the aisle during flights, doing calf exercises including flexing and extending the ankles while seated can help prevent clots, Kahn said.

The guidelines recommend these precautions and use of special compression stockings only for people at increased risk for clots. They advise long-distance travelers against using aspirin or other blood thinners to prevent blood clots.

---

Online:

American College of Chest Physicians' journal
]]> WSYR_FH_Headlines Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:49:04 -0500 http://www.9wsyr.com:80/content/family_healthcast/story/Nine-in-10-U-S-adults-get-too-much-sodium-every/WS5cgEf4cEuMWtvvs1iFlg.cspx?rss=1421 http://www.9wsyr.com/s/WS5cgEf4cEuMWtvvs1iFlg.cspx Syracuse (CDC) -- Nearly all Americans consume much more sodium than they should, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most of the sodium comes from common restaurant or grocery store items.

The latest Vital Signs report finds that 10 types of foods are responsible for more than 40 percent of people’s sodium intake. The most common sources are breads and rolls, luncheon meat such as deli ham or turkey, pizza, poultry, soups, cheeseburgers and other sandwiches, cheese, pasta dishes, meat dishes such as meat loaf, and snack foods such as potato chips, pretzels and popcorn. Some foods that are consumed several times a day, such as bread, add up to a lot of sodium even though each serving is not high in sodium.

“Too much sodium raises blood pressure, which is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke,” said CDC Director Thomas R. Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. “These diseases kill more than 800,000 Americans each year and contribute an estimated $273 billion in health care costs.”

The report notes that the average person consumes about 3,300 milligrams of sodium per day, not including any salt added at the table, which is more than twice the recommended limit for about half of Americans and 6 of every 10 adults. The U.S. Dietary Guidelines recommend limiting sodium intake to less than 2,300 milligrams per day. The recommendation is 1,500 milligrams per day for people aged 51 and older, and anyone with high blood pressure, diabetes, and chronic kidney disease, and African Americans.

Key points in the Vital Signs Report:

• Ten types of foods account for 44 percent of dietary sodium consumed each day.
• 65 percent of sodium comes from food sold in stores.
• 25 percent of sodium comes from meals purchased in restaurants.
• Reducing the sodium content of the 10 leading sodium sources by 25 percent would lower total dietary sodium by more than 10 percent and could play a role in preventing up to an estimated 28,000 deaths per year.

Reducing daily sodium consumption is difficult since it is in so many of the foods we eat. People can lower their sodium intake by eating a diet rich in fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables without sauce, while limiting the amount of processed foods with added sodium. Individuals can also check grocery food labels and choose the products lowest in sodium. CDC supports recommendations for food manufacturers and restaurants to reduce the amount of sodium added to foods.

“We’re encouraged that some food manufacturers are already taking steps to reduce sodium,” said Dr. Frieden. “Kraft Foods has committed to an average 10 percent reduction of sodium in their products over a two year period, and dozens of companies have joined a national initiative to reduce sodium. The leading supplier of cheese for pizza, Leprino Foods, is actively working on providing customers and consumers with healthier options. We are confident that more manufacturers will do the same.”

On the web --

More from the CDC
]]> WSYR_FH_Headlines Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:44:41 -0500 http://www.9wsyr.com:80/content/family_healthcast/story/Pa-vending-machine-dispenses-morning-after-pill/EuiapdYy3EiyNSI8nYMKmw.cspx?rss=1421 http://www.9wsyr.com/s/EuiapdYy3EiyNSI8nYMKmw.cspx UNDATED (AP) -- Students at Shippensburg University in central Pennsylvania can get the "morning-after" pill by sliding $25 into a vending machine installed at the request of the student government.

The Etter Health Center at Shippensburg, a public school of 8,300 students in Appalachia's scenic Cumberland Valley, provides the Plan B One Step emergency contraceptive along with condoms, decongestants and pregnancy tests.

