WEDNESDAY, May 15 (HealthDay News) -- Military service members who sustain more than one mild traumatic brain injury may be at much greater risk of suicide, according to a new study.

Researchers at the University of Utah found that the risk for suicidal thoughts or behaviors increased for a lifetime, not just short-term, among those with multiple head injuries.

"Up to now, no one has been able to say if multiple [traumatic brain injuries], which are common among combat veterans, are associated with higher suicide risk," study author Craig Bryan, an assistant professor of psychology, said in a university news release. "This study suggests they are, and it provides valuable information for professionals treating wounded combat servicemen and servicewomen to help manage the risk of suicide."

A traumatic brain injury is caused by a bump, blow or jolt to the head, or a penetrating head injury that disrupts brain function, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Although these injuries can range from mild to severe, most are mild.

The study, published online May 15 in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, involved 161 patients who suffered a possible traumatic brain injury while on duty in Iraq over the course of six months. The patients were mostly men with an average age of 27 and more than six years of military service. They were treated at an outpatient traumatic brain injury clinic at a combat support hospital.

Traumatic brain injury was assessed, and the service members were divided into three groups based on the number of injuries sustained during their lifetime: none, one and two or more.

"An important feature of the study is that by being on the ground in Iraq, we were able to compile a unique data set on active military personnel and head injuries," said Bryan, who also is associate director of the university's National Center for Veterans Studies. "We collected data on a large number of service members within two days of impact."

The patients also were surveyed about their symptoms of depression, post-traumatic stress syndrome, concussions and suicidal thoughts and behaviors.

One in five patients who had sustained two or more traumatic brain injuries reported suicidal thoughts or preoccupation with suicide at some point in their past, the study revealed.

Of those who suffered one traumatic brain injury, 6.9 percent reported having suicidal thoughts. None of the participants without a traumatic brain injury had such thoughts.

Of the patients with two or more traumatic brain injuries, 12 percent had suicidal thoughts during the past year. In contrast, 3.4 percent of those with one brain injury had suicidal thoughts.

The study also showed that multiple traumatic brain injuries were associated with a significant increase in depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and severity of concussive symptoms. But only the increase in depression severity predicted an increased risk for suicide, the researchers said.

"That head injury and resulting psychological effects increase the risk of suicide is not new," Bryan said. "But knowing that repetitive [traumatic brain injuries] may make patients even more vulnerable provides new insight for tending to military personnel over the long-term, particularly when they are experiencing added emotional distress in their lives."

The researchers said more extensive research involving larger groups of people is needed to confirm the results, since the study found only an association between brain injuries and suicide risk in military personnel and did not prove a cause-and-effect relationship.

Suicide is the second-leading cause of death among U.S. military personnel.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides more information on brain injuries.

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TUESDAY, May 7 (HealthDay News) -- If you're a man suffering from low energy or libido, the drug industry is eager to help. So-called "Low T" -- low testosterone -- has become a common catch phrase in TV commercials, and sales of testosterone supplements are on the rise in the United States.

But a new study suggests that many clinics aren't disclosing the risks of testosterone treatment on their websites.

Researchers found that fewer than a third of 70 clinic websites mentioned the side effects of testosterone, although almost all touted potential benefits of treatment like improved sex drive and greater energy. Twenty-one percent, meanwhile, incorrectly denied that hormone treatment is linked to significant side effects.

Study co-author Dr. Kevin McVary, chairman of urology at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, criticized the clinics that failed to be open about the risks of testosterone treatment. "It's unprofessional, and it reeks of snake oil," he said. "People should beware of using the Internet for medical advice regarding testosterone."

Testosterone, which is mainly produced in the testicles, is considered the male hormone (although it does occur in smaller quantities in women). Testosterone levels dip as men grow older. According to the Urology Care Foundation, researchers have found that about 20 percent of men over the age of 60 have low testosterone, which can lead to low libido, weak erections and fatigue.

Testosterone supplements are now available in a variety of forms, including injections, patches and gels that patients rub into the skin. The cost can run from $75 to $300 a month, said Dr. John Amory, a professor of medicine at the University of Washington in Seattle.

While testosterone treatment can indeed be beneficial, the side effects can include lower levels of healthy HDL cholesterol, increased male pattern baldness and possible harm to prostate health, Amory said.

Oral testosterone can lead to liver problems, study co-author McVary said, and testosterone overuse -- such as by some bodybuilders -- can lead to rage, acne, congestive heart failure and worsening of urinary symptoms.

In the new study, the researchers looked at the websites of 70 providers of testosterone supplements in Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York City and Philadelphia. One-third were run by people who weren't physicians.

Only 27 percent described side effects of testosterone supplements, while 95 percent touted benefits. About a third of the sites run by urologists or endocrinologists described male breast growth as a potential risk. Seven percent of all the sites, however, denied breast growth as a potential side effect.

Amory said the new research appears to be valid and reflects "my impression of the way in which this [testosterone] is being oversold to patients."

McVary and Amory said they don't know if the clinics are acting legally when they omit information about testosterone risks. However, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration requires drug companies to describe the risks of prescription medications in their ads.

