Briefly 8-26

You can’t `Beat It’

            BALTIMORE - A split-belt treadmill pushes people at Kennedy Krieger Institute research hospital into versions of Michael Jackson's moonwalk in hopes of training stroke survivors and others with brain injuries to walk again normally, the Associated Press reported. The treadmill may help scientists understand how brain and spinal cord circuitry can rewire itself. The custom-built treadmill hides a split belt - one side moves one foot backward, the other moves forward and at different speeds. The brain must adjust automatically how to walk and not fall down. Institute scientists are tapping into that unconscious adjustment, using a brief workout to jolt patients who usually limp and lurch back into a normal stride, one they retain for a few minutes after the treadmill stops. The discovery: Separate nerve networks control how each leg moves; networks that can be retrained to change someone's innate walking patterns - temporarily. The challenge is to make better walking permanent. Findings offer a glimpse into a new frontier in research: How to spur brain and spinal cord circuitry to rewire itself for normal leg control after a stroke or other brain injury, it was reported in the journal Nature Neuroscience.

            PHILADELPHIA - Cancer specialists from OncoLink.org, the cancer Web-based resource of the University of Pennsylvania Abramson Cancer Center, launched OncoLife, an individualized plan-of-care based on the national Institute of Medicine ’s recommendations for adult cancer survivors. The free program - soon available in Spanish - provides cancer survivors with information on health risks they face from cancer therapies, plus a defined plan to maintain health once they’re out of treatment. “The good news for cancer survivors is their numbers are growing,” said Dr. James Metz, radiation oncologist and editor of OncoLink. “Thanks to more successful cancer therapies, an estimated 10 million survivors are living in the U.S. Unfortunately, cancer treatments aren’t without consequences and many of these survivors are dealing with the long-term effects of treatments with little or no guidance.” OncoLife is a simple on-line questionnaire patients, or their caregivers, can complete.

            CHAPEL HILL , NC - People who overindulge in cola may put their kidneys at risk, a study noted by Reuters Health suggests. Drinking more than two servings a day more than doubled the likelihood of having chronic kidney disease, Dr. Dale Sandler and colleagues of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, found. No higher risk was seen with other carbonated drinks. "Our study suggests there's something about cola beverages that is [tied to] increased risk for chronic kidney disease," she said. "We don't believe it's caffeine, and don't believe it's the sugar." The likely culprit, she and colleagues say, is phosphoric acid, which gives cola its tangy taste while acting as a preservative; in other beverages, citric acid is used. Exposure to high levels of phosphates has been linked to acute and long-term kidney damage and kidney stones, she added. People with kidney disease are advised to avoid colas and high-phosphate foods, such as meat, researchers report in the journal Epidemiology.

            PHILADELPHIA - U.S. News & World Report issued its first " America 's Best Children's Hospitals" ranking at health.usnews.com/pediatrics. Atop the 30 listed for 2007 is Children's Hospital of Philadelphia , Children's Hospital Boston, and Baltimore 's Johns Hopkins Hospital . Formerly, pediatric centers were ranked on reputation in the annual America 's Best Hospitals issue; this ranking is based not only on reputation, but also on data about performance and quality of care. To be eligible, a facility had to be listed by the National Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions as a freestanding children's hospital or children's "hospital within a hospital" - large, pediatric multidisciplinary service within a medical center. Of 122 children's hospitals that met this standard as of March 2007, 113 responded to a U.S. News survey seeking data on procedures such as the number of bone marrow transplants and difficult heart operations - 30 facilities made the cut as one of "America's Best Children's Hospitals."

            HAIFA, ISRAEL - University of Haifa research found grandchildren who, in childhood, were taken care of by their grandparents, showed greater desire to take care of their grandparents as they aged than grandchildren who weren’t taken care of by grandparents. "Even little things, like occasional babysitting for a few hours were enough to make grandchildren want to return the favor to grandparents," said Dr. Ahuva Even-Zohar, of the School of Social Work , who did the study under the direction of Prof. Shlomo Sharlin. Results reveal not only did such grandchildren express a desire to help, they were very involved in helping with day-to-day things like nursing care, shopping, transportation, emotional support, and initiating visits. Also, gender affects desire to help: granddaughters showed more desire to help than grandsons. However, no difference was noted in actual assistance given grandparents between granddaughters and grandsons.