The pill is available without a prescription to anyone 17 or older, and the school checked records and found that all current students are that age or older, spokesman Peter Gigliotti said.

The machine was installed after a request from the student association. The pill's availability in a vending machine appears to be rare, if not unprecedented.

The idea started when Shippensburg conducted a survey about health center services several years ago, and 85 percent of the respondents supported making Plan B available, he said.

"The machine is in a private room in our health center, and the health center is only accessible by students," Gigliotti said in a statement. "In addition, no one can walk in off the street and go into the health center. Students proceed to a check-in desk located in the lobby and after checking in are granted access to the treatment area."

Taking Plan B within 72 hours of rape, condom failure or just forgetting regular contraception can cut the chances of pregnancy by up to 89 percent. It works best if taken within 24 hours.

Some religious conservatives consider the emergency contraceptive tantamount to an abortion drug. A spokeswoman for the National Right to Life Committee did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Jessica Sheets Pika, a spokeswoman for the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, said that "if the health center is manned 24/7, that sounds like it's a sufficient protection."

"But if there's a chance that people under 17 are able to access it, that's a problem," she added.

The drug isn't covered or subsidized by the school. Its price at the vending machine is set by the school's cost to the pharmaceutical company and is less than at off-campus pharmacies.
]]> WSYR_FH_Headlines Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:32:21 -0500 http://www.9wsyr.com:80/content/family_healthcast/story/Study-Abuse-a-bigger-threat-to-infant-safety-than/HfjhXXAT6UW3iZyEVORvEQ.cspx?rss=1421 http://www.9wsyr.com/s/HfjhXXAT6UW3iZyEVORvEQ.cspx Syracuse (WSYR-TV) -- Nearly 4,600 U.S. children were hospitalized with broken bones, traumatic brain injury and other serious damage caused by physical abuse in 2006, according to a new report.

Babies younger than one were the most common victims with 58 cases per 100,000 infants. That makes serious abuse a bigger threat to infant safety than SIDS, or sudden infant death syndrome, researchers say in the report.

The new study, published Monday in the journal "Pediatrics," is the first broad U.S. estimate of serious injuries due to child abuse.

Based on data from the 2006 Kids’ Inpatient Database, the last such numbers available, Leventhal’s team found that six out of every 100,000 children under 18 were hospitalized with injuries ranging from burns to wounds, to brain injuries and bone fractures.

The children spent an average of one week in the hospital; 300 of them died.

The rate of abuse was highest among children under one, particularly if they were covered by Medicaid. One out of every 752 of those infants landed in the hospital due to maltreatment.

Last year, a study from four U.S. states showed a clear spike in abusive brain injuries following the financial crash in later 2007 – a finding researchers have chalked up to the added pressure on parents.

In that study, toddlers appeared to be a higher risk. That led researchers to suggest the maltreatment might have been triggered by crying.

If a caretaker shakes a baby violently to make him or her stop crying, they can cause something known as shaken baby syndrome, in which the brain bumps up against the skull and starts bleeding.

Leventhal said babies may also be more vulnerable than older kids.

Researchers estimate that the hospitalizations cost about $73.8 million in 2006, although that’s only a fraction of the overall cost of abuse to society.
]]> WSYR_FH_Headlines Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:00:53 -0500 http://www.9wsyr.com:80/content/family_healthcast/story/A-push-for-family-input-to-detect-dementia-earlier/v5hNpjT3ZUWE7cSmmtxuxg.cspx?rss=1421 http://www.9wsyr.com/s/v5hNpjT3ZUWE7cSmmtxuxg.cspx WASHINGTON (AP) -- Alexis McKenzie's mother had mild dementia, but things sounded OK when she phoned home: Dad was with her, finishing his wife's sentences as they talked about puttering through the day and a drive to the store.

Then their phone service was cut off. "I mailed that check," McKenzie's father insisted. No, he'd mailed the phone company a bank deposit slip instead. McKenzie visited and discovered spoiling food. Dad the caregiver was in trouble, too.

