Study urges gap of three years to test cancer of the cervix

WASHINGTON - women in good health more than 30 years that negative test for human papillomavirus (HPV) may be able to safely extend the period between gynecological examinations of each year to three yearssaid a study Wednesday.

"Our results are a formal confirmation that three years follow-up is appropriate and safe for women who have a negative against HPV and the result of the normal test," said the lead author of the study Hormuzd Katki.

The 331,818 women follow-up study which is part of a northern California program test by Kaiser Permanente between 2003 and 2005 and followed them for five years.

Among women who had a normal smears and negative for HPV can cause cervical cancer, the risk of cancer for five years was "very low: 2.3 per 100,000 women per year," he said.

During a PAP test, that all women should obtain each year, a doctor collects a sample of tissue from the cervix of women and sends it to a laboratory for examination and to verify the abnormal cells.

A separate test for HPV is also performed during the annual Gynecologic appointment of women. Often, it uses the same sample of cell but specifically looks for signs of the virus.

HPV is sexually transmitted and most of the time the body can remove on its own.

However, in some cases, the remains of the infection and may eventually lead to cervical cancer.

More than 30 years women who test positive for HPV are usually re-tested in six months to see if the infection is cleared.

Researchers said that when comparing the two criteria, the HPV test only "identified more women at high risk of cervical cancer than the Pap. test".

"These results also suggest that a single HPV negative test result may be sufficient to give a high level of security to extend the interval test every three years," said Katki.

A study more it should be to determine whether these recommendations should extend to the whole of the population, the researchers noted.

"But we need systematic clinical practice elements of additional evidence and official recommendations before regulatory signs which can be systematically recommended."

The PAP test, invented in 1943, has reduced the number of cases of cervical cancer, but has not eliminated - some 11 000 women in the United States are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year.

Football legend Steve Young urges children, Parents to play Safe (HealthDay)

the Parents who suspect that their child has suffered a concussion, while sports must immediately take the players off the coast of the area - even at the risk of embarrassing their kid - to avoid the potentially permanent brain injurythe legend of football Steve Young.

At a press conference Monday on the prevention of injuries to young held by Safe Kids USA sports, Young joined experts to describe what parents should look for when dealing with some of the most serious injuries athleticsuch as concussions, heat stroke and muscle and joint overuse.

Young, a former NFL quaterback who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2005, said that he has suffered several concussions throughout his 30 years career, an issue "affects to the forefront, such that it should be."

"This is an infamous injury with all kinds of gradations, each contextual to the person," said Young. "You know how things will affect you." The key is not push - which is still a very dangerous mistake. ?

Approximately 10 per cent of American children 38 million participation in sport each year are treated to a sports injury, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that about half of these injuries are avoidable.

A recent national survey sponsored by Safe Kids USA and Johnson & Johnson found that generally little concern expressed parents on the number of potential injuries that might support sports team game, with only concussions and dehydration causing "much" or "a little" to worry about their children.

About 86% of surveyed parents said their child injury was "only a portion of the game" and that he probably would have happened anyway. The survey was followed by similar research conducted in 2000, who has studied the knowledge, attitudes and behaviour on the safety of the young athletes of parents.

"There is much more benefit to the participation of sports that risk, but we must manage risk correctly," Gerard Gioia, Director of the program, safety from concussion, recovery & Education (SCORE) for children National Medical Center told the press conference.

Gioia and Young advised parents to be alert to any change in the behaviour of the child, in the moments after a blow on the head or the body which causes the head to the jerk forward that can cause a concussion. Most of the time, the player will lose not conscience, but perhaps appear dizzy, dazed or simply spell.

"As long as parent, I might interfere with my child or I might embarrass coach if I think they are acting differently," Young said. "There is enormous pressure to stay on the ground and this is why in many ways, the athletes are not the best judges [capabilities]." In fact, in many respects, they are the worst judges. ?

To avoid heat stroke, which can occur during heavy exercise and high temperatures, children should monitor their urine before practices and games colour to calculate their fluid needs, said Douglas Casa, chief operating officer of the Korey Stringer Institute of the University of Connecticut.

Athletes should aim to drink sufficient fluids for urine color of lemonade instead that the color of Apple juice, said Casa. The water is ideal for events less than an hour, he added, while the Gatorade sports drinks are a choice of best for more than an hour events requiring more electrolytes.

Overuse injuries - as pitcher elbow so-called - are caused by repetitive muscle and joint movements which degrade tissues without giving him a chance to heal, said Casa. Safe Kids USA recommends that young athletes take off 10 weeks per year from the same sport played for several seasons.

Children involved in team sports spend on average 7.4 hours per week practicing or playing games, with the boys spend about 20% more time than girls and youth from 10 to 14-year-spending significantly more time that 5 to 9 years.

Almost all parents surveyed believed sports organized team provide positive experiences for their children and 31% said learning values like teamwork and sportsmanship work was the most important benefit. Interviewed sports included football, soccer, field hockey, basketball, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, baseball, softball, and T-ball.

Young advised parents to learn the rules of sports their children play and publicize their coaches, but not step to push to play the game itself. He said that motivation must come from the children.

"If you are the forefront and pushing, I don't know if it is in good health over a period of time", he said.