Archive for September, 2008

WEDNESDAY, (HealthDay News) — In the U.S, 5-and 10-year survival rates is improving for children younger than age 15 suffering from acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), or non Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), says a new study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Advance treatments for such diseases have enhanced long-term survival for patients. But study includes survival data from patients diagnosed in late nineties or before and, hence, may not be able to clear current situation. Read the rest of this entry

Despite the confusingly high rates, there is a slight decrease in the number of teen suicides in the US. According to the recent available data, the teen suicide rate was around 5 per 100,000 during 2005 and it climbed to 18 percent during the previous year that shocked many experts.

Dr. David Fassler, who is a psychiatry professor at the University of Vermont, says that the recent report shows a disturbing upward trend that is being related to less use of antidepressants in teen.

This decrease in the use of antidepressants originated from the Food and Drug Administration’s warning label in 2004 that showed the drugs could increase risks for suicides.

Fassler believes that antidepressant drugs have benefits and can be handy to treat those depressions that lead to suicides and he rejects their associated risks. He told that he had no financial tie to antidepressants’ makers.

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