Dementia can sneak up on families. Its sufferers are pretty adept at covering lapses early on, and spouses are sometimes there to compensate. Doctors too frequently are fooled as well. Now specialists are pushing for the first National Alzheimer's Plan to help overcome this barrier to early detection, urging what's called dementia-capable primary care, more screenings for warning signs and regular checks of caregivers' own physical and mental health.

For a doctor to ask someone with brewing dementia, "How are you?" isn't enough, says Dr. Laurel Coleman, a geriatric physician at Maine Medical Center who is part of a federal advisory council tackling the issue.

"So often I hear, `The doctor only asks my mom how she is. She says fine and it's over,'" says Coleman. "That's not dementia-capable, or dementia-aware, primary care."

Family input should be mandatory, she told a recent council meeting. It's the only way to know if the person really is eating and taking her medicines as she claims, and not forgetting to turn off the stove.

The question is how to square that input with patient confidentiality, especially if the person never filed the legal forms clearing family members to intervene, as happened with McKenzie.

Plus, regularly seeking that input takes more time than the typical 15-minute visit and is poorly reimbursed, notes Coleman. But she says more primary-care physicians are starting to be trained in dementia's challenges.

More than 5 million Americans are estimated to have Alzheimer's or similar forms of dementia, although as many as half may not be formally diagnosed. With the rapidly aging population, the toll is projected to reach up to 16 million by 2050. The Obama administration is drafting a national strategy to try to slow that coming avalanche - with research aiming for some effective treatments by 2025 - plus find ways for struggling families to better cope today.

Step 1 is earlier detection. McKenzie directs an Alzheimer's assisted-living facility in Washington, so she knows about dementia. Still, it took some sleuthing to determine how much her 82-year-old parents, living a few hours away in Maryland, were deteriorating. She says her father refused any assistance in caring for her mother, and together the couple put up such a good front that even their regular physician hadn't realized their shared answers to standard check-up questions - How are you eating? Has anything changed? - simply weren't true.

"It's almost as if they're sharing a brain. That's how they get through a day," McKenzie says.

Sure, dementia patients' stories can be believable.

"It happens in doctors' offices all the time," says Beth Kallmyer, vice president of constituent services at the Alzheimer's Association. That's why it's crucial that family members are part of the screening process.

The diseased brain may not be able to pull up a recent memory, but longer-term memories remain, she explains. So an intricate description of, say, cooking last night's dinner may ring true because it was a real dinner, just not last night's.

And a long-married couple in a familiar routine and surroundings can appear far more normal than they really are - until something upsets that balancing act, like the caregiving spouse getting sick, adds Dr. Gary Kennedy, geriatric psychiatry chief at New York's Montefiore Medical Center.

How to get around the hidden-dementia conundrum?

-Medicare's new annual wellness visit pays for cognitive screening, simple tests that signal who should be referred for more extensive brain exams. "Even if primary-care physicians don't consider themselves experts at evaluating for Alzheimer's disease, or don't feel comfortable, they can screen," Kallmyer says.

-The government's Alzheimer's advisers want doctors to steer families toward advanced-care planning, including designating a health care power of attorney, as soon as dementia is diagnosed. Montefiore's Kennedy says early diagnosis gives patients a say in how they want to be cared for while they're still capable of making those decisions.

-A health care proxy won't be used until the person is quite sick. So Kallmyer advises also signing what's called a "release of information" allowing the doctor to discuss the person's care with whoever is named right away.

Such steps are important, Kennedy says, because advancing dementia leaves people so unaware of their deficits that they can take family or doctor input "as an affront." He always asks new patients if he can fill in their loved ones, or invite them in from the waiting room, as a way of starting that conversation.

-Doctors can violate patient confidentiality if they believe the person's decisions or behavior has become a danger, Kennedy notes.

