Currently browsing tag

reuters-health, Page 2

Weight-loss surgery may help curb urinary incontinence

By Lisa Rapaport (Reuters Health) – Weight-loss surgery may help reduce urinary incontinence in extremely obese people, a study suggests. Researchers followed nearly 2,500 obese men and women who had so-called bariatric surgery, which alters the stomach or intestines to induce weight loss.  Before the surgery, nearly half the women and about a fifth of the men had experienced urinary incontinence. A year later, the rate of incontinence was down to about 18 percent in women and 10 percent in men.

Free animations spread lifesaving tips via smartphones

By Daniel Gaitan (Reuters Health) – Impoverished communities across the globe are receiving lifesaving tips for dealing with disease, draught and depression from short, user-friendly videos that are free online. Agriculture animations, for example, show how to build raised planting beds using layers of animal manure, vegetation and soil, or how to install drip irrigation systems to help conserve water. The free videos – more than 40 at this point – are produced by Scientific Animations Without Borders, or SAWBO (http://bit.ly/1ff4sqK), which was founded in 2011 by Barry Pittendrigh and Julia Bello-Bravo of the University of Illinois at Urbana Champagne.

U.S. FDA commissioner to stand down after six years: sources

By Toni Clarke WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Dr. Margaret Hamburg, commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), who for almost six years has overseen public health initiatives ranging from tobacco control and food safety to personalized medicine, disease control and drug approvals, is stepping down, according to a person briefed on the matter. The White House is expected to announce Hamburg's resignation later on Friday, the person said. FDA spokeswoman Stephanie Yao declined to comment. Hamburg, 59, is one of the longest-serving FDA commissioners in the modern era.

Guidance and research on mobile, interactive media for kids needed

By Reuters Staff (Reuters Health) – Mobile and interactive media offer a range of education and entertainment options for toddlers and parents, but more research on their impact is needed, according to a review of existing studies. “Mobile devices, because of their portability and interactive components, are introducing media into all aspects of children’s experience and deserve serious attention and research,” write Dr. Jenny Radesky and her colleagues from Boston Medical Center in the journal Pediatrics. …

Online life for teens may lead to real-life problems

By Andrew M. Seaman (Reuters Health) – Teen’s online behaviors may create real-life problems like relationship abuse and negative thoughts on body image, according to two new studies. The studies, published in the journal Pediatrics, suggest that education and monitoring by parents may help reduce these behaviors and their negative consequences. Both studies confirm “what we’re finding out in research, that the online behaviors seem to mimic offline behaviors,” Jeff Temple told Reuters Health. …