Depression linked to preemies. Why?

November 4, 2008

Depression symptoms early in pregnancy foreshadow preterm delivery

Among nearly 800 pregnant women in a study from California’s Kaiser Permanente program, those who experienced depressive symptoms early in their pregnancies were more likely to deliver preterm babies. The report is published early online in the journal Human Reproduction.

The likelihood of preterm delivery was exacerbated by:

* obesity
* lower education levels and
* a history of fertility problems

This echoes a smaller prospective study published last year. UCLA researchers found the same phenomenon, but they linked it to the medication rather than to the symptoms.

Enter “pregnancy depression” in the search box, and scroll down the page. You’ll see another new study in the American Journal of Psychiatry suggesting that this is fundamentally a circadian rhythm problem, which might be solved by a benign strategy: light therapy.

Psychiatric Times

Which antidepressants are safest in pregnancy? Find the answer in a recent review in Psychiatric Times by clicking on the dedicated link in the left column that searches this publication only.

Complementary Medicine

How about starting with the alternative remedy St. John’s wort? A search on “St. John’s wort pregnancy” in this category reveals that the herbal treatment for depression may not be innocuous to the fetus

No Comments » | Alternative Medicine, Depression, Family Medicine, Psychiatry, Women | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by smnewsletters

Cognitive, light therapy work against SAD

November 12, 2007

Improving treatment for the seasonally sad

The clocks change again, and people with seasonal affective disorder brace themselves. What’s new for these patients since last autumn? For one thing, a new study hints that cognitive therapy might boost the effects of light treatment.

A new multicenter trial shows that a more targeted LED light source may work better than the large full-spectrum lamps.

Clinical Trials for Patients
The new LED light and other strategies are being tested in numerous new clinical trials involving SAD.

Alternative Medicine
Your patient might like to know that the National Institutes of Health endorse light therapy for SAD as an example of “veritable energy medicine”.

No Comments » | Alternative Medicine, Mood Disorder | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by Cranky Aged Mama

More zinc equals less pneumonia

November 8, 2007

In nursing home (at least), boosting zinc lowers pneumonia risks.

In a study of nursing home residents enrolled in a nutrition trial, those with serum zinc at or above normal levels (70 microg/dL) had less severe pneumonia and were less likely to die of it. The study was published in Oct. 2007 by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Does this justify recommending zinc supplements for your older patients living at home? Probably not. Another recent study showed that multivitamin and mineral supplements had no effect on the course of infections among elderly individuals in the community.

Clinical Trials for Patients
Clinical researchers are currently paying more attention to zinc and pneumonia in malnourished children.

Evidence Based Articles and Meta-analyses
What is the evidence that zinc lozenges shorten the course of a common cold?

No Comments » | Alternative Medicine, Geriatrics | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Cranky Aged Mama

JAMA Examines Stress-Caused Disease

October 29, 2007

The biomedical community remains skeptical that stress can cause physical disease, says a commentary in the October 17, 2007 Journal of the American Medical Association. The author goes on to describe the neural pathways by which this may happen and the observational evidence that it does.

It’s time to develop good stress-relief strategies and test them in randomized trials, the article concludes.

Besides mentioning cancer and cardiovascular disease, the editorial notes growing evidence that stress affects the course of HIV disease.

A separate article in the same issue reviews the effects of chronic stress on the heart.

See all SearchMedica search results from JAMA.

Clinical Trials for Patients
A search in this category shows numerous clinical trials underway to treat stress in people who have diseases, and two that simply test stress-relief strategies (reiki and massage therapy).

Practice Guidelines
Find guidance for treating anxiety disorders in patients with HIV/AIDS.

No Comments » | Alternative Medicine, Family Medicine, Internal Medicine | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by Cranky Aged Mama

Eating antioxidants won’t prevent AMD either

October 18, 2007

You already knew that antioxidant supplements don’t prevent age-related macular degeneration. A new meta-analysis shows that whether consumed as food or supplements, large amounts of antioxidant vitamins (A, C, E, and beta-carotene) and zinc do not prevent AMD. Posted last week by the British Medical Journal, the study reviewed data involving nearly 150,000 otherwise well-fed individuals in the US and other industrialized countries.

Searching the larger Internet (via SearchMedica) shows what a confusing picture is presented to patients interested in this subject.

Of course there are many other good reasons to eat vegetables. But to date the only known way to reduce the risk of AMD is by not smoking.

Clinically Useful Categories

Evidence Based Medicine and Meta-Analyses: Two recent meta-analyses by the renowned Cochrane Collaboration clarified the issue about antioxidant supplements: They may slow progression of existing AMD, but they do not prevent it.

Clinical Trials for Patients: Further revelations may yet emerge from the multicenter AREDS trial, which is still ongoing.

No Comments » | Alternative Medicine, Geriatrics | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by Cranky Aged Mama

Most Herbal Med Users Ignore Even Positive Evidence

May 24, 2007

A study based on the annual National Health Interview Survey shows that most people pay no attention to clinical studies about herbal supplements they are taking. This is especially true among women and people in that large and aging population of “yuppie” baby boomers—non-Hispanic whites younger than 60—as well as (go figure) college graduates.

Is this an opportunity in disguise? Another recent survey suggests that after age 60, at least, many people want to know more about herbs and supplements.

SearchMedica organizes the results into clinically useful categories to speed your search for relevant information:

Evidence-based Medicine and Meta-Analysis
A quick look at this search category shows plenty of rigorous studies about each of the herbs mentioned in the most recent study: garlic, ginseng, kava-kava, soy, and St. John’s wort.

Clinical Trials for Patients
There are also plenty of clinical trials recruiting people to test herbal medicines for this and that. Perhaps this would be a wake-up call for some patients.

No Comments » | Alternative Medicine, Family Medicine, Internal Medicine | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by Cranky Aged Mama