Health

Surgeons separate conjoined Kingman twins

2009-01-16T15:20:00.000-08:00

A Phoenix Children's Hospital spokeswoman said it took 12 hours to separate the twins and then several more hours of work on each boy before surgeons finished about 1 a.m. Friday.

She says the procedure couldn't have gone better for Alex and Angel Mendoza and the boys were resting in the hospital's neonatal unit.

The twins were born last summer and were joined from just below their sternums all the way down through their pelvises.

A team of more than 20 doctors and nurses worked to give the boys separate bodies and the two were stable throughout the surgery.

Ashley Frank of Kingman gave birth in mid-August to the twins at Good Samaritan Hospital in Phoenix.

Read Article fox 11 AZ

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47 Go to Hospital After Odor at Wal Mart

2009-01-16T15:18:00.000-08:00

47 people went to hospitals after some kind of fumes were released in the Wal Mart along Appleton Avenue in Germantown Thursday afternoon.

47 people went to hospitals after some kind of fumes were released in the Wal Mart along Appleton Avenue in Germantown Thursday afternoon. Police say ambulances took 25 of those people, 22 others went on their own.

People were overcome by the fumes near the automotive section just after Noon. Authorities quickly evacuated the store. Buses were brought to the scene to keep people who had evacuated the store warm. Ambulances and authorities were called from many neighboring communities.

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Common Genes Link Bipolar Disorder, Schizophrenia

2009-01-16T15:06:00.000-08:00

In analyzing three decades of generational information on 2 million families in Sweden, researchers from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm found that blood relatives of people with either mental disorder had a notably higher risk of developing bipolar disorder or schizophrenia during their lives, compared to the general population.

According to the study, published in this week's edition of The Lancet, brothers or sisters of people with these conditions were nine times more likely to be schizophrenic and had eight times the risk of developing bipolar disorder.

The odds were less steep but still high for half-siblings. Brothers and sisters with the same mother had a 3.6 times greater chance of having schizophrenia and a 4.5 times greater risk of bipolar disorder. Paternal half-siblings were roughly 2.5 times more likely to have either condition.

Read Article Washington Post

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Drug study-psych meds increase heart attacks!

2009-01-16T15:04:00.000-08:00

New York, NY (JusticeNewsFlash.com)–Bloomberg reported today, the New England Journal of Medicine published a study this week saying new psych medications increase patient’s risk of heart attacks. The study shows the newer class of anti-psychotic medications double the risk for sudden cardiac death. The newer medications, known as atypicals, include Zypexa, manufactured by Eli Lilly & Co. and Risperdal, manufactured by Johnson & Johnson. The risk of heart attack for people taking these antipsychotic medications further increases with the dosing.

Big pharmaceutical companies made these drugs and released them in the mid-1990’s, in response to concerns about serious risks involved with taking older medications like Haldol and Thorazine. The drug companies claimed the new antipsychotics (atypicals) were safer for patients and had fewer side effects. The journal’s recently published study along with studies in the past few years reflect differently. These drugs have also been linked to increased risks of obesity and diabetes. With $20.7 billion in global sales, these newer drugs have become the 6th best-selling class of drugs in the world.

The real concern among most medical and legal experts is fewer than half of all prescriptions, for the newer drugs, are for patients suffering from a psychotic disorder, such as schizophrenia. These atypical medications are being prescribed for off-label uses in children and the elderly. Children with attention deficit disorder (ADD) and elderly patients suffering from agitation with dementia are also prescribed these drugs by their doctors. Psychiatrists are also prescribing these medications for patients suffering from bipolar disease, a mood disorder.

Read Article Justice News Flash

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Lexington's 3rd flu case confirmed

2009-01-16T15:03:00.000-08:00

Fayette County's second and third cases of influenza have been confirmed, the county health department said Friday.

"Kentucky typically sees flu cases increase this time every year," Lois Davis, the health department's public health nursing manager, said in a press release. "Getting a shot now will give you a much better chance from getting the flu this winter."

Lexington's first case of the season was confirmed Monday.

The state's flu season generally begins in October and ends in May, with activity usually peaking between January and March.

The health department offers flu shots daily by appointment at the department's two Public Health Clinics at 805 Newtown Circle (288-2483) and 2433 Regency Road (899-5201). Patients can also receive a flu shot during clinic walk-in times: 9:30-11 a.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, and 1-3 p.m. Wednesday.

Flu shots are recommended for people 65 and older; all children 6 months and older; and people with a chronic disease such as heart disease, cancer, asthma or diabetes. Health officials suggest that healthy people age 50 to 64 years also receive flu immunizations.

Read Article Kentucky.com

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DOJ, Ga. settle over psychiatric hospitals

2009-01-16T15:02:00.001-08:00

The Justice Department agreed late Thursday to a settlement with Georgia over conditions at Georgia’s seven psychiatric hospitals.

Georgia will work to ensure patients at the hospitals are safe and receive the care and services necessary to meet their individual needs. The state must improve medical and mental health care and ensure patients are free from undue bodily restraint. Georgia also will improve discharge planning.

The Justice Department opened its investigation of Georgia’s psychiatric hospitals in 2007 and issued findings about Georgia Regional Hospital at Atlanta in May 2008. It then started negotiations with the state over Georgia Regional Hospital at Savannah, Central State Hospital in Milledgeville, Southwestern State Hospital, East Central State Hospital, West Central State Hospital, and Northwest Georgia Regional Hospital at Rome.

Read Article Business Journal

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Guard Against Hypothermia

2009-01-16T15:00:00.001-08:00

The elderly and babies who sleep in unheated rooms are among those who face the greatest danger during cold snaps, but others are at risk as well, says Southwest Health District Health Director Dr. Jacqueline Grant.

"When you are exposed to cold weather, your body begins to lose heat faster than it can be produced," Grant explained. "Prolonged exposure to cold will eventually drain your body's stored energy. The result is hypothermia, or abnormally low body temperature. While we don't see it in Southwest Georgia as often as people in more northern areas, it can happen here, especially when temperatures fall below freezing."

The elderly, especially those with inadequate food, clothing or heating, are among the most vulnerable to hyperthermia, she said. Infants sleeping in cold bedrooms are also susceptible to the condition. Others at risk include the homeless, people who spend a lot of time outdoors and individuals who drink alcohol or use drugs, she said.

Power outages during cold weather pose public health concerns as well. "People may try to warm up by using generators without appropriate safeguards to protect them from carbon monoxide," Grant said. "They may use grills designed for outdoor use indoors for heat, and that is a fire hazard. People who don't often use their wood-burning stoves or fireplaces may have blocked chimneys or other barriers that could cause smoke to back up or fire to spread inside. If you plan to use a wood stove, fireplace or space heater, be extremely careful and follow the manufacturer's instructions."

Other ways to stay safe during extremely cold weather include dressing warmly and in layers, staying dry, avoiding alcohol and eating well-balanced meals.

Read Article Bain Bridge GA

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Guard Against Hypothermia

2009-01-16T15:00:00.000-08:00

Report: 'Adverse events' at MN hospitals up sharply

2009-01-16T14:58:00.000-08:00

Falls and pressure ulcers were among the most frequently-reported problems resulting from errors at Minnesota hospitals last year, according to a Minnesota Department of Health’s annual report released Friday.

The number of “adverse events” more than doubled from 2007 to 2008, largely because of newly-enforced reporting requirements approved by the Legislature in 2007. The report, which gathered events that occurred in Minnesota hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers and community behavioral health hospitals, noted 184 more events in 2008 than in 2007, totalling 312. This year’s study would have had 141 recorded events without the new reporting requirements, according to a press statement. Eighteen people died in Minnesota as due to errors.

Read Article Business Journal

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FDA Approves Milnacipran for Fibromyalgia

2009-01-16T14:57:00.000-08:00

January 15, 2009 — Forest Laboratories and Cypress Bioscience announced January 14 that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved milnacipran (Savella), a dual serotonin- and norepinephrine-reuptake inhibitor (SNRI), for the management of fibromyalgia.

Efficacy of the drug was established in 2 pivotal US phase 3 trials, the companies note in a press statement. Treatment with 100-mg/day and 200-mg/day doses demonstrated "statistically significant and clinically meaningful" concurrent improvements in pain, patient global assessment, and physical function, the statement adds.

The companies expect the drug to be available in pharmacies by March 2009.

Fibromyalgia, characterized by widespread pain and decreased physical function, affects as many as 6 million people in the United States, according to estimates from the American College of Rheumatology, the statement notes.

Although the exact mechanism of the benefit of milnacipran in this setting is not known, "some researchers believe that abnormalities in certain brain neurotransmitters may be central to fibromyalgia," the release states. Milnacipran blocks reuptake of serotonin and norepinephrine, with greater selectivity for norepinephrine in vitro. "This may be the mechanism by which [milnacipran] acts to improve the symptoms of fibromyalgia."

Read Article Medscape

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Weight Watchers leader recalls her early days of losing pounds

2008-12-31T08:42:00.000-08:00

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Millie Snyder, who will celebrate 40 years as area director of Weight Watchers in 2009, recalls joining as a member 43 years ago with a chip on her shoulder.

She was convinced it would not work for her.

"I can't remember a time when I was not going on a diet or coming off a diet," she said. "I started with bariatric medication when I was 11 or 12. When I was 14, I could not be in my sister's wedding procession because I could not find a dress befitting a 14-year-old."

Snyder, who grew up in Baltimore, tried a dizzying number of diets as well as pills and even shots. As the numbers on the scale continued to climb, her self-esteem dwindled. She was taunted about her size. She turned to food for comfort.

When asked to be in her best friend's wedding, the bridesmaid gowns only went up to a size 16. She usually wore a 22 1/2, and her dress had to be "rebuilt." A girdle nearly cut off her breathing when she shuffled down the aisle.

Meanwhile, a mutual friend had introduced her to Harvey Snyder, who served as her escort. In the summer of 1966, they began going on dates that eventually turned into eating binges.

Harvey joined Weight Watchers first on Sept. 1, 1966. Snyder reluctantly joined Sept. 8, weighing in at 204 1/4 pounds. As she skeptically followed the eating plan, she began to shed pounds.

By October of the following year she had lost 56 1/4 pounds and reached her goal weight of 148.

Snyder has continued to face her share of stress, unexpected life turns, and the challenge of weight control. But when it comes to helping others, there is no substitute for being able to say you've been there.

"You have to have experienced joy and pain to redirect your life and help others redirect theirs," she said. "To say I am cured would be a lie, but with Weight Watchers there are more good days than bad."

Read Article Charleston Daily Mail

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Lincoln Masonic Lodge #137 To Hold Blood Drive

2008-12-31T08:39:00.000-08:00

LINCOLNTON - The American Red Cross and the Freemasons of North Carolina invite the public to donate blood at the 1st Lincoln Masonic Lodge#137 Blood Drive. The drive will be held Tuesday, January 6, 2009 at Freedom Church Activity Center located at 102N Court Square.

At the dawn of 2008, who could have imagined that later in the year, gas prices would exceed $4.00 a gallon and that trusted financial institutions would crumble? It has been a year of dramatic change, causing many of our lives and routines to be altered. But some things never change. The need for lifesaving blood is constant.