What to do? When it comes to medical information on the Internet, McVary said, "only go to legitimate sites that are sponsored by a medical organization that is known to you."

The findings were scheduled to be released Tuesday at the American Urological Association annual meeting in San Diego. The data and conclusions should be viewed as preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

More information

For more about testosterone, try the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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MONDAY, May 6 (HealthDay News) -- Many U.S. high school football players say they would keep playing after experiencing a concussion, even though they know it would put them at risk for serious harm, a new study reveals.

The findings suggest that educating players about concussion may not be enough to keep them safe after they suffer this type of brain injury, according to the researchers.

The study authors surveyed 120 high school football players in the Cincinnati area and found that one-quarter of them had suffered a concussion, and that more than half said they would continue to play even if they had concussion symptoms.

Seventy percent of the players had been educated about concussion and most of them could identify common signs and symptoms, such as: headache (93 percent); dizziness (89 percent); difficulty remembering and sensitivity to light (78 percent); difficulty concentrating (76 percent); and feeling like they were in a fog (53 percent).

The study also found that 91 percent of the players understood that there was a risk of serious injury if they returned to play too quickly after a concussion, but only half said they would always or sometimes report their concussion symptoms to their coach. Some even said that athletes with a concussion have a responsibility to play in important games.

There was no association between players' level of knowledge about concussion symptoms and their attitudes about the injury, according to the study to be presented Monday at the Pediatric Academic Societies' annual meeting in Washington, D.C.

"In other words, athletes who had more knowledge about concussions were not more likely to report symptoms," study co-author Dr. Brit Anderson, a pediatric emergency medicine fellow at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, said in an American Academy of Pediatrics news release.

"These attitudes could leave young athletes vulnerable to injury from sports-related concussions," Anderson said.

"Although further study needs to be done, it is possible that concussion education alone may not be enough to promote safe concussion behaviors in high school football players," she concluded.

The data and conclusions of research presented at medical meetings should be viewed as preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more about concussion in high school sports.

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WEDNESDAY, May 1 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers say they've identified a gene mutation associated with a typical form of migraine headache.

The causes of migraine headaches are unknown. Between 10 percent and 20 percent of people suffer from the debilitating, recurrent headaches.

For the new study, published May 1 in the journal Science Translational Medicine, researchers analyzed the genetics of two families in which migraines were common. They found that many of the migraine sufferers had either a mutation in the casein kinase I delta (CKIdelta) gene or were the children of a parent with the mutation.

In laboratory cells, the researchers found that the mutation affects production of the CKIdelta enzyme, which performs vital functions in the brain and body.

Further experiments in mice suggested more evidence of a connection between this gene mutation and migraines.

"This is the first gene in which mutations have been shown to cause a very typical form of migraine," senior investigator Louis Ptacek, a professor of neurology at the University of California, San Francisco, said in a university news release.

"It's our initial glimpse into a black box that we don't yet understand," added Ptacek, who also is an investigator at UCSF's Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

Migraines cause "huge losses in productivity, not to mention immense suffering," Ptacek said. Symptoms include a throbbing headache, hypersensitivity to sound and touch, and aura, which Ptacek described as "a visual sensation that presages the headache to come."

There are good migraine drugs available now, "but they only help some patients, some of the time," he said. "The need for better treatments is huge."

"[This research] puts us one step closer to understanding the molecular pathway to pain in migraine," he said. With a better understanding of the condition, "we can start thinking about better therapies. Certain molecules might be targets for new drugs."

Ptacek said the CKIdelta gene is not the only mutation likely to be associated with migraines. "There are likely several, in different combinations in different people," he said. "This is simply the first one we've found."

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke has more about migraines.

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MONDAY, April 29 (HealthDay News) -- People with severe or frequent migraines often turn to drugs to prevent them. But do the medications work?

A new review of preventive treatments shows there is not much difference in the effectiveness of commonly prescribed drugs -- they work for some people, in some cases. But there is wide variation in the amount and severity of side effects associated with the drugs.

The researchers found that drugs worked better than inactive placebos in reducing monthly migraine attacks. They prevented half or more migraines in 200 to 400 people per 1,000 treated. But many of the medications had side effects so bothersome that sufferers frequently stopped taking them.

That could be because none of the drugs used to prevent migraines was designed specifically for that purpose, explained Dr. Jason Rosenberg, director of the Johns Hopkins Headache Center. "So, it's not surprising that they don't work all that well. Only one-third get halfway better, according to the study, so a doctor has to treat three people to get one patient better."

Rosenberg, who was not involved with the study, suffers from migraines and thinks many primary care doctors may be less aware of the side effects of the drugs used to prevent migraines than are headache specialists. So, they may not warn patients about the potential problems and frequently don't follow up to see how the patients are doing, he added.

The side effects are typically no fun, said Rosenberg. "A number are badly tolerated. Some cause weight gain, hair loss, can cause birth defects [one drug], some tingling, sleepiness, impaired ability to exercise, an increased risk of diabetes and sexual side effects," he noted. Some problems, such as kidney stones, are only detected with long-term follow-up, he added.

