Labor Companion May Affect Delivery

Providing women in labor with the continuous support of an experienced female labor companion, known as a doula, results in fewer caesarean and forceps deliveries, less need for analgesia and shorter labors, according to research from the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston. The team told a meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies last week in New Orleans that mothers supported by a doula also exhibited more sensitivity and warmth toward their babies.

The word “doula” comes from the Greek for the most important female servant in the household, the woman who probably helped the lady of the house through her childbirth. The Texas study showed that use of a doula provided a 50% reduction in caesareans, a 25% shorter labor, a 60% reduction in requests for epidurals, a 30% reduction in analgesia use and a 40% reduction in forceps deliveries. The cost of a doula ranges from $200 to $800.

Online Information About Cancer Trials

Information about clinical trials of new therapies for cancer can now be obtained online at a new Web site operated by the National Cancer Institute. The cancerTrials site (https://cancertrials.nci.nih.gov) explains clinical trials and their role in cancer care, and helps users locate trials that have openings.

Report Reveals Incidence of Silent Strokes

As many as 11% of Americans between the ages of 55 and 70 have suffered silent strokes--strokes that do not exhibit any of the classic symptoms, but result from either blockages or bleeding in small vessels in the brain--according to a report in the May issue of Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Assn. The two biggest risk factors for silent strokes are smoking and hypertension, according to Dr. George Howard of the Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Howard and his team looked at MRI images of the brains of 1,737 people and found that 11% had suffered a silent stroke.

“The percentage surprised me,” he said. “Basically, there could be millions of people out there with holes in their brains.”

More People Visiting Chiropractors Nowadays

The number of visits to chiropractors has more than doubled in the last 20 years, according to a new study by researchers at Rand Corp. in Santa Monica and the Los Angeles College of Chiropractic. The team surveyed visits to 131 chiropractors at six sites in the United States and Canada.

They report in the May issue of the American Journal of Public Health that visits totaled 101.2 per 100 patient-years. They found that chiropractic patients tended to be between the ages of 30 and 50, with slightly more females than males visiting. About 68% of the visits were for low-back pain. The other primary reasons for a visit were head and neck pain and extremity problems. Spinal manipulative therapy was carried out for 83% of patients.

Heart Attack Victims Urged Toward Prevention

Most older patients who have suffered a heart attack are not taking aspirin daily, even though they should be, according to a new study in the May issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. Most physicians recommend daily aspirin because it reduces the risk of clotting that would trigger further attacks, leading to a 25% reduction in risk.

Dr. Wilbert S. Aronow studied 350 patients, average age 81 years, who were admitted to the Hebrew Hospital Home in Brooklyn, N.Y. All were eligible to be taking aspirin, but only 17% actually were, he found. New recommendations also suggest that patients suffering a heart attack at home should take one or two aspirins while waiting for an ambulance.

Heels May Raise Risk of Arthritis in Knees

In depressing news for heel wearers, Boston researchers report that wearing high heels increases a woman’s risk of arthritis of the knees. Dr. Casey Kerrigan and colleagues at Harvard and the Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital asked 20 healthy women, averaging 36 years of age, to walk along a special platform in bare feet or wearing 2 1/2-inch heels.

They report in the May 9 issue of Lancet that walking in the heels produced greater strain between the kneecap and the thighbone and the inner side of the knee joint. Osteoarthritis is more common on the inner side of the knee than the outside. The team called for further studies.

--Compiled by THOMAS H. MAUGH II