The post holiday period is traditionally a critical time for blood donations. Therefore, across the region, the Masonic Community sponsors a blood drive at the beginning of every New Year. This year will be the first year for a donation site in Lincoln County hosted by Lincoln Masonic Lodge #137.

Everyone who presents to donate at one of the locations listed below will receive a limited edition long-sleeved Red Cross t-shirt and be entered to win two roundtrip Delta Air Lines domestic tickets. Childcare will be provided on site for donors.

The American Red Cross Carolinas Blood Services Region must have 1,600 people give blood and platelets each weekday to meet hospital demand in our communities. Accident victims as well as patients with cancer, sickle cell disease, blood disorders, and other illnesses receive life-saving transfusions every day. There is no substitute for blood and volunteer donors are the only source.

Read Article Lincoln Tribune

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Can we run our cars on human fat?

2008-12-31T08:36:00.001-08:00

A Beverly Hills cosmetic surgeon attracted attention from alternative energy buffs and public health officials after he announced that he was using liposuctioned fat to fuel two SUVs.

Dr. Craig Alan Bittner, owner of the Beverly Hills Liposculpture clinic, claims that he produced biodiesel from the excess lipids hoovered from his patients’ backsides, which he then put into the tanks of his Ford Explorer and his girlfriend’s Lincoln Navigator.

Forbes quotes from Dr. Bittner’s now-defunct website:

“The vast majority of my patients request that I use their fat for fuel – and I have more fat than I can use,” Bittner wrote on lipodiesel.com. “Not only do they get to lose their love handles or chubby belly but they get to take part in saving the Earth.”

As the Telegraph reports, Bittner’s flab-to-fuel scheme raised eyebrows at the California Department of Public Health, who noted that there are laws covering what one can and cannot do with medical waste. The agency says it has opened an inquiry.

In the meantime, Bittner has apparently hared off to South America. On the Beverly Hills Liposculpture website, the doctor, who says that he first started practicing medicine in a rural clinic in Colombia, says he has returned to the continent (he didn’t say which country) “to volunteer with a small clinic that is very similar to where my medical career began decades ago, where I can help those most in need.”

Did Bittner really run his cars on “lipodiesel”? Fat chance, says Wired, noting that only cars with diesel engines can accommodate biodiesel, and that there is currently no such thing as a diesel-powered Lincoln Navigator. “No diesel, no lipodiesel — just a Lincoln with high cholesterol,” writes Keith Barry.

Sure, they could have swapped out the engine, but Wired also notes that Bittner’s previous venture was shut down after authorities claimed he was engaging in false advertising, and that Bittner is certified as a radiologist, not a cosmetic surgeon. Mr. Barry writes:”We truly hope his lipodiesel experiment was just another flabrication.”

That said, it is in fact possible to produce biodiesel from human fat. Just like that of animals, our own lard contains trigylicerides, which can be turned into combustible fuel through a process known as transesterification.

It’s been done before. The Earthrace, a high-speed eco-boat that broke records last year when it circumnavigated the globe in just under 61 days, was powered partly by former love-handles. According to National Geographic, Captain Peter Bethune and two volunteers donated a combined 2.5 gallons of fat, enough to power the boat for 9 miles.

Read Article CS Monitor

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Can we run our cars on human fat?

2008-12-31T08:36:00.000-08:00

Researchers unlock secrets of 1918 flu pandemic

2008-12-31T08:32:00.000-08:00

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Researchers have found out what made the 1918 flu pandemic so deadly -- a group of three genes that lets the virus invade the lungs and cause pneumonia.

They mixed samples of the 1918 influenza strain with modern seasonal flu viruses to find the three genes and said their study might help in the development of new flu drugs.

The discovery, published in Tuesday's issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could also point to mutations that might turn ordinary flu into a dangerous pandemic strain.

Yoshihiro Kawaoka of the University of Wisconsin and colleagues at the Universities of Kobe and Tokyo in Japan used ferrets, which develop flu in ways very similar to humans.

Usually flu causes an upper respiratory infection affecting the nose and throat, as well as so-called systemic illness causing fever, muscle aches and weakness.

But some people become seriously ill and develop pneumonia. Sometimes bacteria cause the pneumonia and sometimes flu does it directly.

During pandemics, such as in 1918, a new and more dangerous flu strain emerges.

Read Article Reuters

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Gastric Bypass Halts Diabetes in Obese Teens

2008-12-30T16:12:00.000-08:00

Obese teenagers who have gastric bypass surgery not only lose weight but see their type 2 diabetes disappear, a new study finds.

Also called bariatric surgery, the procedure works by limiting the size of the stomach and thereby reducing the amount of food one can eat. In this study, researchers used the Roux-en-Y method, which involves placing an adjustable band to block off most of the stomach. The band limits how much food the body absorbs.

"Previous studies have shown frequent remission of type 2 diabetes in adults following bariatric surgery, but until now, no research had been done to provide information about outcomes of adolescent diabetics who are considering surgical weight loss," said lead researcher Dr. Thomas H. Inge, an associate professor of surgery and pediatrics at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

Read Article Washington Post

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Risks: Extra Sleep Is Found to Lower a Heart Risk

2008-12-30T16:04:00.000-08:00

One more reason for getting a good night’s sleep: sleeping an extra hour a night may help control coronary artery calcification, a major risk factor for heart disease.

The effect, reported in the Dec. 24 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association, was so strong that the researchers concluded that one extra hour of sleep was the equivalent of lowering systolic blood pressure to a normal 120 from 136.

“While this is an intriguing new finding, this one study does not by itself establish a causal relationship,” said Diane Lauderdale, the senior author and an associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Chicago. “It may be that there is some other factor that influences how much people sleep and independently influences calcification.”

The scientists followed 495 healthy men and women, ages 35 to 47, for five years, measuring their sleep patterns with electronic monitoring devices and examining their arteries with CT scans.

Read Article New York Times

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America Losing the Fight With Type 2 Diabetes

2008-12-30T16:00:00.000-08:00

The type 2 diabetes epidemic that continues to sweep across the United States has left an estimated 24 million Americans struggling with the disease, up more than 3 million people since 2005.

And, of course, with the epidemic comes the wave of illnesses and disabilities brought on by diabetes -- heart disease and stroke, blindness, amputations, kidney disease and nervous system damage.

Doctors are trying to reverse the tide in two ways.

First, they're continuing to press the public to adopt healthy lifestyle changes that can head off type 2 diabetes, or, at the very least, help control it if it's already present. And researchers are pushing to develop new drugs to help people manage their diabetes more effectively.

"You have to look at the management of diabetes as a package, really," said Ann Albright, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Division of Diabetes Translation. "You really need to be taking advantage of all the tools in the toolbox."

Unfortunately, much of America continues to be slow in picking up those tools, particularly needed lifestyle changes, despite mounting evidence that they're very effective.

In type 2 diabetes, either the body doesn't produce enough of the hormone insulin or the cells "ignore" the insulin, which is needed for the body to use blood sugar, or glucose, for energy. Lack of exercise and being overweight are key contributors to type 2 diabetes.

Some type 2 diabetes medications have come under scrutiny recently after research found that a leading drug, Avandia, seemed to increase the risk of heart attack.

"That created a fair amount of uproar about drug safety in diabetes," said Dr. John Buse, director of the Diabetes Care Center at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, and president of medicine and science for the American Diabetes Association.

Advisors to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have recommended that drugs designed to control type 2 diabetes be subjected to more thorough safety reviews. The FDA has left Avandia on the market, however, concluding that the risk of heart attack isn't higher than that associated with similar drugs.

The concern now is that worries over heart attack have led many people to leave their diabetes untreated, abandoning their medication without picking up other drugs or other means of controlling the disease, Buse said.

Read Article The Washington Post

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Red Cross provides safety tips for the holidays

2008-12-30T15:47:00.000-08:00

With the holidays upon us, the American Red Cross says now is the time for simple safety tips to keep spirits bright and help prevent devastating fires.

“Protect yourself and your family from danger,” said Maria Del Re, director of health and safety at the Greenwich Chapter of the American Red Cross. "To prevent holiday home fires, please be sure to keep all potential fuel sources, including decorations and evergreens, at least three feet from heat sources such as candles, heat vents, fireplaces, and radiators. Also be sure that holiday lights are turned off before you go to bed or leave your home — and that you blow candles out when you leave a room.”

The Red Cross recommends following these safety tips to help prevent holiday home fires:

Holiday lights and decorations

• Inspect holiday lights each year for frayed wires, bare spots, broken or cracked sockets, and excessive kinking or wear.
• Avoid overloading electrical outlets by not linking more than three light strands.
• Use decorations that are flame-resistant or flame-retardant.
• Place decorations at least three feet away from fireplaces, portable heaters, radiators, heat vents, and candles.

Holiday candles

• Use candleholders that are study, won’t tip over easily, are made from a material that cannot burn, and are large enough to collect dripping wax. Remember that even glass holders can shatter and explode from the heat of a candle flame.
• Place candles where they cannot be reached or easily knocked over by children and pets.
• Always extinguish candles before leaving the room or going to bed. Do not leave a room before extinguishing candles.
• Never use lit candles to decorate a tree.
• Keep candles at least three feet away from trees, evergreens, holiday decorations, and other items that can catch fire like clothing, papers and curtains.

Christmas tree care

• Purchase flame retardant metallic or artificial trees.
• If you purchase a real tree, make sure that it has fresh, green needles that are not easily broken. Keep live trees as moist as possible by giving them plenty of water.
• Use a sturdy tree stand designed not to tip over.
• Keep trees at least three feet away from heat sources, including fireplaces, portable heaters, radiators, heat vents and candles. Be careful not to drop or flick cigarette ashes near a tree.
• Never put tree branches or needles in a fireplace or wood burning stove.
• Safely dispose of trees as they become dry and needles begin to drop.
• Dispose of trees through recycling centers or community pick-up services. Dried-out trees should not be left in a house or garage, or placed against the house or garage.

Read Article GreenWish-Post

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G&J Cocoa Recalled Because of Melamine

2008-12-23T15:21:00.000-08:00

Canadian Firm Recalls G&J Cocoa Gift Items That May Contain Melamine

Dec. 23, 2008 -- A Canadian company, Dorsey Marketing Inc. (DMI), is recalling certain G&J Gourmet Market cocoa products sold at Big Lots and Shopko stores nationwide because they may contain melamine, a chemical that can cause kidney disease.

The recall involves the following products:

G&J Hot Cocoa Stuffer Item 120144 (UPC 061361201444). This hot cocoa product was sold in small green and blue boxes with a backer card, candy cane, and marshmallows.
G&J His and Hers Hot Cocoa Set Item 120129 (UPC 489702201296). This cocoa product was sold with two ceramic mugs in a brown box.
G&J Cocoa item 120126, sold in two flavors: French Vanilla Cocoa (UPC 061361201260, sold in a small green bag with a whisk attached) and Double Chocolate Cocoa (UPC 061361201260, sold in a small pink bag with a whisk attached).
"No injuries have been reported and only a few samples, have, in fact been found to include melamine," DMI states in a news release posted on the FDA's web site.

If you have any of those recalled products, return them to the store where you bought them for a refund. Questions? Call DMI's Tim Acheson at 888-645-1053 Monday through Friday, excluding holidays, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern time, or email DMI at recall@dmi-global.com.

