Report Calls for Counseling Guidelines for Treating Transgender People

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Parenthood Seems to Protect Against Catching Colds: Study

HealthDay – Fri, Jul 6, 2012 FRIDAY, July 6 (HealthDay News) -- Parents are about half as likely to catch a cold as people without children, regardless of their preexisting immunity, a new study says.

The researchers said that unknown "psychological or behavioral differences between parents and nonparents" might help explain their findings.

"We found parenthood predicted a decreased probability of colds among healthy individuals exposed to a cold virus," study leader Rodlescia Sneed of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and co-authors reported.

For the study, the researchers examined information on 795 adults from three previous studies. Volunteers in the studies were given nose drops either containing rhinovirus, which causes the common cold, or a flu virus.

After being exposed to the virus, about one-third of participants developed a cold. The study found, however, that there was a 52 percent lower rate of colds among parents compared to volunteers who didn't have any children.

This protective effect increased along with the number of children parents had. And when parents didn't live with any of their children, their risk of having a common cold dropped even more -- to 73 percent lower than nonparents.

The study is published in the July issue of the journal Psychosomatic Medicine.

Parents were less likely to catch a cold regardless of whether they had protective levels of antibodies, the study authors noted in a journal news release. Being married had no effect on the findings. However, the risk of colds was not lower for the youngest parents studied, those aged 18 to 23.

Psychological or behavioral factors could play a role in their findings, the investigators said.

The researchers also suggested that being a parent may improve the regulation of immune factors that are triggered in response to infection. More research is needed, they said, to explain how being a parent affects the body's response to the common cold.

"Our results, while provocative, have left room for future studies to pursue how various aspects of parenthood (

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Meditation Method a Matter of Taste

HealthDay – Fri, Jul 6, 2012 FRIDAY, July 6 (HealthDay News) -- People who want to learn to meditate should select a method that makes them feel comfortable, rather than choose a technique just because it's popular, a new study indicates.

Researchers from San Francisco State University report that by finding a form of meditation that works for them, people are less likely to quit. As a result, they will enjoy the personal and medical benefits of the practice, including reduced stress, lower blood pressure and help with addiction.

"Because of the increase in both general and clinical use of meditation, you want to make sure you're finding the right method," study author Adam Burke, professor of health education at San Francisco State and director of its Institute for Holistic Health Studies, said in a university news release.

In conducting the study, the researchers compared nearly 250 user opinions on four popular meditation methods: Mantra, Mindfulness, Zen and Qigong Visualization. The participants were taught each method and asked to practice at home. At the end of the study, they were asked about their preferences for each technique.

The two simpler methods, Mantra and Mindfulness, were preferred by 31 percent of the participants. Twenty-two percent chose Zen and 15 percent said they preferred Qigong.

The study authors said their findings show that people new to meditation would benefit from a simpler and more accessible practice. They noted, however, that there is not one technique that is best for everyone.

"It was interesting that Mantra and Mindfulness were found to be equally compelling by participants despite the fact that they are fundamentally different techniques," Burke said.

Mindfulness recently gained widespread popularity, and is usually the only form of meditation someone new to meditation knows about, he added.

"If someone is exposed to a particular technique through the media or a health care provider, they might assume because it's popular it's the best for everyone," Burke said. "But that's like saying because a pink dress or a blue sport coat is popular this year, it's going to look good on everybody."

The study authors said more research is needed to determine if certain meditation methods are better at helping to treat specific health issues, such as addiction. They added that more studies also are needed to explore if there are ways to predict which method of meditation a person should practice.

The study was published online July 7 in EXPLORE: The Journal of Science and Healing.

More information

The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine provides more information on meditation.

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Can Fertility Treatments Influence Later Breast Cancer Risk?

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Many Hospitalized Kids Struggle With Pain

HealthDay – Fri, Jul 6, 2012 FRIDAY, July 6 (HealthDay News) -- Many children who are hospitalized suffer from moderate to severe pain despite advances in medicine's understanding of how pain works and the best ways to treat it, a new study finds.

