STAT Medical News: Basketball-Related Injuries Common

ByABC News
June 16, 2006, 9:42 AM

June 16, 2006 <p> -- BASKETBALL LEADS SPORTS INJURIES Researchers from Loyola University say that basketball-related injuries were the most common sports injuries treated at U.S. emergency rooms in 2005. They reviewed new data from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to compile a list of the leading sports injuries. Basketball led the way at more than 512,000 injuries, while bicycle injuries came in second with more than 485,000 injuries. Soccer, currently on a global stage with the World Cup, came in fourth with 174,000 injuries. Track and field injuries were reported the least with about 17,000 injuries. Among those reported, the most common was an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury.

SEE AN ADDICT, BE AN ADDICTThe mere sight of another person taking drugs causes a chemical rush in an addict's brain, helping to explain why it is so hard to remain drug-free. Research led by Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, examined addicts who had undergone brain scans while watching videos of a nature scene or a scene of someone simulating drug use. In response to the drug videos, the addicts' brains showed an increase in the neurotransmitter dopamine, the chemical "reward," in areas associated with habit forming. These findings were published in the Journal of Neuroscience.

PREGNANCY COMPLICATIONS IN DIABETIC MOMS Despite improvements in diabetes treatments, the risk of death and major birth defects are still high in babies born to women with diabetes, U.K. researchers report. Published in the British Medical Journal, a study of 2,359 pregnant women with either type 1 or type 2 diabetes finds that risk of death in the babies was four times higher than the general population and risk of major birth defects was more than double that of the general population.

STAT is a brief look at the latest medical research and is compiled by Joanna Schaffhausen, who holds a doctorate in behavioral neuroscience. She works in the ABC News Medical Unit, evaluating medical studies, abstracts and news releases.