McKenzie says her father would never discuss naming a health care proxy and her parents were furious that she'd voiced concerns to their physician. She had to think up non-confrontational ways to get invited back into their doctor visits: "I'll drive you, and then why don't I take notes in case you have any questions later?"

It turned out that McKenzie's father had a non-cancerous brain tumor causing his own gradual dementia symptoms, which started becoming apparent with the phone mix-up, unrefrigerated food and eventually delusions. Finally, she had to go to court to get her parents the care they needed in an assisted living facility near their hometown.
]]> WSYR_FH_Headlines Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:47:06 -0500 http://www.9wsyr.com:80/content/family_healthcast/story/CDC-Too-few-adults-are-getting-their-vaccinations/e0YulFz4fUeuJKJTWK_y9g.cspx?rss=1421 http://www.9wsyr.com/s/e0YulFz4fUeuJKJTWK_y9g.cspx SYRACUSE, NY (WSYR-TV) - Jennifer Rost admits she didn't keep up with her vaccinations until she had a child.

"Basically until I had a reason to, I wasn't really thinking about getting an adult vaccination," said Rost. "It wasn't on my radar."

Rost joins a long list of people who aren't sure which shots they need or when.

The latest study by the Centers for Disease Control found that adult vaccination rates must improve substantially in order to reduce preventable diseases.

While some vaccines showed small increases in 2010, overall coverage remained low: Only 18.5% of high risk adults got a vaccination that protects against pneumonia. The adult rate for Hepatitis A shots was just 10.7%. Doctors have seen scattered pertussis outbreaks, but only an 8.2% adult Tdap vaccination rate.

Dr. Luis Castro of Westside Family Health Center isn't surprised.

"For most adults, it is sort of an optional vaccine and adult patients are technically pretty leery of vaccines because they are concerned about possible side effects," explained Dr. Castro.

Keeping track of what you need is another challenge. While children are on a clear schedule with regular doctor visits, guidelines for adults are more complicated. Different people have different recommendations, depending on age, occupations or risk factors for certain diseases.

"With adults, it is a matter of people making the effort to get to the physician's office," said Dr. Kaushal Nanavati.

The CDC called for more efforts to raise awareness and educate patients. Jennifer agrees.

"It had never been part of the conversation I had with the doctor as an adult and it wasn't until I started asking questions that I got some really good information about it," said Rost.
]]> WSYR_FH_Headlines Sat, 04 Feb 2012 23:50:42 -0500 CDC: Too few adults are getting their vaccinations http://www.9wsyr.com:80/content/family_healthcast/story/Blood-tests-may-help-diagnose-depression/-hzd7pd8PkKEgo7myhHLZA.cspx?rss=1421 http://www.9wsyr.com/s/-hzd7pd8PkKEgo7myhHLZA.cspx Syracuse (WSYR-TV) -- A blood test may be able to diagnose depression, according to a new study.

The study finds the test, developed at Mass General Hospital, analyzed the levels of nine biomarkers that distinguished patients with major depression from those who did not.

Right now, diagnosing depression and other mental disorders is based on patients reported symptoms. Adding a blood test could make diagnosis more accurate and help track patients’ response to treatment.

]]> WSYR_FH_Headlines Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:19:13 -0500 http://www.9wsyr.com:80/content/family_healthcast/story/Hula-hooping-the-latest-trend-in-exercise/_7ZtLIGKWkS9eWykdxU-Gg.cspx?rss=1421 http://www.9wsyr.com/s/_7ZtLIGKWkS9eWykdxU-Gg.cspx Skaneateles (WSYR-TV) -- Did you have a hula hoop as a kid? Well, they’re back as the hottest trend in exercise. Women young and old are getting in shape with the toy Wham-O made famous back in the 1950s.

When’s the last time you looked around an exercise class and everyone was was smiling? The initial appeal of hula hooping is that it’s fun. The value is that it works. Ladies in Skaneateles are burning as many calories per minute as step aerobics, boot camp or jogging.

