Health & Safety

Tracking A Rise In ADHD Diagnosis

4:54pm April 05, 2013

Surveys show a marked rise in the diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, among the nation's youth. William Graf, a professor of pediatrics and neurology at Yale School of Medicine, discusses the surge in ADHD diagnosis and its potential implications.

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A window into dreams may now be opening.

Researchers Use Brain Scans To Reveal Hidden Dreamscape

2:57pm April 05, 2013

by Rob Stein

Philosophers, poets and psychologists have long shared a fascination with dreams. Now Japanese scientists have scanned the brains of dreaming volunteers to create a lexicon of imagery that can be used to detect and decode dreams while a person sleeps.

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Reducing dietary salt and alcohol, exercising, not smoking and maintaining a healthy weight are other lifestyle tweaks known to help prevent or reduce high blood pressure, doctors say.

Health & Safety

Study Hints Vitamin D Might Help Curb High Blood Pressure

8:50am April 05, 2013

by Patti Neighmond

In the ongoing debate about the possible benefits of vitamin D supplements, a study suggests that the vitamin might indeed play a role in mildly reducing high blood pressure. The study was small and looked at just African-Americans, but the authors say the findings warrant further research.

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When Melissa McCann (left) suffered a stroke in 2007, her twin sister, Terry Blanchard, helped her make a full recovery. McCann is now back to work as a flight nurse with Life Flight at the Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor.

Health & Safety

As Stroke Risk Rises Among Younger Adults, So Does Early Death

8:50am April 05, 2013

by Richard Knox

A study found that 1 in 5 adults ages 20 to 55 who survive strokes will die within 20 years of the event — a rate much higher than doctors expected. The findings mean doctors need to pay a lot more attention to younger stroke survivors.

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Health & Safety

Isolation V. Loneliness: The Difference And Why It Matters

2:11pm April 03, 2013

Researchers from University College London followed thousands of people over the age of 52 for seven to eight years to assess the effect of loneliness and isolation. Isolation, not loneliness, may actually shorten people's lives regardless of health or income.

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Dr. Madhumathi Gunasekaran examines John Pike at the Northgate II clinic in Camden, N.J.

In South Jersey, New Options For Primary Care Are Slow To Take Hold

8:19am April 03, 2013

by Taunya English

Residents of an apartment building in Camden, N.J., racked up more than $1 million a year in hospital admissions and trips to the ER over about a decade. In response, a community group opened a doctor's office on the ground floor. But at first, residents weren't as eager to go as doctors had hoped.

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White House Delays Part Of Health Care Law

8:19am April 03, 2013

by Julie Rovner

The Obama administration has decided to delay for a year a key piece of the health law that will let small businesses provide a choice of health plans to their workers. It is the first admission that the task of rolling out the law is too complicated to accomplish in the time allowed.

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A child is immunized against polio at the health clinic in a farming village in northern Nigeria. The procedure involves pinching two drops of the vaccine into the child's mouth. For full protection, the child needs three doses, spaced out over time.

How To Get Rid Of Polio For Good? There's A $5 Billion Plan

9:56pm April 02, 2013

by Jason Beaubien

Last year there were just over 200 cases of polio in remote parts of Nigeria, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Now, a new $5.5 billion plan aims to eliminate the disease for good by 2018.

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Health & Safety

A Focus On Adults: Living With Chronic ADHD

2:57pm April 02, 2013

With rates of childhood attention deficit hyperactivity disorder at alarming highs, a study confirms that, for many, the condition persists into adulthood. A study by the Boston Children's Hospital and the Mayo Clinic finds that the chronic form of ADHD can lead to depression and substance abuse.

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When anthropologists tallied the use of emotional words through a century of literature, they included many books without clear emotional content — technical manuals, for example, and automotive repair guides.

Mining Books To Map Emotions Through A Century

10:18am April 02, 2013

by Alix Spiegel

Anthropologists find that the use of "emotional" words in all sorts of books has soared and dipped across the past century, roughly mirroring each era's social and economic upheavals. And psychologists say this new form of language analysis may offer a more objective view into our culture.

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