Patients Get More Unnecessary Medical Scans from Doctors Who Own Equipment, Study Finds

By Katherine Harmon
(Click here for the original article)

More and more physicians are investing in their own imaging equipment. But when a doctor stands to make money on each MRI he or she orders, it doesn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out that they might be inclined to order too many scans.

Patients with back problems whose orthopedic surgeons referred them for an MRI were much more likely to have their spinal lumbar scan come back clean—indicating that the test might not have been necessary—if their doc had a financial stake in the equipment being used, than if he or she didn’t, according to new findings that were presented this week at the Radiological Society of North America’s annual meeting in Chicago.

“It is important for patients to be aware of the problem of self-referral and to understand the conflict of interest that exists when their doctor orders an imaging exam and then collects money on that imaging exam,” said Ben Paxton, a radiology resident who led the study at Duke University Medical Center in a prepared statement.

Of 250 spine lumbar MRIs ordered by orthopedic surgeons who had financial interest in the imaging equipment, 106 scans came back negative—that is, without serious abnormalities. Of the 250 lumbar MRIs ordered by orthopedic surgeons in the same area who would not see an extra penny from the scans, 57 came back negative.

Video Games Alter Brain Function

Playing violent video games for only one week can change the brain in regions associated with cognitive function and emotional control.

The topic of whether or not violent video games are potentially harmful for users has been debated for years, but there was little scientific evidence that the games had a long-term effect on the brain. But a new study, which was conducted at Indiana University School of Medicine, found the first hard evidence of the effects of video games using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

Read more: Video Games Alter Brain Function
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Eating Eggs, Chicken May Boost Memory

A new long-term study announced last week found that eggs and chicken may sharpen your memory.

Senior researcher Rhoda Au and her team from Boston University School of Medicine performed the long-term health study on 1,400 adults, spanning 10 years. Those participants who ate diets packed with plenty of choline performed better in memory tests and were less likely to acquire brain changes associated with dementia than those who consumed less choline in their diets.

Read more: Eating Eggs, Chicken May Boost Memory
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Seniors in Danger from Common Drugs

Older people run twice the risk of being treated in emergency rooms for adverse reactions to drugs than those under the age of 65. One reason is that older bodies don’t eliminate drugs as easily as younger ones do, and seniors also take many more medications than younger people. Multiple medications multiply the risk of side effects, say experts.

“If you take three medications that have sedation as a possible side effect, then the compounding effect may not be 1+1+1=3, but 3x3x3=27,” Todd Semla, an expert on drug treatment for older adults, told “Consumer Reports on Health.”

Check out the medical conditions listed below and the drugs commonly prescribed to treat them. If you’re a senior citizen and your doctor prescribes any of them for you, ask if there’s a safer alternative.

Read more: Seniors in Danger from Common Drugs
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Study: Vitamin D Prevents Heart Deaths

In people with low blood levels of vitamin D, boosting them with supplements more than halved a person's risk of dying from any cause compared to someone who remained deficient, in a large new study.

Analyzing data on more than 10,000 patients, University of Kansas researchers found that 70 percent were deficient in vitamin D and they were at significantly higher risk for a variety of heart diseases.

D-deficiency also nearly doubled a person's likelihood of dying, whereas correcting the deficiency with supplements lowered their risk of death by 60 percent.

"We expected to see that there was a relationship between heart disease and vitamin D deficiency; we were surprised at how strong it was," Dr. James L. Vacek, a professor of cardiology at the University of Kansas Hospital and Medical Center, told Reuters Health.

"It was so much more profound than we expected."

Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to a range of illnesses, but few studies have demonstrated the reverse -- that supplements could prevent those outcomes.

Read more: Study: Vitamin D Prevents Heart Deaths
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Canned Soup Sends BPA Levels Soaring

People who ate canned soup for five days straight saw their urinary levels of the chemical bisphenol A spike 1,200 percent compared to those who ate fresh soup, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.

The randomized study, described as "one of the first to quantify BPA levels in humans after ingestion of canned foods," was done by Harvard University researchers and appears in the Journal of the American Medical Association's November 23 issue.

"We've known for a while that drinking beverages that have been stored in certain hard plastics can increase the amount of BPA in your body," said lead author Jenny Carwile, a doctoral student in the Department of Epidemiology at Harvard School of Public Health.

Read more: Canned Soup Sends BPA Levels Soaring
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Blame the CDC for Slow Progress Against Hospital Infections

In the emergency room with my injured daughter, I watched as rules to protect patients from infection were disregarded: a nurse wearing bangle bracelets (carrying bacteria from patient to patient); doctors touching contaminated privacy curtains and then their patients; the uncleaned stethoscope pressed on one bare back after another, caregivers pulling on gloves without cleaning their hands first, which contaminates the outside of the gloves and offers patients no protection.

On October 19, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced “impressive progress” in reducing hospital infections. That statement is as misleading as the gloves. Some hospitals are aggressively preventing infections, but the CDC’s shockingly timid goals give other hospitals a pass to do too little.

