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The increasing health benefits of walnuts
Dorothy L. Tengler Medical & Allied HealthcareBased on several research studies, walnuts may be thought of as the superfood of nuts. A few years ago, studies indicated that a diet including walnuts may have a beneficial effect in reducing the risk, delaying the onset, and slowing the progression of, or preventing Alzheimer's disease. More recently, breast surgeons Mary Legenza, M.D., of Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine and Edwards Comprehensive Cancer Center, and James Morgan, M.D., formerly of St. Mary's Medical Center, linked walnut consumption as a contributing factor that could suppress growth and survival of breast cancers.
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New study suggests levetiracetam for epileptic seizures in children when…
Lynn Hetzler Medical & Allied HealthcareEmergency department (ED) clinicians typically treat status epilepticus with benzodiazepines, followed as necessary with phenytoin, but this approach often leads to intubation and ventilation. Now, the results of a study from researchers in New Zealand and Australia suggest there is a better way to treat severe epileptic seizures in children, and the results of the study will likely change how ED doctors around the world manage status epilepticus in pediatric patients.
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Improving guidance to patients, family caregivers on care facilities
Christina Thielst Healthcare AdministrationFamily caregivers and patients struggle with choosing quality care facilities. This includes both those who have not yet been hospitalized and those who are being discharged to a lower level of care. Unfortunately, sometimes they find their choice isn’t the best fit or safety concerns arise. Delays in choosing a facility increase the risk of discharge for hospitalized patients. Choosing the wrong facility can also strain resources with an unnecessary hospitalization or re-hospitalization. A recent Kaiser Health News article addresses the need for smarter decisions on where to recover after a hospitalization, starting with better guidance from hospitals themselves.
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Despite controversy, HHS releases conscience protection rule for healthcare…
Scott E. Rupp Healthcare AdministrationThe Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Office for Civil Rights has released a new final rule designed to protect individuals and healthcare entities in HHS-funded programs from discrimination on the basis of their exercise of conscience. It will take effect in approximately two months. The "conscience rights" rule will allow healthcare workers to refuse care based on religious or moral objections and will grant protections to healthcare workers who refuse to provide services such as abortion or transition care for transgender individuals.
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Australian researchers develop new animal model of schizophrenia
Dorothy L. Tengler Mental HealthcareThe exact cause of schizophrenia remains unknown, but current research suggests that it is a multifactorial disease based in genetics, susceptibilities, and environment. Ultimately, better treatments are urgently needed. Recently, neuroscientists at The University of Queensland's Brain Institute developed a new animal model of schizophrenia where dopamine is specifically elevated at the dorsal striatum — a model that was inspired from animal models of Parkinson's disease where dopamine is deficient.
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5 ways wearable medical devices can boost patient outcomes
Lisa Mulcahy Medical & Allied HealthcareAs a healthcare professional, you know that wearable medical devices can benefit your patients in extremely valuable ways — if used correctly. Using wrist trackers, smart clothing and attachable sensors, it's possible for patients to determine how much physical activity they get each day, evaluate the impact daily stress has on their lives, and even self-monitor an ongoing medical condition. So how can you help empower your patients to use wearables correctly — and safely? These five science-tested strategies can help you give the correct instructions — and improve your patients' overall health most effectively.
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Nutrition initiatives, educators aim to make food deserts history
LeRon L. Barton Food & BeverageEating the proper foods, drinking plenty of water, and taking the correct vitamins are incredibly important to survival. These take on greater importance when children are involved. Having access to healthy foods is a very important component to this. Grocery stores that sell vegetables and fruits are necessary to aid kids and teenagers as they grow up. Unfortunately, in many communities, nutritious food options are scarce, creating challenges for finding balanced meals. These areas are called food deserts.
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Catching the common cold of healthcare: Leaders who don’t listen
Keith Carlson Medical & Allied HealthcareHealthcare leadership is not for the faint of heart; it takes grit, determination, patience, and ambition, not to mention a healthy dose of high-level communication skills. However, some healthcare, medical, and nursing leaders just don’t understand how to listen; in this way, we can say that leaders who don’t really listen have truly caught the "common cold" of healthcare: a lack of understanding of the utter power of listening.
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Is hearing well in one ear enough? A look at unilateral hearing loss
Sheilamary Koch EducationNot being able to hear so well in one ear shouldn’t significantly affect school performance nor social development for a child since the other ear functions properly. Right? Wrong. The mistaken belief that a hearing deficit in one ear or unilateral hearing loss (UHL) is no big deal has been shown by research to have dire consequences for children when they reach school age and adolescence. Prevailing misinformation about mild hearing loss has prevented many children who would have benefited from intervention.
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Study: Failed birth control may be linked to gene
Dorothy L. Tengler PharmaceuticalDifferent birth control methods may be highly effective for preventing pregnancies, but birth control failure is more common than many realize. About 5% of the time, women using reliable birth control find themselves unexpectedly pregnant, and until now, the main reason was thought to be that the birth control method wasn’t being used correctly. A new study suggests that women who get pregnant while using birth control may carry a gene that breaks down the hormones common in contraceptives.
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