Steroids May Boost Survival for Very Preemie Babies (HealthDay)

TUESDAY, Dec. 6 (HealthDay News) -- Giving steroids to pregnant women at risk for preterm birth as early as 23 weeks during their pregnancy may boost an infant's overall chance of survival and reduce the baby's risk of serious developmental issues, including brain injury, a new study says.

The study, published in the Dec. 7 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, is potentially significant, according to experts who are not affiliated with the study.

Current guidelines suggest administering prenatal steroids to women who are at risk for delivering between the 24th and 34th week of their pregnancy, but make no recommendations about what to do if women show signs of labor before week 24. Most "full-term" babies are born between 38 and 42 weeks. Steroids help the infants' lungs develop and this increases survival rates and lowers their risk of brain injury.

The new study provides some much-needed clarity for mothers and doctors of babies who are born at 23 weeks.

"When given as early as 23 weeks, prenatal or antenatal steroids reduce an infant's risk of death and important developmental issues," said study author Dr. Wally Carlo, director of the division of neonatology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

In the absence of clear guidelines, standard practice varies widely, he said. In the study, around 40 percent of women who showed signs of preterm labor at 23 weeks were not treated with steroids. "There is a huge potential to increase the use of prenatal steroids," he said. "Mothers need to know that there is a lot that physicians can do to improve the outcome for these babies."

The new study included about 10,500 infants born at 23 medical centers between January 1993 and January 2008 at 22 to 25 weeks. These babies weighed shy of 2 pounds at birth. The study compared infants who received prenatal steroids to those who had not. The researchers also performed neurologic exams on more than 4,900 of the surviving infants at 18 to 22 months after their original due dates.

When steroids were given to moms during their 22nd to 23rd week of pregnancy, infants' risk of death decreased by more than 33 percent, and their risk of neurodevelopmental delays dropped by more than 20 percent, the study showed. Such neurodevelopmental delays may include blindness, hearing impairment, cerebral palsy or severe delays in motor and cognitive issues. The treatment worked across many subgroups of women, Carlo said. "Even one dose may have important effects," he noted.

This suggests that prenatal steroids work just as well in babies born at 23 weeks as they do in those born at 26 weeks.

Dr. Burton Rochelson, chief of maternal-fetal medicine at the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System in Great Neck, N.Y., called the new study findings "important" and "a big deal." This study "provides pretty convincing evidence that we can give these steroids to infants between 22 and 23 weeks of pregnancy," he said. "If it looks like you are going to deliver even as early as 23 weeks, you should have a discussion with your doctor and be offered corticosteroids."

More information

Visit the March of Dimes to learn more about preterm birth.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/parenting/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20111206/hl_hsn/steroidsmayboostsurvivalforverypreemiebabies

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Poland's Villas, Las Vegas star in 1960s, dies (AP)

WARSAW, Poland ? Police say popular Polish singer Violetta Villas, a Las Vegas star in the 1960s, has died. She was 73.

Area police spokesman Pawel Petrykowski told The Associated Press that Villas died late Monday at her home in the village of Lewin Klodzki in southern Poland. No cause of death was given.

Villas was born Czeslawa Cieslak in 1938 to a Polish family in Belgium.

She had a powerful coloratura soprano that spanned four octaves. Rather then pursue an operatic career, she preferred popular music, a genre that brought her wide popularity in Poland ? where the family returned in 1948 ? and abroad.

From 1966-69 she sang at Dunes Hotel in Las Vegas. Her performance partners included Frank Sinatra and Barbra Streisand.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obits/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111206/ap_en_mu/eu_poland_obit_villas

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?Houston History? Fall 2011 Launch Reception (Offthekuff)

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Global market euphoria runs out of steam (AP)

MOSCOW ? A rally on global markets stalled Thursday as euphoria over major central banks' coordinated cut to borrowing costs wore off and investors sought confirmation that European leaders will next week deliver a long-term solution to the debt crisis.