That's why physicians and patients need better information, said review author Dr. Tatyana Shamliyan, a researcher at the Minnesota Evidence-Based Practice Center in Minneapolis. Good research clearly shows potential benefits and harms, and "helps a great deal in making informed decisions," she said.

But finding information about the options and downsides can be difficult.

Rosenberg said that before Shamliyan's study, no one had done a thorough, comprehensive review of the side effects of medications used to prevent migraines. "They've done a Herculean task," he said.

Both the American Academy of Neurology and the American Headache Society have issued guidelines that recommend two types of anti-epileptic drugs and two beta blockers for prevention of migraines in adults. But neither medical group considered the value of balancing the effectiveness against the side effects, Shamliyan said.

Migraines affect about 12 percent of the U.S. population, and involve throbbing or pulsing head pain, often associated with sensitivity to light and sound, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

The new research was published online in the April issue of the Journal of General Internal Medicine. Out of an initial group of more than 5,000 studies related to preventing migraines, the researchers found 215 publications that involved randomized clinical trials -- considered the gold standard in research -- and 76 publications of non-randomized studies. The researchers reported that most trials were funded by industry and did not disclose conflicts of interest by study investigators.

Most of the studies were conducted in the United States and Western countries, and enrolled mostly middle-aged women with episodic migraines. Participants were mostly overweight and had an average of five migraine attacks a month. Shamliyan noted that many of the studies failed to control for key factors, such as the severity of the headaches, the presence of other health conditions in those studied, other migraine treatments being used, family history, and social and economic status.

Based on their analysis of the studies, the researchers concluded that approved drugs and off-label angiotensin-inhibiting drugs (lisinopril, captopril and candesartan), or off-label beta blockers (metoprolol, acebutolol, atenolol and nadolol) were effective in preventing episodic migraines in adults.

Off-label angiotensin-inhibiting drugs showed the most favorable combination of benefits to potential harms. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration permits physicians to prescribe approved medications for purposes other than their intended indications, and that practice is known as off-label use.

The study also found that there's a lack of research available about the long-term effects of drug treatments, especially on quality of life.

In treating migraines, off-label medications are frequently used, said Rosenberg. "In my practice I'm prescribing off-label as much as on-label." This, while state-of-the-art, should be a call to action, he added. "It's totally unacceptable that all the drugs we're using were invented for other diseases."

More information

Learn more about migraines from the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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THURSDAY, April 25 (HealthDay News) -- Children with more severe concussion symptoms take longer to recover from their head injury than those with milder symptoms, a new study finds.

Most children recover from sports-related concussions within a few days, but some continue to have symptoms for a month or longer. The reasons for this have been unclear. The authors of this study sought to identify risk factors that might be associated with longer recovery times.

The researchers analyzed data from 182 children who were seen at a sports concussion clinic within three weeks of their injury. The patients completed the Post-Concussion Symptom Scale (PCSS), which uses a 0-6 scale to assess the severity of 22 symptoms. The higher the number, the more severe the symptoms.

The investigators found that the total score on the PCSS was independently associated with the length of time that patients had concussion symptoms. The higher the score, the more likely a child would have symptoms for longer than 28 days, according to the study published April 25 in The Journal of Pediatrics.

Identifying risk factors for prolonged recovery from concussion will enable doctors to provide the best treatment for patients, said the researchers from Boston Children's Hospital and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

Some of the symptoms included on the PCSS questionnaire include headache, vomiting, balance problems, sleeping more or less than usual, sensitivity to light or noise, fatigue, numbness, problems with memory or concentration, and visual problems.

"Parents, physicians and caregivers of athletes who suffer from a high-degree of symptoms after a sports-related concussion should start preparing for the possibility of a prolonged recovery," study author Dr. William Meehan said in a journal news release.

Some previous studies found that younger patients and those with memory loss had longer recovery times after suffering a concussion. But this study did not find that age or amnesia are risk factors for prolonged recovery time, the investigators pointed out in the news release.

More information

The Nemours Foundation has more about children and concussion.

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The American Dental Association says potential warning signs of periodontal disease include:

• Gums that bleed easily, or are swollen, red or tender.
• Gums that are receding from the teeth.
• Frequent bad breath or a bad taste in your mouth.
• Loosening or separating of permanent teeth.
• A change in the way teeth align when you bite.
• A change in the way dentures fit.

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MONDAY, April 22 (HealthDay News) -- It is nearly impossible for migraine sufferers to pinpoint the causes of their attacks on their own, researchers say.

Many people with migraines try to figure out for themselves the things that trigger their migraines. For example, they may conclude that it is stress, hormones, alcohol or even the weather.

"But our research shows this is a flawed approach for several reasons," Timothy Houle, an associate professor of anesthesia and neurology at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C., said in a center news release.

"Correctly identifying triggers allows patients to avoid or manage them in an attempt to prevent future headaches," Houle said. "However, daily fluctuations of variables -- such as weather, diet, hormone levels, sleep, physical activity and stress -- appear to be enough to prevent the perfect conditions necessary for determining triggers."

Houle and a colleague conducted a study that included nine women who suffered migraines and kept a daily diary and tracked their stress for three months. Daily morning urine samples were collected from the women and tested for hormone levels. In addition, the researchers analyzed local weather data during the study.

