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November 14th, 2011
06:07 PM ET
Hearing loss affects 1 in 5 Americans, study findsIf you think hearing loss is just an inevitable part of aging, think again. More than 48 million Americans over age 12 have trouble hearing in one or both ears, according to a new study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. And the way we listen to music is partly to blame. “Aging and genetics do sometimes play a role, but what we know now is that environmental exposures - like listening to music too loudly - can contribute to long term hearing damage over time,” says Dr. Frank R. Lin, lead study author and assistant professor of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery and epidemiology at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. “It’s a growing concern.”
October 13th, 2011
03:25 PM ET
Lesson from Haiti's deadly cholera outbreakCholera cases have risen in Haiti, but the number dying from the disease is down, according to researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “The number of deaths were initially way too high,” said Dr. Robert Tauxe, researcher and deputy director at the CDC. “But within a few weeks of the outbreak, we trained teams to treat the disease and increased access to supplies.” Tauxe says these improvements lowered the mortality rate from cholera in Haiti from 4% to below 1%, where it's been since December. Cholera is contracted by consuming food or water contaminated with fecal bacteria. People who live in rural areas with a lack of adequate water treatment and sanitation are more likely to get the disease. While it can cause severe dehydration from rapid loss of body fluids, cholera is one of the easiest diseases to treat with oral rehydration salts. Access to these very basic supplies was a core challenge in Haiti that led to many deaths soon after the outbreak. 
August 31st, 2011
09:49 AM ET
U.S. ranks low for newborn survivalBabies born in Cuba, Malaysia, Portugal, and the United Kingdom have a better chance of surviving the first month compared to those born in the United States, according to researchers at the World Health Organization and Save the Children. In a 20 year analysis of newborn death rates around the world, the study published in PLoS Medicine revealed the number of infants who die before they are 4 weeks old account for 41% of child deaths worldwide. Newborn deaths in the United States ranked 41 out of 45 among industrialized countries, on par with Qatar and Croatia.
May 31st, 2011
04:24 PM ET
6 tips for minimizing cell phone radiationOn Tuesday, scientists at the World Health Organization announced that the agency will now list mobile phone use in the same "carcinogenic hazard" category as lead, engine exhaust and chloroform. There haven't been enough long-term studies to make a clear conclusion if radiation from cell phones is safe, but there was enough data to persuade the WHO of a possible connection. Cell phones use non-ionizing radiation, which doesn’t damage DNA the way ionizing radiation does. The cell phone radiation operates more like very low power microwaves, but nobody really likes to think of leaning their face on a low-powered microwave. If the WHO’s labeling of cell phone use as "possibly carcinogenic to humans" has gotten you alarmed, here are some quick basic tips to limit your exposure.
April 27th, 2011
01:02 PM ET
Gupta on Giffords' missing piece of skullDr. Sanjay Gupta details the extraordinary efforts to save the life of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in a CNN special documentary, "Saving Gabby." Sunday, May 8, 7 p.m. ET The final preparations are under way for Friday's last-ever launch of the space shuttle Endeavour. This mission is extra special for Commander Mark Kelly. His wife, Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who has been recovering from a gunshot wound to the head since January 8, was medically cleared to travel and left Wednesday for Florida and the Kennedy Space Center, to watch the launch. CNN's Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta has been following Giffords' progress and takes us inside his operating room to show how the congresswoman's surgeons removed part of her skull in an effort to save her life.
