"Parents who believe they are simply being realistic might actually contribute to a self-fulfilling prophecy," Christy Buchanan, a psychology professor at Wake Forest University and an author of the study, said in a university news release. "Negative expectations on the part of both parents and children predict more negative behaviors later on."

Rather, it's binge drinking -- downing five or more alcoholic drinks at a sitting.

Many professional singers have difficulty singing while pregnant, but it hasn't been known whether this was because of hormones or other causes, such as decreased lung capacity as the baby grows.

First, talk to your pharmacist, advised Carriann Richey, director of outreach and assistant professor of pharmacy practice at Butler's College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. Pharmacists may be able to recommend a lower-cost generic drug or an alternative, less expensive drug.]]> http://www.vitabeat.com/5435/pay-less-prescription-drugs Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:00:00 -0800 http://www.vitabeat.com/5433/most-who-want-swine-flu-shot-cant-it Although the total doses of H1N1 swine flu vaccine available in the United States now tops 38 million -- 11 million more than a week ago -- most Americans who want a shot still haven't been able to get one, U.S. health officials acknowledged Friday.

In fact, 70 percent of adults and 66 percent of children who tried to get vaccinated couldn't, according to a poll conducted last weekend by researchers at Harvard University School of Public Health.

The findings, published Nov. 4 in Neurology, show that people with the disease who relapse within five years of developing it are nearly 50 percent more likely to need a cane to walk during that time period.

This is the first time it's been shown that embryonic stem cells can be converted into airway epithelial-like cells without the use of specific growth factors or embryoid body formation. The researchers achieved this using an "air-liquid interface" system that mimics the conditions found in an adult trachea.

At a multicultural housing site in Seattle, researchers implemented and evaluated several interventions meant to increase residents' walking, including sponsoring walking groups, improving walking routes, offering information about walking options and advocating for pedestrian safety.

"Those infants who had more exposure to wood-burning appliances were more likely to show up in doctors' offices or be hospitalized for bronchiolitis," said Dr. Catherine Karr, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington, and lead author of a report in the Nov. 15 issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.]]> http://www.vitabeat.com/5429/wood-fires-harm-youngest-lungs Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:00:00 -0800 http://www.vitabeat.com/5427/new-smells-etched-brain-study Do you remember the first time you smelled a type of flower? You almost certainly don't, but new research suggests that your brain might.

In the study, published online Nov. 5 in the journal Current Biology, researchers showed objects to adult study participants. They paired the objects with pleasant or unpleasant odors and sounds.

"It is the position of the American Dietetic Association that exclusive breast-feeding provides optimal nutrition and health protection for the first 6 months of life, and breast-feeding with complementary foods from 6 months until at least 12 months of age is the ideal feeding pattern for infants.]]> http://www.vitabeat.com/5426/breastfeeding-benefits-moms-babies-report Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:00:00 -0800 http://www.vitabeat.com/5425/bad-boss-make-sick If an inept or abrasive boss is ruining your workday, you may be taking that stress to heart, literally.

New research links having a poor supervisor to a higher risk of heart attack, and that's not all: people who don't like their managers also take more sick leave.

Norovirus causes about 95 percent of acute gastroenteritis outbreaks that occur on cruise ships. Between 2003 and 2008, norovirus outbreaks occurred on 66 ships monitored by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The new study included 542 male motor freight workers, who often work long hours and have irregular shifts. The average age of the participants was 49, and 83 percent were white.

It's not clear how volcanoes might be related to cancer, but researchers suspect that the toxic compounds they produce could play a role.

According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, these are the common causes of hip bursitis:

Removing polyps is believed to reduce the risk of colon cancer by 60 to 90 percent.

Of greater concern, however, was that people who'd just been exposed to a sneezing actor were three times as likely to want to spend $1.3 billion on the development of a flu vaccine instead of creating jobs in "green" industries than those who hadn't been near someone sneezing.

The American Academy of Family Physicians offers this list of possibilities:

Now, a new study reports that the cooling actually reduces the number of brain lesions in the babies.

They studied the link between phosphorus levels and coronary artery calcification (CAC) in nearly 900 healthy adults in the Spokane Heart Study, a long-term investigation of heart disease risk factors. CAC is an early sign of hardening of the arteries.

Participants in a French study doubled their risk of having fat around the abdomen if they had a certain genetic trait, and the more of these traits one had, the greater the risk for a pot belly.

Acute lung injury, which is caused by major inflammation or injury to the lungs, causes about 74,500 deaths each year in the United States. There is no effective drug treatment for the condition, which is a major cause of death among patients in intensive care units.

The scientists, using sophisticated gene-sequencing technologies, pinpointed specific bacterial types and where they like to thrive on and within the body. They found a wide variability of bacteria, depending on the spot on the body. They also found that bacterial colonies differed person to person, with each individual carrying his or her own "personalized" assortment of microorganisms.

"Having access to multiple genome sequences makes it easier to understand all genomes, including our own. By looking at the horse genome, we can better understand human biology and human diseases," James Murray, a professor of animal science at the University of California, Davis, said in a news release. He has worked on the Horse Genome Project since it began in 1995.

Its report, including an analysis of data from three full human genomes, was published Nov. 5 in Science.

