Health Highlights: Nov. 13, 2005

Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:

Thailand Probes Human Bird Flu Case in Bangkok

Thailand authorities were investigating the first confirmed human infection from bird flu in Bangkok.

An 18-month-old boy was diagnosed with bird flu, in the first case of the disease found in the capital according to AFX.

The house where the boy contracted the virus had two chickens and one fighting cock, which died on Oct 31 but were only reported to authorities after the boy fell sick, officials said.

The public health ministry said the boy fell ill on Nov. 1 and went to hospital on Nov. 3 with a runny nose, fever and coughing. The boy''s 65-year-old grandmother has also shown symptoms of the disease, but so far has tested negative. Doctors are awaiting the results of further tests.

The boy is the 21st case of bird flu diagnosed in Thailand since the deadly H5N1 virus was first detected in the country in Jan 2004. Thirteen of those cases have been fatal.

Meanwhile, China and Vietnam reported fresh outbreaks of the lethal strain of bird flu Saturday.

The latest China outbreak, its eighth within a month, is in Jingshan county in Hubei province, indicating the virus appears to be spreading. Four suspected human cases of the virus are being investigated, but so far there have been no confirmed human infections in the country, according to wire reports.

The latest outbreak has killed 2,500 birds, and more than 30,000 birds are being culled, government authorities said Saturday.

The H5N1 strain has devastated poultry flocks across Asia since 2003, and killed at least 64 people.

In Vietnam, which has had two-thirds of the human deaths, two more provinces reported bird flu outbreaks, bringing to nine the total number of affected provinces, officials said Saturday.

Authorities have ordered the destruction of all birds in the two infected areas, about 10,000 in total. In the past month, more than 130,000 poultry have been culled throughout the country as Vietnam battles to stop the spread of the virus.

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Angioplasty Might Become Outpatient Procedure

Canadian researchers reported Sunday that a new approach to angioplasty might mean patients can safely be sent home the same day.

Instead of snaking a tube to blockages near the heart through a vein in the leg, the researchers went through the arm or wrist instead, according to the Associated Press. This approach reduced bleeding, a common complication of the procedure. To further guard against trouble following release from the hospital, they gave half the patients in the study a single dose of anti-clotting medication before release.

Six months later, the rates of major bleeding, heart attacks or repeat procedures was identical in both groups. The findings were presented at the American Heart Association (AHA) annual meeting in Dallas.

"This is the kind of study that''s going to turn the trend," Dr. Timothy Gardner, a Delaware cardiologist who heads the AHA meeting committee, told the AP.

Angioplasty is one of the most common medical techniques in the world, with 600,000 performed in the United States annually.

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Cord Blood Cells Could Widen Treatment Window for Stroke

University of South Florida researchers reported Saturday that human umbilical cord blood cells could be used to treat stroke victims outside the three-hour window that is the current standard.

The experimental treatment, which was administered to rats two days following a stroke, curbed inflammatory responses in the brain, limited stroke damage, and lead to greater recovery. The researchers, who shared the results at the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in Washington, D.C., could benefit more stroke victims.

"We were very surprised," said principal investigator Alison Willing, a neuroscientist at the university''s Center for Excellence for Aging and Brain Repair. "In some animals, the stroke initially damaged half the brain, but after treatment with the cord blood cells they were functioning normally."

The only drug currently approved for ischemic stroke treatment is tPA (tissue plasminogen activator), which breaks up blood clots. However, it must be given within three hours of a stroke to work.

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Loneliness Could Be Genetic, Researchers Say

Loneliness might be a family trait.

That''s the conclusion of new research suggesting 48 percent of the variations in loneliness among people is a result of genetics. The rest is caused by life circumstances, such as leaving home or losing a spouse, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

Researchers in the Netherlands and the University of Chicago examined surveys of 8,387 young adults in the Netherlands Twin Register. Fraternal and identical twins and their families responded to mailed surveys every two or three years. Twins were asked whether they agreed with such statements as "I feel lonely," "I like to be alone," "Nobody loves me," and "I try to have as little as possible to do with other people."

Thirty-five percent of the men and 50 percent of the women reported having moderate to extreme feelings of loneliness. And the researchers found less difference in loneliness ratings between identical twins.

There probably is more than one loneliness gene, although no such gene has yet been identified, said University of Chicago psychologist John Cacioppo, a co-author of the study, which is published in the journal Behavior Genetics.

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Meditation Linked to Structural Changes in Brain

The regular practice of meditation seems to produce structural changes in areas of the brain associated with attention and sensory processing, a new study suggests.

The imaging study, led by Massachusetts General Hospital researchers, found that particular areas of the cerebral cortex, the outer layer of the brain, were thicker in participants who were experienced practitioners of a type of meditation commonly practiced in the United States and other western countries.

The findings appear in the Nov. 15 issue of NeuroReport, and are also to be presented Monday at the Society for Neuroscience meeting in Washington, D.C.

"Our results suggest that meditation can produce experience-based structural alterations in the brain," said study author Sara Lazar, of the hospital''s Psychiatric Neuroimaging Research Program.

Last Updated: Nov. 13, 2005