Read Article Wen MD

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Rivals Washington Post, Baltimore Sun Join Forces Amid Crisis

2008-12-23T15:20:00.000-08:00

The consolidation of the newspaper industry continued Tuesday with the flagship newspaper of The Washington Post Co. (WPO) saying it would share content with its nearby competitor, The Baltimore Sun, which is owned by the now bankrupt Tribune Co.

A joint release from the two newspapers said the agreement, which takes effect Jan. 1, will be primarily focused on daily news coverage of Maryland and sports, and the papers will begin using each other's national, international and feature stories contributed to the Los Angeles Times-Washington Post News Service.

The agreement comes as newspapers are scrambling to cut costs at a time when the global financial crisis and economic downturn have accelerated a longrunning decline in print advertising revenue amid the rise of the Internet. The Christian Science Monitor recently ceased publication of its daily print edition, and two major dailies in Detroit - the Detroit Free Press and Detroit News - have cut back print delivery to three days a week. The E.W. Scripps Co. ( SSP) has put its largest newspaper, The Rocky Mountain News, up for sale, and some local sources expect the operation to fold completely.

On Wall Street, newspaper stocks, which have been heading lower for years, have been hammered in recent months as credit concerns have arisen at major publishers like Gannett Co. (GCI), The New York Times Co. (NYT) and The McClatchy Co. (MNI).

Tribune, which was taken private last year in a complex financing arrangement orchestrated by Chicago real estate magnate Sam Zell, declared bankruptcy early this month under strain from the towering debt burden it shouldered as a result of the deal. Its newspapers, like The Los Angeles Times and The Chicago Tribune, have suffered a string of staff cutbacks. The Sun's news staff has shrunk from 384 in early 2004 to 225.

"The Washington Post is one of America's most respected news organizations, and adding its award-winning coverage of the federal government and national affairs to the Sun's pages will help make our paper even more relevant and comprehensive for readers," said Timothy A. Franklin, the Sun's editor who resigned Monday and will be replaced by J. Montgomery Cook, a former assistant sports editor at the Post.

Franklin said he first approached Washington Post Executive Editor Marcus Brauchli about ways the papers could collaborate on some news coverage, broaching the subject over lunch in late October.

"In tough economic times, the question was whether we had cost savings that make sense and at the same time improve the quality of our papers," Franklin said. "There are some stories where it makes perfect sense to rely on each other for coverage."

For example, instead of sending its own reporter to write about a Washington Redskins football game, Franklin said the Baltimore Sun will publish the Washington Post's game coverage. In other areas where the two papers compete head-to-head - Maryland state politics, University of Maryland sports and exclusive stories - each newspaper will continue news coverage on its own. Franklin also said his paper will continue to cover important news events, even if their coverage overlaps with the Post's.

Franklin declined to specify how much money each paper could save on travel, freelance writers and other expenses. He said he doesn't expect job cuts to result from the Washington Post deal, and he's open to working more closely with their neighbor 40 miles to the south.

"I think this is a first step," he said. "We'll see how it goes."

Read Article CNN.com

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Dangerous drug combos pose risk for elderly

2008-12-23T15:18:00.000-08:00

By Julie Steenhuysen

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Older adults in the United States are popping prescription pills, over-the-counter drugs and dietary supplements in record numbers, and in combinations that could be deadly, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.

They said more than half of U.S. adults aged 57 to 85 are using five or more prescription or non-prescription drugs, and one in 25 are taking them in combinations that could cause dangerous drug interactions.

"Older adults in the United States use medicine and they use a lot of it," said Dr. Stacy Tessler Lindau of the University of Chicago Medical Center in Illinois, whose study appears in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

"While medications are often beneficial, they are not always safe," she said in a telephone interview.

She noted a recent report that estimated U.S. adults over 65 make up more than 175,000 emergency department visits a year for adverse drug reactions, and commonly prescribed drugs accounted for a third of these visits.

For the study, Lindau teamed up with Dima Qato, a pharmacist and researcher at the University of Chicago. They used data from a national survey of adults aged 57 to 85 and interviews with nearly 3,000 people in their homes to get a read on the medications they used on a regular basis.

They analyzed potential interactions among the top 20 prescription and over-the-counter drugs and the top 20 dietary supplements, and found that 68 percent of adults surveyed who took prescription drugs also used over-the-counter drugs or dietary supplements.

Men in the 75 to 85-year-old age group were at the highest risk, they said. "One in 10 men between the ages of 75 to 85 were at risk for a drug-to-drug interaction," Qato said in a telephone interview.

BLEEDING RISKS

Nearly half of the potential drug-to-drug interactions could cause bleeding problems. The blood thinner warfarin, often sold by Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. under the brand name Coumadin, was most commonly cited in potentially dangerous combinations.

Some 2 million Americans take warfarin after a heart attack, stroke or major surgery. The team found warfarin was commonly teamed up with aspirin, a drug often taken to prevent heart attacks that also interferes with clotting.

Read Article Reuters

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FDA Calls Diet Coke Plus 'Misbranded'

2008-12-23T15:16:00.000-08:00

FDA's Letter to Coca-Cola Isn't About Any Health Risks; Coca-Cola Stands By Its Label

Dec. 23, 2008 -- In a warning letter to Coca-Cola, the FDA says that Diet Coke Plus is "misbranded."

The FDA says that Diet Coke Plus doesn't meet the FDA's nutritional standards for the term "plus." The FDA also states that it "does not consider it appropriate to fortify snack foods such as carbonated beverages." The letter, dated Dec. 10, 2008, is posted on the FDA's web site.

Diet Coke adds niacin, vitamins B6 and B12, zinc, and magnesium.

Scott Williamson, a Coca-Cola North America spokesman, tells WebMD via email that Coca-Cola takes seriously the issues raised by the FDA and points out that "this does not involve any health or safety issues, and we believe the label on Diet Coke Plus complies with FDA policies and regulations." Williamson says Coca-Cola will provide a detailed response to the FDA in early January.

Read Article Web MD

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Even a Little Overweight, Inactivity Hurts the Heart

2008-12-22T16:21:00.001-08:00

By Ed Edelson
HealthDay Reporter
Monday, December 22, 2008; 12:00 AM

MONDAY, Dec. 22 (HealthDay News) -- Even a few extra pounds and just a little inactivity increased the risk of heart failure in a major study of American doctors.

"What this study shows is that even overweight men who are not obese have an increase in heart failure risk," said Dr. Satish Kenchaiah, lead author of a report on the finding in the Dec. 23 issue of Circulation.

As for exercise, "even a little amount of physical activity appears to decrease the risk of heart failure," said Kenchaiah, who did the research as a epidemiologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and is now at the U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

The study has followed more than 21,000 doctors for two decades, measuring among other factors the influence of overweight and physical activity on development of heart failure, the progressive loss of ability to pump blood, which is often a prelude to major coronary events.

Outright obesity, defined as a body-mass index of 30 or over, has long been known as a risk factor for heart failure. The new report concentrated on men who were borderline overweight, with a body-mass index of 25 to 29.9.

About 5 percent of the doctors were obese, and 40 percent were overweight, when the study began. Adjusting for other risk factors such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol, the study found a 49 percent increased incidence of heart failure in overweight men compared to those with a body-mass index of 25 or less. Incidence of heart failure was 180 percent for the obese men compared to the leaner ones.

It was the same story for physical activity. "Men who engaged in physical activity anywhere from one to three times a month had an 18 percent reduction in heart failure risk," Kenchaiah said. "For those who were active five to seven times a week, the reduction was 36 percent. The more you exercise, the more reduction you achieve."

Read Article The Washington Post

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Urgent need for blood

2008-12-22T16:19:00.000-08:00

Storm causes low turnout
Last Edited: Monday, 22 Dec 2008, 6:38 PM EST
Created On: Monday, 22 Dec 2008, 6:38 PM EST

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - The American Red Cross Blood Services, New York-Penn Region is calling for all eligible donors to give blood to build the regional blood supply, after hundreds of people missed appointments and several blood drives were cancelled over the past few days due to severe weather. Approximately 530 units of blood went uncollected over the weekend. This storm aggravates losses for the month, as the Red Cross has collected approximately 1,600 units of blood less than expected in December, mostly due to weather cancellations. This is equivalent to about a day?s supply for the region.

The Red Cross must strengthen the community blood supply to meet the needs of hospitals over the holidays. They ask donors who couldn?t give blood to reschedule their appointments when safe to travel. Also, as many of the drive cancelled were at high schools, they won?t be able to be rescheduled prior to year?s end. Eligible students are encouraged to donate blood at a local drive while on holiday break.

Blood drives are scheduled throughout the week and can be located at donatebloodnow.org. The Red Cross encourages donors to give an early gift of blood while it is safe to travel, and will have some local donor centers open on December 24, Christmas Eve, including:

Red Cross Donor Center, 786 Delaware Ave., Buffalo, 7:00 AM to 1:00 PM

Red Cross Blood Donor Center, 5161 Camp Road, Hamburg, 7:00 AM to 1:00 PM

Red Cross Donor Center, 4627 Transit Road, Williamsville, 7:00 AM to 1:00 PM

Blood is a perishable resource, with a limited shelf life of 42 days. Inventories must be replenished regularly, and donations are needed on an ongoing basis. The Red Cross needs to ensure that blood supplies remain steady over the coming weeks and months, in order to meet local hospital needs. The Red Cross can only continue to meet the community need for blood with the generosity of the region?s blood donors. All blood types are needed.

All current and new donors are strongly urged to call 1-800-GIVE LIFE (1-800-448-3543) or visit www.DonateBloodNow.org to schedule an appointment. Blood donors must be at least 17-years-old, weigh at least 110 pounds and be in general good health. Sixteen-year-olds may donate blood in New York and Pennsylvania provided they bring an original signed an Informed Parental Consent for a 16-Year-Old to Donate Whole Blood to the blood drive.

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On Report of Tamiflu Issues, Doctors Stress Flu Prevention

2008-12-22T16:17:00.001-08:00

By NICOLE FERGUSON
FOX8 News

HIGH POINT, N.C. -- The report last week that the most common flu bug this year is resistant to a popular medicine has increased doctors' emphasis on prevention of the bug.

The report by the Centers for Disease Control said this year's most common flu bug is resistant to Tamiflu, the leading flu medicine. Last year, the FDA recommended the makers of Tamiflu update the warning labels because patients were beginning to have unusual psychological side effects.

High Point pediatrician James Anderson said he's had patients experience those symptoms in the past, so he's stressing the importance of the flu vaccination shot more than ever.

Still, health officials say they aren't too worried about a flu outbreak. It's early in the flu season, and it's not clear the Tamiflu-resistant strain will dominate through the next several months.

But things may not stay that way.

Read Article My Fox WGHP

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On Report of Tamiflu Issues, Doctors Stress Flu Prevention

2008-12-22T16:17:00.000-08:00

Confronting a Top Killer: The Cancer Threat

2008-12-10T16:18:00.000-08:00

Cancer is projected to become the leading cause of death worldwide in 2010.

That is a staggering piece of information and one that deserves our full attention. It means that despite the progress we have made here in the United States and other developed countries in decreasing the burden from cancer, the rest of the world is far behind and is suffering the consequences.

