michigan health system

(University of Michigan Health System) If there's one thing that everyone knows about newborn babies, it's that they don't sleep through the night, and neither do their parents.

But in fact, those first six months of life are crucial to developing the regular sleeping and waking patterns, known as circadian rhythms, that a child will need for a healthy future.

Some children may start life with the sleep odds stacked against them, though, say sleep experts who study the issue.

(University of Michigan Health System) Women with depression may be much more likely than men to get relief from a commonly used, inexpensive antidepressant drug, a new national study finds.

But many members of both sexes may find that it helps ease their depression symptoms. The persistence of a gender difference in response to the drug -- even after the researchers accounted for many complicating factors -- suggests that there's a real biological difference in the way the medication affects women.

SUNDAY, Aug. 24 (HealthDay News) -- Healthy foods should be included on the list of back-to-school supplies for your children, says a University of Michigan Health System expert.

(University of Michigan Health System) A new needle-less vaccine is highly effective and can be stored without refrigeration, University of Michigan studies in animals show.

The vaccine should also be safer to administer than existing hepatitis B vaccines and effective with only two immunizations.

The technique, a nanoemulsion given in the nose, is a step closer to human trials, possibly within a year.

Hepatitis B kills an estimated 1 million people annually.

(University of Michigan Health System) Research from the University of Michigan Health System suggests that many students with food allergies aren't taking the threat of a reaction seriously enough, or are regularly in environments where they could not be properly treated during an emergency.

(University of Michigan Health System) A new study hints that people who have both alcohol problems and sleep problems -- which often occur together -- might be helped by an epilepsy drug.

The study, which is small but was placebo-controlled, opens the door for further research on how to help alcohol-dependent people escape the Catch-22 of insomnia and drinking that often stands in the way of their recovery.

(University of Michigan Health System) Researchers have pinpointed a gene mutation that accounts for a previously unidentified form of hearing loss.

University of Michigan and other scientists found the same mutation in two unrelated families, indicating the mutation may be ancient and not particularly rare.

Future research may find that it affects others who have an unexplained family history of hearing loss. Genes are likely involved in as many as 50 percent of people with hearing loss.

(University of Michigan Health System) Nearly half of women treated for breast cancer did not know that their odds of being alive after five years are roughly the same whether they undergo mastectomy or breast conserving surgery.

Minority women were even less likely to be aware of this important factor of their treatment decision, according to a study from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.

(University of Michigan Health System) If an influenza pandemic hits the United States, acute care hospitals are likely to be overwhelmed.

Nursing homes may then be expected to assist with the patient overflow, but a new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests that many are not prepared for such a task.

(University of Michigan Health System) Researchers from four leading cancer centers have confirmed that an analysis involving a panel of genes can be used to predict which lung cancer patients will have the worst survival.

The finding could one day lead to a test that would help determine who needs more aggressive treatment.