It was extremely difficult for the women to identify the causes of their migraines, according to the findings, which were published recently in the online version of the journal Headache.

"People who try to figure out their own triggers probably don't have enough information to truly know what causes their headaches," study co-author Dana Turner, also of the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center anesthesiology department, said in the news release. "They need more formal experiments and should work with their doctors to devise a formal experiment for testing triggers."

"Many patients live in fear of the unpredictability of headache pain," Houle said. "As a result, they often restrict their daily lives to prepare for the eventuality of the next attack that may leave them bedridden and temporarily disabled."

"They may even engage in medication-use strategies that inadvertently worsen their headaches," he said. "The goal of this research is to better understand what conditions must be true for an individual headache sufferer to conclude that something causes their headaches."

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke has more about migraines.

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TUESDAY, April 16 (HealthDay News) -- Although colic has always been considered a gastrointestinal illness, new research suggests that migraines might be to blame.

The study, published April 17 in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found the odds were nearly seven times higher that children with migraine were colicky babies than were not.

"It is already known that migraine can show with intestinal pain in childhood," said study senior author Dr. Luigi Titomanlio, head of the pediatric migraine and neurovascular diseases clinic at APHP Hospital Robert Debre in Paris, France. That is termed abdominal migraine.

"Our results suggest that infantile colic could represent a form of migraine with age-specific expression," Titomanlio said.

As a colicky child gets older, be aware that he or she may be more likely to have migraine headaches, he added. "By extrapolation [from the study's findings], having had colic could be a risk factor of migraine in teens with recurrent headaches," said Titomanlio.

Colic affects as many as one in five infants, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Babies with colic cry for more than three hours a day, usually at the same time each day, at least three days a week. The exact cause of infant colic is unknown, but it usually gets better by 12 weeks of age.

When babies with colic are crying, their abdomens often appear swollen and they may draw their legs up to their bellies. These symptoms appear to originate in the digestive tract, but treatments aimed at easing digestive system symptoms aren't very effective at making babies with colic calm down.

Migraine is a common cause of headaches in children, according to the study. Another type of headache in children is a tension-type headache, and children who have tension-type headaches are believed to have increased pain sensitivity. Links between these and other types of headaches and colic have been suggested, but they haven't been well-studied, the researchers noted.

This latest research includes more than 200 children 6 to 18 years old who were diagnosed with migraine headaches. The study also included 120 children who had tension-type headaches, and 471 control children who were treated for minor traumas.

The researchers found that nearly 73 percent of children who had migraines also had colic as babies, while just 26.5 percent of those without migraine reported colic. Slightly more children who had migraine without aura (without visual and other sensory disturbances) reported having had colic than those who had migraine with aura. Overall, the odds that someone with a migraine had colic as a child were 6.6 times higher than the odds they didn't have colic, the study found.

The researchers didn't find an association between tension-type headaches and colic.

The mechanism behind the colic-migraine association isn't clear, and the authors say more research is needed to understand the connection. But Titomanlio said it could be that nerve terminals in the brain and in the gut may be overly sensitized, leading to pain in the head or the gut.

Dr. Phyllis Zee, professor of neurology and director of the sleep disorders center at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago, said this is the largest study to date showing "a strong association between infantile colic and migraine." But, she added, this study only found an association; it doesn't prove that one disorder causes the other.

Zee, the author of an accompanying journal editorial, suspects disrupted sleep cycles may play a role in both disorders, along with disruption in melatonin, a hormone that induces sleep and regulates the body's internal time clock. While most melatonin is made in the brain, Zee said that some is made by cells in the digestive tract. And the release of melatonin in the digestive system can affect the motility of the intestines, which could theoretically cause some colic symptoms.

"Sleep and circadian rhythm disruptions may be a prominent trigger in colic and in migraine," she said.

Zee said if a melatonin or sleep-wake cycle disturbance is to blame, parents can take steps to change these factors without drugs.

"Don't get too much light at night. Try to get more light during the day. Take the baby outside during the day, and at night, have a sleep environment that's darker," she suggested.

If your baby's colicky time is at night, try to avoid bright lights or stimulating sounds, such as from the TV. And don't bounce the baby around too much, she said.

More information

Learn more about colic from the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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WEDNESDAY, April 3 (HealthDay News) -- New research out of Japan shows a potential link between male baldness and an increased risk for coronary heart disease.

But it only affects men who are balding on top. Those with a receding hairline are not at risk, the researchers reported.

The findings stem from an analysis of six published studies on hair loss and heart health that involved approximately 37,000 men.

And although the researchers admitted the small study size was a limitation, they reported that men whose baldness affected the crown on their head faced a 32 percent to 84 percent increase in the risk of developing heart disease compared to men with a full head of hair or a receding hairline.

Study lead author Dr. Tomohide Yamada, of the department of diabetes and metabolic diseases at the University of Tokyo's Graduate School of Medicine, in Japan, reported his findings in the current issue of the journal BMJ Open and called for more research on the topic. Although the research review found an association between baldness and heart disease risk, it did not prove a cause-and-effect link.

Male pattern baldness (technically referred to as "androgenetic alopecia") affects up to 40 percent of adult men and is the most common type of hair loss, the researchers reported. By age 80, about four in five men will experience this form of baldness.