The research is based on medical records and, in some cases, surveys of 199 patients treated at Johns Hopkins Children's Center in 2007 and 2008. Almost nine out of every 10 children experienced pain, and it was moderate to severe for 40 percent of them. In some cases, children still had pain despite treatment.

"This study was designed as a pulse check to gauge our own progress," lead investigator Lori Kozlowksi, a pediatric pain specialist at Hopkins Children's Center, said in a Hopkins news release. "Our verdict is that while we've made tremendous strides, there's still work to be done."

According to the news release, previous research has found that people who are exposed to intense pain as children can become more sensitive to pain as adults. Pain can also lead to a variety of health problems, especially if it's not treated properly.

"Pain is the fifth vital sign which, together with blood pressure, heart rate, breathing and temperature, can provide important clues about a patient's well-being," senior investigator Dr. Constance Monitto, a pediatric anesthesiologist at Johns Hopkins Children's Center, said in the news release. "Treating a child in pain is a fundamental responsibility of every physician and nurse."

The researchers also found that kids who undergo surgery experience more pain than those who don't, and it's more challenging to relieve pain in cancer patients. Girls are more vulnerable than boys to pain, and many of those who were prescribed opioid painkillers "as needed" never actually got any.

The study was recently published online in the journal Pain Management Nursing.

More information

For more on pain management in children, go to Stanford School of Medicine.

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Parkinson's Patients Experience Declines Years Before Diagnosis

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Scientists Use Stem Cells to Mimic Huntington's Disease

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Protein May Keep Flu Away

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New optimism about stemming spread of AIDS virus

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3 Dirty Chicken Facts Exposed

does wind up in the meat.

In the study, researchers tested feather meal, a by-product of chicken farming often used as fertilizer, because feathers accumulate important clues as to which drugs and chemicals chickens are exposed to during their short

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Joseph Kirsner, pioneer physician, dies at age 102

Dr. Joseph Kirsner, a pioneer in the field of digestive system disorders, died from kidney failure at his home in Chicago on Saturday. He was 102 years old.

University of Chicago Medical Center spokesman John Easton said the well-known physician published more than 750 research papers and 18 books, and was the Louis Block Distinguished Service Professor of Medicine at the university.

Kirsner was among the first to show the increased risk of colon cancer in patients with ulcerative colitis. He broke new ground in the understanding and treatment of inflammatory bowel disease.

"Few if any physicians have had a broader and more positive impact than Joe Kirsner on thousands of patients, students and professional colleagues," Dr. Kenneth Polonsky of the university said in a statement. "His legacy at the University of Chicago will persist for generations. We are truly fortunate to have been able to call Joe a friend and colleague and a member of our faculty."

A Boston native, Kirsner arrived at the university in 1935 and helped change his field from an art

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Meatball company recalls 300,000 pounds of meat over listeria risk

Reuters – Sat, Jul 7, 2012 (Reuters) - A New Jersey meatball manufacturer is recalling more than 300,000 pounds (136,000 kg) of meat products due to possible listeria contamination, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service said on Saturday.

Bridgeton, New Jersey-based Buona Vita Inc was recalling about 324,770 pounds of frozen, ready-to-eat meat and poultry products produced in May, including meatballs, chicken and beef patties, and loafs of chicken and beef, the agency said in a written statement.

The FSIS described the health risk related to the recall as "high," according to the statement.

Representatives for Buona Vita, which says on its website that it produces 200,000 pounds (90,000 kg) of meatballs a day, could not immediately be reached for comment.

The possible contamination was discovered through testing by FSIS and the Ohio Department of Agriculture, the FSIS statement said. There have been no reports of illness related to the company's products, it added.

In 2011, more than 30 people died from listeria-contaminated cantaloupe linked to Jensen Farms in Colorado.

Listeria bacteria thrive in low temperatures. Outbreaks are usually associated with deli meats, unpasteurized cheeses and smoked refrigerated seafood products.

Listeriosis has a long incubation period, with symptoms sometimes not showing up until two months after people consume tainted foods.

Symptoms include fever and muscle aches, sometimes preceded by diarrhea and other gastric problems.

(Editing by Dan Whitcomb and Peter Cooney)

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