Doctors Who Get Sued Are Likely to Get Sued Again

By NICHOLAS BAKALAR One percent of all doctors account for 32 percent of all paid malpractice claims, and the more often a doctor is sued, the more likely he or she will be sued again. Researchers analyzed 10 years of paid malpractice claims using the National Practitioner Data Bank, a federal government database that includes 66,426 claims against 54,099 doctors....

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The Health Benefits of Knitting

  By JANE E. BRODY About 15 years ago, I was invited to join a knitting group. My reluctant response — “When would I do that?” — was rejoined with “Monday afternoons at 4,” at a friend’s home not three minutes’ walk from my own. I agreed to give it a try. My mother had taught me to knit at 15, and I knitted in class throughout college and for a few years thereafter....

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To Prevent Back Pain, Orthotics Are Out, Exercise Is In

Lower back pain is an almost universal if unwelcome experience. About 80 percent of those of us in the Western world can expect to suffer from disruptive lower back pain at some point in our lives. But if we begin and stick with the right type of exercise program, we might avoid a recurrence, according to a comprehensive new scientific review of back pain prevention. Lower...

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Irregular Heartbeats? Coffee May Not Be So Bad for You

People with irregular heartbeats are often advised to give up caffeine, but a new study suggests they may not have to forgo their coffee. Researchers had 1,388 people record their intake of coffee, tea and chocolate over a one-year period, and used Holter monitors to get 24-hour electrocardiograms. More than 60 percent of the participants reported consuming...

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Physical attraction linked to genes that control height

Some may believe that chance brings you together with your loved one, but scientists have found a far less romantic reason. Mate choice is influenced by our genes, in part by those responsible for our height, according to research published in Genome Biology. An analysis of the genotype of more than 13,000 human heterosexual couples found that genes that determine...

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Why your brain makes you slip up when anxious

As musicians, figure skaters and anyone who takes a driving test will know, the anxiety of being watched can have a disastrous effect on your performance. Now neuroscientists at the University of Sussex's Sackler Centre and Brighton and Sussex Medical School have identified the brain network system that causes us to stumble and stall just when we least want to. Dr...

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Poor Sleep Tied to Hardened Brain Arteries in Older Adults

Older people who sleep poorly may have a slightly increased risk of having hardened blood vessels in the brain, and oxygen-starved brain tissue, according to a new study. Both of these issues may contribute to a greater risk of stroke and cognitive impairment, the researchers said. "The forms of brain injury that we observed are important because they may...

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Start Enjoying Sex Again

Even if every part of your body works perfectly, you still might not be terribly interested in sex or even simply bored with your sex life. Maybe you've become tired of the routine nature of sex in a long-term relationship; maybe you want sex but your partner doesn't; maybe you both want sex. Don't focus on what he or she does or doesn't do. Try focusing on your own...

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8-Hour Sleepers More Likely to Be Heart Healthy

by Sara G. Miller, Staff Writer ORLANDO, Fla. — People who get at least 8 hours of sleep each night are more likely to have good heart health than those who get less sleep, a new study finds. In the study, researchers compared groups of people who slept for different average lengths of time, looking at how well each group met the seven criteria from the American Heart...

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Too Little Sleep Increases Heart Disease Risk in Obese Adolescents

By Agata Blaszczak-Boxe, Staff Writer Obese adolescents who do not get enough sleep may be at an increased risk of heart disease and other health issues, compared with other obese teens who get more sleep, a new study suggests. Researchers looked at the teens' risk factors for developing heart disease, diabetes and stroke, and found that the less sleep the adolescents...

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Lack of Sleep May Boost Diabetes Risk

An inconsistent sleep schedule or a general lack of sleep may increase your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, according to a new study. Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston monitored 21 otherwise healthy people, all of whom lived in a lab during the experiment. For three weeks, participants were put on a schedule where they slept for less than six...

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Blood Pressure: Highs, Lows & What's Normal

by Bahar Gholipour, Staff Writer  Blood pressure is one of the vital signs that doctors measure to assess general health. Having a high blood pressure, also called hypertension, that is not under control can result in heart problems, stroke, and other medical conditions. About one in three U.S. adults have high blood pressure and only about half of these people...

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Whooping Cough Outbreak: How Effective Is the Vaccine?

 An outbreak of whooping cough, or pertussis, at a Florida preschool in which nearly all the students had been fully vaccinated against the disease, raises new concerns about the vaccine's effectiveness, a new report suggests. During a 5-month period between September 2013 and January 2014, 26 preschoolers, two staff members and 11 family members of the students or...

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Brief Psychotic Breaks Remain a Mystery

 Not all psychotic episodes signal the beginning of a long-term mental health disorder like schizophrenia. In fact, when patients experience one of these short-term breaks with reality, it's not precisely clear how the individuals should be diagnosed. Now, a new study finds there are no significant differences in the prognosis for patients who have four different types...

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What's the Difference Between the Right Brain and Left Brain?

You may have heard people describe themselves as strictly "right-brained" or "left-brained," with the left-brainers bragging about their math skills and the right-brainers touting their creativity. That's because the brain is divided down the middle into two hemispheres, with each half performing a fairly distinct set of operations. Much of what is known about brain function...

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Mysterious Cancers of 'Unknown' Origin in Men Traced Back to HPV

Some cancers are mysterious, in that doctors cannot determine where they originate and how they will spread. These cancers often are given the unwieldy name "unknown primary squamous cell carcinoma" (UPSCC). About 4 percent of head and neck cancers are of the UPSCC variety. They may appear in this area of the body, having metastasized or spread from elsewhere, but the specific...

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