Exercise researchers actually did a study on hula hooping and were surprised at how it got the heart rate up and burned fat just as much as high impact workouts – and it works your whole body. Your arms, legs and the all important core get a workout from hula hooping.

]]> WSYR_FH_Headlines Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:50:26 -0500 Hula hooping, the latest trend in exercise http://www.9wsyr.com:80/content/family_healthcast/story/What-s-Going-Around-2-1-2012/kL3U5Opzc0G3TNE_zWcXjQ.cspx?rss=1421 http://www.9wsyr.com/s/kL3U5Opzc0G3TNE_zWcXjQ.cspx Syracuse (WSYR-TV) -- Doctor Rovall in Camillus tells us she seen five children with pink eye – all before two p.m. on Wednesday. It’s very contagious she says and children need to wash their hands faithfully and not share towels. Dr. Rovall is also seeing colds and sore throats that are viral – not strep.

In Syracuse, Brighton Hill Pediatrics also reports lots of pink eye. Other children have a cough, pneumonia and kids with asthma are wheezing.

In Liverpool, Doctor Dracker checks in with strep throat, the stomach bug, a flu-like illness and RSV in babies.

In Fayetteville, Living Proof Longevity Center is seeing upper respiratory infections and sinusitis.

Auburn doctors check in with pink eye, sore throats – both strep and viral –as well as pneumonia and the stomach bug.

And lastly, in Pulaski, Dr. Carguello is seeing sore throats, a flu-like illness and the stomach bug.

What’s Going Around is our way of letting you know what illnesses are out there. Your own doctor can tell you about the best treatments.

]]> WSYR_FH_Headlines Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:03:00 -0500 http://www.9wsyr.com:80/content/family_healthcast/story/Tanning-salons-lie-about-health-risks/HFJThRuooUWwt-T1_hFPEA.cspx?rss=1421 http://www.9wsyr.com/s/HFJThRuooUWwt-T1_hFPEA.cspx Syracuse (WSYR-TV) -- An investigation into tanning salons finds many lie about the health risks of indoor bronzing.

Posing as fair-skinned teenagers, they contacted 300 indoor tanning salons throughout the country.

Ninety-percent told the girls that indoor tanning did not pose health risks.

More than half the salons denied that face sun increases the risk of skin cancer. Many described such statements as rumor or hype. And more than three quarters said indoor tanning is healthy for teen girls, that the intense UV rays treat depression, induce vitamin D production and help with weight loss.

On the web –

Learn more about the investigation on ABCNews.com
]]> WSYR_FH_Headlines Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:48:41 -0500 http://www.9wsyr.com:80/content/family_healthcast/story/Pfizer-recalls-28-lots-of-birth-control-pills/8aHQ9RmeJ0ur3nUG2RAfnA.cspx?rss=1421 http://www.9wsyr.com/s/8aHQ9RmeJ0ur3nUG2RAfnA.cspx WASHINGTON (AP) -- Pfizer Inc. is recalling 1 million packets of birth control pills after uncovering a packaging error that could leave women with an inadequate dose of the hormone-based drugs and raise the risk that they will get pregnant accidentally.

The problem affects 14 lots of Lo/Ovral-28 tablets and 14 lots of generic Norgestrel and Ethinyl Estradiol tablets. Both products are manufactured by Pfizer and marketed in the U.S. by Akrimax Rx Products.

Pfizer found that some packets of the drugs had too many active tablets, while others had too few. Oral birth control products use a series of 21 drug tablets and 7 inactive sugar tablets to regulate the menstrual period while providing contraception.

A company spokeswoman said the problem was caused by both mechanical and visual inspection failures on the packaging line. She said the problem has been corrected.

Pfizer issued a statement saying the problem is not related to safety but does raise the risk of unintended pregnancy.

The affected packets have expiration dates ranging between July 31, 2013, and March 31, 2014.

