Fetal surgery for spina bifida
Children as young as 6 years old who underwent fetal surgery to repair a common birth defect of the spine were more likely to walk independently and have fewer follow-up surgeries, compared to those who had traditional corrective surgery after birth, according to researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health. The study appears inPediatrics. The procedure corrects myelomeningocele, the most serious form of spina bifida, a condition in which the spinal column fails to close around the spinal cord.
High blood pressure among women
Starting as early as young adulthood, women experience a steeper rise in blood pressure than men, according to a study published in the journal JAMA Cardiology, reports NBC News. “Many of us in medicine have long believed that women simply ‘catch up’ to men in terms of their cardiovascular risk,” Dr. Susan Cheng, an author of the study and the director of Public Health Research at the Smidt Heart Institute at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, said in a statement. “Our research not only confirms that women have different biology and physiology than their male counterparts, but also illustrates why it is that women may be more susceptible to developing certain types of cardiovascular disease and at different points in life.”
The common cold: Does anything really work?
The National Institutes of Health says this about common cold treatments:
- Zinc: Oral zinc lozenges may reduce the duration of the common cold when started within 24 hours, but intranasal zinc has been linked to a severe and permanent loss of smell and should not be used.
- Vitamin C: For most people, vitamin C doesn’t prevent colds and only slightly reduces their length and severity. But there’s no harm in taking it – though not at high doses.
- Echinacea: Although there is the potential that some preparations of echinacea are more effective than placebo for treating colds, the overall evidence for clinically relevant treatment effects is weak.
- Probiotics: Not enough research has been conducted to determine whether probiotics may prevent colds, and little is known about their long-termsafety.
- Nasal saline irrigation: Nasal saline irrigation may have benefits for relieving symptoms of the common cold in children and adults, and may have potential benefits for relieving some symptoms of acute upper respiratoryinfection.
- Honey (Buckwheat): Research suggests that buckwheat honey is superior to placebo for reducing frequency of cough, reducing cough, and improving quality of sleep for children with the common cold. However, honey should not be used in children younger than 1 year of age because of the risk ofbotulism.
Your home office as a health hub
Office spaces are becoming a drain on our health: Too much sitting, too much screen time, and not enough movement.MD Anderson Cancer Center advises you equip your home office with: resistance bands or dumbbells; yoga mat; foam roller or lacrosse ball; medication app and headphones. Find opportunities to take short breaks, throughout the day, they say. Try to get in at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise and at least two strength-training sessions each week. For more tips, go to https://www.mdanderson.org/publications/focused-on-health/january-2020/turn-you-work-space-into-a-health-hub.html
Folic acid during pregnancy
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urges all women of reproductive age to consume 400 mcg of folic acid each day, in addition to consuming food with folate from a varied diet, to help prevent some major birth defects of the baby’s brain known as neural tube defects. The two most common types of neural tube defects are anencephaly and spina bifida. An easy way to be sure you’re getting enough folic acid is totake a daily vitamin with 400 mcg of folic acid in it. Folic acid is added to foods such as enriched breads, pastas, rice, cereals, and corn masa flour. Corn masa flour is used to make foods such as corn chips, tortillas, tamales, and taco shells. Check the nutrition label on food packaging to see if it contains folic acid.A serving of some cereals contains 100% of the folic acid that you need each day. Folate can also be found in foods like beans, peas, and lentils; oranges and orange juice; asparagus and broccoli; and dark leafy green vegetables such as spinach and mustard greens. However, it is very difficult for most women to get the recommended daily amount of folate through food alone.