Markets had jumped on Wednesday when the central banks of Europe, the U.S., Britain, Canada, Japan and Switzerland made it cheaper for banks to borrow dollars, helping them to operate smoothly at a time of tight credit. China's central bank also acted to release money for lending and shore up growth by lowering bank reserve levels for the first time in three years.

Worries about Europe's financial system and the European Central Bank's reluctance to intervene heavily in bond markets have seen borrowing rates rise for European countries in recent weeks. That raised fears of a global credit crunch of the type that plunged the global economy into recession in 2009.

As a result of the central banks' action, commercial banks in the EU and four other countries will now be able pay less to borrow dollars, the currency of international trade.

But analysts said that the decision might only have a short-term effect and does nothing to solve the underlying problem of an enormous government debt in Europe. Investors say the real boost to the markets might come only if European leaders announce a dramatic action at the summit on debt crisis next week.

"Until we see some definitely agreed on and, when necessary, legislated initiatives from Europe, optimism can be premature," said Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney. "Until we see that sort of thing, there will be a ceiling on the rally."

European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi on Thursday hinted the bank was ready to play a bigger role in the resolution of Europe's debt crisis, but only after the 17 euro economies align their budgetary policies more closely.

After huge gains this week, Britain's FTSE 100 inched up another 0.4 percent to 5,528.33 in morning trading. But Germany's DAX fell 0.4 percent to 6,064.73 and France's CAC-40 was 0.3 percent lower at 3,145.55.

Although the stock rally waned, bonds continued to perform strongly on hopes that European leaders will agree to some new support for weaker states, such as Italy, in exchange for tighter controls over their spending.

Bond yields in the secondary market ? where the bonds are traded freely once they are issued ? dropped for most eurozone countries. Italy's key 10-year bond yield fell sharply to 6.81 percent from 7.30 percent the day before, a sign that investors are more hopeful it will be able to handle its debts.

The improvements were helped by successful bond auctions in Spain and France. Although Madrid had to pay higher interest rates on its borrowings, demand for its bonds was strong. France saw its borrowing rates drop in a sale of 10-year and 15-year bonds.

Wall Street was heading for mild losses on the open. Dow Jones industrial futures shed 0.2 percent to 12,017.00 and S&P 500 futures were down 0.3 percent lower at 1,242.60.

The central banks' move sent the Dow Jones industrial average soaring 490 points on Wednesday, or 4.2 percent, its biggest gain since March 2009 and the seventh-largest of all time. The Standard & Poor's 500 closed up 4.3 percent.

In currencies, the euro gained 0.4 percent to $1.3495 Thursday morning in London. The dollar rose to 77.64 yen from 77.56 yen.

Asian markets earlier posted sharp gains as they caught up with the news of the central banks' intervention. Japan's Nikkei 225 index jumped 1.9 percent to close at 8,597.38. South Korea's Kospi surged 3.7 percent to 1,916.18 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng vaulted 5.6 percent to 19,002.26.

Benchmarks in Australia, India, Singapore and Taiwan all rose more than 2 percent. In mainland China, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index gained 2.3 percent to 2,386.86.

The action late Wednesday by the Chinese central bank signaled a key change in monetary policy and pushed shares of Chinese banks up.

By easing reserve requirements, the Chinese central bank made available some 350 billion yuan ($55 billion) that otherwise would have been locked up in reserves.

In energy trading, benchmark crude for January delivery was up 25 cents to $100.61 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 57 cents to settle to $100.36 on Wednesday.

___

Pamela Sampson contributed to this report from Bangkok.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/eurobiz/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111201/ap_on_bi_ge/world_markets

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TVs are hot sellers this holiday season

Target customer Nancy, last name not given, waits with televisions purchased at aTarget Store in Colma, Calif., Friday, Nov. 25, 2011. The American holiday shopping season began in earnest Friday as stores opened their doors at midnight _ a few hours earlier than they normally do on the most anticipated shopping day of the year. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Target customer Nancy, last name not given, waits with televisions purchased at aTarget Store in Colma, Calif., Friday, Nov. 25, 2011. The American holiday shopping season began in earnest Friday as stores opened their doors at midnight _ a few hours earlier than they normally do on the most anticipated shopping day of the year. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

NEW YORK (AP) ? In an unexpected twist, TVs are topping many Christmas shopping lists this year.

