Some good news and bad news for women: An article published online on December 8 in Circulation has found no sex differences in in-hospital mortality rates after AMI. However, compared with men, women were less likely to receive early aspirin treatment, early beta-blocker treatment, reperfusion therapy, or timely reperfusion, and women also experienced lower use of cardiac catheterization and revascularization procedures after AMI. Finally, women who had presented with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) had higher adjusted mortality rates than men. The findings were based on 78,254 patients with AMI in 420 US hospitals from 2001 to 2006.

A paper published in the January issue of The Journal of Pathology reports finding DNA from the herpes simplex 1 virus (HSV1) in 90% of plaques in Alzheimer's disease patients' brains. (The researchers had previously shown that HSV1 infection of nerve-type cells in mice leads to deposition of beta amyloid, the main component of the plaques.) The two findings, the authors wrote, " suggest that this virus is a major cause of amyloid plaques and hence probably a significant aetiological factor in Alzheimer's disease.")

Being overweight or obese may increase the likelihood of experiencing headaches! Research published in the December issue of Cephalalgia, which was based on data from 7,601 men and women aged ≥ 20 years who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999–2002, showed that being overweight or obese increased the likelihood of headache by 1.2 to nearly 1.4 times.

A communication published in the December 10 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association looked at the efficacy of financial rewards in weight loss programs. Researchers found that weight-loss programs that reward participants with money (and remind them of the money they will lose if they fail) are more effective at achieving weight loss than standard methods. Over the 16 weeks of the study, those in the financial incentive groups lost far more weight than those who got no pay, with about half of the participants in each incentive group meeting their weight loss goals of 16 pounds (7.26 kilograms) in 16 weeks – only 10% in the control group lost the 16 pounds. Unfortunately, once the money stopped, the weight began to creep back on.

An investigation published in the December 8/22 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine reports that found that, in following a typical Mediterranean diet, adding nuts (30 grams per day) works better than boosting olive oil consumption rates to cut the risk of metabolic syndrome. The metabolic benefits occurred even when calories weren't reduced and weight loss didn't occur.

A study published in the December 8/22 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine reports that for healthy adults under age 50, half a dose of a flu shot may work just as well as a full dose. Interestingly, researchers also found that women's immune response, regardless of age group, was significantly higher than men's immune response. They wrote, "Half-dose vaccination may be an effective strategy for healthy adults younger than 50 years in the setting of an influenza vaccine shortage."

A December 10 news release from the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine reports that a new nationwide government survey shows that approximately 38% of adults in the United States aged 18 years and over and nearly 12% of children (about one in nine) aged 17 years and under use some form of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). The survey, conducted as part of the 2007 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), was the first time children's use of CAM was queried. Among children, CAM therapies were used most often for back or neck pain, head or chest colds, anxiety or stress, other musculoskeletal problems, and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADD/ADHD).