The drugs were distributed to warehouses, clinics and retail pharmacies throughout the U.S.
]]> WSYR_FH_Headlines Tue, 31 Jan 2012 19:33:48 -0500 http://www.9wsyr.com:80/content/family_healthcast/story/Breast-cancer-re-operation-rates-vary-from/tBQK897A4UubZPRssnY73A.cspx?rss=1421 http://www.9wsyr.com/s/tBQK897A4UubZPRssnY73A.cspx Syracuse (WSYR-TV) -- After a breast cancer diagnosis the most common operation is breast conserving therapy or partial mastectomy. The goal is to surgically remove all the cancer and leave behind normal tissue – what’s known as clear margins. Failure to attain these margins requires additional surgery. A new study looked at how re-operation rates can vary from hospital to hospital and surgeon to surgeon.

Judy Herrick remembers what went through her mind after being diagnosed last year with breast cancer.

"The diagnosis was invasive ductal carcinoma and I have to say the word invasive was more frightening to me than the word carcinoma because there is no way in that initial diagnosis to indicate how invasive that really is,” said Herrick.

Herrick underwent surgery to remove the cancer.

“The goal of the surgeon is to excise the cancer with just a little bit, a small rim of normal tissue around the cancer and that's called your margin,” said Doctor Laurence E. McCahill, with St. Mary's Health Care in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

If margins aren’t clear of cancer or wide enough, a second operation may be recommended.

"I went in with the notion that I may have to have a second surgery,” Herrick said.

Herrick did have a second surgery and it was successful.

Dr. McCahill co-authored a study on the re-excision or re-operation rates of more than 2,200 women. Participants underwent a partial mastectomy as their first operation at four health systems around the country.

"The range of re-excisions do not appear to be completely explained by the patient or tumor characteristics,” Dr. McCahill said.

Researchers compared second surgery rates from surgeon to surgeon and hospital to hospital. The study appears in this week’s JAMA, Journal of the American Medical Association.

"The variation in re-excision rates among surgeon range from zero percent all the way up to 70 percent,” Dr. McCahill continued.

Researchers say there is no set guideline for re-operations.

"We evaluated the practice patterns of 52 different surgeons and there is really a great degree of variation in the care you receive by whom you choose to see,” said Dr. McCahill.

Herrick chronicled her breast cancer journey in a book. Her last mammogram came back clean and clear, but there’s one more milestone she is waiting to conquer.

“I think for any of us who have gone through the diagnosis of cancer of any kind we always strive towards that five years, that is the pivotal point to say that I have gone through this and I am on the other side,” Herrick said.

Researchers also found nine percent of women who require a second surgery undergo a total mastectomy.


]]> WSYR_FH_Headlines Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:03:09 -0500 http://www.9wsyr.com:80/content/family_healthcast/story/Drug-approved-to-treat-cystic-fibrosis-root-cause/GMruZEMJIUas9VSQbSuwZQ.cspx?rss=1421 http://www.9wsyr.com/s/GMruZEMJIUas9VSQbSuwZQ.cspx WASHINGTON (AP) -- The first drug that treats the root cause of cystic fibrosis won approval Tuesday, offering a life-changing treatment for a handful of patients with the deadly illness and broader hope for thousands more patients with the inherited disease.

About 30,000 Americans live with cystic fibrosis, a disease that causes sticky mucus buildup in the lungs and other organs, leading to infections, digestive problems and death in young adulthood. The typical life expectancy is about 37 years, according to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

The Food and Drug approved Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s Kalydeco for patients with a rare form of the disease that affects just 1,200 people in the U.S., about 4 percent of affected population nationwide. These patients have a protein defect that prevents their cells from properly absorbing and excreting salt and water. Studies of the drug showed it significantly improved lung function and reduced other symptoms of cystic fibrosis.

"Even though this drug isn't for the majority of people, it proves that you can look at the mistake in the genes and design a drug in a rational way that will fix the problem," said Dr. Drucy Borowitz of the State University of New York at Buffalo, where she directs the cystic fibrosis program.

