Do you know how to follow the new CPR guidelines?

In early April, the American Heart Association announced that it had changed its guidelines to recommend that bystanders who witness a cardiac arrest should, in most cases, perform "hands only" CPR and need not attempt mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

The change followed years of lobbying from some heart specialists who had long believed that hands-only CPR -- i.e. rapid chest compressions intended to achieve at least minimal blood flow in victims -- was as good as or better than compressions combined with mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, the previously recommended method that has become well-known to the general public.

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Cuddling helps preemies bear pain

WASHINGTON - Cuddling up against mother's bare skin can help tiny premature babies recover more quickly from the pain of being stuck with needles and other procedures, Canadian researchers reported on Wednesday.

Babies held tightly against their mother's skin in a "kangaroo mother care" position squirmed and grimaced less than babies swaddled in blankets, the researchers found.

"Skin-to-skin contact by the mother, referred to as kangaroo mother care, has been shown to be efficacious in reducing pain in three previous studies," Celeste Johnston of McGill University School of Nursing in Montreal and her colleagues wrote in the journal BioMed Central Pediatrics.

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Kids Need Heart Exams Before Taking ADHD Drugs

Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder should get their hearts checked before starting treatment with Ritalin or other stimulant drugs, experts recommended on Monday.

The American Heart Association called for these children to undergo an electrocardiogram, a test that detects and records the heart's electrical activity, before taking such drugs.

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Strategic Spending on Organic Foods

I was reading today in The Times that organic food prices are rising. It reminded me of a really helpful list from the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit research and advocacy organization, about how to be a strategic shopper when buying organic fruits and vegetables.

While there is an ongoing debate about whether buying organic food really makes a difference in terms of health, the reality is that some consumers choose organic foods because they want to lower their exposure to pesticides. For those shoppers, it makes sense to know when to buy organic and which conventionally-grown foods are good enough because they already are low in pesticide residue.

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Mom's diet may influence baby's sex, study says

In the quest to select a baby’s sex, success could depend on breakfast cereal and better nutrition, according to a new study that may offer some women another reason to eat their Wheaties.

Mothers-to-be who skip breakfast and eat less are more likely to give birth to girls, while moms who consume more calories and a wider range of nutrients  — including, specifically, those from breakfast cereal — are more likely to deliver sons.

That’s according to new research by British scientists that provides what they say is the first-ever evidence that a mother’s diet at conception may determine her baby’s sex.

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FDA examines Lasik-related vision problems

WASHINGTON - A decade after it first approved devices for laser eye-correcting surgery, the Food and Drug Administration is taking a closer look at grievances from patients, including blurred vision and dry eyes.

An estimated 6 million Americans have undergone Lasik surgery, which permanently reshapes the cornea, a clear layer covering the eye. There are no guarantees of 20/20 vision and the long-term safety of the procedure is still unknown.

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Lawmakers See Big Gaps In FDA's Foreign-Drug Inspections

WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- House lawmakers and government auditors said Tuesday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has serious gaps in its foreign-drug inspection program and can't ensure the safety of the U.S. drug supply.

The issue of foreign-drug facility inspections was the subject of a House Energy and Commerce Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee hearing in the wake of contamination problems with Baxter International Inc.'s (BAX) blood- thinner heparin, which has been linked to hundreds of serious allergic reactions and as many as 81 deaths. FDA officials have said the contamination, which was found in the active ingredient used to make heparin, had occurred in China where ingredients are extracted from pig intestines.

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Cultural differences found in pee

Pee from more than 4,000 volunteers shows that people from different nations often have spectacularly different metabolisms.

The finding could point to new ways to deal with obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and other health problems, researchers said.

After guts break down food and drink, chemicals left in their urine can reveal a lot about peoples' bodies and lifestyles.

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Scientists decode brain farts

Up to 30 seconds before your goof, the brain starts acting abnormally
We've all goofed up and flubbed up things we've previously done time and again. It turns out the root of these brain farts may be a special kind of abnormal brain activity that begins up to 30 seconds before a mistake even happens.

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Polio cases double in Nigeria

Nation fighting natural strains and an outbreak set off by the vaccine itself

LONDON - Polio cases have nearly doubled this year in the West African nation of Nigeria as officials struggle to fight various natural strains of the virus as well as an outbreak set off by the polio vaccine itself three years ago.

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