The latest on car accidents and life events; cyberchondria; learning to ride a bike; office temperature; and treating Alzheimer's with blood pressure meds.
By
PT Staff, published on January 01, 2005 - last reviewed on February 22, 2005
Separation Anxiety
People going through divorce or marital separation are at increased risk for serious traffic accidents, according to French researchers. (The study controlled for alcohol consumption.) Other life events associated with car crashes include a child leaving home and making an important purchase.
Dubious Diagnoses
Many Internet users are following inaccurate information online, which U.K. researchers say can lead to erroneous self-diagnoses and cyberchondria. Physicians have coined the term to refer to anxious patients who parrot misinformation to their doctors.
Stay On the Trike
When it comes to safety, biking is not like swimming, in which learning earlier is better. According to a Norwegian hospital study, children who first use a bicycle at age 6 or 7 have fewer injuries than those who learn to ride between the ages of 3 and 5. The problem is undeveloped motor skills, not poor judgment.
Comfort Zone
Warm offices make for fewer mistakes, at least when workers are typing, according to a Cornell University study. When researchers bumped up temperatures in a simulated office from 68 to 77 degrees, keyboard errors fell by over 40 percent.
A Remedy Times Two
Certain drugs used to treat high blood pressure may slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease, according to study in Neurology. The medications are known as brain penetrating ACE inhibitors. Unlike many drugs, they are able to cross the blood-brain barrier.
Tags:
accidents,
ace inhibitors,
alcohol consumption,
Alzheimer's disease,
anxious patients,
bicycle,
bicycles,
blood brain barrier,
car crashes,
cornell university study,
cyberchondria,
french researchers,
internet users,
Leaving home,
marital separation,
medications,
misinformation,
offices,
poor judgment,
remedy,
traffic accidents,
trike