Wal-Mart says TVs are among the top gifts people are putting on layaway at its 3,000-plus U.S. stores during the holiday season. The Westinghouse 46-inch LCD HDTV that was on sale for half off at Target for $298 was a top seller during the start to the season last weekend. And Abt Electronics already has sold out of 55-inch Samsung LED TVs that were marked down by half to $1099.

"You've got people clamoring to spend $1,000 on a large-screen TV," says Jon Abt, owner of Glenville, Ill.-based Abt, where sales of TVs are up 15 percent over a year ago.

Heading into the holiday shopping season, TVs seemed so two Christmases ago. Sales had slowed as consumers tightened their budgets in the weak economy and technologies like 3D failed to spark their interest the way tablet computers and smartphones have. But now shoppers are responding to the discounts of up to 50 percent.

Most chains don't break out TV revenue, but overall unit sales are up 15 percent this year through October, according to the latest data available from research firm NPD Group Inc. That compares with a 2 percent rise during the same period in 2010. Meanwhile, prices have dropped 7 percent to an average of $597, compared with $647 last year and $734 in 2009.

Best Buy has slashed a 55-inch Samsung LED TV by $400 to $1,099.99. A Sony 40-inch Internet-enabled LCD HDTV at Target is marked down by $200 to $599. And J&R Electronics in New York has a 42-inch LG LCD HDTV for $30 off the original price at $549.99.

"Great prices on TVs are a proven method of getting people into stores," says Stephen Baker, an NPD analyst.

That TVs are turning out to be a hot item gives retailers some unexpected good news during the holiday shopping season. It's a time when they can make up to 40 percent of their annual revenue.

Retailers long have depended on electronics to build buzz over the holidays. (Think: smartphones last year.) And consumer electronics are expected to account for a third of all purchases over the holidays, according to the Consumer Electronics Association trade group.

But merchants weren't expecting TVs to be hot this season because Americans rushed out to buy flat-screen TVs two years ago. Indeed, tablets like the iPad are expected to be the second most wanted gift this year behind clothes, while TVs didn't even make it in the top five most-desired products this holiday season, according to the trade group.

Dan de Grandpre, editor-in-chief of deal aggregator Dealnews.com, says TV sales are unexpectedly strong because consumers who'd put off buying them before the holidays suddenly are attracted to the deals. According to Dealnews.com, there were 77 major deals on TVs during the Black Friday weekend, and consumer interest in those deals rose 28 percent.

"There's pent-up demand for consumers to upgrade or buy second or third TVs," Dan de Grandpre says.

R.J. Hottovy, a Morningstar analyst, says shoppers mostly are attracted to the big discounts on larger, more expensive 50-inch and 60-inch models. Those TVs are usually not discounted heavily, he says, especially early in the holiday shopping season.

"The 50-inch flat-screen in a $400-to-$500 price range really resonated well with consumers," Hottovoy says. "It's an attainable price point for many consumers, even in a difficult macroeconomic environment."

That's why even though Marc Siciliano didn't need a TV, he decided to buy a 42-inch LG Smart TV on Amazon.com that was marked down to $650 from $1,100. The 23-year-old from Stamford, Conn., says the deep discounts "were the icing on the cake."

Juan Ibanez, 24, an information technology consultant in San Jose, Calif., picked up a 47-inch LED TV from Best Buy that was marked down to $630 from $999. He and his wife wanted a new TV, but hadn't expected to buy one so soon.

"The deals were definitely what made us decide to buy it now," Ibanez says.

_____

Follow AP retail coverage at http://www.twitter.com/AP_Retail and Mae Anderson at http://www.twitter.com/Maetron..

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2011-12-01-TVs%20Are%20Hot/id-afa1959631654d6c84981b7939d26e5c

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