Treating ear infections in children with ear tubes using antibiotic eardrops has been shown again to be more effective than using oral antibiotic treatments, reports a University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center researcher. A recent study involving 80 children showed that antibiotic eardrops performed better and faster in treating middle ear infections in children with ear tubes than antibiotics in tablet or liquid form. The findings are available online in the journal Pediatrics. "With the ... [full story]

Once Dr. Martin Gilboa figures out the iPod Nano his kids gave him for his 60th birthday, he can turn up the volume on his exercise routine. "I may just keep running all the way up the coast," he says. Workouts are almost always a day at the beach for Gilboa. If he's not taking the low tide in stride, he's communing with the ospreys, hawks, egrets and herons and changing flora of Southern California's ... [full story]

“Dignified” might not always equal healthy. Sit­ting straight up­right strains the back un­nec­es­sar­ily, caus­ing po­ten­tially chron­ic pain prob­lems over the long run, a new study has found.The sci­en­tists pre­sented the find­ings Nov. 27 in Chi­ca­go at the an­nu­al meet­ing of the Ra­di­o­log­i­cal So­ci­e­ty of North Amer­i­ca.   Sit­ting at 135 de­grees rath­er than 90 de­grees could im­prove back health, re­search­ers say. “A 135-degree body-thigh sit­ting pos­ture was dem­on­strat­ed to be the best bio­me­ch­a­n­i­cal sit­ting po­si­tion, as ... [full story]

New Vaccine Puts the Pox on Shingles for Adult Sufferers of the Painful Infection PORTLAND, Ore., Dec. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- The new vaccine for adult shingles is now available free of charge to Medicare members of FamilyCare. Known as Zostavax, the vaccine is used in adults age 60 and older and reduces the incidence of shingles by half and pain and discomfort by nearly two-thirds according to Merck research. "This vaccine helps prevent an illness ... [full story]

It may sound like a recurring theme, but medical research shows that sleep is essential to both physical and mental health, especially among the elderly. That point was driven home in a November report from the International Longevity Center-USA, which is affiliated with the Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City. "The prevalence of sleep-related problems increases with age," said Dr. Harrison Bloom, co-author of the study report and senior associate with the center. ... [full story]

Tapping the region may prove important in rehabilitation Watch and learn. Experience says it works, but how? University of Oregon researchers have seen the light, by imaging the brain, while test subjects watched films of others building objects with Tinker Toys. As detailed in the Dec. 20 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, researchers, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), found that when a person watches someone else perform a task with the intention of ... [full story]

In the lobby at Hult Health Education Center in Peoria, Ill., 30 students form a circle, clear their minds and move as if in a dreamlike state to the peaceful sound of cello music and the calming voice of the instructor. The students are practicing tai chi, the art of moving meditation. It's exercise to instill balance, relieve stress and promote a healthy mind, body and spirit. Every Monday for eight weeks, the Peoria Park ... [full story]

Teen drug use has declined by 23 percent since 2001 for 8th, 10th, and 12th graders combined, with reductions in the use of nearly every drug in every drug prevalence category, according to the University of Michigan’s 2006 Monitoring the Future (MTF) study, released Thursday.  This translates into approximately 840,000 fewer youth using illicit drugs in 2006 than in 2001.  These reductions represent a nearly exact achievement of President Bush’s goal of reducing youth drug ... [full story]

However, Seniors Unsatisfied With 2007 Plan Can Switch Into Comprehensive Medicare Advantage Plans Through March 31, 2007 The Problem: With only a little more than one week left in the 2007 Medicare Part D enrollment period, seniors who have not yet enrolled in a plan are at risk of missing their once a year opportunity to enroll in Part D. Seniors with Medicare Part D who do not to select a Medicare drug plan by ... [full story]

They teased and tormented him, stole his schoolbooks and bullied him into bloody submission. At 4 feet 6 inches and 85 pounds in the 11th grade, Enrique Hernandez could pass for a punching bag. "I got beat up all the time," Hernandez said. Somehow, he was determined to stand up for himself even if he was head and armpits below his peers. His strategy was to substitute strength for stature. "You are going to be ... [full story]

Findings from a small published study performed by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggest that eating less protein could help protect against some cancers that have never before been linked to diet. For years, scientific research has connected overeating with cancer. Overweight people are at higher risk of developing breast cancer, endometrial cancer, colon cancer, kidney cancer and esophageal cancer. The research published in December in the American Journal of ... [full story]

Medicare Advantage Plan Enrollment Open Until March 31, 2007, But Stand-Alone Drug Plan Enrollment to End in Three Weeks The Medicare drug plan enrollment period is now half-way through, leaving Medicare-eligible seniors with less than three weeks to choose a Medicare Prescription Drug plan for 2007. Senior Educators, a group that helps seniors select and enroll in Medicare drug plans, is calling on legislators to expand the Medicare Drug Plan enrollment period through March 31, 2007 ... [full story]

“Everyman carries his own death with him and dances with it through his life,” observed the late social critic Ivan Illich in “Medical Nemesis: The Expropriation of Health.” The dance intensifies and becomes more intimate with each passing day, week, month, and year.  The “Grim Reaper” presses upon the core of our being.  He is distracting, unnerving; a reminder of the impermanence of all that we see, touch and smell, thrusting unexpected and unwanted change ... [full story]