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Rapid advances in personalized medicine have sparked interest in another new idea: precision public health. Essentially, it’s the thought that if doctors could pinpoint populations with genetic vulnerabilities — like those prone to obesity, depression, or cancer — they might be able to treat those diseases sooner, slow their progression, or even prevent them altogether. It could be a more effective preventive medicine tactic than the blanket approaches used right now (Thielking, 12/13)

As many as 646,000 people may die from influenza each year worldwide, according to the latest estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — a larger number than what other health experts have predicted in years past. The CDC said between 291,000 and 646,000 people die from seasonal flu-linked respiratory illnesses. (Santhanam, 12/13)

The patients were gravely ill, their hearts scarred by infections or heart attacks. In each, the electrical system that maintains a regular heartbeat had been short-circuited. They suffered frequent bursts of rapid heartbeats, which can end in sudden death. The condition kills an estimated 325,000 Americans each year, the most common cause of death in this country. And these people had exhausted all conventional treatments. (Kolata, 12/13)

Intense treadmill exercise can be safe for people who have recently been given diagnoses of Parkinson’s disease and may substantially slow the progression of their condition, according to an important new study of adults in the early stages of the disease. But the same study’s results also indicate that gentler exercise, while safe for people with Parkinson’s, does not seem to delay the disease’s advance. (Reynolds, 12/13)

More than 6 million American children have been diagnosed with ADHD. As the girls among them grow up and have children of their own, concern has been rising that taking ADHD medication in early pregnancy could heighten the risk of birth defects. (Goldberg, 12/13)

Fact or old wives’ tale? A change in the weather can make bones and joints ache. A new study has an answer: old wives’ tale. Other studies have looked at whether an increase in humidity, rainfall or barometric pressure can bring on pain, but never with as much data as in this newest study, in BMJ. Researchers looked at medical records of 11,673,392 Medicare outpatient visits. Matching the dates of the visits to local weather reports, they found that 2,095,761 of them occurred on rainy days. (Bakalar, 12/13)

Immediately after Vanellope Hope Wilkins was born, she was put in sterile plastic to protect her heart — which was beating outside her tiny chest. It was a moment that her parents, Dean Wilkins and Naomi Findlay, had hoped for but were not certain would actually come — a moment in which their baby girl would come into the world, and live. The newborn, who was born Nov. 22 at Glenfield Hospital in Leicester, England, was delivered by Caesarean section several weeks premature with a rare and often fatal congenital condition called ectopia cordis, in which the heart is growing either completely or partially outside the chest cavity. (Bever, 12/13)

Stubborn people might have another reason to be headstrong — it could keep them alive longer. That’s according to a new study published Tuesday in the journal International Psychogeriatrics, which found that traits like stubbornness, optimism, a love for family and country and a willingness to work hard are common among some Italians aged 90 to 101. (Magness, 12/13)

Kaiser Health News: Good Friends Might Be Your Best Brain Booster As You Age
Ask Edith Smith, a proud 103-year-old, about her friends, and she’ll give you an earful. There’s Johnetta, 101, whom she’s known for 70 years and who has Alzheimer’s disease. “I call her every day and just say ‘Hi, how are you doing?’ She never knows, but she says hi back, and I tease her,” Smith said. There’s Katie, 93, whom Smith met during a long teaching career with the Chicago Public Schools. “Every day we have a good conversation. She’s still driving and lives in her own house, and she tells me what’s going on.” (Graham, 12/14)

Kaiser Health News: Fear Compromises The Health, Well-Being Of Immigrant Families, Report Finds
Luis Ramirez has lived in the U.S. without immigration papers for two decades, but he is more worried about deportation now than ever before. Ramirez said he and his wife, Luz Cadeo, who is also here illegally, have already made plans in case they are arrested by immigration police: The couple, who live in Lakewood, Calif., would try to find work in their native Mexico while their youngest U.S.-born children, ages 15 and 18, stayed in the U.S. with a relative. (Gorman, 12/13)