To explore the link to heart disease, the researchers analyzed databases covering the period 1950 through 2012. Out of 850 related investigations, they selected six studies, all published between 1993 and 2008 in the United States, Denmark or Croatia.

In the three studies that tracked patients for a minimum of 11 years, the research showed that, overall, balding men face a 33 percent greater risk for heart disease than other men, and those between 55 and 60 years old faced an even higher risk (44 percent).

The other three studies, comparing the cardiac health of balding men to non-balding men, showed a 70 percent bump in heart disease risk among the balding group, and an 84 percent risk for younger balding men.

What's more, a balding man's heart disease risk appeared to be dependent on the severity of his hair loss, with more severe loss translating into greater risk, the studies showed.

Yamada's team said the driving mechanism behind the connection is unknown, but they theorized that baldness could be a marker for insulin resistance, chronic inflammation or an increased sensitivity to testosterone, all of which are factors in the onset of heart disease.

Regardless, Yamada said, balding men should do what all men should do when it comes to controlling heart disease risk. "I recommend adapting a heart-healthy lifestyle that includes a low-fat diet, exercise and less stress [in order to mitigate against] classical coronary risk factors," such as age, high blood pressure, blood lipid disruption and a history of smoking, he said.

Cardiologist Dr. Gregg Fonarow, of the University of California, Los Angeles, agreed that the tried-and-true approach to heart health stands -- regardless of your hairline.

"Clearly, wearing a toupee or a hat is not going to lower the risk," he said with a chuckle. "But what is true is that well-established means of maintaining a healthy diet and weight, exercising, and watching blood pressure and cholesterol levels can all lower your risk for heart disease."

Dr. Christopher Cannon, a cardiologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, agreed.

"Unfortunately, this is bad news for me personally," he said. "But if you are at a higher risk for heart disease, as I myself would appear to be, then you have to try and reduce that risk by doing the things that have long been shown to help. And stay tuned for future research that may help us understand what is underlying this."

More information

For more on male pattern baldness, visit the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

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TUESDAY, March 26 (HealthDay News) -- Black men with early hair loss may have a heightened risk of developing prostate cancer, researchers report.

This study of more than 500 black men found that those "who have baldness by age 30 are more likely to develop prostate cancer," said researcher Charnita Zeigler-Johnson, a research assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, in Philadelphia.

Researchers have looked at baldness as a potential risk factor for prostate cancer for years, but studies to date have produced conflicting findings. The new research is believed to be the first to focus only on blacks, Zeigler-Johnson said. Blacks in the United States get prostate cancer more often than other men and are more than twice as likely to die of the disease.

For the study, published in the April issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, the researchers evaluated 318 men with prostate cancer and compared them to 219 men without the cancer. All were enrolled in the Study of Clinical Outcomes, Risk and Ethnicity between 1998 and 2010.

The men were asked about their hair loss, if any, at age 30. Options included: none, frontal (at the forehead or temples) and vertex (crown). They also supplied information on their medical history.

If the men reported baldness by 30, "their likelihood of developing prostate cancer was increased by about 70 percent, compared to men with no baldness at age 30," Zeigler-Johnson said.

While baldness of any type boosted risk, frontal baldness in younger men was most significant. "If they had frontal baldness at 30, men were 2.6 times more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer before age 60, compared to men at age 30 with no baldness," said Zeigler-Johnson.

For men diagnosed before age 60, frontal baldness was also strongly linked with more advanced and more aggressive cancers, she found.

Overall, 20 percent of those with cancer had baldness by age 30, but 13 percent of the group without cancer had baldness as well.

While the study found a link between early balding and prostate cancer, it didn't prove a cause-and-effect relationship. It does suggest a need for further study, however, experts noted.

This year, the American Cancer Society predicts about 238,000 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed and that more than 29,000 men will die of the cancer.

Besides race, known risk factors for prostate cancer include older age and a family history of the disease.

Zeigler-Johnson isn't sure how to explain the association between prostate cancer and baldness, but said male hormones might play a role. "Perhaps it is related to androgens, in particular to dihydrotestosterone [DHT], a metabolite of testosterone," she said.

"We know an increase in DHT increases prostate cancer occurrence and progression," she said. "But it is also related to thinning of the hair follicles." That thinning makes it difficult for hair to survive.

Dr. Otis Brawley, chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society, said the study provides "more evidence of a link that has been talked about since the '70s."

The finding about balding in younger men is the newest information, he said.

Another expert, Dr. Lionel Banez, a research investigator at Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Durham, N.C., said the new findings are important "because this is the largest cohort of purely African-American men published which examines the link between baldness and prostate cancer."

However, it is "quite premature" to use the findings to make any clinical recommendations about screening for the cancer, he said.

If other research confirms the link, Zeigler-Johnson said doctors might decide to follow and screen balding men more closely for prostate cancer.

One screening test for prostate cancer is the PSA (prostate-specific antigen) blood test, which measures normal and cancerous cells in the prostate gland. When PSA levels are high, it sometimes indicates cancer.