Here at our National Home Office in Atlanta, the American Cancer Society is joining with the Lance Armstrong Foundation, the Susan G. Komen for the Cure, and the International Agency for Research on Cancer to highlight the worldwide burden of cancer, and what must be done around the globe to stem this needless tide of despair and death.

In the last 30 years of the 20th century, the global burden of cancer more than doubled. That trend is projected to continue, and by 2030 there could be 27 million newly diagnosed cases of cancer, 17 million deaths each year and 75 million people alive with cancer within five years of diagnosis.

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UPDATE: FDA Panel Weighs Fate Of Four Asthma Drugs

2008-12-10T16:11:00.000-08:00

WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- A U.S. Food and Drug Administration panel of medical experts is weighing whether to allow certain drugs to continue to be marketed for the treatment of asthma in children and adults amid lingering concerns that the products increase the risk of asthma-related side effects.

The panel, which includes pediatricians, lung and allergy doctors along with drug-safety experts, is scheduled to vote Thursday whether GlaxoSmithKline PLC's (GSK) Advair and Serevent, Novartis AG's (NVS) and Schering-Plough Corp.'s (SGP) Foradil and AstraZeneca PLC's (AZN) Symbicort should continue to be marketed as asthma treatments. FDA officials have said they are divided about what course of action to take and called on the panel for advice.

The FDA's drug-safety division is recommending that the drugs not be marketed for children, and in some cases adults, while the agency's pulmonary division stated that removing the products from the market would be "extreme."

"We don't have a lot of disagreement in the FDA that the risk is real," said John Jenkins, FDA's office of new drugs director. "Does the risk mean these drugs are unacceptable for marketing?"

The drugs, known as long-acting beta-agonists, or LABAs, are used by about six million asthma patients whose symptoms aren't well-controlled by other drugs including inhaled corticosteroids, which are the backbone of asthma treatment, and are designed to reduce airway inflammation.

Long-acting drugs have been the subject of an on-going FDA safety review for several years and the drugs' labels already warn they could "increase the risk of asthma-related death." The drugs are designed to prevent the tightening of muscles around the airway. About 22 million Americans, including about 6.5 million children, have asthma, a chronic condition marked by narrowing of the airways.

Both the FDA and the companies presented data to the panel Wednesday. The FDA's analysis of the four drugs said, as a group, that the products are linked with an increased risk of asthma-related side effects, with higher risks seen in children. It looked at whether the drugs increased a combined measure of asthma- related death, hospitalization and asthma-related intubations, or the placement of a tube in patients' noses or mouths to help them breathe. Overall, it found an additional 2.8 asthma-events per 1,000 patients treated with a LABA compared to patients not receiving the drugs.

When looking at specific drugs, the FDA said the risk was seen with Foradil, Serevent and Symbicort "but was not apparent in Advair," which is Glaxo's top- selling drug as well as the dominant drug in the class. The agency also said the increased risk was far less when using inhaled corticosteroids, which current asthma-treatment guidelines recommend.

C. Elaine Jones, Glaxo's vice president of respiratory regulatory affairs, said, "it is critical that these medicines remain available to maintain the high standard of asthma care," in a presentation to the panel.

Indeed, the American College and the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology along with the American Academy of Pediatrics have said the drugs should remain available as asthma treatments, Jones added. The drugs are used to treat patients with moderate-to-severe asthma.

The FDA said the increased asthma-event rate was largely driven by an increase in hospitalizations. There were 20 asthma-related deaths in the studies; of those, 16 were patients on Serevent and four were patients in the non-LABA group. The analysis involved 110 trials and 60,954 patients. The bulk of the patients were from Serevent trials, with about 43,000 patients, the agency said.

The data were submitted by the four drug manufacturers. The agency also said there was a higher risk of asthma-related side effects among children ages 4 to 11 and among African-Americans but fewer side effects in people age 65 and older.

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2 Diabetes Drugs Double Fracture Risk in Women

2008-12-10T16:09:00.000-08:00

By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter
Wednesday, December 10, 2008; 12:00 AM

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 10 (HealthDay News) -- Two widely prescribed diabetes drugs, Avandia and Actos, double the risk of fractures in women but not in men, a new British analysis finds.

Avandia (rosiglitazone) and Actos (pioglitazone) are used to lower blood sugar in patients with type 2 diabetes. Recent studies have suggested that the risk for heart failure, death and heart attack were increased with Avandia, touching off a controversy that resulted in new U.S. Food and Drug Administration-mandated label warnings about the drug.

"Women who are taking these drugs should reconsider the options," said lead researcher Dr. Yoon Loke, a clinical senior lecturer at the University of East Anglia in Norwich. "There are quite a lot of choices for women with type 2 diabetes. I am not sure that taking a drug that causes fractures is the best choice."

There are about 4 million people in the United States who take these drugs, which are called thiazolidinediones, Loke noted.

The report was published in the Dec. 10 online issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

For the meta-analysis, Loke's team evaluated 10 trials that included 13,715 diabetics taking Avandia, Actos, or neither drug. The studies found that these drugs reduced bone density in the spine and hips of women taking these medications.

Loke's group estimated this loss of bone density would double the risk of fractures in women taking either drug. For women already at risk for fractures, the researchers estimated one fracture would occur for every 21 women, and for those at low risk for fractures, one fracture would occur in 55 women taking these drugs.

However, no effect on bone density among men was seen in any of the studies the researchers analyzed.

Loke speculates that women are affected because of an interaction between the drugs and estrogen, which weakens bones in women. The difference may also result from women having smaller, thinner bones to begin with, so that even a loss of a little bone mass can increase the risk of fractures, Loke added.

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HK chickens culled in bid to halt bird flu

2008-12-10T16:06:00.000-08:00

HONG KONG - Health workers began culling thousands of chickens at a market in Hong Kong Wednesday, a day after authorities raised the bird flu alert level to "serious" following an outbreak at a farm.

The outbreak near the border with the mainland was the region's first in five years and came despite mass vaccination of birds, prompting concerns the virus might have mutated.

Workers collect dead chickens at a farm in Hong Kong's northern Yuen Long district, bordering the mainland, on December 9, 2008. [Asianewsphoto]

Ho Pak-leung, a microbiologist at the University of Hong Kong, said: "The vaccine's effectiveness today will not be the same as it was five years ago."

Related readings:
Bird flu fears prompt HK import halt

A spokeswoman for the Hong Kong government said: "We aim to complete the cull as soon as possible," without giving a specific timeframe.
Health authorities in the region raised the bird flu alert level to "serious" on Tuesday after the H5 virus killed dozens of chickens at a farm.

Scientists are now trying to determine the identity of the virus. One said it is likely to be the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain, which turns up regularly in flocks in Asia.

Although H5N1 is mainly a disease among birds, it may mutate into a form that spreads easily among people.

Mao Qun'an, spokesman of the Ministry of Health, told a press conference Wednesday that there is a possibility of people becoming infected.

"One of the best ways to reduce the risk is to avoid direct contact with birds, especially dead ones," he said.

On Tuesday, authorities in Hong Kong issued a 21-day suspension on the import of live poultry from Guangdong in a bid to contain the outbreak.

The ban does not include frozen poultry, officials said.

The flu outbreak is the second in Hong Kong this year. The first was on June 6, when chicken excrement collected from poultry markets tested positive for the H5N1 strain, leading to a cull of all poultry.

Read Article China Daily

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12% of Kids Use Complementary/Alternative Medicine

2008-12-10T16:05:00.000-08:00

Echinacea Most Common Complementary and Alternative Treatment Given to Children
By Salynn Boyles
WebMD Health NewsReviewed by Louise Chang, MDDec. 10, 2008 -- Thirty-eight percent of adults and 12% of children use complementary and alternative medicine, new data from a nationwide government survey show.

The survey marks the first time information on the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) by children has been collected at the national level.

Researchers with the National Institutes of Health and the CDC asked more than 23,000 adults about their use and 9,400 adults about their children’s use of 36 non-vitamin or mineral CAM therapies, including herbal supplements, acupuncture, visits to chiropractors, massage therapy, mediation, and even yoga.

“I think this study highlights the growing acceptance of many of these therapies,” pediatrician Kathi Kemper, MD, MPH, of Wake Forest University School of Medicine, tells WebMD.

Author of the book, The Holistic Pediatrician, Kemper says many treatments considered alternative just a few years ago, including probiotics for gastrointestinal complaints, are now widely recommended for children.

12% of Kids Use CAM
According to the survey findings:

38% of adults and 12% of children 17 and under used some form of complementary and alternative medicine in 2007.
Children whose parents used CAM were five times more likely to use the therapies (24%) than children whose parents did not use them.
Echinacea, often used for colds, topped the list of oral supplements most often given to children, followed by fish oil, omega-3, or DHA; combination herb pills; and flaxseed oil or pills.
Children’s use of CAM increased as their parents' education level increased.
Use of CAM was higher among teenagers (16.4%) than among younger children (10.7%), and white children were more likely to use CAM (12.8%) than black (5.9%) and Hispanic (7.9%) children.

Regionally, children living in Western states were most likely to use CAM (14.4%); those living in the South were least likely to use them (8.8%).

“Children are generally much healthier than adults, so 12% usage can be seen as quite high,” says study co-author Richard L. Nahin, PhD, MPH, acting director of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine’s (NCCAM’s) Division of Extramural Research.

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Women Unhappy With Disposal Options After Infertility Treatment

2008-12-04T17:49:00.001-08:00

Study suggests more choices need to be available to couples
Posted December 4, 2008
By Randy Dotinga
HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, Dec. 4 (HealthDay News) -- A new survey suggests that many American women who have finished fertility treatments aren't happy with the usual options available for the disposal of unused embryos created with their eggs.

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Most of 1,020 women surveyed said they were very unlikely to choose to allow the frozen embryos to be thawed and thrown away, used by other women, given to researchers, or frozen "forever."

The research suggests a conundrum: Women don't like the standard options -- with the exception of using the embryos for their own future pregnancy -- but many will be forced to choose one of them.

"People should know that they'll have a difficult decision that's awaiting them," said study author Dr. Anne Drapkin Lyerly, of Duke University. "They're facing a choice that is very morally difficult and sometimes sort of impossible in terms of finding a satisfactory solution."

Embryos are created during in vitro fertilization procedures at fertility clinics across the United States. "Oftentimes, more embryos are created than needed," said Lyerly, an associate professor at Duke University's department of obstetrics and gynecology.

"You don't know how many embryos are going to form, so you want to make as many as you can, so you can get some good ones," she said. "Another reason you make more than you need during a given fertility cycle is so you can freeze them and use them at a later time without going through the egg harvesting process."

Clinics typically allow women to keep the unused embryos frozen indefinitely, although there are storage fees that could run into hundreds of dollars a year. A study released in 2003 estimated that 400,000 frozen embryos remained on ice in the United States.

The question is: What should be done with the embryos? They could be donated to researchers, although federal law limits what scientists can do with them on the stem-cell research front. They can be thawed and discarded, although that seems akin to abortion to some people.

In the new survey, researchers asked questions of 1,020 women who had embryos frozen. The women, patients at nine fertility clinics, were surveyed in 2006 and 2007.