The twice-a-day pill is among the first drugs designed to a correct a specific genetic defect. Its development characterizes both the promise and challenges of that approach. Scientists first identified the gene that causes cystic fibrosis in 1989, but it took more than two decades and more than $75 million in outside funding to develop a drug to treat the disease.

Borowitz enrolled several of her patients in the key study for Kalydeco, which showed that patients taking the drug increased their lung strength more than 10 percent when compared with patients taking a placebo. Patients also had fewer infections and gained nearly seven pounds on average, a significant amount for patients who typically have trouble retaining weight. All patients in the study continued taking older medications that help loosen mucus.

"Two weeks after using the drug my lung tests were above average for a healthy 15-year-old who didn't have cystic fibrosis," said Nick Mangano, 17, a Borowitz patient who has been taking the drug for two years. Before starting on Kalydeco, Mangano said he was hospitalized for lung infections five times in four years. Now he says he usually recovers from a cold within a week or two.

"I don't really need medicine for it anymore, it's totally different," said Mangano, who is considering leaving Buffalo for college next year - a step he hadn't previously considered because of his dependence on his family and physicians.

Only a few decades ago, children with cystic fibrosis seldom survived elementary school. Today, thanks to earlier diagnosis and new focus on diet and physical therapy, 47 percent live to be 18 or older.

The FDA approved the drug for patients 6 years old and up, though Vertex is also planning to study the drug in patients as young as 2 years old. Researchers hope that by using the drug earlier they will be able to prevent permanent lung damage, which is the primary cause of death for cystic fibrosis patients.

Mangano and others with the so-called G551D mutation have a defective protein that fails to balance the flow of chloride and water across the cell wall, leading to the buildup of internal mucus. The vast majority of cystic fibrosis patients have a different genetic defect, in which the protein does not reach the cell wall. Vertex is developing another drug to try and address that problem. Study data for that drug is expected later this year.

Kalydeco is part of a growing number of new medicines that target rare genetic variations found in subgroups of patients. Last year Pfizer launched a new lung cancer drug called Xalkori, which targets cancer linked to a genetic mutation found in less than 7 percent of patients.

Vertex executives said Kalydeco would cost $294,000 for a year's supply, placing it among the most expensive prescription drugs sold in the U.S. Specialty drugmakers are known to charge $300,000 or more for drugs that treat very small groups of patients.

"The drug is priced for the value it will deliver to this very small group of patients," Vertex Executive Vice President Nancy Wysenski told analysts.

Wysenski said Vertex would provide the medicine for free to people with no insurance and household income of $150,000 or less. The company will also cover 30 percent of copay costs for select patients who have insurance.

The FDA approved the drug in approximately three months, half the time usually needed for high-priority drugs.

After scientists identified the genetic sequence that causes cystic fibrosis in 1989, many experts hoped the disease could be cured by replacing the gene with a normal one. However, attempts at so-called gene therapy proved unsuccessful, and researchers began looking for ways to correct the genetic defect.

"I think it took the field about a decade to realize we had to look for other options," said Paul Negulescu, vice president of research at Vertex Pharmaceuticals.

In 1998, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation approached Aurora BioSciences, now part of Vertex, to help screen potential drug candidates for a cystic fibrosis drug. In 2000, the foundation awarded the company more than $45 million to study and commercialize an experimental drug for the disease, the largest grant of its kind by a nonprofit disease group. To date, Vertex has received over $75 million in research and development funding from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Vertex said it also spent hundreds of millions of dollars of its own money, though it did not specify the exact amount.

Cambridge, Mass.-based Vertex has only one other drug on the market, the hepatitis C drug Incivek, which launched last May.

Company shares rose $3.06, or 8.8 percent, to $37.80 in midday trading.

