A deficiency of thyroid hormone in premature infants (33 weeks gestation or less) appears to be associated with the development of cerebral palsy, a group of disabling disorders that impair the brain's ability to control movement and posture. After screening more than 400 premature infants for thyroxine (thyroid hormone) during the first week of life, scientists determined that those with low levels of the hormone at birth were 3 to 4 times more likely to develop cerebral palsy by 2 years of age. The affected children also had lower mental development scores at age 2. In the United States, cerebral palsy affects more than 500,000 people and is diagnosed in 4,500 infants each year. This research was conducted by scientists supported by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, two components of the National Institutes of Health. For more information on cerebral palsy, contact NINDS at 301-496-5751. --an NIH HEALTHWise report, October 1996
Routine Chlamydia Screenings Could Lower PID Incidence, Related Problems Screening women routinely for chlamydia, a sexually transmitted bacteria, could greatly reduce the risk for pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), according to researchers supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a component of the National Institutes of Health. In the study of about 2,600 women, one group was screened for chlamydial infections even when they had no symptoms, and were treated with antibiotics if they tested positive. The other group was tested "and treated" only when they had symptoms of the infection. After one year, the women who had been screened were almost 60 percent less likely than the unscreened ones to develop PID. PID affects more than 1 million women annually and can lead to infertility, tubal pregnancy, and other serious medical problems. Well over 4 million people each year are diagnosed with chlamydia, which often produces few or no symptoms. For more information on PID, chlamydia, or other sexually transmitted diseases, contact the NIAID at 301-496-5717. --an NIH HEALTHWise report, October 1996 Patients With Diabetes Have Lower Death Rates With Bypass Surgery Than Angioplasty Coronary artery bypass surgery, a procedure where blood is rerouted around blocked arteries to improve blood flow to the heart, appears to be safer than angioplasty (in which a balloon catheter is used to open arteries) for many patients with diabetes, a recent study supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) indicates. (NHLBI is a component of the National Institutes of Health). Results from an international clinical trial, which involved nearly 2,000 people, showed that patients on drug treatment for diabetes who underwent coronary bypass had a death rate of 19 percent in the five years following the procedure, compared with 35 percent for those who received angioplasty. These findings can be applied only to patients who are taking oral hypoglycemic agents for their diabetes, have two or more blocked arteries, and are first-time candidates for either procedure. People with diabetes are about 2 to 4 times more likely to have heart disease than those without the illness. NHLBI advises everybody with diabetes to control their other risk factors for heart disease: high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, smoking, obesity, and physical inactivity. --an NIH HEALTHWise report, October 1996 For more information on heart disease in those with diabetes, write to the NHLBI Information Center, Attention: HEALTHWise, P.O. Box 30105, Bethesda, MD, 20824-0105. For more information, reporters can contact: Jan Ehrman Public Affairs Specialist Phone: 301-496-5895 Fax: 301-496-0019 E-mail: je48b@nih.gov
Screening women routinely for chlamydia, a sexually transmitted bacteria, could greatly reduce the risk for pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), according to researchers supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a component of the National Institutes of Health. In the study of about 2,600 women, one group was screened for chlamydial infections even when they had no symptoms, and were treated with antibiotics if they tested positive. The other group was tested "and treated" only when they had symptoms of the infection. After one year, the women who had been screened were almost 60 percent less likely than the unscreened ones to develop PID.
PID affects more than 1 million women annually and can lead to infertility, tubal pregnancy, and other serious medical problems. Well over 4 million people each year are diagnosed with chlamydia, which often produces few or no symptoms.
For more information on PID, chlamydia, or other sexually transmitted diseases, contact the NIAID at 301-496-5717. --an NIH HEALTHWise report, October 1996
Patients With Diabetes Have Lower Death Rates With Bypass Surgery Than Angioplasty Coronary artery bypass surgery, a procedure where blood is rerouted around blocked arteries to improve blood flow to the heart, appears to be safer than angioplasty (in which a balloon catheter is used to open arteries) for many patients with diabetes, a recent study supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) indicates. (NHLBI is a component of the National Institutes of Health). Results from an international clinical trial, which involved nearly 2,000 people, showed that patients on drug treatment for diabetes who underwent coronary bypass had a death rate of 19 percent in the five years following the procedure, compared with 35 percent for those who received angioplasty. These findings can be applied only to patients who are taking oral hypoglycemic agents for their diabetes, have two or more blocked arteries, and are first-time candidates for either procedure. People with diabetes are about 2 to 4 times more likely to have heart disease than those without the illness. NHLBI advises everybody with diabetes to control their other risk factors for heart disease: high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, smoking, obesity, and physical inactivity. --an NIH HEALTHWise report, October 1996 For more information on heart disease in those with diabetes, write to the NHLBI Information Center, Attention: HEALTHWise, P.O. Box 30105, Bethesda, MD, 20824-0105. For more information, reporters can contact: Jan Ehrman Public Affairs Specialist Phone: 301-496-5895 Fax: 301-496-0019 E-mail: je48b@nih.gov
Coronary artery bypass surgery, a procedure where blood is rerouted around blocked arteries to improve blood flow to the heart, appears to be safer than angioplasty (in which a balloon catheter is used to open arteries) for many patients with diabetes, a recent study supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) indicates. (NHLBI is a component of the National Institutes of Health). Results from an international clinical trial, which involved nearly 2,000 people, showed that patients on drug treatment for diabetes who underwent coronary bypass had a death rate of 19 percent in the five years following the procedure, compared with 35 percent for those who received angioplasty. These findings can be applied only to patients who are taking oral hypoglycemic agents for their diabetes, have two or more blocked arteries, and are first-time candidates for either procedure.
People with diabetes are about 2 to 4 times more likely to have heart disease than those without the illness. NHLBI advises everybody with diabetes to control their other risk factors for heart disease: high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, smoking, obesity, and physical inactivity. --an NIH HEALTHWise report, October 1996
For more information on heart disease in those with diabetes, write to the NHLBI Information Center, Attention: HEALTHWise, P.O. Box 30105, Bethesda, MD, 20824-0105.
For more information, reporters can contact:
Jan Ehrman Public Affairs Specialist Phone: 301-496-5895 Fax: 301-496-0019 E-mail: je48b@nih.gov