            LEAWOOD, KS - HealthDay News reported an American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) survey in which men noted skipping health screenings and doctor's visits. The survey examined health traits of 2,282 U.S. adults, including 1,111 men and found 50%-plus of the men hadn’t seen their primary care doctor in the last year for a physical exam, and 25%-plus noted waiting "as long as possible" before seeking help for sickness, pain, or health concerns; 18 men said they’ve never gotten suggested screening for colon cancer. Despite this, 79 men said their health was "excellent," "very good," or "good." The survey paints a different picture: 42 men surveyed have been diagnosed with at least one of these chronic conditions: high blood pressure, heart disease, arthritis, cancer, or diabetes. The men reported watching an average of 19 hours of TV per week - more than four hours of sports; only 38 men exercise regularly. "One of the biggest obstacles to improving the health of men is men themselves," said Dr. Rick Kellerman, AAFP president. "They don't make their health a priority."

            WASHINGTON - Monday Morning in Washington, D.C. noted the economic impact of informal caregiving on the U.S. economy is massive, states an AARP Public Policy Institute study, Valuing the Invaluable: A New Look at the Economic Value of Family Caregiving. The study found the contributions of family caregivers often go unnoticed, but their contributions are the foundation of the nation's long-term care system with an estimated economic value of $350 billion in 2006. More on this at www.aarp.org/research/press-center/presscurrentnews/family_caregiving.html.

            CHICAGO - Older adults with difficulty identifying common odors may have a greater risk of having problems with thinking, learning, and memory, notes an Archives of General Psychiatry report. Mild cognitive impairment - or a slip in thinking, learning, and memory abilities - is seen increasingly as an Alzheimer’s disease precursor, the article adds. Impaired ability to recognize odors has been tied to more rapid cognitive decline and transition from mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer’s. Dr. Robert S. Wilson, of Rush University Medical Center , and colleagues studied 589 older adults (average age 79.9) who didn’t have cognitive impairment in 1997. Participants took a smell test in which 12 familiar odors were placed under their nose and asked to match each odor to one of four possibilities. At baseline and every year for up to five years, participants had a clinical evaluation. In the study, 30.1% developed mild cognitive impairment, which rose as odor identification slipped. Those who scored below average (eight) on the test were 50% more likely to get the condition than those who scored above average (11).

            ROCHESTER , MN - More research shows aging doesn’t automatically bring a steady erosion of brain cells. Older adults can develop new brain cell ties. A brain workout - using the mind in various new and challenging ways - can ignite cells across the brain. The Mayo Clinic Health Letter offered these tips: Working the left brain - Language, number, and reasoning activities are often considered left-brain. Reading , writing, learning a new language, doing number or work games, balancing a checkbook sans calculator, and fixing broken objects are left-brain. Working the right brain - Music, art, and using imagination are considered right-brain. Options include reviving a musical talent, singing in a choir, knitting, quilting, or taking art classes. Breaking a routine - Long-familiar ways can be so ingrained little thought is needed. When one breaks routines, meets a new person, learns a skill, or takes a different route, the brain is engaged. Social activity - conversation or activity with various of people - family, friends, or strangers - can be one of the most complex and varied tasks the mind undertakes.

            ` BOSTON - A 50-year-old woman's near-death experience at her sister-in-law's grave provides insight into how stress can kill people suddenly by shutting down their hearts, HealthDay News disclosed. The unidentified woman suffered an electrical short-circuit that would have caused cardiac arrest if she hadn't had a defibrillator in her chest. The device recorded the exact time, and her doctor later found she suffered an attack as her brother's wife was being buried. "It tells us that a person's emotional state, operating at a subconscious level, can interact in someone with serious heart disease to trigger a cardiac event," said Dr. Michael Sweeney, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School , in the journal HeartRhythm. Her brush with death could have been coincidental, but it came exactly a week after her father's unexpected death; the sister-in-law collapsed and died the same day after hearing that her father-in-law had died.

            MINNEAPOLIS - Reuters Health noted 50%-plus of advanced COPD patients have gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), study suggests. In GERD, stomach acid seeps into the esophagus causing burning pain in the chest. COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) is a progressive lung disease caused by smoking that includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Dr. R. Kempainen and colleagues at the University of Minnesota School of Medicine looked for signs of GERD using standard tests in 42 adults with advanced COPD. The overall prevalence of GERD was 57%, even though only 26% of affected patients reported heartburn or acid regurgitation during the study. "The study confirms a high prevalence of GERD among patients with severe COPD, often in the absence of reflux symptoms," Dr. Kempainen said. He cautions that "until we know to what extent treatment of GERD improves the clinical course of COPD, routine screening for GERD in COPD patients isn’t advised."