The survey results were published in the Dec. 4 online edition of Fertility and Sterility.

The researchers found that 54 percent of the women said they were "very likely" to use the frozen embryos in future pregnancy attempts, and about one-fifth were very likely to donate them to research.

Of women who either weren't sure about future pregnancy attempts or ruled them out, 40 percent said they weren't "very likely" to choose one of the five standard options: use them in a future pregnancy attempt, thaw and discard them, donate them to another potential mother, donate them to research, or freeze them indefinitely.

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Women Unhappy With Disposal Options After Infertility Treatment

2008-12-04T17:49:00.000-08:00

"Rogue" stem cell clinics exploit hope: report

2008-12-04T17:48:00.001-08:00

By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Rogue clinics around the world may be exploiting hope and ignorance by offering unproven stem cell therapies, a group of stem cell experts said in a report released on Wednesday.

The International Society for Stem Cell Research released guidelines for researchers and regulators, and a guidebook for patients, that criticized some clinics.

"The International Society for Stem Cell Research is very concerned that stem cell therapies are being sold around the world before they have been proven safe and effective," the guidelines said.

The group has declined to name any specific website or clinic but said they are widely advertised and reviewed in a study published in the journal Cell Stem Cell.

"The direct-to-consumer portrayal of stem cell medicine is optimistic and unsupported by published evidence," Timothy Caulfield of the University of Alberta and colleagues wrote.

"The average cost of a course of therapy among the four websites that mentioned costs was $21,500, excluding travel and accommodation for patients and care givers. And examples of serious treatment side effects can be found."

Stem cells are the body's master cells and they come in a wide range of forms, from the cells in bone marrow that are widely used to treat cancer and other conditions, to embryonic stem cells -- those that give rise to all the cell types in the body.

The field has received intense attention, in part because it carries the promise of tailored treatments and truly regenerative medicine that might transform treatment of diseases such as Parkinson's, as well as catastrophic injuries.

It has also been sullied by scandal, notably the case of disgraced South Korean researcher Hwang Woo-suk, who admitted in 2006 to fabricating data to support claims he had made the first human embryos using cloning technology and then derived stem cells from them.

"Stem cell therapies are nearly all new and experimental. In these early stages, they may not work, and there may be downsides. Make sure you understand what to look out for before considering a stem cell therapy," advises the patient advisory, available here

For researchers and regulators, the group advises tough oversight and independent review.

The group, including Dr. Marina Cavazzana-Calvo of Hopital Necker-Enfants Malades in Paris, France, Dr. Giulio Cossu of Instituto San Raffaele in Italy and Dr. George Daley of Children's Hospital Boston, urged governments and regulatory bodies to enact the recommendations.

"Regulators have a responsibility to prevent exploitation of patients in their jurisdictions, and where necessary, to close fraudulent clinics and take disciplinary action against the doctors involved," Daley said in a statement.

(Editing by Vicki Allen)

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Drug Combo for Hypertension May Be Safer Than Recommended Alternative

2008-12-04T17:46:00.000-08:00

A combination of drugs for high blood pressure that included a calcium-channel blocker was more effective at preventing heart problems in patients than a recommended regimen containing a diuretic, or water pill, researchers have found in a large clinical trial.

The trial compared two pills, each containing two drugs used to lower blood pressure. Patients taking pills that combined an ACE inhibitor with a calcium-channel blocker suffered 20 percent fewer heart attacks, strokes, heart procedures and deaths than those taking an ACE inhibitor with a diuretic, the investigators found.

The study was funded by Novartis, which makes both of the two-in-one pill treatments evaluated, and published in Thursday’s issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.

The findings raise questions about treatment guidelines developed by the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation and Treatment of High Blood Pressure, the researchers said.

The guidelines recommend starting treatment for high blood pressure with a single pill, preferably a diuretic, and then adding other drugs if necessary. (Many patients cannot control their blood pressure with just one medicine.)

“The important message is that the government recommends a drug that provides 20 percent less benefit than we found” in an alternate therapy, said Dr. Kenneth Jamerson, lead author of the study and a professor of internal medicine at University of Michigan Medical School.

The appropriate use of inexpensive diuretics has been a focus of controversy among experts. In 2002, one of the largest federally funded clinical trials concluded that diuretics were the safest and most cost-effective therapy for high blood pressure when compared to an ACE inhibitor, a calcium-channel blocker and an alpha blocker.

The latest randomized, double-blinded study included 11,506 participants in the United States and four other countries. The subjects’ mean age was 68. Sixty percent had diabetes, and all were at risk for serious cardiovascular problems.

Some 5,744 patients were assigned to take benazepril with amlodipine (the ACE inhibiter and a calcium-channel blocker combination), while 5,762 took benazepril with hydrochlorothiazide (an ACE inhibiter and a diuretic).

Within six months, 73 percent of patients treated with either two-in-one pill were able to lower their blood pressure into a safe range, the researchers found. By the end of the three-year trial, 80 percent of participants had their blood pressure under control.

Among patients taking the pill containing a diuretic, however, 11.8 percent suffered a serious cardiovascular event, compared to 9.6 percent of those taking the pill with the calcium-channel blocker, representing an absolute difference of 2.2 percent and a relative risk reduction of 19.6 percent with the calcium-channel blocker.

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Report Confirms Source of Contaminated Heparin

2008-12-04T17:44:00.000-08:00

By Ed Edelson
HealthDay Reporter
Wednesday, December 3, 2008; 12:00 AM

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 3 (HealthDay News) -- A final report on the deadly contamination of the blood thinner heparin confirms that the problem was caused by a man-made chemical that was added to batches of the drug imported from China, U.S. investigators report.

The crisis, which began last November, resulted in 152 adverse reactions and as many as 81 deaths in the United States. The Chinese heparin, contaminated with the chemical oversulfated chondroitin sulfate, was found in at least 10 countries, according to federal officials.

"The last case was reported on January 31," said Dr. Priti R. Patel, a medical epidemiologist with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and a member of the investigation team that wrote the report.

Published in the Dec. 4 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, the report "describes the adverse reactions caused by the contaminant" and links it to a specific substance, Patel said. The reactions included a drastic drop in blood pressure, nausea and shortness of breath, starting within 30 minutes after the administration of the heparin.

"There is a definite link between this contaminant and the patients who had these reactions," she said.

The first reports of such reactions among hospital patients given heparin came in November 2007. Eventually, cases were reported in 13 states. Investigators found a common thread in those cases: heparin marketed by Baxter Healthcare, of Deerfield, Ill., which got its supplies from China.

Raw heparin is derived from pig intestines. It is given intravenously to prevent blood clots during certain kinds of surgery, and also is used by people with kidney disease requiring dialysis. In China, heparin often is made by small, unregulated companies.

Chondroitin sulfate is a natural substance extracted from animal cartilage that can be used in supplements to treat arthritic joints. Oversulfation results from processing of the substance. Most of the reactions reported in the United States occurred in dialysis centers among people given high initial doses of heparin, the report found.

Read Article washingtonpost.com

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Gene may open door for new sickle cell therapies

2008-12-04T17:43:00.000-08:00

By Julie Steenhuysen

CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. researchers have discovered a gene switch that could lead to better treatments for sickle cell disease and thalassemia, two inherited blood disorders that affect millions of people, they said on Thursday.

Learning how to activate this switch might help doctors direct the body to make healthier blood cells -- in this case, replicating conditions found in the womb.

People with these blood disorders either make too little or abnormal forms of hemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that is vital for carrying oxygen to the body's tissues.

A developing fetus uses one gene to make hemoglobin, but switches to another after birth, and problems with this adult gene are what lead to sickle cell disease and thalassemia.

"One of the goals for many years has been to understand this switch of hemoglobins, with the idea that if you could understand it you could reverse it or reactivate (the fetal gene)," said Dr. Stuart Orkin of Harvard Medical School in Boston, who reported his findings in the journal Science.

Orkin and colleagues said a gene called BCL11A directly affects the production of fetal hemoglobin.

"This one is a major player," Orkin said in a telephone interview, calling BCL11A a "silencer gene" responsible for keeping fetal hemoglobin in check. "It is probably not the only player but we think it is a significant player," he said.

Orkin said some people continue to make fetal hemoglobin after they are born, and those who do and have sickle cell disease have much milder symptoms.

In experiments on normal human cells, Orkin said his team was able to turn off the activity of this gene, and the cells produced more fetal hemoglobin.

Orkin said the finding offers hope for new therapies, including gene therapy or new drugs that could modify the effects of the BCL11A gene.

CONTROLLING THE SWITCH

"This is a little bit of a holy grail," said Dr. Susan Shurin, deputy director of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, which helped fund the research.

"Over the past 40 years people have looked really hard to understand what kinds of things control the switch from fetal to adult hemoglobin," she said in a telephone interview.

"What this does is it opens up the potential for some highly targeted therapeutic intervention.".

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Drug Effective for Temporary Sleep Disruptions

2008-12-03T17:03:00.000-08:00

TUESDAY, Dec. 2 (HealthDay News) -- The experimental drug tasimelteon helps treat temporary insomnia caused by jet lag or night shifts, according to the results of two new clinical trials.

The phase II study included 39 people randomly assigned to receive either 10 milligrams, 20 mg, 50 mg or 100 mg of tasimelteon, or a placebo. They were monitored for seven nights -- three at baseline, three after a five-hour advance of sleep-wake schedule with treatment before sleep, and one night after treatment.

The phase III trial included 411 people who had transient insomnia induced in a sleep clinic by a five-hour advance of their sleep-wake cycle. They received either 20 mg, 50 mg, or 100 mg of tasimelteon, or a placebo, 30 minutes before bedtime.

The patients in the trials were monitored to determine their sleep efficiency (amount of actual sleep during their time in bed) and sleep latency (time it took them to fall asleep). Compared to placebo, tasimelteon (a melatonin analogue) improved sleep efficiency and reduced sleep latency, according to the researchers. They also found that patients taking tasimelteon showed an earlier shift in plasma melatonin rhythm.

The findings were published online and in an upcoming print issue of the The Lancet.

"The development of melatonin analogues, which specifically target melatonin receptors, will also help us to understand more about the role of the hormone melatonin in the regulation of sleep," the American and Australian researchers said in a journal news release.

"By simultaneously improving sleep latency and sleep maintenance with a shift in circadian rhythms, tasimelteon has the potential for the treatment of patients with transient insomnia associated with circadian rhythm sleep disorders, including people affected by jet leg, or those who work at night, and early-riser workers," the study authors concluded.

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Pfizer drops bid to sell Viagra over the counter in Europe

2008-12-03T17:02:00.000-08:00

WASHINGTON (AFP) – Pfizer has dropped its bid to market its potency pill Viagra over the counter in Europe, the US pharmaceutical giant announced Thursday.

Pfizer "has withdrawn its application to switch the legal status of the 50 mg tablet strength of Viagra from 'prescription only' to 'non-prescription' in the European Union (EU)," a statement said.

Prizer said it had decided to withdraw the application "to fully consider" comments from the European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, "recognizing that there were some concerns regarding the proposed supply of Viagra 50 mg tablets without a prescription," the statement said.

"All current doses of Viagra will continue to be available to patients by prescription from their doctor," it said.