"These gene therapy results are exciting, but they are just the beginning," Eve Lapin, a founding member of the Stop ALD Foundation, said in a news release from the group. "Time is of the essence in finding the safest and most effective therapies.]]> http://www.vitabeat.com/5408/gene-therapy-fatal-brain-disorder-just-beginning Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:00:00 -0800 http://www.vitabeat.com/5407/swine-flu-virus-dominant-strain-worldwide-who The H1N1 swine flu virus is now the predominant flu strain worldwide, although it shows no signs of becoming more virulent and continues to produce mild-to-moderate symptoms in most people, the World Health Organization's flu chief said Thursday.

In some countries, the swine flu accounts for up to 70 percent of the flu viruses being sampled, Dr. Keiji Fukuda said during a press briefing, the Associated Press reported.

"We spend far more than any of the other countries in the survey, yet a majority of U.S.]]> http://www.vitabeat.com/5406/doctors-point-out-gaps-health-care Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0800 http://www.vitabeat.com/5405/fetus-learns-intonations-mothers-tongue Infants who are just a few days old cry with intonation patterns that reflect the language spoken by their parents, new research shows.

The conclusion drawn by German researchers is that fetuses are listening closely to their mothers during the last trimester of pregnancy, laying the groundwork for learning language even before they're born.

Over three years, school districts participating in the program had a 15 percent decrease in the number of students involved in violent incidents, from 17,800 to 15,163, according to the report. The number of students who reported experiencing or witnessing violence fell 12 percent.

A study of nearly 15,000 French workers who had retired found that the odds of having disturbed sleep in the seven years after retirement were 26 percent lower than in the seven years before they stopped working.

The agency offers these suggestions for developing bedtime habits from the start:

The U.S. National Library of Medicine offers this list of common causes:

U.S. researchers gave 41 volunteers with pre-malignant mouth lesions green tea extract for three months at doses of 500 milligrams per meter squared (mg/m2), 750 mg/m2 or 1,000 mg/m2. The extract was taken by mouth. Other participants took a placebo.

So, does Fluffy or Fido need protecting from this strain of flu? The answer, experts say, is basically no.

Scientists say they've spotted a genetic flaw that could drive a rare childhood form of colitis, and the finding might have implications for the broader range of illnesses collectively known as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Two other vaccines -- Gardasil and Cervarix -- have been approved for young women to prevent infection with HPV, which is also thought to spur precancerous lesions in the cervix and cause 70 percent of cervical cancers.

One year after surgery, about one in 10 patients getting the off-pump procedure had died, suffered major complications, had heart attacks or required repeat bypasses, compared to 7.4 percent of those who underwent operations using heart-lung machines, researchers report in the Nov. 5 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

The drug, Hematide, was successful in treating patients who have pure red-cell aplasia, a condition caused by antibodies to a hormone needed to produce red blood cells. It's a "devastating condition that many patients have died from and ties patients to blood transfusions every two weeks for the rest of their life," said lead researcher Dr. Iain C.]]> http://www.vitabeat.com/5393/will-new-anemia-drug-top-current-treatments Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:00:00 -0800 http://www.vitabeat.com/5392/fda-initiative-seeks-reduce-accidental-overdoses U.S. health authorities unveiled Wednesday an initiative designed to reduce preventable injuries and deaths caused by misuse of medications.

The Safe Use Initiative will focus on preventable injuries and deaths caused by "medication errors such as unintentional exposures, misuse, abuse and attempts at self- harm," Dr. Janet Woodcock, director of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said at a press conference.

Their study included more than 2,100 patients with clinically localized prostate cancer who experienced biochemical failure (lowest PSA level plus 2 nanograms per milliliter) after treatment. The median interval between treatment and biochemical failure was 35.2 months, but 19 percent of patients developed biochemical failure at 18 months or less.

Radiology imaging tests include MRI, CT, ultrasound, mammography and X-ray.

For the study, volunteers ate 300 milliliters of ice cream at different rates. Blood levels of glucose, insulin, lipids and gut hormones were measured before and after consumption of the ice cream.]]> http://www.vitabeat.com/5389/fast-eating-limits-gut-hormones-induce-fullness Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:00:00 -0800 http://www.vitabeat.com/5388/shorter-intense-radiation-ok-some-breast-cancers A shorter, more intense course of whole-breast radiation works as well as the traditional six-week course, at least for some early-stage breast cancers, a new study shows.

"This concept of a shorter length of treatment is gaining acceptance," said Dr. Manjeet Chadha, associate chair of radiation oncology at Beth Israel Medical Center and associate professor of radiation oncology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, both in New York City.]]> http://www.vitabeat.com/5388/shorter-intense-radiation-ok-some-breast-cancers Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:00:00 -0800 http://www.vitabeat.com/5386/sleepy-drivers-menace-road One percent of U.S. drivers -- 1.9 million people -- have had accidents or near-misses over the past year because they were driving while sleepy, a new survey finds.

Also, more than half of drivers surveyed admitted that they've driven over the last year while feeling drowsy, and 28 percent said they drive while sleepy at least once a month, according to the survey sponsored by the National Sleep Foundation.

COPD affects 20 percent of U.S. adults over age 45. Half of the 24 million people in the United States with COPD remain undiagnosed even though they have symptoms, such as wheezing, chronic cough, or shortness of breath while doing activities that used to be easy.

Experts remain divided on the potential dangers these common prescription medications might pose.

Not so fast. Before you leave for the hospital, the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says you should also make these preparations:

A new study found that having children boosts happiness. And the more, literally, the merrier.