Health Headlines - May 30

Happy Memorial Day!

Depression Treatment Device Sparks Debate

A tiny device about the size of a pocketwatch has treated hundreds of depression patients in clinical trials across the country. It's on the verge of being the first depression treatment device to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Researchers Use Maps to Research Obesity

When obesity researchers at the University of Pennsylvania were looking to prevent obesity among schoolchildren, they turned to an unexpected group of experts: mapmakers. The university's Cartographic Modeling Laboratory got to work, drawing maps of the neighborhoods around five Philadelphia elementary schools. What resulted were not ordinary street maps. Rather, they were maps showing "food opportunities."

Feds Examine Impotence Drug-Blindness Link

Federal health officials are probing reports of blindness among dozens of men who used Viagra and other impotence drugs - but at the same time cautioning that the vision loss can be linked to the same illnesses that lead to impotence.

Lust Strikes Both Genders Daily

Thirty-seven times per week: That's how often a young man's thoughts turn to palpable sexual desire, according to a new survey of almost 700 American adults.

Even Kids Aren't Safe From Skin Cancer

As the summer season kicks off with the long holiday weekend, kids across the United States are preparing for months of outdoor fun, from planning a tree fort to shopping for bikinis.

Give Stress a Holiday

Hectic lifestyles and anxiety may be an unavoidable fact of modern life, but it's important to manage stress to prevent or reduce stress-related health problems.

Call-In Center Aims to Prevent Sex Abuse

By giving pedophiles and at-risk offenders a phone-in resource center, Stop It Now! is trying to change the public perception and approach to dealing with child sexual abuse. It's a mission the group has been on since it was started 13 years ago - trying to shift the focus of child sexual abuse from solely a criminal justice matter to a public health problem.

Sex Offenders Get Medicaid-Paid Viagra

Nearly 800 convicted sex offenders in 14 states got Medicaid-funded prescriptions for Viagra and other impotence drugs, according to a survey by The Associated Press.

Cough Medicine Compound May Fight Fibromyalgia

The common over-the-counter cough medication dextromethorphan may help people with fibromyalgia, according to a small study by University of Florida researchers.

The study of 14 women with fibromyalgia and 10 women without the disease found dextromethorphan appears to temporarily reduce the intensity of "wind-up," a cascading pain response to minor, repetitive physical touch, which is symptom of the syndrome.

The study appears in the May issue of the Journal of Pain.

The Florida study did not establish guidelines for clinical use of dextromethorphan. However, the findings do suggest it may eventually provide an option for treating fibromyalgia and other conditions that cause heightened pain sensitivity, the researchers said.

"I think it's one piece of the mosaic. We currently have no single therapy in chronic pain that has a big effect. So what this really means for chronic pain patients is that they need to use a whole host of different interventions to decrease the pain they have. And in this, dextromethorphan may have a role in the future," study principal author and rheumatology expert Dr. Roland Staud, an associate professor of medicine, said in a prepared statement.

However, he cautioned that fibromyalgia patients should not self-medicate by taking cough syrups that contain dextromethorphan.

Fibromyalgia, an incurable illness that causes stiffness, fatigue, muscle aches and sleep disturbances, affects about 10 million Americans, mostly women. The underlying cause is unknown and current treatments include pain medication, stretching, exercise, sleep management and psychological support.

Food Fact:
Coffee on the dark side?

If p.m. coffee leaves you too perky to sleep, try cutting it off earlier rather than cutting it out completely. Coffee's stimulatory effects usually take 6 - 8 hours to wear off, so consider your bedtime when you reach for an afternoon or evening cup. The effects -- it can exacerbate insomnia, nervousness, anxiety and even panic attacks -- may last longer in women taking oral contraceptives and in older people. But coffee isn't a demon, either. Short-term studies have found that a cup's worth -- 100mg -- can increase self-confidence, energy and motivation to work.

Fitness Tip of the day:
Battling exercise "burnout."

To keep your enthusiasm up, it may pay to put a few exercises down for a while. Changing your exercise program every couple of months may help beat boredom. Besides, after a while, your body adapts to the exercise stressors your current program had introduced, and craves new challenges.

FAQ of the day:
What's the healthiest way to handle garlic and onions?

The way you handle garlic and onions affects their health-protective compounds. The more you cut, chop, smash or otherwise disturb raw onions or garlic, the more compounds they will release. If you're going to cook garlic, for example, it's a good idea to smash or chop it about 10 minutes before.