"We still do not know if prostate cancer screening saves lives," said Brawley. Currently, the American Cancer Society recommends informing men of average risk, without symptoms, of the known pitfalls (such as false "positive" results) and potential benefits (early detection) of prostate cancer screening beginning at age 50. They then can make a decision about screening.

More information

To learn more about prostate cancer, visit the American Cancer Society.

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TUESDAY, March 26 (HealthDay News) -- The first skin patch approved to treat migraines offers patients an alternative to pills, nasal sprays and injections, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says.

The agency approved the Zecuity patch in January 2013 as a treatment for migraines after they begin. The patch contains sumatriptan (brand name Imitrex), a widely prescribed drug for treating migraines, and wraps around the arm or thigh like an ACE bandage.

"Although consumers are familiar with using a patch for, say, smoking cessation, this is the first patch the FDA has approved to treat migraines," Dr. Eric Bastings, a neurologist and deputy director of the FDA's Division of Neurology, said in an agency news release.

The battery-powered Zecuity patch uses an electrical current to move the drug through the skin over the course of four hours. A computer chip regulates the charge to ensure the patients receive the proper dosage.

There are some drawbacks, however.

The patch, which is about 8 inches long and 4 inches wide, is large enough that it can show when worn under short-sleeved shirts or shorts, and requires some privacy to put it on.

"For many people, popping a pill is a lot more immediate and simple," Bastings said.

But he noted that other methods of taking migraine medications also have downsides. The nasal spray can leave an unpleasant aftertaste and some people are uncomfortable with giving themselves injections.

"Many migraine sufferers experience debilitating pain -- sometimes so acute that they can't swallow a pill," Bastings added.

In a clinical study, about 25 percent of patients complained of a painful sensation at the patch application site, while others were unhappy with the skin reddening that most patients developed after using the patch.

More than 30 million Americans suffer from migraines, according to the FDA.

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke has more about migraines.

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TUESDAY, March 26 (HealthDay News) -- People who suffer migraines may have certain structural differences in pain-related areas of the brain, a new study suggests.

Using MRI scans, researchers found that in specific brain regions related to pain processing, migraine sufferers showed a thinner and smaller cortex compared to headache-free adults. The cortex refers to the outer layer of the brain.

It's not clear what it all means. But the researchers suspect that certain aspects of brain development may make some people more vulnerable to developing migraines -- and that migraine attacks create further changes in the brain.

The surface area of the brain "increases dramatically" during fetal development, while the thickness of the cortex changes throughout life, explained senior researcher Dr. Massimo Filippi.

"We speculate that migraine patients might have a sort of cortical 'signature' -- abnormal cortical surface area -- which could make them more susceptible to pain and abnormal processing of painful stimuli," said Filippi, a professor of neurology at the University Vita-Salute's San Raffaele Scientific Institute in Milan.

Once migraines develop, they may alter the thickness of the brain's cortex, Filippi explained.

A neurologist who was not involved in the study said it "adds to the growing body of knowledge that patients with migraine have brains that not only function differently, but may actually look different structurally as well."

That's important because it helps "legitimize" migraine as a neurological disorder associated with "real structural changes in the brain," said Dr. Matthew Robbins, of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Headache Center, in New York City.

Worldwide, an estimated 11 percent of people have had a migraine in the past year. Migraines typically cause intense, throbbing pain on one side of the head, along with sensitivity to light and sound, and sometimes nausea and vomiting.

About 30 percent of people with recurrent migraines also have sensory disturbances right before their head pain hits. Those disturbances, known as "aura," are usually visual -- like seeing flashes of light or blind spots.

No one knows precisely what causes migraines, but they do seem to involve abnormal brain activity and -- like the new study suggests -- abnormal brain structure.

The findings, published online March 26 in Radiology, come from MRI scans of 63 adults with migraines, and 18 migraine-free men and women.

Filippi's team found that the migraine brain was complicated. In some areas, the cortex was thicker, but in others -- including pain-processing areas -- the cortex was thinner, versus migraine-free adults.

And there were also differences among migraine sufferers. The exact location of the cortex abnormalities tended to differ between the half of patients who had aura and the half who did not.

According to the researchers, those structural differences might help explain why the two forms of migraine manifest differently.

Filippi said it's important to understand the structural brain changes linked to migraines because that could give insight into the cause of people's pain and other symptoms.

But whether any of this will help in managing migraines remains to be seen. According to Filippi, it's possible that doctors could eventually monitor structural changes in the brain's cortex to gauge migraine patients' response to treatment, for example.

Robbins, of Montefiore Headache Center, said that right now, it's "very hard to say" whether that will happen.

He pointed out that the study participants had one MRI scan, so it's not known what happens later on. "It is unclear if these changes in the brain are dynamic -- meaning, do they change over time?" Robbins said.

Filippi said his team is now following these patients to see whether the structural patterns in their brains are "stable" or tend to shift. They are also doing a similar study of children with migraines.

More information

Learn more about migraines from the American Headache Society.

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FRIDAY, March 15 (HealthDay News) -- If people think about their sinuses at all, it's usually because they are blocked or infected. But, according to a new study, the so-called maxillary sinuses play an important role in the shape and function of the nose.