January 12th, 2011
09:18 AM ET
New paint doesn't mask orphans' life on the edgeWe first met the children at Patience Orphanage in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, six months ago. Despite living in often deplorable conditions, you can count on a smile. Their spirit is contagious. Roughly 50 children, from infants to 13 years, occupied the small house. At the time there were no beds. The children slept on a concrete floor. Worse yet, they were on their last bag of rice and beans. It was simply not enough. We flagged the needs of the orphanage to a small U.S. based non-profit organization, Can-Do . Can-Do, in turn, located a food distributor just miles down the road that was willing to provide a truck full of supplies. After that story aired, CNN viewers wanted to help. Thousands of dollars were donated to Can-Do.org to help the children at Patience Orphanage. The staff bought supplies, rented trucks and hired local Haitians to give this orphanage a much-needed facelift. Today, the kids have beds to sleep in. The walls are painted bright pink, and blue. The floors, now tiled. Two new bathrooms were installed, complete with plumbing and a septic system. For the first time, they have a kitchen and a kid-friendly water filtration system. The thing that struck me about all these changes was that they didn’t take very much money. Can-Do spent a total of $5,658 to make all these changes to the orphanage. $20 per gallon for fresh paint, $160 for light fixtures, $500 for kitchen cabinets, $30 for five new light switches. Turns out, money donated by you (no matter how big or small) can go along way here in Haiti. And while the cosmetic changes provided to Patience Orphanage are tremendous for those 50 smiling faces, the children are still living on the edge. They may no longer be sleeping on the floor, but their food is still scarce. The owner of this particular orphanage has not been able to secure a coveted spot as a “beneficiary” from food distribution NGOs. Becoming a beneficiary guarantees monthly deliveries. That's the reality for many hungry in Haiti: The demand for food outweighs the supply. So for now, Patience Orphanage rations the food it has and waits for donations. Of course, the children at Patience Orphanage represent just a sliver of the roughly 350,000 orphans living in Haiti. Many of Haiti’s orphans are getting aid, but others have fallen through the cracks. 
December 29th, 2010
09:04 AM ET
2010 Year in Review: HaitiEditor’s note: This week, The Chart is taking a closer look at the most important health stories of 2010. Each day, we'll feature buzzwords and topics that came to the forefront over the past year. In just 30 seconds this year, an earthquake devastated the impoverished nation of Haiti. The damage from January’s quake was widespread. One-third of the population was affected. The 7.0-magnitude quake took 230,000 lives, injured more than 300,000 and left 1.3 million homeless. 
October 15th, 2010
06:22 PM ET
Christina Applegate: MRI 'saved my life'Breast cancer survivor, and mother-to-be, Christina Applegate sat down with CNN’s Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, to discuss her battle against cancer and how early detection may have saved her life. Applegate’s foundation, Right Action for Women, provides advanced screening and genetic testing to women at high risk for breast Cancer. DR. SANJAY GUPTA: If you hadn’t received the MRI at that point, do you have any idea what would have happened to you? CHRISTINA APPLEGATE: They probably would have found the cancer on my next mammogram a year later, where it would have been a much bigger tumor, and could have been a much worse scenario. So, it saved my life. It would have been a whole other year before I went in again for my next mammogram.
September 6th, 2010
04:00 PM ET
Don't dismiss dads' depression, researchers urge
Bringing home baby can lead to depression in as many as one-fifth of fathers during the first year of the baby's life, according to a study published Monday in the Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine. While the new study echoed the well-documented notion that mothers have a greater likelihood of developing postpartum depression than men due to hormonal changes during pregnancy, researchers warn against dismissing the risk for fathers.
July 22nd, 2010
04:38 PM ET
Sitting, even after workout, can cut lifespan
A new study debunks the theory that an hour of exercise a day is all you need to live a long life. Turns out, people who spend more time sitting during their leisure time have an increased risk of death, regardless of daily exercise. American Cancer Society researchers tracked the activity levels and death rates in more than 123,000 healthy men and women for 13 years. They found women who spend over six hours a day sitting during leisure time (watching TV, playing games, surfing the web, reading) were 40 percent more likely to die sooner than women who spend less than three hours sitting. Men who spend more time sitting have a 20 percent increased risk of death. Essentially, those who sit less, live a longer life than those who don't. |
  About this blog
Get a behind-the-scenes look at the latest stories from CNN Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen and the CNN Medical Unit producers. They'll share news and views on health and medical trends - info that will help you take better care of yourself and the people you love. Recent Comments
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