Worldwide sales of Viagra, first introduced ten years ago, reached 1.8 billion dollars in 2007.

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Ant aphrodisiac conman executed

2008-12-03T16:58:00.000-08:00

BEIJING (Reuters) – China has executed the leader of a bogus scheme for breeding ants to make aphrodisiacs that conned investors out of 3 billion yuan ($439 million), the official Xinhua news agency said on Thursday.

Wang Zhendong was executed on Wednesday in the northeastern province of Liaoning, Xinhua cited an unnamed local official as saying.

The fictitious ant-breeding project that Wang fronted features prominently in posters and other government educational materials warning of the risks of pyramid schemes and other investment schemes that sound too good to be true.

Wang promised investors in the fictitious project returns of 35 to 60 percent, Xinhua said. The ants were to be used for making liquor, herbal remedies and aphrodisiacs.

One investor committed suicide after realizing he had been duped, while many others suffered from depression, Xinhua said.

(Reporting by Jason Subler; Editing by Jeremy Laurence)

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School-Based Program Can Change Kids' Lives

2008-12-03T16:55:00.000-08:00

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 3 HealthDay News) -- Urban kids who took part in a social development program in elementary school had improved mental health, sexual health, and educational and economic success as young adults, a new study finds.

Crime, drug use, teen pregnancy, school dropouts and mental health problems are among the challenges faced by many children and families who live in cities, noted study author J. David Hawkins and colleagues at the University of Washington, Seattle.

"Public schools, available to all children in the United States beginning at age 5 or 6 years, are a potentially powerful setting for preventive intervention," wrote the researchers. They examined the long-term impact of a prevention program, called the Seattle Social Development Project.

When the project was launched in 1981, it included some first-grade students in elementary schools. It eventually expanded to 15 elementary schools in diverse neighborhoods. Parents, teachers and students received special instruction in areas such as behavior management, refusal, social skills, and academic development.

"The objective of the intervention was to improve the skills of teachers, parents and children to increase positive functioning in school and decrease problems related to mental health, risky sexual behavior, substance abuse and criminal behavior," the team explained.

The study included 598 individuals who at age 27 completed a 15-year follow-up on the success (or not) of the program. The participants -- including 146 who began the program in grade one, 251 who started it in grades five or six, and 201 in a control group who didn't take part in the program -- filled out a self-assessment of their school, work and community life, mental health, sexual behavior, substance use and crime.

Those who received the full intervention reported improved functioning in almost all areas assessed by the study, but there were no differences in rates of substance abuse or crime. Compared with the control group, those who took part in the program:

were more likely to be at or above the median in educational attainment and household income;
were more likely to have more than a high school education;
had higher levels of community involvement and volunteerism;
had fewer symptoms of mental health disorders;
had a lower incidence of sexually transmitted diseases.

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Exercise Eases Obesity and Anger in Kids

2008-12-03T16:54:00.000-08:00

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 3 (HealthDay News) -- Overweight kids may be able to work out their anger with exercise, a new report finds.

A study of sedentary but otherwise healthy 7- to 11-year-olds found they reduced both their weight and anger issues by taking part in a 10- to 15-week after-school aerobic exercise program. The finding applied to children across lines such as race, gender and socioeconomic status, as well as regardless of how fit or overweight the kids were.

"Exercise had a significant impact on anger expression in children," researcher Catherine Davis, a clinical health psychologist with the Medical College of Georgia School of Medicine, said in a news release issued by the school. "This finding indicates that aerobic exercise may be an effective strategy to help overweight kids reduce anger expression and aggressive behavior."

Previous research had shown that exercise helps cut down on depression and anxiety in children, she said, noting that most people believe that exercise also helps adults manage anger.

"I think if teachers could see that exercise helps kids control their behavior and get along, they would be the top proponents of physical activity for kids," Davis said.

The study was published in the November issue of Pediatric Exercise Science.

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British conjoined twin dies after surgery

2008-12-03T16:52:00.000-08:00

LONDON – Faith was breathing for Hope. So when the newborn conjoined Williams twins were separated, it turned out that Hope couldn't live without her sister.

Week-old Hope Williams died Tuesday night at London's Great Ormond Street Hospital after being separated from her sister, her doctor, Agostino Pierro, said Wednesday.

"Hope's lungs were too small to support ... breathing and the circulation," said Pierro, who headed the surgical team that separated the twins. "The lungs of Faith were somehow supporting Hope."

Faith was in stable condition Wednesday in the hospital's intensive care unit. Her chances of survival are about 50 percent, Pierro said, and she will have to undergo further surgery to close the incision in her stomach.

The twins were born Nov. 26 by Caesarean section, joined from their chests to the lower part of their stomachs. They had separate hearts, but shared a liver and intestines.

Doctors had hoped to give the girls more time to become stronger before trying to separate them, but Pierro said the infants began to deteriorate Monday.

"This was an emergency operation, because there was a blockage in their joint intestine, which could only be resolved through surgery," he said.

A team of more than 20 doctors, nurses and other health care professionals worked to separate Faith and Hope in an operation that began Tuesday morning and finished 11 hours later.

"The operation done on Hope and Faith was one of the most complex and challenging we have ever faced," Pierro said.

Hope's parents, 18-year-old Laura Williams and her husband, Aled, from Shropshire in west England, were with their daughter when she died.

"They are clearly devastated by the loss of their daughter," Pierro said.

Twins joined at the abdomen are easier to separate than those joined elsewhere, such as the head. Last month, doctors in Cleveland, Ohio decided it would have been too risky to separate 4-year-old Italian twins born connected at the head. The girls, Anastasia and Tatiana Dogaru, will remain together, doctors said.

Dr. Charles Stolar, pediatric surgeon in chief at Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital of New York-Presbyterian Hospital, said if all goes well, Faith's recovery should take weeks rather than months.

"They've had to divide the liver, they've had to repair bile ducts, they've had to repair intestines," said Stolar, who has performed similar operations. "So all that has to heal ... I would be optimistic."

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Texas time warp? State criticized for mental care

2008-12-03T16:51:00.000-08:00

DENTON, Texas – For more than a century, thousands of mentally disabled Americans were isolated from society, sometimes for life, by being confined to huge state institutions.

In at least one place, they still are.

Texas has more mentally disabled patients in institutions than any other state, and the federal government has concluded that the state's care system is stubbornly out of step with modern mental health practices.

Critics allege that Texas remains stuck in an era when the mentally disabled were hidden away in large, impersonal facilities far from relatives and communities.

"In Texas, it's like a time warp," said Jeff Garrison-Tate, an advocate who wants to close the 13 facilities called "state schools" and move patients into group homes.

For the third time in three years, the criticism has attracted the attention of the Justice Department, which on Tuesday accused Texas of violating residents' constitutional rights to proper care.

Investigators found that dozens of patients died in the last year from preventable conditions, and officials declared that the number of injuries was "disturbingly high."

In addition, hundreds of documents reviewed by The Associated Press show that some patients have been neglected, beaten, sexually abused or even killed by caretakers. Inspection reports also describe filthy rooms and unsanitary kitchens.

Many of the nation's mentally ill or disabled in the 1800s were housed together in institutions, sometimes called insane asylums. But by the 1960s, most experts concluded that mentally disabled patients fared better in smaller, community-based settings.

The American Institution on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities says large care facilities — usually those with at least 16 residents — "enforce an unnatural, isolated, and regimented lifestyle that is not appropriate or necessary."

Because of those concerns, eight states have abolished large institutions for the mentally disabled. Another 13 states closed most of their largest facilities, leaving just one open in each state.

But Texas has remained "the institution capital of America," said Charlie Lakin, director of the Research and Training Center on Community Living at the University of Minnesota.

The 13 facilities in Texas house nearly 5,000 residents — more than six times the national average.

On a per-capita basis, Texas has 20.4 people per 100,000 in large institutions, Lakin said. The national average is 12.2 people.

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Report: Young doctors still too tired for safety

2008-12-03T16:38:00.000-08:00

WASHINGTON – Doctors-in-training are still too exhausted, says a new report that calls on hospitals to let them have a nap. Regulations that capped the working hours of bleary-eyed young doctors came just five years ago, limiting them to about 80 hours a week.

Tuesday, the prestigious Institute of Medicine recommended easing the workload a bit more: Anyone working the maximum 30-hour shift should get an uninterrupted five-hour break for sleep after 16 hours.

At issue is how to balance patient safety with the education of roughly 100,000 medical residents, doctors fresh out of medical school who spend the next three to seven years in on-the-job training for their specialty. The long hours are in some ways a badge of the profession; doctors can't simply clock out if a patient is in danger.

But sleep deprivation fogs the brain, a problem that can lead to serious medical mistakes. So in 2003, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education issued the first caps. Before then, residents in some specialties could average 110 hours a week.

The government asked the IOM to study the current caps. Violations of current limits are common and residents seldom complain, the committee found. While quality of life has improved, there's still a lot of burnout.

And despite one study that found residents made more errors while working longer shifts, patient safety depends on so many factors that it's impossible to tell yet if the caps helped that problem, the report said.

So it also recommends:

_Experienced physicians should more closely supervise residents.

_Better overlap of schedules during shift changes to reduce chances for error as one doctor hands patients' care over to the next.

_Increase mandatory days off each month, and extend hours off between shifts depending on how long the resident worked, during day or night.

The accreditation council didn't immediately say if it would follow the recommendations.

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1 in 5 young adults has personality disorder

2008-12-03T16:33:00.000-08:00

CHICAGO – Almost one in five young American adults has a personality disorder that interferes with everyday life, and even more abuse alcohol or drugs, researchers reported Monday in the most extensive study of its kind.

The disorders include problems such as obsessive or compulsive tendencies and anti-social behavior that can sometimes lead to violence. The study also found that fewer than 25 percent of college-aged Americans with mental problems get treatment.

One expert said personality disorders may be overdiagnosed. But others said the results were not surprising since previous, less rigorous evidence has suggested mental problems are common on college campuses and elsewhere.

Experts praised the study's scope — face-to-face interviews about numerous disorders with more than 5,000 young people ages 19 to 25 — and said it spotlights a problem college administrators need to address.

Study co-author Dr. Mark Olfson of Columbia University and New York State Psychiatric Institute called the widespread lack of treatment particularly worrisome. He said it should alert not only "students and parents, but also deans and people who run college mental health services about the need to extend access to treatment."

Counting substance abuse, the study found that nearly half of young people surveyed have some sort of psychiatric condition, including students and non-students.

Personality disorders were the second most common problem behind drug or alcohol abuse as a single category. The disorders include obsessive, anti-social and paranoid behaviors that are not mere quirks but actually interfere with ordinary functioning.

The study authors noted that recent tragedies such as fatal shootings at Northern Illinois University and Virginia Tech have raised awareness about the prevalence of mental illness on college campuses.

They also suggest that this age group might be particularly vulnerable.

"For many, young adulthood is characterized by the pursuit of greater educational opportunities and employment prospects, development of personal relationships, and for some, parenthood," the authors said. These circumstances, they said, can result in stress that triggers the start or recurrence of psychiatric problems.

