Health Highlights: March 25, 2009

ByABC News
March 25, 2009, 5:02 PM

Mar. 26 -- Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors of HealthDay:

Treating Heart Ailments Costs $78 Billion: Survey

Treating heart ailments -- from opening blocked arteries to keeping heart patients alive and caring for them -- cost an estimated $78 billion in 2006, or about 8 percent of the more than $1 trillion spent on all medical care for the community population, a U.S. survey says.

The analysis was based on data in a nationally representative sampling from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, according to an agency news release issued Wednesday. The figures represent the costs for hospital admissions, emergency department visits, visits to doctors' offices and hospital outpatient departments, as well as money spent on home health care and prescription drugs. Among the survey's findings:

  • Hospital admissions took up $43.9 billion, or 56 percent.
  • Visits to doctors and hospital outpatient departments absorbed $15.3 billion, or 20 percent.
  • Outpatient prescription drugs cost $7.9 billion, almost 10 percent.
  • Home nursing and other home care services ran $6.7 billion, or 9 percent.

  • Emergency room care costs were $4.3 billion, or 6 percent.

-----

Overactive Nerves Cause Tinnitus: Study

Australian scientists believe they've identified the root cause of tinnitus, or ringing in the ears, a finding that could boost efforts to find a cure for the condition, which is often associated with hearing loss.

The study, conducted in guinea pigs, found that uncontrolled nerve activity within brain areas that process sound results in the noises experienced by people with tinnitus. This increased nerve activity was linked to changes in genes that regulate the activity of nerve cells, BBC News reported.

The finding suggests it may be possible to treat tinnitus by silencing nerve activity.

"Identifying genes associated with spontaneous nerve cell activity is crucial. It means it may be possible to use drugs to block this activity and treat conditions such as tinnitus in the future," said lead researcher Professor Don Robertson, BBC News reported.