The findings dispel the long-held belief that these sinuses -- bulbous pouches located on either side of the nose -- are evolutionary leftovers with little useful function in modern humans.

In the University of Iowa-led study, researchers studied the faces of 20 people of African origin and 20 people of European origin.

The investigators concluded that the maxillary sinuses change their size in order to "allow the nose to change shape without affecting other areas of the face," lead author Nathan Holton, a biological anthropologist, said in a university news release.

This is important because different nose shapes evolved based on climate conditions. Among people in colder areas, the nose became narrower and longer in order to better trap air in the nasal passage and warm and moisten it before it reaches the lungs. Among people in warmer regions, the nose is broader and shorter because the air is already warm and moist. The main goal of the nose is to get air to the lungs as quickly as possible, the study authors pointed out in the news release.

On average, the maxillary sinuses in the people of European origin were 36 percent larger than those of African origin, in faces of roughly the same size. This is because the narrower noses of Europeans allows more room for maxillary sinuses, the researchers explained.

"Essentially, by having these sinuses, that's what allows the nose to change its shape, at least in terms of width and independently from other parts of the face," Holton said.

The study was published in the March issue of The Anatomical Record.

More information

The Nemours Foundation has more about sinuses and sinus problems.

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TUESDAY, March 12 (HealthDay News) -- Timely brain imaging can detect tiny lesions caused by mild traumatic brain injury or mild concussion, according to a new study.

Researchers noted these tiny lesions are different from other types of lesions associated with more severe brain injuries or concussions. They suggested their findings could lead to the development of new treatment strategies for people who suffer mild traumatic brain injury.

"Our study suggests that imaging may be used to detect and distinguish between these lesions in a living person with [mild traumatic brain injury], and this finding has important implications for treatment," said Dr. Gunjan Parikh, of the U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

The findings, released March 12, are scheduled for presentation at the American Academy of Neurology's annual meeting in San Diego, which starts Saturday.

In conducting the study, the researchers examined MRI brain scans of 256 people admitted to two emergency departments, one in Bethesda, Md., and the other in Washington, D.C. The patients, who were an average age of 50, had suffered mild traumatic brain injuries.

The researchers found 104 of the study participants had evidence of hemorrhage in the brain. These patients had advanced or more detailed MRIs within an average of 17 hours of their injury, which revealed 20 percent had microbleed lesions distributed throughout the brain.

Meanwhile, 33 percent of these patients had tube-shaped linear lesions mostly confined to one area of the brain. These linear lesions, the researchers noted, were also more likely to be associated with injury to adjacent brain tissue.

The researchers suggested these linear lesions represent a type of vascular injury more often associated with more severe traumatic brain injury.

"If that theory is confirmed, it may provide an opportunity to develop treatment strategies for people who have suffered a mild traumatic brain injury," Parikh said in an American Academy of Neurology news release.

The researchers noted that 67 percent of the patients lost consciousness, and 65 percent experienced amnesia, or temporary forgetfulness.

The data and conclusions of research presented at medical meetings should be viewed as preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

More information

The U.S. National Library of Medicine has more about concussion.

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TUESDAY, March 12 (HealthDay News) -- Just one concussion can cause long-term structural damage to the brain, according to a new study.

Researchers used 3-D MRI to examine the volume of gray and white brain matter in 19 concussion patients one year after their injury, and in 12 people who had not suffered a concussion. The scans revealed measurable losses of gray and white matter (brain atrophy) in the concussion patients, according to the study, which was published online March 12 in the journal Radiology.

The finding is the first of its kind and shows that brain atrophy occurs not only in people who have suffered severe brain injuries, but also in those who have had just one concussion, said Dr. Yvonne Lui, neuroradiology section chief and assistant professor of radiology at the NYU Langone School of Medicine, in New York City.

"This study confirms what we have long suspected," Lui said in a journal news release. "After [concussion], there is true structural injury to the brain, even though we don't see much on routine clinical imaging."

Lui said this means that changes in brain structure may be the cause of long-term symptoms in patients who have suffered a concussion.

"It is important for patients who have had a concussion to be evaluated by a physician," Lui said. "If patients continue to have symptoms after concussion, they should follow up with their physician before engaging in high-risk activities such as contact sports."

Following a concussion, some people briefly lose consciousness. Other symptoms include headache, dizziness, memory loss, attention problems, depression and anxiety. Some of these symptoms may last for months or even years.

Previous research has shown that 10 percent to 20 percent of concussion patients continue to experience symptoms more than a year after their head injury.

Although the study tied having a single concussion to higher risk of long-term brain injury, it did not establish a cause-and-effect relationship.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more about concussions.

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FRIDAY, March 8 (HealthDay News) -- Five tests, procedures and treatments that neurologists and their patients should question are outlined in a list released by the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) as part of the Choosing Wisely campaign.

"With one in six people affected by a brain disease, such as headache, multiple sclerosis and stroke, our goal is to have patients discuss our Choosing Wisely recommendations regarding medical procedures, therapies, and tests with their neurologists," AAN president Dr. Bruce Sigsbee said in an academy news release.