Read more on Newsmax.com: Blame the CDC for Slow Progress Against Hospital Infections
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Energy Drinks Send Thousands to the ER Each Year

ER Visits From Drinking Energy Drinks Jump Tenfold Since 2005, Report Says

By Brenda Goodman, MA
WebMD Health News

Reviewed by Hansa D. Bhargava, MD, FAAP

Nov. 22, 2011 -- There's been a big spike in the number of people who need emergency medical attention after they guzzle popular caffeinated energy drinks, according to a new government report.

The report shows a more than a tenfold increase in the number of emergency room visits tied to the use of these drinks between 2005 and 2009.

In 2005, 1,128 ER visits were associated with the use of energy drinks compared to 13,114 in 2009. That number peaked in 2008 with more than 16,000 ER visits linked to energy drinks.

Beverage manufacturers fired back at the statistics, charging that they are misleading since they are being taken out of context.

"Of the more than 123 million visits made to emergency room facilities each year, less than one one-hundredth of one percent involved people who consumed energy drinks according to this report," says the American Beverage Association in a statement.

"Even so, this report shares no information about the overall health of those who allegedly consumed energy drinks, or even what symptoms brought them to the ER in the first place," the statement says.

Energy Drinks and the ER---MORE>>>>>>>>>>>

Pomegranate helps fight heart disease, relieves stress and improves sex life - now it's nature's elixir of youth, claims study

It can help to prevent heart disease, relieve stress and has even been shown to improve your sex life.

And if that was not enough to convince you to try pomegranate, the fruit is now being hailed as the elixir of youth.

A £2million study has found a daily dose could slow the ageing process of DNA.

An extract of the whole fruit – including pith, peel and seeds – was given to 60 volunteers every day for a month in the form of a capsule.

Researchers monitored the activity of chemicals in their bodies compared with those who took a placebo.

They found a significant decrease in a marker associated with cell damage, which can cause impaired brain, muscle, liver and kidney function as well as ageing effects on the skin.

This decrease – a hitherto unknown benefit of consuming pomegranate – is thought to slow down the oxidation, or ‘rusting’, of the DNA in cells which naturally occurs over time, according to researchers at the private ProbelteBio laboratory in Murcia, Spain.

They are found in small quantities in the juice but mainly in the inedible rind, husk and white pith which has been harnessed into a pill and a drink.

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• It's a fair crop, guv: Police put on ID parade for these VEGETABLES after allotment thefts

Dr Sergio Streitenberger, who led the study, funded by Pomegreat PurePlus, said: ‘We are very excited about this study which we believe demonstrates that regular consumption of this pomegranate extract can slow down the process of DNA oxidation

'One way to look at ageing is to think of it as rusting, or oxidising, a damaging process. Being able to guard against this process would be a significant breakthrough.’

Pomegranate has been renowned as a superfood for centuries, and has been found to contain vitamins A, C and E as well as iron and antioxidants

Dr Streitenberger’s team – whose study will be published later this month – found a decrease in levels of a chemical marker called 8-Oxo-DG in the participants’ urine tests.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2060163/Pomegranate-prevents-heart-disease-improves-sex-life-elixir-youth.html#ixzz1eFhNh9oy

5 Nutrients to Cut Blood Pressure

High blood pressure (or hypertension) increases risk of stroke, kidney failure, and heart attack, and affects 30 percent of U.S. adults, says the Centers for Disease Control.

Since high blood pressure is symptomless, regular checks are important. A normal reading is 120/80. Anything over 140/90 is considered high.

Many factors, including weight, salt intake, stress, age, and family history, can increase the odds of developing high blood pressure.

For a natural, drug-free approach to keeping blood pressure in check, try these nutrients, which you can find in supplements or foods:

Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10). A study at the University of Western Australia found those taking 100 mg of CoQ10 twice a day reduced systolic and diastolic pressure when compared to those not taking CoQ10.

Foods rich in CoQ10 include beef, fish, eggs, whole grains, and vegetables like broccoli and spinach.

Garlic. A team of researchers at University of Adelaide in South Australia reviewed 11 studies examining the link between garlic and high blood pressure and found significant decreases in blood pressure levels of the patients who consumed garlic.

However, garlic can thin the blood, so be sure to consult with a physician before taking garlic supplements.

Folic acid (folate). A type of B vitamin, folic acid helps lower blood levels of the amino acid homocysteine. One study of more than 9,000 Americans found that those who had the highest daily intake of folic acid (400 mcg) lowered their risk of stroke 79 percent when compared to those people who consumed the least (100 mcg) amount of folic acid. Whole wheat pasta and breads are good sources.

Fish oil. Omega-3 fish oil contains both DHA (docosahexanoic acid) and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid), but DHA may be more beneficial than EPA in lowering blood pressure.

The American Heart Association recommends eating fatty fish, such as tuna, mackerel, or salmon, at least twice a week.

Quercetin. This plant-based flavonoid not only lowers blood pressure better than a commonly used antihypertensive drug, but it also prevents enlargement of the heart, which is a major complication of high blood pressure. The typical amount for adults is 100 to 250 mg three times per day. Food sources include citrus fruits, apples, onions, parsley, and tea.

Read more: 5 Nutrients to Cut Blood Pressure
Important: At Risk For A Heart Attack? Find Out Now.