Self-hypnosis shown to help children with stomachaches

A new study suggests that such children can be taught to use their minds to feel better, since stress and anxiety may be the key to their pain.

Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University Medical Center studied 34 children, ages 6 to 15. All of them received standard medical care, such as drugs to relieve constipation, diarrhea, or acid reflux, if present. But half of them also took home CDs with eight weeks of guided-imagery therapy, sometimes called self-hypnosis.

The recordings, used five days a week, helped the children imagine "floating comfortably on a big, puffy cloud" or "light and warmth spreading throughout the belly and making a protective barrier."

About 73 percent who used guided imagery said their abdominal pain was reduced by at least half, compared with only 27 percent in the medical therapy-only group. When this group later added guided imagery sessions, 60 percent reported significant relief. Overall, about 62 percent said the pain relief lasted for six months.

The study appears in the November issue of Pediatrics. - Marie McCullough

Politics might inform reaction to information on health

"People with different political orientations receive messages differently and react to messages differently," said Sarah Gollust, a coauthor of the study and a post-doctoral fellow at Penn.

Gollust and her colleagues asked 2,000 adults to read one of four news stories on type-2 diabetes. One described genetic influences on the disease, one described personal choices in diet and exercise, and one described what she called social factors - lack of safe places to exercise or grocery stores with healthy foods. A fourth article described none of these factors.

The only story that elicited different responses from different parties was the one that included social factors. Gollust said it may be that Republicans aren't predisposed to take this message as seriously, and so it backfires. Future policymakers might consider acknowledging the role of personal responsibility as well as social factors.

"It's not just a matter of providing education if people are going to respond differently," she said. "It's a matter of reaching people with messages that resonate with them." - Faye Flam

Cancer patients report exercise lessens chemo side-effects

In a new study in the online version of the British Medical Journal, researchers found it can help even those undergoing chemotherapy for cancer - a group commonly known to suffer from fatigue and other side-effects of the treatment.

The researchers, led by Lis Adamsen, a professor of clinical nursing at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, studied 269 patients with cancer. They were male and female, with a mean age of 47, and represented 21 different cancer diagnoses. All were undergoing chemotherapy or treatment for advanced disease.

For six weeks, the patients had supervised exercise, including high-intensity cardiovascular and resistance training, relaxation and body awareness training, and massage. It totaled nine hours a week.

At the end, the participants reported reduced fatigue and improved vitality, aerobic capacity, muscle strength, and emotional well-being.

But, alas, no improved quality of life.

- Sandy Bauers

Visits to the corner store may add to childhood obesity

Keeping kids out of corner stores could help, suggests a new study by Temple University scholars published in Pediatrics.

The researchers tracked purchases by children in fourth through sixth grades at 10 city schools. On average, they spend $1.07 on two items per store visit, for a total of nearly 1,500 calories.

"We observed that children shop at corner stores frequently and purchase energy-dense, low-nutritive foods and beverages," the researchers concluded. "Obesity prevention efforts in urban settings, as well as efforts to enhance dietary quality among urban youth, should take into account the corner store environment and its significant impact on energy intake." - Josh Goldstein