The American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation-led Choosing Wisely campaign involves about 35 medical specialty groups and is intended to encourage patients and doctors to discuss appropriate care while avoiding unnecessary tests and treatments. The AAN is one of 17 medical societies that recently released advice lists.

Here are the AAN's five neurology-related recommendations:

• Do not perform electroencephalography (EEG) for headaches. Recurrent headache, which is the most common pain problem, affects up to 20 percent of people. EEG increases costs but has no advantage over clinical evaluation in diagnosing headache and it does not improve outcomes.
• Do not perform imaging of the carotid arteries in the neck for simple fainting in the absence of other neurologic symptoms. Fainting affects up to 40 percent of people during their lifetime. Carotid artery disease does not cause fainting; rather, it causes focused neurologic problems such as weakness on one side of the body. Therefore, carotid imaging will not identify the cause of the fainting, but it does increase costs.
• When treating migraine, opioid or butalbital drugs should only be used as a last resort. More effective, migraine-specific treatments are available, and frequent use of these drugs can worsen headaches. Opioid (narcotic) use should be reserved for patients with medical conditions that prevent the use of migraine-specific treatments or for patients for whom these treatments don't work.
• Do not prescribe interferon-beta or glatiramer acetate to patients with disability from progressive, non-relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis. These medications, often prescribed for MS, do not prevent the development of permanent disability in progressive forms of the disease. However, they do have frequent side effects that may negatively affect quality of life, and increase costs as well.
• Do not recommend carotid endarterectomy for people who have narrowing of the carotid arteries in the neck but have no symptoms, unless the patient's risk of complication is less than 3 percent. Carotid endarterectomy is a type of surgery meant to reduce the risk of stroke.

The recommendations were published online recently in the journal Neurology.

More information

Here's where you can learn more about the Choosing Wisely campaign.

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Your nasal passages may become dry and swollen when you are expecting, and sometimes it is severe enough to cause a nosebleed. The Nemours Foundation recommends these measures to help manage the problem:

• Run a humidifier to keep the air moist.
• Stay hydrated by drinking plenty of fluids each day.
• Dab a bit of petroleum jelly around your nostrils.
• Moisturize nasal passages by using saline spray or nose drops.
• Talk to your doctor if your nosebleeds persist.

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The Nemours Foundation lists these tips to ease headache pain in children:

• Have your child rest in a cool, dark room, and make sure it is quiet.
• Lay a cool, damp cloth across your child's eyes or forehead.
• Help your child relax.
• Show your child how to breathe deeply and slowly.

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TUESDAY, Feb. 19 (HealthDay News) -- Evidence of the economic upturn can be found in more than housing starts and auto sales: A new report shows that the number of cosmetic procedures grew 5 percent in 2012.

Botox injections and other types of minimally invasive treatments led the way as more people opted for these types of facial rejuvenation procedures, while the number who chose to "go under the knife" remained relatively stable, the findings revealed.

In total, there were 14.6 million minimally invasive and surgical plastic surgery procedures in 2012. There were also 5.6 million reconstructive plastic surgery procedures last year, an increase of 1 percent from 2011, according to annual statistics from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).

Minimally invasive procedures increased 6 percent, with more than 13 million procedures in 2012. The top five were:

• Botox injections, also called Botulinum toxin type A (6.1 million procedures, up 8 percent)
• Soft tissue fillers (2 million procedures, up 5 percent)
• Chemical peel (1.1 million procedures, up 2 percent)
• Laser hair removal (1.1 million procedures, up 4 percent)
• Microdermabrasion (974,000 procedures, up 8 percent)

There were nearly 1.6 million cosmetic surgical procedures in 2012, a 2 percent decrease from 2011. The top five surgical procedures last year were:

• Breast augmentation (286,000 procedures, down 7 percent)
• Nose reshaping (243,000 procedures, no change)
• Liposuction (202,000 procedures, down 1 percent)
• Eyelid surgery (204,000 procedures, up 4 percent)
• Facelift (126,000 procedures, up 6 percent).

While cosmetic breast surgeries among women decreased 2 percent between 2011 and 2012, male breast reduction surgeries increased 5 percent, to nearly 21,000 in 2012, the report said.

"For the third consecutive year, the overall growth in cosmetic surgery continues to be driven by a significant rise in minimally invasive procedures, while surgical procedures remain relatively stable. We are aware, however, that patients who begin with less-invasive treatments with a plastic surgeon may opt for more invasive, surgical procedures once required," Dr. Gregory Evans, ASPS president, said in a society news release.

Reconstructive plastic surgery increased by 1 percent in 2012 and the top five procedures were:

• Tumor removal (4.2 million, up 1 percent)
• Laceration repair (291,000, down 4 percent)
• Maxillofacial surgery (209,000, up 7 percent)
• Scar revision (171,000, down 2 percent)
• Hand surgery (123,000, up 3 percent).

Reconstructive breast reduction increased 8 percent, with 68,000 procedures performed in 2012, the report noted.

"Although breast reduction has many physical and psychological benefits for women with overly large breasts, obstacles remain in acquiring insurance coverage," Evans said. "It's promising to see gains in this and other beneficial, medically necessary surgeries."

More information

The U.S. National Library of Medicine has more about plastic and cosmetic surgery.

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