Videogame Prescription Helps 12-Year-Old Beat Cancer
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TechWeb - His treatment consisted of, among other things, chemotherapy, a bone marrow transplant, and permission to play &quot;Re-Mission&quot; as often as possible.
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Lifestyle may play a big role in how well the latest generation of anti-cancer drugs works, research suggests.
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(InfoWorld) - Playing high-action video games for a few hours each day can improve your vision, according to researchers in the U.S. But an eye expert in the U.K. called their findings into question. The researchers from the University of Rochester in New York found that people who play video games for a few hours a day over the course of a month can improve certain aspects of their vision by about 20 percent. Playing the games changes the pathways in the brain responsible for visual processing, as the brain adapts to the additional pressure that playing such games puts on the visual system, they said. The researchers found a group of students who played little or no video games -- which was a challenge in itself -- and gave them a test that measured how well they could discern the orientation of a letter "T" within a crowd of other, distracting symbols. They then divided the students into two groups. One group was told to play the shoot-em-up game "Unreal Tournament" for an hour each day for a month, while a control group played "Tetris," a less visually complex game. After about a month, the students playing the action game could determine the orientation of the "T" much more easily than before, while the Tetris players showed no improvement, the researchers said. The T test measures visual acuity, or the clarity of a person's vision, according to the researchers, who are Daphne Bavelier, a professor of brain and cognitive sciences, and graduate student Shawn Green. That means playing video games should improve your ability to identify letters on a standard eye-test, they said. An optometry expert in the U.K. disagreed, however. The American researchers are confusing visual acuity with visual search, which is what the T test really measures, according to Maggie Woodhouse, a senior lecturer in the School of Optometry and Vision Sciences at Cardiff University. "The test they're using is not for visual acuity," she said after being told of the research. "They've trained their students to make rapid eye movements and to scan large areas to find objects of interest. ... That is visual search." There may indeed be a benefit from playing high-action video games, she said, but it will be in the ability to locate objects in a large or crowded area. That means it could help you pick out a friend's face at a football game, or play a fast-moving sport like ice hockey. The improvement may not last for very long, however, and Woodhouse seemed to consider the overall impact of video games a negative one. Playing for too long can cause eye strain, she said. She also said playing video games "gives you brain damage," although that seemed to be her subjective view rather than a scientific one. The researchers at Rochester University could not immediately be reached for comment. They said the results of their test suggest that people with visual defects could improve their visual acuity with special software that mimics the need to identify objects quickly in an action game. The research is due to appear in next week's Psychological Science journal.
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Children who have undergone  radiation treatment for brain cancer tend to have lower grades  in school than their healthy peers, investigators in Finland  have found. Still, most survivors in their study group  completed the ninth grade at the appropriate age.
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As president of Activision Publishing, Kathy Vrabeck helps promote and develop games like "Doom 3," "Tony Hawk's Underground 2" and "Call of Duty." But she might think twice before buying those top-sellers for her 7-year-old son. In a gaming world where violence reigns, parents like Vrabeck are searching for family-friendly titles bearing a rating of "E" &#151; for everyone.
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Video gamers are getting younger and younger. And parents and the video game industry agree that the implications are likely to be enormous.
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Treatment with methylphenidate, better known as Ritalin, may reduce attentional and social problems in kids who've survived leukemia or brain tumors, according to researchers.
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A 9-year-old boy who nicknamed his brain tumor "Frank" and whose mother launched an online auction to help pay for his medical bills is now cancer-free, his mother said Tuesday.
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TUESDAY, Nov. 28 (HealthDay News) -- A study of adolescents finds that violent video games stir up the brain's emotional-response center while reducing activity in regions linked to self-control.
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In an effort to educate the nation's neediest children on nutrition, a new project uses the familiar medium of video games to broadcast its message.
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Letting children play video games on a Game Boy in the operating room before undergoing surgery can help relax them better than tranquilizers or holding Mommy&#39;s hand, researchers say.
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Free Web game is designed to help kids learn better how to beat the disease.
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Some claim that video games help kids hone real musical chops and interest in the instrument.
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Playing high-action video games for a few hours each day can improve your vision, according to researchers in the U.S.
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Many children with chronic medical conditions such as cancer and cystic fibrosis may be taking dietary supplements that are not part of their prescribed treatment, a new survey shows.
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12/10/04- The best thing for kids before they head into surgery may be a little time with the Game Boy. In a new study, doctors reported allowing children a few minutes to play video games reduced their anxiety until the anesthesia took effect.
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An ad for a cancer vaccine finds a way to sell itself to teenagers and their parents.