Giving children antibiotics for ear infections does little to speed their recovery while raising the risk of some side effects, according to a study published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The study found that 80 out of 100 otherwise healthy children would recover from an acute ear infection within a few days if given medication only to relieve pain or fevers. If all 100 were given antibiotics instead, 92 would be better in the same period, said Dr. Tumaini Coker, the study’s lead author.

“But we would also expect three to 10 kids to develop rash and five to 10 to develop diarrhea,” said Coker, a pediatrician at Mattel Children’s Hospital at the University of California-Los Angeles.

Coker noted that the increased number of children in the study who benefited from treatment with antibiotics was similar to the number that could be expected to get side effects from the antibiotic treatment.

“Clinicians and parents need to know the benefits and side effects on how to manage their child’s ear infection,” Coker said.

CNN

Source insurancenewsnet.com

A new study finds that low back pain care initiated with a doctor of chiropractic (DC) saves 40% on health care costs when compared with care initiated through a medical doctor (MD), the American Chiropractic Association(ACA) announced today. The study, featuring data from 85,000 Blue Cross Blue Shield beneficiaries, concludes that insurance companies that restrict access to chiropractors for low back pain treatment may inadvertently pay more for care than they would if they removed such restrictions.

Low back pain is a significant public health problem. Up to 85 percent of Americans have back pain at some point in their lives. In addition to its negative effects on employee productivity, back pain treatment accounts for about $50 billion annually in health care costs—making it one of the top 10 most costly conditions treated in the United States.

The study, “Cost of Care for Common Back Pain Conditions Initiated With Chiropractic Doctor vs. Medical Doctor/Doctor of Osteopathy as First Physician: Experience of One Tennessee-Based General Health Insurer,” which is available online and will also be published in the December 2010 issue of the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, looked at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee’s intermediate and large group fully insured population over a two-year span. The insured study population had open access to MDs and DCs through self-referral, and there were no limits applied to the number of MD/DC visits allowed and no differences in co-pays.

Results show that paid costs for episodes of care initiated by a DC were almost 40 percent less than care initiated through an MD. After risk-adjusting each patient’s costs, researchers still found significant savings in the chiropractic group. They estimated that allowing DC-initiated episodes of care would have led to an annual cost savings of $2.3 million for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee.

Here’s part 1 of a great series of interviews between Dr Mercola and Barbara Loe Fisher:

Click here to view the rest.

Exciting new findings show that chiropractic adjustments may up production of specific immune marker.

As part of the analysis, 74 asymptomatic subjects were divided into three groups: 1) venipuncture control, 2) chiropractic adjustment with cavitation, or 3) chiropractic adjustment without cavitation. Blood samples were obtained from the study participants before the intervention, 20 minutes after the intervention, and again 2 hours after the intervention. Antibody (immunoglobulin) synthesis was conducted in cultures, and then immunoassays were conducted. Findings showed that production of immunoglobulin G and immunoglobulin M was significantly increased in cultures from subjects who received chiropractic adjustments.

Specifically, after 20 minutes immunoglobulin G synthesis was significantly elevated in cultures for subjects who received adjustments with cavitation, compared with cultures from those who received adjustments without cavitaion or control subjects.

And, after 2 hours, “immunoglobulin M synthesis was significantly elevated in subjects who received adjustments with cavitation relative to the venipuncture group. There were no quantitative alterations within the population of peripheral blood B or T lymphocytes in the studied cultures.”

Chiropractic & Osteopathy – September 8, 2010;Epub.

If you’re striving to reduce your waist size, consider swapping refined grains in your diet for whole grains.

According to a study of 2,834 middle-aged Americans, those who consumed the most whole-grain foods had a significantly smaller waist circumference.

Having a large waist circumference – 94 centimetres (37 inches) or greater for men and 80 cm (31.5 inches) or greater for women – increases the likelihood of type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, heart attack, stroke, metabolic syndrome and some cancers.

Waist circumference is a good measure of visceral fat, the type of deep fat that packs itself around the organs and secretes chemicals that increase the body’s resistance to the hormone insulin and cause inflammation throughout the body.

Read the entire article here.

This summer, after one baby girl died, and more than 250 other children were hospitalized with convulsions and high fevers following their seasonal flu vaccine injections, Australian health banned the shot for all children under the age of five.

A short time later, Finland also suspended the H1N1 vaccines due to six reports of narcolepsy in children and teens immediately following vaccination. According to The Helsinki Times, “Medical reports suggest that over 750 of those who have been vaccinated have experienced harmful effects.”

Full article.

Taking acetaminophen (Tylenol®) once a month more than doubles the risk of asthma in adolescents. And, even taking the drug just once a year boosts the risk by 50%. These findings are from a new study slated to be published in theAmerican Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

“This study has identified that the reported use of acetaminophen in 13- and 14-year-old adolescent children was associated with an exposure-dependent increased risk of asthma symptoms,” notes lead author Richard Beasley, MD.

As part of the analysis, two written questionnaires and one video questionnaire were administered to more than 300,000 13- and 14 year old children in 113 centers throughout 50 countries, asking them to quantify their use of acetaminophen and their asthma, eczema and allergy symptoms.

There was a significant association between acetaminophen use and risk of asthma and eczema. For medium users the risk of asthma 43% higher than non-users; high users had 2.51 times the risk of non-users. Similarly, the risk of rhinoconjunctivitis (allergic nasal congestion) was 38% higher for medium users and 2.39 times as great for high users. For eczema, the relative risks were 31% for medium users and 99% for high users.

American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine – August 12, 2010;Epub

Exercise is necessary to remain healthy, as it ties together a lifestyle of proper diet, stress management and social interaction. Our need for regular exercise is encoded into our genes, as our earliest ancestors required short bursts of energy to hunt for food or evade predators.

At the most basic level, our metabolic function and ability to fight off disease is dependent on the food we eat and the amount and type of exercise we provide for our wellbeing. Exercise provides the added benefits of improving mood, boosting energy levels and providing for better sleep. Regular exercise is part of the formula necessary to remain healthy.

Exercise Regularly To Improve Cholesterol and Triglycerides

Guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention demonstrate that regular exercise reduces the risk of developing major illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes and certain cancers. Exercise has a powerful effect on cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the blood, and is viewed as a significant means to lower the risk associated with elevated levels. 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week can reduce triglyceride levels by as much as 40%.

You can read more about the amazing benefits here.

Researchers in Great Britain studied 12 genetic variants known to increase the risk of obesity and tracked the physical activity levels of 20,430 people.

They created a genetic summary score to quantify a person’s risk of obesity and then examined whether an active life could reduce the genetic influence.

Findings: Physical activity can reduce the genetic tendency toward obesity by 40%, according to the research, reported Tuesday in PLoS Medicine.

“Our findings challenge the popular myth that obesity is unavoidable if it runs in the family,” says senior researcher Ruth Loos of Great Britain’s Medical Research Council in Cambridge. “We see this as a hopeful message.”

You can get the benefits without running marathons, she says. You can walk the dog, bike to work or take the stairs: “Being active about 30 minutes a day is a good start in reducing the effects of the genes.”.

From USA Today.