http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. It seems that even for the smallest of people, a gentle massage may be beneficial. Newborn intensive care units (NICUs) are stressful environments for preterm infants; mechanical ventilation, medical procedures, caregiving activities and maternal separation create these stressful conditions. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-massage-therapy-shown-stress-response.html Pediatrics Tue, 14 May 2013 16:57:14 EST news287769428 Teenagers who are highly exposed to violent video games—three or more hours per day—show blunted physical and psychological responses to playing a violent game, reports a study in the May issue of Psychosomatic Medicine: Journal of Biobehavioral Medicine, the official journal of the American Psychosomatic Society. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-violent-video-games-effects-highly-exposed.html Psychology & Psychiatry Fri, 03 May 2013 13:11:19 EST news286805472 (Medical Xpress)—Exposure to noise, for example from road traffic, may adversely affect the cardiovascular system. Until now, underlying mechanisms linking noise to elevated cardiovascular risk have rarely been explored in epidemiological studies. Scientists of Helmholtz Zentrum München have now shown that exposure to noise during everyday life influences heart rate variability, i.e. the ability of the heart to adjust the rate at which it beats to acute events. The results were published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-exposure-everyday-noise-heart-variability.html Health Thu, 02 May 2013 07:20:01 EST news286695411 (Medical Xpress)—Monitoring heart rate patterns can help identify risk and treat people who are dependent on alcohol by predicting their craving levels, researchers at the University of Sydney have shown. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-heart-alcohol.html Addiction Mon, 22 Apr 2013 07:57:35 EST news285836249 (HealthDay)—Cardiac autonomic dysfunction as measured by lower heart rate variability (HRV) is associated with increases in both central and vascular vascular stiffness among youths with type 1 diabetes regardless of underlying cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors, according to research published online Feb. 22 in Diabetes Care. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-cardiac-autonomic-dysfunction-linked-arterial.html Diabetes Wed, 03 Apr 2013 13:40:39 EST news284215230 (Medical Xpress)—Imagine your smartphone becoming a mobile medical laboratory that records and sends data for a range of research. That will soon be a reality thanks to the expertise and impatience of a University of Sydney PhD candidate. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-smartphones-mini-medical-labs-smart.html Medical research Wed, 05 Dec 2012 07:20:01 EST news273913265 Australian researchers have discovered for the first time that reduced heart rate variability – or changes in heart beat timing – best predicts cognitive disturbances, such as concentration difficulties commonly reported by people with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). This adds to the growing body of evidence linking autonomic nervous system imbalance to symptoms of this poorly understood disorder. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-chronic-fatigue-syndromea-stress.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 15 Nov 2012 10:52:40 EST news272199138 An Australian study reveals that people with the rare genetic disorder known as Prader-Willi Syndrome may have an impaired autonomic nervous system. This discovery opens up a new way of looking at the insatiable appetite experienced by all sufferers, as well as their very high risk of cardiovascular disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-prader-willi-syndrome.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 15 Nov 2012 10:49:05 EST news272198903 (HealthDay) -- For adults with type 1 diabetes there is a marked decrease in the low-frequency component of heart rate variability during spontaneous nocturnal hypoglycemia, according to a study published online May 18 in Diabetes Care. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-heart-affected-nocturnal-hypoglycemia-t1dm.html Diabetes Fri, 01 Jun 2012 13:30:01 EST news257775045 (HealthDay) -- Women experiencing hot flashes have a significant reduction in heart rate variability during the hot flash, suggesting a role for the autonomic nervous system, according to a study published in the April issue of Menopause. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-reduction-heart-variability-hot.html Cardiology Fri, 06 Apr 2012 13:50:01 EST news252936722 A woman goes into labor, and gives birth. The newborn is swaddled and placed to sleep in a nearby bassinet, or taken to the hospital nursery so that the mother can rest. Despite this common practice, new research published in Biological Psychiatry provides new evidence that separating infants from their mothers is stressful to the baby. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-maternal-stresses-baby.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 02 Nov 2011 10:48:19 EST news239449692 A new study has found that processes that control heart rate play an important role in the quality of life experienced by patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The study, which was published in the journal Respirology, indicates that heart-related treatments may improve the wellbeing of some individuals with COPD. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-heart-health-impacts-wellbeing-patients.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Fri, 14 Oct 2011 10:32:09 EST news237807114 Large amounts of alcohol are known to shorten sleep latency, increase slow-wave sleep, and suppress rapid eye movement (REM) during the first half of sleep. During the second half of sleep, REM increases and sleep becomes shallower. A study of the acute effects of alcohol on the relationship between sleep and heart rate variability (HRV) during sleep has found that alcohol interferes with the restorative functions of sleep. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-alcohol-functions.html Health Mon, 15 Aug 2011 16:00:01 EST news232642035