ΥΓΕΙΑ health

Maria Dalamagka  According to the authors, treatment options for patients with significant carotid atherosclerosis include carotid endarterectomy (CEA), carotid artery stenting (CAS), and medical therapy. This is an analysis of results from the Stenting and Angioplasty with Protection in Patients at High-Risk for Endarterectomy (SAPPHIRE) randomized trial, which examined patients at higher surgical risk to determine factors predictive of death or stroke within 30 days of CAS. A new study gives guidance on patient features that identify patients at high and low risk for stroke or death after   carotid artery stenting - CAS. Using a population of patients at high surgical risk undergoing stenting (the SAPPHIRE worldwide study), researchers identified variables that were independently associated with higher risk, including demographic, clinical history, and lesion anatomy features, with the aim of developing a bedside tool for risk prediction. "We developed and validated ...

Maria Dalamagka Despite the widely accepted ‘What is beautiful is good’ stereotype, our findings suggest that the beautiful strive for conformity rather than independence, and for self-promotion rather than tolerance,” writes a research team led by Lihi Segal-Caspi of the Open University of Israel. In other words, the positive traits we attribute to good-looking people are simply a matter of stereotyping. But this study, published in the journal Psychological Science, suggests the unusually attractive have a distinct set of values—and they’re not, well, pretty. The experiment featured 236 university students (mean age 29), all of whom completed detailed questionnaires designed to uncover their personality traits and deeply held values. Half the participants—118 women—were then videotaped for roughly one minute apiece as they walked around a table and read a weather forecast while looking into the camera. The other 118 (a mixed group, 59 percent female and 41 percent male) su...

Maria Dalamagka Among 446 older adults (mean age, 79.9 years) screened, 3 measures of low-contrast visual acuity were significantly associated with moderate bilateral hearing loss in analyses controlling for age and comorbid conditions, report Marilyn E. Schneck, PhD, and colleagues at the Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute in San Francisco, California. "It is suggested that audiologists consider including a brief test of low contrast vision, such as low contrast acuity. Likewise, eye care practitioners should consider performing a screening test of hearing on their patients. Depending on the severity of the dual sensory loss, referral for rehabilitation may be called for," they write. Although most people can adapt well to moderate loss of either vision or hearing, dual sensory impairment can lead to significant decline in quality of life, said Dr. Schneck, a scientist at Smith-Kettlewell and a research scientist at the University of California at Berkeley School of Opt...