It's difficult to determine if your teen is acting normal when their moods are so erratic. But mental illness often starts in adolescence. If you can recognize symptoms of depression -- trouble sleeping, loss of interest in activities, trouble concentrating, a change in appetite, or even suicidal thoughts -- there are famly interventions that can help. A new study by Penn Medicine psychiatrists found that an Attachment-Based Family Therapy approach reduced suicidal thinking in 12- to 17-year-olds. The program lasts six to twelve weeks, and includes a no-blame atmosphere and lots of family involvement. "The most important thing parents can do is stay connected to their kids and keep open communication," say researchers.
Your friend, a family member or perhaps even a total stranger collapses without a pulse—in cardiac arrest. What to do?
Calling 911 should be your clear first step.
Next, CPR is critical—and recent research shows that mouth-to-mouth isn’t really that important. Chest compressions alone are enough to keep blood flowing to the brain and drastically improve chances of survival.
But most people don’t know that even after the paramedics arrive, there’s one more thing you can do to make a big difference for the victim of cardiac arrest: Make sure he or she gets treated at an emergency facility that practices “cooling”!
Cooling, or therapeutic hypothermia, is one of the most promising therapies in the treatment of cardiac arrest. Survival and brain function recovery can double if cooling is achieved within 6-8 hours. Researchers at Penn Medicine’s Center for Resuscitation Science are working to help emergency room staffs across the country to provide this life- (and quality-of-life-) saving protocol. Yet only about 30% of hospitals use this life-saving method today.
Get your loved ones to a hospital that performs therapeutic hypothermia. They’ll thank you for keeping a cool head in an emergency.
According to new research at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, hot flashes may crop up during pregnancy. Pregnant women were five times more likely to report hot flashes than non-pregnant women their age. 81 percent of hot flashes started before the third trimester. Apparently it pays to keep calm and carry on: anxiety -- which is also associated with menopausal hot flashes -- may be a contributing factor in pregnant women as well.
More than half of all pregnant women suffer from gastroesophageal reflux, (GERD), more commonly known as acid reflux or heartburn, and can be difficult to manage during pregnancy. The symptoms often start early in pregnancy - precisely when the fetus is most vulnerable to the effects of medications which may cause birth defects. According to a recent study from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, pregnant women who use proton pump inhibitor (PPI) medications to treat GERD may have an increased risk of newborn cardiac birth defects.
Of all the PPIs researchers looked at, omeprazole was associated with the greatest increase in risk for having a baby with a cardiac birth defect. Due to the prevalence of GERD during pregnancy and the popularity of this class of anti-reflux medications, the investigators sought to determine the drugs' safety and found that PPI use during pregnancy was associated with a doubling in the risk of cardiac newborn cardiac birth defects such as ventricular septal defect. Physicians usually try to first treat pregnancy-related GERD conservatively through diet and behavior modification. These methods are often ineffective, causing physicians to increasingly prescribe PPIs which are extremely effective in treating GERD by partially stopping the production of acid in the stomach. However, PPIs are relatively new to the market and not much has been known about their long-term use or safety during pregnancy since there have been no adequate or large enough human studies before now.
Penn researchers stress that patients and physicians need to weigh the benefits and possible risks of PPIs on a case-by-case basis since heartburn during pregnancy can be severe and result in poor quality of life. They also suggest that H2 receptor antagonists anti-reflux medications be considered first during pregnancy to minimize potential risks.
If you or someone you love has tested positive for one of the inherited genetic mutations known as BRCA1 and BRCA2, then you already know the bad news: Women with these genes are at heightened risk of developing breast cancer. But now there is some good news, too: A new approach to treating breast cancer actually fights cancer by targeting the weakness in a tumor’s cells caused by the BRCA mutations. And the early results from this approach, using a class of drugs known as PARP inhibitors, are promising. In a recent international study published in the medical journal The Lancet, one of these new experimental drugs slowed tumor growth in 85% of the study’s participants, all of whom were carriers of the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genetic mutation who had advanced breast cancer. Although the study was small-- just 54 patients-- it is the first time that researchers have successfully taken the genetic reason a person has developed cancer and made it a target. And this approach may also be a strategy that may cause fewer side effects for patients, according to Susan Domchek, MD, of the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania, who co-authored the study. But Domchek cautions that more clinical testing is needed before the drug in this study (olaparib) and other PARP inhibitors in development will be ready for use in regular practice.