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Study raps Web sites touting stem cell therapies

2008-12-03T16:30:00.000-08:00

NEW YORK – Consumers should be wary of Web sites from clinics that offer stem cell treatments, says a study that found a lack of firm medical evidence to back up their claims. The Web sites in the study generally portrayed their therapies as safe, effective and ready for routine use, but published research doesn't support that "overoptimistic" picture, the study authors said.

The analysis is presented in the December issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell by scientists at the University of Alberta in Canada. They cautioned that their overall findings can't be applied to the claims of any individual clinic.

The study is "a very important wake-up call," said Dr. George Daley, past president of the International Society for Stem Cell Research, who had no role in the new report.

"I think these Web sites are dangerous," said Daley, a Boston stem cell researcher. "They overpromise effectiveness and safety of the therapy and they completely underestimate and underinform about risks. ... (Such) overhyped marketing directly to the patient is putting patients at risk of financial exploitation at the very least, and physical danger at the worst."

In recent years, desperate patients with few options have traveled to China and other countries where doctors offer stem cell or other cell treatments for such things as spinal cord injuries, Parkinson's disease and blindness.

The new study did not assess the Web site claims directly by checking on how well patients actually fared at the clinics in the study.

Instead, researchers began with the 19 Web sites they found through Google in 2007. Treatments were promoted in several countries, including China, Mexico and Russia. None promoted treatments within the United States; one didn't give a location for treatments.

Last July, the researchers looked for published studies in human patients about using stem cells to treat the medical conditions mentioned most often by the Web sites: multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases, spinal cord injury, stroke and heart attack.

They reported finding some encouraging hints but no clear evidence of benefit.

In the same issue of the journal, a report from the international stem cell society describes new research guidelines that condemn the marketing of unproven therapies. The society has posted a patient handbook on its Web site to help people who are considering stem cell therapy.

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Testing newborns for HIV can save lives

2008-12-01T14:39:00.000-08:00

UNITED NATIONS -- Early treatment for babies born with the virus that causes AIDS can significantly increase their chances of survival, according to a report Monday by four U.N. agencies.

Far too few pregnant women know their HIV status and in 2007 less than 10 percent of infants born to HIV-positive mothers were tested for the virus before they were two months old, the report said.

"Without appropriate treatment, half of children with HIV will die from an HIV-related cause by their second birthday," Ann Veneman, executive director of the U.N. children's agency, UNICEF, said in a statement.

"Survival rates are up to 75 percent higher for HIV-positive newborns who are diagnosed and begin treatment within their first 12 weeks," she said.

The report by UNICEF, the World Health Organization, the Joint U.N. Program on HIV/AIDS and the U.N. Population Fund, called for increased testing to enable appropriate treatments to begin as early as possible.

"Today, no infants should have to die of AIDS," WHO Director-General Margaret Chan said in a statement. "We know how to prevent these tragic deaths, but now we need to focus on strengthening our health care systems to ensure that all mothers and children receive treatment as early as possible."

The report said early infant testing is being increased in some countries hardest hit by HIV and AIDS, including Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa, Swaziland and Zambia.

In 2007, only 18 percent of pregnant women in low-income and middle-income countries were given HIV tests and of those who tested positive, only 12 percent were further screened to determine how advanced the disease was and the type of treatment required, the report said.

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Depression leads to internal fat in 70-somethings

2008-12-01T14:37:00.001-08:00

CHICAGO -- Older people who are depressed are much more likely to develop a dangerous type of internal body fat _ the kind that can lead to diabetes and heart disease _ than people who are not depressed, a disturbing new study found.

The connection goes beyond obesity and suggests some biological link between a person's mental state and fat that collects around the internal organs, scientists said.

"For the depressed public, it should be another reason to take one's symptoms seriously and look for treatment," said study co-author Stephen Kritchevsky, director of the Sticht Center on Aging at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C.

People with depression were twice as likely as others to gain visceral fat _ the kind that surrounds internal organs and often shows up as belly fat. It raises the risk for heart disease and diabetes.

Previous research has linked depression with those same health problems. Some researchers believe depression triggers high levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which promotes visceral fat. The cortisol connection may explain the findings, Kritchevsky said.

The research, published in Monday's Archives of General Psychiatry, is the first large study to track people over time to see if those with depression were more likely to gain weight. Mostly federally funded, the study used data from 2,088 people in the ongoing Health, Aging and Body Composition study. That project is following healthy older Americans to find out how changes in bone, fat and lean body mass affect health.

The participants, all in their 70s, were recruited in and around Memphis, Tenn., and Pittsburgh in 1997 and 1998 and were followed for five years. Researchers screened for symptoms of depression at the start of the study and again at four follow-up visits.

They measured visceral fat with CT scans. They calculated body mass index, body fat percentage, waist size and the distance between the back and the biggest part of the belly.

There were 84 people with depression symptoms at the start of the study. They gained, on average, 9 square centimeters of visceral fat. In contrast, the 2,004 people who weren't depressed lost visceral fat _ on average, 7 square centimeters.

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Depression leads to internal fat in 70-somethings

2008-12-01T14:37:00.000-08:00

Scans Show Sound-Processing Deficits in Autistic Kids

2008-12-01T14:02:00.000-08:00

MONDAY, Dec. 1 (HealthDay News) -- Children with autism spectrum disorder process sounds a fraction of a second slower than other children, an abnormality that offers insight into listening and language issues linked to the condition, a new study says.

Researchers used magnetoencephalography (MEG), which records minute magnetic fields associated with electrical brain activity, to detect the slight delay in autistic children who were exposed to beeps, tones in pairs, vowels and sentences at different speeds, tones and frequencies.

The findings were expected to be presented Monday at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), in Chicago.

"This delay in processing certain types and streams of sound may underpin the subsequent language processing and communication impairment seen in autistic children," researcher Timothy Roberts, vice chair of research in the department of radiology at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, said in a news release issued by the RSNA.

This signature of autism found in brain activity may eventually become a biomarker to improve classification of the disorder and aid in treatment and therapy planning, he added.

"We hope that in the future, these signatures will also be revealed in the infant brain to help diagnose autism and allow earlier intervention," he said.

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Want to boost kids’ grades? Get them moving

2008-10-20T12:27:00.000-07:00

Exercise helps young brains as well as bodies, increasing evidence finds

Want to help your kids do better in school this fall? Get them moving. That’s the message from a growing field of research linking physical activity with better academic performance.

At a time when many schools have reduced or eliminated gym classes and recess, experts say the worry goes beyond the childhood obesity epidemic.

“It’s not only Johnny’s getting fat, and heart disease down the road — all that’s true. But it’s also that he might not do as well in school,” says James Pivarnik, president-elect of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and a professor of kinesiology at Michigan State University in East Lansing.

In one of the latest studies in this field, Pivarnik and colleagues found that middle-school students who performed best on fitness tests — which gauged aerobic capacity, strength, endurance, flexibility and body composition — performed better academically as well.

Results from the study, which included 317 students in grades six through eight, showed that the fittest group of students scored almost 30 percent higher on standardized tests than the least fit group. And the least fit students had grades in four core classes that were 13 percent to 20 percent lower than all other kids, according to findings presented at a recent ACSM meeting.

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Bailout marks last push for mental health bill

2008-10-20T12:24:00.000-07:00

Plan would require equal coverage for psychological, physical ailments

WASHINGTON - Americans struggling with mental illness, depression or addiction often face an added burden: limited insurance coverage compared with people suffering physical ills.

Those days may be numbered, but changing the situation will take approval of the massive economic bailout bill heading for consideration in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Currently, insurance plans routinely require mental health patients to pick up more of the initial costs of their care through higher deductibles and co-payments. Other times, insurance plans have stricter limits on how often patients with mental problems can seek medical care. Unlike in many developed countries, where health insurance is bought through the government, U.S. health insurance normally is provided by employers as benefits.

Changing that has widespread support in Congress, but time is running out for this year. The only vehicle left is the economic rescue package coming before the House as early as Friday.

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The opposite of sex? Adults, teens beg to differ

2008-10-20T12:07:00.000-07:00

Belief in abstinence doesn't negate intent to have sex for some adolescents

If you already worry about the way your teenager can swing wildly from one viewpoint to another, you probably don't want to hear this.

“Kids can believe in abstinence, but also intend to have sex,” said N. Tatiana Masters, a social scientist at the University of Washington and author of a new study on teens' contradictory attitudes about abstinence and sex.

The research, published in the current issue of Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, shows that adolescents and teens often hold seemingly irreconcilable ideas about having sex, confounding the abstinence-only sex education message supported by over a billion dollars of federal funding.

The finding adds to a growing body of evidence eroding confidence in abstinence-only sex education.

Roughly $1.5 billion in federal grants to state education authorities have been distributed to finance abstinence-only curricula since the Clinton administration. But some states, like California, Wisconsin and Ohio, have stopped accepting the grants because the money is tied to a mandated abstinence-only message that studies have shown to be largely ineffective.

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'Pregnancy pact' school to allow contraceptives

2008-10-20T11:59:00.000-07:00

School board votes unanimously to OK distribution at high school clinic

GLOUCESTER, Mass. - Schools in the Massachusetts city where girls reportedly made a "pregnancy pact" will allow contraceptives to be distributed — with parental consent.

Gloucester school board Chairman Greg Verga says the vote Wednesday night was unanimous. It allows contraceptives to be distributed at the high school's health clinic.

The board also could have voted to distribute the materials without parental consent or continue its policy of not giving them out at all.

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No-scapel vasectomy reversal on horizon

2008-10-20T11:42:00.000-07:00

Men will soon be able to opt for mini-incision procedure

NEW YORK - Men who want to have a vasectomy reversed may soon be able to opt for a "mini-incision, no-scalpel" operation, according to a group of surgeons who have performed a number of successful vasectomy reversals using this approach.

In vasectomy, the tube that carries sperm from the testes to the penis, the vas deferens, is severed. The operation can now be performed through a tiny incision in the scrotum, resulting in fewer complications than the more invasive approach requiring a larger incision.

Men who change their minds can choose to have the surgery reversed by reconnecting the severed ends of the vas deferens, or have sperm "retrieved" and used for in-vitro fertilization.

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Pelvic disorders common among women

2008-10-20T11:37:00.000-07:00

More affected by urinary incontinence than expected, study finds

CHICAGO - Nearly one quarter of all U.S. women have some sort of pelvic floor disorder such as urinary or fecal incontinence, and more cases are likely as the population ages, researchers said on Tuesday.

Urinary incontinence or loss of bladder control is by far the most common problem, and childbirth, which can weaken pelvic floor muscles, is the most frequent cause.

"What stands out is such a large number of women had symptoms of a moderate-to-severe pelvic floor disorder," said Dr. Ingrid Nygaard of the University of Utah, whose study appears in Journal of the American Medical Association.

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Long John Silver's to roll out healthy menu

2008-10-20T11:34:00.000-07:00

Non-fried fish items will be lower in calories and fat

LOS ANGELES - Yum Brands Inc's Long John Silver's said it would roll out its first non-fried fish menu items later this month as the restaurant industry responds to consumer calls for healthier food.

The new menu, called Freshside Grille, is lower in fat and calories than the quick-serve seafood chain's standard fare. Entrees and side dishes will include grilled Pacific salmon, shrimp scampi, mixed vegetables and seasoned rice.