The most common side effects with Kalydeco include headache, stomach ache, rash diarrhea and dizziness.
]]> WSYR_FH_Headlines Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:48:38 -0500 http://www.9wsyr.com:80/content/family_healthcast/story/Study-Long-hours-put-nurses-at-higher-risk-for/7lPOSEnXqUmgWbcJaOnDsg.cspx?rss=1421 http://www.9wsyr.com/s/7lPOSEnXqUmgWbcJaOnDsg.cspx Syracuse (WSYR-TV) -- New research shows working long hours could put nurses at a higher risk for obesity.

Researchers at the University of Maryland’s School of Nursing looked at data from more than 2,000 nurses. They found more than half of the nurses surveyed were obese. Researchers blame lack of sleep on the trend, saying you’re more likely to make poor health choices when you’re tired.

On the web –

UM News: Latest School of Nursing Work Study: Obese Nurses More Stressed, Less Active
]]> WSYR_FH_Headlines Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:59:44 -0500 http://www.9wsyr.com:80/content/family_healthcast/story/Study-finds-parents-cut-corners-when-it-comes-to/w0PWLjtJCEKzxbOFk3_Khg.cspx?rss=1421 http://www.9wsyr.com/s/w0PWLjtJCEKzxbOFk3_Khg.cspx Syracuse (WSYR-TV) -- A new study finds half of parents of 4 to 8t year olds don’t require their children to ride in booster seats when they’re carpooling with other kids. If there weren’t enough booster seats for all the kids, the study found some parents let the passengers and their own kids use only seatbelts.

The research, conducted by the University of Michigan, found many parents said it was too hard to coordinate enough safety seats and just easier to have all the kids either in or out of booster seats, but it is against the law.

Most states require children to use a booster seat up to the age of 8. Half of parents surveyed said they didn’t know the age limit on booster seats in their state.

On the web –

NY State Police: Child Safety Seat FAQs

]]> WSYR_FH_Headlines Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:52:15 -0500 http://www.9wsyr.com:80/content/family_healthcast/story/Teen-pregnancy-numbers-in-Syracuse/B1bzniesQ0yLEQD5Z2AnuQ.cspx?rss=1421 http://www.9wsyr.com/s/B1bzniesQ0yLEQD5Z2AnuQ.cspx SYRACUSE (WSYR-TV) -A recent study by the CDC showed that many teenagers did not think they could get pregnant.

Preventing teen pregnancy has become a personal mission for Deidre Keefe of Reach CNY.

"It happens an incredible amount right here in Syracuse. It was like something has to be done," said Keefe.

Zip code 13204 on the city's Westside has 129.4 babies born for every 1,000 teenagers. That's the highest rate in the state for teens giving birth.

Keefe says two other Syracuse zip codes also rank in the state's top ten per capita and this only includes teens over the age of 15.

Zip code 13202 sees 128.9 babies born for every 1,000 teenagers and zip code 13205 sees 116.5.

Keefe says, "We'd be kidding ourselves if we thought no one under the age of 15 was getting pregnant or having sex. We've worked with kids as young as 10 or 11 years old."

Most teen moms studied by the Centers for Disease Control, did not use birth control because they didn't think they could get pregnant or their partner resisted. Others say they had trouble getting contraception.

Christina Mills, a youth educator, believes early intervention is critical.

"If you do deliver a child in your teens, you are more than likely to live in poverty until, you know, your early 30s and so this is a huge problem for our area,” said Mills.

A problem these educators say could deliver more local poverty and more unexpected pregnancy for generations.

"Children who are born to teen parents, do often have a higher percentage chance of then becoming teen parents themselves, just repeating that cycle and if we can break it with some type of education and knowledge, that would be our goal,” said Keefe.

You can find out more about Reach CNY by clicking here. Their efforts to reduce teen pregnancy are supported by state grant money and they will offer educational sessions to any community or youth group for free.
]]> WSYR_FH_Headlines Sun, 29 Jan 2012 00:33:32 -0500 Teen pregnancy numbers in Syracuse