Friday, 13 March, 2009 20:11 Written by admin
A decompression chamber may help children with autism, say researchers.
After 40 hours of hyperbaric treatment autistic children showed significant improvements in social interaction and eye contact compared with controls.
The BMC Pediatrics study could not show if the results were long-lasting but should prompt further investigation of the treatment, the US team said.
One theory is that oxygen can help reduce inflammation and improve flow of oxygen to brain tissue.
Hyperbaric treatment – effectively giving high concentrations of oxygen at increased atmospheric pressure – has been shown to have some benefit in other neurological conditions such as foetal alcohol syndrome and cerebral palsy.
Some studies have looked at the treatment in children with autism but they have not compared with a dummy procedure raising questions around a “placebo effect”.
Sunday, 23 November, 2008 17:59 Written by admin
Washington — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a new drug, rufinamide — marketed as Banzel — to treat severe epilepsy.
The drug is to be used as an adjunctive treatment for seizures associated with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome.
“This approval offers another treatment option for patients who suffer from these debilitating, severe seizures,” Dr. Russell Katz of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research said Thursday in a statement.
Saturday, 22 November, 2008 03:28 Written by admin
Earlier this year we saw a flurry of news reports about an increasing trend among college women to skip meals and save calories so they can drink alcohol without worrying about gaining weight.
Alarm bells went off and many parents began questioning their daughters about this dangerous combination of binge drinking and self-starvation. Whether to classify this behavior as an eating disorder remains up for debate. What is certain, however, is that eating disorders and substance abuse are often linked.
Saturday, 22 November, 2008 03:25 Written by admin
Many people wonder under what circumstances you go to see a medical doctor.
A recent report from the United States Bone and Joint Decade (USBJD), a coalition formed to study musculoskeletal problems and their treatment, indicates that musculoskeletal problems may be the top reason to see a medical doctor.
According to the report, people in the United States report musculoskeletal conditions — including arthritis, back pain, osteoporosis and injuries — more than any other health condition.