Louisville, Kentucky-based Long John Silver's will begin introducing the new menu in late October at its U.S. restaurants, executives said Sunday.

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Zumba zooms to the top of the exercise world

2008-10-03T09:58:00.000-07:00

ALPHARETTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Latin music pulses from the stereo as 40 women jump, shimmy and sway to the beat.

It's not a dance club. This is a regular morning exercise class at the YMCA in Alpharetta, Georgia. It's called Zumba.

Part dance, part aerobics, Zumba is an hourlong routine that works almost every muscle in the body.

"It is dance fitness," explained Stephanie Maxim, one of two class instructors. "We teach them moves that you can see on 'Dancing with the Stars': salsa, mambo, cha-cha, and we put it into a group fitness format."

"It's not like a workout," explained Diane Walterstiel, 55, of Alpharetta. "Before I come, I'm tense, but when I leave, I could kiss the world."

Nearly a year after being introduced at the YMCA in suburban Atlanta, Zumba is the most popular exercise offering at the facility.

Alberto Perlman, co-founder and CEO of Zumba Fitness in Hollywood, Florida, wasn't surprised when the concept took off not just in the United States but around the world.

"We turned exercise into a party," Perlman declared. "Zumba broke some of the rules of fitness. We used music in the original form instead of using step counts."

Perlman, whose background is in marketing, teamed up with Colombian dancer and choreographer Alberto "Beto" Perez in Miami in 2001.

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Report: Millions of children have untreated tooth decay

2008-10-03T09:54:00.000-07:00

(CNN) -- Millions of poor American children have untreated tooth decay, some of them because they cannot find a dentist willing to treat them, a federal report issued Tuesday said.

"Dental disease remains a significant problem for children aged 2 through 18 in Medicaid," the U.S. Government Accountability Office report concluded, referring to the federal/state health program for poor people.

According to the report, which used data from 1999 to 2004, about 6.5 million children enrolled in Medicaid had untreated tooth decay in 2005 and were nearly twice as likely as children with private health insurance to have untreated tooth decay.

The GAO report was ordered after widespread publicity of the case of Deamonte Driver, a 12-year-old boy boy who died last year in suburban Washington when an untreated infected tooth led to a brain infection.

Driver "had extensive dental disease and his family was unable to find a dentist to treat him," the report said.

The report said 14.8 percent of Medicaid recipients said their children had not gotten necessary dental care because their dentist refused to accept Medicaid, which typically pays providers less than private insurers.

"Clearly, the oral health care system failed this young man," said Dr. Jane S. Grover, first vice president of the American Dental Association in testimony Tuesday to the Committee on House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Domestic Policy.

"All of us -- practitioners, payers, parents and policymakers -- need to come together and make the system work for the most vulnerable among us," she said.

The report found that, nationwide, only one in three children in Medicaid had received any dental care in the year before the survey was carried out, and one in eight reportedly had never seen a dentist.

In comparison, more than half of children with private health insurance had gotten dental care during the prior year.

"Fundamental changes to the Medicaid program are long overdue to prevent the possibility of future tragedies like Deamonte and to ensure that all low-income children have the same access to oral health care services enjoyed by the majority of Americans," Grover said.

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Why women worry, and what to do about it

2008-10-03T09:50:00.000-07:00

(CNN) -- These are times not for the faint of heart. Not for the faint of wallet either. With the stock market seemingly out of control and with prices on goods and services taking a page from Buzz Lightyear's playbook and going "to infinity and beyond," it's a tense time for many.

The only sure thing you can bet on in this market is that anxiety is at an all-time high.

And if you're a woman, you're twice as likely to suffer from a good bit that of worrywart-ness, says the Anxiety Disorders Association of America.

The reasons for that could be partially mechanical and partially chemical, says Dr. Patrice Harris, a psychiatrist in Atlanta, Georgia.

"Early research suggests that men and women are wired differently," she explains, but, "the other thing that probably accounts for those numbers might be hormones.

"The jury's still out definitively," she says, "but some of the reproductive hormones, such as progesterone and estrogen, have been implicated in anxiety."

The other hormone that gets a bad rap when it comes to causing anxiety is from your thyroid gland. So if your thyroid is off, which occurs in more women than men, that could lead to anxiety.

And social expectations might be a factor as well. "It might just be that for women, it's more acceptable for them to express their anxiety than men," suggests Dr. Carol Bernstein, associate professor of psychiatry at New York University School of Medicine. Bernstein says that while the numbers of women struggling with anxiety disorders is larger than it is for men, the figures for alcohol and substance abuse for men is higher than for women.

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Conquering the 'ewww' factor of the public potty

2008-10-03T09:48:00.000-07:00

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Most of us have them -- the personal ritual to deal with the "ick" of a public bathroom: wiping the seat with toilet paper, using a paper seat cover or even rolling up several pieces of toilet paper to create a thicker barrier between the skin and ... the unknown.

But the toilet seat is actually the cleanest part of the bathroom, one expert says.

Charles Gerba, a microbiologist at the University of Arizona who has studied restrooms and other germ-infested environments for more than 20 years, says that because of the care people take when they're about to sit, other parts of the bathroom are much more prone to delivering bacterial infections.

"One of the cleanest things in the bathrooms we find are the toilet seats," Gerba said. "I'd put my fanny on it any time -- unless it's wet; then you'd want to wipe it first."

The Internet has come through for people who just want a clean place to go. New tools like MizPee (nationwide) and Diaroogle (New York only) will point you to the nearest public restroom and display extensive comments about those facilities from users, even delivering the information to your mobile phone. (Warning: CNN makes no promises about the cleanliness of the language in these bathroom locators.)

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Taco Bell, KFC To Put Calories On Menus

2008-10-01T15:50:00.000-07:00

The parent of KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Long John Silver's and A&W All-American Food said Wednesday it will voluntarily place product calorie information on menu boards at its company-owned U.S. restaurants.

"We believe this is the right leadership role ... to be providing more information so consumers can make better-informed purchase decisions about the food they eat," Yum spokesman Jonathan Blum said.

The calorie count will be based on individual serving sizes rather than, for instance, on an entire pizza or bucket of chicken that a family would eat.

Yum said its franchisees will be encouraged to provide the same calorie information on their menu boards.

"We're hopeful that it will be at all of our restaurants across the United States," Blum said.

Yum has about 20,000 U.S. restaurants, and about 4,000 are company-owned.

The company said the calorie information will be phased onto menu boards starting this year and completed by Jan. 1, 2011. "We'll begin as quickly as we can," Blum said.

The company's decision got a thumbs-up from a consumer watchdog group.

Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, called it a groundbreaking announcement that is "fabulous news for health-conscious consumers."

"We applaud this move and encourage other major chains to follow this bold example," Jacobson said in a Yum Brands news release.

Read Article Wsbtv.com 2

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From Wall Street to Main Street, financial crisis increases stress

2008-09-25T16:54:00.000-07:00

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." So began "A Tale of Two Cities," the novel by Charles Dickens. Appropriate words for these difficult times on Wall Street as well. News reports clearly demonstrate the tremendous pressures on members of the financial communities. Not only are their assets unraveling but their sense of self worth and identity is unraveling.

We now understand that there is no such thing as the mind/body separation. Spiritual thinkers over thousands of years have told us that as we think so we become. Now, do not get me wrong. I am not suggesting we sit in a dark corner, focus on a candle, and wish away our woes. However, we are better able to weather these financial difficulties and uncertainties by taking care of ourselves physically and acknowledging that the essence of stress is a sense of powerlessness and a sense of being out of control. So, what we can control are our thoughts and our beliefs.

Read Article MayoClinic.com

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Tips for supporting someone who's quitting tobacco

2008-09-25T16:24:00.000-07:00

Many people feel concern for a loved one who uses tobacco. It can be hard to know how to offer support to someone who is struggling with an addiction, especially if you've never "been there" yourself.

It can be frustrating to see someone you care for seemingly choose to do something harmful. At times you may feel hopeless, but there are things you can do to help.

Read Article MayoClinic.com

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Secondhand smoke: Avoid dangers in the air you breathe

2008-09-25T16:22:00.000-07:00

Breathing the toxins in secondhand smoke can literally make you sick. Find out how to avoid secondhand smoke, which can cause cancer, asthma and more.
You don't smoke because you understand the dangers. But what about that thick cloud of secondhand smoke at your favorite restaurant? Or the smoky haze left behind by guests after an evening of partying? What about the effect of secondhand smoke on your children when smoking relatives come to visit?

These instances of secondhand smoke present health hazards comparable to smoking. High in toxic chemicals, secondhand smoke plays a role in causing or contributing to a number of health problems, from cardiovascular disease to cancer. The Surgeon General reported in 2006 that scientific evidence shows there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke.

But secondhand smoke is often avoidable. Take steps to protect yourself and those you care about from secondhand smoke.

Read Article Mayoclinic.com

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Scientists debate possible cell phone link to brain cancer

2008-09-25T16:17:00.000-07:00

CNN) -- Bringing a growing health concern to Congress, scientists squared off Thursday over whether cell phones contribute to brain cancer.

Studies have indicated that long-term cell phone use may be associated with brain cancer, according to Dr. Ronald Herberman, director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, and Dr. David Carpenter, director of Institute for Health and the Environment at University of Albany. They both testified in front of the House Subcommittee on Domestic Policy.

"I cannot tell this committee that cell phones are definitely dangerous. But, I certainly cannot tell you that they are safe," Herberman said.

Herberman and Carpenter cited the results from a study recently presented by Dr. Lennart Hardell of Örebro University in Sweden.

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New drug for menopause being tested

2008-09-25T16:13:00.000-07:00

TRENTON, New Jersey (AP) -- An experimental menopause treatment that drugmaker Wyeth is developing reduced hot flashes, trouble sleeping and other symptoms and did not increase breast tenderness, a problem that bothers many women taking menopause drugs, according to data from two studies released Thursday.

Wyeth is developing a compound called Aprela that combines the hormone estrogen with bazedoxifene, part of a class of drugs called selective estrogen receptor modulators.

These drugs are thought to bring some beneficial effects of estrogen, including protecting the breast from cancer -- key because an older Wyeth hormone replacement drug, the estrogen-progestin combo Prempro, was linked to increased breast cancer risk in a huge federal study.

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Chemical Suppressing Hunger Hormone Might Be The Answer To Obesity

2008-09-17T10:28:00.001-07:00

Blocking production of a hormone called ghrelin, which creates the sensation of hunger, could be the answer to obesity, a problem that has become a major reason of concern in the US, where two-thirds of the populations are either overweight or obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

It’s true that it’s only a lab experiment on pigs for now, but researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore are confident that if a similar procedure could be done safely in humans, it may help people fight obesity.

For the study, Dr. Aravind Arepally, clinical director of the Center for Bioengineering Innovation and Design, and associate professor of radiology and surgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, used 10 healthy pigs because pigs have human-like anatomy and physiology.

The pigs were weighed and blood samples were taken to determine their baseline ghrelin levels. Then the researchers injected a chemical called sodiaum morrhuate (a chemical that destroys blood vessels) into blood vessels supplying a very specific part of the stomach called fundus in order to cut off production of the hunger hormone ghrelin.

Read Article Eflux Media

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