Categories
Cardiovascular
Diagnostics
Endocrinology
Health Insurance
Medical Devices
Mental Health
Nutrition
Oncology
Public Health
Sexual Health
Popular Articles

For Women With PCOS, Acupuncture And Exercise May Bring Relief, Reduce Risks
Exercise and electro-acupuncture treatments can reduce sympathetic nerve activity in women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), according to a new study. The finding is important because women with PCOS often have elevated sympathetic nerve activity, which plays a role in hyperinsulinemia, insulin resistance, obesity and cardiovascular disease
generic viagra online
U.S. Swine Flu Cases Reach One Million
The Associated Press/Washington Post reported that U.S. health officials on Thursday said they believe as many as 1 million Americans have been infected with H1N1 and "6 percent or more of some urban populations are infected." The estimates were based upon survey data collected by health officials and mathematical modeling.
News of the day
Uphill Battle For Obama Sparks Comparisons To Clinton's Failed Reform Bid
"Will failing to reform health care have the same consequences for Obama"s administration as it did for Clinton"s?" CNN asks.
Diagnostics

Stroke Rehab: Improving Impaired Attention May Help Patients Recover From Stroke

It may be possible to improve impaired attention after stroke - which could aid recovery - according to research reported in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association. Impaired attention is the most prominent stroke-related neuropsychological change and is reported in at least 46 percent and as many as 92 percent of stroke survivors, said Suzanne L. Barker-Collo, Ph.D., a senior lecturer and neuropsychologist at the University of Auckland in New Zealand. Impaired attention can reduce cognitive productivity and the ability to focus on tasks. It"s key to re-learning motor skills. In the first full-scale single-blinded, randomized clinical trial using Attention Process Training (APT), 78 stroke survivors were randomized to receive APT or standard rehabilitation care. APT is designed to improve the ability to maintain attention, as well as to shift attention (such as when having a conversation with more than one person) and to attend to more than one thing at a time. It"s been used successfully in people after traumatic brain injuries but hasn"t been tested in stroke patients. Researchers tested participants in four aspects of attention - sustained, selective, divided and alternating - as well as visual and auditory aspects of attention. Patients receiving APT had up to 30 hours of individual training, in one-hour sessions for four weeks. They received on average 14 hours of training. Researchers said people who underwent APT had a significantly greater improvement on a test of attention than those who received standard care. At six months, those who had APT had an average improvement of 2.49 standard deviations higher than standard care patients on "full-scale attention scores." The improvement in attention didn"t correlate with significant improvements in outcomes, but researchers said six months may not be enough time to gauge the impact of improved attention. Differences on other measures of attention and broader outcomes were not significant. Early identification and rehabilitation of attention should be part of stroke rehabilitation because APT is a viable and effective way to improve attention deficits after stroke, said the researchers, who recommend more research on the issue. See the manuscript for co-authors and author disclosures. The New Zealand Health Research Council funded the study. Bridgette McNeill American Heart Association


Add your comment:
Name:
Site address: http://
Your message:
Enter today\\\\'s date, 2 digits
(spam protection):

© Copyright 2009