Daily Rounds: Public Against Defunding Health Law; Migraine Caused On-Air Gibberish; Therapy And Exercise For Chronic Fatigue; Zinc To The Rescue

Poll: Most Americans Don't Want To Defund Health Law - Kaiser Health News "Even as respondents continued to express opposition to the health reform law, a CBS News poll found that the majority of Americans disapprove of congressional Republicans' efforts to starve the health overhaul of the funds needed to implement it." (kaiserhealthnews.org) Reporter's on-air gibberish was due to migraine - Entertainment - Television - TODAYshow.com "Branson's incoherence fueled Internet speculation that she suffered an on-air stroke. But doctors at the University of California, Los Angeles where she went to get a brain scan and blood work done ruled it out.Doctors said the kind of migraine Branson suffered can mimic symptoms of a stroke."A migraine is not just a headache. It's a complicated brain event," said UCLA neurologist Dr. Andrew Charles, who examined Branson." (today.msnbc.msn.com)

Psychotherapy Eases Chronic Fatigue, Researchers Say - NYTimes.com "A new study suggests that psychotherapy and a gradual increase in exercise can significantly benefit patients with chronic fatigue syndrome. While this may sound like good news, the findings — published Thursday in The Lancet — are certain to displease many patients and to intensify a fierce, long-running debate about what causes the illness and how to treat it." (nytimes.com)

Zinc May Help Fight Cold Symptoms After All : Shots - Health Blog : NPR "It found that over-the-counter products with zinc did reduce the severity and duration of people's cold symptoms overall, particularly if they started taking zinc within 24 hours of feeling symptoms. Two of the studies also found a reduction in the number of colds that people had
"There was reduced use of antibiotics in those who used zinc," says Kay Dickersin, a professor of epidemiology at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, who directs the U.S. Cochrane Center. That's good, Dickersin says, because antibiotics are generally overused, and are useless against the viruses that cause colds." (npr.org)