Archive for February, 2017

Normal head size at birth doesn’t rule out microcephaly

This is news that many did not want to fathom but is now a reality. A recent study conducted on 13 Brazilian babies and published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report revealed all that to be true. When they were born, these children did not have the typically smaller head linked to Zika. After some few months, 11 of these children developed it.

WHO declares Zika public health emergency over

The World Health Organization’s Emergency Committee clearly stated that Zika virus will no longer be treated as a global public threat to an individual’s health. It went on to warn that over 60 countries have been affected ever since the Zika virus was first reported in Brazil, expressing concerns that the virus will still spread in areas where the virus-carrying mosquitoes are existent.

How the study was done

The prospective study was done on 115 patients receiving treatment at the intensive care units. The study was conducted by researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston under the leadership of Anand Srivastava, MD, MPH. The investigators found out that of the 115 patients, the 29 who experienced AKI depicted a significant high mean plasma uric acid levels contrasted to the 86 patients who had none. The rate was 5.5 versus 4.2 mg/dl. After multivariable analysis, for every 1 mg/dl increase in uric acid at the intensive care unit admission, a 29% rise in the AKI incident was depicted. This record was shown after a number of adjustments on sex, age, APACHE II score and baseline estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR).

While being interviewed by Renal & Urology News, Dr Srivastava said that “Uric acid may lead to kidney injury via endothelial dysfunction, vasoconstriction, oxidative stress, and intra-tubular obstruction.”

Migraine Treatment Options

As much as the cause of this connection is yet to be established, Dr. Cecil Rambarat (the study lead author) said that health care providers are better placed if they appreciate the link.

Dr. Rambarat, a resident physician at the University of Florida Shands Hospital in Gainesville, said that being aware of the link is important since migraine has for long been ignored as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

He said that it is about time the providers included migraine headaches as having possibly led to cardiovascular disease in the women.

Can Diet And Lifestyle Affect Control Of Blood Sugar

The study researchers explained that these pregnant women suffering from pregnant-related diabetes and reliant on food stamps or living a chaotic lifestyle may find it hard to have a control of their well-being. The authors wrote in Obstetrics and Gynecology that the factors under consideration may be modifiable.

Dr. Laura Colicchia, who led the study at the University of Pittsburgh and is at the moment in Maternal-Fetal Medicine at Abbott Northwestern Hospital said that there are numerous social factors, which impact one’s overall pregnancy health.

Common heartburn drugs may raise stroke risk

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a statement saying that the most common types of strokes are the ischemic strokes. These usually happen after clotting of blood, effectively interfering with the flow of blood to the brain. According to the preliminary study, the proton pump inhibitors meant to treat heartburn and acid reflux also increases the risks of the stroke. What’s worrying with the revelation is that these drugs are commonly prescribed to millions of Americans and are easily available over the counter.

Study Suggests Celebrex Isn’t Riskier Than Rival Pain Drugs

However, do not celebrate yet because a clinic trial done by Merck in attempts to find whether Vioxx could prevent colon cancer made an interesting revelation. The drug was found to have increasing heart attack cases, triggering the company to cancel its production in 2004. Since then, analysts have been asking whether Celebrex also can cause Celebrex.

Zika virus and its effects on babies

In the recently published studies, researchers noted a variation in the type of brain damage such as empty spaces and dead spots in the brain, congenital deafness and cataracts.

How are the children affected?

However, differences were recorded in all the three studies on the potential ways the infected children could be affected.

The first study published by The Journal of the American Medical Association analyzed 442 pregnancies from January to September in Hawaii and the United States. All these had been registered with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with most of the mothers being returning travelers.