Top Articles This Week: 9/1-9/7

Happy Saturday, readers!

Once again it’s time for my top articles this week in the medical community. Have another article that you’ve read and enjoyed this week? Post it here in the comments!

Brain

Brain surgery could improve with laser-guided tool (Medical News Today)
According to a study reported this week in Science Translational Medicine, a new type of laser microscope may dramatically improve the accuracy of brain tumor surgery. With this laser-guided tool, surgeons, while operating, can see clearly where tumor tissue ends and healthy tissue begins.

Flu Season

Take Kids to Get Their Flu Shots Early (MedicineNet)
According to experts at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), parents should be keeping an eye out for the first updated flu vaccine, and once it’s available children ages 6 months and older should be some of the first recipients.

Nutrition

Some Fruits Are Better Than Others (New York Times)
Every doctor, nutritionist and parent recommends eating plenty of fruit. However, new research suggests that some fruits are more healthy than others, and no fruit can be replaced by fruit juice alone.

Sleep

Most Childhood Sleep Problems Are Preventable (MedicineNet)
It’s not uncommon for parents to have to deal with a child who struggles with sleep. However, those struggles can escalate and end up affecting an entire family. Luckily, according to experts, most sleep-related issues with children are very preventable.

Sleep ‘boosts brain cell numbers’ (BBC Health News)
Scientists believe they have found a new–and very important–reason why we need to sleep. A new study shows that while we sleep, our brains are hard at work replenishing myelin, which are the cells responsible for protecting our brain’s circuitry. This discovery leads to new questions and more insight into sleep’s role in brain repair and growth.

Smoking

Rise Is Seen In Students Who Use E-Cigarettes (New York Times)
According to federal data, the number of middle and high school students who use e-cigarettes doubled from 2011 to 2012. With such a rise in use, the question has been raised: are these new devices solving the cigarette problem, or causing more health problems?

Sports

What To Do if Your Child Tears an A.C.L. (New York Times)
Many of us are sports parents, and while watching our kids run around on the field is exciting, there comes with it the risk of sports-related injuries. One of the more common injuries seen on the field is a torn Anterior cruciate ligament (A.C.L., located in the knee). In professional sports, a torn ACL usually means the end to a player’s season, if not career. So what should you do if your child injures this ligament?

Questions

Why do people feel sick on carnival rides? (Medical News Today)
Carnival rides: you either love ’em, or you hate ’em. This article goes into the biology behind why some people enjoy the ride while others are yelling for the controller at the gate to hit the big red “stop” button, plus tips on how to avoid that sick feeling altogether.